Indian Archives - Feast of Plants

Restaurant Style Tofu Tikka Masala (Vegan & GF)

Feast of Plants — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 11:30:56 +0000

See the recipe I love Tikka Masala. There’s something about the creamy, rich sauce that is just so incredibly satisfying. I’m pretty sure I’m tried almost every recipe for Tofu Tikka Masala on the internet but none of them hit the same spot as the classic takeout version of Chicken Tikka Masala. A treasured favourite of our pre-vegan days, I deeply wanted to find a homemade version that was just as good. Lets get something straight, I’m not claiming this is an authentic Indian recipe. Instead, this is based on a British-Indian restaurant classic and is a damn delicious fakeaway copycat dish that has converted some tofu-haters in our family. What’s more, this isn’t a difficult curry to make once you know the trick to it. Just like my Restaurant Style Brinjal Bhaji recipe, a key part of this is my curry base. I tend to make large batches of this base sauce and always have some in my freezer so I can easily whip a great dish with very little prep. Once you get cooking, don’t rush it. You want a good char on your tofu when grilling it. Let your tomato puree roast in the pan before adding the sauce, and don’t be afraid to let the sauce caramelise before you add the tofu. This will give you the great depth of flavour that is the secret to a perfect restaurant style curry. This is a great dish for entertaining as it can be made in advance and then simply heated through when you are ready to eat. I like to serve it with plain basmati rice but you could also serve it with naan, chapati or paratha (flatbread). Leftovers? You have leftover tikka masala? You lucky, lucky duck. Almost all curries are better the next day and really benefit from time to let the flavours meld. Store your tikka masala in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Alternatively, it will happily sit in your freezer till your next takeaway craving hits. Charred Tofu in a creamy, rich, curry sauce. Make this your next go to when you're craving a take away!

The post Restaurant Style Tofu Tikka Masala (Vegan & GF) appeared first on Feast of Plants.

Restaurant Style Brinjal Bhaji

Feast of Plants — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 11:30:00 +0000

An Indian restaurant specialty with aubergine cooked in a wonderfully spiced sauce. Served with my own okra side and saffron rice the house ended up smelling like an Indian restaurant and it was amazing!

The post Restaurant Style Brinjal Bhaji appeared first on Feast of Plants.

Mung Bean Coconut Curry (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Feast of Plants — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 12:00:22 +0000

Skip straight to the recipe This dish definitely fits the definition of #uglydelicious. I know it looks … dubious but trust me here, it’s so tasty that I probably ate twice as much as I should have. Another recipe borne from COVID lockdown when I was attempting to use every little bit of pantry staples before going shopping again, this turned out so tasty we’ve had it several times since. Like most pulses, mung beans are little powerhouses of nutrition, stuffed full of protein, vitamins, and minerals making them the ideal cornerstone for a plant based pantry. What’s more, they’re cheap and a bag of dried beans is the perfect pantry staple as they last for ages. But if you don’t have any to hand, this recipe will probably work equally well with urid dhal (simmer for aprox 45mins), red lentils (split red lentils only take 10 minutes to cook), or cooked chickpeas (skip the stock entirely and just simmer until you reach your preferred thickness). Leftovers? Got some left? I don’t think anyone would complain about having it for dinner again the next day, but it should store well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or equally happily inn the freezer for up to a month. Makes: Serves 4 Ingredients Oil for cooking 1 cup Dried Mung Beans 1 tsp Mustard Seeds 5 Dried Curry Leaves 1/4 tsp Asafoetida 1/2 tsp Cumin 1/2 tsp Ground Coriander 1/2 tsp Chilli Powder Pinch of Turmeric 1/2 Large Onion, diced 1/2 Tbsp minced Ginger 2 Garlic Cloves, minced 1 Green Chilli, finely diced 1 Tomato, diced 200ml Coconut Milk 250ml Vegetable stock 1 tbsp Korma Spice Paste 1 tsp Garam Masala 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves Salt to taste Directions Place a medium pan on high heat with a few tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot and starts to shimmer, throw in the mustard seeds to toast. Listen for when the seeds start to pop, before lowering the heat and add in the curry leaves. Sauté for a few seconds, or until fragrant, before adding the rest of the spices apart from the garam masala. Briefly sizzle in the oil. Add the chopped onions with the spice paste and sauté until the onions are softened and translucent. Stir in the garlic, ginger and chillies and cook until fragrant. Stir through the tomato and add the coconut milk, stock, and mung beans and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the mung beans are tender and you’re happy with the consistency. If you’re looking for more sauce then you may want to add a touch more coconut milk but we like this fairly thick. Stir through the garam masala and coriander leaves before tasting. Season as needed, remember you’ve not added any salt yet, before serving with rice or some Indian flat breads. Notes Allergy Notes: This is naturally vegan, gluten free, soy free and nut free. If you have any allergies to the ingredients in this dish or have questions on substitutions, leave me a comment below.

