Food Talk: Veggies served as a medley of taste and colour

Pushpesh Pant

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FOOD constantly evolves and tastes, too, always change with the times. Nothing illustrates this better than what passes by the name of ‘mixed vegetables’. In the days of the nawabs of Awadh, it was called baoli handi literally a clay pot of slow-cooked medley of seasonal vegetables. The preparation was spiced subtly and retained the natural colours, textures and flavours of the sabzis put in the pot. The gravy was kept mildly aromatic, thin, and potatoes, carrots, cauliflowers, gourds, turnips and whatever other vegetables you fancied or could be found were cut into bite-sized pieces.

The masses had a more robust recipe for their subz miloni. It had larger chunks of fewer commonly available veggies. The spicing was stronger and the final result was a semi-dry dish. In Bengal and Odisha, the local versions had pumpkins, sweet potatoes, raw bananas, brinjals, et al. Nor did the cooks feel inhibited about using the pungent mustard oil and more than a large pinch of turmeric, coriander and red chilli powders.

In the last few years, in fine-dining restaurants, another avatar has appeared that’s loaded with exotic English vegetables mushroom, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, asparagus and palm hearts. Baby corns and bamboo shoots are passé now. Most eateries also fuse east and west by tossing together paneer cubes, cherry tomatoes, sweet peas, coloured bell peppers, etc.

Truth be told, we have never been satisfied with most improvisations on this theme. But, one lives and learns, as they say, in the most unlikeliest of places. We were literally blown off our feet at a small homestay near Chaukorhi in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand recently. Tarun and his wife Pushpa operate a homestay in hills there and take great delight in feeding the guests what they grow in their organic kitchen garden. The mixed-vegetable preparation we had there was extraordinary in more ways than one. Tarun shared the unusual recipe and the taste is out of this world. Well worth a try for special occasions.

To mix metaphors, mustard oil isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Those with delicate palates should let the vegetables stew in their own juices, minus the mustard. Here is a quick-fix recipe for such an occasion. An improvisation on the basic stir-fry blending elements of dhabha-style paneer butter masala.

Mixed vegetable

Ingredients

Peas (medium) 1/2 cup

Sweetcorn 1/2 cup

Cauliflower 1 small floret

Potato (medium-sized) 1

Carrot (medium) 1

Cherry tomatoes 1/2 cup

Onion 1

Ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp

Coriander powder 1 tsp

Cumin powder 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds 1 large pinch

Kalonji seeds 1/4 tsp

Turmeric 1 large pinch

Butter 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

Method

Parboil, peel, and dice potato. Blanch or steam the peas. Break cauliflower into smaller bite-sized florets and blanch for 1 minute in boiling water. Cut cherry tomatoes in halves. Scrape the carrot, wash and slice in thin disks.

Heat butter in a pan. Add sliced onion and ginger-garlic paste. Stir-fry briskly for 30 seconds, then add potato dices, followed by carrot disks. Add the powdered spices and salt dissolved in 1 tsp water. Stir to mix and sprinkle a little water to avoid scorching the masala and veggies. After a minute, add the tomatoes. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Prepare the tempering by heating a spoonful of butter and adding cumin and kalonji seeds in it. When these start crackling, pour the tadka over the mixed vegetables. This dish can be enriched with 2 tbsp of cream and some grated processed cheese, if at hand. A pinch of turmeric powder imparts a golden tint.

Exotic mix

Ingredients

Potato (medium) 1

Carrot (medium) 1

Radish (medium) 1

Brinjal (small dark ones) 6

String beans A fistful

Gourd (tori, medium-sized) 2-3

Tomato (medium-sized) 1

Green chillies 4-5

Ginger 2-inch piece

Coriander powder 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

Mustard oil 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Method

Wash all vegetables. Don’t peal, lightly scrape the potato. Slice thinly lengthwise. Do the same with carrots, radish and tori. Quarter the brinjals, don’t remove the stem. Destem and slice tomato lengthwise. String the beans and cut in 23-inch pieces. Wipe the green chillies. Scrape the ginger and slice thinly.

Put all the vegetables in a karahi together, along with green chillies and ginger. Sprinkle all powdered spices and salt and mix. Add half the mustard oil over the vegetables. Pour rest of the oil along the sides of the karahi, distributing it evenly. Now light the gas, keeping the flame on medium, place the karahi on it. Cover it tightly. After five minutes, uncover, stir lightly and place the cover back. Reduce the flame to low and let the veggies simmer for 10 more minutes. Do not add any water at all. Uncover to check if the vegetables have been cooked. Stir again. A little of the sabzi should stick to the bottom. Cooking in the karahi darkens the colour but the taste more than compensates for looks.

Note that all ingredients are to assembled in the karahi before it’s put on stove. The oil is not to be heated beforehand at all. And no water is required. Allow the vegetables to cook in their own juices.