Pecan Pesto Cabbage Patty Wraps

It's always fun to walk into the kitchen clueless as to what I'm going to cook for dinner, just grab a few ingredients and then invent a dish as I go along. As I've mentioned before, I'm a huge fan of stuffed/wrapped meals. Multiple layers and textures are a great way to make any dish interesting.

It all started with a cabbage. I first thought I'd be making stuffed cabbage rolls but because it was raining, I had a hankering for deep fried goodies. So I decided to make cabbage patties and then make them healthier (I say 'ier' because deep fried or not, veggies are healthy to begin with) by turning them into whole wheat wraps with raw veggies and a nice pesto.

Pecan Pesto Cabbage Patty Wraps



For the Cabbage Patties:

1 Small Cabbage chopped finely
1 Large Onion chopped finely
1/4 c Rice Flour
1/2 c Besan Flour (aka Gram Flour)
1 t Red Chilli Powder
1/2 t Cumin Powder
1 1/2 t Coriander Powder
Salt to taste
Pinch of Baking Soda
Sesame Oil for deep frying (Canola or Sunflower Oils are fine too)

Heat the oil in a wide pan or wok.

Place the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Add a little bit of water and mix to form into a rough ball of dough. It should hold its shape (add a little more fried gram flour if required) Pinch off little bits, form them into balls and flatten them into a patty shape.

Deep fry them, a couple at a time, on medium flame until golden brown and keep aside on a plate layered with tissue paper so any oil can get absorbed.

For the Pesto:

Spinach
Baby Mustard Greens (I grow them at home in a little pot and pick them while they're tender)
Cilantro
Pecans
Salt
Green chillies
Nutritional Yeast (optional)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Blend everything, except for the olive oil, together into a smooth paste using a little bit of filtered water. After it's smooth, keep the blender running and drizzle in the olive oil so it gets incorporated well. Transfer to an airtight container and keep aside.

This pesto will keep well in the fridge for at least a week when stored properly.

Other ingredients:

Whole Wheat Chapathies (any other thin flat breads like Pita or Tortillas would work too)
Tomatoes sliced into rounds
Capsicums (Green Bell Peppers) sliced into strips
Carrots grated
Black Pepper freshly crushed

How to proceed:

Place a chapathi on a flat surface and spread the pesto on it evenly in a thin layer. In the center, place three slices of tomatoes in a vertical line. Place the cabbage patties on the tomato slices. Top with green bell pepper strips and grated carrot. Crush pepper over everything and roll up the chapati snugly to form a wrap.

Bite into it and enjoy the burst of flavors in your mouth. :)

Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnabuns

Last year I had the pleasure of tasting a gourmet cinnamon roll at Cinnaholic and I was absolutely blown away by it! Ever since then I've been craving a cinnabun as perfect in taste and texture as that particular roll. Now if it were up to me, every time I craved a cinnabun, I'd just teleport right on over to Cinnaholic and stuff my face to my heart's content. Heck, I'd even be happy to be their employee just so I could be constantly enveloped in the smell of cinnamon rolls baking. And that says a lot because if you know me, you'd know I'm not into 'work'. But let's face it, it's going to be at least another year before I perfect my teleportation powers and Berkley is too far away from Bangalore to risk it. Imagine if I apparate in some remote island in the middle of the Indian Ocean where no one's heard of cinnamon rolls?? *shudders*

So my only option has been to bake and bake with the aim to arrive at the recipe for an amazing cinnabun. Something to keep my happy until the next time I'm able to experience a heavenly Cinnaholic cinnamon roll once more.

I first took a non vegan clover leaf rolls recipe and then tweaked it and tweaked it some more to not only veganize it and make it healthy with whole wheat in the mix but to also get the perfect, fluffy texture. Then when those rolls turned out great, I finally decided to take the leap and adapt that recipe into one for cinnabuns. And FINALLY, these delicious Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnabuns came into being. :)



Baking bread takes a bit of effort and a LOT of patience. But both these things pay off ten fold when your house is filled by the smell of bread baking and your mouth delighted with the amazing taste of artisan bread which you had the satisfaction of making with your own two hands.

So plan in advance, assign a day to make an event out of it and enjoy the process!

Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnabuns

1 1/4 C soymilk
1/2 C agave nectar or maple syrup or sugar syrup
4 T olive oil
2 t active dry yeast
1/4 t sugar
1 1/2 T raw flax seed powder
1 t salt
1 C All Purpose Flour
3-4 C Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 C or more Cinnamon powder

Heat the soymilk until lukewarm (test the temperature with your knuckle). Pour into a large mixing bowl and whisk in the agave nectar, oil and yeast. Sprinkle the sugar on top. Leave for 15 minutes for the yeast to dissolve. It should be all bubbly and frothy by the end of this time.

Add the salt, 2 T of the cinnamon powder and flax seed powder and beat a little. Slowly whisk in the 1 C all purpose flour and 2 1/2 cups of the whole wheat flour a little at a time while continuing to beat it as much as possible. Once the dough gets too thick to beat, add just a little more flour and mix with your palms to obtain a rough dough.

Form this dough into a ball and transfer it onto a flat, floured surface (I use my cleaned granite counter top). Knead well for about 10 mins at least (add a little more whole wheat flour while kneading if the dough is sticky but make sure it doesn't get too dry) until it reaches a smooth, elastic consistency.

An effective way to knead is to press the dough away from you with the base of your palms, then fold the dough over towards you and then it press again.

Form the kneaded dough into a ball. Grease the mixing bowl with a little bit of oil. Place the dough ball into the bowl and twirl it around until it's coated with the oil. Cover with a clean plastic grocery bag and let it sit in a sunny spot for about 2 hours. It should rise and double in volume by the end of this time.

Punch down the dough and give it a quick knead for a few seconds. Roll it out into a large rectangle about 1 centimeter (a little less than 1/2 inch) thick and place it with the long side towards you. Lightly coat this rectangle with a very thin layer of agave nectar and sprinkle generously with cinnamon powder. starting from your side, gently roll up the dough to form a long, log shape. Cut this log into 1 inch slices and place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper about 1 inch apart. Cover again with the plastic bag and let them sit for 1 1/2 hours to double in volume.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Bake the rolls for about 35 minutes. Enjoy the smell of cinnabuns wafting through your home.

Cool slightly on the baking sheet. Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm and be transported to another dimension.

Carrot and Radish Stuffed Chapathis

Simple enough to make but OMG are these babies deeeelicious. Serve with a splosh of ketchup and a dash of Tabasco on the side and it's pure heaven! :)



For the stuffing:

Grated Carrots
Grated Radish
Finely Chopped Onion
Crushed Green Chillies
Chopped Cilantro
Salt

Mix everything together and keep aside.

For the chapathi:

2 C whole wheat flour
2 tsp vegetable oil
salt

Mix everything together with a little water to form a ball. Knead till it reaches an elastic consistency. Pinch off equal sized balls and roll out into circles.



Place one rolled out chapathi on a flat surface and spread some of the stuffing mixture on it leaving a little bit of space around the edges. Place a second chapathi over it and seal the edges by pressing together gently.



Roast both sides of the chapathi on a pan over medium flame until golden brown.

Serve hot and enjoy! :)

Well actually, I love these at room temperate too after they've sat around for a few hours because the layers soak up the flavors and get a little soggy. So these make a great lunch box dish!

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!! :)