Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk for Virtual Vegan Potluck Nov2012

Welcome VVP visitors! I am delighted to have you here. :)

When I signed up under 'Beverages' for the Virtual Vegan Potluck, I had intended to make a decadent, icy, chocolatey vegan shake of sorts. But since I've been over indulging over the past few days and because of the cold, rainy weather we've been having today, I decided to make a hot and comforting beverage instead.

For many years, I've relished the ritual of drinking hot tea every evening. After going vegan (over 9 years ago), I switched to soy for my daily dose of chai. Earlier this year, I discovered the magical taste of chai that's brewed with cashew mylk. It melds with the flavours of the added spices and is super smooth going down the throat. Simply amazing!

Recently, I've started to add a handful of sesame seeds with the cashews while grinding them to make the mylk to boost the healthy, calcium content. It also serves to enhance the taste of the mylk and subsequently, the tea made from it.

The spices in this Masala Chai help digestion and soothe the throat. So sip on some after you've enjoyed all the gastronomical delights that my fellow VVP bloggers have brought to the potluck today to help settle your tummy. ;)

Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk

For the raw sesame-cashew mylk:

1/2 C Cashew
1/4 C Sesame Seeds
2 C Filtered Water

Grind the cashews and sesame seeds to a fine powder.
Add 1/4 C water and blend to a smooth cream.
Add remaining 1 3/4 C water and blend well to get mylk.
Pour into a pitcher, cover and store in the fridge for up to a week.

For the tea (serves one person):

1/2 C Water

1 inch Ginger
4 Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon
4 Pepper Corns
1 Cardamom Pod

1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Tea Powder

1/2 C Sesame-Cashew Mylk.

Heat water in a small pan.
Crush the whole spices and add to the water.
Boil for a few minutes to infuse the water with flavours of the spices.
Add sugar and boil for half a minute to dissolve the sugar.
Add tea powder and stir well.
Pour in the sesame-cashew mylk and stir.
Boil for another minute or two on medium heat, until the tea gets frothy.
Turn off the heat.
Strain the tea into a cup/mug through a metal tea strainer.
Press down into the strainer with a spoon to squeeze every last drop of tea into the mug.
Enjoy your piping hot cup of Vegan Masala Chai! :)
*slurp*

Virtual Vegan Potluck, the brainchild of Ann of An Unrefined Vegan, is a twice yearly global blogging event. This time, a hundred and four bloggers will be 'bringing' a vegan dish to the virtual potluck by posting a recipe. The blogs are arranged in order of the courses of a meal. We have Appetizers (18), Beverages (5), Breads (5), Salads (5), Side Dishes (9), Soups (10), Main Dishes (23) and Desserts (29).

Each blog post is linked to the blog before it and after it on the list so it's easy for visitors to jump from one recipe to the next in the order of the courses. My Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk is the 22nd recipe on the list. You can start at the beginning of the list by visiting the host site Vegan Bloggers Unite or move to the previous or next blog by clicking on the links below.



Thanks for dropping by. :)

Indulgent Tropical Vegan Holiday Vegan MoFo day 20

I spent the last few days swimming in the ocean, feeling the sand under my feet, riding around in a scooter under sunny skies and stuffing my face with fantastic vegan food!!

The chefs at the place I stayed at were so very nice. They prepared delicious vegan fare, including drool-worthy desserts just for me. And I also got to visit one of the best vegan restaurants in India where I ate to my heart's content, surrounded by lots of greenery.

It was one of the awesomest holidays I've had in my life and I'm still recovering from it. The cold, rainy weather back here at home isn't helping much. All I want to do today is crawl up under a cozy blankie and re-live my tropical vegan holiday.

So for the very last day of Vegan MoFo, I've decided to do a lazy, photo blog post with very less writing involved. Since I was vacationing, I didn't carry my regular camera with me. All pics below were clicked with my phone's camera. The Luminance app on my phone has been a great help in making them presentable adding artistic appeal. :oP

First, the delectable desserts served each night with dinner. The pastry chef at the place I was staying at was so very thoughtful with the presentation and added little touches that made me oooh and ahh each time the desserts were placed in front of me. The other chefs were really nice too and made super delicious food, but my digging-in instinct prevailed and I kept forgetting to click pics of the stuff.

Now snapshots from my lunch at the super awesome Blue Planet Café.

Spaghetti and Neat Balls Vegan MoFo day 19

This will be my last Main Course recipe for Vegan MoFo this year. And I've been saving my best recipe for last. :)

I'm so happy to have touched nineteen posts so far. I haven't decided what I'll do for my twentieth and final day. It might be a round up/flash back type post like I did for day #10. Or perhaps just some yummilicious vegan food piccies, without recipes, since I have no intention of stepping into my kitchen over the next few days! Methinks, I've earned some well-deserved eating out and self pampering. :D

One more thing, I am staying well away from the internet this weekend! We all need a nice break away from blogging and facebooking once in a while and what's a better time than right after all the Vegan MoFo madness? So I shall resurface with my next post on Monday or Tuesday.

