Call for Dinner

Vidhu Mittal’s Pure & Simple: Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine is
a culinary tour through your mother’s kitchen. Anyone from Uttar Pradesh will
be quickly transported to the sights and smells of the kitchen of their
memories. Overseas Indians who frequently find themselves fumbling trying to
recreate the magic now have the ultimate dummies guide for recreating mummy’s
meals. Pure & Simple is packed with recipes and visual instructions for 100
soups, appetizers, vegetable and rice dishes, as well as breads and desserts.

Remember the spicy spinach fritters or pani puri? How about pakodi
kadi, sukhe aloo mattar or bharwa mirchi? And when was the last time you lapped
up aloo ka jhol or dug into sabzi pulao for a Tuesday lunch. And how can you
forget Usha Masi’s suji halwa or nariyal burfi?

At a time when Indian cookbooks are experimenting heavily with fusion
foods, new dishes, exotic spices or novel vegetables, Mittal transports you to
the simple meals from the unadulterated kitchen of your past.

Mittal, who is an established culinary expert and cooking instructor in
Bangalore, says the recipes capture “the characteristic flavor of my native
province — Uttar Pradesh” and that her “emphasis has been on crafting
delicately spiced dishes, contrary to the hot flavors stereotypically
associated with Indian food.”

The book includes hundreds of stunning photos of the dishes and visual
instructions for cooking them as well as for cooking processes, such as how to
temper dals, blanch vegetables or set yogurt.

This is one of the best Indian cookbook that we have seen in a very
long time and one deserving of space on your kitchen shelf, if not for what you
will try, then for what you will remember and miss.

Magori Palak ki Kadi

Ingredients

1 cup sun-dried green gram dumplings (magori)

2 cups spinach (palak), chopped, cooked

vegetable oil for deep-frying

1½ cups yogurt (dahi), sour

2 tbsp gram flour (besan)

1 tsp ginger (adrak) paste

1 tsp green chili paste

1½ cups Water

For the seasoning

½ tbsp clarified butter (ghee)

Pinch of asafetida (hing)

1 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds

¾ tsp turmeric (haldi) powder

½ tsp red chili powder

For the tempering

1 tbsp clarified butter

Pinch of asafetida

¼ tsp cumin seeds

¼ tsp red chili powder

Heat ½”-deep oil in a shallow pan; deep-fry the magori in medium-hot
oil until light golden brown. Remove, crush them lightly and set aside.

Mix yogurt, gram flour, ginger paste, and green chili paste with water
to a smooth paste; set aside.

For the seasoning, heat the pressure cooker for 30 seconds; add ½ tbsp
clarified butter and the remaining ingredients in the same order; mix. Add
fried and crushed magori; mix. Add 1½ cups water and ¼ tsp salt; cook to one
whistle, and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Open the lid when the pressure drops. Add yogurt mixture and salt to
taste; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add cooked spinach and bring to a boil. Remove and transfer to a
serving bowl and season with the tempering.

For the tempering, heat 1 tbsp clarified butter in a pan; add all the
ingredients in the same order mentioned. Pour over the prepared dish.

Gobi Aloo

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

1 cauliflower (phool gobi), medium-sized, cut into 1½” florets

2 potatoes, medium-sized, peeled, cut lengthwise into ½” pieces

1½ tbsp vegetable oil

Pinch of asafetida (hing)

½ tsp cumin (jeera) seeds

2 tsp ginger (adrak), chopped

1 tsp green chilies, chopped

¼ tsp turmeric (haldi) powder

½ tsp red chili powder

salt to taste

½ tsp garam masala

¼ tsp mango powder (amchur)

1 tbsp cilantro (dhaniya) leaves, chopped

Heat 1½ tbsp oil in a heavy-bottom saucepan for 30 seconds; add
asafetida, cumin seeds, ginger, chilies, turmeric powder, and red chili powder;
mix.

Add cut potatoes, cauliflower, salt, and ½ cup water. Cook, covered, on
high heat, stirring occasionally, until the water dries up or the potatoes are
cooked.

Add garam masala, mango powder, and cilantro leaves; mix well. Serve
hot.

Sabz Pulao

Serves 2–4

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice

2 potatoes, medium-sized, cut into cubes

1 cup cauliflower (phool gobi) florets

1 cup green peas (hara mattar)

1 tbsp clarified butter

1 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds

½ tsp turmeric (haldi) powder

2 cups water

1½ tsp salt

Wash and soak the rice in plenty of water for 30 minutes. Drain.

Heat 1 tbsp clarified butter in a pan for 30 seconds; add cumin seeds
and turmeric powder. Add potatoes, cauliflower, and peas; mix well. Cook for a
minute on medium heat. Add soaked rice and mix.

Add 2 cups water and salt; bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low heat
till the water evaporates or until rice is done.

Recipes and photos from Pure & Simple: Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine, by Vidhu Mittal; published by Interlink Books; $29.95 hardcover.