Dal-Vegetable Stew

This is the 2nd post on this blog with a recipe from The Indian Vegan Kitchen.

I didn't have the mung beans and red pigeon peas recommended in this recipe, so I used romano beans and black-eyed peas instead. The combination of beans, lentils and vegetabels in this dish make it a more or less complete meal, but feel free to serve it over a bed of rice or with a side dish (such as stuffed banana peppers).

Dal-Vegetable Stew

1/3 cup toor dal (pigeon peas)
1/3 cup mung dal (mung beans)
1/3 cup pink lentils, rinsed
4 cups water
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 cups butternut/acorn squash or pumpkin, peeled & cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes

Ingredients for the paste:

1 tablespoon garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, peeled & coarsely chopped
1 cup tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped

1. Pre-cook the toor and mung dal for about an hour, so they that are just slightly under-cooked.

2. In a deep skillet, combine the toor/mung dals with lentils, salt, turmeric, squash, eggplant, and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the dals and vegetables are very soft.

3. In the meantime, prepare paste: in a blender, combine garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cumin seeds, garam masala, coriander, cayenne pepper, and water. Grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.

4. In a large frying pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and fry 1-2 minutes until slightly browned. Add the paste and fry until oil seperates, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the oil and paste mixture to the stew in the skillet. Add 1/2 cup water, or more as needed, for desire consistency (should be thick and stew-like). Bring to a boil, reduce heat a low boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Thai Pumpkin Curry

The following is another recipe from The Tropical Vegan Kitchen - a very underrated book that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. It's an excellent book full of relatively simple, whole foods-based recipes that are delicious, but because the book does not have any pictures, and because I think it deserves more recognition than it currently receives, I will occasionally upload recipes & pictures from it.

The following is a very orange-y, delicious Thai curry, rich in beta-carotene. Serving it with quinoa adds some extra iron; brown rice, on the other hand, is a great source of selenium. Feel free to also use a mix of grains as a bed for the curry.


Thai Red Curry Sauce:

1 can light coconut milk
2 shallots, chopped
Juice of 1 medium orange
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon plain rice vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
salt, to taste

In a food processor fitted with the knife blade, or in a blender, process all ingredients until well blended. Use as directed in recipe. Mixture can be stored, covered, in fridge up to 3 days.

Makes 2-2.5 cups.
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Thai Pumpkin Curry:

Thai Red Curry Sauce (above)
1.25lbs cubed, seeded, & pee;ed cpplomg pumpkin or butternut squash
1 medium sweet potato (cooked), peeled & cut into pieces
1 medium bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups cooked chickpeas (=1 can), rinsed
4.5 cups cooked brown rice, quinoa, or other whole grain(s) of your choice
4oz (1/2) baby carrot, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh orange peel, shredded (optional)
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish (optional)

In a large deep-sided skillet with a lid, bring the curry sauce, squash, potato and carrots to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the vegetables have softened, about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper, chickpeas, and orange peel; cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly reduced, about 3-4 minutes. Serve warm, over the rice/quinoa.etc, garnished with the basil (if using).

Thai Pumpkin Curry, served with quinoa.

Couscous with Seven-Vegetable Tagine

Yet another recipe from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen. If you don't have it yet - get it! It's an excellent book with simple, delicious recipes, using wholesome ingredients (no fake meats/cheese)!

Couscous with Seven-Vegetable Tagine

Makes at least 6 main course servings:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
Green onions, chopped
5 cups vegetable or "chicken" broth
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 potato, peeled & chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled & sliced
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
4 medium asparagus stalks, or 8 thin stalks
2oz fresh large green beans, trimmed
2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, or other beans
1 medium red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon harissa sauce or crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups instant couscous, pref. whole wheat
1.5 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from 1/2 lemon)
Salt & pepper, to taste
Optional garnishes, eg. cilantro or black olive slices

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In a medium stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high hot. Add the yellow and green onion, and cook until softened and lightly golden, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of the broth, the tomatoes, potato, salt, and pepper; bring to boil over a high heat. Add the carrots and fresh peas, asparagus, and large green beans, if using; return to a boil. (If using the frozen peas, thin asparagus, and small green beans, just add the carrots and cook for 10 minutes, then add the vegetables in the next step with the chickpeas.) Add the chickpeas (or other beans), red bell pepper, zucchini, and crushed red pepper flakes, if using; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. cover, reduce the heat, and simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, 7 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the remaining 3 cups of broth to a boil. Stir in the couscous and the lemon juice. Cover and remove from the heat. Let stand until all the broth is absorbed, 7 minute. Uncover and fluff with a fork.

Just before serving, add any garnishes and harissa (if using), to the stewed vegetables, stirring well to combine. Season with additional salt/pepper, to taste. Serve over the hot couscous.

^Maya's version, with black olive slices, and 1 cup black beans + 1 cup lentils instead of the chickpeas.

Ginger Quinoa Salad

The following recipe is a very slight adaption of something from a cookbook called Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood. The book itself is not vegan, and I would not recommend it to a vegan newbie who's just learning to cook. However, if you already have lots of recipes and know how to cook, and you (like me) really like quinoa, this can be a good addition to your cookbook collection.

The following recipe can be very convenient & quick if you used canned beans or cook them in advanced.

Ginger Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa
2 cups broth
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp water
2 cups broccoli florrets
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (1 pepper)
1 small/medium carrots, peeled & chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup cooked black beans
3 Tbsp soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup edamame beans (optional)

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Bring the quinoa and the 2 cups broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the quinoa absorbs the liquid. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

Heat the tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, ginger, and the 2 tablespoons of water; after about 30 seconds, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the broccoli and carrot. Cover and simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chopped bell pepper and black beans (& edamame, if using), putting the heat up to medium, and stirring for several more minutes.

Mix the "stir fry" with the quinoa along with the soy sauce and lemon juice, and serve warm.

Makes 4 servings.

Costa Rican Cabbage Tortillas

The following recipe is from a cookbook called "The Tropical Vegan Kitchen" - a very underrated book, IMHO. The strike-outs and red parts reflect my bastardizations lovely adjustments to the recipe.

Ingredients:

8 corn whole wheat tortillas
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup rinsed and drained black beans
1 medium tomato, seeded & finely chopped
2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin seed  sesame seeds
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt & black pepper, to taste
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted & thinly sliced
Sliced hot banana or jalapen~o peppers
Medium salsa

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Preheat oven to 200F (95C).

Arrange the tortillas on a large ungreased baking sheet (some overlap is okay). Heat in the oven until softened and warmed, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss together the cabbage, tomato, scallions, cilantro, oil, lemon juice, vinegar, cumin, sugar, salt/black pepper, and cayenne (if using) until well combined. Let stand at room temperature about 5-10 minutes to allow the flavours to blend; toss again.

In a large skillet, turn the heat up to high and lightly fry the tossed ingredients (along with the avocado and peppers) for 2-3 minutes, or until the cabbage is "cooked".

To serve, top the warm tortillas with equal amounts of the cabbage mixture (and a tablespoon or two of salsa).

Roll up and serve at once.

Makes 8 tortillas.