Loosely based on recipes in Rohit Ghai: Tarkari: Vegetarian and Vegan Indian dishes with Heart and Soul.

Coconut chutney

2 tblsp fried gram

200 g coconut flakes

50 g coriander leaves

1 tblsp ginger

1 green chilli

Salt

Blend with water till the desired consistency. Can be frozen in small batches.

Chickpea (besan) flour pancakes

250 g besan

Half tsp ajwain

Half tsp turmeric

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp grated ginger

1 large-ish finely chopped tomato

1 large-ish finely chopped red onion

A handful of coriander leaves, chopped (in this case, I forgot to buy fresh coriander, and did not have much on the balcony yet, so I used mostly rucola, and a bit of young kale.

Totally unauthorized (except perhaps by my ayurvedic nutritionist friend) I also threw in some curry leaves and tukmaria seeds for added nutrition.

1 green chili, finely sliced

Mix besan, ajwain, turmeric, salt and pepper well.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Add water little by little to make a thick batter which can be ladled onto a pan.

Bake on an oiled pan for a couple of minutes on each side till cooked completely with golden spots.

These pancakes can be refridgerated, and even frozen, so I made extras in order to have something to take with me, along with some chutney) on walks in stead of being tempted to buy much unhealthier sandwiches on train stations.

Scrambled eggs

3 eggs 2 tblsp ghee or olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 knob ginger, chopped

Pinch of chili powder or flakes

Pinch turmeric

Pinch garam masala (I am still lazy and using storebought, but there is a recipe in the book mentioned above which I am definitely going to try one of these days)

Totally unauthorized (except perhaps by my ayurvedic nutritionist friend) I also threw in some methi leaves for added nutrition.

1 large-ish deseeded and finely chopped tomato (plus the seeded parts from the tomatoes above)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Beat the eggs at length till frothy.

Sizzle onions, garlic, ginger and chili for a while, then add the rest of the ingredients, and keep sizzling.

In the meantime, beat the eggs at length till frothy.

Add to the mixture in the pan and scramble till desired texture.

Caramelized five-onion dip

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large sweet onion (such as Vidalia – the “flat” one), quartered and thinly sliced
• 1 medium-size yellow onion (what I call the “normal” ones), quartered and thinly sliced
• 1 medium-size red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
• 4 medium shallots, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 6 spring onions, thinly sliced
• Approx 225 g cream cheese, softened
• Approx 3 dl sour cream
• The original recipe says 230 g mayonnaise, but unless I can be bothered to make some vegan mayo, I will skip that since I can’t stand conventional mayo)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder (I think I will use fresh garlic – not a fan of garlic powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Black pepper, to taste

Heat oil and butter till the butter melts.

Add all the onions, except the spring onions, and salt, simmer, stirring occasionally till they start to soften and turn light brown at the edges, about 12 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are caramelized, about 35 minutes.

Add the spring onions towards the end of the cooking time.

If it starts to stick to the bottom or become too brown, add a bit of water.

Transfer mixture to a large bowl and let cool before stirring in the cream cheese until it is incorporated.

Add the rest of the ingredients, season with salt and pepper, chill. Can be made a day ahead.

NOTE: One of them is definitely vegan, and the other one can be made vegan by using vegan yoghurt.

Also note that I add spices such as ground cloves, cardamom, and fenugreek seeds – to add flavour and because spices are healthy :-).

Bread number 1 (on the right):

4,5 dl cold water

20 g yeast

20 g yellow flea seed shells (Flohsamen)

2 tsp salt

2 tsp molasses (can be left out – I forgot once and nothing happened)

2 tsp cider vinegar

80 g whole buckwheat

50 g sesame seeds

50 g pumpkin seeds

60 g linseeds

150 g sweet potato

150 g whole-grain rice flour

70 g buckwheat flour

70 g quinoa or teff flour

Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the flea seed shells. Mix well and let sit for about five minutes.

In the meantime, mix all ingredients except rice flour, buckwheat flour and quinoa flour well, and add to the mixture. Mix thoroughly.

Mix the three flours well and add to the dough. Mix thoroughly and at length – up to five minutes.

