5 vegetarian dishes to try right now

Are you someone always searching for delectable vegetarian dishes to feast on? Are you bored of non vegetarian options and want to try vegetarian but yummy food? Look no further, as we bring you some easy yet tasty indian vegetarian dishes you can try at your home which goes really well with plain rice, laccha parathas, naan or rumali roti. These vegetarian restaurant style dishes use everyday ingredients and also cut the load on meat consumption without compromising on taste and satisfaction. Use your creativity and customize a wrap, sandwich, pizza, pasta etc with these interesting recipes. Treat your taste buds with these perfect main course or side dishes for lunch and dinner time.

1. Lasuni palak paneer- Mouthwatering creamy spinach gravy with cubed cottage cheese, tempered with indian spices and garlicky flavour. A rich source of protein and iron. Goes well with jeera rice, naan etc.
   Recipe- Blanch palak (spinach) leaves in hot water for 1-2 mins, once done, soak the palak in ice cold water. Blend the palak into a smooth puree. Lightly fry cubed paneer (cottage cheese) pieces with little salt and soak the paneer cubes in lukewarm water. Heat some oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, asafoetida, crushed pepper, green chilli paste, ginger garlic paste, chopped onion, saute. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder coriander powder, cumin powder, chopped tomato and salt, cook to soften the tomatoes. Add hot water and cover cook till oil releases from the sides. Add pureed palak, little sugar and little besan (chickpea flour), cook little. Add little cream and mix well, now add the paneer pieces and mix. Add garam masala, crushed kasuri methi and cover cook a little. For the tadka, heat some ghee in a pan and add fine chopped garlic, fry till golden brown, add some dry red chillies. Serve the palak paneer and pour the tadka over the dish. Garnish with coriander leaves.
2. Paneer lababdar- Restaurant style paneer dish in creamy sweet and tangy tomato based gravy. Use homemade cottage cheese/paneer for freshness. This recipe is called ‘lababdar’, depiction of strong desire and complete surrender to the deliciousness of the dish. Goes well with naan.
   Recipe- Heat some butter, add cumin seeds, peppercorn, chopped onion, green chillies, saute little, add chopped tomatoes, cashewnuts, melon seeds, whole dry kashmiri red chillies, salt and saute little tomatoes are soft and mushy. Grind the mixture into a smooth paste with some water and strain the paste well. Heat another pan, heat butter and oil, add bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, chopped onion, ginger garlic paste and cook till onions are light brown. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder and mix well. Add the ground paste, some water and little sugar, cover cook till oil releases from the sides. Add fresh cream, garam masala powder, crushed Kasuri methi and mix. Add some grated paneer and paneer cubed pieces into the gravy and mix well. Cover cook a little and top with some fresh cream, little butter, chopped coriander leaves and ginger jullienes. Serve hot.
3. Mushroom do pyaza- The term ‘do pyaza’ denotes that the amount of onion used is twice than the main ingredient (here, mushroom). A gluten free dish with earthy button mushrooms, caramelized onions, tomato and indian spices, goes well with rice and rotis. You can substitute the mushrooms with paneer or bhindi.
   Recipe- Heat mustard oil in a pan, add cubed/diced onions, saute lil and take them out. Similarly saute green chillies and diced capsicum together and take them out. Saute properly cleaned and diced mushroom in oil and take off. Now in the same pan take some oil, add bay leaves, cumin seeds, green cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, mace, finely chopped onions and saute well till onions turn golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute little. Add fine chopped tomatoes and salt. Put turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, pepper, garam masala powder, cover cook till oil releases. Add curd or cream and mix well. Add sauteed mushrooms, sauteed capsicum, crushed kasuri methi, cashewnut and melon paste and and some water, cover cook for some time. Add sauteed onions, cover cook a little. Garnish with fried chillies and chopped coriander leaves.
4. Dhokar dalna- A bengali dish made with fried lentil cakes dunked in sweet, spicy and tangy gravy without the use of onion or garlic. Simply enjoy with plain rice, roti or luchi.
   Recipe- Wash and soak chana dal (split bengal gram) and arhar dal (pigeon pea) in water for 2-3 hours or overnight. Grind the soaked lentils with ginger, green chillies, salt, grated coconut and little water into a coarse paste. Heat some oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, ginger paste, asafoetida and saute little. Add the ground lentil paste, stir continuously on low flame. Add red chilli powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder and little water, cook on low flame till moisture gets little evaporated and it attain a dough like consistency. Grease a plate and flatten the lentil mixture onto the plate. Let it cool a bit and cut thick (one inch depth) diamond-shaped pieces. Shallow fry the lentil pieces until golden brown. In another pan, heat mustard oil. Add potato pieces, fry and take them out. In the same pan add bay leaves, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, ginger paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, mix well. Add tomato paste, cashewnut paste, grated coconut and little water and saute till oil releases. Add fried potatoes, salt, little sugar and slitted green chillies saute little. Add hot water and cover cook till potatoes are done. Add the fried dhoka (lentil cakes) and cover cook little. Finish off with ghee and garam masala powder. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
5. Kashmiri bharwa aloo- A delicious red kashmiri gravy, mildly spiced and cooked with stuffed potatoes. This sour and spicy recipe goes well with rice or flatbreads.
   Recipe- Deskin and cut potatoes in half or use baby potatoes and scoop out the center. Mix little salt and turmeric powder to the potatoes and deep fry till soft and little colored. In a bowl, mix grated paneer, chopped cashewnuts, chopped raisins, finely chopped ginger, chopped green chillies, chopped mint leaves, chopped coriander leaves, pepper, salt, garam masala, amchur/dry mango powder, grated cheese. Fill the fried potato centers with the paneer mixture and keep aside. In a bowl, mix curd, kashmiri red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, red chilli powder, fennel powder, pepper. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, bay leaves, asafoetida, cloves, cardamon, peppercorns, cinnamon, ginger paste, green chillies paste, tomato paste, saute little. Lower the flame and add little turmeric powder and kashmiri red chilli powder and the curd mixture, mix well. Add little warm water and cashewnut paste and cook till oil releases the sides. Add salt, sugar, warm water and fried stuffed potatoes and cover till potatoes are cooked properly. Top with ghee, crushed kasuri methi, chopped coriander leaves and grated paneer.

Try these yummy recipe right away and invite your family and friends over a hearty delicious meal with all these vegetarian options. Do let us know your feedback and suggestion in the comment section. Bon appétit.

“XOX”
-TriGr