Spice up your life
In her new book, Mridula Baljekar explores the dazzling colours and flavours of India’s rich tradition of vegan and vegetarian cuisine
Vegetarianism has long been a feature of Indian cuisine and many dishes are naturally vegan. Vibrant vegetables in rich fragrant sauces, nutty pulses and basmati rice, and an incredible array of spices: these are recipes to warm the body and soothe the soul.
Now Mridula Baljekar has drawn on the very best vegan and vegetarian food from around the country for her new new book. These recipes offer a flavour of what to expect.
Indian Vegan & Vegetarian: 200 traditional plant-based recipes by Mridula Baljekar is published by Lorenz Books, £20
Indian cheese with fenugreek and spinach (Methi Chaman)
Paneer contains the same amount of protein as meat, making it a great ingredient for a vegetarian diet.
Serves four
225g/8oz paneer/indian cheese, or a vegan alternative
60ml/4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped 25g/1oz piece of fresh root ginger, roughly chopped
4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
15ml/1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves 1–2 fresh red chillies, chopped (seeded if preferred)
5ml/1 tsp ground cumin
5ml/1 tsp ground coriander 2.5ml/½ tsp chilli powder 2.5ml/½ tsp ground turmeric 150g/5oz canned chopped tomatoes with their juice
15ml/1 tbsp tomato purée/paste 275g/10oz fresh spinach, chopped 2.5ml/½ tsp salt, or to taste 45ml/3 tbsp double cream, or a vegan alternative
2.5ml/½ tsp garam masala
Indian bread, to serve
1 Slice the paneer or vegan alternative lengthways, then cut each slice into 1cm/½ in cubes.
2 In a frying pan, heat 15ml/1 tbsp of the oil over a medium heat and sauté the cubes until they are browned all over. Drain on kitchen paper and set to one side.
3 Process the onion, ginger, garlic, fenugreek and fresh chillies in a food processor or blender until they are finely chopped and well blended.
4 Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Add the puréed ingredients and cook over a medium heat, stirring, for 5-6 minutes, or until the ingredients begin to stick slightly to the bottom of the pan.
5 Reduce the heat to low and add the cumin, coriander, chilli powder and turmeric. Simmer for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes, and cook over a medium heat, stirring regularly, until the tomatoes are pulpy and the sauce has thickened. Add 30-45ml/23 tbsp water and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes. Carefully stir in the tomato purée and the sautéed paneer or vegan alternative.
6 Add the spinach and salt. Stir continuously until the leaves have wilted. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the cream or vegan alternative and garam masala and cook for 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat. Serve with Indian bread.
Cauliflower, green pea and potato curry (Phoolkobi, Motor Alu Alur Jool)
Hindu culinary rules dictate that no meat should be eaten on particular days of the religious calendar. This highly spiced curry is often served as a delicious alternative for these festivals and other special occasions. Serves four 500g/1¼lb potatoes
1 small cauliflower or 350g/12oz cauliflower florets, with outer stalks removed
45ml/3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely sliced 5ml/1 tsp ginger purée
5ml/1 tsp garlic purée
2 fresh green chillies, chopped (seeded if preferred)
2.5ml/½ tsp ground turmeric 5ml/1 tsp ground coriander 175g/6oz fresh tomatoes, chopped 5ml/1 tsp salt, or to taste 115g/4oz frozen garden peas 15ml/1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, to garnish
1 Halve or quarter the unpeeled potatoes according to their size – the pieces should be quite chunky so that they do not fall apart during cooking. 2 Divide the cauliflower into 2.5cm/1in florets, blanch them for 2 minutes in a small pan of boiling salted water, then plunge them straight into cold water to prevent further cooking.
3 Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium/high heat and fry the potatoes in 2 to 3 batches until they are well browned and a crust forms on the surface – they will look a bit like roast potatoes. Remove the potatoes from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside.
4 In the same oil, fry the onion, ginger, garlic and chillies over a low/ medium heat, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to brown slightly.
5 Add the ground turmeric and coriander to the onion mixture, cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, fried potatoes and salt. Stir to combine.
6 Pour in 400ml/14fl oz warm water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, then cover and cook for 15 minutes.
7 Drain the cauliflower and add to the pan. Add the frozen peas and cook for 5 minutes. Serve, garnished with fresh coriander.
Spiced aubergine with hardboiled egg (Khagina)
Khagina is based on the usually vegan north-indian dish bharta, but the addition of chopped hard-boiled eggs gives extra taste and texture.
Serves four
1 large aubergine (about 350g/12oz) 45ml/3 tbsp vegetable oil 2.5ml/½ tsp mustard seeds
22.5ml/½ tsp fennel seeds 2.5ml/½ tsp nigella seeds
1 medium onion, finely chopped 5ml/1 tsp ginger purée
1 fresh green chilli, chopped (seeded if preferred)
2.5ml/½ tsp ground turmeric 2.5ml/½ tsp ground cumin
1 ripe tomato, skinned and chopped 2 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped 30ml/2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves and stalks 2.5ml/½ tsp salt
1 Preheat the grill to high and make at least two incisions in the aubergine to prevent it from bursting during cooking. Rub a little oil all over the aubergine, place it about 15cm/6in below the heat source and grill for 8-10 minutes, turning it over halfway through. Remove and leave to cool.
2 When the aubergine is cool enough to handle, slit it lengthways into two halves and scrape out the flesh with a knife or a spoon. Discard the skin and chop the flesh finely.
3 Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat until smoking hot, then add the mustard seeds; as soon as they start popping, add the fennel and nigella seeds. Allow all the seeds to sizzle gently for 15-20 seconds, then add the onion, ginger and chilli, and stir-fry until the onion is beginning to turn brown. Add the turmeric and cumin and stir-fry for 30-40 seconds. 4 Add the aubergine flesh and the chopped tomato and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, then add the chopped eggs, coriander leaves and salt. Cook for about a minute, then remove from the heat and serve.