Vegan Pizza and Salad Night!

Who said vegans can't have that slice of pizza?

Here's to my journey towards being Vegan!! It's been 10 days that I am keeping dairy away from my diet.  I have started  leaning into it (as kathy Freston suggests). I am still away from being completely  vegan as I still consume clarified butter (ghee) on my rotis. I find the ghee to be extremely effective for my skin, and ghee is excellent in balancing Pitta dosha. I am  not really sure that any other non dairy substitute can give me the same result. Until I find the substitute, I guess I can be semi- vegan. 


Anyways, the point is my first week was fantastic, already started feeling great about me and happy to make this meaningful change in my life.


Being believers of Ayurveda, our dinners are always light. We believe that we don't need many calories at night, when our stomach wants to rest, after the whole day of work, just like our body.  Some nights we have really simple dal and rice or lentil and rice khichadi, (mugachi khichdi) at others, a quick Varan Bhat (which is cooked toor dal , mashed up well with asafoetida, turmeric powder, salt and cilantro for garnishing and served over rice, with a nice dollop of ghee) We usually grill some vegetables to go along with it.


To celebrate my week, we had a Vegan pizza and salad. Usually when I used to have pizza I used to feel guilty after eating my slice, because of the heavy calories that it contains. The after effects of this meal wasn't the same though. I felt very light and fresh after this meal, and most importantly felt extremely good that no one had to suffer for my dinner.


Hubby, who is still vegetarian and haven't started thinking about being vegan yet, also enjoyed the meal as much as I did. "Doesn't feel like this is a vegan cheese!" Those were his words after having the first slice..:)


I have tried a couple of different cheeses (vegan of course) from different companies,  I have found daiya the best.


Ingredients-:


For the pizza-:

• Whole grain Lavash- as a pizza base
• Sliced veggies of your choice for the topping- I used onions, artichokes, bell peppers, black olives
• Non- dairy cheese- I used daiya- cheddar style shreds.

• Organic pizza sauce
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Olive oil

For the Salad-:

• Chopped up Lettuce leaves
• Grilled Asparagus
• Grilled Brussels Sprouts
• Sliced carrots
• Black beans
• Lemon ginger sesame as a dressing.

Grill the veggies in the oven before tossing the salad together. I have this perforated pizza pan that I used for the first time and it really helps to crisp out the base really evenly.

I don't think this entry needs a procedure. Pictures will speak for itself. 

Ready to go in!

After Coming out!

Please don't disturb! I am too busy tossing my beans!

Almost Done!!

Slice in the Focus!

Salad in the Focus!!

Time to switch off that TV and focus on your plate!! 

Grab a "fork"!!!

Protein Packed Balls (Ladoos)

This entry is my new favorite snack time addiction!!  BEWARE it might catch you!!!

What a great way to include all kinds of nuts of your choice along with the seeds and berries and the tasteful dates. Get the protein from the nuts, antioxidents from the berries, minerals from the seeds.  If you are a sweet lover, nothing should stop you from making this delicious treat for yourself but even if you don't have a sweet tooth (like me) , take my word that this snack will make you addict.

Super simple and super quick to make, give them a try!

Ingredients-:

• Dates- pitted
• Almonds
• Dried Cranberries
• Dried Cherries
• Dried figs
• Roasted unsalted peanuts
• Toasted Sesame seeds
• Puffed Amaranth Seeds ( Rajgira in Marathi, you can these find at Indian store- see picture)
• Golden Raisins
• 1 tsp of Agave nectar
• Dried coconut shredded - to roll the balls later.

Use the ingredients of your choice, just make sure to add enough dates to bind everything together. You can also add other nuts like pecans, walnuts etc. I had Rajgira (Amaranth) vadi, that I crumbled and tossed into the the blender.

Method-:

• Toss everything in a blender except the shredded coconut and grind until everything gets mixed up well.

       (That white square in the back of the blender is the Rajgira vadi made up of puffed amaranth seeds)

• Make sure that the nuts get chopped up into small pieces.  
• Spoon out little by little and using your hands roll into rounds.
• Roll them further in shredded coconut, just to cover them from all sides.

I bet you will start snacking them right away!

This entry goes to Snacks Recipes- Evening snack recipes from my culinary creations.

Also to Kid's Delight- Easy to make snacks under 30 minutes and  Kid's delight wholesome breakfast.



