1/2 a medium cabbage
2 packets extra firm tofu
salt
3 green chillies
3 pods of garlic
1.5 inch piece of ginger mashed
1 cup chickpea flour (besan)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds ground up
oil of choice (I used Coconut oil)
chili powder to taste
turmeric
To do:
Shred the cabbage
chop the green chilies finely
mash up the ginger and garlic
grate the extra firm tofu in a food processor or a hand grater
mix all of the above with 1 cup besan, salt, ground cumin, turmeric, chili powder and a little oil
It will look something like this
Heat oven to 350 F
On a large baking tray, spread some aluminum foil and grease it with a little oil
Arrange the kofta balls and slide it in the oven
Cook until done. Time depends on the oven. It took me nearly 45 minutes. Next time, I might set the oven temperature to 375.
Should look like this when done:
Enjoy with either the traditional kofta sauce or in a pita with other veggies, like a falafel; or just eat it as is!
6 cups Cooked lentils (I soak and sprout them before I pressure cook them with a little turmeric). Cooked lentils freeze very well, so it is always easy to have some on hand when you need it.
1 large onion sliced
3 2" pieces of cinnamon (grind one of them)
6 cloves
4 pods garlic -- crushed or minced
4 large carrots -- chopped into small pieces
1 green pepper chopped into small pieces
2 sticks celery -- chopped into small pieces again
1 lemon -- juiced
1 tsp cumin seeds -- optional
2 medium sized green chili peppers -- sliced
3 medium sized, vine ripened tomatos
Tan-Tan seasoning to taste
chili powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 bunch parsley to garnish -- chopped
Method:
Heat some oil of your choice or butter in a pan
Drop two sticks of cinnamon and the cloves
When you start to smell the aroma of cinnamon, drop the cumin seeds and let it splutter
Immediately, drop the onions, garlic and green chilies and saute for a bit
Add about two Tbsp Tan-Tan seasoning and fry a little
Add the green peppers and saute a little more.
Then add the celery and carrots and the half of the cooked lentils
Grind the remaining cinnamon
Puree the rest of the lentils along with the cooking water in a blender which still has the cinnamon in it. Add to the pot. Note:If you cook the lentils in a pressure cooker you don't need a lot of water, so you will just about have enough water in the lentils to make the soup rather than a pulp. If you cooked the lentils in an open pot you are likely to have a lot of water in the pot. So don't add the whole thing -- just enough to make the soup look like soup (more stew-ish)
Add some salt and add chili powder according to taste.
Chop the vine ripened tomatoes and throw them in.
Leave on medium heat for about 10 minutes (or less). Stir often since the soup is thick and can stick the bottom if left for too long. Check a piece of carrot to see if it has cooked. If it has, you are done. Otherwise, cook for a little longer.
When done, add the juice of one lemon and the parsley.
Did that name make your mouth cramp up? Well, you have treat in store for you. I am so glad I came up with this recipe. It makes two things easy: getting some vegetarian protein and eating zucchini. I hate zucchini. Not anymore. I use it as a sauce thickener.
Ingredients:
2 Packets of Tempeh -- finely chopped or crumbled
8 Hungarian wax peppers (they are not sweet, and I like that)
2 medium sized zuchinis or 1.5 biggish zucchini -- peeled and finely chopped
One medium sized onion -- chopped
5 garlic pods -- minced
1 cup loosely packed fresh lemon basil -- (you can even add more)
1 tbsp dried rosemary -- crushed.
Whole black pepper corns -- to taste
Some chili powder or paprika -- to taste
Olive oil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Almond milk -- may be about a cup or more (you will have to adjust on the fly)
The Method:
Heat some oil in a pan and saute the tempeh until crisp.
Add the lemon basil and a little more oil and saute some more.
Set aside, once the lemon basil gives up its aroma and wilts a bit.
Add some crushed pepper and a little salt to above.
May be around now, you can preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
Heat the pan again with some oil
Add 5 or 6 pepper corns whole and wait for it to pop. This will happen only if the oil is sufficiently hot.
Reduce heat and drop the garlic and crushed rosemary
Once the garlic is translucent and aromatic, add the onions, salt, chili powder, rosemary and some crushed pepper.
Add the chopped zucchini and the almond milk. And let the zucchini really become soft.
You can keep mashing the zucchini which will pretty much liquify it.
Check for taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
Check for consistency (we are going for something like the roux here) and add almond milk or oil if needed.
Toss the fried up tempeh into this, add some balsamic vinegar and cook till incorporated. Add only enough balsamic vinegar to make the flavor have more depth than salt and heat, but not too much to make it very vinegary.
Cut the top off the Hungarian peppers and remove the rind and seeds.
Stuff the tempeh mixture into the peppers -- pack it real tight
Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and set the peppers on it.
Dribble some oil on each of these
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
Enjoy -- here is a picture of the stuffed peppers, before it was baked.
I read somewhere that pairing lentils and pistachio nuts gives you a complete protein profile. So I have been thinking about how to combine these two in something awesome. Today, was the day that I finally managed to make this salad.
The Ingredients
3.25 cups of cooked whole lentils. Not mushy, just cooked.
1/4 cup salted, roasted pistachios-- shelled
2.5 cups of chopped carrots
1 garlic pod
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
3" piece cinnamon stick
1 tomatillo (completely unnecessary -- I added it because I had it)
You could sub celery or green/red peppers for above
EVOO -- 1/8 cups or less
salt and pepper corns to taste
The Method
To make the cooked lentils: I soak a whole batch of whole lentils in water for a day or a little more. Rinse and then cook it all in a pot of water. I don't use pressure cooker for this, because pressure cookers will make the lentils mushy. It should be possible to cook it in the electric rice cooker, although I have never tried. I store the cooked lentils in the freezer and use as necessary.
Put 1/8 cup of salted, shelled pistachio in a blender or food processor and pulse to chop it unevenly and set aside.
Chop the carrots and microwave them for about 2 minutes -- cooking them slightly lets the beta carotene be more accessible.
Chop the other veggies-- tomatillos or green pepper or celery
Combine all of these ingredients in a large bowl.
Squeeze a half of the lime into the blender
Add the olive oil.
Drop in the cinnamon sticks and cumin seeds
Add a few pepper corns and a little salt
Give it all a whir in the blender until it looks creamy. Some of the cinnamon pieces and peppers will not have ground up well. That's what I like since I like to see some texture in my dressing.
Add the finely chopped garlic into the blender and give it a final whir to incorporate everything together.
Pour dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly. Enjoy!
