Roasted Garlic and Cilantro Hummus

I just concocted this hummus a short while ago and it turned out so perfect that I just had to note the recipe down before I forgot the ingredients. Yeah, it's happened before. So many delicious, made up recipes lost forever simply because I was too negligent to write them down immediately. Well, ain't gonna happen this time! :)

As usual, the quantities of the ingredients were my usual "splash of this dash of that", but I've tried to put down proper measurements for your benefit. So make sure you taste and adjust as required.

Hummus tastes best after sitting for a day. But if you must serve it on the same day, make sure you give it at least an hour in the fridge before serving.



1 C Quick Soaked and Cooked Chickpeas (throw out the soaking water and use fresh water to cook)
1/4 C Chopped Cilantro
2-3 bulbs Oven Roasted Garlic
1 medium Oven Roasted Onion
1/2 t Sesame Seeds
1/4 t Tamarind Paste
3/4 t Red Chilli Powder
1/2 t Amchoor Powder
1 T Nutritional Yeast
1/8 t Cumin Powder
1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt

To roast the onion and garlic, rub them with olive oil and salt. Place them in a baking tray lined with aluminum foil. Cover them tightly with foil. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Bake for about an hour. Let them cool. Peel the onion and cut it into large cubes. Separate the garlic cloves and peel them.

For the hummus, cool and drain the chickpeas and keep the cooking liquid aside. Place all the ingredients, except olive oil, in a blender jar. Grind to a smooth paste by adding as much of the chickpeas cooking liquid as required, a little at a time. Taste and adjust seasonings. When it's a fluffy, liquidy paste, keep the grinder running and slowly drizzle the olive oil into the jar. This will emulsify the oil and give the hummus a creamier consistency.

Transfer to an airtight container and chill in the fridge to let the flavors get incorporated. Tastes great in the traditional falafel and pita wrap, but besides that the serving options are endless! Serve as a dip for vegetables, a spread or topping for breads (I've served it over home made corn bread in the picture) or eat straight out of a bowl. Enjoy! :)

Special Vegan Chocolate Mousse

I prefer to make this with freshly home made tofu when possible. Since I make soymilk at home anyways, making tofu is just another step. Turns out sooo creamy and soft!

If you can't make tofu at home, then use silken tofu. In India, the only silken tofu we get commercially is Mori-Nu (yeah, the terribly expensive imported brand.... but hey, for special occasions, this mousse is TOTALLY worth it!)

Most local tofu brands use vinegar to break the soymilk and that makes the texture and taste of the final tofu suitable only for savory dishes. You could try asking at an Asian restaurant if they make their tofu in house and if you can buy some off of them. They'll most likely be using gypsum aka calcium sulphate or nigari aka magnesium chloride to break the milk to get that soft and creamy texture.



1 Package/block firm silken tofu
1/2 C Vegan semi sweet dark chocolate chips or bar broken to small pieces
Pure vanilla extract
Maple Syrup (Sugar can also be used)
Soymilk
Small dash of olive oil
Rum - the good kind

Melt chocolate chips by tempering on a double boiler.
Bring down to room temperature.
Blend melted chocolate, tofu and maple syrup (according to taste) until completely
smooth.
Add vanilla, olive oil and rum and blend again.
If required, add a splosh of soymilk and blend again until creamy and
fluffy.
The consistency should be like a very thick smoothie.
Transfer into little bowls and place in the fridge (not freezer).
Let it set for at least 2 hours (more if you have time).

Enjoy!

The simplest, most delicious vegan mousse eva!! :)

Refreshing Spicy Chickpea Salad

This vegan salad is delicious and filling. And apart from the chick pea cooking process, quite a jiffy to put together.




2 C Cooked Chickpeas (I always recommend the quick soak method to cook beans of any kind)
4 Tomatoes (diced)
1 Small, Tender Cucumber (sliced into tiny pieces)
1 Green Bell Pepper (sliced into small pieces)
3-4 Carrots (grated)
1 Medium Onion (chopped finely)
2 Spicy Green Chillies
1 Garlic Clove
Salt (Black Salt tastes yummiest but some people might not like the smell)
Turmeric (small pinch)
Red chilli powder
Asafoetida
Juice of 1 large Lime/Lemon


Crush together the green chillies, garlic, salt, turmeric and asafoetida. Mix in with the rest of the ingredients. Toss everything together well. Serve and enjoy! :)

This salad tastes delicious when freshly made but on hot days it makes an amazingly refreshing lunch or mid-morning treat after being chilled in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Vegan Wholewheat Lasagna Type Thingies

I use the word 'thingies' here because these aren't exactly traditional Lasagnas, but rather a bunch of dishes I invented based on the same basic principle - sheets of pasta layered with an ensemble of sauces and fillings and then baked.

Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta Sheets layered with Spinach Babycorn Béchamel Sauce, Spicy Tomato Mint Sauce, Grated Carrots, Sliced Green Bell Peppers and topped with Sesame Seeds and Rosemary

For the Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta Sheets:

2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 t Oil (olive oil or coconut oil work best but any other plant based oil should be fine too)
Salt to taste

Mix together the above. Add a little water at a time and knead into a soft, pliable dough. Keep aside.

When the fillings are ready, pinch off large balls of this dough and roll into thin sheets. Cut to roughly fit the baking tray that you're using.

The sheets are the only common factor between these Lasagna dishes. All the other components are flexible. You can use the recipes below for the fillings and sauces or use your imagination and create your own combination. :)

Whole Wheat Homemade Pasta Sheets layered with Basmati Rice, Mint Béchamel Sauce, Grated Beets and topped with Sliced Tomatoes with Nutritional Yeast sprinkled on

For the Vegan Spinach Babycorn Béchamel Sauce:

Wash and chop as much spinach as you like (I do about 3/4 C).

Blanch and slice 8-10 babycorns into thin circles.

Finely chop 2-3 cloves of garlic (can use more or less depending on your taste).

Lightly toast 1/4 C wheat flour in a dry pan until very slightly browned. Keep aside.

Place 2 C plain, unsweetened soymilk (or other vegan milk) in a pan and heat it on a low flame.

Add a few spoons of soymilk, a little at a time, to the toasted wheat flour and make a smooth paste. (You can optionally mix a dash of olive oil into this paste for an extra creamy end result).

Pour the paste into the soymilk slowly and keep stirring constantly. Continue to stir and heat on a low flame (sauce should not boil) until it thickens. The continuous stirring is very important to keep it smooth and distribute the heat evenly.

Add the chopped spinach, sliced babycorn, chopped garlic, freshly crushed pepper and salt and mix. Heat for another minute or so (still stirring) and turn off the flame.
Your creamy, vegan béchamel sauce is ready! :) (I love to eat spoonfuls of this thing just on its own!)

Note: If you're using this sauce for pastas or any other dish where it's not baked, then cook the baby corn well rather than blanching and lightly fry the garlic in a little olive oil before mixing them into the sauce.

PS: I found out much later that coconut mylk is an even better thing to use in this same sauce in place of soymylk.

Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta Sheets layered with a mix and match of Plain Béchamel Sauce, Special Mashed Potatoes, Small Chick Peas, Coconut Milk and Marinated - Tofu, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Zucchini, Green Bell Peppers

For the Spicy Tomato Mint Sauce:

3 large, ripe Tomatoes diced
1 C chopped Spearmint leaves
3-4 cloves of Garlic
1/2 C raw cashews
2-3 spicy Green Chillies
1 T Nutritional Yeast
Salt to taste

Blend everything, except the tomatoes, together into a paste. Add the tomatoes and blend again to reach a saucy consistency.

Pour into a pan, bring to a boil, reduce the flame and simmer for about 3 minutes while stirring continuously.

For the Baked Beans Sauce:

1 1/2 C White Butter Beans - washed, quick soaked, cooked, drained (water kept aside) and cooled
2 large, ripe Tomatoes
2 cloves of Garlic
Red Chilli Powder/Flakes
1 t Olive Oil
Spicy Green Chillies chopped
Whole Spices - Cinnamon, Cloves, Bay Leaf
Tamarind Paste
Nutritional Yeast
Salt to taste
Ketchup

Place half the cooked beans, tomatoes, garlic, tamarind paste, red chilli powder/flakes and salt in a blender and blend into a smooth paste using some of the beans cooking water as required.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the whole spices and green chillies and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining cooked beans and stir fry.

Add the tomato/bean paste and mix well (adding more of the beans cooking water if required). Stir and simmer this sauce on medium heat for a few minutes.

Turn off the heat. Add a splosh of ketchup and the nutritional yeast and stir.

Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta Sheets layered with Mint Béchamel Sauce, Baked Beans Sauce, Sweet Corn, Sliced Green Bell Peppers and topped with Sliced Tomatoes with Nutritional Yeast sprinkled on

For the Special Mashed Potatoes:

5 medium sized Potatoes - boiled and peeled
Olive Oil
Marinade Liquid leftover from the Marinated Tofu/Veggie Topping
Coconut Milk (small splash)
2 T Nutritional Yeast
Dried Herbs - Thyme, Chives, Rosemary etc...
Salt to taste

Mash the potatoes, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Building the Lasagna:

Layer your home made whole wheat lasagna sheets with your choice of sauces and fillings - crumbled tofu, grated carrots, grated beets, sliced tomatoes, sliced bell peppers, sweet corn, marinated tofu/veggie mixture, coconut milk, cooked small chick peas etc...



Bake at 400F/250C for 45-50 minutes. Let it cool for half an hour. Serve and enjoy! :)

(Tastes even better on the next day because all the flavors get incorporated really well!)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Pecan Cookies

My chinni wanted chocolate chip cookies and my DH wanted coconut ones. The happy compromise? My favorite vegan chocolate chip cookies with a coconutty twist. :)



1 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 C All Purpose Flour
1 T Baking Powder
1 t Pure Vanilla Extract (if you don't have the pure kind, then don't bother using it at all)
1/2 C Agave Nectar
3/4 C Chopped Pecans
1 C Vegan Dark Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 C Cold Ricemilk or Water
Dessicated Coconut Powder

Preheat oven to 180C/350F

Spread as much coconut powder as you like on a small plate.

Put the rest of dry ingredients (except pecans and chocolate chips) in a large bowl and mix. Make a deep well in the center. Pour the wet ingredients into the hole and mix everything. Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips.

Form cookie dough into little balls and roll them around in the coconut powder and press gently. Place on cookie sheets 1-2 inches apart.

Bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet. Transfer to cooling rack.

Serve hot or cold. Enjoy! :)

These cookies were so yum that the Veganosaurus monsters loved them too! They had a big munching party and there was plenty to go around. They ate and they ate and they ate and in the end they fell over backwards, patted their tummies and fell into a deep, chocolate-y, comatose sleep.