Meatless Monday goes East Indian

Here are a couple easy recipes for Meatless Monday. I find Indian food always tastes better the next day but these recipes are fast to make and don't use a lot of unusual spices so you can make them as a last minute meal as well. You should have a a good gram masala in your cupboard anyway for any Indian cooking. It's a blend of various spices.

These are one pot recipes too which is always an added bonus as far as I'm concerned.

Saag Paneer uses Indian cheese but in my recipe I use medium firm tofu to replicate the texture of the cheese. Don't mix it too much once you've added the tofu or else it'll just be a mess. Still yummy but not as appetizing to look at!

Vegan Saag Paneer

1 tbsp canola oil
1 large onion chopped into big chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tsp minced ginger (I buy mine in jars and keep it in the fridge. So much easier and convenient! You can also freeze ginger to always have it on hand.)
1/2 large box or bag of spinach or more as desired
1 cup hot water
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp garam masala
1 pkg medium tofu cut into 1" cubes

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Fry the onion, garlic and ginger until it starts to brown. Toss in the spinach, stir and cover for a minutes to let the spinach start to wilt. Add the cup of water, puts the lid on again and let the mixture cook until all the spinach is soft and wilted. Using an immersion blender, blend it all to a green pulp. Add the spices and stir to combine. Lastly, gently add the cubes of tofu and mix them into the spinach. Heat it through. Voilà!


No Indian meal is complete without a lentil dish. These are Corey's favourite part of the meal.

Parippu

1 1/2 cup red lentils
1 onion roughly chopped
1 tomato roughly chopped
1 cup coconut milk (I buy the 50g packages of powdered coconut and add that with an extra cup of water)
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander

Check your lentils carefully. Pour a single layer onto a plate and swish them around, looking for debris like little pebbles or seeds. I always check my lentils and find a pebble that needs to be removed. Add all the ingredients into a saucepan. Bring up to a boil, turn down heat to low and leave to simmer about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally. Watch because the mixture may suddenly become dry. If that's happens, add a bit more water. That's it!


For an extra treat, you can make your own chai latté too. This recipe comes from a cooking lesson at a little Indian restaurant on Vancouver Island that Mum gave to Corey for Christmas one year. What a great gift!

Chai

For every cup of chai that you are preparing, put in a saucepan:
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2 green cardamon pods, cracked
4 black peppercorns
1 clove
1 tsp rock sugar
Plus
1 black tea bag per batch (not per cup)

Add equal parts water and "milk" into the pan with the spices and tea bag. Simmer but don't boil or else you'll scald the milk. Strain. Serve immediately!



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