New blog @ http://wholesomeveganappetite.wordpress.com/

Hey fellow bloggers, 

I am back 🙂 Missed you guys a lot. Went to India in September, Got married in February, Back in Sydney now- just getting back into normal routine. 

I have been diagnosed with gluten-intolerance recently which makes it harder[No more Rotis 😦 😦 😦 ] 

Moving to a new space on the web 🙂 

http://wholesomeveganappetite.wordpress.com/

Charanya 🙂 

Gluten-free Kale & Spinach Protein Crepes with Tomato, Onion and Coconut Relish

Just getting back to normal routine after being pampered by my mum. Managed to keep my weight loss and I am officially under 70 now 🙂

Sanju (my fiance’) and I have been looking at apartments here and we are glad we found one. He will be moving there soon and I will join him in February after our wedding. The new unit is really cool with a beautiful kitchen 🙂 Can’t wait to start cooking there and the oven is for me and me only-So watch out the space for more baking recipes.

Back to recipe, Kale and Spinach crepes is one of the easiest and yummiest crepes I have made and Sanju who is EXTREMELY fussy about food loved it 🙂 So here you go with the recipe

For the crepes:

You need:

• Kale and Spinach-1 handful each-blanced in hot water
• Ginger-a small piece
• Cumin seeds-a tsp
• Salt-to taste
• Buckwheat and Chickpea flour-1/2 cup each
• Chili powder-a tsp/more to taste

Method:

• Blend blanched Kale and Spinach, ginger and cumin seeds to a fine paste and add them to remaining ingredients, add needed water and make crepes 🙂

For the relish/chutney

You need:

• Onion-1.5 cubed
• Tomato-2 cubed
• Coconut-2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds-1 tsp
• Oil-2 tsp
• Sambar powder-1-2 tsp depending on spice level
• Salt-to taste

Method:

• In a pan, add 1 tsp oil, onions, let them brown, add tomatoes and let it cool and add coconut and blend them into a very fine paste
• In the same pan, add oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves (optional), blended paste and sambar powder and add 1/2 cup water, salt and let the paste boil until it reaches relish consistency (Source: My dearest mum)

Peanut yogurt

Hey 🙂 Am back from India. My parents moved to a new place and I couldn’t get the ISP to set up the connection and wordpress is apparently blocked there 😦 Trip was great.  Yummy vegan food, loads of recipes including a peanut yogurt my mum made so that I could still have yogurt-based Indian recipes 🙂

You need to soak raw peanuts about 1/2 cup in water for about 8 hours/overnight.

You then need to discard the water and grind them into a VERY VERY smooth paste and add around a litre of water and filter the raw peanut milk to take the residue off (A muslin cloth over the sieve should do). Boil this milk for 30 mins stirring occasionally on a low heat. Let it cool-not cold but warm. Now drop red/reen chilli crowns (around 10-15) and let it stay undisturbed. This is what you get. Taste-it is okay 🙂 With some salt, it tastes AMAZINGGGGG!!!!!! Let me know how it turns out.  The chili is just for turning milk to yogurt. I swear there is no flavor from it.

P.S: I am getting married to my friend of 9 years 🙂 In February. So going back to India in December to start with wedding prep. I hope wordpress works then.

Raw vegan parfait

I wasn’t much of a sweet tooth before but it has been changing off late 🙂 I guess I am not eating enough. I make my Banana Peanut butter ice cream quite often and it is a treat for less than 200kcal 🙂 I am leaving to India to visit my parents, who currently live there 🙂 I have taken my shots, so fingers crossed I don’t get sick there. With my near-empty pantry, I thought I would make something really cool before I leave. Made this amazing parfait,yep raw vegan, no sugar, gluten-free 🙂 Let me know if you try it out 🙂

Am hooked to layering different flavors and making it look and taste amazing. This parfait has 7 layers.You could do 2 or 3 layers and repeat those layers.

