Slow Cooker Creamy Coconut Lentils

I have scaled down the number of blogs I read. My RSS feeder is still full yet I rarely open it. My friends shared Lindsay and Bjork’s post from Pinch of Yum where they shared openly about the death of their son born at 23 weeks gestation. Twenty five weeks is usually the point where a baby might survive. This hit me dear to my heart as I went into labour at 26 weeks. Thankfully, I was able to keep my guy cooking for another 7 weeks, but they experienced my worst fears.

Curry Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

Every year, I pay particular attention to the weather. Usually it is because I cycle to work but this year it is because of the garden. It still blows my mind that 2 weeks ago, we were worried about frost and snow (it snowed in May, I saw it) and now, the highs are a humid 30°C a with a humidex of 33°C. No wonder the plants are confused; our magnolia tree bloomed but the city’s cherry trees opted out. The mild spring was short-lived and will likely herald a warmer than normal summer.

Slow Cooker Chana Masala (Oil-free, Vegan)

I hope you don’t mind me sharing recipes from my newest favourite kitchen gadget. Rob bought me an Instapot and we’ve been slowly exploring it – both with the slow cooker and pressure cooker functions (I will be waiting a while to try the yogurt function unless someone can point me in the right direction for something easy).

Mango Tofu Curry + Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen Giveaway

Guys, I am super excited to share this cookbook review with you. It is Richa Hingle’s first cookbook: Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen. I am sure she needs no introduction, her blog focuses on drool-worthy vegan eats but her heart is in making vegan versions of Indian dishes. Her photography is nothing short of stunning (see above and below, both of the mango tofu curry) and her recipes are excellent. Many of her testers have been gushing over her book for some time, so I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy for my review.

Richa’s book is an excellent foray into Indian cuisine. In all honesty, I usually skip over the beginner introductions in cookbooks but I always found them incredibly important when learning how to cook Indian food. As an example, the names of beans can be so confusing with different names in different locations. With Richa’s slant to the North American kitchen, you can figure out that urad dal is also known as split and skinned black lentils, which is different than mung dal which is split and skinned petite yellow lentils. There are recipes with more easier to find to find ingredients but she relies heavily of traditional procedures and ingredients for authentic taste (tempering, fermenting, spice blends, etc). However, she also uses ingredients like tofu and tempeh to substitute the sometimes meat-laden classics.

The recipes never seem to end. Richa has structured her cookbook to cover breakfast (Chickpea Flour Pancakes and Savory Oats Hash), Small Plates and Snacks (Savory Lentil Pastries [Baked Dal Kachori] and Spiced Roasted Tofu and Vegetables [Tandoori Tikka]), Sides and Dry Vegetable Curries  (Cauliflower Potatoes [Gobi Aloo], Cauliflower and Peas in Spicy Curry [Gobi Mutter Masala]), Lentils and Beans (Butternut Coconut Red Lentil Curry, Restaurant-Style Masoor Dal Tadka), One-Pot Meals and Casseroles (Mung Dal Kitchari, Quinoa Cauliflower Biryani), Main Dishes (Restaurant-Style Navratan Korma, Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Makhani Gravy, Malai Kofta, Chicken-Free Balti), Flatbreads (Avocado Naan, Spicy Chickpea Flour Flatbread), Desserts (Pistachio Almond Ice Cream, Gluten-Free Gulab Jamun) and a chapter for chutneys, spice blends and other basics.

I have made a few recipes and they have all been fantastic. The one I wanted to share with you was especially enjoyed by Rob. Mango Tofu Curry. I looked through my archives and I had no idea how many mango curries I have shared previously:

Green Mango Curry

Mango Curry with Toor Dal (Cumin-Scented Pigeon Peas with Mango) — probably my favourite of the bunch

Mango Chana Masala

Spicy Thai Mango Tofu Curry with Vegetables

Mango Curry Chickpea Salad Wraps

This is definitely different than the others.

