Aubergine and tofu pate

• 2 medium / 1 large aubergine
• 1 large onion
• 300g roasted almonds / walnuts
• 100ml miso
• 150g tahini
• 250g pressed tofu
• 1 Tbsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• ground black pepper

1. Bake the aubergine until it's cooked. A better idea is to pressure cook it for 10 minutes. And then remove the skin and mash it or whizz it. Pulp is what you want.
2. Saute the onion
3. Mix everything
4. Line a loaf tin and fill it with the mixture
5. Make a lid from 2 layers of foil (or use a lid!)
6. Bake it in a water bath in the oven at 175 °C for 2 hours
7. Bake it without the water bath for 30 mins
8. Leave to cool and then refrigerate for 36-48 hours !

Keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Seitan with apricots

• 1/2 kg seitan
• 2 medium onions finely sliced
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 200g dried apricots soaked in 1 cup water for at least 4 hours (save water)
• 1 tsp sugar
• Grind together : 3/4 tsp garlic, 3/4 " ginger

1. Fry finely sliced onion until golden
2. Add garlic & ginger paste and cook 5 mins
3. Add seitan and chopped onion and cook until setian browned
4. Add cinnamon stick and 1/2 cup warm water, simmer covered 15 mins
5. Add 2 cups water and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup water
6. Put 1 tsp sugar in a small pan, brown it on medium heat until dark brown
7. Add soaked apricots and the water, bring to the boil, cover and cook on reduced eat until apricots are soft
8. De-seed apricots
9. Add apricots & syrup to the seitan and heat.

Seitan Vindaloo

• 300g seitan - I think, I didn't weight it :) used about half of the 2 cups I made to start with - basically enough for 4 portions
• 2 large onions chopped fine
• 2" cinnamon stick
• 2-4 fresh green chillies, slit
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 500g potatoes

Masala

• 4-8 dried red chillies
• 8 cloves garlic (1 tsp dried)
• 1" ginger
• 1 tsp cumin/jeera seeds
• 2 tbsp vinegar

1. fry onion until pale gold
2. add ground masala and cook for 5 mins
3. add seitan, vinegar, cinnamon, green chillies and salt - cook for 10 mins
4. and 1/2 cup water, bring to boil, simmer for 15 mins covered
5. add 1 cup water and potatoes
6. cook until potatoes ready

Scrambled Tofu

• 350g tofu
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp English mustard

Fry the tofu with the turmeric and mustard.

Kolokthia Yiachni

Stolen from : World of Salads - Rosalie Swedlin

• 900g courgettes
• 2 onions, chopped
• 450g tomatoes
• 1 tsp sugar
• 15g fresh dill - finely chopped
• 10g fresh mint - finely chopped

1. Skin the tomatoes then sieve and puree them
2. Fry the onions
3. Add the tomatoes and sugar and cook for 10 mins
4. Add 150ml water and bring to the boil
5. Top & tail the courgettes and cut into the size you want to serve them as
6. Add them to the pan along with the herbs
7. Cover and simmer until the courgettes are tender, 20-30 mins

The book says leave to cool but I served them still hot and they were lovely, the herbs really complement the legume.

Brilliant Baked Beans

Another one from How It All Vegan,

300g cooked beans - pinto, kidney haricot or soy
(I started with 250g dried haricot, soaked for 12 hours, boiled for 15 mins, simmered for 1.5 hours)
350ml vegetable stock
1 tsp molasses (I used 1tbsp brown sugar)
175g tomato puree
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mustard powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika.

Simply put everything in a baking dish, bake uncovered at 180C / Gas mark 4 for 40 mins. Makes 2-4 servings.

My twist: sieved toms not puree but be careful not too much fluid - make the stock after you've added the toms & soy sauce. Also added 1 tbsp madras curry powder.

These freeze great which is good as it's 13 hours from dried beans to eating, so make the whole 500g bag of dried beans and find some room in the freezer - defrost and fry, yummy.

Tomato Bhath

stolen from : Cereals and Pulses p. 25

serves 8 (though it says 4!)

500g rice
1kg tomatoes
115g onions (otherwise known as 2) - chopped
4 flakes garlic (2 cloves)
5g ginger
4 peppercorns
3 cloves
1 litre water

(you could use a 500ml carton of passata & 500ml water instead of fresh toms)

1) add half water to toms, boil up, remove skins - puree
2) add ground ginger & garlic
3) fry onions till browned
4) add peppercorns & cloves - fry till they crack
5) add dry rice and fry
6) add tom juice & remaining water & cook the rice

dats it amigo

Quick Potato Curry

Stolen from Tarala Dalal's "Potatoes" p. 60

10-12 baby potatoes, boiled
2 sticks cinnamon
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
4 tbps fresh cream (optional)

Grind to paste :
3/4 cup chopped toms (i.e. 1 large)
1/2 cup chopped onions (i.e. 1 medium)
1" piece ginger, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp chilli powder

Crush the cinnamon, cloves & cardamom then fry it.
Add the paste fry it golden.
Add the potatoes - and cream of you think it's required.


This one's peasy and tasty - a great combo.
Could try yoghurt instead of cream. I didn't use the cream *and* I microwaved the potatoes in 8 mins.

