East Meets West Veg

Fall is in the air here in Detroit, and that has me thinking about warmer weather. If we can't bring ourselves to the tropics, we can at least bring a taste of the tropics to us.

Fruit Vendor in Maharashtra, India

Kelyache Shikran is a very fast, simple dish from the Indian state of Maharashtra, my husband's home state. It can be eaten for breakfast, dessert, or as a accompaniment to a spicy amti or curry.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, sliced or diced
1 tsp sugar, optional (if you are using sweetened milk, this may be unnecessary)
1/2 Cup nondairy milk
5 pods cardamom, smashed or a pinch of ground cardamom

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients together, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

2. Serve at room temperature or cool in the fridge before serving.

Sev Puri

Last winter was pretty brutal in Michigan (and many other parts of the United States and Canada). Many days my husband and I did not want to leave the house if we didn't have to. We had to come up with creative ideas to make ourselves look forward to yet another night sitting at home. Instead of watching the snow fall on Friday nights, we took a mental journey to a warm, tropical land by immersing ourselves in an Indian movie and snack night. Luckily there are tons of vegetarian Indian snacks and many of them are vegan too.

Shiv Sagar Veg Restaurant

We went to Mumbai to pick up my friend who had arrived the previous night from her 22-hour trek from Detroit. My husband had an appointment around lunch time so he found us a nearby vegetarian restaurant called Shiv Sagar. Although the restaurant was within walking distance, we had to cross a street to get there and crossing the street in Mumbai is one of the scariest things I have ever had to do. We waited through so many lights while hordes of Indians crossed the street, dodging stray dogs, cars, rickshaws, scooters, and motorcycles. As more and more Indians laughed at us and crossed the street, we decided it was time to just pray and take our chances.

My friend and I are enjoying Mumbai and excitedly awaiting our food

Masala Papad

Masala Dosa Before

Masala Dosa with Chutneys

Cleaning my hand with the Finger Bowl

Finger Bowl

Indian Mouth Freshener

It is very common to have a mouth freshener after a meal in India, typically made from fennel seeds, sugar, and sometimes other additions. This mix serves two purposes; it freshens your mouth while also aiding digestion.

Dining at Shiv Sagar was one of those experiences that I will never forget. The food was delicious. We learned some new things and we definitely had some laughs. I would love to come back here some day.

Bhavini's Batata Poha

I got something truly amazing from this blog - my friend Bhavini! She is a friend of my husband's, but we were not in contact before this blog because she had already moved to another state by the time my husband and I got married and we never got the chance to meet. She discovered my blog through my husband and we started bonding over our common love - food! Food may have brought us together but her kindness, compassion, creativity, and zest for life (which food is a big part of!) continually inspire me and make me grateful to have her in my life. Bhavini and I have wanted to do some sort of collaboration for a long time and I am so excited to announce that she has agreed to do a guest post for me - and it's a great brunch recipe just in time for the weekend!

This was one of my favorite breakfast foods when I visited my husband's hometown in Maharashtra, India, where it is a common dish. I can still feel myself sitting at the dining table in his aunt's house, windows open to a view of lush tropical plants, the songs of exotic birds and the aroma of spices filling the air. I sat soaking it all in, eating this mystery dish wondering what exactly it was made from and enjoying every single bite. In my husband's language, Marathi, poha is called pohe. This dish will take your taste buds on a journey to India.

My beautiful (inside and out) friend Bhavini

Here is Bhavini's post:

Batata Poha (Pohe)

This recipe is usually served during breakfast, but my hubby likes it so much that I sometimes make it even for lunch or dinner. It goes great with a hot cup of Coffee or Tea. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and friends enjoy it!!

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
2 Cups poha (flattened rice), available at Indian grocery stores
1⁄2 tsp turmeric powder
3⁄4th tsp mustard seeds
3⁄4th tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp peanuts
1 or 2 green chilies (Per your taste)
1 medium potato (Batata), chopped into small cubes (keep it in water to prevent it from oxidizing)
1 medium onion finely chopped
8 to 9 curry leaves
1 tbsp chopped Cilantro leaves
2 to 2.5 Tbsp oil
sugar to taste (Optional)
Lime/lemon wedges
salt per taste

Method:
1. First take the poha in a strainer and keep it under running water for about a minute or two. Rinse it very gently and not too much or else it can become mushy.

2. Once all the water has drained out, transfer it into a bowl while you cook the rest of the ingredients.

Moistened Poha

3. If you feel the poha is not soft and has dried out you can sprinkle a few drops of water.

4. In a pan, add the oil and fry the peanuts till they become a little brown and crunchy. Transfer into a small bowl and keep aside.

Fry peanuts

5. Now in the same oil add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and, once they start spluttering, add chopped onions, curry leaves, green chillies and turmeric and stir all the ingredients.

Sauté spices and onions

6. Now add peeled chopped potatoes, salt and stir and keep it at medium heat. Cover the pot with the lid until potatoes are cooked. Make sure to stir in between to make sure potatoes have not burned.

