Aloo Chole

Recipe adapted from: http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/2005/11/22/chole-with-potatoesaloo-chole/

Ingredients:

1 1-lb bag of dried chickpeas
(cooked according to package directions - this usually involves soaking in water overnight and then boiling)
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
2 Tbsp ready-made chana masala powder (any brand)
3 tsp - garlic-ginger-cilantro paste
1 tsp each - red chilli powder, salt and turmeric
1/4 tsp each - mustard seeds and cumin seeds
cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat one teaspoon of peanut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add and toast mustard seeds and cumin, wait till they start to dance; then add ginger-garlic-cilantro paste and onions, saute for few minutes until onions soften.

Grab a few handfuls of cooked chickpeas and mash them until they are a smooth paste.
Add the ingredients - potatoes, tomatoes, chickpea paste, chana masala powder, red chilli powder, salt and turmeric, along with 2 cups of water (you can add up to 1 cup more if needed). Cook them covered for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are slightly tender.

At this stage, stir in chickpeas. Turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the curry thickens.

I served this with rice and naan.

Moroccan Spiced Chickpeas and Spinach

recipe from: http://www.cookrepublic.com/recipe-archive/moroccan-spice-chickpea-and-spinach/

Spice Mixture

Shown served with Quinoa

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped (jarred kind works fine)
2 small red chilis, seeded and finely chopped
4 tablespoons Moroccan Spice (see below)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup water or low sodium vegetable broth
3 to 4 cups spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
~30oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
juice of half a lemon

Spice Mix (makes about 10 Tbsp so you could half it, or save the rest in an airtight container):
5 tablespoons ground cumin
5 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon ground paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

Directions:
First, mix together all of the spices.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic and chili for about 5 minutes until soft. Add Moroccan spice. Mix well.
Add tomato paste. Cook for a minute. Add water until desired consistency is reached. Add the spinach and chickpeas. Cook, stirring occasionally until spinach has wilted (about 3 to 4 minutes). Remove from heat.
Stir in the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with coriander (optional).

Three Bean Salad

recipe from: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/three_bean_salad/

INGREDIENTS
1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper (any color)
1 cup (lightly packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 to 4 Tbsp granulated sugar, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (jarred)
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Chop bell pepper into very small pieces. Chop onion into small pieces, then add to a food processor and pulse until pieces are very small. In a large bowl, combine all of the beans with the pepper and onion.
In the bowl of a food processer, combine oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, garlic and parsley. Pulse until mixed and parsley is finely chopped.
Add the dressing to the bean mixture and mix until coated. Chill beans in the refrigerator for several hours, to allow the beans to soak up the flavor of the dressing.

Chickpea Cutlets with Mustard Sauce

Chickpea cutlets recipe is from Veganomicon.
Mustard sauce recipe is from: http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2013/02/06/holy-yum-chicken/

shown served with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus

CHICKPEA CUTLETS:

1 cup cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated with a Microplane grater
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
Olive oil for pan frying

instructions:

In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the oil until no whole chickpeas are left. Add the remaining ingredients and knead for about 3 minutes until strings of gluten have formed.

Preheat a large heavy-bottomed nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, divide the cutlet dough into four equal pieces. To form the cutlets, knead each piece in your hand for a few moments and then flatten and stretch each one into a roughly 6 x 4-inch rectangular cutlet shape. The easiest way to do this is to first form a rectangular shape in your hands and them place the cutlets on a clean surface to flatten and stretch them.

Add a moderately thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minutes. Add more oil, if needed, when you flip the cutlets. They're ready when lightly browned and firm to the touch.

Just in case you were wondering, you can also bake these too! Baking these patties gives them a toothsome chewy texture and firm bite. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, lightly oil baking sheet. Brush each side of pattey with olive oil, place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Flip patties and bake another 8-10 minutes till firm and golden-brown.

MUSTARD SAUCE:

1/2 cup Dijon mustard (must be Dijon mustard, no substitutes)
1/4 cup PURE maple syrup (again, no substitutes)
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. fresh rosemary for garnish (optional, can also use dried rosemary)

instructions:

combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, whisk, and heat until warm. 