Thank you for hosting the events ladies!!

Scrambled Tofu Cauliflower

Ingredients-:

• Cauliflower- cut into florets according to the size you want
• Tofu- Chop the tofu in half inch squares.
• Cilantro for garnishing

For the marinade-:

• Pav-bhaji masala
• Salt
• Cumin powder
• Turmeric powder
• red chilly powder
• Amchur Powder
• Olive oil

Just eyeball all the ingredients to fit to your taste and the quantity you need.

Method-:

• In a bowl, toss in all the marinade ingredients and  mix well. Get rid of all the excess water from tofu by placing the tofu in between couple of paper towels and putting two cans or something heavy over the tofu. Chop the tofu into half to one inch squares. Don't scramble the tofu, it will get scrambled while sauteing in the pan later. Coat all the pieces of tofu with the marinade. Keep aside.

• Add some oil in pan and add cumin seeds as the oil gets hot.
• Add the marinated tofu squares into the pan and mix.
• keep sauteing, for about 5-6 minutes.
• Add Cauliflower florets and mix well.
• Cover the pan and let the cauliflower get cooked.
• Adjust the salt as per taste. Remember that I have already added the salt while marinating the tofu.
• The tofu gets scrambled enough when you are sauteing the tofu. The final preparation will have few chunks of tofu and few scrambled tofu as well. It gives a nice consistency to the dish, if you ask me.

Enjoy with a nice whole wheat roti or rice!!

I thought I should do enough justice by uploading a close-up!! Hence the second pic....:)

Homemade Whole Wheat Croutons

If that leftover bread is lying in your pantry or in the refrigerator, pull that out and make these crunchy homemade croutons!

            Cut the bread slices into an inch cubes, line the baking pan with an aluminium foil, grease the foil lightly with cooking spray and spread those cut cubes on the sheet. Toss the sheet in to a preheated oven at 375F. It just takes about 4-5 minutes. Keep a close eye on them, so that they don't brown too much on you.

I used whole wheat, dairy free bread to make these croutons.

These healthy and fresh croutons surely  beat the store brought once. You can also flavor by tossing them with a mixture of olive oil and herbs of your choice. Top your salads, mix in your soups /stews or just enjoy as a snack. 

SIMPLE PLEASURES-Mung Dal Dhokla

 

Ingredients-:

Soaked mung daal - 1cup
Green chilly
Garlic crushed
Ginger crushed
Salt to taste
Turmeric- a pinch
Canola oil- 2 tbsp
Baking soda- 1 tsp
Water- 2 tbsp

For Garnishing-:
Chopped Cilantro(Coriander)
Shredded coconut

For tadka-:
Mustard Seeds- 1 tbsp
Curry leaves- 5-6
A pinch of asafoetida

Procedure-:

• Soak the yellow mung daal in water for 4-6 hours. Grind the soaked daal to a rough consistency. Don't make it too smooth.
• Also grind the garlic and chily in a grinder with some salt and keep it aside.
• Put the steamer on the medium flame.
• Mix the grounded mung daal with grounded garlic chilly mixture and add 2 tbsp of water and salt to taste.
• Also add 2 tbsp of canola oil.
• Add the baking soda just before you put the mixture in the steamer.
• Mix everything well and pour the mixture in to a pan that you can safely put in the steamer.
• On a medium- high heat keep the steamer for about 15 minutes.
• The dhokla will be ready in 15- 20 minutes. It's done if inserted knife comes out clean.

I am sending this recipe to Cooking concepts- Vegan Diet - Only plant based hosted by Srav's Culinary Concepts.

                                                      

SIMPLE PLEASURES -Bhopalyache bharit/ Pumpkin Raita

Ingredients-:

• Pumpkin- cooked
• Ghee (Clarified Butter)
• Cumin Seeds
• Turmeric
• Asafoetida/ hing
• Green Chili
• Roasted Peanut powder
• Salt to taste

Procedure-:

• Cook the pumpkin and then peel it. I used steamer to cook the pumpkin, but you can certainly use the pressure cooker . It becomes easier to peel after it gets cooked. If you want you can peel it and then cook it. That is fine too.

• Mash the pumpkin so that no big lumps are left.
• Tadka preparation- Heat a pan with some ghee in it. Add cumin seeds, green chilies, saute for a minute and add asafoetida, turmeric.
• Add roasted peanut powder.
• Add salt to taste. Pour the tadka over the mashed pumpkin and mix well.

