Sunspots

That's an Indian style of frying vegetables, common in southwestern India. The spice is brown mustard seed, readily available and inexpensive at an Indian grocer or online. Black mustard seed is also used but is harder to find and more expensive. Both are mild and nutty, entirely unlike cooking with European yellow mustard.

Brown mustard seeds get popped in a bit of hot oil. They sizzle a minute and then make a tick as they hop about 6 inches. You'll want a lid on the frying pan!

As soon as they stop popping, take off the lid and add a few shakes of turmeric powder, which will smoke a little. It's a strong smell, so you might want the exhaust fan on. Or not.

Then add any mild vegetable. Cauliflower or potatoes are popular in India, but we often make this with shredded cabbage. With the veggies add a little lemon juice and some water and cover to steam. Salt just before serving.

This is my favorite thing to do with leftover cooked potatoes and they cook in about 4 minutes. But it's also great with cabbage, nutty and subtle, cooked till it still has a little crispiness. The yellow cabbage is great with rice, and we sometimes pair it with a spicy hot tomato-sauced curry. In Indian meals, it's often the cool foil to incendiary dishes. I've seldom seen it in restaurants, perhaps because the turmeric will stain everything it touches.

The popped brown mustard is fragile enough it doesn't crunch, but won't turn to powder with stirring either. It's kinda magic.