Vegan MoFo: Indian Dinner!

Again, from Blossoming Lotus Vegan World Fusion Cuisine, by Mark Reinfeld and Bo Rinaldi, come not one, not two, but THREE yummy Indian recipes, made over the course of two days. 

Mahatma’s Mung Dahl

20 minutes prep/ 35 minutes cooking/ 4-5 servings

6 C          Filtered water or vegetable stock

1 C          Mung beans, sorted & rinsed well (I used regular lentils)

1             Medium Onion diced

1             Medium carrot, cubed

1/2 C       Celery, thinly sliced

1 Tbl       Garlic, minced

1 Tbl       Ginger, peeled & minced

1 Tbl       Jalapeño, seeded & minced

1 Tbl      Cumin seed, toasted

1 tsp      Cumin powder, toasted

1/2 tsp   Curry powder

1/4 tsp   Black pepper, ground to taste

Pinch     Cayenne pepper

2 Tbl      Cilantro, minced

1/3 C     Shoyu, to taste

Loving preparation

1.   Rinse beans and place in medium sized pot with 6 C of water or stock on medium high heat (Note: Mexico City tends to ask for more liquid, but I think I overdid it when I used 71/2 C). Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, ginger and jalapeño, cook on medium high heat until beans are soft, approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To toast cumin seeds and powder, place on pan, turn heat to high and cook until seeds turn golden brown, stirring constantly. (I did not toast the cumin powder because... I forgot!)

2.   Add shoyu and remaining ingredients, except cilantro, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.   Add cilantro, remove from heat and enjoy.

My notes:

I found it a bit too cumin-y, so I’ll have to remember to use less next time. And the regular brownish lentils found most commonly in Mexico City give it a pretty ugly color. Must either find these mung beans somewhere, or use pink lentils. Also, the altitude in Mexico City tends to soak up liquids, but I overcompensated when I added 7 1/2 cups of stock. So I used some of the lentils’ liquid to cook some potatoes, yum! (I love carbs, can you tell?)

Padma Baba's Spelt Chapatti

35 minutes prep/ 20 minutes cooking/ 4 servings

1 1/2 C    Spelt flour

1/2 C       Buckwheat flour

1 tsp        Sea salt, or to taste

2/3 C       Warm filtered water

2 tsp        Olive oil

Loving preparation

1. Place flours and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Slowly add water, stirring constantly, until dough is thick. Add oil and knead dough on a clean, dry surface for a few minutes, adding small amounts of flour as needed. Return to bowl, cover with a clean cloth and allow to sit in a warm, dry place for 30 minutes.

1.   Lightly oil a skillet or griddle on high heat. Divide the dough into 4 equal balls. Flatten to form 6” circles. Place them on a skillet and cook until each side is golden brown and spotted, flipping occasionally to ensure uniform cooking, approximately 5-8 minutes per chapatti. Add additional oil if necessary to prevent sticking.

Variations & note

· Buckwheat flour may be replaced with spelt or other flours to create a variety of flavors.

· Consistency will vary depending upon flour variety used.

PacMan un-chapatti

My notes

Well, this was fun and interesting, if a bit of a failure. Ambiciously enough, I used only whole wheat flour and that resulted in very heavy and dark un-chappati things with weird shapes.

(Only one of them was light enough to allow the hot air to puff it up.) 

Rising nicely!

It was all so disappointing that I decided to go for a second batch, using 1 1/2 C regular wheat flour and 1/2 C whole wheat. Muuuuuuuuuuch better. All of them puffed up, and the color was closer to the real thing. The texture was less, well, wholewheatish and the flavor really shows off the quality of your ingredients. (Ten points for the Spanish olive oil; no points for the old flour from the freezer). 


And they warm up nicely even a couple days after they were made. I just put them in the electric oven or heated them directly over the flame of my gas stove. 

      Hindi's Bindi Masala

15 minutes prep/ 20 minutes cooking/ 2 servings

1 Tbl          Sesame oil

1/2 tsp         Cumin seeds

3/4 C          Onion, chopped

1 Tbl           Garlic, minced

1 Tbl           Ginger, peeled & minced

2-3              Medium tomatoes, chopped (2 cups)

1/2 C           Filtered water or vegetable stock

3 C              Okra with stem and tip removed

1 Tbl           Shoyu

1 Tbl           Cilantro, minced

1/2 tsp          Sea salt

1/2 tsp          Turmeric

1/4 tsp         Coriander powder

1/4 tsp         Crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp         Garam masala

Pinch          Cayenne pepper (optional)

Loving preparation

1. Place oil in a large sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add onion, garlic and ginger, cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes and filtered water and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add okra and cook until okra is soft with some firmness, approximately 8 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and stir well.

Variations

Replace okra with zucchini or yam.

My notes

This was very spicy-hot.

I used zucchini and it was yummy.

All in all, I loved trying this out and getting all messy!