The post Mung Bean Coconut Curry (Vegan & Gluten Free) appeared first on Feast of Plants.

Indian Beetroot Pancakes or Beetroot Dal Chilla (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Feast of Plants — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 15:00:33 +0000

I’ve made pancakes inspired by dal chilla before (see here) but with these I’ve gone along the more traditional route. Healthy, nutritious, and packed with protein, these make the ideal companion to your next curry night. We paired them with last week’s Gobi Manchurian which made for a very colourful dinner. I’ve flavoured the pancakes with beetroot and chives and it’s a great way to squeeze in yet another vegetable into your dinner. Provided you have a blender, these are really quite easy to make. Stuff them with your favourite vegan cheese to make a quick snack, fold them up and they make a great addition to any lunchbox, or just use to scoop up your favourite curry. Makes: Serves 4-6 Ingredients 230g Yellow Split Lentils 4 Beetroot, cooked* 1/2 Red Onion, finely diced 20g Chives, chopped 1/4 tsp Tumeric 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin 1/4 tsp Asafoetida** 1 tsp Ginger paste 1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds 1 tsp Salt Directions Rinse the lentils well and soak for at least 4 hours. They should be soft and tender before starting. Keep in mind that they could almost double in size so make sure your bowl can accommodate that. Drain well and place into a blender jug along with the beetroot. Add a 1/4 cup of water and grind to a fine paste. Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, as needed. Try not to add too much water if your blender can handle it but make sure the paste is smooth and fine. When your blenders work is done, tip into a bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients. Leave to rest for at least 15 minutes to allow the onions to release their liquid. Once rested, check the thickness of your batter, gradually adding more water as needed. It should be pourable but not too thin, much like a good American pancake mix. Heat a good non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat. When hot, pour a good spoonful of batter into the middle of the pan. Smooth the batter into a round, flat shape with the back of a spoon. Drizzle a little oil round the edges of the pan and leave to cook until the edges are browned and the batter is set. Flip and cook on the other side for a few minutes, or until fully cooked. Once crisp and brown remove from the pan and repeat until the batter is completely used. Serve as a snack with chutney or as a side to your next curry – enjoy! Notes * If you have raw beetroot then they can be easily roasted. Trim off the leaves, drizzle with oil, and roast at 200 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the beetroots are soft but not shrunken. ** If you are gluten free then be careful when purchasing Asafoetida as it’s often mixed with wheat flour. It’s entirely possible to get gluten safe asafoetida, just be a little careful. Allergy Notes; This recipe is naturally vegan, gluten free, soy free, and nut free. If you have any issues with any of the ingredients then let me know and I’m happy to suggest substitutes.

The post Indian Beetroot Pancakes or Beetroot Dal Chilla (Vegan & Gluten Free) appeared first on Feast of Plants.

Gobi Manchurian (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Feast of Plants — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 15:00:34 +0000

