A t a s t e o f I n d i a

Because of their strong religious beliefs, a large portion of the Indian population is vegetarian. By natural circumstance, and with their amazing array of dals, rice, chutneys, spices, and fermented dishes, moving to WFPB eating is less of a change than, for example, it would be in Southland, New Zealand. We have put together some recipes from Karnataka cuisine. Some have been altered to remove the jaggery and palm sugars traditionally used. Karnataka cuisine dates back to the iron age and is one of India's oldest surviving traditional foods. The Idli and Dosa found on the following pages uses black grain, a rice that can take a while to prepare (ferment), but it's worth the wait. It's very filling. And, along with the chutneys and sambar soup, incredibly tasty as well. These dishes are common in Southern India and best prepared the night before. For a small cost, I have used an Idli mould that fits into a pressure cooker for steaming. Traditionally coconut shells have been used as the mould to steam in pots or the microwave. Thanks to Divya Kachwalla for your help here, Also, check out her wonderful Biryani recipe. As one of the most popular dishes in South Asia, we couldn't leave this out of our small collection of Indian cuisine. Enjoy!

South Indian Breakfast

A WFPB version of the traditional South Indian breakfast consisting of Idlis, dosa, chutneys and a sambar soup. by Catherine Barclay & others!

A big shout out to Valli Ponnapalli and his wife for introducing me to this excellent breakfast, and to Kavita Upadhyay for helping me source the WFPB ingredients.

INGREDIENTS - IDLI & DOSA

2 cups

1/2 cup 1 tsp

METHOD - IDLI

matta broken rice urad dhal chilka fenugreek seed

1. Wash the rice and dhal separately until the water is clear.

2. Place the rice in a bowl with the fenugreek seed and cover with water, leave to soak for 4-6 hours.

3. Put the dhal into a separate bowl, cover it with water and leave to soak for the same amount of time.

4. Drain the dhal and grind in a blender, adding small amounts of water at a time, until it is a fine paste. Set aside.

5. Drain and grind the rice with a cup of water until it is a coarse paste.

6. Combine both the dhal and rice in a large bowl, adding a 1/2 cup of water to make a batter that is not too thick or thin.

7. To ferment, place the bowl in a warm place (I used our hot water cupboard) overnight.

8. Next morning, give the batter a quick mix then spoon evenly into the idli moulds. I have purchased a stainless steel idli stand with four plates.

9. In an electric pressure cooker, preheat 1/2 cup water in saute mode, before adding in the idle stand, close the lid but keep the vent open. Use manual mode to steam for 12 mins.

10. Remove from the pressure cooker, and wait 5 mins before using a sharp knife to scoop out the idlis.

11. Serve immediately with chutney of your choice and a sambar.

METHOD - DOSA

1. Follow the same instructions of Idli's 1-7

2. Heat a nonstick frypan.

3. Scoop a heaped tablespoon of the batter and pour it into the centre of the pan.

4. Use the back of the spoon to spread the batter outwards to form a thin crepe.

5. Cook for a minute then flip and cook for a further minute.

6. Remove from pan and place on a plate, repeat until all the batter is used.

7. Serve it immediately with your favourite chutney and sambar.

INGREDIENTS - PEANUT CHUTNEY

1 cup 4-5 1 inch

5-6 1/4 cup 1 pinch 1/2 tsp peanuts dry red chillis, deseed and dice ginger, diced garlic cloves, diced brown onion, diced hing (asafoetida) tamarind powder

METHOD - PEANUT CHUTNEY

1. Cook peanuts in an air fryer for 15 mins (tossing occasionally) or in the oven dry roast for 10 mins at 180°C (shaking occasionally).

2. In a frying pan, dry fry, with a small amount of water, the red chillies, ginger and garlic for 5 mins.

3. Add all to a tray and allow to cool.

4. Transfer all ingredients to a blender and blend with a small amount of water until smooth.

chana dal urad dal cumin seed fenugreek seed red chilli, deseeded, diced brown onion, diced garlic cloves ginger tomato, diced tamarind powder mint

METHOD - TOMATO AND MINT CHUTNEY

1. In a non-stick frying pan, dry fry the dals, cumin fenugreek seeds, and chilli with a bit of water.

2. Add in the onion, garlic and ginger. Saute until the onion is translucent.

3. Next add the tomato and tamarind, cook covered until tomato is soft.

4. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

5. move all ingredients, including mint, into blender and blend until smooth, adding small amounts of water if needed.

SOUTH INDIAN BREAKFAST - CONTD

INGREDIENTS - SAMBAR

3/4 cup

2 cups

1 Tbsp

2 Tbsp tsp toor dal water tamarind powder sambar powder red chilli powder potato, cubed green beans, halved large tomato, diced okra, halved medium carrot, diced veg drumsticks (found at indian stores - optional)

METHOD - SAMBAR

1. Wash the dal in water until clear.

2. Add dal and the water to a pressure cooker, cook for 9 minutes. If you don't have a pressure cooker add both to a pot and boil until dal is soft.

3. In a soup pot, dry fry the onions in a small amount of water until soft then add all other vegetables and saute for another 2 mins.

4. Stir in the chilli powder along with 4 cups of water.

5. Allow the water to boil before adding in all other ingredients. Cook for 5 mins.

6. Next remove around 1/2 the soup into a blender and blend until smooth, return mix to the pot and stir through.

7. Serve with Idli or Dosa while hot.

PUFFED MAKHANA (LOTUS SEEDS)

Like popcorn, this puffed seed is an Indian snack that is easy to prepare. The big difference is that these small packages are 10x healthier than popcorn.

Some of the benefits are:

• A abundant source of protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin C and phosphorus.

• Supports kidney health

• Increases bone strength

• Has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer properties

• These seeds are rich in amino acid content and unsaturated fatty acids.

• Yet low in calories which is an excellent snack while losing weight.

• Gluten-free

The best way to prepare these little bits of goodness is to preheat an air-frier, add the seeds and fry for two minutes. Allow to stand for one minute before eating. That's it!