SIMPLE PLEASURES -Shevagyachya shenganchi amti (Daal with drumsticks)

Ingredients:

• Toor dal - 1/2 cup
• Drumsticks/ shevghyachya shenga - 3- 4 cut into 4 inch pieces
• Curry Leaves - 3-4 
• Oil
• Mustard seeds
• Cumin Seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida
• Turmeric powder
• Chopped cilantro
• Grated Coconut
• Amsul/ kokam - 2-3 
• Jaggery / gul
• Goda masala
• Salt to taste

Procedure-:

• Cook the toor dal in pressure cooker with some water.
• Cook the drumsticks in some salted water for less time than dal, as dal needs more time to cook than the drumsticks.
• Heat a pan with some oil in it. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, turmeric, and coconut.
• Add cilantro, and mix everything well.
• Add the cooked dal and also some water to adjust the consistency.
• When the daal starts boiling, add the drumsticks, amsul and salt to taste.
• Boil only for few more minutes, as the dal and the drumsticks are already cooked.
• Add the jaggery and let it boil for couple more minutes and daal/ amti will be ready.

SIMPLE PLEASURES- Vangyache Bharit / Baingan bharta /eggplant raita

I am always ready for a hot serving of vangyache bharit with Jowar bhakri. This dish has different versions in different parts of India. This is a dish that I think does not need proper measuring. You can eyeball all the ingredients and no matter how much you put, it will always taste yummy. So add as much or as little per your taste.

You will need-:

Eggplant- big not the small once

Chilies

Ginger

Garlic

Onion

Tomato

Cilantro

Curry leaves

Lemon juice

salt to taste

Mustard seeds

pinch of hing (asafoetida)

Oil.

Here is how to make this yummy Bharit-:

• Preheat the oven to 550 F or whatever the highest temperature your oven offers.If you have convection oven, then set it up on convection mode. That way you don't have to rotate the eggplant  half way and it will be done in less time.
• Line a baking tray with an aluminium foil and place the eggplant on it. Keep it for about 20- 25 minutes depending on your oven. Check if it's done by inserting a knife.
• Next thing is you want to get rid of the skin. To get the skin off easily, just slide the hot eggplant into a brown lunch bag or any paper bag and fold it's opening. Let it cool  and the skin will just peel right off with no extra efforts. Peel all the skin and cut it's stem end.
• Mash the eggplant with your hands. See picture below.

• Make a paste of ginger, green chilies and garlic. You can use mixer, or you can use mortar and pestle to make a paste. Keep aside.
• Add oil into a pan. When it heats up, add Mustard seeds, pinch of asafoetida, curry leaves, turmeric and the ginger garlic chili paste that we kept aside. Saute for few minutes until raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.
• Add diced onions , saute until they become translucent , add diced tomatoes and saute until they become soft. See picture.

• Add the mashed eggplant and mix everything well. Season with salt as per taste. Put the lid on for about couple of minutes. Since the eggplant is already cooked, it doesn't need much time after this stage. Vangyache bharit/ baingan bharta / eggplant raita is ready. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top, squeeze some lemon juice as well and serve with Jowar bhakri / poli/ any Indian bread.

I am sending this entry to Walk Through Memory Lane Event hosted by Gayathri's cook spot.

Thanks Gayatri for hosting the event.

Enjoy!!

Inspirational Award and Happy blogger award..:)

New year certainly started great for me already. My friend and a very good blogger Ashwini of Indulge- Ashcorner shared 2 awards with me and asked me to answer 8 questions about me. How nice of her to share the awards with me. I sincerely thank her for both the awards. 

About answering the questions, I have never done something like this before. But it was fun..:))


1. What makes you laugh, smile or giggle?

Everything that my little one does and talks all day long and Jerry Seinfield..:)

2. What are your dreams for your future? 

Oh...well..  I don't dream, I set goals. So my personal goal for this particular year is to get super fit and continue on the path of eating healthy. I have also set some professional as well as family goals, but I would prefer to keep them to me until they get done...:)

3. If you are going to a cruise, where would it be and why? 

I would love a cruise to Bahamas. I would like to relax and unwind on the islands of Bahamas and would love to try Caribbean cuisine.