I saw Asama Khan’s recipe for Gobi Manchurian and I just knew I had to make my own version (find her recipe here). The first issue with this recipe for us is that batter on the cauliflower. It’s not gluten free but a crisp batter is incredibly important to make an authentic dish. I’ve pull together a tasty, gluten free batter that keeps your cauliflower crisp once dunked in the sauce. Unfortunately this can’t be baked, I did try but I’ve yet to find a baked version that I’m happy with. Kenny has pointed out that we eat perhaps a little more fried food than we should so I promise I’ll work on bringing you healthier food in the future! Now, my recipe isn’t a truly authentic Gobi Manchurian – this is more a tribute. My version is little heavier on the garlic and ginger, while being a little lighter on the chilli than some recipes. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think! Makes: Serves 3-4 Ingredients For the Cauliflower: 1 Cauliflower (aprox 500g), cut into bitesize florets 95g Rice Flour 30g Cornflour 15g Potato Flour 25g Chickpea Flour 1/2 Tbsp Baking Powder 1/2 tsp Cayenne 1/4 tsp White Pepper 1/4 tsp Salt 1 1/2 tsp Garlic Ginger Paste 250ml Ice Water Oil for cooking For the Sauce: 1 1/2 Tbsp Oil 6 Garlic Cloves, minced 2 inches Ginger, minced 1 Green Chilli, finely diced 1/2 Large Onion, finely diced 1/2 Green Pepper, diced 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce Substitute 3 Tbsp Sriracha 2 Tbsp Ketchup 1/2 tsp Cayenne 1/2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar 2 tsp Sugar 1/2 tsp White Pepper 125ml Stock or water Directions Putting the cauliflower to one side, whisk together the rest of the ingredients into a smooth, thin batter. Toss the cauliflower florets so they have a complete coating. Place a wok on a high heat and add 2 inches of oil. Bring up to 170 degrees and fry off the cauliflower in batches until only just starting to turn golden. Drain and place to one side to cool for at least 10 minutes. IF you’re meal prepping this can all be done ahead of time and brought out when you’re ready for it. While the cauliflower cools, make the sauce. Heat the oil in a wide pan. When hot, add the garlic, ginger, green chilli, and onion. Sauté, stirring frequently, until the onion softens. Add the green pepper and continue to cook until the pepper has softened and the onion has just started to brown. Now add in the soy sauce, cayenne, sriracha, vinegar, ketchup, pepper, and sugar. Mix well, add the water and cook on a medium to low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens. While the sauce finishes cooking, its time to do the second fry of the cauliflower, this will seal in the flavours and ensure it stays crispy once tossed in the sauce. Bring your oil up to 175 C and fry off the cauliflower in small batches until deep golden brown. Keep a close eye on the florets as they can burn quickly. Once the sauce has thickened, taste and balance as needed. Much like a classic sweet and sour, this should be sweet while still tangy, but also this should have a good amount of heat. Toss the cauliflower in the sauce and serve immediately. I topped mine with a little spring onion and sesame seeds as a garnish. It pairs well with rice or any Indian flatbread to balance out the heat. Notes As a quick preparation tip, I blitzed my ginger, garlic, onions and chilli together in a mini processor. Took less than minute for everything to be finely diced! Allergy Notes; I’m going to keep saying this – Soy Sauce is NOT gluten free as the brewing process contains wheat. A good gluten free option is Tamari which normally contains little to no gluten, is slightly less salty, and thicker than soy sauce. As always, check your brand to make sure you’ve not accidentally picked up one of the few brands which uses gluten. We use coconut aminos in our house, while not quite as rich as soy sauce, it’s both gluten free and soy free but different brands vary tremendously – you may have to look around before finding one that suits you. This recipe is naturally vegan, gluten free, nut free, and soy free (provided you use a soy sauce substitute like we do). Let me know if you need any help with substitutes!

The post Gobi Manchurian (Vegan & Gluten Free) appeared first on Feast of Plants.

Courgette Rotis (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Feast of Plants — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 14:47:42 +0000

