Aloo Shimla Mirch(Potato and browned Bell pepper with Mustard and Coriander seeds) Vegan recipe

A quick post before Mofo begins all October. An easy potato and bell pepper stir fry, with Indian spices.
The brown mustard seeds and coriander seeds are roasted, green bell pepper is browned a bit, potatoes are then added and cooked through. No ginger garlic, just the spices highlighted in this dish. If you havent tried whole coriander seeds in a dish, this is the one to try out. Potatoes and roasted whole coriander seeds are a match made in (my) heaven ;)

Our home search is still on, and we keep looking at 3 floor townhouses. I blabbed on facebook, about how the discussions sometime go from serious house stuff to simple things, like who will go and get the icecream or something else to snack on at mignight. With just 12 steps to the kitchen right now, we still wait for one of us to get up from the bed and get it. What will happen when the distance is 2 flights of stairs and a bunch more steps!:) 

More Indian veggie dishes -Dry Sabjis here.

Steps:

Add oil to the pan, heat at medium. Add mustard and coriander seeds, mix and roast for half a minute.

Add bell peppers and green chili. Mix and cook on medium

Cook until browned.

Add turmeric, salt, potatoes. Mix well and cook covered on low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 6-7 minutes

Serve hot. Top with cilantro and serve with Roti/Naan, daal and Indian pickles.

Potatoes and roasted Green Bell Pepper with mustard and coriander seeds
Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, nut, corn free. 

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons organic canola oil or mustard oil
1 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 green chili chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 medium potatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Method:
In a medium pan, heat oil on medium low heat until hot.
Add in the mustard and coriander seeds, mix and cook for half a minute.
Add in the green chili and chopped bell pepper. 
Mix and cook on medium-high, open, for 4-6 minutes or until brown.
Add in the turmeric, salt and potatoes. Mix well.
Cook on low heat, covered with occasional stirring for about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
Serve hot garnished with cilantro leaves and a sprinkle of black pepper, with Rotis/Naan and Daals.
For variations, use other bell peppers- red/yellow, or mild chile peppers.

These potatoes and peppers are being shared at Ricki's wellness weekends. Gluten free Fridays,  Healthy Vegan Fridays.

In other news, here is an article on what is wrong with keeping marine mammals in captivity, where the dolphins and whales come from and what we can do to change that. 

VeganMofo 2012 Pizza theme Sneak Peak and Highlights from 2011

Last year was my first Vegan Mofo. I went with veganizing some Indian food and whatever I am eating theme.

This year though, I decided to up the ante. This October is all about Pizzas! some usual, some cheesy, some totally un-expected! Lets hope I can come up with atleast 20 fun Pizzas, with hopefully different crusts too, for October! 

In case you missed some deliciousness from last mofo, here are a few reminders:

Apple Fritters. GF
I mean hellloooo, these are not healthy at all,.. but me thinks that some plant-based indulgence once in a while is good for your soul. ;)

Tomato Wheat Sprouted Quinoa flat bread. I started sprouting quinoa after this bread to add to so many things including a lot of breads. More grains/seeds in a bread, the merrier.

Tempeh chickpea patty burger.. and this is how we eat tempeh...





The curries.. Chana Masala and Mom's Black eyed Pea curry.. 
these feature very often in this household.





And who can forget the Gulab Jamuns.. 
I mean seriously.. After my home made Doritos Spice in pasta, this is most pinned recipe.. Its one of the aha moment when you try something and the taste and texture works so close to the original. mmmm



Have a fantastic weekend all:) And be ready to bake up some pizza. 

Do drop me a comment guessing the pizzas on this post.. :) Some are obvious, some maybe not:) 

Wheat Berry Pilaf with red bell pepper, onion, peas. Guest post for Veganosaurus. vegan recipe

I met Susmitha I think around Vegan Mofo last year :)  or maybe earlier. Come to think of it, I met so many wonderful bloggers in that one whirlwind month. 

