Spicy Indian lentils

This is a FODMAPs friendly vegan dish. Add as much or as little chili as you like, either flakes, powder, or fresh. This was devised by a friend from her families traditional recipes to suit the FODMAPs diet.

Spicy lentils in center. Top: Aloo Methi Bottom: Spicy veggies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup or 1 can brown lentils (use can for FODMAPs, soak and boil if using dry). 
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 1-2 cm fresh ginger, grated
• 2 red chilis chopped, chili fllakes or powder to taste
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp sugar (any kind, optional)
• Water - as needed
• Fresh coriander to garnish

* Tip: To increase quantity double lentils then increase spices only minimally to taste.

Instructions:

Add cumin seeds to saucepan and heat on high until seeds release aroma. 

Add tomato, water, turmeric, coriander powder, ginger, chilies, lentils sugar and bring to boil. Turn heat down and simmer for around 20-30 mins.

Add cumin powder then simmer for around 10-15 mins or until the spices lose their raw aroma. 

Serve with rice or roti or eat as is, garnish with coriander. Goes well with the spicy veggies and aloo methi as pictured.

White beans with brussel sprouts

This is a Brussel sprout, white bean and pine nut recipe. Easy to make.

Ignore the purple thing at the bottom of the image. It's an heirloom carrot from a different dish.

Ingredients: Adjust quantities as needed

• Some brussel sprouts
• Some White beans
• Some pine nuts
• Some oil
• sliced garlic 
• Olive oil

1. Fry up the sliced garlic and pine nuts in olive oil until soft (just a minute or so, don't let garlic brown)
2. Add brussel sprouts chopped in halves (or quarters if they're large).
3. Add white beans and heat until warm, stirring so the base dosen't burn
4. Serve and eat!

Kale and sun dried tomato buckwheat pasta

This is a kale buckwheat pasta with pine nuts and sundried tomatoes. To add additional protein to it we sometimes add lentils.

Ingredients:

• 1 Onion thinly sliced (optional)
• 4 gloves of garlic thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 fresh bunch of kale
• 2 cups chopped mushrooms 
• Handful chopped sundried tomatoes (we prefer the dried ones that come without oil)
• Handful green olives chopped
• Handful kalamata olives chopped 
• Pinch of salt (very little as olives are salty)
• Pepper to taste
• Buckwheat pasta for 2 people
• Dash olive oil
• Lentils (optional/not in photo)

Tip: Kale can be substituted with English spinach. 

Instructions:

1. Place buckwheat pasta on to cook as per your pasta instructions
2. Fry up onion, garlic and pine nuts in olive oil on low heat until onions go clear
3. Add chopped mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and olives to pan and cook on low heat until the mushrooms go slightly cooked but not black. Be careful not to overcook. 
4. Add Kale (and lentils if you'd like) and cook until it's just wilted.
5. Drain the pasta and mix in the sauce. Stir over a low heat for less than a minute and the serve!

Yummy Black bean chili for slow cooker

Today I made the most delicious black beans with chili ever. I just throw in different amounts of each ingredients every time so you can adjust to taste, but I'll try and put in the amounts as accurately as I can to make it mega delicious.

This dish can be enjoyed with corn bread or tortillas, corn chips, rice or just on it's own or as a side dish with salad. Totally delish. 

Nutritional info:

Black beans are great as they are counted as a vegetable and a protein, have very little saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol and are a good source of fiber. They also are a good source of magnesium, phosphorus and manganese. 

According to the U.S. health authorities black beans can actually help reduce your cholesterol levels and maintain normal blood sugar levels. They help prevent heart disease, diabetes and diverticulitis as well as other gastrointestinal diseases. They also contain phytochemicals which help fight cancer and other chronic diseases. 

To gain these benefits you need to eat around 3 cups of black beans per week. I'm sure if they're included in a well balanced diet though they will be well received by your body regardless of how much of them you eat (unless you go nuts and eat nothing but black beans in which case you only have yourself and faulty genetics to blame). 

To make the black beans you first need to soak them for 2 days, then cook them for 16 mins in the pressure cooker. Then you're good to go!

I usually make a big pot of this then store it for later. It freezes well too.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups black beans (soaked and cooked in pressure cooker)
• 3 big tomatoes chopped into cubes
• 1 bottle tomato pasata
• 3 large chili's chopped
• 1 teaspoon (more or less) dried chili flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili paste
• 1 large onion chopped
• 4 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 teaspoons cumin ground
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Fry the onion and garlic in a pan until lightly golden
2. Put black beans, onion and garlic in slow cooker, turn cooker on to a high heat. 
3. Add tomatoes, pasata, chili's, chili paste, cumin, chili flakes, and paprika
4. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. cook for at least 4 hours
6. Eat!