I regularly make my own gluten free flour blends so getting bags of random flour types being delivered to the house is pretty normal here. On my last batch of sorghum flour I noticed a serving suggestion I’d never thought of before- parathas! Now I love a good flatbread alongside a curry so this was a perfect idea for us. After trying to make a good paratha however, I had to change my techniques and look towards making chapatis instead. There are numerous different types of Indian flatbreads and I love them all but, paratha is special. A decadent dish all by itself, you’re looking for a texture similar to puff pastry with flaky layers and often interesting stuffing. Creating those layers is incredibly difficult without gluten so instead we’ve gone for the much easier chapati style. A flat, unleavened bread cooked on a hot pan, these are easy to throw together and much more forgiven if using a gluten free flour like sorghum. I’ve snuck in some courgettes, an easy blend of spices and some great aromatics like coriander, garlic, and ginger to make these the perfect flatbread to snack on alone or to mop up your favourite curry. We ate these with my Brinjal Bhaji and it paired beautifully! Makes: 6 Flatbreads Ingredients 125g Courgette, grated 240g Sorghum Flour 1 tbsp Oil 1 Small Green Chilli 1/4 Cup Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped 3 Garlic Cloves 5g Ginger 1 tsp Crushed Chillies 1 tsp Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp Salt Warm Water as needed Oil for cooking Directions Courgettes are a very watery veg, so once you’ve grated them you need to remove as much water as possible. I like to wrap up the shreds in a clean tea towel and then squeeze, and keep squeezing, until all the liquid has been removed. If you don’t want too much spice you can remove the seeds from the chilli. Place into a small blender with the coriander, garlic, and ginger. Whizz until everything has been chopped finely. Now the steps are very simple. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, adding the water a little at a time, until you have a soft, but not sticky, dough. You may need slightly more, or slightly less water than I did depending on how wet the courgettes are. Kneed lightly until smooth and cut the dough into 6 even balls. Place a little flour on your work surface before rolling out each ball into circles no thinner than 5mm, adding more flour to the surface as needed. Place a large frying pan on a medium to high heat with a touch of oil. Once the pan is hot (and do wait for the pan to heat up – a cold pan makes for slightly tough breads) add one of the freshly rolled chapatis. Cook until the side facing the pan is golden brown and flip. Once the bottom has cooked, flip again. The flatbread is cooked and ready to serve when golden brown on both sides with the occasional dark spot. Repeat with the rest of your rolled flatbreads. Enjoy piping hot, with your favourite curry, dipped into some hummus, or even on their own as a mid-afternoon snack. Notes Don’t leave the dough to stand once made, it really should be cooked as soon as it’s ready. If you leave some standing then the courgettes will weep even more liquid and the dough will turn into a bit of a mess. Allergy Notes; This recipe is gluten free, vegan, nut free, and soy free. If you have any issues with these ingredients then feel free to let me know and I can suggest substitutions.

The post Courgette Rotis (Vegan & Gluten Free) appeared first on Feast of Plants.

Spiced Potato Croquettes (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Feast of Plants — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 15:00:12 +0000

We’re heading into the festive season and for many people, that also means it’s the high point in the year for leftovers as well. If you’re anything like me, then you’d rather have too much food than too little. The festive season has always meant an overloaded dinner table surrounded by family, followed by a fridge heaving with leftovers. There’s nothing wrong with a leftovers, I’m a big fan of them. I always have a freezer full of them but who wants to eat the same thing day after day? Croquettes are one of my answers to this problem and they’re surprisingly easy to make. The perfect solution to any leftover mashed potatoes and oh so versatile. You can fill them with so many flavours and they freeze easily. If you don’t want to use yours straight away then pop on to a baking tray when coated in breadcrumbs, making sure they’re not touching. Place into the freezer and once frozen solid they can be placed into your favourite container and are ready to cook whenever you need them. Just increase the cooking time for any frozen croquettes for another 10-15 minutes. I love the Indian flavours in this dish. If your mash potato is from a more traditional western meal, then the spices can make a great contrast for your next dinner. Serve with your favourite curry, a great dhal, or as a side to spice up some great vegan sausages! Makes: Serves 4 Ingredients 1 Tbsp Coconut oil 1/2 tsp Coriander Seeds 1 tsp Ginger, grated 1/2 Green Chilli, finely diced 1/4 tsp Asafoetida* 1 tsp Ground Cumin 2 Cups, Mashed Potatoes 1 Tomato, grated 1/2 tsp Amchoor Powder 1/2 tsp Turmeric 1/2 tsp Chilli Powder 1/4 tsp Black Salt 1 tsp Garam Masala 100g Fresh Spinach 1 Tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped 1 tsp Dried Fenugreek leaves 1 tsp Lemon Juice Plant Based Milk, for coating 160g Gluten Free Breadcrumbs** 1 Tbsp Oil Salt & Pepper to taste Directions Place a wide bottom pan over a low heat. toast the coriander seeds for a few seconds, or until the seeds start to smell fragrant and just start to darken. Add in the coconut oil and turn the heat up to medium. Once the coconut oil has melted, add the ginger, green chilli and cook until the ginger starts to soften and brown. Add in the rest of the ground spices, including the black salt and stir well before adding the mashed potato and tomato. Saute, stirring occasionally, until any excess water from the tomatoes has evaporated and the potatoes start to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add in the spinach leaves and allow them to wilt in the heat of the pan before stirring through the potato mix. Finish with the coriander leave, fenugreek and lemon juice. Taste and season as needed before allowing to cool. When cooled, shape into your favourite croquette shape. Little logs always work well, round little dumplings are very easy, but whatever shape you use try not to use more than 2 tablespoons of mix at a time. Place the breadcrumbs in a small bowl, season really well and mix through the oil until fully combined. I like to do double coatings of my croquettes to ensure everything is well coated. Roll the shaped dumplings in the plant based milk before rolling in the breadcrumbs. Again, roll the croquette in the milk then breadcrumbs before placing on a lined baking tray. Repeat with all your prepared croquettes, making sure there’s a little space between them on the tray. If you’re making these ahead of time or in a batch cooking mood, this is the moment to place the tray of croquettes into the freezer, if not then carry on. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees (180 Fan/400 F). Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Serve immediately, it pairs beautifully with some spicy tomato relish, a tasty mango chutney, or that Indian classic – coriander chutney. Notes * be very careful when picking your asafoetida. It’s often mixed with wheat so can be tricky to find a version that’s gluten free. If you can’t find a gluten safe version then 2 minced garlic cloves work well as a decent substitute. Add the garlic with the ginger and chilli but try to make sure it takes on very minimal colour. **Don’t have any breadcrumbs to hand? Just whizz an equal weight of old bread in a processor. Now you have breadcrumbs! Allergy Notes; This recipe is naturally vegan, gluten free, nut free, and soy free. If you have an issue with any of the ingredients on this list then let me know and I can suggest substitutes.