Before

After

7. Once potatoes are cooked, add the Poha (Flat rice) and mix gently with the rest of the potatoes mixture.

Add poha and mix

8. If required add more salt and optional sugar.

9. Now switch off the flame and cover the pan again just for a minute or so for poha to get steamed for a few minutes.

10. Remove the lid and garnish the poha with chopped cilantro leaves, peanuts, some chopped onions and lime wedges.

Finished Batata Poha

Vegan Gajar Halwa

Right now there are more than a billion happy people celebrating the Indian holiday Diwali. Diwali is kind of like a combination of Christmas and New Years. Homes throughout India are adorned with colorful decorations and earthen lamps (which are kind of like candles in clay bases) and fireworks are going off all around. People are dressing up in new clothes, getting together with family and friends and exchanging sweets, dried fruits and nuts. Sweets are always such an important part of Indian festivals and holidays, and I am so excited that my friend Anjali has decided to share a recipe with us just in time for this mother of Indian festivals!

Diwali decorations from Anjali's place in Michigan

(This ancient Indian symbol is used to decorate many homes throughout India. The Swastika is an auspicious symbol, not to be confused with the Nazi Swastika which Hitler stole from the Indians and perverted. Most of the people of India are of Aryan origin and preserved this ancient Aryan symbol as a part of their culture. In his quest to find a symbol of Aryan pride, Hitler took this symbol from the Indians and completely changed it's meaning.)

I was blogging almost every day for Vegan Mofo, but then I kind of dropped into the abyss for almost a week. There was a death in my family. I might share more, but I don't think I'm ready yet.

In an effort to kind of cheer us up, we decided to go out to eat and ended up at Curry on Crust . . . Desi Pizza. Desi (DAY-see) is a term for something or someone from the Indian subcontinent (something South Asian). We were actually planning on eating somewhere else, but we were fooled into thinking that this restaurant wasn't busy by the lack of people inside as we passed by. Once inside, we quickly learned that, like any good pizza place, this place does a LOT of carry out orders. It almost felt like there was a revolving door of people going in and out with fresh, hot pizzas filling the air with an aroma reminiscent of  spices of India.

We had previously passed on going to this restaurant, thinking that everything would be covered in cheese and that the crust may not be vegan. I'm glad we decided to give it a try this time though because the employees there actually knew what vegan meant and were able to make our pizza vegan! My husband said they scored major brownie points with us when they knew what we were talking about. If you are vegan, make sure you tell them because it seemed like they normally brush the crust with butter, but they used oil instead for us. Also, some sauces may not be vegan so check first.

You can build your own pizza by starting with homemade crust, add tomato sauce or one of the Indian sauces like tikka or manchurian (Indian Chinese), then choose from a list of toppings as diverse as mushrooms, cauliflower and green peas. They make sure to point out that extra garlic, ginger and chillies are free! You can also choose from some preselected favorites such as Aloo Gobi Pizza or Masala Eggplant Pizza.
We ordered the Achari Veggie Pizza (and asked for vegan) which came with tikka sauce, potato cubes, tomatoes, onions, green peppers and baby corn. The pizza was innovative and delicious and, based on the amount of business they were getting, we weren't the only ones who thought so.

Update: Curry on Crust now offers daiya vegan cheese!

Vegan Achari Veggie Pizza

Cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper and other spices on every table

View inside the restaurant

This recipe makes 12 modaks.

Ingredients:
Dough:
2 Cups Atta Flour (a kind of whole wheat flour found in Indian grocery stores)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oil
1/2 Cup Water 120ml to 130ml (take water accordingly, the dough should not be soft and not too hard)
1/2 tsp. Oil (for applying on the dough after kneading )

Stuffing:
1 ½ Cup Fresh shredded coconut (you can get this frozen in any Indian store)
1/3 Cup Jaggery or Powdered Jaggery (found at an Indian store)
¼  Cup Sugar  
¼ tsp Cardamom powder 

Modak:
Oil  - To deep fry

Method:
Dough:
1.    Put the flour in a parat, mixing bowl, or your preferred work surface for  mixing and kneading.
2.    Make a well in the flour, add salt,1 tsp oil and water a little at a time.
3.    Knead to form a smooth, medium hard dough.
4.    Add 1/2 tsp oil & keep kneading until you get a smooth, medium hard dough.
5.    Cover it and let it rest for a minimum of 15 minutes.


Stuffing
1.    Mix jaggery, sugar and coconut well.
2.    Add cardmom powder and mix.
3.    Let it rest for 15 mins.
4.    Heat a pan on medium flame.
5.    Add above mixture to the heated pot. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring continuously.


Modak:
1.    Apply a little oil on rolling pin and board.
2.    Divide dough into 12 small balls.
3.    Flatten the ball of dough.

4.    Roll with circular motions and make a flat sheet of 3-4 inches (the sheet should not be too thin or too thick)
5.    Spread a spoonful of stuffing over the puri, or rolled sheet.

6.    Fold the edges up one by one as shown below.

7.    Gather all edges in the center. Seal it, put aside and prepare all the other modaks.  Keep the modaks covered while you are working.

8.    Heat the oil for deep frying. Test your oil by making a small ball of the dough and putting it in oil. If the oil is ready, the small ball comes up or immediately floats.
9.    When the oil is ready, deep fry in batches of 2 - 3 modaks.

10.   Remove them when they are golden brown (not brown) and place on a paper towel or tissue to drain out the excess oil. Each batch should take less than 2 minutes.
11.   Enjoy!