Couscous Stuffed Tomatoes with Sriracha Grilled Tofu and Green Olives

I have a deep seated love for stuffed foods - momo, ravioli, paratha, masala dosa, grilled sandwich, rice paper wraps...I really enjoy making and eating these dishes. But what I love most of all are stuffed vegetables! There's something so delicious about a fat, healthy, outer vegetable layer bursting with a variety of textures and flavours on the inside when you bite into it.



Potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums (peppers), zucchinis, brinjals (aubergines) and ladies fingers (okra) are the most commonly stuffed vegetables. But one can always get creative and stuff all kinds of other local vegetables too. What are your favourite veggies to stuff?

This recipe was inspired by a bunch of cute, little, local, naati tomatoes that I got my hands on. It was almost as if they came with labels that said, "STUFF ME" in big, bold letters. hehe





This is yet another recipe that I created for Global Graynz who in turn gathered all the required ingredients and turned them into beautiful packages. If you live in India and would like to make this recipe at home, then visit the links below to source the ingredients super easily by purchasing any of these Chef's Boxes. There are three kinds:

1. Rare/Exotic Ingredients (home delivery to anywhere in India)
2. All Packaged Ingredients (home delivery to anywhere in India)
3. All Ingredients Including Fresh/Perishable Ones (available in Chennai only)




Couscous Stuffed Tomatoes with Sriracha Grilled Tofu and Green Olives

For the Tofu:
3/4 Block Mori-Nu Silken Tofu
Sriracha Sauce
Oil for greasing
12 Green Olives (pitted)

Drain the tofu and gently pat it dry with a clean cloth or tissue.
Slice into cubes.
Lightly grease a non-stick baking tray and arrange the tofu cubes in a single layer.
Drizzle Sriracha sauce over the tofu.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C for 15 minutes.
Increase the heat to 250°C and grill for 10 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly.
Skewer the tofu and olives on toothpicks and keep aside.

For the Stuffed Tomatoes:
12 Small, Firm Tomatoes
1/2 C Couscous
1/4 Block Mori-Nu Silken Tofu
10 Cloves of Garlic
1 Small Onion - I used White Onion
1/4 tsp Cinnamon Powder
1/4 tsp Chilli Powder
12 Capers (optional) - can be replaced with sliced green olives
1 T Oil - I used Coconut Oil
Salt

Bring 3/4 C of lightly salted water to a boil.
Stir in the couscous and turn off the heat.
Cover and keep aside.

Cut the tops off the tomatoes.
Using a small spoon, very carefully scoop out the insides of the tomatoes and keep aside.
Roughly crush the garlic.
Finely chop the onion.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the coconut oil.
Add the crushed garlic and onion and stir fry until they have softened.
Crumble the tofu over this and stir for a minute.
Add the scooped out insides of the tomatoes, cinnamon powder, chilli powder and salt and mix well.
Cover and allow to simmer on low heat for a few minutes.
Add the cooked couscous and mix well.
Turn off the heat and allow to cool for a short while.

Now generously stuff the couscous mixture into the hollowed out tomatoes.
Optionally, press a caper or a slice of olive on top.
Place the tomatoes in a single layer on a greased, non-stick baking tray and grill at 250°C for 10 minutes.

Serve hot along with the skewered tofu and olives.
Enjoy! :)

Krya Sustainable Goodies Vegan Challenge and Giveaway

After hearing a lot of praises about it, we started using the Krya Natural Detergent Powder at the end of last year. I will only say two things about it: One, we should've switched to Krya earlier. Two, we're never going back to commercial, chemical clothes wash detergents again. Period.



Krya Natural Detergent Powder is made from certified, organic soapberries that have been sun ripened, dried and ground. It is designed to be used for washing clothes by hand as well as in front and top loading washing machines.

A pack of 400g costs ₹290 (inclusive of shipping to anywhere in India). This might seem expensive at first when you look at it in terms of weight. But just one tablespoon of the powder, that's about 10g, is enough for a single 5kg wash load (as compared to the 60g per wash load recommended by commercial detergent brands). At an average of ₹7.50 per wash, the price is definitely comparable to any chemical filled washing powder. And in terms of value, the Krya natural powder kicks any commercial detergent's butt any day!

Krya's parents are Preethi and Srinivas. They are focussed on creating natural products that are good for us and the environment. Of course they are vegan, and so are the goodies they create. Sustainability is incorporated in every step - creation, packaging and shipping. Read the Krya story to understand the wonderful principles behind their business. Also follow their Facebook Page to get lots of useful information on natural home products.

