Vegetable Dishes

This recipe is a staple in my house, and 'The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking' offers a lovely beginner's version to start from.

Hint: You can cook it without paneer/curd and it's just as delicious. I don't always have paneer on hand, but this recipe works well either way. I also find that by cutting the potatoes and paneer smaller, it cooks more evenly, and the texture is more appealing.

This rich favorite consists of lightly steamed vegetables in a Mornay sauce, topped with grated cheese and baked until golden brown. It combines wonderfully with a light soup and bread accompaniment. Serves 6-8.
This particular recipe is from The Higher Taste cookbook which is a great little cookbook with some absolutely fabulous recipes in it.

Potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables. I know they are not the healthiest veg around but potatoes are just so darn delicious and also versatile. You can make French fries, chips, baked potatoes, roasted potatoes, scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes, potato salad, potato soup, many subjis, potatoes au gratin, double stuffed potatoes and hash browns. My love for potatoes has made me also quite fond of Ekadasi, the day that comes once every two weeks where Vaishnavas fast from grains. Since grains are off the menu, I feel I can get away with slipping some extra potatoes into the day.

As vegetarians it is important to make sure that we have enough protein in our diets. Many plant-based proteins must be eaten with some sort of grain in order for it to become a whole protein. Luckily for us combining plant proteins with grains is easy and delicious. For example rice and dahl, peanut butter and bread, and of course beans and rice.

As a child okra (also known as lady’s finger or bhindi) was always a struggle for me to eat. I would force it down with a wrinkled nose, disliking every aspect of the experience. I have now come to the conclusion that it wasn’t so much the vegetable that I was so averse to, but the way in which it was prepared. If you are not careful with your okra, it can make any dish into a slimy, gluey creation. Of course if that is what you are going for, and I have to believe that some people are going for that, then right on.

This pie is very easy to make, unless of course you are making the filo from scratch instead of just buying it pre-rolled from the store. Also, you could double the amount of spinach in the pie and omit the corn, or substitute tofu for paneer. This recipe is quite versatile, but if you do play around with it, make sure the filling is not overly wet or you may end up with soggy filo, and no one wants that.

Known as "lady fingers" in India, okra is widely used in Creole cooking and is a popular soul food in America. If you can't find okra in supermarkets, look for it at Asian grocers. Choose pods that are small, firm, tender, and bright green.

The trick for cooking okra is to fry it until it looses that 'slimy' texture that turns so many people against any dish with okra in it.

High in the Tirumala hills lies Tirupati temple, the home of the richest Deity in the world, Lord Venkateshvara, and described by Srila Prabhupada, in Krishna book, as the "the most important place of pilgrimage in southern India". Catering to the needs of tens of thousands of pilgrims who visit every day, the temple executives have developed a management system which Srila Prabhupada said was super excellent and which he urged ISKCON leaders to study.

In this dish, slices of potato are folded with herbs, butter, and sour cream and baked to a golden brown. It is irresistibly rich and delicious, yet effortless to prepare.

There are many variations on this recipe, and this one was taken from Kurma's "Great Vegetarian Dishes". It is a rich dish and is usually best served with some simpler side dishes like salad or vegetable stir fry.

Shanka has been learning to cook for a good deal of time, and has traveled far and wide to gain experience and add to his skill-set. He brought his Indian recipes together in a self-published book, Simple Vegetarian Cooking, Indian Style.