Lettuce and broccoli stir fry image

Here's an image of the lettuce and broccoli stir fry on black rice. We put mung beans in it this time too

I know it looks disgusting but I swear it's delicious!

Aloo matar tamatar (Indian style potato peas and tomato)

This is another spicy dish this time from India. It is potato and peas in a pureed tomato sauce. We make it in a traditional Indian way but add black eyed peas for added protein.

Legumes are a great additive to your diet as they can be counted as a vegetable as well as a source of protein. Like many other legumes black eyed peas contain soluble fibre so they help get rid of bad cholesterol therefore lowering your risk of heart disease.

This dish can be served on rice or with breads such as naan or roti. We have it with red basmati rice which we buy from a Sri Lankan shop but you may be able to find it in other Asian stores. The colouring of red rice is due to it’s content of anthocyanin antioxidant which is currently being studied for it’s purported health benefits. Red rice is also high in vitamin B, iron and calcium and we think it’s delicious. Red yeast rice and Weedy rice are sometimes mistaken for Red rice so ask the store attendant if you’re not sure.

Eat aloo matar tomatar as a side dish or main meal.

Ingredients:

• ¼ kg potatoes
• 1 cup peas
• 600g fresh tomatoes coarsely pureed
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon crushed garlic
• ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• ½ a cup water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons cayenne powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
• ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/5 cup black eyed peas

1. Soak the potatoes in water for 15 minutes. Drain then pat dry and put aside.
2. Cook black eyed peas in pressure cooker for 11 minutes then put aside.
3. Heat the oil in a wok or pan. Sauté the cumin seeds, ginger and garlic.
4. Add the cubed potatoes and lightly fry until the potatoes are slightly browned. Add water then simmer until potatoes are slightly soft.
5. Stir in the pureed tomatoes, potato and peas, black eyed peas and tomato paste.  Add sugar coriander and salt then simmer for 5-7 minutes over medium heat, until the gravy thickens and the spices are thoroughly blended.
6. Serve on a bed of red rice.

Lettuce and broccoli Chinese style stir fry with black rice

 Our first recipe ever is a yummy lettuce and broccoli stir fry on a bed of black rice. This is a spicy dish based of the traditional Chinese lettuce stir fry recipe. We’ve jazzed it up a bit by adding broccoli and ground cashews. The black rice is not traditionally eaten with lettuce stir fry but we find it faboo and I’m sure you’ll agree!

As the iceburg lettuce lacks much nutritional value the broccoli, cashews and black rice are a delicious way of getting your daily lot of vitamins into you.

Black rice was so prized in ancient China that it became known as ‘forbidden rice’ as the nobles kept every last bit of it, forbidding commoners to eat it. It’s high in antioxidants, fiber and vitamin E, and has a chewy texture that complements the lettuce’s lack of bite.

We use extra hot chilli powder in this recipe but if you don’t like spice too much just dial it down a bit.

Ingredients:

·                        1 head iceburg lettuce

·                        1 small head of broccoli

·                        2 teaspoons soy sauce

·                        1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

·                        3/4 teaspoon brown  sugar

·                        1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

·                        2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated

·                        1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger

·                        1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon dried hot crushed chilli 

·                        1/2 teaspoon salt

·                        1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil (such as Kadoya)

·                        2 handfuls ground cashews

Preparation:

Tip: Black rice takes longer to cook than white rice so allow more time as the stir fry is quite quick. To speed up the process soan and then rinse the black rice beforehand.

1.      Add a cup of black rice to 2 cups of water (use 2 cups of water with every 1 cup of rice). Generally it takes about 30 to 40 minutes but we just take it off the heat when it’s done. Some say unsoaked black rice takes longer – we never soak it and never cook it for longer.

2.      Wash the lettuce, drain and separate the leaves. Make sure the lettuce’s super dry. Cut or rip the leaves into pieces about 2 centimetres or so wide.

3.      Combine the rice wine or dry sherry, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl, stirring. Set aside.

4.      Grab 2 handfuls of cashews and grind in a mortar and pestle. Don’t grind to a powder, keep it a bit chunky to add some crunch.

5.       Heat a wok or frying pan on medium-high heat and add oil. When the oil is hot, add the ground cashews garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Stir-fry until aromatic (5 - 10 seconds) and add the lettuce. Stir-fry the lettuce, adding a bit of salt. Once the lettuce has reduced in size a bit add the lettuce. Stir fry for about 1 - 2 minutes, until the lettuce leaves begin to wilt and the broccoli is hot.

6.      Give the sauce a quick mix and stir it into the wok or pan. Stir-fry for 1 - 2 more minutes, until the lettuce turns dark green. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Serve over black rice immediately.

Stay tuned for some more delicious recipes including vegan ice cream, Indian Chana Masala, a Sri Lankan lotus root curry, empanadas and a fresh basil pesto on buckwheat pasta. 

We'll post photos when possible. 

Your feedback is welcome!