Meals

Easy tasty Guacamole
Hummus
Quinoa Corn Edamame salad
Chana Dhal
Simple chana masala

Easy tasty Guacamole

Ingredients

  • 2 avocados – peeled, stones removed and chopped
  • 2-8 tbsp fresh chopped coriander
  • 1 ripe tomato, chopped
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

  1. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl. With a fork mix and mash ingredients together until everything is incorporated while the avocado is still slightly chunky. Enjoy alone, as a side dish or as a dip.

Hummus

Ingredients

  • 2 cups drained well-cooked or canned chickpeas, liquid reserved
  • 1/2 cup tahini(sesame paste), optional, with some of its oil
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus oil for drizzling
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled, or to taste
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin or paprika, or to taste, plus a sprinkling for garnish
  • Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed
  • Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Method

  1. Put everything except the parsley in a food processor and begin to process; add the chickpea liquid or water as needed to allow the machine to produce a smooth puree.
  2. Taste and adjust the seasoning (I often find I like to add much more lemon juice). Serve, drizzled with the olive oil and sprinkled with a bit more cumin or paprika and some parsley.

Quinoa Corn Edamame salad

Ingredients

  • 2 cups frozen shelled edamame
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 cup cooked, cooled quinoa (leftover is great)
  • 1 green onion, sliced (just green parts)
  • ½ red sweet bell pepper, diced
  • 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1½ Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp chili powder
  • ¼ tsp dried thyme
  • ⅛ tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • dash of cayenne

Method

  1. Briefly boil the edamame and the corn, just until tender. Drain very well and cool completely.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the edamame, corn, quinoa, green onion, red pepper and cilantro.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, salt, chili powder, black pepper, thyme and cayenne until emulsified. Drizzle mixture over salad mixture and toss to coat. Cover and chill for at least two hours.

Notes
This recipe is easily adaptable. Feel free to experiment. If cilantro isn’t your thing, try parsley.

Chana Dhal

Ingredients

  • 250g split yellow peas
  • 2L water and later a kettle of boiled water you may decide to top up depending on how soupiness required
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tblsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 50g fresh ginger peeled and grated
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/4 tsp clove powder
  • 1/2 tsp milled black pepper
  • 1 small green chili or 1/4 tsp chili flakes
  • 2 skinned tomatoes chopped
  • half a bunch of coriander leaf chopped
  • juice one lemon
  • 1tsp salt
  • 1tbsp coconut oil (optional luxury extra)

Method

  1. Put the peas in a large pan with the water. Bring to the boil for ten minutes, scooping off foam with a slotted spoon. Add the turmeric, stirring in.
  2. Half cover and lower to a simmer for 45 – 60 minutes til peas are soft and squishy. Stir it about so it goes softer and creamier.
  3. Put the oil, black mustard and cumin seeds in a small, heavy bottomed frying pan
  4. Heat on a high heat til the seed just begin to pop. Add in the ginger. Stir. Add in the remaining powdered/milled spices and tomatoes and allow it to get pretty hot and spitty.
  5. Dump this into the boiled dhal and lightly stir in. You may want to swill out the pan with some curry so as not to waste any fragrant oil and seeds. Put the lid on fully as soon as you can and turn off the heat.
  6. Finish getting the other parts of the meal ready so that the dhal has 5 minutes or more to rest.
  7. Stir in the coriander, lemon and salt; coconut oil if using

Simple chana masala

  • cook time:25 minutes
  • total time:30 minutes
  • yield:6-8
  • cuisine:Vegan, Indian-Inspired, Asian-Inspired

Chana masala is an Indian dish made with chickpeas (chana) and garam masala. This 30-minute recipe is so simple, tasty and also oil-free.

Ingredients

  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 1/2-inch piece of ginger root (about 1 cm)
  • 2 14-ounce cans chopped tomatoes (800 g)
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tbsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas (800 g), drained and rinsed
  • The juice of half a lemon
  • Fresh cilantro to taste (optional)

Method

  1. Place garlic, onion and ginger in a food processor or a blender and blend for a few seconds until you have a paste.
  2. Cook the paste in a large pot over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes, tahini and spices and cook covered for 10 minutes more.
  4. Then add the chickpeas, stir and cook covered for another 10 minutes.
  5. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice, stir and serve with some basmati rice and fresh cilantro on top (optional).
  6. Store the chana masala in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 4 days.