Nawabi Guchhi

Stolen from : Nita Mehta's "Vegetarian Curries" p. 90

100g mushrooms - cut into halves
1 cup shelled peas
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp fresh chopped coriander
3/4 tsp salt

Nawabi Paste
2 onions
1" piece ginger
1/4 cup kaju (cashewnuts)
1/2 tsp shani jeera (black cumin)
1/2 jeera seeds (cumin seeds)
1 green chilli
1 dry red chilli

Grind all the stuff for the paste together with a bit of water.
Fry it until rich golden colour, adding a bit of water as you go along to keep it from burning.
Add garam masala and chilli powder, give it a good stir.
Add 1/2 cup water & bring to boil.
Add mushrooms and peas and cook for 4-5 mins on low.
Add 1 cup water & 1 tbsp coriander leaves, keep simmering until veg is cooked.
Other coriander leaves are for the garnish.

Paalak Chaman

Stolen from : Nita Mehta's "Vegetarian Curries" p. 69

250g paalak (spinach) - chopped
pinch sugar
4 tbsp methi leaves
200g paneer / tofu - cut into 1/4" cubes
2 tbsp kaju - soaked in warm water for 20 mins and ground to paste with a little water
1/2 stick dalchini (cinnamon)
2 chhoti illaichi (green cardamoms)
3-4 laung (cloves)
2 onions
1/3 cup cream

1tbps desi ghee & 1/2 tsp chilli powder for tempring

Boil spinach in 1/2 cup water with pinch of sugar. Cover and cook on low flame for 4-5 mins until spinach turns soft. Cool and blend to a purée.
Fry paneer / tofu until golden brown.
Crush dalchini, laung and seeds of the cardamom to a rough powder, set aside.
Fry onions until they brown.
Add the rough powder, cook for a few seconds.
Add the methi & spinach and cook for 5-7 mins until dry.
Add cream - cook for 3-4 mins.
Add paneer / tofu.
Add kaju paste & simmer.

To serve : heat the ghee, remove from heat & add chilli powder and pour it over the palaak thus ruining what was looking like a nice meal.



Obviously I used tofu. It took ages to reduce the spinach not the 5-7 mins suggested here.
I didn't use the tempring - may as well eat butter on a spoon.

Vegetable stuffing

Stolen from Kaush N. Bhatia's "Vegetarian Indian Cookbook" p. 114

4 onions - grated
1 medium potato boiled & mashed
2 green chillies - minced
1/2" ginger - minced
2 tsps coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp mango powder
1 tbsp mint
1 tbps coriander
pinch asafoetida

Heat some oil & toss the asafoetida.
Add the onion and fry to light brown.
Stir in the mashed potato and everything but the leaves & fry for 2-3 mins.
Add the leaves and stir in.

This a general stuffing and it was pretty spicy and I only added 1/4 tsp of chilli powder !

I ate the last stuffed pepper 8 hours later and it was much nicer.


Things to stuff

The book suggests 300g okra, 300g tomatoes, 300g capsicum, 300g cucumber, 300g white gourds, 300g potatoes, 300g brinjals and bitter gourds (with an extra bit).

I'll fill this in as I do them :

Capsisum :
Take the tops off, empty out, fill with stuffing.
She says fry but I put them in a high oven for half an hour until the skins started to blacken. Best eaten a few hours later, I reckon.

Vatana Batete No Rotlo

Stolen from : Tarla Dalal - Potatoes

4 large potatoes, boiled
1 cup green peas
2 tbsp rice flower (chawal ka atta)
juice 1 lemon
2 tbsp green chilli-ginger paste
1/2 tsp sugar
salt

1. grind peas to coarse
2. Mash the potatoes, add the peas, rice flour, lemon juoce, green chilli-ginger paste, sugar and salt; mix well.
3. Grease a 6"x6" tray.
4. Press the mixture into the tray to make an even layer.
5. Bake 200c for 20-25 mins until crisp

I used a large yam instead of potatoes, made some green chilli-garlic paste with too much chilli and a lime instead of lemon/sugar. It's in the oven now. Yep, too chilli, quite lemony but pretty damn good.

Stuffed Zucchini

Stolen from : The Higher Taste - a guide to gourmet vegetarian cooking and a karma free diet.

Serves 6, gouranga !

6 medium zucchini - slice in half lengthways
1/4 cup rice
1/2 cup water
2tbsp butter
1/4 tsp hing
1 stalk celery
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup bread crumbs
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley

1. Scoop out insides of zucchini, put the bottom halves in some foil ready to fill & bake.
   
2. In a pan melt butter add hing & rice, Stir 1 minute and add water, salt, celery. Bring to a boil and then cover, lower heat, and simmer until rice is cooked (about 10 mins)
3. Steam chopped insides of zucchini for 5 mins. Add this with olive oil, bread crumbs, lemon juice and parsley to the cooked rice.
4. Fill the zucchinis with it, put the cheese on , put the tops on & wrap the foil over them.
5. Bake for 30 mins at 200c, unwrap & bake for 8 mins or until cheese goes brown.

I had 3 big zucchini, no butter & my rice was already cooked so I steamed the celery & zucchini insides, mashed 'em a bit, used wholemeal flour instead of breadcrumbs (!) and forgot the olive oil (though I hope I'll be glad of that) and used coriander instead of parsley and a lime instead of lemon. They're in the oven now. Now that was nice.

I had them with Vatana Batete No Rotlo great stuff

Easy Mushroom curreh

450g mushrooms
400g tomatoes
1 chopped onion
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp peppercorns
4 cardamoms
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1g chilli chopped
2 garlic
1" ginger

1. Fry cumin, peppercorns, cardamoms, turmeric for 2 mins in oil
2. Add the onion fry until golden
3. Add cumin, coriander, garam masala - fry 2 mins
   
4. Add chilli, garlic & ginger - fry 2 mins
5. Add toms - boil 5 mins
6. Add mushrooms - low heat & cover 10 mins

Eat