Layer 7: Tahini ice cream (Blend 1/2 frozen banana (slices) and 1 tsp of unhulled tahini )

Layer 6: Berry ice cream (Blend 1/2 frozen banana (slices), few frozen berries and 2 medjool dates)

Layer 5: Choco pistachios ice cream (Blend 1/2 frozen banana (slices),cacao powder and few pistachios)

Layer 4: Banana cashew cream (banana(1/2), cashew(1/2 cup-soaked overnight in water-drained ),maple syrup)

Layer 3: Choc pudding (Cacao powder,banana(1/2), avocado(1/2),maple syrup, salt)

Layer 2: Cashew berry cheese (cashew(1/2 cup-soaked overnight in water-drained ),frozen berries, maple syrup,2 medjool dates)

Layer 1: Almond meal

 

My next post will be from India- My mum’s recipes-More Indian food 🙂 Yum.

Raw vegan Rainbow cheesecake

If you have been reading my posts, you will know by now how much I hate measurements. I usually go by judgement and probably that’s why I have NEVER EVER got a cake/bread right. 😛 It changed today though. Made this Beau…tiful rainbow cheesecake 😀 Soak a big pack of cashews (400gms) overnight. I love raw veganism 🙂 So easy to make yummy food. Only thing that keeps me away from being a raw vegan is the Indian in me-‘Curries’. I am thinking of going 50-50 and cutting oil completely. Back to recipe, scroll down 🙂 

 

Layer 1: Cinnamon Carrot Layer:

Chop around 5 baby carrots (300gms) into chunks. Not too small/big-you need to process this. Add them to a food processor. Throw in dates depending on how sweet you want, a pinch of salt, a handful of almonds, 2 pinches cinnamon and process until they come together. If they don’t, add some maple syrup and it will. Line a spring form pan with baking paper and add the carrot layer. Freeze for an hour

Layer 2: Almond Peanut-butter Cacao Layer:

To the food processor, add dates (around-15),almond meal(>1.5 cups), some salt, 2 tbsp peanut butter,cacao powder(depending on your chocoholic nature) Layer this on top of carrot layer. Back this goes into the freezer

Layer 3:Berry cheesecake layer:

To the food processor, add 3/4th of the soaked cashews(drain and add them),add 1/2 cup frozen berries(more if you love sour taste), maple syrup/agave nectar, a pinch of salt and process until smooth and fluffy. I loved this layer.Add this on top of the cacao layer. Freeze this and wait for an hour for avocado cacao layer

Layer 4:Chocolate cheesecake layer:

To the food processor, add the rest of cashews(drain and add them), 1/2 to 3/4 th of an avocado, cacao powder, a pinch of salt, maple/agave nectar until fluffy. 🙂  Top that on berry layer 🙂 Freeze. Thaw before serving 🙂

 

Raw vegan Swirl Icecream-3 ingredients

It is freezing in Sydney and guess what I am craving for- Ice cream 🙂

Made one with frozen banana slices and peanut butter. It was ‘THE’ best, I have ever had in my life 🙂 I am going keep this post simple and short.

You need to freeze banana slices-I always have them in my freezer. There is no specific measurement to how many banana slices you need and how much peanut butter you require. Into a steel blade food processor, you add frozen banana slices, peanut butter and blend them until it comes to ice cream consistency 🙂 That is the white layer. Then you add cacao powder( to the blender ) depending on how chocolaty you like your brown layer to be. Blend for 30 seconds. Add that on top and that’s it 🙂 Try to swirl with a tooth pick and put it back in the freezer for 5 mins and enjoy 🙂

 

 

Raw vegan chia seeds pudding-made 4 ways

I have had this big bag of chia seeds for a while now and I usually put them in my smoothies but that wasn’t enough to reduce the quantity much-which means low consumption of omega-3. As I was going through my recipes, this one caught my eye. A low calorie-very healthy brekky pudding 🙂 Yep, you read it right-A pudding for breakfast. I was so thrilled just reading through the ingredients. Got this from a pamphlet which had info about how good raw veganism is for you and this recipe was at the end.

