VEGETARIAN Shit I've Cooked Lately

[Jack Straw 2954]

berbere spiced black lentil stew with yogurt

 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

So @Jack Straw do you make your own Indian sauces? We’ve tried but just can’t get the flavor profile of the pre-made shit in the jars.

we’ve also been cheating our faces off and buying the vegan stuff from green chef and purple carrot. I’ve been taking pics with the intention of posting them here but i feel like a cheap whore doing that to y’all.

[Jack Straw 2954]

i don't think i have ever tried any of the jarred indian sauces before.    i do buy premade spice mixes though - not necessarily indian - berbere, za'atar, baharat, advieh.   i don't use those mixes frequently enough to whip up my own batches.  there is a brand of harissa paste in a jar that i love and always have some in my fridge.  i also love the Trader Joe's zhoug sauce and usually have that on hand .  I also keep some schezuan chili oil in the pantry (actually I keep another jar of that at the office too).  that stuff is good on all kinds of dishes.  

[APMP 688]

I am a vegetarian (Indian descent), wife is not. Kids are for now (both under the age of four). This thread is inspiring.

[Neonmoon 38130]

Spicy Tofu Pasta (shrimp if you’re pescatarian)

1. Cook pasta per package directions

2. coat tofu with Cajun/Creole seasoning and cook in pan with butter. (cooked until tofu browns)

3. Add 1 diced jalapeño, garlic, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Salt to taste. Cook for 5 minutes 

4. add pasta and 1/4 cup of white wine. Cook for 2-4 minutes 

4. Serve with Parmesan 

sooo good 

[lemonlime 5503]

Farro and bean soup. It was good despite not being able to locate celery and parmesan.

https://www.101cookbooks.com/farro-and-bean-soup/

[lemonlime 5503]

Oh, and also made this the other day, and it was really good.  Didn't take a picture, though.  https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/healthy-vegetable-rice-bowl

[Jack Straw 2954]

whole green gram curry

[Neonmoon 38130]

This was absolutely fantastic . Easy too

https://www.canadianliving.com/food/lunch-and-dinner/recipe/chickpea-red-lentil-curry
 

Quote

In saucepan, bring rice, 3 cups water and pinch of salt to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until rice is tender,
15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Add 2 tsp lime zest; fluff with fork. Keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan set over medium heat; cook onion, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and spices. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add chickpeas, tomatoes, lentils, coconut milk and 1 cup water. Season with salt and pepper; bring to boil. Simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes, adding more water if needed. Stir in lime juice.

Serve curry over rice. Top with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with remaining lime zest.

 

[406W30th 1111]

I make these lentils about once a week – hadn't made them in awhile, decided to have them for lunch, and my mouth literally started watering thinking of them. Lentils are usually a tough sell for me but these blew me away and I will make this recipe the rest of my life. (Helps that my 2-year old eats them as enthusiastically as I do.)

Puy lentils w/ tahini, cumin, and lemon

If you're not familiar with Yotam Ottolenghi, he's one of the best in the game these days. Israeli-English chef with a bunch of restaurants in London and a handful of fantastic books ("Jerusalem" is the best imo), several of them ("Plenty", "Plenty More") are vegetarian. His weekly column in The Guardian is must-read.

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by 406W30th

[elfenix 34339]

On 3/3/2020 at 6:52 PM, workswithseed said:

Anyone have a good recipe with lintels? I bought some and never had them before.

usually best placed above doors or windows.

Edited April 24, 2020 by elfenix

[406W30th 1111]

On 4/18/2020 at 9:50 AM, Jack Straw said:

whole green gram curry

Good looking dish. Great looking dog.

[Jack Straw 2954]

15 hours ago, 406W30th said:

If you're not familiar with Yotam Ottolenghi, he's one of the best in the game these days. Israeli-English chef with a bunch of restaurants in London and a handful of fantastic books ("Jerusalem" is the best imo), several of them ("Plenty", "Plenty More") are vegetarian. His weekly column in The Guardian is must-read.

 

we ate at one of Ottolenghi's restaurants - the one in Soho, last year.  really enjoyed it.

the Guardian is a great resource for recipes and food info and articles.  lots of stuff from/about Meera Sodha, who is a master of Indian cooking IMO and particularly vegetarian Indian. Fresh India is a great cookbook, and one of my favorites.  I read it even when I'm not looking for a recipe or planning on cooking anything in particular.

