National Post (National Edition)
Chetna Makan on vegetarian cooking’s tastier outcomes
In her latest cookbook, Chetna’s Healthy Indian: Vegetarian, Chetna Makan revels in refreshing plant-based foods Laura Brehaut
On one of the hottest days so far this summer, I sizzled a handful of spices and chilies, softened some flaked coconut and wilted two generous bunches of greens. After puréeing, adding to turmeric-simmered lentils and finishing with a tadka of mustard seeds and red chilies, I ended up not just with dinner, but a tonic. Refreshing and bright, it proved to be the perfect antidote to the sweltering heat.
“It’s such a simple recipe and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before,” says Chetna Makan, author of four cookbooks and former Great British Bake Off semifinalist.
One of more than 80 recipes in her latest book, Chetna’s Healthy Indian: Vegetarian (Octopus Books, 2020), the recipe for spinach and coconut dal exemplifies her approach to plant-based cooking. Maximum impact with minimal effort, she’s adept at using pulses, produce and spices to their fullest. “My aim is to help you feel more confident using veg, and become a little more experimental with pulses,” she writes.
Makan, who lives in a seaside town in Kent, England, moved from Mumbai in the early 2000s. As with her previous works, she found inspiration for Chetna’s Healthy Indian: Vegetarian in her homeland. While Makan’s second cookbook, Chai, Chaat & Chutney (2017), took her to India’s four largest cities — Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi — in pursuit of a wide array of street foods, this time she took a more localized approach with a single trip to Delhi.
After Makan put out a call on social media, seven passionate home cooks hailing from different parts of the country invited her into their kitchens. “It was crazy how it happened — they were so welcoming. I was born and brought up in India, so I know it very well. But I was really surprised by everybody’s generosity and openness,” she says.
“I asked them, ‘Don’t cook before I come. Cook whatever you want, but cook it in front of me.’ Because it’s very different to actually hear them tell me a recipe rather than seeing it. There are no measurements, so they’ll say, ‘Oh, just put a sprinkle of this and a pinch of this.’”
When Makan wrote the original Chetna’s Healthy Indian (2019), she didn’t intend for it to become the first in a series. But after such a positive reception, it became clear to both her and her publisher that there was an appetite for more of Makan’s “effortlessly good for you” meals. A follow-up focusing on vegetarian and vegan options was a natural next step, she says, given an increased interest in plant-based eating on the whole as well as a growing number of questions from her readers and followers on social media.
As a child in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Makan “was brought up on delicious vegetarian cooking.” Her dad is vegetarian, and although she eats chicken and fish on occasion, she enjoyed concentrating solely on vegetables in her latest work for one very simple reason: flavour.
“You can cook all the meat you want, but at the end of it, it tastes like meat,” says Makan. “Whereas with vegetables and other vegetarian (ingredients), everything you cook is different. Cauliflower has a different flavour. Spinach has a different flavour. Lentils have a different flavour. The flavour is so different, which is what I love because you cannot play with flavours this vastly or this intensely in meat. Even if you don’t add anything — if you just cook with basic spices — it’s going to taste amazing.”
Excerpted from Chetna’s Healthy Indian: Vegetarian by Chetna Makan.
Copyright © Chetna Makan 2020. Photography by Nassima Rothacker. Published in 2020 by Mitchell Beazley, an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. Reproduced by arrangement with the publisher.
LENTIL AND MANGO SALAD
For the salad:
❚ 100 g (3 1/2 oz) split moong dal
❚ 1 red onion, finely chopped
❚ 1 cucumber, diced
❚ 1 carrot, grated
❚ 1 raw green or unripe mango, peeled and finely chopped
❚ For the tadka:
❚ 1 tbsp (15 mL) canola oil
❚ 1 tsp (5 mL) black mustard seeds
❚ 1 tsp (5 mL) chili flakes
❚ 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
❚ 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1. Soak the moong dal in a bowl of cold water for 3–4 hours, then drain thoroughly. Return to the bowl with the rest of the salad ingredients.
2. To make the tadka, heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds. Once they start to sizzle, remove the pan from the heat and add the chili flakes and salt. Pour this over the salad.
3. Drizzle the salad with the lemon juice, toss it all well and serve.
4. This will last in the fridge for a couple of days.
Serves: 4 SPINACH AND COCONUT DAL
For the lentils: ❚ 250 g (9 oz) toor dal
❚ 1.2 L (4 cups) water
❚ 1 1/4 tsp (6 mL) salt
❚ 1 tsp (5 mL) ground turmeric
❚ For the spinach:
❚ 1 tbsp (15 mL) ghee
❚ 1 tbsp (15 mL) urad dal
❚ 1 tsp (5 mL) cumin seeds
❚ 2 tsp (10 mL) coriander seeds
❚ 1/2 tsp (2 mL) freshly ground black pepper
❚ 4 dried red chilies
❚ 50 g (1 3/4 oz) fresh coconut, roughly chopped
❚ 200 g (7 oz) fresh spinach
❚ 100 mL (6 tbsp) boiling water
❚ For the tadka:
❚ 1 tsp (5 mL) ghee
❚ 1 tsp (5 mL) black mustard seeds ❚ 2 dried red chilies
❚ A pinch of asafoetida
1. Start by combining the lentils, water, salt and turmeric in a pan and bringing them to the boil. Reduce the heat, then cover and cook for 40–45 minutes, until the lentils are soft.
2. To cook the spinach, heat the ghee in another pan and add the urad dal. Cook for 2 minutes on a low heat until slightly golden, then add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black pepper, dried red chilies and chopped coconut. Let it all sizzle for a minute.
3. Add the spinach and boiling water. Cover and cook on a low heat for 2 minutes, until the spinach has wilted. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blitz to a purée.
4. Tip the purée into the pan of cooked lentils and return to the boil.
5. For the tadka, heat the ghee in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds, dried red chilies and asafoetida and let them sizzle for a minute. Stir this mixture into the lentils and serve.
6. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2–3 days.
7. Reheat well before serving.
Serves: 4
SAFFRON BARFI
❚ 800 mL (3 1/4 cups) whole milk ❚ A pinch of saffron
❚ Ghee, for greasing
❚ 60 g (2 1/4 oz) granulated sugar ❚ 1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cardamom ❚ 150 g (5 1/2 oz) ground almonds
❚ A handful of pistachios, finely chopped
1. Bring the milk slowly to simmering point in a pan. Add the saffron, reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes to prevent sticking.
2. Meanwhile, use some ghee and baking parchment to grease and line a 20cm (8 inch) square loose-bottomed cake tin.
3. Once the 15 minutes is up, stir the sugar into the milk and cook for 10 minutes, still stirring every 2 minutes. Add the cardamom and almonds and mix well.
4. This is where you need to be patient: continue cooking for 20–25 minutes, stirring slowly the whole time. The mixture will gradually begin to thicken and come together, and will leave the sides of the pan.
5. Quickly tip the mixture into the prepared tin and spread out with a palette knife or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the pistachios over the barfi and press them in. Leave to set completely. Cut into pieces to serve.
6. You can store this in the fridge for 3–4 days — just make sure to leave it at room temperature for an hour before serving.
Makes: 12