Let sit for five minutes, then mix thoroughly again, and let sit for another five to ten minutes before adding it to a well-oiled or baking-paper lined form. Add seeds on top, and let sit for 1,5-2 hours.

Place in a 230 C oven and immediately reduce to 200 C. Bake for an hour and 15 minutes to 1,5 hours. Let cool completely before cutting into the bread. Keep refrigerated. Freezes well.

Bread number 2:

20 g yeast

4 dl cold water

20 g yellow flea seed shells

1 heaped tblsp melasse (can be left out – I forgot once and nothing happened)

3,5 dl vegan quark or yoghurt or skyr

150 g whole rye

75 g pumpkin seeds

125 g chia seeds  

300 g glutenfree oats

20 g salt

100 g hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water and add yellow flea seed shells. Let sit for a moment till it thickens.

Add melasse and vegan yoghurt or whatever you are using. Mix well.

Add all other ingredients except the hazelnuts, and mix well for several minutes.

Add the hazelnuts and mix well.

Press the dough into a well-oiled or baking-paper lined form and smooth out the surface.

Let sit for an hour at room temperature.

Place in a 230 C oven and immediately reduce to 200. Bake for about an hour and ten minutes.

Let cool completely. Keep refrigerated. Freezes well.

I try to eat spinach one way or another at least twice a week, and since apparently, raw spinach is not than healthy, I am always looking for variety in ways to cook it.

Here is one way:

One bag of spinach (for example 100 g baby spinach, in this case from Rewe) (of course always bio), rinsed and dried in the salad spinner

1 tsp sesame oil, toasted or regular

1 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp miso paste

2 garlic cloves, minced or very finely chopped

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Mix the miso paste, the soy sauce, and the garlic together.

Gently heat the oil and stir in the spinach. Add the miso paste mix and stir gently till the spinach starts to wilt.

Sprinkle with toasted, black sesame seeds before serving.

Wasabi adds a nice kick to this Thai soba noodle curry

4 scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon pickled ginger (or 2-inch piece fresh ginger)
3 teaspoons wasabi paste
1 Serrano chili, sliced and seeds removed
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 bunch cilantro, both leaves and stems
¼ cup Thai basil leaves
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
1, 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
2 bunches coarsely chopped baby Swiss chard
1 lime, juiced
Kosher salt
1 package soba noodles

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a food processor, pulse scallions, garlic, ginger, wasabi, chili, turmeric, cilantro, Thai basil, and 2 tablespoons water until coarsely ground. With the motor running, stream in the coconut oil and process until pretty smooth.
2. In a large pot or saucepan over medium heat, cook the green chili paste, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, lime juice, and 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until reduced by half, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Add the Swiss chard and cook until wilted and tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and season with plenty of salt.
4. Meanwhile, cook the soba noodles according to the package directions. Drain and divide evenly with the curry. Top with more herbs for garnish.

First posted almost two years ago, this is so delicious it deserves a remake (and perhaps some better photos, and I WILL give that a try, but my pathetic food photography skills have not progressed in the meantime :-)).

• 300 grams whole black lentils (aka urad dal)
• 100 grams kidney beans
• 3 tablespoons ghee, alternatively olive oil or coconut oil
• 2 large red onions, chopped (most recipes probably call for yellow onions but I find those too sweet, so I ever only have red onions available)
• 2 green chilies, chopped
• 15 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
• 1 large knob ginger, grated
• 2 tins tomatoes, pureed with a tablespoon tomato concentrate
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 5 cloves
• 5 green cardamom, slightly crushed
• 3 black cardamom, slightly crushed
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 5 Indian bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds, ground
• 1 teaspoon, or to taste, red chili powder or cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg powder
• Vegetable stock or water as required
• 4 tablespoons whipping cream (this is optional, if you ask me – I find cream in savoury dishes quite unappetising and I would normally have no use for leftovers, so I leave it out. If I have ghee or goat yoghurt available, I may add a tablespoon or two.
• Salt, as required
• Chopped cilantro for garnish
• Julienned ginger for garnish (optional)
• Cream for garnish (again – optional – if anything, I use some of the goat yoghurt I often have available)

Preparation

• Soak the beans for at least eight hours. Drain and discard the soaking water.
• Cook the beans for one hour. Drain, preserving the cooking water.
• Fry the whole spices in the ghee for a minute till they sputter and become fragrant, then add the onions, sautéing on medium heat till they soften and become light golden.
• Add the ginger-garlic paste and sautée, stirring, then add the chopped green chili.
• Add the pureed tomato and mix well.
• Add the rest of the spices, mix and sautée.
• Add the cooked beans, mix and add stock or water as required.
• Simmer on low heat for at least half an hour, adding water if required.
• If you wish, mash some of the beans in some of their cooking water in order to achieve a creamier texture.