[406W30th 1111]

1 hour ago, Jack Straw said:

we ate at one of Ottolenghi's restaurants - the one in Soho, last year.  really enjoyed it.

the Guardian is a great resource for recipes and food info and articles.  lots of stuff from/about Meera Sodha, who is a master of Indian cooking IMO and particularly vegetarian Indian. Fresh India is a great cookbook, and one of my favorites.  I read it even when I'm not looking for a recipe or planning on cooking anything in particular.

Fresh India is fantastic and it's an absolutely beautiful book. I've only done a few recipes out of it though – any favorites in there you could recommend?

I've been meaning to do the Pickled Cauliflower w/ Ginger & Lime, along with the Moong Dal w/ a Garlic & Cumin Tarka. Haven't made it to the Indian grocer after running out of curry leaves. (Stupid pandemic.)

 

[Jack Straw 2954]

i have not had the book that long so I have only tried a couple of them myself.  there are quite a few of her recipes out there online that i have used and that's what ultimately prompted me to get the book.  i suspect though, that there is overlap so I have probably done quite a few of them.  i am fascinated with all the different ways to make dal - and to me its almost the perfect vegetarian dish - so that's what i usually concentrate on. 

edit:

decided to try this one from Fresh India tonight

roasted broccoli with cardamom, nutmeg and almonds

chana masala for the entree

Edited April 26, 2020 by Jack Straw

[Jack Straw 2954]

gujarati dal with star anise, honey, and fried peanuts and curry leaves

[idahorn 26]

...

[APMP 688]

 

gujarati dal with star anise, honey, and fried peanuts and curry leaves

 

 

That looks awesome.

 

Also, I am Gujarati, we usually do more soup-like dal... spoon required, fork would be futile.

 

But, again, yours still slams and goes hard.

 

 

[Jack Straw 2954]

14 hours ago, APMP said:

 

 

 

 

That looks awesome.

 

Also, I am Gujarati, we usually do more soup-like dal... spoon required, fork would be futile.

 

But, again, yours still slams and goes hard.

 

 

thank you for the comments - i don't think i would have known that otherwise.  i will say, the consistency i was going for was somewhere between soup-like as you described, and the end result that you see in the picture.  but, I don't have a pressure cooker, and i had already added water to the pot 2 or 3 times on the back end, more than the recipe called for, trying to get the lentils soft enough, and was worried about diluting the flavor too much.  so i agree  - it was thicker than i was intending - but the flavor was great. 

[irishtexan 11526]

Made the following over the last week to try to eat more veggies and less meat. 

On 1/20/2020 at 2:29 PM, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

i'll get it started. incredibly good lentil soup recipe: https://cookieandkate.com/best-lentil-soup-recipe/ 

Great veggie soup. Curry gives it a nice kick. Ate it for lunch two days after. 

On 1/21/2020 at 8:24 PM, Neonmoon said:

This was pretty good. Recommend cooking chickpeas down to preferred consistency. I prefer mushy. We also skipped the apricots. Didn’t see the point. 

https://www.cocooncooks.com/blog-en/quick-easy-chickpea-curry

 

This was good too. Had a brain fart at the store and only bought one can of coconut milk. Subbed some chicken stock that I had made last night. I actually think two cans of coconut milk would have been too much. Also expected it to be pretty spicy with two heaping tablespoons of curry powder (I did one tablespoons of yellow curry and one tablespoon of hot madras curry) but it was actually quite mild. I would have added another whole tablespoon of curry powder. I ended up adding a spoonful of sambal oelek to my bowl. But overall this tasted great. My wife loved it. 

 

On 2/19/2020 at 8:33 AM, Jack Straw said:

man, this thread has gotten quiet.  come on veggie friendly people, i know you are out there and cooking!

here is an easy and really delicious one - i served it as a main dish the first night then ate the leftovers as a side with lentils and naan a couple nights later 

aloo matar 

I liked this the most. Gonna look at some other recipes on this thread and give them a shot. Thanks for the recommendations, all!

[Celery Man 21004]

I was making a new thread, but then found this one on a second search. I hope the pictures still work.