I was instantly attracted to her super cute hand made monsters, beautiful jewellery and amazing and simple food creations!

When Sus asked me to do a guest post in the middle of Summer. I knew I was not going to find time till later. So here I am when the weather is cooling down, and in another few days I will be going crazy trying to blog every day of the month!

For the guest post, I was initially thinking of making some cookies. But Sus has been baking up super fun cookies already lately. So I decided on a delicious whole grain pilaf.

This pilaf can be made with any whole grains to make it glutenfree. Half the nutrients are lost from the nutritious grain when milled/ground. 50g serving of hard red wheat berries, or about 1/4 cup uncooked, provides 163.5 calories, 1g of fat, 6.5g of protein, 35.5g of carbohydrates, 6g of dietary fiber and 1mg of sodium. Wheat berries are rich in vitamins B1 and B3; and the minerals magnesium, phosphorus, copper, manganese and selenium.

Whole grains are easily available in India, or atleast thats what I remember from 10 years back :) So many varieties of wheat, millet, sorghum, barley and more. When my Mom asked me a few weeks back for recipes to add more Oats to her daily diet, and the lack of availability if quinoa there, I suggested to use the available grains there. She has loads of wheat and millet at home sitting to be milled into flour, and she was surprised when I told her to try pilafs kind of preparation with them:) Mom, here are some pictures for you. I will ask Dad, next week if he got to eat something new :) (Usually Dad doesnt remember the names of the new dishes, everything is food;). But he will mention that Mom made something different the other day, and it was like this or that and from the description I will know what Mom tried ;). Mom and Dad are working on finding a common Milk substitute in Chai they both like, and currently liking Cashew milk in most of their teas! 

Super Yay for my Ma n Pa! I cant wait for the day when Mom is seen carrying containers of cashew cream to add to her tea while visiting family or restaurants in Nagpur :)

I used few veggies in the pilaf to let the wheat berry stand out. For variations: Add mushrooms, greens, eggplants, chunky vegetables, nuts, biryani /pulav masala of choice, dried fruit(raisin/cranberries). or make a simple one with vegetable broth, mushrooms and parsley.

For some of my Whole grain/Rice preparations see here and veganized Indian sweets see here.

*Find the Recipe at Susmitha's Veganosaurus!* or see below. 

Susmitha is also blogging along for Vegan Mofo 2012!. You can catch a sneak peak of whats to come on her blog here

Whole wheat berry pilaf Recipe

Vegan, soy, corn, nut free 

Cook Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour, Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry wheat berries (Gejun grain)

3/4 cup water for pressure cooker, (1.5 cups for saucepan)

extra water for soaking

1 teaspoon organic canola or virgin coconut oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 green chili chopped

4-5 garlic cloves chopped

1/4 medium onion chopped

1/4 red bell pepper chopped

1/4 cup green peas

1 teaspoon coriander powder or biryani/pulav masala blend

chopped cilantro for garnish

Method:

Rinse the berries well and soak overnight in 2 cups water.

In a pressure cooker or pan, add oil.

Heat on medium heat. Add cumin seeds and let them crackle.

Add chili and onions and cook for 4-5 minutes until golden.

Add red bell pepper and peas and cook for a minute.

Add in the rinsed wheat berries, salt and cook on medium for 2 whistles in the pressure cooker, and then on low heat for 15-20 minutes (2-3 more whistles).

If cooking in saucepan, add the rinsed berries, 1.5 cups of water, cover and cook on low until berries are tender. Serve hot.

The water content and cook time depends on the wheat berries(hard or soft), add more water and cook longer if not tender at the suggested time. I use soft white or red wheat berries here.

You can also cook the wheat berries separately like pasta and keep ready. Cook with water and salt until tender.

Serve hot topped with cilantro and lemon juice/wedge.

This Pilaf is being shared at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Hearth and soul blog hop, Ricki's wellness weekends.

