Binging, guilt free

Pushpesh Pant

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After the uninhibited eating binges during X-mas and New Year celebrations — roasts, cakes, and other rich repast — it is time for course correction. Sanity demands that stomach be given the much-needed rest, but, the titillated senses resist. We always find this time of the year particularly difficult to endure. The question that haunts constantly is what would be pleasing to the eyes and tempting for the palate but not a burden on the stomach?

Fortunately, this is when the markets are flooded with seasonal vegetables, colourful and crunchy, and full of goodness. These lend themselves to a variety of cooking techniques — steaming, boiling, grilling, stir frying, baking etc. They complement each other in taste and texture and can co-exist harmoniously with many a fruit.

It’s a joy to make a ‘one-pot meal’ from mixed vegetables. The best thing is it doesn’t require the ‘crutches’ of rice and roti. If you can’t live without grains, you may serve the veggies on a bed of steamed rice or have a roti or a slice of bread on the side. But for us the carbs contributed by potatoes, sweet potatoes and sweet corn are enough. We suggest that you play around with the sauce-like gravy/dressing and keep tinkering with the seasoning. We love this melange laced with a spoonful of aachaar masala stirred in as the vegetables are simmering. Yet another way to make the meal more ‘substantial’ is to boil a cupful of pasta — whole wheat penne or macaroni — and toss it in with the vegetables.

And, as you may have noticed, this hundred percent shakahari recipe eschews the tamasik and prohibitively expensive onions totally! The tear-jerker isn’t indispensable after all. Garlic has suffered exclusion not due to the company it usually keeps but because it interferes with the distinct flavour of different vegetables. If you like that extra crunch, do not hesitate to add a generous fistful of roasted peanuts, parched gram or puffed rice!

veggie pot

Ingredients:

Carrots (scraped, cut in discs or batons) 100g

Cauliflower florets 100g

Green peas (net shelled) 100g

Sweet corn kernels 200g

Potatoes 100g

Sweet potatoes (roasted, peeled, cut) 100g

Tomatoes 200g

Button mushrooms 100g

Butter 100g

Chilli flakes 1 tsp

Cumin powder 1 tsp

Homemade garam masala/chaat masala

Sambar masala 1 tsp

Black peppercorn powder 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Sugar (optional) 1 tsp

Lemon juice 1 tsp

Method:

Parboil and peel the potatoes. Cut lengthwise in wedges. Pan grill in a little butter on a non-stick pan. Boil lightly (or steam) cauliflower, carrots, sweet corn and peas. Wipe clean mushrooms and slice. Blanch the tomatoes, remove the skin and chop finely.

Heat butter in a pan and when it melts, add the potatoes. Pan grill for a couple of minutes until light brown, then add the mushrooms, stir fry for a minute more and add the other vegetables, except the sweet potatoes, along with chopped tomatoes and salt. Sprinkle chilli flakes, black peppercorn powder and masala mix of your choice. Cook on low medium heat till the sauce drapes the vegetables evenly. Adjust seasoning, sprinkle lemon juice and enjoy hot.