I used frozen mango which I pureed which leant subtle sweetness to the savoury backdrop. It was a very saucy curry amongst the tofu and we enjoyed it with some parathas. Rice or another type of bread could also work.

Thankfully, the publisher allowed me to giveaway a Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen cookbook to a reader living in the United States. My international readers are eligible to win a copy of the Bonus Recipe Bundle pdf (15 more recipes!). To be entered in the random draw for the book or ebook, please leave a comment below telling me which Indian dish you like the most (and please let me know if you are not from the US). The winners will be selected at random on June 5, 2015. Good luck!

Recipes from Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen spotted elsewhere:

Fudgy Cardamom Squares

Masala Lentils (Sabut Masoor)

Mom’s Chickpea Flour Pancakes

Savory Breakfast Oat Hash

Spicy Baked Cauliflower Florets

PS. There is still time to enter giveaways for Plant-Powered Families and Crave. Eat. Heal.

PPS. I am sharing this with Bookmarked Recipes.

Bengali Squash with Black Chickpeas

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

This weekend was a doozy of a cold fest. With the long weekend, I briefly contemplated using the snow in my favour by breaking out the snowshoes… until I realized just how cold it was. With temperatures near -40C with the wind, Rob and I opted to stay inside most the weekend.

We actually had a plan. We needed to study.

We are working to becoming PADI scuba certified. Since our wedding in one of the best places to go scuba diving, we decided to capitalize on the uniqueness of the location. 5 hours of videos, 300 pages of a manual and multiple questions, we spent the majority of the weekend tucked away reading. Next weekend, we will attempt our pool portion of the training. Sadly, outdoor dives here will not resume until June, so we won’t be certified before we go, but it will make it much easier to go scuba diving.

 

 

Around this time of year, it is probably a good idea for us to go through our pantries and cold rooms. Please tell me I am not the only one with winter squashes that always seem to linger throughout the winter. No better time to use the winter squash along with a new variety of bean. Especially in curry form.

Susan gifted me these black chickpeas awhile back and I will admit, I prefer regular chickpeas. However, this curry was spectacular. There were a multitude of spices, added at different times to the curry, which created a rather optimally spiced dish. The fennel and panch phoran make this Bengali-inspired and a bit different from our typical curries. The black chickpeas made for a beautiful visual contrast but regular chickpeas could work, too.

How did you stay warm this weekend? Any scuba divers with beginner tips? 🙂

I am sharing this with Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays and Extra Veg.

Coconut Chana Saag

I had all the best intentions of sharing a chocolate-based recipe this week. Sadly, not one but two recipes were a flop. How could that possibly be? One we had to throw out it was that bad but the other will still be happily eaten.

This will be a quick post to share another of my favourite repeater recipes from this year: Isa’s Coconut Chana Saag. I am still not sure why it looks like most of the curries I share, but this one is flippin fantastic. Perhaps the touch of fennel brought it to the next level? In any case, it is delicious and highly recommended.

While most people might be on holidays already (Rob is!!), I get 2 out of 3 statutory holidays off and otherwise working through the remainder of the days. Rob thinks I am working too much but I try to reassure him that this way I save my vacation for our honeymoon.

I may pop back in with a few quickie posts but if not, best wishes for the new year and happy holidays. 🙂

I am sharing this with Souper Sundays.

Curry Cashew Savory Granola & OATrageous Oatmeals Review+Giveaway

Hello again!

Sorry for the all the unanswered comments over the last month…. but thank you for hanging in there!

Usually I have this “do not mention you are going on vacation” mentality so that people come to rob my place. Although, for this special time, we had no home to rob. (Our stuff is still in a shipping cube somewhere, so please do not steal it). As we moved back to Canada, we had a very long detour. Rob and I set out for a month-long vacation in Madagascar and South Africa. We have both done extensive travelling (Rob more so than I) but we both agreed that travelling through Madagascar was the hardest we have ever travelled.

As I regroup for a daunting August (in which I start independent practice, write some exams, celebrate the arrivals of niblings (one is an expected niece, the other TBD) and somehow fit in training for Cycle Oregon. Oh, and unpack all our stuff, because it will meet us a week late), I will likely keep a slower pace for my posts.

Until then, I am thankful that Kathy has shared with me this fabulous photo and recipe from her upcoming cookbook OATrageous Oatmeals. I also reviewed Kathy’s Great Vegan Bean Book, which I really like, so I am thrilled to share her creativity with oats.

Do not be fooled, this book is way more than oatmeal. Yes, she has oatmeal recipes designed for each part of the year, including cooling summer overnight oats (Blueberry Earl Grey Overnight Refrigerator Oats ) and warming bakes for the winter like Pumpkin Oat Breakfast Cake. She also has a chapter for snacks like Peanut Butter Banana Granola Bars and later a dessert section with treats like Mini Raspberry Cakes and Chai-Spiced Oatmeal Tart with Warm Coconut-Vanilla Sauce.

However, I am most excited about experimenting with her savoury options. She has an entire chapter for soups (Scottish-Inspired Mushroom Lentil Stew, Fragrant Yellow Split Pea and Rolled Oat Dal) and another for savory options like Cauliflower Oat Pizza Crust, Indian Oats Upma, Oat Dosa, Not-from-a-Box Mac and Oat Chez and Oats-bury Steaks. And even beyond the kitchen, she has recipes for Soothing Lavender Oat Bath Soak and Oatmeal Cookie Scrub.

How do you like to use oats?

To celebrate her new cookbook, Kathy is offering a pre-order giveaway from OXO along with a copy of her cookbook. Click here to enter (open until August 4). After you pre-order the book, submit your receipt to Kathy for special recipes, coupons and your chance to win a different OXO prize.

Recipes from OATrageous Oatmeals spotted elsewhere:

Blackberry Mojito Overnight Refrigerator Oats

Coconut Oat Vanilla Nut Creamer

Mushroom Ginger Congee

Steel Cut Oat Sausage Crumbles

Oat-chata

I am sharing this with Healthy Vegan Fridays, Bookmarked Recipes, Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck and Laura’s Strange but Good.

Toor Dal Curry with Spinach (Toor Palak Dal)

Time is a-ticking. Less than a week left in Houston. We have been balancing DO.ALL.THE.THINGS left to do in Houston and DO.ALL.THE.PACKING. Lots of pantry-friendly meals this month as we eat through our kitchen.

We stopped replenishing the red lentils months ago and begrudgingly started eating through the toor dal. Not that we don’t love it (WE LOVE TOOR DAL) but it just takes longer to cook and time is something we are lacking right now.

We left a few Houston must-dos until the end. I finally went to the NASA Space Center, lured by a private tour by an astronaut. An astronaut with a PhD in Cancer Biology, which was right up my alley, as she explained the medical complications of space travel. And let us touch and feel the space stuff. But not wear the space suits, sadly. Astronauts ARE a science experiment in themselves, did you know? They also do deadlifts and squats in space to maintain their bone density.

We also went to Chinatown to eat at one of the rival Malaysian restaurants, complete with the suggested one-hour foot massage for only $20-25 at the neighbouring reflexology spas. It is the thing to do, I swear.

That experience was also our first (and hopefully last) experience with Houston rush hour traffic.

Also, kudos to the American pharmacies. “Yellow Fever Vaccine Now Here”. I can easily obtain travel immunizations without an appointment or a puncture fee. Vaccines tend to be controversial but it is not controversial for me: I would rather not get infected.  So I finally got my hepatitis A shots and re-immunized myself against typhoid for my upcoming vacation.

So, about this curry. It is simple, yet delicious. Lightly spices with all the great Indian spices (cumin, coriander, garam masala) and lightened with a splash of lemon juice, it is a nice hearty meal. An easy way to easily add more spinach, too.

