Tempeh - barbecue style

Dear foodies,

Remember the post when I told you I had bought a slab of tempeh and sent it into long-term storage ? Ya, that was still there until a few weeks back. I was then having a tough patch with my cooking, nothing I made came out the way it was supposed to and I had a tough time swallowing the food I made. I filled most my days with soup from Panera bread and simple bread sandwiches (luckily the bread came out well) that did not lead to any complications. The other step I took was to follow a recipe to the T and not use my brain, it worked most times and this was one of them.

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon and I was feeling hungry with nothing at home. I had borrowed another Moosewood's book after the previous success and so started flipping thru thier sandwich section to see if anything interested me and if I had everything needed to make it. The first recipe I saw was for a tempeh sandwich and it sounded really good. This was my first time tasting and cooking tempeh and I am glad it worked out well. A first attempt failure usually puts me off things for a long long time. The ingredients list is the same as that in the book, but the quantities are not.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 pack of thawed Tempeh, cubed ( ~15, 1" cubes)
• 1/2 nos - red bell pepper, sliced
I used a couple of cherry peppers
• 1/4 cup - Onions, sliced
• a clove of garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp - Oil
  
• 1/2 tsp - coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp - fennel seeds/saunf powder
  
• 1-2 tsp - Tabasco sauce, adjust to taste
  

• 1 Tbsp - Tamari/soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp - Tomato ketchup
• 1 Tbsp - brown sugar/molasses
• 1/4 cup -water

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and saute the onions and garlic for a few minutes. Next add the peppers and cook for a few more minutes until they soften.
2. Add the cubed tempeh and saute on medium heat until it browns around the edges (add more oil if needed). Meanwhile, mix together the sauce ingredients (last 4 listed separately) and adjust the quantities to suit your taste. Ground the coriander & fennel seeds if you don't have them in the powdered form.
   
3. Sprinkle the spice powders over the tempeh and stir to coat well, pour the sauce in next and simmer for 5-7 mins until the sauce thickens. Add the tabasco sauce and check for seasonings.
4. Serve with crisp lettuce as a stuffing in pita pockets or on bread as a sandwich.

This was quick to make and super tasty I tell you. I did not have any form of lettuce but did not miss it that much since the tempeh was delicious with the crusty, toasted bread. I absolutely loved the sauce too, I usually don't like barbeque flavored snacks due to the smokiness I think, but this one was just right for me. The tempeh did not taste as funky as it looked :D It had a soft texture which you could may be equate to a dense and chunky paneer piece ?! This was a whole grain tempeh, and was spotted with flax seeds here n there. It could be because of the sauce but I did not get any strong flavors from the tempeh itself.

I liked the sandwich so much that I immediately used up the rest of the package of tempeh and made a slightly thinner sauce a.k.a munchurian style using cubed onions and green peppers and this time made delicious hors d'œuvre's on toothpicks, lip-smackingly good, especially when you are enjoying a book and can conveniently pop a few of these into your mouth as you flip through the pages. Do try this recipe when you get a chance.

A full serving of vegetables

Dear foodies,

There are evenings when I get back from office and am in no mood to cook anything and I blankly stare at the pantry shelves and the refrigerator trying to look for inspiration. Most days its a pasta tossed with a lots of veggies. I am really conscious about the quantity of vegetables I use on a daily basis. Since I cook only one dish per meal unlike my mom, I try and add as many as possible. I've noticed that there always has to be a red and green component; carrots, tomatoes, roasted red-peppers, sun-dried tomatoes help with the red, while peas, lima beans, edamame, capsicum, zuchini, green leafy vegetables take care of the green. Corn, chickpeas/canned beans, cauliflower and cabbage then join the party to form the final dish. I always have one from each group in my kitchen, and am trying to spread out a little since this assortment is getting a little boring now!

One such evening I did not want to eat any pasta or rice and decided on a soup. I had a couple of yellow and orange carrots and tomatoes in the fridge and a lone can of vegetable juice and capers in the pantry, so I set out making this delicious and hearty soup that tasted great even the next day with some chunky bread. My friend had bought a bunch of the vegetable juice cans and left before this lone guys turn came up, I just cannot bring myself to drink a can of vegetable juice ...no! and hence its role in the soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup - diced Carrots
• 1 cup - chopped tomatoes (~2-3 vine ripe tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup - Edamame
• 1 nos - medium Onion, diced
• 1 nos - large clove of Garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 Tbsp - Capers
  
• 1 5.5oz can - Vegetable juice
• 1/2 Tbsp -Olive oil
• 1 tsp - roasted Cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp - Cayenne powder/red chilli flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup - small pasta (optional) eg: orzo, elbow macaroni, orecchiette, pin wheels
• 1/3 cup - Lentils (optional) eg: yellow/green lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans (from Rads comment)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan on medium setting, add the garlic and let it soften for a minute, don't allow it to brown though. Next add the onions, some salt and let them cook, about 2-3mins.
2. Add chopped tomatoes, cover and cook until they soften up. 
3. Now add the vegetable juice, carrots, edamame (I added frozen ones and let them thaw directly in the soup), cumin powder and cayenne pepper. Check for seasonings and simmer until the carrots cook through. Add water only if its too thick as there is no thickening agent in this recipe.If using pasta, you can add them at this stage along with a little additional water.
   
