C’mon, cook happy with ‘Aarti Paarti’

So many cookbooks these days approach food with an air of solemnity. Dishes are arranged like art projects. Techniques are explored in scientific detail. Ethical ramifications are expounded upon. This is all good. But you know what? Sometimes food just wants to be fun. And you won’t find a happier example of this than Aarti Sequeira’s new cookbook “Aarti Paarti.”

It’s not that Sequeira, a past winner of “Next Food Network Star” and host of shows on TVFN and the Cooking Channel, doesn’t take cooking seriously. But there is so much joy in her food that you can’t help but smile when reading her recipes.

Sequeira’s cooking is Southern Indian-inflected by way of Southern California -- heavy on the vegetables, casually prepared, and a little on the raucous side when it comes to spicing. The exuberance of the flavors brings to mind Ottolenghi, if that is not too freighted a comparison these days, though with a decidedly Bollywood slant.

Ingredients are just exotic enough to be interesting, but still easily found. The instructions are vividly phrased: vegetables “tumble,” herbs fall in a “flurry,” spices “will start to pop and fly right out of the wok.” But there is an exactness as well that should be both instructive and reassuring to cooks just starting out – oil is hot when mustard seeds sizzle immediately.

Her version of the standard aloo gobi combines spiced cauliflower and potatoes with a whole serrano pepper for a little more punch. She does the currently trendy massaged kale salad, but tosses it with diced mango and toasted pepitas. As a huge fan of baked sweet potatoes, I can’t wait to try her version, stuffed with tahini, chickpeas, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds.

The “Juldi Juldi” vegetables (slang for “hurry hurry”) looks like a recipe that will fall into regular weeknight rotation for a lot of families. Done in just 20 minutes, it’s basically just steamed vegetables stir-fried with mustard and cumin seeds, fresh ginger and chopped serrano and then freshened with a last-minute shot of lime juice and cilantro. Serve it with some yogurt and you’ve got a great quick dinner.

“Juldi Juldi” Everyday Veggies

This recipe was not tested in The Times Test Kitchen.

Serves 3 to 4; active and total cooking time 15 to 20 minutes.

2 cups vegetables (such as butternut squash, broccoli, fresh peas, beets, etc.), peeled, if necessary, and cut into bite-size pieces

Kosher salt

2 teaspoons sunflower oil

1/4 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

1/4 to 1/2 medium serrano chile, seeded and chopped into thin half-moons

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of granulated sugar

1/2 lime

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves and soft stems

Fill a large wok or skillet with water to a depth of 2 inches. Place a steamer basket in the wok, cover and bring to a boil. Place the veggies in the steamer basket, sprinkle with a little salt and cover. Cook until the vegetables are tender, 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the vegetable.

Remove the veggies from the steamer basket and set them aside on a plate. Drain the water from the wok and wipe it out.

Now for the stir-fry part! This will go fast, so I suggest keeping all the ingredients measured out and ready to go right by the stove.

Add the oil to the wok and heat over medium-high heat until it is shimmering. Test the temperature by dropping a couple of mustard seeds into the oil; if they sizzle immediately, the oil is hot enough. Add the mustard seeds and cover the wok immediately, because they will start to pop and fly right out of the wok. When the popping subsides and the seeds have turned gray in color, add the cumin seeds. Stir with a spatula and cook until you can smell them, just a few seconds. Add the ginger and the serrano, stir, and cook for 20 seconds or so, until fragrant.

Add the steamed veggies along with another pinch of salt, some pepper and the sugar. Cook, stirring often, for a few minutes until the veggies pick up a little color. Off heat, finish with a squeeze of lime juice and a flurry of cilantro. Serve hot!

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