A staple at rural marriage feasts, mandir wali sabzi is made from easily available vegetables

Pushpesh Pant

THOUGH we have never quite understood why this mixed vegetable is called mandir wali subzi, we love it. For us, memories are inseparable from food. This mélange of easily available vegetables was a staple in rural marriage feasts. The recipe also evokes powerful nostalgia of community meals devoured gluttonously in the temple courtyard — an innocent childhood when boundaries between our lives and fairytales and ghost stories were blurred. Every festivity, celebration, performance of rituals was a spell-binding spectacle the finale marked by special food.

Whenever we see the entry ‘mixed vegetables’ in a restaurant’s menu, a tinge of pain pierces our heart. The insipid fare is so predictable. Capsicum, paneer, carrots and beans overpowered by readymade garam masala, accented with chaat masala. If you are in luck, some babycorn, minuscule florets of broccoli, thin slices of mushroom could also be making cameo appearances. You can also play the game of ‘catch me if you can’ with slivers of expensive bell peppers.

Beware! This ‘delicacy’ travels under different names. Baoli /diwani handi/sabz bahar/panch rangi subziyan, miloni subziyan, etc, but all try to flatter and imitate the lababdar or kadahi banalities. The only exception is the ‘labra’ from the Bengal repertoire. More about it some other time.

A confession before we part. This one’s no eye candy. Remember, looks are often deceptive! Beauty resides in taste. Make up your own mind. We are confident you’ll be pleasantly surprised. 

Mandir wali subzi

Ingredients

Potatoes 100g

Brinjal (long ones) 50g

Beans 50g

Carrots 50g

Radish 50g

Bottle gourd 50g

Spring onions 50g

Tomatoes 50g

Cabbage head (small) 1

Spinach bunch small

Green chillies 2-3

Red chillies (not dry) 2

Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp

Coriander powder 2 tsp

Chilli powder (red or yellow) 1 tsp

Cumin powder 1 tsp

Black peppercorns (coarsely pounded) 8-10

Oil 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

How to prepare

Peel and quarter the potatoes. Blanch, remove skin and dice the tomatoes. Scrape and wash well the carrots and radish. Cut into small pieces — round discs, crescent and dices. Peel the gourd and cut into small pieces. Slice the brinjal into 1/2 inch thick discs. String the beans and cut into very small pieces. Wash well and slice finely the cabbage. Wash the spinach well and shred. Remove the roots from spring onions and chop.

Cut the greens and reserve for use in some other recipe. Heat oil in a pan and put in the powdered spices, dissolved in some water. Stir briskly for 15 seconds. Add ginger garlic paste and stir for another 15-20 seconds. Then add the vegetables in the following order: potatoes going first, followed by carrots, then radish, brinjal and beans. Add spinach, cabbage and the chillies after this lot. Stir well to mix with spices. Now add the tomatoes, along with salt. Stir, reduce the flame to medium low and cook covered for about 15 minutes till the fat leaves sides. Check once or twice midway and stir gently to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle a few drops of water, if required. Drizzle the peppercorns just before serving. Enjoy equally with rice, phulka, poori or parantha.