Simple Mixed Vegetables

There are a lot many vegetarian recipes that are absolutely delicious, and as Indians, we all know a meal of roti-sabzi. This sabzi (dish of vegetables) could be dry, or gravy-based, loaded with spices or just kept simple. 

My recipe is one that is only lightly spiced with freshly-ground pepper, garlic, ginger and chilli. I've added a bouillon cube (which are available as veg/non-veg stock cubes) and this is purely optional—the vegetables themselves are packed with delicious flavours! 

What I enjoy about this recipe is its wide range of colours— it surely makes it more appealing to the eyes! The orange of the carrots and green of the beans and peas against the pale yellow hue of the potatoes are all very beautifully maintained because of the simplicity of this dish. It's only the dicing of the veggies that takes up some time, but this can be done previously and refrigerated to be used to prepare a gorgeous dish in under 15 minutes!

So, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Green beans (French beans), diced
• 1 cup Carrots, diced
• 1 cup Onions, diced
• 1 cup Green peas (fresh; if using frozen peas, thaw and toss them in when the other vegetables are almost cooked)
• 1 cup Potatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon Garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Ginger, chopped
• 2-3 Green chillies, chopped
• Salt to taste
• Pepper, as desired 
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1 Bouillon cube (optional; if using, alter salt accordingly)
• 3 tablespoons Oil

Method

1. In a pan or kadai, heat the oil and once sufficiently hot, first add the garlic, and then the chillies and ginger. Cook for about half a minute.

2. Add the onions and sauté till just translucent.

3. Then, add the vegetables— carrots, peas, beans and potatoes— add about 1&1/2 teaspoon of salt and give it all a good mix. Cook on a medium-low flame. The vegetables release their own liquids and no additional water is needed to cook them. They'll need about 10 minutes in total to cook thoroughly.

4. Cover the pan/kadai with a lid or a plate with a lip so that it can contain water. Pour about half a cup of water on this lid. This creates a more suitable environment for the vegetables to cook in since the pressure within the vessel is raised, which results in an elevation of the boiling point of the vegetable-liquids. This way the liquid is retained (as it condenses) instead of being lost as steam. So, the vegetables don't dry out and hence, don't burn.

5. Uncover and stir-up the vegetables every 2-3 minutes.

6. When halfway cooked, add in the freshly ground pepper, mix and cover again.

7. When nearly done, sprinkle the bouillon cube powder (optional) and a teaspoon of sugar; this blends flavors, be careful to not add too much. Again, cover for another 2 minutes or so.

8. Finally, uncover and give the dish a good mix. Check to see whether the potatoes are cooked by inserting a knife through one diced cube; it must cut without much resistance. Turn off the heat and serve hot.

It is a great side with rice, and also a good choice to accompany breads and rotis. It doesn't get too dry but retains quite a lot of its moisture because of the water-on-lid technique (there is no scientific name for it yet, haha!) and also maintains its rich colours since they aren't overly spiced and harshly cooked.

You can watch the video here: