Saoji/Savji Tempeh(Spicy Fake Chicken Curry) Vegan

Saoji Chicken/Mutton is a very spicy curry, a specialty of Nagpur city in central India. This curry is spicy not just because of the peppercorns, but also because of the long list of spices:) The meat mention in the title and the post gets the keyword hits from the search engines, so please bear with me. More hits = more probability of someone trying the vegan version!

I dont know why I waited this long to redo the vegan version of this recipe.. because this Saoji Masala rocks!! Try this tempeh version and you wont crave the meat ever again!

My recipe is a mix of the recipes from the following 2 links. The first link uses dry coconut and the second link uses Jowar(Sorghum) flour for the masala (spice mix).

http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/saoji-mutton.aspx

This video is in Marathi :)

http://recipetube.blogspot.com/2011/03/savji-chicken.html

The spices can be dry roasted, grinded and kept for months or roasted in oil along with onion, blended and kept in the refrigerator for a few days.

Some other Indian curries with tempeh.. some simpler than this one:)..

Kadhai Tempeh(Tempeh, Cauliflower and bell pepper in tomato gravy)

Tempeh Do Pyaaza (Double Onion Curry)

Palak/Saag Tempeh(Spinach Mustard Greens curry)

Mango creamy curry

Dhania Tempeh (Cilantro Tomato Curry)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons Organic Canola Oil
• Spices:
• 2 teaspoons Coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon Caraway seeds (shahi jeera)
• 2-3 Cloves
• 3-4 Black peppercorns (less or more depending on required spice)
• 2 Green cardamoms
• 2 Black cardamoms
• 2 Bay leaves
• 2 Whole dry red chillies (less or more according to spice)
• 1 teaspoon Poppy seeds (khuskhus/posto)
• 1 stone flower(Dagadphool, i dint have this)
• 1/4 teaspoon hing(asofetida)
• 1 inch stick cinnamon
• Other Items:
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 Tablespoons cilantro leaves
• 1 Tablespoon Dry coconut (khopra) Or Jowar flour(Sorghum)
• 1 inch ginger chopped
• 1 cup chopped organic Tempeh (can use Tofu or Seitan as well)
• 1 teaspoon vegan butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Direction:

1. In a pan on medium heat, dry roast all the items under spices, continuously stirring) until they start turning slightly brown. (3-4 minutes).
2. Cool grind and keep if using for later.
3. In the same pan, add in the oil and cook the onions until golden. Add in the coconut and ginger and cook for another minute.
4. Blend the onion mixture with the spices and cilantro using a little water into a smooth paste. My blender conked out so the curry is not as smooth. In any which way, the curry is going to blow your mind away! :)
5. In the pan, add butter and the blended mixture, a cup of water, salt and sugar to taste. Adjust spice if needed( more black pepper for added authentic saoji taste)
6. Add in the Tempeh and cook on low heat covered for 20-30 minutes until the curry thickens and the tempeh is cooked and double in size.
7. Serve hot topped with any Indian flat bread(Roti, Paratha, Naan) or with Basmati Rice!.
8. Keep a pitcher of cold water at hand for the spice shock!! :)

ShuMai/SiuMai dumplings filled with broccoli & zucchini in garlic sauce (Vegan)

Finally got around to making dumplings.. the wrappers and all. You can use these same wrappers to make potstickers, wontons and what not.. steam them.. fry them, or boil them in soups.

Just about to be steamed

The shu mai turned out super yummy.. I served them up, topped with thin tiny beet slices and with some thick hoisin sauce!. Of course I could have made the wrappers even thinner.. but hey.. all that rolling is tiring.. You can buy eggless wonton or gyoza wrappers and that will definitely save some time and energy! Here are some other options for fillings and other types of dim sum and dumplings

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/651

http://urbanvegan.net/2010/01/wonton-wrappers-demystified.html

And below is another wrapper recipe with some added rice flour and also with Step by step pictures on how to shape them into ShuMai .

http://www.cuisinivity.com/topstory/2011/April/040611_viet_shumai.php

Wrappers:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
• warm water
• cornstarch as needed
• 1 teaspoon oil

Directions:

1. Mix in the flour, half a teaspoon of cornstarch and salt
2. Grease your hand with oil. Add in the warm water a little at a time till the dough starts to come together. Knead for a few minutes till it doesnt stick and is elastic.
3. Let the dough rest covered by a towel for half an hour to an hour.
4. Make small balls and roll them out, or roll out bigger ball and cut square or circle shapes depending on what you want to use the wrappers for.
5. The rolling out takes some effort. Use cornstarch to dust if dough is sticky. The dough is also elastic, so roll it out, let it rest for a few seconds, then lift and roll out more.
6. For the Shumai, I rolled out small balls into circles.
7. To store, dust with cornstarch and store in airtight bag in the refrigerator.

Filling:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped broccoli
• 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoon hoisin sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon raw sugar or agave syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
• 1+ Tablespoon finely chopped garlic to taste

Directions:

1. In a pan, heat some canola oil and add garlic and chili flakes and cook on medium heat for a few seconds.
2. Add in the broccoli and zucchini, toss and let cook for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add in the hoisin sauce, salt if needed, sugar and sesame oil.
4. Mix and cool covered for another 3-4 minutes.
5. Adjust spice and sauce for taste and let cool.

Assembly:

1. Take a small piece of the dough, make a ball and roll it into a 3-inch circle. Put the wrapper on your thumb and index finger and put some filling in. Slowly push down the shu mai into the hole between your thumb and index finger to wrap the wrapper around the filling.
2. Push the edges of the wrapper inward in small folds covering the top edges of the filling like a pouch. Some filling at the top should remain exposed. Use a little water to seal the folds if necessary.
3. Place shu mai on parchment on bamboo steamer or on greased steel steamer.
4. Steam for 7-10 minutes until the wrapper appears translucent.
5. Serve hot with dipping sauce. I topped it with thin beet slices for garnish and added color!
6. Some Dipping sauce options: Hoisin sauce, sweet and sour sauce, soy sauce, or mix in some chili oil, minced garlic or ginger(not both), soy sauce and rice wine vinegar!

Heres the some Steamed Bao which I made a couple of times. these are yeasty fluffy buns filled with all kinds of saucy filling.. and also served in Dim sums..

Have a fun Dim Sum!

Beet and Blueberry Mini Loaf

Yes, I am still in mini loaf mode.. those tiny slices get consumed quickly and let me make different breads every few days..! This one is beety carmine colored with an added slight deep blue from the blueberries.. Deep colors for this bright summer!

2 mini loafs

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon vital wheat gluten (optional)
• 1 teaspoon flax meal
• 3 Tablespoons raw sugar or equivalent agave/maple syrup
• 1.5 teaspoons active yeast
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 medium beet, peeled and chopped (about 1/2 cup chopped)
• 1/2 cup fresh ripe blueberries
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 Tablespoon Organic canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar to 1/4 cup warm water and mix well. Let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. In a blender, puree the beet and blueberries with the remaining sugar and flax meal and some warm water if needed.
3. In a bowl add the flours, pumpkin pie spice, wheat gluten and salt and mix.
4. Add in the yeast mixture, oil and beet blueberry puree.
5. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, scraping sides every 2-3 minutes if using a stand mixer. add more flour or water in little quantities if needed. As with any fresh fruit/vegetable bread, the fruit gives out a little extra moisture than a normal bread while the dough sits for the rising time. The dough should be soft and not too sticky.
6. Spritz the top of dough with some oil spray. Place dough in a covered container in a warm place for 1.5 hours.
7. Punch it lightly. For mini loaf pans, divide dough into 2 parts. Knead and shape into a loaf by pulling on all sides, or by rolling it out into a rectangle and rolling the rectangle from one side and tucking the other edge under.
8. Place loaf in greased mini bread pans. Spritz the top with water and then spritz a little oil spray and cover with damp towel.
9. Place it in a warm place or warm oven for 50 minutes.
10. Remove towel, spritz top with some water and bake at 365 degrees F for 25 minutes. (30 minutes if baking one loaf)
11. Remove bread from pan and let cool for an hour.
12. Slice and enjoy as is, topped with the creamy herbed berry topping( vegan cream cheese mixed with mashed berries and herbs), or marmalade, or nut butters, or topped with a tofu scramble!

Sending this to the SOS challenge for June:Blueberries and Susan's Weekly Yeastspotting!

Onion Fritters - Kanda Bhaji/Pakora Simple pleasures

The simple pleasure of eating some deep fried onion fritters on a weekend... with a hot cup of masala tea..

Yes this is Seattle. It still rains here every few days.. No real summer in sight.. Just a couple of warm days, and then rain and cool again..

So as well get them fritters ready for the late afternoon get together!

Method:

Chop up the following.. 1 medium onion, 1 Serrano chili pepper (less or more depending on needed spice), a bunch of cilantro leaves, 2 teaspoons ginger and garlic and mix well.

In the blender, add 3-4 Tablespoons of chickpea flour (besan), 2/3 teaspoon salt(or to taste), pinch of turmeric, pinch of asofetida(hing), 1 Tablespoon oats, 1 Tablespoon rice flour, chili flakes to taste, 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder, 1/4 teaspoon carom seeds(Ajwain), 1/2 inch piece of ginger and enough warm water, blend to form a thick paste. Mix in the chopped up veggies.

Deep fry spoonfulls of this mixture on medium high.
Few minutes on each side until golden brown. 
Serve hot, sprinkled with chaat masala, with tomato ketchup or chili sauce.

Yumm.

Mango Strawberry Mint Cumin Spiced Cooler

Strawberries to Mango: Hey you, are you ripe and sweet yet? We are getting super ripe and close to spoiling, sitting in the refrigerator..

Mango: Yeah, I am supposedly ripe too, but not that sweet yet...I guess these guys like sweeter mangoes.

Strawberries: I hope we dont end up all spoilt and in the trash....uh oh.. here she comes..!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 7-8 strawberries
• 1 medium mango
• 8-10 mint leaves
• 2-3 cups of water
• 2 Tablespoons raw sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon rock salt(kala namak)
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder

Directions:

1. In a pressure cooker or a deep pan, add strawberries, peeled chopped mango, mint leaves, salt, sugar, rock salt, cumin powder, and water enough to cover the fruit.
2. Pressure cook for 1 whistle, or boil for 15-20 minutes until mango is soft and cooked.
3. Blend the mixture when cool and adjust salt, sugar and rock salt(rock salt adds a nice sour taste).
4. Add more or less water according to preference. You can make this with raw fruits too!
5. Serve chilled topped with fresh mint leaves!
6. Wish you all a Happy Summer!

Carrot Cake Sticky rolls! (Vegan)

I have a to do list for the next few weeks, from the requests on my facebook page .. Some sticky buns, a gluten free vegan daily bread, and some yummy dim sum recipes!! I spent some time this week browsing around and thinking of something different to add to the sticky buns.. some on making a list of flours to order for the gluten free bread , and reading up on a couple of gluten free recipes!.. And in the middle of it all our refrigerator's defrost timer went bad leading to warm squishy freezer items! That got fixed thankfully but I am craving some Kulfi(Indian icecream )!.. so thats added to the to do list too.. to make with oats and cashew milk, cardamom and saffron!

Back to sticky buns! I like cinnamon, but dont love the whole lot of it in as in a cinnamon sticky roll.. I saw some big organic carrots looking back at me yesterday, when I opened the fridge to give some baby carrots to Chewie(Chewie loves carrots, cauliflower, peas and what not, he probably was a herbivore in his previous life)! And then a bulb went on somewhere..

A Carrot cake and a sticky cinnamon bun had a baby...A carroty, not too sweet, sticky cranberry cashew filling and topped with simple glaze, or not.. roll was born... you can use chopped walnuts and raisins in the filling for a more carrot cake effect. I was out of walnuts and I like cranberries more than raisins.:) Pictured below without any glaze.

Makes 6 rolls/buns

Ingredients:

Rolls:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup bread flour
• 2 Tablespoons earth balance butter
• 3 Tablespoons raw sugar ( a tablespoon more for sweeter roll)
• 1/2 cup carrot( finely grated or coarsely blended)
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon quick rise yeast

Filling/Topping:

• 2 teaspoons earth balance butter
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2/3 cup cranberries/raisins or per filling requirement
• 1/2 cup cashews/walnuts coarsely ground or finely chopped
• sugar as needed

Directions:

1. In a large bowl , Warm 2 Tablespoons of water and add yeast and a teaspoon of sugar. Mix well and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Coarsely grind carrots with a little water if needed. You can use finely grated carrots as well, like you would for a carrot cake. Since this is a yeast bread, it does well with coarse mushy blended carrot. Add in the sugar to the carrots and blend for a few seconds to combine.
3. Add in wheat and bread flour to the yeast mixture bowl. Add in the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, softened butter and the carrot puree/grated carrot and knead. If using grated carrots, you might need a bit more water to form the dough.
4. knead into a soft, not sticky dough. Use more bread flour or water if needed.
5. Place dough in well greased container. Spritz top with water and cover container. Let sit for 1.5 hours or until the dough doubles.
6. Take the dough and using a little flour knead and roll it out into half an inch thick rectangle.
7. To make the filling, melt the butter in a pan, add in the maple syrup and cinnamon, cranberries and chopped cashews, mix well and take off heat. Or keep the syrup and cranberries,cashews separate to make it easy to spread.
8. Spread the syrup and nuts evenly on the dough all over upto an inch from the corners. Sprinkle some sugar and more cinnamon if you want. I sprinkled a little sugar. Make more or less filling for as thick or thin a filling layer.
9. Roll the dough tightly from one end like a jelly roll. Using some water, seal the edge and sides.
10. With the seam side down, cut the jelly roll into inch thick slices.
11. Place slices on greased baking sheet or parchment an inch apart. Spritz top with water and cover with towel. Let rise for 45 minutes
12. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.
13. Cool on rack. Serve warm topped with the filling mixture, or warm maple/agave or cream cheese frosting(fluff up some earth balance, sugar, vanilla and tofutti) or vanilla icing
14. The rolls are not too sugary as our sweetness requirement is on the very mild side. So add more sugar and or maple per taste!

Meal Series: Aloo Pyaaz and Bhaji with Roti/Chapati(Spiced Potato Onions, Vegetable Stew with Indian Bread)

Another one of the meal series! I also added some other combination meal ideas below with each recipe. We get frozen uncooked Roti (Indian flat bread) from Indian stores. The indian store version is basically a thin rolled out frozen dough of whole wheat flour, bran, oil, water and salt. To make your own roti dough and then cook it, check a step by step video here!

Roti served with some spiced potato onion, and Mixed vegetable bhaji. The Mixed vegetable bhaji/curry is usually served like Sloppy joes in a burger bun, topped with some chopped onions, lemon juice and pav bhaji masala(spice blend like garam masala).

Aloo Pyaaz (Spiced Potato Onions)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium organic potatoes chopped
• 2/3 medium organic red onion sliced
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 inch ginger chopped
• 1 green chili chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds (the red onions and coriander seeds work magic for this dish)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1 teaspoon organic canola oil

Directions:

1. In a medium deep pan, ad din the oil and heat on medium heat for a minute.
2. Add in the mustard and coriander seeds and let them cook for a few seconds.
3. Add in the ginger, garlic and chili and cook for a minute.
4. Add in the onions, turmeric and a little salt and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.
5. Add in the potatoes, some more salt and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5-6 minutes, until potatoes are well done.
6. Serve hot topped with chopped cilantro leaves! Serve as part of meal with any lentil curry(Daal), or other soups/stews, Indian bread(Roti) and salad or any indian pickle.(my current favorite is the punjabi raw mango pickle)

Bhaji (Vegetable Stew/mixed vegetable curry)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup each of chopped potato, cauliflower, bell peppers
• 1/4 cup of chopped carrots green beans and any other veggetable(peas, broccoli, corn etc)
• 2 medium tomatoes chopped
• 2 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped Serrano chili pepper ( or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon pav bhaji masala powder(can be found in Indian store)
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• pinch of asofetida(hing)
• a cup of water
• 2/3 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon raw sugar or to taste
• 1 teaspoon canola oil

Directions:

1. In a medium deep pan, add a teaspoon oil and heat on medium low heat for a minute.
2. Add in the asofetida, coriander seeds and mix and cook for a few seconds.
3. Add in the turmeric, pav bhaji masala, garlic, ginger and chili and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add in the tomatoes, salt and sugar and cook on medium low heat for 5 minutes.
5. Add in the chopped veggies, a cup of water, and cook for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are well done.
6. Serve hot! .
7. Variations: Mash the veggies a little once done, top with chopped onions, lemon juice, a teaspoon of vegan butter and cilantro leaves, and serve with toasted buns, dinner rolls, bread, pita bread!

Almond Butter Cookies! (Vegan)

Almond butter cookies!! Yes they are "almond butter" cookies with a hint of cardamom(elaichi). These yummy and crumbly cookies came out awesome and remind me of the Diwali Sweets like kaju or Badaam Katli(Cashew, almond cheesy sweet). Diwali is a festival in India, during which people visit each other and exchange sweets, snacks, dry fruits, home made goodies and such. Unfortunately most Indian sweets are milk based(khoya(milk solids), ghee(clarified butter), chenna, paneer, fried in ghee, topped with ghee and cream, and more ghee).

These snappy cookies with their indian flavors can make for a good Diwali vegan sweets and snack tray! The cookies have toasted almond butter which I accidentally ordered instead of the raw almond one. It tastes slightly like peanut butter and hence it was sitting the refrigerator waiting to be used!. Will put up a note about how the raw almond cookies turned out with the next batch! You can use any other spices like cinnamon, pumpkin spice, nutmeg, saffron and others as well to flavor the cookies!

The first batch I made last week was fat balls, so I overbaked them a bit making them a bit more crunchy... tastes the same yummy yumm. The current batch came out nicely done,..chewy in the middle and snappy all together.. and taste and smell heavenly!

First Batch pictured below.. All other pictures are from the second batch.

Made 8 medium cookies.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons Raw turbinado sugar
• 1.5 Tablespoon agave syrup
• 1 teaspoon flax meal
• 1.5 Tablespoon water
• 1.5 Tablespoon roasted almond butter
• 1 Tablespoon vegan butter(earth balance)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder( less if u dont like cardamom much :), more if u love it)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon oatmeal (coarsely ground oats for a little crunch, optional)
• 2/3 cup self rising flour Or all purpose flour + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

1. In a pan, mix the flax meal and hot water and let sit for a minute.
2. Add in the softened butters(kept out for half an hour), sugar and agave syrup and mix well by hand or by hand mixer until the mixture feels light.
3. Add in the flours, salt, cardamom powder and lemon juice and mix till just about combined.
4. The mixture should be a sticky dough with no dry flour patches.
5. Oil hands and pick up tablespoon full dough, lightly roll into a ball and flatten on parchment paper using a fork. You can drop spoonfulls directly as well, to get random shaped cookies :), but dont let them get thicker than a 1/4 inch.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 9-10 minutes. the cookies should not be runny or liquidy. They might look wet, but check with toothpick to confirm they are not squishy.
7. Take cookies off baking tray and cool on rack for a few minutes before burning your mouth!
8. Store in airtight container for a week or so. Let me know how yours turn out!

Cookies Headed to Friday Potluck at Erins kitchen!

and to Cook it healthy Proteinious event

Meal Series: Baingan Bharta, Sambhar, Roti and Papad (Roasted mashed eggplant, Pigeon Pea curry, Indian flat bread and Lentil chips)

Thats a mouthful of names :)

I just thought of putting up a couple of complete meals on the blog. This week one of our meals was Roasted and Mashed Eggplant(Baingan Bharta), Pigeon Pea curry(Toor daal sambhar), Indian flat bread(Rotis), and Lentil chips(Papad).

A post on some types of Indian bread used in daily meals is in the works.

Here's My recipe for Baingan Bharta !

Heres the wiki about Papads/Papadam with pictures and a video on how to make your own at home . (I just get mine from the Indian stores, microwave them for 30 seconds or roast on medium flame and they are ready!)

Heres a video on how to make Roti/Chapati . We use vegan butter or organic canola oil instead of ghee(clarified butter).

And the recipe for my version of Sambhar follows below.

Baingan Bharta .. Roasted Mashed Spiced Eggplant.

Papad.. microwaved.

Toor Daal Sambhar(Pigeon Pea Soup)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Toor Daal soaked for an hour( Pigeon Pea)
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1/2 medium Onion (chopped)
• 2 medium Tomato chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green beans or baby eggplant
• 1/2 teaspoon Sambhar powder (you can buy it at any indian store or make your own. recipe)
• 1/2 teaspoon Coriander powder
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp Urad dal
• 3 Dry red chillies
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder(hing)
• Salt to taste(1/2 teaspoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon organic canola oil
• 1 teaspoon Lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon tamarind concentrate.

Directions:

1. In a pressure cooker or a deep pan, heat oil, add the mustard seeds, urad dal,cumin seeds,dry red chillies,curry leaves and asafoetida powder. Mix well and cook for a minute.
2. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Add chopped tomatoes, carrots, beans or eggplant, sauté for 5-7 minutes until the veggies are half done.
4. Add in the salt, sugar, soaked and drained toor dal, sambhar powder, coriander powder, tamarind concentrate and 1.5 cups water.
5. Pressure cook for 1 whistle or more(depends on how mashed you want the lentils). If cooking in a pan, cover and cook on low heat for 20 + minutes.
6. Serve hot as side curry, topped with chopped cilantro, with Roti(Indian bread) and a dry veggie dish(subzi)!

