Vegetarian meat(Seitan)

Vegetarian meat is most parts gluten and some part (30 -40%) flour. We try to incorporate flours with protein content like chickpea flour, soaked and ground urad dal or lentils. Gluten is the vital part of this recipe to pripovide texture.

Urad dal is popular in Indian cuisine and is a significant part of the South Indian idli. Ground and fermented with rice gives the fluffiness for the idli.

Ingredients:

Gluten -2/3 cup
Flour   - 1/3 cup ( prefered are ground lentils or lentil flours)
Water as required
Salt as per taste
Spices of your choice
Food colouring (optional) - 3-4 drops*

Mix the flours, spices and salt  in a food processor and blend for a minute or two adding water as required. If you are using food colouring add it now and blend until it is a bread dough consistency.
Take dough out and knead on countertop for a couple of minutes. Use a little oil or flour while kneading. It may be a little sticky in consistency but it shoukd be ok.

Shape dough into desired shape and steam until well cooked.
Store in refrigerator for a week to 10 days. Slice into small cubes or thin slices in recipes. Saute or grill  them well with little oil when adding in recipes for good texture. This provides a goid source of protein for vegetarians.

*In this recipe we used red food coloring.

1. In this recipe we soaked equal portions yellow split peas and urad dal , ground into dough.
2. You can use fermented water from soaked beans/ wheat or cooked pasta water instead of plain water.
3.Spices like carraway, cumin , black or crushed red pepper are the ones we commonly use.
4. Small cubes of vegetarian jeat can be sauteed and used in stir-fries, pilaf, uppumas and pastas.
5. Thin slices can be grilled placed in sandwiches and thin slices can be placed as pizza toppings. Be creative!

Quinoa kichadi

We are trying to incorporate healthier meals and reduce our rice consumption for other grains richer in fiber. In this pursuit  this recipe with quinoa was a quick one pot meal. It was a desirable option for our 8 year old.

Ingredients:

Quinoa                                                   - 1 1/2 cups
Chopped chives                                   -  1/4 cup
Chopped garlic                                    - 1 tsp
Chopped ginger                                   - 1 tsp
Chopped bell peppers(capsicum)    - 1/2 cup(small pieces)
Tempeh                                                 - 1/2 cup(small pieces)
Asparagus                                             -1/2 cup(julienne cuts)
Chopped carrots                                  - 1/4 cup ( small cubes)
Chopped tomatoes                               - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder                                  - 1/4 tsp
Salt                                                          - as per taste
Water                                                      - 3-4 cups as required
Mustard seeds                                      - 1 tsp
Dill seeds                                               - 1 tsp
Chopped cilantro(coriander leaves) - 1/4 cup to garnish
Oil of choice                                           - 2-3 tsps
Spices of your choice*                          - 1-2 tsps
Slivered almonds(optional)                 - 1/2 cup                                
* I used home made mix of cinnamon, cloves,red chillies and coriander seeds.

Toast quinoa on stove top or in an oven until it starts popping. Then add twice the amount of water and cover cooked in medium heat stirring in between.
While the quinoa is cooking heat a flat pan and add oil. Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and dill seeds to it, let it splutter. Add the ginger, garlic, chives and tempeh to the pan and saute in medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the garlic/tempeh are light brown. Add the rest of the vegetables and saute well in medium heat. Add the turmeric powder, salt and spice powder and cook covered for another couple of minutes. If required some water can be added.
The quinoa should be cooked by now and ready to be added tonthe vegetable mixture. Let the vegetables blend well with cooked quinoa for about 3- 5 minutes in the covered pan in low heat. Switch off heat and serve warm in a bowl topped with chopped cilantro and toasted almonds.



Tips:

1. I used white quinoa, but red and black quinoa are other options. The red and black are a little more bitter in taste for some. We have used the red and mixed quinoa blend in pilaf, they taste as good as this.
2. I used store bought tempeh. Tempeh is a fermented soy product. More information -
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh
3. The tempeh could be substituted with tofu or vegetarian meat for vegetarians.
4. It is important to saute tempeh, tofu and vegetarian meat and flavour them.
5. You could use any locally grown vegetables of your choice - red radishes, spinach, celery, potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant are a few examples.
6. Other garnish options are curry leaves, mint , parsley, dill or rosemary.
7. Fresh or frozen cranberries are an option instead of tomatoes.
8. Any toasted nuts can be used while serving to give a nice crunch to the kichadi.