Get Creative with Vegetables and Keep It Simple
by Nila
(Shillong)
Stick to basics and halve the time of your cooking
I often see the chefs cooking the vegetables elaborately every day, to make them tasty as if these vegetables are tasteless on their own. There were times when recipes were simple with few ingredients because of the timing of cooking, rather than any added spices.
If you have a look at the whole detailed cooking, I would like to draw your attention to methods which can halve the process. The way I understand it is steaming, roasting and boiling are those methods that help you keep it simple and cook fast.
Apart from the myriads of sauces, spices, herbs and cheeses, there are a few simple items which can add infinite taste to your steamed or roasted meals, such as mustard garlic paste and ghee- the Indian butter.
For example, have your tomatoes boiled for a few minutes and then add a tea spoon of ghee. Even boiled rice together with boiled dal with a pinch of ghee, a little salt, a little pepper powder, with coriander leaves sprinkled on it, will make a great lunch.
Boil vegetables like beans, tomatoes, brnjals- eggplants, okras- ladies fingers, pumpkins along with two green chillies. Add mustard garlic paste to it and boil for another minute. Then season it with curry leaves and cumin seeds. You may want to add a few spoons of curd to it. This is a simple and great vegetarian meal to go nicely with rice or to have it as it is.
The idea is to eat a lot of tasty vegetables all the time during the day without having to put on weight.