I haven’t really gone into too much detail why I am pro-vaccine (the main reason is the ability to prevent serious diseases, some of which are incurable, which I believe outweighs the potential side effects from receiving the vaccine). Do you have strong opinions either way?

PS. I am sharing this with Bookmarked Recipes, Eat Your Greens, The Spice Trail for Spinach, and In My Veg Box.

Green Pea Curry (Mattar Masala)

Rob did some more investigating. He found a program that would figure out if I had any duplicate files irregardless of the name.

WOO!  After three days, my program to find duplicate files on your external hard drive has completed.  It has found at least 172 GB of duplicate files.  We need to clean them up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

His emphasis, not mine.

So apparently, I come with baggage. Electronic baggage.

There used to be a time when I couldn’t fit everything on my hard drive, but once I had 1 Tb on my external hard drive, I haven’t thought much about my space usage.

Rob didn’t appreciate my old school way of culling my photos: copying them into a new folder. Sometimes I had 4-5 copies of the same photo with my disjointed backing up. Now we get to do some culling!

Rob is doing a great job tackling our leftover food stuffs. This was an absolutely, wonderfully delicious pea curry he made with the peas in the freezer and spices from the pantry. I am not saying that just because Rob made it and everything tastes better when someone else cooks for you, but honestly this was gourmet Indian and made me a pea-lover. I love beans but peas are not as high in my “love list” but this, guys, was incredible.

Creamy with a rich-tomato broth with bright green peas, this was a keeper. Sadly, this curry has a really long ingredient list, which seems almost disjointed and muddy, but have faith. This was delicious and completely worth the effort (and definitely Rob’s effort!).

Do you like peas?

PS. I am sharing this with Bookmarked Recipes.

Indian Chickpea and Spinach Curry (Chana Saag)

It is all about the greens, lately.

After a week or so of salads and wraps, I turn the rest of my fresh greens into a soup, stew, or in this case curry.

I am sharing an Indian Chickpea and Spinach Curry (Chana Saag) at Laura’s blog, The Gluten-Free Treadmill. Please pop on over to check it out!

PS. And when I said I would be sharing another giveaway with you yesterday, I meant tomorrow. So stay tuned! 😉

Mango Chana Masala

It is the most wonderful time of the year….

Not because the spring weather in Houston is positively happiness (it is!) or it is the beginning of a cycling season (it is!)…. but it is the beginning of mango season and now we live closer to the mangoes!

Nearly every year, Rob will hunt down Alphonso mangoes. The fancy mangoes flown in from India. I am not sure whether they will be coming to Houston, but it does not matter. There are cheap and plentiful Mexican Ataulfos to be found. Last week, we picked up a whole case for $5. (We split it with a friend to keep our eating crop fresh. I know we’ll be replenishing a few times, no worries)

We tend to keep the mangoes plain and unadorned (at least I do, Rob adds it to his breakfast granola) but used some frozen mangoes for this fun twist on chana masala. It kind of a combination of my Mango BBQ Beans combined with Indian flavours. While I have used amchoor powder (raw mango powder) to make a nice chana masala, this was a fun twist since it was hot and sweet, too. The heat came from our newest infatuation: roasted hatch chiles. The flavours complemented each other nicely, especially with the tang from the tomatoes and the earthy tones from the cumin, mustard seeds and garam masala, too. Not too overly spiced.

Rob actually made a double batch of this and we shared it with friends. We told them to give an honest opinion of the dish. It was the first time we tried it, so we could handle their feedback. Like us, they loved it! And I hope you do, too.

Here’s to a prosperous mango season!

This is my submission to this month’s Bookmarked Recipes and this week’s Souper Sundays.

Indian-Spiced Creamed Collard Greens & Tofu

I have resorted to this blog to help settle a question. Between these two words, which do you recognize? One? Both? None?

