29 Best Vegetarian Recipes — The Bowl That Carries Amma Forward

Spring. Twenty-nine weeks pregnant. Rohan is the size of a butternut squash and has taken up residence on my sciatic nerve, which means I walk with a limp that Anaya finds hilarious and Raj finds concerning. "You're limping." "Your son is on my nerve." "Can you shift him?" "He's not a pillow, Raj." Anaya turns three in June. She's become a person with a full personality — thoughtful, quiet, observant. She watches everything: the way I cook, the way Amma holds her spoon, the way Appa folds his newspaper. She is collecting data, the way I collected data on Amma. She is her mother's daughter, watching the world from the kitchen. The book is at sixty-five thousand words. Eleven chapters drafted. Three to go. The deadline is fall — after Rohan is born, during the newborn haze, which is either terrible timing or perfect timing, depending on whether you believe that new babies and new books share the same creative energy. I believe they do. Both require late nights, total commitment, and the willingness to produce something imperfect and love it anyway. Amma's cognitive follow-up is next month. The number I've been dreading. After a year of pandemic disruption, after the vaccine, after the slow return to weekly visits, the line will be measured again. Where is she? Where has she gone in the twelve months since I last had a data point? I don't want to know. I need to know. Both. I made Amma's ellu sadam — sesame rice, the simple temple food. Toasted sesame seeds ground with dried red chilies and urad dal, mixed into rice with sesame oil. It's the food of auspicious days, of temple visits, of the specific Tamil belief that sesame seeds bring good fortune. I need good fortune. I need the line to hold. The sesame rice was nutty and warm. Anaya ate it and said, "Paati food!" because she's learned to identify Amma's recipes by taste. At three (almost three), she can distinguish her grandmother's cooking from mine. The student's student. The chain continues.

With Rohan pressing on my sciatic nerve and Amma’s cognitive follow-up looming on the calendar, I needed something that asked nothing of me — no technique, no performance, no improvisation. Ellu sadam is that recipe: you toast, you grind, you stir, and the kitchen fills with something warm and ancient. When Anaya looked up from her bowl and said “Paati food,” that was the whole point — not just feeding us, but passing the thread forward to a child who is already learning how to hold it.

Ellu Sadam (Sesame Rice)

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked white rice (short- or medium-grain, slightly cooled)
• 3 tablespoons white sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
• 2 dried red chilies
• 1 tablespoon urad dal (split black lentils)
• 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil (gingelly oil), divided
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 8–10 fresh curry leaves

Instructions

1. Toast the sesame blend. In a dry skillet over medium-low heat, combine the white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, dried red chilies, and urad dal. Toast, stirring constantly, for 3–4 minutes until the sesame seeds are golden and fragrant and the urad dal is lightly browned. Watch closely — sesame seeds can burn quickly.
2. Grind the spice powder. Transfer the toasted mixture to a spice grinder or small blender. Add asafoetida and salt. Pulse to a coarse, crumbly powder — not a paste. Set aside.
3. Temper the oil. In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and let them sputter for about 30 seconds. Add curry leaves and stand back — they will crackle. Remove from heat.
4. Combine. Add the cooked rice to the skillet. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame oil over the rice. Add 2–3 tablespoons of the sesame powder and toss gently to coat, taking care not to break the grains. Taste and add more sesame powder or salt as needed. Any leftover powder keeps in an airtight jar for up to two weeks.
5. Serve. Serve warm or at room temperature. Ellu sadam is traditionally eaten on auspicious days — a small portion of plain yogurt or a thin papad alongside is customary and welcome.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 280 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 40g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 295mg