Indian Vegan Omlette

When I saw a vegan omlette in one of my favorite blogs, I felt like
making an Indian eggless omlette. Made from chickpea
flour, Indian eggless omlette not only tastes great, but it is also
full of proteins.

Chickpea flour is used to make fritters such as
pakoras and bajjis. This flour is also used to make
popular Indian sweets such as mysore pak and boondi
laddu. Chickpea flour is also known as gram flour,
chana flour, garbanzo bean flour. Chickpea flour is
available in almost all the Indian grocery stores. In Hindi, it
is known as "Besan".



Indian Vegan Omlette

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour (I used Meera gram flour)
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped dill
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp turmeric (optional)
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped tomato
salt to taste
vegetable oil

Take the chickpea flour in a large bowl, add onion,
dill, tomato, carrot and the spices. Add water and
make a thick batter.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick skillet on medium-high
until hot. Pour a ladleful of batter into the skillet
and spread it around. Spread 1 tsp of oil on the top
of the omlette, and cook for 3-4 minutes, and when the
edges are dried out, flip over, and cook the other
side for 3-4 minutes.

This tastes great when eaten warm.

I saw a delicious Zucchini and chickpea pancakes recipe in this blog

Vegan Banana Muffin

Growing up in Bangalore, I remember relishing bakery
items - fruit cake, cupcake, masala buns, bread
sandwich regularly.

There was just one type of cupcake in Bangalore
bakeries. Cupcake was also called as apple cake.
Cupcakes in Bangalore bakeries are without the
frosting. So they are somewhat similar to
muffin, but are called cupcake!

When I saw variety of muffins in a local bakery in
United States, for the first time, I was overwhelmed.
I loved muffins and always had store-bought muffins in
my kitchen.

Once I became a vegan, I started baking muffins once
in a while because I no longer get eggless and dairy free
muffins in supermarkets. Recently, I made banana muffins following
this recipe and the taste was superb.
I used very ripe bananas to make the muffins.

To know more about history of cupcake, from an Indian standpoint,
visit an Indian newspaper

Bele undi - Steamed Lentil Dumpling

Bele undi, steamed lentil dumplings, is one of my
favorite snacks. I often make this steamed dumplings
because the recipe does not require cooking oil.

I have not eaten these steamed dumplings in
restaurants in India. I remember eating these dumpling
regularly in my home in Bangalore.

My mom always used fresh grated or finely chopped
coconut to do Bele undi. My mother also added
some ground cinnamon and cloves to make it it spicier.
Here, in United States, instead of coconut, I add carrot.
This is pretty versatile dish, you can use various chopped greens or
herbs such as spinach, parsley , mint or cilantro.

Bele undi, is made with chana dal - resembles yellow
split peas. Chana dal is widely used in Indian
cuisine. In southern India, chana dal is used to make
various spice blends, gravies, and also sweets such as
puran poli. Vada - deep fried lentil dumplings , made
from chana dal is a popular street snack in south
India.

Chana dal is also known as Bengal Gram dal.

Chana dal is good for people with diabetes. Visit
to know more about health benefits of chana dal.

Visit mahanandi for other great chana dal recipes

Bele Undi for RCI: Karnataka, hosted by Asha

Bele Undi

1 cup chana dal
1 cup chopped dill
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 finely chopped carrot
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp garam masala or curry powder
3/4 cup water
Salt to taste

Method
Soak chana dal in water for 4 hours and then drain the water.
Using a blender, make it into a coarse paste adding water.

Mix the coarse paste of chana dal, with onion,
carrot, dill, spices and the salt.

From 2 tablespoon of this mix, make oblong balls
and steam cook it in a rice cooker or idly cooker for
about 15 minutes or until the batter sets completely.

I usually eat these dumplings without any dipping sauce. However,
you can use chutney or salsa to eat with these lentil dumplings.

Vegan Thanksgiving

While reading a blog, I came across a website - Gentle Thanksgiving. You can read wonderful thanksgiving recipes online or you can order free Gentle Thanksgiving Veg Starter Kit.

Vegan Chocolates

I love chocolates. I'm unable to find vegan chocolates in supermarkets across United States. I visit many vegan blogs, but I have not come across any post related to vegan chocolates.

I'm sure there are many vegan chocolates which vegans relish. Where do you purchase vegan chocolates and what's your favorite vegan chocolate?

Thank you!

Meme

I've been tagged by Theresa, to participate in a meme.

K is for Kannada, a south Indian language which is my
mother tongue. I love to view Kannada film songs in
youtube.

U is for urban. I feel that zoos which are present in
the urban setting are sort of a prison for animals. I
wish adults and kids don't visit zoos, so that all the zoos are
forced to shut-down. Imagine tropical animals such as
elephants living in zoos in countries with harsh cold
climate.

M is for Mulesing. For a very long time, I thought
that only leather caused pain and suffering for the
animals. Recently, I learnt that even wool causes a
lot of pain and suffering for the sheep. I decided not
to buy wool after learning about muleasing, in which
huge chunks of skin and flesh are cut from the
animals’ backsides, without any painkillers.

U is for Udupi. I like to visit ancient places. I want
to visit Udupi, a very popular town in Karnataka.I
also would like to visit Ur, which according to some
scholars, is world's first city.

D is for Date. I love dates. When I think of dates, I
think of Iraq. I hope someday I can eat Iraqi
dates, which according to my parents are the tastiest
dates in the world. Unfortunately, millions of date
palms in Iraq has been destroyed in the war.

H is for Health. I'm eternally thankful to Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) for creating
awarness across the world in the arena of diet and
nutrition. I think that the percentage of vegans is
increasing in many countries, because PCRM proves time
and again, that a plant-based diet is best for a
well-balanced health by conducting numerous
researches.

A is for Animals. I don't adore animals, but I feel
that animals should be treated with some respect. I
thank PETA, for exposing the horrible conditions of
cows, pigs, sheep, goats and chicken in factory farms
across the world. Thanks to PETA, these days it is so
easy to find everything from shampoo to cleaning
products that does not contain animal products and
which are not tested on animals.

Dada J. P. Vaswani, a popular religious leader says,
"The 18th century gave rights to man, the 19th century
gave rights to slaves, and the 20th century has given
rights to women. The 21st century, I verily believe,
will give rights to animals, and that will be a
glorious day in the history of humanity. I believe
there will be no peace on Earth unless we stop all killing."

Coconut fudge and Coconut burfi

Coconut burfi, a fudge like sweet from South India, is
made with copious amounts of grated coconut and sugar.
Coconut burfi is called as "Kobbari mitai" in my mother
tongue, Kannada.

With just few ingredients, coconut burfi is a
wonderful dessert to make. It tastes great and can be
stored for nearly a week.

I don't use coconut in my everyday cooking, as I don't
like using dry coconut powder or frozen grated coconut
found in Indian stores. I buy coconuts rarely, only to
make some traditional sweets.

If you visit South India, you can find
coconut burfi adorning the shelves of grocery stores
in villages, towns and cities. Street vendors also
sell coconut burfi near the bus stations.

I recently made coconut burfi following Indira's recipe.
Also, I used vegetable oil instead of ghee
to grease the plate.

Spicy Tofu

I recently made spicy tofu with garam masala. Garam
masala, a blend of spices, is commonly used in
North Indian dishes. I made garam masala following
this recipe .
However, I used just 1 tbsp of cardamom seeds instead
of 2 tbsp of cardamom seeds to make garam masala powder.

I often make spice blends at home, because dishes
cooked with fresh spice blends tastes great, and also I
love the aroma of spices when I dry toast the
spices.

You can also use ready made garam masala powder, sold in
Indian stores and some supermarkets to make this dish.

1 (16-oz) firm or extra-firm tofu, drain the water ,and cut tofu into 3/4 - 1 inch cubes
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 tbsp - 3/4 tbsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/8 tsp turmeric(optional)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro(optional)
salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in a large skillet, add chopped onion, and
saute for 3-4 minutes.Add chopped bell pepper and
saute until the bell pepper becomes tender. Add the
spices and tofu, saute until the tofu changes to light brown.
Next add tomatoes, and cook for another couple of minutes
until the tomatoes become very soft. Add salt, and garnish with cilantro.

Serve with pita bread, or chapatis.