Baked Veggie Squares (Tukri Pakora) (& Free Copy of Vegan Indian Cooking)

I am thrilled you guys adore Vegansprout as much as me. I think there is something about vegans who like documenting and rating their food. We are a funny bunch in many ways, that’s for sure.

In her interview, Allison mentioned she wanted to host cookbook challenges. Anyone could join in on the fun, documenting their experience with the recipes. The first cookbook she chose? Vegan Indian Cooking.

I have tried (baked) pakoras and besan/khaman dhokla. For the cookbook challenge, I made these baked veggie squares.  This is a fusion of the two dishes. A mix of shredded veggies are combined with chickpea flour and silken tofu. It is spiced with standard Indian fare. Since I chose to bake them in a larger container, they were more thin. However, they remained moist and flavourful. The tofu added a chewy egginess. If you like heat, add more chiles. For me, this was perfect. Topped with a bit of tamarind chutney, these were a delicious snack.

The kindle version of Vegan Indian Cooking was recently available for free. However, it was only for US customers so I missed my chance to snag it. A bit of searching led me to find a pdf version on the publisher’s website, though. The full cookbook is available here.  Now you can have your own copy, too! Perfect! Please join in the first cookbook challenge. You can find recipe reviews from Vegan Indian Cooking on Vegansprout here. 🙂

Do you ever challenge yourself to try new recipes in a cookbook, too?

Baked Veggie Squares (Tukri Pakora)
Adapted from Vegan Indian Cooking (original recipe available here)

2 cups (140g) grated cabbage
1 cup (100g) grated cauliflower
1 cup (127g) grated zucchini
1/2 cup (75g) diced onion
2 tbsp ginger root, minced or grated
1 green Thai chile, seeds removed and chopped
1/4 cup minced cilantro
3 cups chickpea flour (besan)
6 oz (1/2 package) silken tofu (I used extra-firm)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp Aleppo chile flakes
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup oil of choice

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Oil a 9×13″ baking pan and set aside. A smaller dish will give you thicker bars.

3. In a large bowl, combine the shredded cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, onion, ginger, chiles and cilantro. Stir in the chickpea flour and mix until well combined. Set aside.

4. In a food processor or blender, blend the tofu until smooth.

5. Add the blended tofu into the vegetable mixture. Stir in the salt, turmeric, chile flakes, baking powder, and oil. Mix until just combined.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan.

7. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 350F (mine took 40 minutes since I use a larger pan).  It is ready when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8. Cool for 10 minutes and cut into squares. Serve with your favorite chutney (I used tamarind chutney).

Makes 30 squares.