There comes a time in the lives of all vegetable trays in the fridge that you only have a few bits and bobs left; too little to stand alone and still fresh enough to eat. I love to do a mixed veggie dry curry and have coined a generic term for it called ‘milijuli,’ which, in Hindi, means all together in harmony. The veggies are usually seasonal and fresh and bought at the local grocery store. The diversity of fresh vegetables in the US is quite limited as compared to India and we have to cycle through the same ones over and over again, mainly cabbage, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, potatoes, spinach, and kale, etc. A trip to the Indian grocery store yields a few more varieties, such as long eggplants, cluster beans, okra, bottle gourd, and colocasia. So, all in all, we cycle and circulate within the same comfort zone and try to keep it fresh!

This curry goes well with rotis, parathas or plain rice and dal and is mild in taste. I like to allow the vegetables to take a starring role here instead of the spices. This type of a mixed curry is usually made in early January when the earth starts journeying towards longer days and the winter markets are bursting with vegetables.

Baba’s (dad) pet peeve is mustard seeds that have not popped in the oil. Not sure you have experienced it, but this is when you add other spices or ingredients to the oil before all the mustard seeds have finished crackling. The un-popped mustard seeds stay hard and raw when you bite into them and Baba just does not like that; he will pick them out before or while eating.

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Step by Step

1. Gather your bits and bobs together, today I had 1/4 cabbage, 12-15 french beans and 2 carrots.
2. Peel the carrots, chop the cabbage and string the beans. Wash all the veggies in a colander under running water.
3. Dice the carrots and cut the beans into small pieces.
4. Heat a pan and add 1 tbsp oil.
5. Add 1 tsp whole mustard seeds and allow them to finish crackling.
6. Add 1 tsp cumin seeds, pinch of asafetida, 1/2 tsp turmeric, and 1/2 tsp coriander powder. Allow the spices to bloom for a few seconds.
7. Add the chopped veggies, salt and red chili powder.
8. Give it a good stir and turn the heat down to low.
9. Cover and cook.
10. Check and stir occasionally.
11. The curry is done when all the veggies are cooked through but not too soft. You still want to retain the texture.

Some Tips

You can use a mix of the above vegetables and also add chopped eggplant, cauliflower, potatoes, peas, etc. The simplicity of the spices makes this a great side dish.

Always allow the mustard seeds to finish crackling, or else they will taste raw when bitten.

You can make a more fancier curry by adding chopped onions and tomatoes one after another before adding the veggies. Sprinkle some garam masala too.