After three years of specialising in their Natural Detergent, they have now launched their second product - Krya Natural Dishwash Powder. This dish wash is made on the same principles as the detergent. It consists of certified organic ingredients - soapberries, neem, zedoary and lemongrass essential oil.



I was lucky to be one of the pre-launch testers for this product and I shared some with my mom too. Mom, me and Sharadamma (lady who washes the dishes at mom's place) were all very impressed with the results! The dishwash powder does an excellent job on glass, ceramic, silver, plastic and steel. I am particularly impressed with the way glass sparkles after being washed with the Krya Dishwash without any water marks on it.

Though the dishwash powder is designed to work for manual washing of vessels, I tested it out in my dishwasher too and am happy with the results. But I'm inclined to using it more for hand washing vessels because I enjoy the powder's fragrance. :)

I also used some of the powder to mop the floors at our home as an experiment and am super thrilled with how clean the finish is!

The Krya Natural Dishwash Powder is priced at ₹190 for a pack of 350g. A little powder goes a long way!

Now that the introductions are over, let's move on to our Challenge and Giveaway.



To celebrate the launch of their new product, Krya is giving away a few prizes on Veganosaurus. We have two different challenges with a total of five winners. The first challenge is for vegans and the second is for people who are not vegan. Every winner will get of one box each of the Krya Detergent and the Krya Dishwash.

This giveaway is open only to people living in India (apologies to my overseas peeps).

Challenge for vegans (two winners):

* Prepare any recipe from this blog
* Share a photograph of it on the Veganosaurus Facebook Page or email it to shop at veganosaurus dot com
* Also tell us why you feel you should win this prize
* Last date for submission is Sunday, 5th August 2013 (was originally 28th July but has now been extended)
* All photos will then be posted here on the blog for public voting
* The two people whose photos have the most votes will win the goodies :)

Challenge for non-vegans (three winners):

* Have one completely vegan meal - breakfast or lunch or dinner
* Click a photo of your meal and post it with a description on the Veganosaurus Facebook Page or email it to shop at veganosaurus dot com
* The description should have all the following information:
a) What did you eat?
b) How did you feel about eating a completely vegan meal?
c) Did you miss anything about going vegan?
* Last date for submission is Sunday, 5th August 2013 (was originally 28th July but has now been extended)
* All entries will then be posted here on the blog for public voting
* The three people whose entries have the most votes will win the goodies :)

Looking forward to all your submissions.
Enjoy! :)

Herbed Couscous Bean Salad

Salads are excellent during summer but once the colder months begin, my hand quickly loses its inclination to reach for raw vegetables. There's a need for more filling, cooked foods. This is why I love salads that include cooked ingredients in them. It's a great way to get those fresh vegetables in along with some hearty components.

If you look through my blog's Recipe Hub, you'll know that I loooooooove pulses of all kinds. There is nothing more satisfying than a big bowl of cooked beans. If I could, I'd just cook beans and eat them plain every single day. And yes, I am well aware of the consequences, as the people of Portlandia have demonstrated so tastefully in the video below. :P



Since we don't have any "designated areas" at our home, I stick to cooking with beans often but not everyday. :D



In the recipe below, I've thrown couscous into the bean and vegetables mix to turn this dish into a complete meal. Even my hubby, who doesn't consider salads a whole meal, was satisfied with this one.

I created this recipe for Global Graynz. They have put together recipe boxes which include the ingredients you will need to make this Herbed Couscous Bean Salad at home.





You can visit the links below to purchase the three kinds of ingredients boxes for this recipe:

1. Rare/Exotic Ingredients (home delivery to anywhere in India)
2. All Packaged Ingredients (home delivery to anywhere in India)
3. All Ingredients Including Fresh/Perishable Ones (available in Chennai only)




Herbed Couscous Bean Salad

1 C Instant Couscous
2 C Cooked or Canned Beans - I used Pink Rajma (Kidney Beans) but others will work too
1 C Fresh Herbs - I used Parsley, Basil, Mint and Cilantro
1 Head Romaine Lettuce
1 Cucumber (it's best to use a tender one)
3 Small Tomatoes (preferably the tart, local/naati ones)
1 Small Onion (preferably white)
2 T Sriracha Sauce
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)
1/4 C Lime Juice
1/4 tsp Chilli Powder
Salt - to taste
Whole Black Pepper Corns - for crushing on top

Boil 1 1/2 C of lightly salted water.
Turn off the heat, add couscous, stir, cover and keep aside for 5-6 minutes.
Fluff with a fork and allow to cool down to room temperature.

