Indian

Asian Food, Bowls, Indian, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Vegan

Oyster Mushroom Vegan Mujadara Recipe

Posted on January. 2023January. 2023 by writinstuff

Mujadara is a delicious and hearty dish that is perfect for vegans looking to expand your culinary knowledge or to simply tickle your tastebuds. I love trying out new recipes from around the world because it’s fun to veganize them and then I get to experiment with new herbs and spices in all kinds of other dishes.

Made with golden lentils, wild rice, and oyster mushrooms, this easy vegan recipe is full of flavor and nutrition. The addition of ginger, garlic, onion and turmeric give it a warm and comforting taste that is sure to please.

You can use a variety of vegan meat alternatives to make this dish include tofu, vegan beef strips or even beans. The choice is yours!

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Asian Food, Bowls, Curry, Indian, International vegan cuisine, one pot recipes, Plant Based, Vegan

Hot & Creamy Vegan Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Curry

Posted on December. 2022December. 2022 by writinstuff

Are you looking for a cozy and delicious vegan recipe to try this winter? Look no further than vegan cauliflower & sweet potato curry! After a long walk or a sweaty workout on a winter’s day, all I want is something warm. It can be soup, because who doesn’t love a hearty vegan soup? But it can also be curry when you want to switch up your soup game.

This hearty and flavorful vegan recipe is perfect for warming up on a chilly winter day, and it’s packed with the health benefits of cauliflower.

Why Cauliflower?

Cauliflower is a nutrition powerhouse, containing high levels of vitamin C, vitamin K, and vitamin B6. It’s also a good source of fiber, protein, and antioxidants. Cauliflower has been shown to have a number of health benefits, including improving digestion, reducing the risk of cancer, and aiding in weight loss. Put simply, you get a lot of food for a small number of calories cauliflower is a fiber-rich dish which means you really feel satisfied after a vegan cauliflower dish!

Making vegan cauliflower and sweet potato curry is easy and requires just a few simple ingredients, so let’s get to it.

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Asian Food, Bowls, Curry, Indian, International vegan cuisine, Vegan

Vegan Butter Chicken

Posted on November. 2022November. 2022 by writinstuff

Today’s recipe isn’t exactly a recipe, though I will offer some guidance how to whip up a quick and easy vegan butter chicken, but I wanted to share the one decent photo that came out because this vegan butter chicken recipe came out so well.

Really well.

The hubs said it was my best attempt so far so…yay!

As much as I love Indian food and I fell in love with it during the years we lived in Los Angeles, I had never had Butter Chicken before. Vindaloo and Dopiza was always my favorite and our local restaurant, Anarkali, I would often experiment but I guess I hadn’t made it to Butter Chicken.

Yet.

Then we moved to Germany and there was a wonderful Indian restaurant close to our house called Kashmir. They had a lot of really amazing dishes, notably their butter chicken made with 4 different levels of heat. The hottest was AMAZING. I loved it and couldn’t get enough of it. From that moment forward, it became a favorite and over the years I have tried my hand at vegan butter chicken recipes to varying degrees of success.

Here is the photo, the only one that came out without steam distorting it, I might add. It was delicious and now I have to make it again and maybe get some decent photos the second time around.

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Asian Food, Curry, Indian, International vegan cuisine, Travel, Vegan

Surprisingly Yummy Vegan Food in Sinaia

Posted on July. 2022July. 2022 by writinstuff

Happy Friday, people!

As you all recently know, I achieved a goal of mine by climbing to Caraiman Peak which is in the Bucegi Mountains in Romania. It was a wonderfully thrilling and terrifying experience and you can read all about it here.

But though the trip was mainly about climbing the mountain, it’s always nice to make the short drive to Sinaia and visit what has become a vegan staple in the area, Ramayana.

Ramayana isn’t a vegan restaurant, unfortunately. But it’s the only place you can get any vegan food that’s not a burger. There are quite a few places where you can eat with your non-vegan friends and family, if you never get tired of eating the same old vegan burger. Ramayana is, or was, the only place you could get more than one vegan food option and after a complicated first visit, things have only gotten better.

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Asian Food, Curry, Indian, International vegan cuisine, oil free vegan recipes, Vegan

Traditional Style Vegan Vindaloo Soya

Posted on May. 2022May. 2022 by writinstuff

Just in case you are wondering, yes I am still knee-deep in editing Let It Be Love because well, because editing takes time and it has taken me a while to write this story because my day job–more writing–has been insane over the past few years.

We should all be so lucky to have that problem, right?

Anyway instead of spending my time writing up recipes I have been spending a little bit of extra time actually making the recipes. There’s just something about cooking that doesn’t just relax me, but helps clear my mind. I’ve been cooking while listening to police interrogation videos–an off-shoot of my love of true crime docs–and they are surprisingly Zen. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been doing prep work and an idea will pop in my head, forcing me to wash my hands and type notes or put them in a voice recorder.

So…the good news is that I did get a few plot ideas while I was making this vegan vindaloo recipe. The not quite as good news is that I went with the traditional-ish method of making Vindaloo.

What does mean? Well it means I did what I could with what I had, while adhering to the traditional methods such as cooking and then grinding whole spices. It was a whole thing and I completely understand if you opt for already ground spices to get this recipe on your table.

So, let’s give it a go! (Are you a fan of That Chapter on YouTube? It’s Mike’s catchphrase only picture it with an Irish accent!)

Get ready for some major prep work and some insane flavors!

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Asian Food, Bowls, Curry, Indian, International vegan cuisine, oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Vegan

Vegan Curry Recipe ~ Butternut Squash, Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpea Curry

Posted on April. 2022April. 2022 by writinstuff

This weather has been so all over the place lately that it makes it difficult to meal plan. Okay the truth is that I’m not much on meal planning, our Midnight Tokyo Diner nights have been working out incredibly for the past few years so we get tons of ingredients, many of them fresh and then pantry staples, and then we can decide from one night to the next.

But with food shortages and shipping delays it’s harder and harder to get what you expect to find in the grocery stores in April. For example, there has been a TON of butternut squash lately which I love, but for me it usually means soup like, Squash & Lentil Stew. Or cookies. Or cake. Those are my go to recipes for squash, but sometimes I feel creative and make Vegan Spinach & Squash Queso Dip or Squash Blondies.

But I wasn’t in the mood and the weather was just insane. It was super warm and we went for a long walk without jackets one day and the next it was gray and gloomy and super chilly. And the only thing to like about a cold and gloomy day is cold weather vegan food. Chili and soups and stews and casseroles are all great vegan meals when the temperature dips and I knew when The Hubs asked for cauliflower curry, exactly what I would do.

Roasted Cauliflower & Butternut Squash Curry

This isn’t a quick vegan dinner but the good news is that the oven does most of the work.

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Asian Food, Bowls, Grains, Indian, International vegan cuisine, oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Vegan

Easy Vegan Dinners ~ Spiced Chickpeas & Rice

Posted on March. 2022March. 2022 by writinstuff

We’re all so busy all of the time that we’re often on the lookout for easy vegan recipes, right? I mean, for example I’m committed to the cause, I annoy my friends and family and all that, but some days I want something delicious, vegan and easy. Whether it’s an easy vegan salad or my favorite Easy Vegan Colcannon, sometimes easy is the priority.

Of course, I don’t mean easy like frozen pizza or other vegan junk food that doesn’t quite hit the mark in terms of taste, calorie friendliness or satiety. I mean is this something I will enjoy and not regret when I’m finished eating.

When it comes to this easy plant based vegan recipe, you won’t have any regrets, except that there isn’t enough for seconds. But you can easily double this recipe to make four servings.

So let’s not waste any time and get right into these saucy spiced chickpeas and rice. You can thank me later. 😉

If you want to forego the sauce, simply toss the chickpeas in dry seasoning and pop them in the air fryer or the oven. Otherwise, keep reading to get the recipe.

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Bowls, Herbs, Indian, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Vegan

Another Vegan Buddha Bowl Recipe

Posted on June. 2021June. 2021 by writinstuff

I have talked time, and time again about my love of the marvelous Buddha bowl.

I mean, what’s not to like about a bowl of food that contains tons of veggies, a heaping pile of grains and just enough protein to provide a well-balanced vegan meal that nourishes while tasting wickedly delicious?

I can’t think of one thing that’s unappealing about any of that.

So, here is (yet) another vegan buddha bowl recipe for you to enjoy. Or experiment with. Or try to top.

Whatever you prefer. 😉

It doesn’t matter if you’re a new vegan or an old vegan, the Buddha bowl is the perfect way to get you in the kitchen, cooking healthy vegan meals, and taking control of what you put inside your body.

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Bowls, Curry, Dips, Indian, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Potatoes, Vegan

Kartoffel (Potato) Vindaloo ~ Easy Vegan Potato Stew

Posted on May. 2021May. 2021 by writinstuff

The first time I ate Indian food, I was at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. and I hated it. The food was bland and boring and left such a bad taste in my mouth that it took me about three years before I tried it again. That time, well let’s just say that in our house, Indian food is on the menu at least once a week.

At least.

The dish was lamb vindaloo (sorry lamb!) and it was everything I had been promised Indian food would be. Well-seasoned, flavorful as hell, and spicy. It blew me away and from that moment on, I was hooked. The addiction was formed.

And it was that memory that inspired me to re-create the Kartoffel Vindaloo in all it’s spicy glory.

You’re probably wondering why I named this recipe Kartoffel Vindaloo intsead of regular ol’ potato vindaloo? The simple answer is that after spending almost a decade living in Germany, I’ve decided that I prefer the word kartoffel to the word potato, that’s all. 🙂

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Asian Food, Grains, Indian, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Vegan

Mujadarrah Inspired Cauliflower & Soya

Posted on April. 2021April. 2021 by writinstuff

I’ve been away for a while. A long while. First my husband had the flu while I was editing my latest book and then, for the very first time in my life, I was taken down with the flu as well. It was awful and an experience that I never, ever, ever want to experience again. So the blog had to take a backseat and now, I’m back. 😀

Yes, I’m calling this a mujadara even though there are no lentils in it. Sue me.

I wanted the flavors of this dish without the lentils so after a few adjustments, I was armed with tofu, a beautiful head of cauliflower and brown basmati rice, and I was ready to get the vegan mujadara started.

When it comes to cooking cauliflower, I prefer to cook it separately and usually in the oven because it gets those nice crispy edges in the oven or the air fryer. For this particular recipe, I used a combination of Indian spices and peanut oil, tossed with the cauliflower and then laid out on a baking sheet. It can take anywhere from 20 to 35 minutes in the oven, or about 15 to 20 in the air fryer, but you should use your eyes and your mouth to decide when your cauliflower is perfectly ready.

Pick a rice and cook it according to the package instructions. I used brown basmati here because I wanted a grain with a bit of a bite.

For the rest of the recipe you’ll need: rehydrated TVP or tofu if you have it handy, onion, garlic, ginger, green chili pepper and Korean chili paste. The onions should be cooked until caramelized as this will provide SO much flavor to this dish and it is a key in any mujadarrah recipe.

Cook it on the stovetop until everything is fragrant and tender. Toss all the ingredients together and heat through, and then get your yum-yum on!