We're not vegans really, but started doing Purple Carrot during the early stages of COVID times. Purple Carrot is one of those meal plan things but for vegan food. I haven't done other ones and think they vary quite a bit in terms of how much of the stuff comes prepared - Purple Carrot is pretty much a book of recipes and some bags of ingredients, and you're just cooking meals. You might get like... tomato chutney or something in a little plastic bottle. Either way, the recipes are great and are available online, and we frequently remake our favorite ones with ingredients bought at the store. Also we'll often put in real cheese or use actual mayo/butter. We have realized we really like cashew cheese. It's also expanded our recipes into a lot more Indian and Thai/Asian cooking. 

Surprisingly I don't have photos of these, but some of our favorites

Beet and Coconut Flatbreads
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/beet-coconut-bacon-flatbread-with-garlic-cashew-cheese

Takeout Noodles
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/take-out-style-noodles-with-asparagus-and-sesame-ginger-sauce

Red Pepper Shakshuka
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/roasted-red-pepper-shakshuka-with-za-atar-tofu-crispy-shallot

Vegetable Panang Curry
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/vegetable-panang-curry-with-jasmine-rice-and-cashews

Korean Tofu Tacos
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/korean-tofu-tacos-with-kimchi-coleslaw-cilantro

Cauliflower Steaks with Romesco Sauce
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/cauliflower-steaks-with-pepita-romesco-sauce-crispy-butter-beans

I'm not sure which Dal recipes we've tried, but that's a thing I've realized I like. Here is one recipe - 
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/korean-tofu-bowl-with-cauliflower-rice-gochujang-sauce-39d4d18a-fa6a-4d57-8247-78357480497c

 

Also some of these photos don't have the best lighting, but going through pictures here are some other meals with their recipe.

Carrot Dumplings (these were awesome)
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/crispy-carrot-ravioli-with-hazelnut-sesame-butter-apple-arugula-salad

Tempeh Khao Soi
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/tempeh-khao-soi-with-bok-choy-crispy-onions

Fake Crabcakes
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/crispy-fabcakes-with-fresh-herb-salad-creamy-lemon-dijon-dressing

Tempeh Pozole (this is so good)
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/crispy-tempeh-posole-with-lime-radishes-sour-cream

Carrot Socca Cakes
https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/carrot-socca-cakes-with-green-beans-almondine-olive-tapenade

 

we've also realized how much we like ginger and radishes. And I like tofu, but have come to really like tempeh as well. Seitan I'm more on the fence about but have had some good meals with that as a protein.

Edited June 12, 2021 by Celery Man

[Neonmoon 38130]

I would like to subscribe to your newsletter 

[elfenix 34339]

i haven't made any of this chick's stuff but she's kinda hot so

 

 

[Celery Man 21004]

General Tso Tofu. This is my favorite way to fry tofu - tossed in some corn starch to give it some crisp. We were doing rice instead of quinoa and forgot it/had to microwave it, and the vegetables are way over cooked. But the tofu is good. This is another one we like and cook a lot. Also, I buy hodu tofu (vacuum packed not sitting in water) at Whole Foods, makes things a lot easier.

https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/general-tso-s-tofu-with-quinoa-steamed-broccoli-d44d2ae1-8eae-4f4a-ba9c-13b969f0d209
 

 

[Celery Man 21004]

https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/mango-poke-bowls-with-macadamia-nuts-sea-lettuce-dressing
 

I’ve never actually had a proper poke bowl but this was tasty and I want one. Stuff that looks kinda like corn in the picture is actually macadamia, which added nice texture. But I just love that sushi rice/rice vinegar/nori umami flavor

 

https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/sesame-ginger-noodles-with-stir-fried-greens-toasted-peanuts

we were low on time and didn’t cook the peanuts in sesame oil, which may have been a mistake - not as much flavor I was hoping. But still good. Love chili garlic sauce and fresh ramen is just the best

[Celery Man 21004]

Summer Squash flatbreads - these were good, I added actual cheese and additional cheese because i like cheese. Still not as good as the coconut beet flatbreads which are awesome, but love a balsamic glaze and the corn puree was good. could have used more puree

https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/summer-squash-flatbreads-with-sweet-corn-puree-balsamic-glaze

 

