Easy Indian Vegetables Recipe

After Sourabh and I graduated, we had very little money for the first few months. My student loans hadn't come in and all of our savings had gone to safety deposits and moving expenses to get us into our NYC apartment. At the time, we were in Riverdale in the Bronx, living in a Columbia-owned condo. We rattled to law school (for me) and work (for him) in the "shuttle" that was actually a van that was constantly overcrowded and sideswiped cars multiple times.

ok, we weren't poor, but money was a bit tight.
(source)

This recipe was one we made frequently since it's extremely cheap -- potatoes and whatever vegetables are on sale. Eggplant, onions, and cauliflower are all good bets, but we've made it with okra and green beans before and it's still delicious. You can eat it over basmati rice or on its own. And it's a great take-to-work/school-and-reheat meal (Sourabh ate it for lunch today).

This dish is a traditional type of Indian side, too. Sourabh's mother frequently makes just one vegetable as a side to a curry, but we like to make multiple vegetables and make it the main meal. You could make just one vegetable with an Indian-spiced meat/fish if you wanted extra protein.

What I'm trying to say is, this recipe is adaptable. And keeping that in mind, I'm not giving complete measurements because they'll vary based on the vegetables used and it's hard to over-spice this recipe (and you can always taste-test as you go and add more!). I will give you some suggested amounts, though, so you're not operating totally in the dark.

This is great to make on the weekends (hence, why I'm sharing it on a Friday) because it can be a bit time-consuming--say, an hour? I recommend cooking each vegetable separately if you aren't a top chef (I'm not) to ensure each cooks to its desired done-ness. We like to make it on a Sunday and then eat the leftovers throughout the week. Just prop up your laptop and put on a movie while you cook!

Easy Indian Vegetables Recipe

I know, it doesn't look good -- but it's delicious!

Ingredients
3-4 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1 medium eggplant, thinly sliced
2 cups cauliflower, chopped
Curry powder (approx. 2 tsp. per vegetable batch)
Turmeric (approx. 2 tsp. per vegetable batch)
Cumin powder (approx. 1 tsp. per vegetable batch)
Salt (approx. 1/2 tsp. per vegetable batch)
Olive oil (for cooking)


Directions

1. After chopping each batch of vegetable, cover the top with the spice mix like in the picture below, then toss the vegetables in the spice mixture.

2. Cover pan with olive oil and heat (approximately 1 tablespoon per batch of vegetable).

I mixed the eggplant with the green beans, but wished I hadn't -- the eggplant cooked much quicker than the beans

3. Cook one type of vegetable at a time, stirring frequently. Cooking time varies, but you want the eggplant to be falling apart, potatoes to be alternatively crispy and mushy when you press on them, and cauliflower should be close-to-soft.

4. Once the last batch is done, toss all the vegetables together in the pan for 1-2 minutes to make sure everything is nice and hot, then serve!

Do you like Indian food? What's your favorite dish? Would you like to see more "everyday" Indian cooking?