Ablution

Ambulate

Full disclosure: Rob’s word was ablution. I had never heard of it before. Me, I use ambulate all the time. Rob swears it is medical jargon.

The best part? We both agreed on one word: ablation. Mainly because there is a medical/biological use as well as a nerdy space definition.

As your ponder your newest words, this will be a short post with a short recipe.

This is an Indian spin on creamed greens. Beefed up with some tofu, you pan-fry it first, then simmer it along with coconut milk and collard greens. Easy peasy. Serve with some brown rice if desired. Kind of a hybrid of my Spicy Coconut Braised Collards and Indian-Spiced Chickpeas and Kale. All delicious.

Looking for other reading to keep your brain working? I try not to disappoint and will steer you elsewhere.

Other recommended links:

Why the Olympics Are a Lot Like ‘The Hunger Games’
The Power of Protein Timing
Sweet nothing: The real science behind sugar
All About The Filter Bubble (make sure to watch the associated TED talk)

This is my submission to Speedy Suppers.

Tamarind Roasted Eggplant and Chickpeas

Of all the recipes on my blog, I am most proud of this one.

Not because I came up with the fabulous idea to mix together roasted eggplant, tamarind and chickpeas, but because I kind of ran with a taste in my mouth and help from a friend.

One of my co-workers is vegan and recently invited Rob and me for dinner. He went all out with multiple salads, curries, biryani and dessert. Served on a weekday, at that. I was blown away. By all of it.

The dish that I enjoyed the most was the tamarind roasted eggplant with chickpeas. I asked how it was made:. He said it was easy, just roast the eggplant with masala spices, then cook it with tamarind and chickpeas. Easy, peasy, right? Not really.. a bit too vague for my liking for me to recreate it. 😉

I figured my Baingan Bharta with Chickpeas (Roasted eggplant and tomatoes with chickpeas) was a good starting point, though, and after reading it over, my friend gave me some tips:

1. No ginger, more garlic to enhance the eggplant (I happily obliged)

2. No cilantro, and if so, just add it at the end (I just omitted it – it was better without)

3. Heat the chickpeas and slightly mash them, so that they can better absorb the flavours from the rest of the dish (great idea!!)

4. Add some turmeric (done!)

5. Remove or limit the coconut (removed!)

With a bit of trepidation, I set out to recreate this dish. I got my eggplant roasting and re-read my instructions. Sauteed onions and a good dose of garlic. Ground coriander, cumin and garam masala…

It has been a long time since I’ve cooked with eggplant (over 2 years, if you excuse my Raw Eggplant Bacon from last year as that was not technically cooked). Roasting it is definitely my preferred cooking method. It may take a while to cook but the results give you a silky base. Here, the fragrant Indian spices contrast nicely with the sweet/tart tamarind, floating in the silky eggplant peppered with chickpeas. The photos don’t really do it justice because it looks kinda of chunky when it actually wasn’t. Definitely one of my favourite dishes this year.

Have you ever been really excited by your own culinary creation?

Eggplant, chickpeas and tamarind elsewhere:

Eggplant, Chickpea and Tamarind stew at The Guardian

Tamarind Spiced Roasted Eggplant Soup at Everything in the Kitchen Sink

Tamarind Eggplant and Chickpeas at Relish

Eggplant, Tomato, Chickpea Tamarind Stew at Allotment 2 Kitchen

Eggplant Curry with Tamarind & Mint at Veggie Num Num

PS. Have you entered my giveaway for The Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen yet?

This is my submission to this month’s Four Seasons Food for Roasting.

Mango Curry Chickpea Salad Wraps

My parents, truly awesome souls, helped us pack in Toronto before our move. Rob and I (mostly Rob) had tucked our possessions into three categories: 1) perma-storage destined for my brother’s basement; 2) Texas-bound or 3) with us on our roadtrip. Granted, the kitchen was the last thing to be packed, especially since I was still using it.  As our last weekend in Toronto continued, we had packed nearly everything from the kitchen. The cube was nearly full and we had successfully loaded all four of our bikes. (Initially, we were concerned they wouldn’t all fit)

I had one kitchen drawer left. We had to decide what to do with my spices. I have a fewlot. My master plan was to bring my little jars down with me and replenish as needed once I arrived. I had already imposed a no spice replenish ban while in Toronto so I was due for more. For my less used spices, I figured I would simply use what I had left in my jar.

Instead, my Mom suggested I go on a spice holiday. WHAT? No spices for a year?! Even I have my limits. Spices are what make my food taste good!  I was given one bag to fill. All my little jars came with me. Even the empty ones.

Now that the dust has settled, I pounced on these chickpea salad wraps. Sweetened with fresh mango, spiced with ginger and garam masala with a touch of cilantro. Sweet, spicy and tart – a great trio. Mash them up and then wrap it in a lettuce wrap for an easy meal. I was worried I would have needed to add citrus juice, but this wasn’t dry in the slightest. It probably depends on your mango, so your results may vary.

Can you tell I have become more simple in my kitchen? Something about the hot weather makes me more lazy at home. 😛

This is my submission to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays and this month’s Random Recipes from saved cookbooks.

Zucchini “Meatballs” and Tomato-Curry Sauce with Almond Parmesan (aka Vegan Indian Spaghetti and ‘Meatballs’)

I used to wonder if my Indian dishes were up to snuff. It has been so long since I had been to an Indian restaurant, that I have nothing for a comparison. I usually rely on Rob’s opinion, who eats out more than I do. While on my many travels last year, I stumbled upon a highly rated Indian resto that had quite a few vegan options. I helped myself to the vegetarian platter and while I ate it, the only thing I could of was that I could make better Indian food at home. Not that the food was bad; only my curries are much better, if I may say so myself. Rob has taught me well. Furthermore, I can control the level of spiciness and the amount of added oil (no deep-fried belly aches), making dishes that are truly perfect for me.

Another advantage of cooking Indian at home is that you can go totally crazy, too.  Crazy in the foodie-sense, of course.  Have you ever seen an Indian dish with noodles? Italian meets Indian. Sounds like a perfect description of Joanne, who shared the lovely recipe.

Here, we have spiced zucchini and chickpea meatballs (aka kofta) that are baked, not fried. They are served overtop a tomato-curry sauce. The next question was what to serve this with. You could go with rice to return to the Indian base, but Joanne served it with polenta. I wanted to continue with the Indian spaghetti theme. Therefore, I used zucchini noodles and made a raw almond parmesan topping. Cooked meets raw. Zucchini on zucchini. Craziness, pure craziness,  I tell you… but all in a good way. 🙂

If you think I am just tooting my own horn, I urge you to try our favourite Indian dishes and decide yourself:

Nepalese Mountain Lentil Curry (Dal Bhat)
Split Pea Dal with Ginger and Lime
Indian Lentils with Spinach (Dal Palak)
Plantain, Cabbage and Coconut Curry with Split Pigeon Peas (Indian Cabbage and Plantain Kootu)
Cumin-Scented Pigeon Peas with Mango (Mango Curry with Toor Dal)
Indian Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes with Chickpeas (Baingan Bharta with Chickpeas)
Indian Eggplant and Lentil Curry (Dal Bhat Meets Baingan Bharta)
Butternut Squash, Coconut, and Lentil Stew (Aarti’s Indian Summer Stew)
Cauliflower, Spinach and Chickpea Balti
Tamarind Lentils
Indian Chickpea and Collard Roulade with a Tomato-Mustard Sauce
Malai Koftas with Chaat Masala
Baked Lemon Cilantro Pakoras

This is my submission to this month’s Pasta Please for nuts and to this month’s Pantry Party for cheese.