NOTE: Lentils and quinoa has to soak in water for 12 hours

Vegan if you use oil instead of ghee, but I find that the slightly nutty flavour of ghee goes particularly well here. Make your own, nothing is easier, there are hundreds of tutorials on youtube, and it tastes better and is much cheaper than the store-bought ghee.

The pancakes:

125 g quinoa

125 g red split lentils

125 g chickpea (aka gram or besan) flour

1 tsp baking powder

Salt and a healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper

Half tsp turmeric

2 tsp kalonji (aka onion seeds)

2 tsp brown mustard seeds

I also threw in a heaped tsp fermented black garlic, but that’s just me.

4 Tblsp oil or ghee

Soak lentils and quinoa in water overnight. Drain in a sieve, rinse with cold running water, and let drain.

Blend with 150 ml water (obviously, the thinner you want your pancakes – the thinner the dough) and all other ingredients except oil/ghee.

Use one to two tblsp dough to bake small, thick pancakes with the oil.

The Chutney:

1 tblsp oil or ghree

20 g fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 red onion, thinly wedged

1 small red chili, finely chopped, or powder to taste (I used a half tsp chili flakes here)

6 medjoul dates, chopped

3 apples, not too sweet, cored and cut in wedges

100 ml pure apple juice (I actually just used water since I never have any kind of fruit juice in the house)

2-3 tblsp lemon juice

3 tblsp sugar (is what the recipe says but I obviously try to avoid added sugar, and the apples I had were quite sweet, so I threw in a couple of extra dates instead),

2 bayleaves

1 cinnamon (NOT cassia) stick, or a tsp ground

4 cloves or a pinch ground

Sautee ginger and onion in the oil/ghee. Add all other ingredients and simmer, stirring regularly, for five minutes or until the apples are mushy.

IN PROGRESS (this looks like a very bland and basic recipe and I will definitely add some herbs and/or spices)

Recipe
Take 1 butternut squash, wash and dry, remove the stem and base and cut in half. Season with olive oil and sea salt and roast, face down, for 50 minutes at 180 degrees celcius.
Meanwhile prepare your filling. Prepare 2 portions of cous cous as per packet instructions and add to a bowl. Cut the head off half a broccoli and steam fry until cooked but not mushy, and add to the cous cous. Chop 1 apple and add to the bowl, alongside 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds and 1 tbsp sunflower seeds.
When the squash is cooked and soft enough that a teaspoon can scrape away the flesh, scoop out 1/3 of the insides and add the the couscous mix.
Add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp mixed herbs and 1 tsp olive oil to the cous cous and mix well. Stuff the butternut squash with the couscous mix and top with a tahini whip (blend tahini, lemon juice and water)

IN PROGRESS

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 garlic, peeled
• thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and chopped 
• 1 red chilli, diced
• 1tsp groundnut oil
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1tsp ground coriander
• 1tsp ground cumin
• 1tsp garam masala
• 400g butternut squash, peeled and diced 
• 400 chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 400ml half-fat coconut milk or alpro coconut milk alternative
• 200ml vegetable stock
• 150 g baby spinach
• 1 lime, plus wedges to serve

Method

• STEP 1Put the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli into a small food processor and blend to a paste.
• STEP 2Heat 1 tsp oil in a large pan and fry the paste for a few minutes with a pinch of salt, then add the spices, and fry for another minute before adding the squash and chickpeas.
• STEP 3Mix with the spices, then add the coconut milk and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes until the squash softens and the sauce thickens.
• STEP 4Stir in the spinach until wilted, and squeeze in the lime juice to serve.