4. Toss in the capers a few minutes before switching off the heat.
   
5. Serve warm with crusty bread or a light salad.

This soup was surprisingly warm and delicious. There is a slight heat from the cumin powder, capers and the celery in the vegetable juice which is very comforting and yet not 'spicy'. The soup is a little chunky and the edamame holds a little bite even after being cooked. I did not add pasta to it the first time I made it, but a bowl of soup was filling enough for dinner. The excuse for using up that can of juice turned out to be such a delicious one, I am definitely holding onto this idea. You can go ahead and add any combo of veggies you have at home, this recipe is perfect for the day you decide to clean up that crisper full of odd numbered veggies.

Enjoy your day!

Soy Power

Dear Foodies,

Being a vegetarian, a very common question I'm asked is 'if you don't eat meat, you don't even have sea-food, Where is the protein ?" I'm always remembered of a scene from the movie, 'The big fat Greek wedding', skip tp 6:00 -6:35 on this clip. It's hilarious!! Lentils just don't count, they are simply unheard of...hmm. But now I have Soy Power :D Everyone seems to recognize that word. There are so many more soy products on the shelves all of a sudden, more soy burgers, soy yogurt, soy cheese, soy ice-cream, soy chocolate, tofurky anything and everything you can think of made with soy. There's a new product in the aisles everytime I go to my local organic store and people seem to understand veganism more easily than vegetarianism. Well, so I still do struggle explaining my diet options but its a lil better now.

Even my kitchen hasn't been spared the sudden soy attack. I've been drinking soy milk for about 3 yrs now and love to have it with cereals. It some how manages to make the ever boring cereals taste better. I buy soy beans/edamame often these days and use it recipes I would use peas. I also bought Tempeh after I saw Suganya's yummy sandwiches. I read about tempeh and seitan on a few other articles and blogs and would pass by it everytime I went to the store, but its look and feel put me off. After reading her post on tempeh I thought I'd try it too, bought it and stacked it into the freezer. Its been there for about a month (or more) now and I haven't touched it, a.t a.l.l.

Yet another soy product that found its way in are soy chunks. I am more used to soy granules, my mother would use them instead of coconut in veggie stir fries. Being tasteless they just blended with the curry flavor and made no difference to us. We never bought the chunks though cos of their texture I think, but this time I choose to experiment with them and bought a pack home. I combined it with potatoes and tomatoes and some power-packed mint flavor to make a finger-licking curry. Miso is next on the list now :P

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup - dehydrated Soy chunks
• 1 cup - cubed Potatoes
• 2 nos - vine ripe Tomatoes
• 1/2 cup - sliced Onions
  
• 1 tsp - concentrated Tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp - Turmeric and Amchur powder
  
• 1 tsp - dried Pudina powder or chopped fresh Pudina/Mint
• 1 tsp - red Chilli powder ( adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp - Chole masala or your fav garam masala powder
• 1" piece cinnamon, 2 cloves & 1/2 tsp -Fennel seeds/saunf
• 1 Tbsp - Oil
• salt to taste

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 375 C. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet, spray with some oil and bake until slightly crisp around the edges.
• Warm a cup of water in the microwave safe bowl, add salt and soak the soy chunks while you get the other ingredients ready.
• Heat a shallow pan with the oil, on medium heat. Add the whole spices and wait till they sizzle. Next add the onions (save a few for garnish), some salt and let them soften for 2mins.
  
• Add the tomato paste and turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala. Blend the paste into the oil and then add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they soften and turn into a mush.
• By now the potatoes should be ready add them to the pan, squeeze most of the liquid out of the soy chunks add them along with about 1/2 cup of the water they were soaked in.
  
• Add the pudina and amchur at this stage, cover and cook for about 6-8mins until the flavors are well blended. Check for seasoning too and add more water if the curry looks dry.
• Garnish with the sliced raw onions, some more pudina and a wedge of lime.

Its essential to soak the soy chunks in warm water, as they double is size and also get ready to soak in the flavors of the gravy. Salting the water saves you from the guess work in adding salt to the final curry.

I had the curry with whole wheat chapatis and a glass of pudina flavored buttermilk (the mint I bought dried up before I could use it, so I simply crumbled it to store). This curry would pair well with pulaos & biryani or plain rice. If you are in a mood for a healthy base, try cous cous or bulgar. Cauliflower, carrots and capsicum could be good additions to this curry. The lentil salad you see on the side is from the deli section of our local organic store. It was absolutely yummy and I'm going to try and replicate the flavors at home. And yes, I will keep you all posted :)

This soy studded post is off to Sia's lovely blog for the JFI-Soya event she is hosting this month. JFI is the brain child of Indira of Mahanandi and recently celebrated 2yrs, definitely one of the longest running events in the Indian food blog scene!