Tarragon Ponzu Noodles - man if you drizzle oil and salt on kale and then roast the shit out of it, it's pretty good. This was interesting and surprisingly satisfying. Wife didn't want the tarragon, but I figured taking something like that out could make a meal like this dull. I thought it was good but also thought it wouldn't have sucked without it. But I did wish I had roasted the kale for a bit longer - the kinda burnt bits were tasty

https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/tarragon-ponzu-noodles-with-tomatoes-crispy-kale

[Jack Straw 2954]

 

spicy chickpea, potato and kale stew topped with yogurt and roasted spiced chickpeas

[Celery Man 21004]

This doesn’t look like much, but was tasty. Couscous, tempeh, mango chutney, toasted almonds. Lot of flavor in the tempeh 

https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/spicy-mango-tempeh-with-toasted-almond-couscous-lemon-arugula

 

 

[Neonmoon 38130]

I try to follow a pescatarian diet. But the wife gets tired of fish sometimes, so I eat a lot of fake meat products. I actually like them, Any recommendations?

These are always delicious 

[APMP 688]

I try to follow a pescatarian diet. But the wife gets tired of fish sometimes, so I eat a lot of fake meat products. I actually like them, Any recommendations?
These are always delicious 

I have found Gardein to hands down be the best line of fake meats.

[Neonmoon 38130]

5 hours ago, APMP said:

 

 

I have found Gardein to hands down be the best line of fake meats.

 

Gardein is some good shit. Like their chicken tenders and meatballs 

Edited August 8, 2021 by Neonmoon

[Celery Man 21004]

I don’t know why this wasn’t on my earlier list - this is one of my favorite things we make vegetarian or no. Good telera roll is key. I’m not big on fake meat, I don’t think that this (walnut and cauliflower) would confuse me into thinking I’m eating meat, but I do think that I would house this sandwich before even thinking about it.

https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/veggie-tortas-with-cauliflower-walnut-meat-garlic-aioli

[Celery Man 21004]

this shit is the bomb

https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/crispy-cauliflower-pakoras-with-red-lentil-dal-cilantro-chutney

[Celery Man 21004]

Same “meat” as used in the tortas- cauliflower, walnuts, sun dried tomatoes, chorizo seasoning, food processor, cook. I want to try this with different seasoning but this was also great.

 

[Mittens 8312]

On 8/7/2021 at 8:55 PM, Neonmoon said:

I try to follow a pescatarian diet. But the wife gets tired of fish sometimes, so I eat a lot of fake meat products. I actually like them, Any recommendations?

These are always delicious 

I have become way too big of a fan of the MorningStar buffalo chicken nuggets.  Just too easy to make, and real chicken nuggets are just processed mystery meat anyway, right?  Probably eat these once a week, maybe 3x/month?

https://www.morningstarfarms.com/en_US/products/veggitizers/morningstar-farms-buffalo-wings-product.html

Use this w/ onions, garlic, green bell pepper and a jar of pasta sauce and veggie pasta: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/gardein-the-ultimate-beefless-ground/1762746

This over rice.  I'll add the sauce directly to the pan and reduce it for a minute or two, otherwise it's just drowning. https://www.heb.com/product-detail/gardein-sweet-sour-porkless-bites-11-2-oz/1923142

These aren't amazing or anything, but decent and a change of pace.  https://www.heb.com/product-detail/gardein-mini-crispy-crabless-cakes/1923141

[Jack Straw 2954]

 

vegan enchiladas - refried black beans, sauteed potatoes & onions, and roasted hatch chiles with tomatillo sauce and cashew crema 

 

[Neonmoon 38130]

On 8/15/2021 at 10:51 AM, Mittens said:

I have become way too big of a fan of the MorningStar buffalo chicken nuggets.  Just too easy to make, and real chicken nuggets are just processed mystery meat anyway, right?  Probably eat these once a week, maybe 3x/month?

https://www.morningstarfarms.com/en_US/products/veggitizers/morningstar-farms-buffalo-wings-product.html

Use this w/ onions, garlic, green bell pepper and a jar of pasta sauce and veggie pasta: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/gardein-the-ultimate-beefless-ground/1762746

This over rice.  I'll add the sauce directly to the pan and reduce it for a minute or two, otherwise it's just drowning. https://www.heb.com/product-detail/gardein-sweet-sour-porkless-bites-11-2-oz/1923142

These aren't amazing or anything, but decent and a change of pace.  https://www.heb.com/product-detail/gardein-mini-crispy-crabless-cakes/1923141

We love the chicken nuggets. I will have to try the ground meat. We tried the Beyond Meat Beef Crumbles but I didn’t like them. 
 

