Stew you over

A stew is one of the most simple and wholesome meal I can think of and although it rekindles memory of a primitive kitchen scenario it brings back warm memories of winter months in the city where I was born. I am not sure how this recipe came into existence in our family book of cuisine (there is none on paper yet) but I can vaguely guess that one of my grandmother's sister had a fairly decent exposure to all things western as she got married into an aristocratic Bengali household soon after partition. I've discovered few well preserved cook books on European cuisine from our so called attic. Books on baking are now precious possessions of a distant cousin with whom I rediscover the stew.
I recollect as kids me and my brother would relish big bowl of stew, often eaten with chapati. It was alway vegetarian because chicken was a taboo to cook inside the kitchen besides this conman myth that if the meat was not seasoned well with spices and oil, it'll will stink and people will fall sick.
So the recipe of this very lowly vegetable stew goes like this :
Ingredients: Fresh winter vegetables like cabbage, local tomatoes, peas in pod, carrots ( first harvest in winters the peas can be eaten along with the pod) bottle gourd (replacement for the meat I presume), potato, cut in large chunks, ginger and garlic diced into fine pieces. A few pepper corns and green chillies for zest, a dollop of clarified butter (ghee) or plain butter for an uplifting aroma and taste.
Prepration: Heat oil /ghee add the chopped garlic and ginger add a pinch of whole jeera, a bay leaf, pepper corns, few cloves, cadimom, and cinnamon. Crank up the heat and let the spices crackle a bit add the vegetables split chilli and a dollop of butter/ghee. Add salt and crushed pepper to taste. Pressure cook in enough water and bring it to a boil till all vegetables are tender,garnish it with freshly chopped coriander as this boosts up the flavor handsomely.
Well meat lovers can very well knock out the gourd bit and add chunks of chicken with bones ( that will add to the taste) you can add onions as well to enhance the flavor.
It is very difficult to go wrong with this recipe. Seriously :)
So, what's for dinner mate?