Thursday 20 September 2018

VeganMoFo 2018 #20: Menu: Jewels of India from Vegan Without Borders

I made this menu last year for Father's Day for my dad, I have mentioned his love for Indian. It was a bit of an involved menu, though not overly complicated. I made it a bit more complicated though, but adding in an addition recipe. Just for fun, I guess! Vegan Without Borders is Robin Robertson's international recipe book. Complete with menus for each region! You can see what else I have made from this book here.

Tamarind Sauce: This sauce was super delicious, I love tamarind. It comes together super fast as well. I soaked my dates in the warm water for a bit before blending it all together, and I found that a half batch was more than enough for us.
Rating: :D

Tamarind Sauce


Mint-Cilantro Chutney: I made a half batch of this as well, leaving out the chile. I did find it a bit salty at first, but it mellows overtime. So a good one to make ahead!
Rating: :)

Mint-Cilantro Chutney


Papri Chaat: This was a bit fun, making my only little fried crackers. I made a half batch, which made a lot using a 1 1/2 inch cutter. This made very little crackers, so next time I would suggest going with the 2 inch cutter. I get a bit scared frying in a lot of oil, so instead of 1 inch deep frying, I shallow fried in 1cm of oil, which worked fine. And I didn't burn myself or the house down, so great! The crackers are topped with a mash of chickpeas and the mint-cilantro chutney, yoghurt, chopped tomato, more chutney, tamarind sauce, and coriander leaves. It also suggests using chaat masala spice, but I didn't have any so just left it off. I served on a platter at the table, for people to assemble individually. I think this is the best way, as they go soggy if they sit made up for too long.
Rating: :)

Papri Chaat


Chickpea and Potato Patties: These were the extra recipe I added, but they were almost my undoing. I added it in because they are topped also with the chutney and sauce, so why not. I halved the recipe (I am only cooking for three), left out the chile, and made the mixture in advance to set up a bit in the fridge. Then came the frying... were they turned into oily mush and I started wanting to cry a little. But I saved them! I drained them, baked then 200dC for about 20 minutes, let them cool a little, mopped up the excess oil with paper towel, made into proper patty shapes with my hands, and then drained again on a paper towel before reheating in the oven. I ended up with some delicate patties, though it nearly cost my my mind. Oh well, fun kitchen adventures, right?
Rating: :|

Chickpea and Potato Patties


Here are the papri chaat and the patties all dressed up...

Jewels of India Menu: Papri Chaat; Potato and Chickpea Patties


Hakka Noodles: I couldn't find actual hakka noodles, so I used vermicelli as a suggested substitute. This is simple and fast to make, and a nice blend of noodles and vegetables. Onion, carrot, cabbage, and mushrooms... I left out the capsicum. A good, fast dinner.
Rating: :)

Hakka Noodles


Manchurian Cauliflower: Cauliflower is battered in a spiced chickpea flour and regular flour batter, fried, and then tossed in a tasty red sauce (I left the hot sauce out of it). Again, I made a half batch of this with one small cauliflower. I found the batter to be a bit too thick to properly coat the cauliflower, so I added a bit of extra water to thin it. Once battered and fried, the cauliflower keeps quite well in the oven until you are ready to add it to the sauce.
Rating: :)

Manchurian Cauliflower


The noodles and the cauliflower were a great match together, served with some baby spinach for greens.

Jewels of India Menu: Manchurian Caulifloer; Hakka Noodles


Cardamom Chickpea Cookies: These cute little cookies were a sweet way to end the meal. They are made from chickpea flour and ground almonds, spiced with cardamom, and topped with crushed pistachios. I made a half batch, for fifteen little cookies using a 1 1/2 inch cutter, rolled to about 5mm thick. The cookies themselves didn't rise or spread much, and are quite dense and crunchy. They are great to have with tea. I also left the almond extract out of them. I don't know if US almond extract is different to the one we have here, but I find even a tiny bit of it overpowers everything with a very strong flavour.
Rating: :)

Cardamom Chickpea Cookies


Cute Kitty Photo of the Post

Dim Sim and Gizmo


A SUPER rare photo of Gizmo and Dim Sim together. Practically touching!

8 comments:

  1. This meal looks so fantastic!
    If you have Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen, she has a recipe for Chaat Masala in it. You need dry mango powder and Indian black salt as well as some more everyday spices.

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    1. I only have her second book, the Everyday Kitchen one.

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  2. That platter looks so cute! I love that you have this tradition of cooking family feasts for special occasions. :)

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    1. I always look forward to making these feasts.

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  3. Your meal looks out of this world!! I'm super impressed you saved the chickpea and potato patties!
    The noodles and cauliflower, wow I need those in my life!!
    Dim Sim looks like she's considering leaving in a huff!

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    1. She is very displeased. I am really surprised that no one smacked the other, which is normally what they'd do if they were that close.

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  4. That's great that you stuck with the patties and managed to make them work! The noodles and cauliflower both look absolutely incredible!

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    1. Not going to lie, I very nearly almost sat down and cried and gave up on the whole thing. But I am glad I persevered to get them on the table.

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