4. How would you spend your vacation and with whom? 


At times, I want to spend my vacation with my family back in India. We have one planned very soon..:) At others I would prefer to spend with my hubby and my son. It doesn't have to be too long too. I enjoyed a lot going to Vancouver last summer for a couple of days...:) It's the quality not the quantity that matters when it comes to vacation.

  
5. If given a life, what life would you choose ? Your life now or your past? 


Always I will choose my current life. I absolutely love my current life and I can't imagine switching it for anything else. I am at my absolute best so far, and it's only going to get better...:)

6. Is there something that you wished before when you were young but you didn't get it?

There were a few things, but not worth a mention here.


7. Have you been in a situation where you might have given up but you still choose to move on? 


Last year was full of such situations where I could have easily given up, but I persisted and I am ripping the fruits of that hard-work...:)

I am a follower of Robin Sharma. and I truly believe his words- " Big lesson I've learned as an entrepreneur and as a human being: when we most feel like giving up is the moment we must keep persisting. "

8. Is there someone in your life who has been your source of strength and inspiration?

• Someone who is very close to me is my source of inspiration- My husband.
• My mother in law is my inspiration as well. I always look up to her for her management skills. She is the most honest person I have ever met in my life. 
• I should also not forget about my friend Sneha, whom I met back in California. We were together studying Human Resources. Whenever I talk to her, it always reminds me of my purpose in life. I think it's because we both were on a same boat, figuring out what we wanted to do in our lives. Discussing our goals and our passions, is always such a fun with her.
• Last but not the least, my son V, is my hero. He teaches me how to be calm in stressful situations and he is the reason, that I have a lot of patience in me than ever before...:) Love him..:)

• Also my sources of inspiration are Rujuta Diwekar and Robin Sharma- really my idols!

It's time to thank Ashwini for one more award "Happy blogger Award". Thanks again for her generosity.

Anyone of you, who wants me to pass this (Happy Blogger)award to you, just comment on this post and I will be more than happy to share this award to you..:)

Happy Blogging!

Enjoy!!

SIMPLE PLEASURES - Masalebhat (Spicy Rice)

A very Happy New Year to everyone!
I am sure you all had a great new year's celebrations just like I had.

I always love the first post of the new year. It's such a fresh and encouraging feeling to get started with the new recipe.

'Masalebhat' is a traditional maharashtrian recipe, a very popular menu item for almost all the maharashtrian  weddings. It is essentially rice, which is nicely blended with different kind of spices and your choice of vegetables.

INGREDIENTS

Basamati rice- I used extra long grain 1 cup
Tomato- diced 1 small
Onion- sliced 1 small
Green Peas - thawed about half a cup
Cauliflower- cut into florets
Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
Peanuts- a handful/ as many as you like
Curry Leaves - 5-6
2 tsp Goda masala ( you can get  in some of the Indian grocery stores, however I always have hard time finding it, so if you want to try and make your own, here is the recipe from another blog- http://bhaatukli.blogspot.com/2007/04/maharashtrian-kaala-masala.html )
1 green chilli
1 bay leaf
1 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Pinch of Hing / asafoetida
Oil - 3 tsp
2 tsp ginger paste

Dry roast the following ingredients together , let them cool and then grind. The consistency should be coarse.
Coriander Seeds- 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds- 2 tsp
1 inch cinnamon stick
4 cloves

1. Wash and soak the rice for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add bay leaf, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, hing, curry leaves and sliced onion. Saute till the onions get nice golden color.
3. Add turmeric powder, ginger paste and cook for about a minute.
4. Now is the time to add the dry roast powder that is kept aside. Also add goda masala and red chilli powder. Mix well and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
5. Now add cauliflower, salt , add some water and cover for about 5 minutes. Add any other vegetables of your choice at this stage along with the cauliflower. You can add potatoes, carrots, green beans etc. Don't add the peas just as yet.
6. Add the soaked rice, and then add peanuts, water, tomatoes, and salt to taste. Cover the pan and cook on high for 5 minutes. Add twice the water of the rice, 2 cups in this case.
7. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes. 
8. After turning the stove off, let it rest for a minute or two. 
9. Add the peas on top of the rice and give it a good mix.
10. Garnish  with shredded coconut and cilantro.

There it is...an authentic masalebhat is ready.

Enjoy..:)