Vegan Recipes: Indian

Showing posts with label Indian. Show all posts

Monday, June 1, 2015

Kashmiri Masala chickpeas and potatoes made with a left ore juice from peperonata

Manu invited me to a 'Swap' on her blog, and my swapping partner is Billie from Scotland. We had to send each other an ingredient and then make a recipe with it. I sent Billie the Fresh As raspberry powder, and I look forward to see what she will do with it! She sent me some Kasmiri Masala, but because I got it late (I forgot to tell Billie my address, silly me, but fortunately she copied it from the parcel I sent her!). The best thing about a Masala is that you don't have to sizzle all the spices at the beginning and work out the doses, in fact a masala should be added at the very end, to enjoy the fragrances of the aromatic spices (and the Kashmiri Masala is definitely very aromatic!!). So even if I was running around like mad I managed to throw together something starting with the leftover juice of a peperonata (stewed capsicums with celery, carrot, and garlic).

I had all that wonderful bell pepper's stock left from the night before (we ate all the capsicums and veggies), so I just peeled and cut 5 large potatoes, added the content of one can of chickpeas, and some cherry tomatoes from the garden (make an incision with a knife so that they don't 'explode' during cooking). I added a little salt and then simmered everything until the potatoes were soft. I adjusted for salt and added one tsp of Kashmiri Masala, put the lid on for 2 more minutes on low. The only problem is that I don't have a last photo! We ate too quickly before remembering to take one! :-) But I hope that you will like the recipe, and it is super simple! Serve with basmati rice and roti.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Potato and Capsicum Curry

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

The colurful curry on the table is Potato and Capsicum:

Peel and cube 4 large potatoes

Wash and cut into large strips 4 capsicums (one green, one yellow, one orange and one red).

In a large pot sizzle half tsp of nigella seeds with two garlic cloves (peeled).

Add half tsp of turmeric, half tsp of coriander powder, half tsp of fennel powder, and half tsp of cumin powder.

Add the potatoes and stir.

Add 1 cup of water, salt to taste, and a tbsp of tomato puree.

Cover and simmer on low until the water has been absorbed.

Add capsicums and stir.

Add one tsp of dried fenugreek leaves, and a little more water if needed.

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Check if the potatoes are cooked, then add half tsp of garam masala and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Serve hot, with rice or flat bread.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Pilaf rice with Chickpeas

I am still very ‘timid’ when it comes to Indian spices: I am always scared to burn them, or to use too much, or too little. In particular I am so used to have cloves and cinnamon in sweet dishes that I never know how much to use in savoury dishes.

For this pilaf I just filled up a tbsp of spices, as you can see there are plenty of cumin seeds, but just a little cinnamon and a few cloves, plus a few cardamom pods), still, just the right amount for me to flavour a pilaf for four.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp mixed whole spices (cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom)

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 generous pinch of salt

300 g basmati rice

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 Wash the rice and soak for 30 minutes.

2 Heat 1 tbsp of oil, sizzle the whole spices and garlic.

Add turmeric and salt.

Add rice, chickpeas and water (just enough water to cook the rice by absorption)

Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Cauliflower and Borage Curry

This turned out to be a fantastic vegan curry, and quite innovative too: I have never seen a curry made with borage!!!

Borage is a beautiful plant to have in the garden, loved by the bees and with pretty blue flowers. It is also versatile: you can eat the flowers, the stems and the leaves. It is prickly, but that goes away with cooking. If you don't have a garden sometimes you can find borage growing wild in meadows, and forage it.

The only thing to remember is to discard the pods with the seeds that have already formed (they are too hard), like the one in the photo below. Flowers and flower buds are soft, and can be cooked.

Sizzle one tsp of fenugreek seeds and one green chili with one tbsp of vegetable oil.

Add one small tsp each of turmeric, ground coriander, ground fennel and paprika, and also a good pinch of salt.

Add one onion, chopped, and sizzle for two minutes, and then add half cauliflower, cut into florettes. Coat the cauliflower well with the spices.

Add one can of coconut milk, and then one can of water (to rinse the coconut milk can). Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the borage, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add one tsp of masala powder and simmer for other five minutes, or until all the vegetables are soft. At the end decorate with fresh borage flowers.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Spicy Lentils

Wash 250 g of small brown lentils and soak for 2 hours.

Toast one tablespoon of coriander seeds in a pan, then grind with mortar and pestle.

Sliced one small onion and sizzle it with two tablespoons of vegetable oil. When the onion is translucent add the coriander seeds, 1 tsp of ground ginger, 1 of curry powder, a pinch of smoked paprika, a pinch of hot chilli and a pinch of salt (to taste).

Stir and sizzle for a minute then add the brown lentils (drained), 1 carrot, sliced, and a cup of water. Cook the lentils slowly, adding more water as soon as they dry out, and stirring often.

Cook the lentils for over one hour; the longer you cook them the better they will taste!

Great both with rice and with bread.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Nigella Potatoes

This is not a Nigella Lawson’s recipe, but a recipe using nigella seeds.

I am not sure if this could be defined as Indian food, certainly it is Indian inspired, I served it with a Dahl and basmati rice, and it was a winner!!! Of course your comments are welcomed!

Nigella Potatoes

Ingredients:

500 g potatoes (Agria or similar ‘floury’ potatoes)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tsp nigella seeds

half tsp ground coriander

half tsp cumin powder

1 tsp turmeric

salt to taste

one cup fresh coriander (or parsley) leaves

Peel the potatoes and cut into 4-5 cm cubes. In a large wok or frying pan with high borders heat the oil and add the garlic cloves and nigella seeds. When the seeds start to crackle add the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, and a little salt. Add the cubed potatoes and coat well with the spices. Stir constantly, and when the potatoes start to become too dry add a cup of water. Cover and simmer on low, stirring from time to time and adding water every time the mixture gets too dry. When all the potatoes are cooked, and most are almost pureed and creamy, remove from the heat. Finely chop a cup of washed fresh coriander or parsley (or a mixture of both) leaves, and add to the potatoes. Stir and serve.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Masala Dahl

My friend Mahendra Motibhai - Patel from Fiji gave me some masala powder. The package is great and the spice mixture smells highly aromatic and fresh. I love Indian food, I tried to make up a few recipes with the Motibhai masala, and I was particularly pleased with this one.

Yes, dahl is usually a soup and the lentils are small, but I had some green organic lentils which I wanted to use, and I was looking for a thicker consistency.

I sautéed for 30 seconds half tsp of turmeric and half tsp of cumin seeds with a little rice bran oil. Then I added a finely chopped onion and one tbsp of masala powder. Then the lentils, which had been rinsed, and then soaked for 30 minutes. I covered with water and added a big hot whole chili. After 30 minutes I added a little salt to taste and, just because I felt like it, a tbsp of butter. It was perfect, warm, fragrant, and mildly hot.

Serve with basmati rice or naan bread for a main course.

Vegan Recipes

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Monday, June 1, 2015

Kashmiri Masala chickpeas and potatoes made with a left ore juice from peperonata

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Potato and Capsicum Curry

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Pilaf rice with Chickpeas

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Cauliflower and Borage Curry

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Spicy Lentils

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Nigella Potatoes

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Masala Dahl

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