On Thursday next week, my blog will be a part of the super innovative, one-day blogging event, Virtual Vegan Potluck! :) This is an idea conceived by my friend Ann of An Unrefined Vegan. They had the first VVP earlier this year, which was when I discovered Ann's blog (among many other awesome ones) and I just knew that when the next VVP happened, I would definitely want to be a part of it. That's why, even though it's right after Vegan MoFo, I singed up for it. Since I've made desserts, salads, soups, starters/snacks and main courses all this month, I decided that I'll be bringing a beverage to the potluck. You can see what it is when you come back here on November 1st. :)

Now on to today's recipe Spaghetti and Neat Balls. I first ate balls made of tofu at my friend Karol's house, way back in 2009. She had put crumbled tofu, almonds and spinach together with some spices to make these yummy balls. I based the basic idea for my Neat Balls from the ones Karol fed us. :)

This is one of the most scrumptious main courses I've made in all my vegan life. It turned out sooo sooo soooo good!! I'm not going to spend time describing it further. It's really very simple to make. So you can try it out for yourself and experience the deep satisfaction. :)

For the Neat Balls:
1 block tofu (I like the Ka Kim's brand in Bangalore or the one from Towness) - drained, patted dry and crumbled
2 carrots - grated
1 very small turnip - peeled and grated
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 T flax seed powder
2 T corn starch
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/8 tsp asafoetida powder
1/8 tsp red chilly powder
1/4 tsp liquid jaggery (or any other liquid sweetener)
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Salt
2 T nutritional yeast (optional)

For the Tomato Sauce:
5 medium ripe, juicy tomatoes
1 T garlic powder
2 spicy green chillies
1/4 tsp jaggery or liquid jaggery (or any other sweetener)
1/2 tsp Salt

Additional Ingredients:
250 gms spaghetti - cooked in lightly salted water, drained and rinsed
1/2 C Italian basil - chopped fine
1 large green bell pepper/capsicum - sliced and nuked
1 T Daiya pepperjack cheeze (optional)

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Knead together all the ingredients for the balls and shape them into... well, balls! haha

Blend the tomato sauce ingredients into a smooth paste, using a few splashes of water if required.

Toss the spaghetti, basil, capsicum and Daiya (if using) together.

Pour the tomato sauce over them, mix and place in a baking dish.

Place the balls over the spaghetti.

Bake for around 30 minutes.

Mix lightly with a fork to coat the balls with the sauce.

Serve hot with crushed pepper and drizzled with Tabasco Chipotle or other hot sauce.

Enjoy! :)

Note: This dish tastes best when baked, but in case you don't have an oven, then you could try frying the balls. I wouldn't recommend boiling or steaming though. Also, if you're not baking, then simmer the tomato sauce for a few minutes before tossing everything in it.

Asian Fusion Vermicelli Vegan MoFo day 18

I'm a big fan of fusion food. It's a lot of fun to take the best of various cuisines and meld them together into a unique, experimental dish with its own personality. One of these fusion concoctions that I make often is an Asian vegetable and tofu stir fry tossed with Vermicelli/Semiya (South Indian, semolina based thin noodles).

My favorite local Semiya brand is Anil Roasted Vermicelli. These are really thin and extra long and none of the other brands match Anil's taste and texture.

Since any semolina based noodles or pastas aren't very nutritious, I usually mix a *lot* of veggies with a small amount of Semiya. This ensures that there's a lot of healthy goodness in the meal with just enough grain content to satisfy the carb craving.

I would recommend Tamari for this recipe because it's just amaaaaaazingly delicious (almost drinkable straight out of the bottle *slurp*). I pour it into any of my Asian dishes as well as all salads. But, as I mentioned in last week's Summer Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce recipe, unfortunately I ran out of my stock from the US long ago and it isn't available here. :( So I've just settled for plain old dark soy sauce that can be picked up at any grocery store.

Asian Fusion Vermicelli

3 C Cabbage - shredded or sliced
1/2 C Beans - chopped to 1 inch pieces
1 Carrot - sliced
1/2 Capsicum - sliced
1 block of Firm or Extra Firm Tofu (200 gms) - drained, blotted and cubed
1 Onion - thinly sliced
1 T Garlic - roughly chopped
1 inch Ginger - grated
1 Green Chilli - chopped into rounds
1 tsp Thai Basil - chopped
1-2 T Dark Soy Sauce
3 T Gingelly (Sesame) Oil

2 C Anil Roasted Vermicelli
1/2 tsp Crunchy Peanut Butter
2 C Water
pinch of Turmeric

Peanuts - roasted and crushed
Tabasco Chipotle Hot Sauce

Pre-cook cabbage, carrots and beans in the microwave for about 5 minutes to make the stir frying go quicker.

Heat gingelly oil in a heavy bottomed wok (baandli).
Add ginger, garlic and green chillies and stir fry for half a minute.
Add onion and Thai basil and stir fry until onions become partially tender.
Add tofu and gently stir fry for a few seconds.
Add capsicum and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
Add remaining vegetables and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
Add soy sauce and heat for half a minute while mixing well.
Turn off the heat and keep aside.

In a pot, bring 2 C of water to a rolling boil with the pinch of turmeric and peanut butter.
Add the vermicelli and keep stirring on medium heat for a few minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed and the vermicelli has been cooked.

Add the stir fried veggie-tofu mixture to the cooked vermicelli and mix very well.
Garnish with roasted, crushed peanuts.

Serve hot drizzled with Tabasco Chipotle Sauce. If you've been reading my recent blog posts, you might already have realized that Tabasco Chipotle is my new best friend. Hubby and I have been pouring it over everything! It's nuts. hehe

Enjoy! :)

Pasta Shells with Mint Tamarind Tofu Vegan MoFo day 17

Hubby and I drastically cut down on buying packaged dry pasta a while ago. Semolina is basically white flour in a grainy form. There isn't much nutrition or fiber in it. Plus, pasta prices have been hiked up quite a bit. Rs.150 for 500 gms is the lowest price I've seen in the recent times and that seems way too much to pay for half a kilo of semolina and salt.

There are healthier whole wheat pastas and gluten-fee rice/corn varieties available in the market now, but those are double, triple, quadruple the price. I can understand that it's slightly more expensive to produce GF products but just because something is gluten-free, doesn't mean it should cost an arm and a leg.

But giving up pasta entirely is not something I'm willing to do. For starters, it is so darned yummy. On top of that, it's unbelievably easy to whip up dinner when there's a pack of dry pasta on hand! So once in a while, we indulge and buy a big pack of pasta and then use it sparingly.

Conchiglioni and Farfalle are my very favourite kinds. The sauces and flavours get into all the little nooks and crannies and make the end result extra yummy. :)

When hubby and I discovered that Bambino, an old, Indian company known for its Semiya Vermicelli and Elbow Macaroni for many years now, has started to produce Shell Macaroni, we were super happy! Being a local brand, we knew they'd price their products quite reasonably. Nevertheless, we were delightfully surprised to see that they sell nearly 1kg (950 gms) of their Shell Macaroni at Rs.60!!!

Granted that Macaroni Shells are thinner and smaller than regular Conchiglioni Shells and they don't cook to a firm, al dente finish, but the difference isn't that big of a deal really. Especially if one's not looking to make anything fancy but just have an easy and delicious weeknight meal.

I don't have any fixed recipes I follow while making pasta. I just put together things depending on my mood and what's available on hand. I made this dish of Pasta Shells with Mint Tamarind Tofu in the last week of September and wrote down the recipe so I could share it during this last week of Vegan MoFo.

For that matter, most of the Main Courses that'll be on my blog this week have been made in September, while I was preparing for MoFo. So I'm thinking it's going to be a fairly chilled out week. :)

Pasta Shells with Mint Tamarind Tofu

For marinaded mint tamarind tofu:
1 block (200 gms) Tofu
1 small Capsicum
1/2 tsp Tamarind Concentrate Paste
1/8 tsp Turmeric
15-20 fresh Mint Leaves
Tabasco Sauce
Salt

For pasta:
1 1/2 C Shell Pasta
Salt

For final baking:
5 medium Tomatoes
Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
Black Pepper
Salt

For tossing:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Vegan Parmesan* (optional)

Rinse and press tofu between tissue paper to remove as much moisture as possible.
Thinly slice capsicum.
Finely chop mint leaves.
Mix everything with the rest of the marinade ingredients and toss well.
Cover and keep aside for 1-2 hours.
Bake uncovered in a preheated oven at 250 C for 15-20 minutes or bake in the microwave using the dual Micro-Convection mode for 5 minutes.

Bring 5 cups of water to a rolling boil and add salt.
Add the pasta shells and cook for 5 minutes, while stirring once in a while.
Turn off the heat, cover and keep aside for another 5 minutes.
Drain and rinse in cool, running water.
Set aside.

Chop tomatoes into large chunks.
Add the cooked pasta and chopped tomatoes to the tofu dish.
Generously shake Tabasco Chipotle Sauce, crush black pepper and sprinkle a dash of salt over everything.
Toss well.
Cover and bake in a 250 C oven for 15-20 minutes or in the Micro-Convection mode for 5 minutes.

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle vegan Parmesan* and toss well.
Serve hot.
Enjoy! :)

*Vegan Parmesan: I mix the pulp leftover from making almond mylk with nutritional yeast and salt and dehydrate it. Then I store the dry 'Parmesan' in an airtight container in in the fridge and sprinkle it over all my pasta dishes.