Summer Couscous Salad with Halloumi and Chickpea Cutlets

adapted from http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2394/summer-couscous-salad
Chickpea cutlet recipe here: (TBD)

INGREDIENTS:

1 package far east plain couscous plus water or vegetable broth for cooking
1 recipe chickpea cutlets:(TBD)
chickpeas left over from chickpea cutlet recipe, drained and rinsed
1-2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
2 small zucchini, sliced
1 package cherry-sized tomatoes,  sliced in half
1 small red onion
250g pack halloumi cheese , sliced

dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp fresh lime juice (2 small limes)
2 large garlic cloves , finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
½ tsp sugar

Instructions:

Cook the couscous according to package directions (does not take very long, so you do not HAVE to do this first).
Make the chickpea cutlets according to the instructions linked above.
Meanwhile, add all the dressing ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Fluff up the couscous with a fork, stir in the chickpeas and follow with half the dressing. Mix well.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion and zucchini slices over a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Now put the tomatoes cut-side down into the pan, and cook for another couple of minutes until tinged brown on the underside. Top the couscous with the veggies.
If the pan is dry, pour in a little more oil and heat it up, then add the halloumi strips and fry for 2-3 minutes, turning them over from time to time, until crisp and sizzled brown. Cut the chickpea cutlets into strips. Pile the halloumi and chickpea cutlets on top of the couscous and veggies, and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Serve as soon as possible.

Healthy Vegan Chili

Recipe is from: http://86lemons.com/fat-melting-veggie-chili/

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2½ cups diced red onions
1 cup diced carrots
2 bell peppers, diced
1 medium sweet potato, diced

1 (10 oz) bag frozen corn

2 Tbsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. chili powder
4 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 Tbsp. chopped jalapeños
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 (14.5 oz) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans
1 (15 oz) black beans
1 (15 oz) can Adzuki beans (I used white northern beans instead)
2 Tbsp. chopped chipotle in adobo sauce
3 Tbsp. tomato paste

optional:
1 to 2 cups vegetable  broth or vegetable juice (You can also just use water.)


Directions:
STEP 1
In a large, heavy-bottom pot, warm the oil and sauté the onions, carrots, peppers, and sweet potatoes, stirring occasionally until vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes.

STEP 2
Stir in the cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, chili powder, garlic and jalapeño and cook a few more minutes until fragrant.

STEP 3
Add the tomatoes, beans, oregano, chipotle in adobo, tomato paste and cinnamon. At this point, you can add a little vegetable broth, vegetable juice or water if you like your chili a bit thinner.

STEP 4
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stir in the corn; cook 5 more minutes, until corn is heated through. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Roasted Chickpeas

Recipe adapted from: http://www.fitsugar.com/Roasted-Garbanzo-Beans-Chickpeas-Recipe-9136958

These are really good and really easy to make for a snack. The recipe is for 1 15 oz can of chickpeas but you could get the larger can and easily double it.

Ingredients:
1 can (~15 oz) garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp other spice mixture

What I used for the spice mixture: 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 1/2 tsp curry masala spice mix, and a few strong shakes of cayenne pepper

(I'll update this as I try new spices)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Pat the chickpeas dry with a paper towel - if they are too wet, they won't get crunchy in the oven. In a bowl, mix chickpeas with oil, salt and spice mixture. Mix to coat well. Pour chickpeas onto a roasting dish and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Be sure to shake the pan occasionally so they do not stick.

Any smaller chickpeas should be very crunchy. Slightly larger ones may not be as crunchy, but they are very good anyway.

Chickpea and Tofu Vindaloo

2 small/medium onions
olive oil

4-5 Tbsp vindaloo paste (I used tiger tiger)
1 ~30 oz can chickpeas
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp minced garlic
salt & pepper
1 package extra firm tofu

press tofu and cut into small pieces. mix 1 Tbsp vindaloo paste with 1 Tbsp water and marinate the tofu in it.
cook onions in olive oil with garlic, 2 Tbsp. vindaloo paste, and spices for a few minutes. Add tofu and cook til the onions are soft. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, coconut milk, and more vindaloo paste (to taste) and simmer for 20 minutes.