Apple Pie Swirl Multigrain Bread Loaf. Vegan recipe

Can you feel it in the air! can you.. I am not talking about fall, I am talking about the calm before the storm called VeganMofo (Vegan Month of food) ;). Last year was one crazyy month since it was my first mofo and my parents were visiting half the month. I was running around with a camera and pulling my hair out at night. Check out some amazing posts, lots of veganized curries, kebabs, desserts, rescue features and more  from last October here..

Of course fall is in the air too, and that means lots of squashes and apples and fall spices.. whats your favorite fall spice?

I am not a fan of sweet fruit pies. So I decided to add the pie filling in a yeast bread. The filling doesnt need as much sugar, the bread is mildly sweet and makes an amazing snack as is, or a delicious french toast or plain toast with some maple and earth balance butter, yumm, or some cashew cream and more apples and pie spice!

I still cant figure out how to align my images on the blogger editor. I guess I will have to start writing some html. 

This is a yeast bread, so it has limited sugar and fat content. Its like a mild flavored, light and airy no guilt apple pie;) I has some whole barley that I let my blendtec convert into a nice flour and here we are with a multigrain( ok 2 grain- wheat and barley) bread.

Find lots, and I mean lots of breads here.:)

Steps:

Proof the yeast in warm water,

Mix in flours and yeast mixture

Knead for 1 minute until well combined. Spray water on top, cover with towel and let rise until doubled.

Doubled dough. Use some flour, Punch it down and roll it out.

Top with small chopped apples, sugar and apple pie spice. Spread evenly into a not too thick a layer.

Roll up like a jelly roll and seal the edges.

Place seam side down in bread pan

Spray top with water, then sprinkle some oats or flour. Cover with towel and let rise for 40-45 minutes, until almost doubled.

Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from parchment.

Apple Pie swirl Bread

dairy, egg, soy, nut free

Cook Time: 45 mins , makes 1 8.5 by 4.5 inch pan.

Ingredients:

Bread

1/4 cup water

1.5 teaspoons active yeast

1 teaspoon raw sugar

1/2 cup bread flour

1/2 cup barley flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 Tablespoons flaxmeal

2 Tablespoons raw sugar or maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water

Spices - 1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice ( or cinnamon, nutmeg)

1 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or virgin coconut oil

Filling:

1 Apple chopped small and thin

1-2 Tablespoons ground raw sugar

1+ teaspoons apple pie spice ( I used cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg powders)

Method:

Warm 1/4 cup water, add yeast and 1 teaspoon raw sugar. Mix well and keep aside for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, mix in all the flours, spices, salt.

Add the yeast mixture, oil, sugar/maple, and water to the flours and knead for a minute or two.

Spray water on top, cover with a towel and let sit for 1.5 hours.

Use 2-3 Tablespoons wheat flour to get the dough together without sticking to your hands and knead for 2 minutes.(If you like smooth doughs, knead for 5 minutes for better gluten formation)

Flatten it out on a floured surface to atleast 10 inches wide.( roll it out or flatten it using hands)

Top with Chopped apple, ground raw sugar and spices liberally keeping an inch on all sides. Use as much or as little as you like.

Roll up the dough tightly, and seal the ends by pressing the dough.

Place seam side down in parchment lines medium bread pan.
Spray water on top, sprinkle oats or flour. Cover with a towel and let rise for 40 minutes or until almost doubled.

Bake in preheated 360 degrees F for 40-45 minutes.

Take bread out. Let rest for 5 minutes, then remove from parchment. Let cool for half an hour before slicing.
Best served warm. Store in refrigerator in a sealed container for 3-4 days.