Please note: If you are not into slimy texture puddings, this is not for ya. Make a small batch of this and check if you like it. I loved it, my house mate did not. He said the texture was not for him. Let me know if you try this. I have this major issue where I love whatever I cook and can eat without complaining. If you think this is not a good recipe, I will take this down 🙂

Serves: 4

You need:

• 3/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 cups almond milk

Mix them all together and cover it with a cling wrap and refrigerate from anywhere between 4 hours to 24 hours 🙂 I am going to call this ‘chia seed mixture’

The original recipe says you add fruits and nuts to the chia seed mixture along with agave and just have it 🙂 I have improvised it to my taste. If you have any ideas, let me know. Will add them here too. 🙂

Pudding 1: Chocolate Almond Dates Chunky Chia Pudding

In a small mixing bowl, add 2 Tbsp cacao powder, 1 Tbsp almond meal, 3 medjool dates, a pinch sea salt and make a paste/pulse it in a food processor.  Add 3-5 Tbsp of chia seed mixture and mix until well combined. Transfer to a serving bowl/wine glass, refrigerate for an hour and serve with chocolate shavings and almond meal 🙂

Pudding 2: Banana Peanut Butter Chia Pudding

In a small mixing bowl, add 1 ripen banana, mash it with a fork,  1-2 Tbsp peanut butter, 2 tsp stevia, a pinch sea salt, 2 pinches cinnamon and make a paste. Add 3-5 Tbsp of chia seed mixture and mix until well combined. Transfer to a serving bowl/wine glass, refrigerate for an hour and serve with banana slices/peanut butter 🙂

Pudding 3: Pistachios Saffron Cardamom Chia Pudding-Raw vegan kheer

In a small mixing bowl, add 2 Tbsp pistachios, 1 cardamom seeds (use mortar and pestle to crush the seeds), few strands saffron (to take the extract out, put them on a small plate, add a Tbsp of water/milk and rub them with your index finger-this releases the flavor), 2 Tbsp stevia, a pinch sea salt  and make a paste. Add 3-5 Tbsp of chia seed mixture and mix until well combined. Transfer to a serving bowl/wine glass, refrigerate for an hour and serve with crushed pistachios  🙂

Pudding 4: Coffee lovers’ Bitter Chia Pudding [NOT RAW VEGAN]

In a small mixing bowl, add  1 tsp of instant coffee powder, 1 tsp cocoa powder, vanilla bean paste, 1 Tbsp Stevia, a pinch salt and mix them all well. I added a tsp of unhulled tahini and it made this terribly bitter. You could heat this in a microwave for 10 seconds to ease the dissolving process. Add 3-5 Tbsp of chia seed mixture and mix until well combined. Transfer to a serving bowl/wine glass, refrigerate for an hour and serve with stevia  🙂

My personal favorite is banana peanut butter followed by the chunky dates one. Which one is your favorite?

Vegan Cannellini bean coconut hummus

This is probably the best hummus I have ever made. Are you bored of chickpea hummus? This is what you need for a change 🙂 With coconut in, it tasted divine. Get rid of coconut if you are not into coconut 🙂

Very easy to make and Yum. In a food processor, blend together these ingredients below

• A can of cannellini beans rinsed very well
• 1 clove garlic
• 1-2 tsp cumin powder(depending on your taste)
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 1 tbsp olive oil(optional)
• 1 tbsp unhulled tahini(or more-depending on your taste)
• 2 Tbsp fresh coconut
• Salt, Paprika-to taste

That’s it. Yummy hummus 🙂

Serve with bread/these amazing Korean Scallion pancakes- PaJeon 

 