The post Spiced Potato Croquettes (Vegan & Gluten Free) appeared first on Feast of Plants.

South Indian Garlic Chilli Vegan Curry

Feast of Plants — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 12:00:49 +0000

In the last few months, Kenny has taken some time to meditate on his views and from an omnivore to a vegetarian. He was never a big meat eater so it wasn’t a huge change. But this leaves him with a slight problem, what does he eat if we go out for dinner or gets takeout? With his wheat allergy his choices are already limited but add in his new vegetarian dietary choice and getting takeout has become a little tricky. This isn’t a new problem in some respects, he hasn’t been able to get his favourite curry since he moved to London. The Glasgow food scene has a lot of it’s own dishes and he misses them alot. I’ve talked about this before (find that recipe here) but today’s recipe was a little more challenging. The Glasgow interpretation of South Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken is very different to what you might find in the rest of the UK. With a thick, tomato based sauce, tandoori cooked chicken, and plenty of green chillies. It’s not a curry that’s hot just for the sake of it, instead it builds on the flavours of the garlic and green chillies to make a dish that’s layers of flavour. I’ve used a combination of tofu and jackfruit to replace the chicken. Cooked in a style reminiscent of tandoori chicken, this adds an extra layer of flavour with the the right texture. Did you make the Brinjal Bhaji recipe I posted a few weeks ago? (If not you can find the recipe here) Because I hope you followed my suggestion of making a bulk batch of the base sauce as it’s the key to making many takeout style curries – including this one! Make sure you have a few batches in the freezer and it’s your key to so many tasty curries in the future. Enjoy and let me know how it goes for you! Makes: Serves 4-6 Ingredients For the Marinade: 400g Firm Tofu 400g tin Young Green Jackfruit, drained & rinsed 250g Dairy Free Yogurt 1 Tbsp Garlic Ginger Puree 3 Garlic Cloves, minced 1 Tbsp Ground Cumin 1 Tbsp Ground Coriander 1/2 Tbsp Ground White Powder 1 tsp Lemon Juice 1 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp Salt 1 Tbsp Paprika 2 Green Chillies, finely chopped 1/2 tsp Brown Sugar For the Curry: 60 ml Oil 15 Garlic cloves, peeled & sliced 1 large Onion, chopped 2 Tbsp Garlic Ginger Paste 2 Green Chillies, halved & sliced* 1 tsp Chilli Powder 2 Tbsp Curry Powder 2 tbsp Tandoori Masala 80ml Tomato Puree 500ml Base Sauce, heated 125ml Vegetable Stock 1 tsp Fenugreek Leaves Salt & Pepper, to taste Fresh Coriander, to garnish Directions If you have time, it’s best to press the tofu so its less fragile and more able to absorb the marinade. Wrap the block of tofu in a clean tea towel and put it on a large plate with a lip. Put something heavy on top, and leave for 30 mins. Dice the tofu and jackfruit into large, bitesized chinks. Mix together the rest of the marinade ingredients in a nonreactive bowl (it’s a tad acidic so avoid metal if possible) before gently mixing through the tofu and jackfruit. Cover and leave to marinade for at least 20 minutes and no longer than 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (190 Fan/400 F). Place the jackfruit and tofu on a tray, coat with any excess marinade and place into the oven for 40mins. Halfway through, spritz with oil to help them brown. Put to one side once cooked. Heat the oil in a large, heavy based pan on a medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent and soft. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 30 seconds, or until fragrant before adding the garlic ginger paste and diced chillies. Fry until the water from the paste has been cooked off. Toss in the spices and tomato puree and cook, stirring constantly until well combined and any excess fluid has cooked off. Deglaze the pan with half the base sauce before adding the tofu, jackfruit and the rest of the base sauce. Stirring occasionally, simmer until the sauce has reduced by half before add the fenugreek. Taste and add salt as needed. Serve with rice, garnished with fresh coriander leaves as needed. Notes * I’m a bit of a whimp when it comes to chilli so I tend to deseed the green chillies before using. If you’re a bit fan of heat, leave the seeds in and you can even add a third to the curry. Allergy Notes; This should be vegan, gluten free and nut free. If you want to avoid using soy then you can substitute in Burmese tofu or omit it entirely and add another tin of jackfruit. If you have any allergy issues with this recipe, let me know and I can suggest substitutions.

The post South Indian Garlic Chilli Vegan Curry appeared first on Feast of Plants.

Mung Bean Pancakes Stuffed with Braised Chard (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Feast of Plants — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 13:00:09 +0000

In my on going search for a decent vegan omelette, I came across Moong Dal Chilla. An old traditional Indian recipe for pancakes made from mung beans (also know as moong Beans), it works equally well as a healthy breakfast, delicious lunch or a light dinner. There’s a big difference between the traditional recipe and my interpretation – I use whole mung beans. The traditional recipe uses spilt and hulled mung beans, without their skins they’re a pleasant light yellow and produce a lovely golden pancake. Whole mung beans have green skins and I’ve leaned into the green by adding grated courgettes and fresh coriander. While I know its unusual, it’s truly tasty! I’ve stuffed mine with a smear of vegan creme fraishe and braised chard. The deep, rich flavours of the chard are cut through by the tangy creme fraishe and pair perfectly with the lightly spiced, fluffy pancake. There are two tools you’re going to need for this recipe, a strong blender and a good quality frying pan. If your pan isn’t as non-stick as it used to be, the pancake will stick and the whole recipe will just be more stressful than it needs to be. The blender will be grinding the beans down to make the very simple batter. If yours starts to struggle then you can add a touch more liquid to help it out but try not to add too much as it can make the batter too thin. Lean into the green and try these mung bean pancakes. Let me know how you get one, I love to hear your feedback! Makes: Serves 4 Ingredients For the Mung Bean Pancakes: 210g Whole Mung Beans, dried 1/2 – 1 Cup Plant Based Milk 1/2 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp Asafoetida* 1/4 tsp Turmeric 1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes 20g Fresh Coriander, finely chopped 200g Courgette,grated For the Braised Chard: 250g Chard (I like rainbow chard but grab what’s available to you) 4 Garlic Cloves, minced 1 Tbsp Dried Oregano ! tsp Dried Rosemary 2 Tsp Stock Powder (I use Marigold Vegan Bouillon powder) Salt & Pepper to Taste Oil for Cooking 1/4 Cup vegan Creme Fraishe Directions Soak the mung beans in plenty of water for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. Once soaked, your beans should be transformed from hard little bullets to soft enough you can crush them with your fingers. If they’re not that soft after their soak then you likely have older beans that will need longer. Leave soaking until soft. Drain and rinse and soft mung beans before placing into the blender with half a cup of plant milk. Process in the blender until the mung beans have been ground into a smooth paste. If your blender is struggling then add a tablespoon or so more milk until it’s able to cope but don’t add too much, you don’t want the mix to be too runny. As the batter start to become smooth, add the spices and continue grinding until smooth to the touch. I find this stage is much easier if the batter is transferred into a bowl but if you’d rather not get another dish dirty, feel free to carry on in the blender jug. Gently stir in the coriander and grated courgette before leaving the batter to rest for 20-30 minutes. The courgettes will release liquid into the batter during this time. Depending on how wet your courgettes are, add enough extra milk to bring the consistency similar to double cream. While the batter rests, start on the braised chard. Seperate the leaves and stalks of the chard into two piles. Cut the stalks into inch long pieces and roughly shred the leaves. Heat a wide based pan on a medium-high heat with a touch of oil. Add the chard stalks and garlic, sauteing until they start to brown around the edges. Add a good crunch of salt & pepper, along with the herbs and stock powder. Pour in just enough water to cover the stalks, bring to a simmer, cover, and turn the heat down low. Simmer until the stalks are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the lid and turn up the heat, reducing the liquid until it thickens and turns slightly syrupy. Stir in the leaves and stir constantly, the chard should be ready once the leaves are wilted. Depending on how conformable you are with multitasking, you can start cooking the pancakes while the chard cooks, or start once its cooking and keep the chard covered while waits. Either way, place your frying pan on a medium-high heat. I can’t emphasise this enough, the pan must be HOT before you carry on or the pancakes won’t spread well. Drizzle a few drops of oil into the pan and spread well before adding a ladle of batter. I find that about half a cup of batter works well to make a good sized pancake in my pan but feel free to fit that to the size of your pan. Spread the batter with the back of your ladle or a plastic spatula, moving in a circular motion, until it forms a round, even, and thin pancake. Cook until they turn brown around the edges and the batter changes to a dark green in thicker spots. Flip and cook on the other side till browned and slightly crisp. Move to a plate and repeat with the rest of the batter. When ready to fill the pancakes, smear a thin coating of the creme fraishe on half of one side of a pancakes. Top with a serving of chard and fold the other half of the pancake over. Repeat with the rest of the pancakes and serve immediately. I like to serve this with a light salad or quick coleslaw for a tasty light lunch. Notes Allergy Notes; If Gluten is an issue for you, then please be careful with your asafoetida. Its a tricky spice to handle in it’s base form so some suppliers will mix it with wheat flour. If you can’t find a safe variety then substitute in a 1/4 tsp each of onion powder and garlic powder. This recipe should be naturally vegan, gluten free, nut free and soy free. Let me know if you have any allergy issues and I can suggest substitutes that may work better for you.