Strawberry Orange Mini Loaf! (Vegan)

Mini Loaf!

Its sunny in Seattle! Yes, People do go crazy when it gets this sunny in Seattle after 9 cloudy months!

I baked up this mini loaf yesterday.. And we had some nice breakfast with the mini slices topped with fresh sliced strawberries and some marmalade... I know.. sweet for the morning;)

These mini slices can also be topped of with some herbed vegan cheese and some cucumber for a cool summer snack.. I love mini loafs and I love fruits in them. The soft teeny slices can be eaten just like that for a mild fruit and mild sweet flavor! .. some goody yummy bread.. Did I happen to mention that I love my breads ..:)) So does hubbs and so does Mr Chewie . He gets his meals topped with the crumbs that fall while slicing.. yumm yumm

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon vital wheat gluten
• 1 teaspoon flax meal
• 1 Tablespoons raw sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons active yeast
• 1/3 cup water
• 7-8 medium organic strawberries pureed
• 2 Tablespoons Orange Marmalade
• 1 Tablespoon Organic canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Add the yeast and sugar to 1/4 cup warm water and mix well. Let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. In a blender, puree the strawberries.
3. Add in the flax meal, orange marmalade, a tablespoon of hot water to the puree and blend and keep aside.
4. In a bowl add the flours, wheat gluten and salt and mix.
5. Add in the yeast mixture, oil and fruit puree.
6. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, scraping sides every 2-3 minutes. add more flour or water in little quantities if needed. As with any fruit bread, the fruit gives out a little extra moisture than a normal bread while the dough sits for the rising time. The dough should be soft and not too sticky.
7. Spritz the top of dough with some oil spray. Place dough in a covered container in a warm place for 1.5 hours.
8. Punch it lightly and shape into a loaf by pulling on all sides, or by rolling it out into a rectangle and rolling the rectangle from one side and tucking the other edge under.
9. Place loaf in greased mini bread pans. Spritz the top with water and then spritz a little oil spray and cover with damp towel.
10. Place it in a warm place or warm oven for 50 minutes.
11. Remove towel, spritz top with some water and bake at 365 degrees F for 25 minutes. (30 minutes if using making one loaf of all of the dough)
12. Remove bread from pan and let cool for an hour.
13. I usually refrigerate it for another hour before slicing. The breads are usually quite fluffy and soft and refrigeration makes them a bit firm for nice and clean slices!
14. Enjoy! This one is headed to Susan's Weekly YeastSpotting

Potato in Tomato Curry.

A simple, and quick fix for a week night. This curry is usually served with hot fried Pooris(small round breads made with whole wheat flour dough and fried to make puffed up balls). We serve it with Roti/chapati , because the fried pooris are too oily and fatty to be served as dinner!

This tomatoey sweet and sour curry is also sometimes served on top of Kachoris(fried stuffed dough balls, stuffed with anything from lentils to onions and more) and topped with fresh onions or sev(salty yellow noodles made from gram flour) and serves as a yummy snack!

Pictured below: Dinner with Chapati and Green Mung Daal !

One Year Back: Pull apart poppy seed dinner rolls . Sustitute egg in rolls recipe with 1 teaspoon of vegan butter!

Potato in Tomato Curry, Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 medium potato boiled
• 2 medium tomatoes chopped
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped Serrano chili pepper ( or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 5 curry leaves
• pinch of asofetida(hing)
• a cup of water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon raw sugar or to taste
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• lemon juice if needed

Directions:

1. In a medium pan, add a teaspoon oil and heat on medium low heat for a minute.
2. Add in the mustard seeds and wait for them to sputter.
3. Add in the asofetida and curry leaves and mix
4. Add in the coriander, cumin seeds, turmeric, garlic, ginger and chili and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add in the tomatoes, salt and sugar and cook on medium low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes are all mixed and mashed up. Adjust salt and sugar for sweet and sour taste.
6. Add in the chopped boiled potato and water and mix well.
7. Cook for another 10 minutes.
8. Serve hot topped with fresh cilantro and some Pooris/Rotis or Rice!