Vegan PaJeon – Korean Scallion Pancake

A Jeon translates to ‘Pancake’ in Korean. Pajeon means a green scallion pancake

When I explain the concept of veganism to my Asian students who are aged between 17-19, they just don’t get it 🙂 As I get to know them through out the semester, they love to give ideas and pass on recipes and food I need to ask for in an Asian restaurant. I don’t accept any parting gifts other than recipes/chopsticks 😛 This recipe was a parting gift from a Korean student. It was very nice of her to strike off non-vegan items and suggest replacements 🙂

I tried it today cos I had this big stack of scallions staring at me. I have taken it a step further and have made it gluten-free 🙂

Ingredients:

• Chickpea flour-1 cup [Or use plain as original recipe states]
• Rice flour-1/4 cup
• Sesame seeds-1 tsp
• Salt-to taste
• Soy sauce-1 tsp
• Red chili paste/powder-1 tsp
• Water-1 cup
• Scallions-3-discard an inch from top and bottom section and chop them into how wide you want the pancakes to turn out-I chopped them into bits -same length as my index finger 🙂

Method:

• In a mixing bowl, whisk every ingredient listed above except scallions
• Heat a griddle, add a tsp of oil, arrange scallions parallel to one another and roast them for a minute and pour some batter over the scallions and let it turn golden brown on one side
• Turn and cook the other side too
• Serve with any Asian dipping sauce- I had it with Cannellini bean coconut hummus 🙂

Vegan Chinese Noodles with Baby corn Manchurian

This is my favorite combo 🙂 I am a huge fan of Chinese food. I know, who isn’t? Although the noodles is an authentic chinese food, but manchurian isn’t. It is a combination of Indian and Chinese flavors. Usually it is vegan-the ones you get in India, but when I ordered one last week in an Indian restaurant in Sydney, the chef said they use egg whites and cannot be veganised. So I decided to make one at home. All I had was baby corn and I am so glad it did 🙂 I have tagged it under ‘Evil Fried Temptations :P’

Recipe for Baby corn manchurian 

Ingredients:

• Baby corn-15-slit into 2-and again slit into 2. -dropped into salted boiling water for 10 minutes and dried on paper towel
• For the batter (1 tbsp gluten-free flour, 1 tsp gluten-free corn flour, chili powder-1 tsp, soy sauce-1 tsp, extra hot chili sauce-1 tsp, salt-to taste, water to form a batter)
• 1/2 red onion-finely chopped
• 1/2 green capsicum/peppers-finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic-finely chopped
• A small piece ginger-finely chopped
• Soy sauce-1 tsp
• Tomato sauce-2 tsp
• Extra hot chili sauce-1 tsp
• Salt-to taste
• Scallion-1. chopped fine
• Vinegar-a tsp
• 1 Tbsp oil+oil for shallow frying

Method:

• Mix the ingredients for batter and make a thick batter and drop baby corns into it-batter should stick to the baby corn. Shallow fry them and put them
• In a sauce pan, add a tbsp of oil, add garlic, ginger, scallions and fry for a minute and add onion, capsicum and fry until well fried. Add salt, soy sauce, tomato sauce, chili sauce, vinegar and fry well and add baby corn in.
• Mix well and serve with coriander leaves 🙂

Noodles

Ingredients:

• Gluten-free Noodles-cooked with salt-allowed to drain
• Julienne-1 baby carrot, 1/2 capsicum, 1 onion, 5 baby corn, mushrooms(opt),Kale and Spinach-a handful
• Scallions
• Garlic and ginger-1 Tbsp grated-each
• Soy sauce,Chilli sauce-1 tbsp/as per taste
• Vinegar-1 tsp
• Salt, Black pepper-to taste
• 1 tbsp oil

Method:

• In a large wok, add a tbsp of oil, add onions, capsicum, salt, let it cook, once onions are translucent, add ginger, garlic, fry for another couple of minutes and add the veges in and toss until almost cooked.
• Add chili sauce, vinegar and toss for a minute
• Add noodles, soy sauce, pepper and toss well until all combine well 🙂