The post Mung Bean Pancakes Stuffed with Braised Chard (Vegan & Gluten Free) appeared first on Feast of Plants.

Jackfruit Biryani (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Feast of Plants — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:00:54 +0000

My mother makes the best biryani, hands down. I have treasured childhood memories of important events being celebrated with mum’s biryani and it was one of the first recipes I made sure to take with me when I moved out. Culturally in India this dish has always been something reserved for celebrations and special occasions because in all honesty, what crazy person wants to spend 6 hours making an ordinary dinner? Unfortunately there’s now one problem with my mother’s version – it uses lamb. With meat firmly off the table since I went vegan, I’ve spent quite sometime trying to get back to that familiar taste using vegetables. I must have made hundreds of Vegetable biryanis over the years in vain – I hated all of them. The saviour here was in the form of Jackfruit, a traditional centrepiece to biryani recipes in the south of India. My first bite and I knew I had found it – my perfect recipe, the one that tasted just like home. I should point out that this is a merge of two different traditions of biryani. Southern Indian Biryanis are the versions that tend to be vegetable or jackfruit based. With a basis in hyderabadi biryani, these recipes tend towards being more spicy. While northern biryani, is much dryer, uses less spice, and has left of a focus on vegetarian ingredients. I’ve tried to fuse both traditions into a vegan version that’s complex while not being overwhelming. This recipe is going to take a while, just like the version my mother makes. Including soaking time for the rice, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were hitting almost 6 hours but it’s completely worth it. Spend some time paying attention to the details so that it’s all worth it and use this recipe for a special occasion, or one of those days where you can enjoy playing in the kitchen for hours with music to dance to. You’ll be rewarded with an amazing smelling kitchen and a dish like no other. Enjoy! Makes: Serves 4-6 Ingredients For the Rice: 500ml Basmati Rice 2 ltr Vegetable Stock 2 Bay Leaves 1 tsp Black peppercorns 4 Green Cardamom 4 Cloves 1 Tbsp Salt For the Biryani: 1 Tbsp Saffron 60ml Warm Coconut milk 3 Large Onions 4 Cloves of garlic 1 Green Chilli 10g Ginger, peeled 25g Sliced Almonds* 40g Sultanas 500g Green Jackfruit**, drained and rinsed 250ml Vegan Yogurt 3 Large Tomatoes, diced 4 Bay Leaves ½ tsp Black Peppercorns 1 Black Cardamom 4 Green Cardamom 6 Cloves 1 Cinnamon Stick, about 5cm ½ tsp Fennel Seeds 1 Tsp Turmeric ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper ½ tsp Nutmeg 1 tsp Garam Masala 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil 1 Tbsp Fresh Coriander, chopped Oil for frying Directions Start with your rice so it can soak while you do the rest of your preparation. Wash your rice in plenty of water, changing the water every time it turns cloudy. Once the water is clear, leave it to soak in at least double the amount of water to rice. Preferably the rice should be left to soak for at least 3 hours but soaking for one hour should do in a pinch. (Optional; some chef recommend adding 1 Tbsp of salt to the soaking water to help ensure your grains stay fluffy and not at all sticky.) When the rice has finished soaking, rinse and drain it well. Bring the stock to a boil in a large pan with the spices and rice. Simmer for 8 minutes, or until the rice is half cooked. Drain well, cover the rice and set to one side. Set a dry pan over a low heat and gently toast the saffron threads until they smell fragrant and turn a few shades darker. Now crumble the threads into your warm milk and set to one side. Like the rice, saffron milk works so much better if you can leave it to soak for several hours. In the same dry pan, lightly toast your whole spices on a low heat. Once they have browned (not burnt!) all over and smell amazing, remove from the heat and set into a separate container to cool. Once cooled, grind your spices finely and set to one side. Cut two of the onions into half rings and set to one side. The last onion can be roughly chopped and placed into the blender with the green chilli, ginger, garlic, and half the almonds. Add about 45ml of water and blend until a smooth paste forms. Slice the jackfruit into bite sized chunks, about 1-2 cm square and put to one side. Now place a large, heavy bottomed casserole dish on a medium to high heat with about 90ml of oil. When the oil has heated, fry the onion rings until they turn brown and crisp. Remove the onions from the oil and set them to one side while they drain on kitchen paper. Add the sultanas to the same oil and remove once they turn plump. Now add the last of the sliced almonds and fry until they turn a light golden brown. Again, set these to one side to drain on kitchen paper. Now fry the chunks of jackfruit, a few at a time, until they turn golden brown. Don’t be tempted to overcrowd the pan as this will drop the temperature of your oil and will stop the jackfruit from browning, just turning oily instead. Set the jackfruit to one side. In the same pan, add another quarter cup of oil and drop the heat down to medium. Add the onion paste you made earlier to the pan and fry until it turns a deep brown. Now add the yogurt to the pan, a tablespoon at a time so as to not reduce the heat too much. Using just a touch of water, deglaze the pan, scraping up all the brown bits that have stuck to the bottom. Return the jack fruit to the pan with the chopped tomatoes, about half a cup of water, and a tsp of salt and simmer on low for about 30 minutes with a lid on. Add all the spices to the pan apart from the garam masala, mix well, and continue to cook for another 30 minutes. Now remove the lid, increase the heat to medium high and simmer until the sauce reduces by half. Turn off the heat and stir through the garam masala. Top your sauce with the rice we cooked earlier in a nice sloping pile. Drizzle the saffron milk along the sides of the pile and evenly spread out the coconut oil in a few small dollops with just half the cooked onions. Cover the pot, with foil and the lip if your lip doesn’t form a tight seal, and place into a preheated oven at 150 degrees. Bake for about 45 minutes. When you remove the dish from the oven, gently stir the rice and jackfruit together. Serve family style, garnished with the sultanas, almonds, coriander and remaining onions. Notes Take your time with this, make it meditative and time for you to enjoy. If you try to rush it then you’ll miss something or overwhelm the pan when frying off your ingredients to start off with. * If you don’t have any almonds to hand then about a quarter cup of cashews will work equally well. **I use tinned, young green Jackfruit. The weight here is the drained weight of the jackfruit once out of the tin so should be about 2 tins. Allergy Notes; If nuts are an allergen for you then use 2 Tbsp of roasted sunflower seeds in the onion mix and skip the nut topping. This recipe is vegan, gluten free and soy free – enjoy!

The post Jackfruit Biryani (Vegan & Gluten Free) appeared first on Feast of Plants.