Vegan Vanilla and Agave Nectar Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World

This Sunday was supposed to have been my very first vegan bake sale at a local fair called the Sunday Soul Sante. I kept putting off the registering because of sheer laziness and procrastination but then a fellow vegan who makes delicious cheezes out of nuts and tofu very kindly offered to split her stall with me. It was just the push I needed. But yesterday when I called her to confirm, she said that the Sante had been postponed because of the rains. The new date hasn't been fixed yet and it might be a couple of weeks at least before I know.

But in a way it's a good thing that it's not this weekend because now I can relax and prepare. Try a few new recipes, buy ingredients in bulk and get the packaging details organized. I know that cakes and cookies wrapped in cellophane with a little ribbon look adorable but I'm really looking for a more environmentally friendly option.

Since I was all agog with the idea of baking this week, I decided to go ahead and make something special yesterday. So I broke out my copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World.



I bought this book over a year ago and have truly enjoyed reading it over and over again. The writing style is so amusing and the cupcake photos are TDF! However, I hadn't gotten around to baking anything from it because my older 12 cup nonstick pan doesn't fit into my current oven. But a few weeks ago I treated myself to a 9 cup pan (shiny aluminum, as recommended in the book) and had been really looking forward to taking it for a spin. And finally yesterday it happened. :) I decided to make the Simple Vanilla and Agave Nectar Cupcakes from page 44 of VCTOTW.

This is my first time baking cupcakes with a proper cupcake recipe. In the past I've just used plain yellow cake and brownie batter to make cupcakes. I must say that when using a proper cupcake recipe, the difference in texture is stark!! I was simply blown away by the sponginess and perfect crumb. I *finally* understand what the big deal is with cupcakes as compared to a slice of regular cake. LOL

Needless to say, my baking is going to involve only cupcakes for a while.



I frosted these cupcakes with Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting from page 142. Thanks to a very generous friend of mine, I had some delicious vegan margarine from Australia in my fridge and I also had some non hydrogenated Earth Balance shortening remaining from last year's stock. So I used them and modified the recipe slightly by replacing the soymilk/creamer with cold espresso.

I sprinkled the frosting with dark chocolate shavings, instant coffee granules and drizzled on some liquified chocolate rum ganache. Finally I topped each cupcake with a dark chocolate chunk.

My very first cupcake decorating attempt and it was so much fun! :)

Something crazy happened too. I'd left the cupcake on the window sill and had stepped away for a moment but when I returned, the cupcake had disappeared. I checked the hidden camera and my jaw dropped as I watched the hijack!

Sambar for Idli - Vegan MoFo Post 19

A bonus post. I guess this is my way of holding on to Vegan MoFo and prolonging the last day. :oP

My first recipe for Vegan MoFo 2011 was for Idlis. I thought it would be apt to end the month with a recipe for Sambar which is commonly served with Idlis.

There are a few different authentic South Indian recipes for homemade Sambar and I enjoy the taste of most of them. The one I'm about to share with you is a quick and simple one.



2 C Mixed Vegetables - Carrots, Beans, Potatoes, Chow Chow (Chayote), Peas, Radish etc...
1 Large Diced Onion or 15-20 Peeled Sambar Onions (Shallots) - this is optional
2-3 Diced Tomatoes
1/2 C Toor Dal
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
2-3 tsp Sambar Powder (this spice mix tastes best when home made but it is also commercially available in the masalas section of Indian grocery stores)
1-2 tsp Tamarind Paste
1 tsp Jaggery
Salt
For the seasoning: Coconut Oil, Mustard Seeds, Curry Leaves, Dry Red Chillies (broken into halves), Hing (Asafotedia)

Wash and dice the vegetables. Wash the toor dal thoroughly. Bring 3-4 C of water with the turmeric to boil in a pressure cooker. Add the toor dal, vegetables and a small pinch of salt and pressure cook for 5-10 minutes (depending on your pressure cooker). Let it cool completely before opening the lid.

Meanwhile heat 1-2 tsp of the coconut oil in a deep pan. Add mustard seeds and let them crackle for a few seconds. Add the remaining seasoning ingredients. Add the onions/shallots and stir fry until they are tender. Add the sambar powder, tamarind paste, jaggery and salt and mix well. Add the tomatoes and turn off the heat. Cover and keep aside.

Once the vegetables and dal have cooled, add the tomato mixture and bring everything to a boil. Reduce the flame and simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Taste and adjust.

Serve hot ladled over Idlis or cooked rice.

Enjoy! :)

Special Vegan Bengaluru Buffet Lunch - Vegan MoFo Post 18

Ack! I can't believe that we're already on the last day of Vegan MoFo! :( I'm feeling sad that the fun is ending and even more sad that I wasn't able to post every single day like I had intended to. I suppose 18 posts in 31 days isn't all that bad for a first time MoFo-er so I'll try not to feel too disappointed in myself.

Next year I'll be better prepared and have many more posts scheduled in advance so that throughout the month of Vegan MoFo I'll be able to just blog hop and chit chat. I'm thrilled with all the awesome new vegan bloggers I have discovered this month and am looking forward to continued interaction with these cool people. :)

Now on to today's post...



So as I told you in an earlier post, on Saturday we had a special vegan buffet lunch arranged at In The Pink Organic Restaurant. All of last month Mr.Vegantastic, Mil Mil and I have been running around trying to get this event organized. We planned the menu, tasted and approved the offerings and promoted the event. It was lunch followed by the screening of a very interesting documentary about food choices, nutrition and health.

More than 35 people turned up and everyone loved the food. The menu was:

Herbed Potato Salad
Mixed Greens Salad
Cucumber Salad with Peanuts and Coconut (Dr. Nandita's Recipe)
Tabbouleh

Hummus
Falafel
Super Spicy Chilli Bajjis
Pizza



Pumpkin and Tofu Ravioli
Herbed Rice
Arrabbiata Sauce
Peanut Curd Rice

Fresh Cut Fruits - Banana, Guava, Sapota
Strawberry Lemongrass Pudding
Chocolate Soymilk Ice Cream

I originally planned to go there early and take pics of the individual buffet items but wasn't able to manage that. So I settled for taking pics of my platter for you. :)



All in all the event was a success and many of the members of Vegan Bengaluru have asked that we do a lunch buffet instead of the monthly potluck at least 3-4 times a year.

Gulab Jamuns and Gratitude - Vegan MoFo Post 17

I've had a pretty physically and mentally exhausting two weeks. It's so not like me to say these words because I normally manage to lead a comfortably slow paced life. But sometimes unexpected stuff happens and all we can do is drop everything else and deal with the unwanted stuff in the best way we can. Anyways, I like keeping things cheerful around here so enough about this topic. I only told you all this because I just wanted to explain my lack of MoFo activity.

I normally have a tendency to focus on the positive (and there is always plenty to be thankful for when we open our eyes and look around us), so today I'll focus on some foodalicious things I've been enjoying with gratitude since my last Vegan MoFo post.

For Diwali every year, the hubs and I have been making Baadushas for the past few years. But this time I decided to attempt Vegan Gulab Jamuns (yet again) and they turned out closer to the regular kind than they have been in a long time. I am very grateful to Richa of Hobby and More for this awesome recipe. I followed it to a T and these beauties were the result. :)



I definitely have a bit of a way to go before I perfect the precise Jamun texture, but the almonds and oats that Richa has brilliantly included in the recipe make them so delicious that the texture almost didn't matter!

The next thing that I'm *extremely* thankful for is good friends!! At times like these, there's nothing like hanging out with a few buddies to lighten things up.

A few days ago I had lunch with two of my very close friends from high school. It was so wonderful to meet up with them after a long time. We had lunch at Infinitea (a tea room close to my heart) and yakked away to our hearts' content. We were celebrating M's birthday. She had come with her very sweet hubby. We later dropped into their hotel room to play with her super cute 6 month old munchkin. I love little babies! They bring so much joy!! :)

This is the tea I had at Infinitea. Rose Hip and Hibiscus. What a gorgeous colour!!



For many years now, it's been a Diwali tradition for me and my little sis to hang out with our cousins on the terrace at our parents' apartment. We watch the fireworks in the sky all around us and talk and laugh until the wee hours of the morning. This year everything's change and we weren't able to do our yearly ritual. :( But I am thankful for all the sweet memories from years past that I can fondly look back on and I hope that some day we can all be together again.

Diwali has always been about home and family but this year on the night of the main day of Diwali, hubs and I did something different. We went out for dinner with our dear vegan friends to Little Italy, Indiranagar. While the people of Bengaluru were bursting loud crackers outside, our cozy little group was sitting indoors and sharing a delicious vegan meal. We were celebrating World Go Vegan Week. I'm so thankful to have these awesome, cool, compassionate souls in my life.

Out of everything I ate, my favorite was the Zorba Pizza with added capers. Ooh lala! It was a slice of garlicalicious heaven.



All of us shared all the dishes so I got only one slice of this baby but I think I'll be getting myself a whole Zorba pizza the next time I'm at Little Italy.

Tomorrow's our monthly Vegan Bengaluru meeting. The lunch buffet that I was telling you about last week. I already know that this is going to be something that my tummy will be grateful for. Needless to say, my camera's coming along. :)

So here's hoping that life goes back to being simple and peaceful once again so that I can give you all a visual treat of the special vegan lunch buffet very soon.

Khara Avalakki Dosa - Vegan MoFo Post 16

Due to a family emergency (all good now, thankfully) I skipped doing a MoFo post yesterday. But today I'm back in action with a yummy recipe for you. :)

Dosas are a South India staple dish. Dosa batter is made of lentils or grains (most commonly rice) or a combination of both. There are innumerable varieties of traditional dosas which range from crispy thin crèpes to soft and fluffy pancakes. Avalakki dosa belongs to the latter category.

This batter can be used plain or turned into Khara Avalakki Dosa by adding chopped and grated veggies, green chillies, herbs etc... It can also be poured into Paddu/Paniyaram moulds and turned into a different dish altogether.



For the plain Avalakki Dosa:

1 C Uncooked Rice
1 C Thick Beaten Rice Flakes (Avalakki/Poha)
1 T Fenugreek Seeds (Methi)
Salt (Rock or Sea)
Thick Peanut or Soy Yogurt (optional)

Soak the rice, beaten rice and fenugreek seeds overnight in water or vegan yogurt or a combination of both in a wide vessel. There should be enough liquid to cover everything.

In the morning, grind them well into a smooth, thick batter gradually adding all of the soaking liquid plus more water if required.

Transfer to a large, airtight container (the batter should fill it only halfway through to give it space to expand), add salt and mix well with your hand.

Cover and let it sit in a warm place for 8-16 hours.

The batter will ferment and grow.

Heat a Dosa pan (Tava) or a flat frying pan.

Pour a ladleful of Avalakki Dosa batter onto the centre of the pan and drizzle with oil.

Cover and cook for about half a minute on a medium-high flame.

When uncovered, there should be bubbles and holes in the Dosa and the top should be cooked well.

You can optionally flip the Dosa over and cook on the other side too for a few seconds.

Remove the Dosa with a metal spatula and serve hot with chutney or pickle or curry.


For Khara Avalakki Dosa, stir in the following into the batter and proceed to cook on the same way as above:

Chopped Onions
Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Grated Carrots and/or Beets
Crushed Green Chillies
Asafoetida Powder (a pinch)
Soaked Channa Dal
Chopped Curry Leaves
Finely Chopped Coconut Pieces

You can also optionally top the batter with sliced tomatoes and then cook it.

All the above ingredients make for a delicious Khara Avalakki Dosa but you can choose to eliminate some of them or add your own stuff. Get creative. :) This is a very versatile batter.

What do you think you'd add to the batter?