I just bought some fried fish filets so hopefully they’re good. 

[Mittens 8312]

I definitely prefer the Gardein ground beef to the Beyond.  Still a bit vegan-y, but much less weird than the Beyond.

[Celery Man 21004]

Wife asked me to make dinner this week and I made that pozole because I keep thinking about it and man it is good. Good fall soup. I have no idea what honest to God pozole is like, I should try it, but this is so good. Didn’t get a picture because I was too busy enjoying it, so here are the leftovers

https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/crispy-tempeh-posole-with-lime-radishes-sour-cream
 

the bulk comes from some lightly fried tempeh along with hominy. the flavor comes from a chile purée made of dried arbol chiles, chipotle peppers in adobo (canned and readily available), onion/garlic, pinch of salt, some water from when you boil the arbol peppers. Cook that in some oil, mix it all together (use 2 tsp of vegetable broth concentrate for the “vegetable broth packet” in the recipe). Cilantro, radish, some sour cream. So tasty. I crack the arbols and shake the seeds out because my wife can’t take much heat - it has hot flavor but not a lot of burn. Highly recommended to try if anyone is looking for a hearty soup.

[Celery Man 21004]

And I’m still into tempeh

https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/panko-crusted-tempeh-with-lemon-zucchini-soba-avocado

[irishtexan 11526]

On 1/20/2020 at 8:27 PM, Wiler77 said:

Made this last week and loved it. Added more vegetables than the recipe called for.  Onions, carrots, and red bell pepper to be exact.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/275768/chickpea-dumplings-in-curried-tomato-sauce/

 

Necro-bumping this thread, which I frequently turn to when looking for vegetarian options. Plus, with it being "cold" outside, many of these hearty lentil curries are pretty damn satisfying.

On this recipe, I see that it calls for whole coriander and cumin seeds to be heated in oil, and eventually incorporated into the sauce. my question is, do you remove the coriander seeds? Or leave in whole? Coriander seeds are larger than whole peppercorns, and of a similar consistency. Biting into a dumpling and crunching down into a whole coriander seed would seem to be unpleasant, and potentially would fuck up your teeth. Any reason not to sub fresh ground coriander and cumin seeds? Anyone else make this and have any feedback?

[APMP 688]

We always use ground coriander instead of seeds...might be an Indian thing.

[Wiler77 1578]

58 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

Necro-bumping this thread, which I frequently turn to when looking for vegetarian options. Plus, with it being "cold" outside, many of these hearty lentil curries are pretty damn satisfying.

On this recipe, I see that it calls for whole coriander and cumin seeds to be heated in oil, and eventually incorporated into the sauce. my question is, do you remove the coriander seeds? Or leave in whole? Coriander seeds are larger than whole peppercorns, and of a similar consistency. Biting into a dumpling and crunching down into a whole coriander seed would seem to be unpleasant, and potentially would fuck up your teeth. Any reason not to sub fresh ground coriander and cumin seeds? Anyone else make this and have any feedback?

Pretty sure we use the already ground stuff.

[lemonlime 5503]

8 hours ago, irishtexan said:

Necro-bumping this thread, which I frequently turn to when looking for vegetarian options. Plus, with it being "cold" outside, many of these hearty lentil curries are pretty damn satisfying.

On this recipe, I see that it calls for whole coriander and cumin seeds to be heated in oil, and eventually incorporated into the sauce. my question is, do you remove the coriander seeds? Or leave in whole? Coriander seeds are larger than whole peppercorns, and of a similar consistency. Biting into a dumpling and crunching down into a whole coriander seed would seem to be unpleasant, and potentially would fuck up your teeth. Any reason not to sub fresh ground coriander and cumin seeds? Anyone else make this and have any feedback?

I haven't cooked this specifically, but when making Indian food I often use whole coriander and cumin, but bash it in a mortar and pestle.  The whole seeds have more flavor.

[Neonmoon 38130]

Had some of this tonight. Pretty pretty good. 

https://hostthetoast.com/harira-moroccan-chickpea-and-lentil-soup/

[Celery Man 21004]

 

tofu banh mi