This bread is being shared at slightly indulgent Tuesdays, Hearth and soul blog hop, Rickis wellness weekend, Allergy free wednesdays, healthy Vegan Fridays

Banana Chocolate Cake/Bread. Vegan Oil-free recipe

Blogger dashboard changed to the new interface, and I am trying to figure out the new posting and setting and stuff.  I kept getting notifications to try the new interface but i kept switching to the old one. The new one, when I tried it last, had so many bugs with the pictures not aligning well and so on. The issues are still there. Whenever I select text and add a link, the cursor automatically goes to the top of the post(on Chrome). meh.
If any of you have suggestions on some good editors from where I compose then copy and publish directly without much hitches, please do let me know:)



This Banana chocolate Cake is finally posted. Its more of a bread with low sugar and low fat content, but baked in a cake pan. You can add some oil to increase the moistness, use it to make layer cakes, top with some delicious coconut whipped cream and fresh fruits and what not, add more chocolate and chocolate chips to the batter for a double chocolate version, or add some coffee for a mocha. My current fave is a spiced version though. the spices, banana and chocolate together for an after lunch or evening tea snack, keep me satisfied for a while:)

The cake is all whole grain with Spelt, Oats and Cashew. you can switch out the flours with other flours, add enough to get a thick batter, not too wet and not too dry.

Two cakes in the pictures on the post. The above picture is a no oil, coarse cashew and oat flour cake. The below is with 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil and well ground flours.

My Cake collection here.



If you haven't signed up for VeganMofo yet, sign up before 26th here. Its a month of bloggers blogging vegan almost every day of October. I finally signed up after weighing the stress of posting everyday against other things that are happening, and decided that i might regret it if I dint:) And I am stressed out already :)

Christian, you won the Vegnews 1 year digital subscription giveaway! please email me your preferred email id for the subscription at richahingle (at) gmail (dot) com.
That reminds me I need to make some cheese from the current issue!



Steps:

Whats that ripe smell in the kitchen.. ahh some very black bananas.
Grab 3 very ripe bananas.



Mash them and measure out the other ingredients.



Warm the coconut milk and mix in the chocolate, as little or as much chocolate as you want.



Mix in the chocolate, apple cider vinegar, spices, sugar well. Mix in oil if using.



Add in the flours and make a thick batter.



Drop in parchment lined pan and bake until done.

nom nom

Banana chocolate Cake.
Dairy, egg, butter, soy, corn, oil free.
Whole grain. Cook Time: 40 mins.  8 inch cake pan

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup raw sugar

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/3-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Spices of choice( I added 1/2 teaspoon ginger and 1/8 teaspoon cloves and nutmeg or add 2 teaspoons instant coffee for a mocha version)

1.5 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup ground raw cashew

1/2 cup ground Oats

3/4 - 1 cup Spelt flour

To make it more moist, add 1/4 cup coconut oil or oil of choice(I usually skip the oil)
Add 1/3 cup chocolate chips to the batter for a double chocolate cake

Method:

Mash the bananas.

Add acv and sugar and mix well.

heat the coconut milk, add chocolate and melt.

Add melted chocolate, spices(or coffee) to banana and mix well.
If using oil, add now and mix well.

In a bowl, mix 1/2 cup oat flour, 1/2 cup ground cashew, 1/2 cup spelt flour and baking powder.

Add this to the banana mixture and mix well.

Add more spelt flour if needed to get a muffin batter type thick batter. It depends on what size bananas you used, the chocolate and oil content.
Add chocolate chips for double chocolate version.

Drop the batter in parchment lined 8 inch cake pan.

Even out and bake in pre-heated 365 degrees F for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick from the center comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes and remove from parchment.

This cake is being shared at allergy Free Wednesdays. Ricki's wellness weekends, Healthy Vegan Fridays , Ella's Birthday potluck

Besan Laddoo. Sweet Chickpea flour balls. Glutenfree Vegan recipe

Another month, another festival! Another occassion to whip up some Indian sweets. Ganesh Chaturthi...is the Hindu festival celebrated on the occasion of birthday of Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati. Ganesha is widely worshipped as the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune and traditionally invoked at the beginning of any new venture or at the start of travel.

In Hindu-ism, a large number of personal gods (Ishvaras) are worshipped as murtis/idols. There are several gods, human incarnations of gods and so on. Whenever I write something about any festival or practices, I realize how little I know about the religion.

