Steamed Mixed Vegetables with Rice and Tofu

Ingredients

Chopped celery hearts, shredded cabbage, various frozen vegetables, Sabzi Masala (vegetable spice blend), one hot red chilli.

Total preparation time: 15 minutes.

1. Chop a few celery hearts.

2. In a non-stick pan on medium flame, place some mixed vegetables (corn, carrots and peas), cut green beans, broccoli florets, sweet peas, cut mixed peppers (yellow, green, red and orange peppers), crinkle-cut carrots and celery hearts.

3. Add the following spices: half a teaspoon of turmeric powder, a teaspoon of Sabzi Masala (Indian vegetable spice blend) and a pinch of asafoetida (hing).

4. Add one tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste, and one tablespoon of Asian black-bean sauce.

5. Chop the red chilli into a dozen small pieces and add them to the mix.

6. Do NOT add water or oil to the mix. The water from the frozen vegetables will be sufficient for steaming them.

7. After 7 or 8 minutes, add some shredded yellow cabbage and/or shredded yellow cabbage.

8. Switch off the flame after 2 minutes. Do not steam the shredded cabbage for more than 2 minutes, since excessively steamed red cabbage has an unpleasant taste.

9. Microwave a bowl of sliced white mushrooms until they are tender.

10. Cut some tofu into small cubes and microwave it for a minute.

Serving

Serve with steamed tofu cubes, a bowl of brown rice and microwaved sliced white mushrooms. Top the mixture with pot-sticker sauce and garnish it with cilantro (coriander leaves).

Optional: Add a bowl of lentil soup such as Gujarati Dal or Sambar to the mix for a more nuanced taste.

Serves 2.

Tips

a) Add as little or as much rice as you like.

b) Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil just before eating. (Do not heat the olive oil.)

c) Do NOT cover the pan while steaming the vegetables. Covering the pan will cause the vegetables to get steamed sooner than they otherwise would, and will save on gas. But the vegetables will get mushy and/or overcooked.

d) Do not steam the vegetables for more than 10 minutes, as they will get soggy.

e) Vary the proportions of the various vegetables as you see fit. I like to add a greater proportion of broccoli florets.

f) You can add cauliflower florets to the mix, but I add no more than 3 or 4 florets.

g) Notice that this preparation does NOT contain tomatoes. Add a tomato will enhance the taste, but will make the mixture watery, and raises the chances of the preparation becoming mushy.

h) The steamed vegetables should retain their crunchiness.