Bestselling author and renowned restaurateur Camellia Panjabi MBE, celebrated for transforming the UK’s perception of Indian cuisine through her stylish London restaurants and iconic cookbook, 50 Great Curries of India, is now setting her sights on a new culinary mission: inspiring people to fall in love with vegetables.

Drawing on decades of experience as a hotelier managing restaurants across various cuisines, Panjabi observed that vegetables were too often relegated to the sidelines.

Determined to change this narrative, Panjabi has made vegetables the true ‘hero’ of every plate with her brand-new cookbook, Vegetables: The Indian Way.

“The majority of food on anyone’s plate is normally two or three kinds of vegetables, and we had failed to take that into account when we served the public,” reflects the restaurateur, who is often referred to as ‘the Queen of Indian cuisine’. “I thought, I’m going to do a 90-degree turn and say the hero of these dishes is going to be the vegetables.”

Beetroot raita

Credits: PA;

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

1 large or 2 small beetroots

1tsp finely grated ginger

½tsp salt

1½ fresh green chillies, finely chopped

400g yogurt

⅓tsp cumin powder

¼tsp red chilli or red pepper powder

2tbsp coconut oil, or other oil of your choice

3 broken pieces of a dried red chilli, seeds removed

10–12 curry leaves

¼tsp ginger, chopped really fine

Method:

1. Put the unpeeled beetroots into a pan and add enough water to cover them. Add the grated ginger, ¼ teaspoon of salt and ½ a green chilli, bring to the boil and cook until tender. When cooked, remove the beetroots from the pan and leave to cool, then peel. Throw away the water. Cut the beetroot into long strips or as you prefer.

2. Whisk the yogurt, add ¼ teaspoon of salt, the cumin, chopped red chilli or pepper powder, and stir. Put into a serving dish, add the beetroot and stir.

3. For seasoning, put the oil into a ladle or a tiny pan over the heat. When it is very hot, add the rest of the chopped green chilli, curry leaves and chopped ginger and fry for 7 seconds on a medium heat. Pour this into the yogurt bowl.

4. The raita is ready to serve, without stirring.

Masala mango curry

Credits: PA;

Ingredients:

(Serves 6 as a condiment or with rice)

30g tamarind

1kg just-ripe cooking mangoes

6tbsp coconut or other oil of your choice

2tbsp coriander seeds

1½tbsp white urad dal

¼tsp fenugreek seeds

1tsp raw rice grains

1tbsp white sesame seeds

3tbsp grated coconut

5 dried red chillies, soaked in hot water

½tsp mustard seeds

4 cloves of garlic

3 dried red chillies, broken into pieces

20 curry leaves

65g jaggery

1tsp salt

1¼tsp mango powder (amchoor)

2tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

Method:

1. Soak the tamarind in 125ml of warm water and set aside.

2. Cut the mangoes downwards into 2 slices and the middle seed part. Cut each slice into 2 pieces. Peel. Cut the sides off the seed. Discard the seed. If the mango is very large, cut each cheek into 4 pieces.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet, and add the coriander seeds, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, raw rice, sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons of grated coconut and the 5 soaked red chillies. Sauté for 3 minutes on a low heat, then set aside to cool. Once cool, grind to a paste in a spice grinder.

4. Heat another 4 tablespoons of oil in a sauté pan, and when very hot, add the mustard seeds. After 6 seconds add the garlic and after a minute add the 3 broken red chillies and the curry leaves and fry for a minute. Add the jaggery, the masala paste and the tamarind water, squeezed out and strained. Then add 1 cup (235ml) of water and the salt, and bring to the boil. Taste for seasoning, balancing between sourness (tamarind), sweetness (jaggery) and saltiness.

5. After it has boiled for a minute, add the mango pieces and cook until tender. Now taste again. Add the mango powder and stir. When serving, sprinkle with the chopped coriander leaves and the remaining tablespoon of grated coconut.

Stir-fried peppers with paneer

Credits: PA;

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

150g paneer, store-bought

6tbsp oil of your choice

300–350g peppers, a mix of red and green

1tsp whole peppercorns

1tbsp coriander seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

1½tbsp chopped garlic

1 heaped tbsp chopped ginger

2 green chillies, chopped

1 large onion, sliced

½tsp ground turmeric

1tsp red chilli powder

2tsp ground coriander

1tsp garam masala

2 puréed tomatoes

½tsp sugar

½tsp salt

2tsp lime juice coriander leaves, for garnish

Method:

1. Slice the paneer into batons, about 1cm thick (if the paneer you buy is firm, you can soak it for a couple of minutes in a little water before using). Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a deep pan and fry the paneer for about 2 minutes, until crispy brown on the outside. Set aside, but keep the pan as you will need it again.

2. Cut the peppers into similar-size batons to the paneer. In the same pan in which you fried the paneer, fry the pepper batons for 2 minutes, then remove and set aside.

3. On a griddle or in the same pan, without additional oil, roast the peppercorns and coriander seeds for 2 minutes. Remove, and when cooled pound to a very coarse powder. Set aside.

4. Add 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan, and when it’s hot add the cumin seeds, garlic, ginger and green chillies. After a full minute, add the onions and sauté for about 5–6 minutes on a medium to high heat. Add the turmeric, red chilli, coriander and garam masala – and continue to sauté for 2 minutes, then add the puréed tomatoes (the reason the tomatoes need to be puréed or even grated is so that they will coat the paneer properly). Add the sugar and salt and stir.

5. Add 60ml of water and stir well. Cook for a further 5 minutes, then add the paneer and 2 teaspoons of the coarsely ground spice mix. Add the sautéed peppers, stirring gently so that the paneer doesn’t break.

6. Let it cook on a low heat for 3–4 minutes. Add the lime juice and coriander leaves and stir. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Credits: PA;

Vegetables: The Indian Way by Camellia Panjabi is published in hardback by Penguin Michael Joseph, priced £40. Photography by Jonathan Gregson. Available August 28.