Lately, my internal questions about the gods and their practices has led to a lot of conflict. I think a lot of us go through something similar when our known religious beliefs dont necessarily gel well with our practiced beliefs. in this case, trying to be vegan in all possible ways.

For example, Traditional stories tell us that Lord Ganesha was created by goddess Parvati. Parvati created Ganesha out of sandalwood paste and breathed life into the figure. She then set him to stand guard at her door while she bathed. Lord Shiva returned and, as Ganesha didn't know him, Ganesha didn't allow Lord Shiva to enter. Lord Shiva became enraged, severed the head of the child and entered his house. After realizing that he had beheaded his own son, Lord Shiva fixed the head of an elephant in place of Ganesha's head. In this way, Lord Ganesha came to be depicted as the elephant-headed God.(This is just one of the stories among many)

Its confusing, isnt it. Why would a God be so enraged, then take a child's life and then to bring the child back, take an elephants life. Dont ask me, I am as confused as can be. The answers might lie in the Hindu texts and scriptures, which I guess I will have to start reading.

Till my mind figures things out, everyone around us and we as a family, continue to celebrate the occassion. To celebrate being together, to celebrate the fortune and wisdom that has been bestowed upon us, to celebrate the goodness around. One of the sweets that makes an appearance during the celebration is a ghee laden Chickpea flour Laddoo. This one is dairy free. You can find my Chickpea flour and Semolina Laddoo from last years celebration here. This recipe is glutenfree and is lightly adapted from Dassana's Besan Laddoos.

Steps:

1/4 cup chickpea flour ready to be roasted. Yes, i make small quantities, since between the 2 of us, we hardly ever finish any sweets, except probably chocolate ;) I will make a larger batch on the weekend if we visit friends.

Roast for 5 minutes, then add cocoa butter and coconut flakes and mix.

Roast on and on until the chickpea flour darkens and leaves a nutty aroma.

Add ground sugar and spices and mix.

Add coconut milk and mix to form a lumpy mixture. Add less or more. Take off heat and cool for a minute.

Make balls when the mixture is cool enough to handle. The mixture does tend to get crumbly as it cools because of the low oil content. To make balls of a cool mixture, warm the mixture on stove a bit, add a bit of oil or maple/agave syrup and form balls.

You can make a fat-free(oil free) version like this Wheat laddoo recipe.

And for more vegan-ized Indian sweets, see the collection here.

Sweet deliciousness.

Besan Laddoo. Sweet chickpea flour balls with cardamom and nutmeg

Gluten, grain, dairy, soy, nut, corn free recipe can be nutfree

Cook time: 30 minutes . Makes 7-8 small balls, easily doubled.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chickpea flour

1 Tablespoon shredded coconut(dried small flakes , optional)

1 Tablespoon pure food grade softened cocoa butter( or 1-2 Tablespoons oil)

2.5 Tablespoons sugar(I used ground raw sugar)

1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder

generous pinch of nutmeg powder

pinch of salt

1 Tablespoon coconut milk( or non dairy milk)

Method:

Add chickpea flour to a pan and Dry roast for 5 minutes on low heat. stir once or twice.

Add coconut flakes and cocoa butter, Mix well and roast for 15 minutes.

Press down and mix well every 3-4 minutes.

If making a large batch add enough cocoa butter or oil, so the mixture does not appear dry.

Add sugar, salt and spices and mix well. Roast on another 3 minutes.

Sprinkle coconut milk on the mixture and mix.

If the mixture doesnt comes together add a few drops more.

(You can add enough to make one big lump to make it easier to shape)

Take off heat. Let cool for a minute or so until warm to handle.

Make balls of the mixture. Press crushed cashew or pistachios or raisins on top.

This Laddoo is being shared at Slightly Indulgent tuesdays. Hearthand soul blog hop, allergy Free Wednesdays. Ricki's wellness weekends, Gluten free Fridays, Healthy Vegan Fridays