If you've freshly cooked the beans, allow them to cool down.
They need to be at room temperature or lightly chilled but not hot/warm.
If you're using canned beans, rinse them and keep aside.

Chiffonade or chop the herbs.
Tear the lettuce into pieces.
Make thin half circles of the cucumber.
Finely chop the tomatoes and onion.

Now mix all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
Freshly crush pepper on top and serve.
Enjoy! :)

Potato Amaranth Flat Rice Noodles in Cheesy Garlicky Sauce

This is a delicious, hearty meal that is easy to put together. I love making lasagne-style, layered, baked dishes. They are so flexible and you can put a variety of elements and textures in there. Here I've used Flat Pad Thai Rice Noodles for the pasta layers to make the dish gluten free.

I've very lightly brushed coconut oil on to the top layer of potatoes but that can easily be skipped to make this a recipe that's free of any processed oils.



Potato Amaranth Flat Rice Noodles in Cheesy Garlicky Sauce

3 Potatoes
1 C Amaranth Greens (Dantina Soppu) - can be replaced with any local greens
1/2 Package Flat Rice Noodles
Optional - Coconut Oil for light brushing

For the Sauce:
1/2 C Cashews
2 T Sesame Seeds
2 T Nutritional Yeast¹
10-15 Cloves of Garlic
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp Agave Nectar - can be replaced with Jaggery Syrup or Sugar
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/4 tsp Pepper
Salt

Bring lightly salted water to a boil and add the flat rice noodles.
Turn off the heat, cover and keep aside for about 5-8 minutes, until the noodles are soft.
Drain and drop the soft noodles into cold water.
Keep aside.

Meanwhile, grind all the sauce ingredients together into a powder.
Add a little water at a time and blend to obtain a paste.
Add more water and blend into a creamy sauce.

Scrub and wash the potatoes and slice them into thin rounds.
Wash the amaranth leaves, gently squeeze off the water and chop them roughly.

Cover the bottom and sides of a glass² baking dish with a layer of potatoes.
Top with half the cooked noodles and chopped amaranth.
Pour half of the sauce over this.
Then add another layer of potatoes (saving some for the final layer) and the remaining half of the noodles, amaranth and sauce in the same way.
Finally cover the top with a layer of potatoes.
Lightly brush³ with coconut oil if you like.

Bake in an oven at 220°C for 30 minutes, then increase the heat to 250°C and grill for 15 minutes.
Turn off the oven and remove the dish.
Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes.
Dig into it and serve hot with freshly crushed pepper and Tabasco drizzled on top.
Enjoy! :)



Notes:

¹ Without Nutritional Yeast, the sauce will still be creamy and delicious, but it won't have a cheesy flavour.
² If you're using a metal baking dish instead, then grease it lightly or line it with foil before using.
³ By brushing, I mean that I used my palms and fingers to rub that oil onto the potatoes so no fancy brushes required here. :p

Veganosaurus Chef's Boxes from Global Graynz

A few weeks ago, I was approached by Karthik Vasudevan of Global Graynz, a new online store in India, specialising in sourcing and selling exotic ingredients from around the world. Here is what I wrote about it on my Facebook page:

"You all know how much I love to mix up local ingredients with global ones in my cooking/baking experiments. And when one of my key ingredients isn't easily available in India, I try to post locally available alternatives in the recipe. Now I finally get to use exotic vegan ingredients to my heart's content and you get to source them easily without the need for replacements. :) Global Graynz has asked me to create vegan recipes for them using products from different parts of the world, and whenever I post a recipe on my blog using these, they will put together a customised recipe box with ingredients in the recipe and list it for sale on their website."

With this information, I posted a survey link they sent me. I was later informed that the majority of the people who took this survey were very interested in this recipe box idea.

So now I have started creating some new vegan recipes designed around the international products available on Global Graynz. Don't worry, I will continue to make recipes with completely local ingredients too. :)

I also sent them a list of speciality plant based products to procure. Once they get those, all of us living here in India can have easy access to Nutritional Yeast, Soy Curlz, The Vegg, Vegan Chocolate Chips and other such cruelty-free goodies.

To start with, I directed Global Graynz to a few existing recipes on my blog and they have created recipe boxes for two of them. These are two of my *most* popular recipes in the past year. :)

Click on the photos below to visit the recipe pages, where you can see the gorgeous Global Graynz recipe boxes at the bottom along with a link to purchase them.

Tofu Walnut Dumplings and Balsamic Vegetables in Quinoa



and

Summer Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce