My dad can make an Indian “sabji” out of just about any vegetable.
A “sabji” is basically an Indian vegetable stir fry with aromatic spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne pepper, mustard seeds, etc.
Traditionally, vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, peas, spinach, squashes, cabbage, etc. are used in Indian cooking.
Since those spices make the traditional Indian “sabji” vegetables taste amazing, why not asparagus?
I mean seriously, why not.
Asparagus is a gorgeous vegetable, especially when it’s in season, which it is right now.
And the flavors of cumin, lemon, ginger in this dish just elevate it to a whole new level.
I know when I told my husband that my dad made Asparagus “sabji” he made a face. I think he was weirded out by it. But if you call it an “Indian Style Asparagus with Cumin and Lemon” – it doesn’t sound that strange at all 
Which is basically what this is. You can serve it as a side dish, as an appetizer, or you can even use it as a “sabji” if you prefer. You can even save the leftovers and eat it the next day as a snack (which is what I did).
It’s super simple to make, and it’ll be ready in less than 20 minutes. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
The Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh asparagus
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, grated or minced
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice + a pinch of sugar (or 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice)
- Freshly ground black pepper
The Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh asparagus
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, grated or minced
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice + a pinch of sugar (or 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice)
- Freshly ground black pepper
Hello! I'm Anjali. I'm a 20 something living in the SF Bay Area, with a passion for delicious food and a desire to make healthy eating easy, tasty, and fun! Try some of 
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Love the flavors and the pictures.
Thanks Peter! Let me know if you end up trying this recipe!
Love this recipe…..I have only just started to eat asparagus and the only two recipes I follow are boiling it or grilling it…Will try the sabji version.
Mina
Thanks Mina! Can’t wait to hear what you think about this sabji! Another way you can use asparagus is in stir frys – it tastes delicious in them!
wow, yum! that looks so incredible! i love asparagus — so fresh and delicious! thanks for sharing!
Thanks Caralyn! I love asparagus too – one of my favorite veggies!
These spices are great with any vegetable so I’m sure asparagus will be no exception. Plus these spices are great for being anti-inflammatory which is why I love Indian cuisine!
That is a great point Val! These spices are definitely anti-inflammatory – an added bonus for the dish!
Hi!
I will try it! But why asparagus dish has 200cal? I thought that they are no calories! I had one dish with asparagus and an egg and a slide of light cheese. How many calories did I take?
Thaaaanks…
Hi Anna Maria! One POUND of asparagus is a lot of asparagus – and it has 90 calories. 1 Tbsp oil has 100 calories. So all in all, that makes this entire recipe have 200 calories (but that’s at least 2-4 servings of the asparagus dish). I can’t say for sure how many calories were in the dish you ate without knowing all the ingredients. One egg has about 90 calories, depending on how much cheese you ate, that could be anywhere from 70-200 calories (or more, if you ate a lot of cheese), and depending on how the asparagus was cooked it could be anywhere from 50 calories and up (each Tbsp of oil used is 100 calories, so depending on the amount of oil used to cook or grill the asparagus, that will increase the calorie count). Hope that helps!
Gosh, I feel quite silly — I wasn’t aware of cumin seeds! Do you think there would be a noticeable taste difference between ground cumin and cooking with the whole seeds?
Oh! Haha no worries
In general, ground cumin and cooking with the whole seeds should have similar flavors. But you may have to use a different amount of the ground cumin to achieve the same flavor, and you wouldn’t want to fry it in the oil the way you would with the whole cumin seeds. I just like the texture and the flavor that comes out of frying the seeds in oil before you add in the vegetables, so if you have access to whole cumin, I’d definitely try using that first!
Thanks for these dishes as I didn’t know much about asparagus so this will be really helpful to me. I think the recipes all are awesome, thanks once again.
Glad to hear it!
Anjali, this is stunning! Can’t wait to make it and share the recipe with my mom!
Aw, thank you so much Mala!! I’m sure you and your mom will love it!
This is probably one of the most creative asparagus recipes I’ve seen! Love it!!
Yaaay! Thanks so much Kati!
I love asparagus! I love your blog! Just found you via foodbuzz great work!
Aw thank you so much Ashlee!! It’s so nice to meet you!
Way cool! I appreciate you posting this – love your site!
Thanks!
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