Eggplant Chickpea Stew (with a cranberry twist)

This recipe is delicious, nutritious, vegan and gluten-free! It's quite easy to make and paired with rice is a filling meal. You'll need the following ingredients:

1 eggplant (diced)
1 large tomato (remove the skin by plunging tomato in hot water for a minute, then cold water as you remove skin)
1 pepper, diced
1 cup cooked chickpeas
Handful of dried cranberries

Spices: asafetida, cumin, coriander, salt to taste
Fresh coriander, lemon juice
1 teaspoon cococunt flakes (optional)

Method:

Heat one teaspoon of oil (coconut or vegetable work well) and fry 1/3 teaspoon cumin seeds for 30 seconds. Add the pinch of asafetida and sauté for 30 seconds. Next, add your eggplant and stir-fry for at least 5 minutes over a low heat. After removing the tomato skins, chop your tomato and add to the eggplant, along with the pepper. Add salt, pepper and stir. Cover the mixture and stir on occasion. You should sauté on a low heat until the tomato juice is almost all evaporated - at least 30 minutes. Add the chickpeas near the end of the cooking process. Add freshly chopped cilantro, stir in before serving. Optionally, can squeeze lemon juice and/or say sauce before serving as well to enhance the flavor. This tastes great both warm and cold! Serve with rice. I also like to add a teaspoon of coconut flakes and then a handful of dried cranberries at the end for different sweet taste!

This is an easy dish to prep in advance and then make while you are working on other parts of your day. Easy, delicious and super healthy! 
 
Ingredients
 
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 a butternut squash, diced
1/2  teaspoon ginger, finely minced
1 carrot, grated
1/2 a red pepper
1 can chickpeas
1 can diced tomatoes (or two medium tomatoes, diced)
5 ounces (125 ml) coconut milk
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, pepper and coriander to taste
Fresh herbs: cilantro
 
Method

Combine all of these ingredients (except the fresh cilantro) into a baking pan and stir thoroughly. Cook  at 400 F (205 C) for 40 minutes. Sprinkle fresh cilantro on top and serve with basmati rice. Enjoy!
​Note: this portion serves four for lunch. 

This is an easy, quick dish that you can prepare and put in the oven while going about your day. Serving size for two; double or triple for more!
 
Ingredients:
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1/3 to 1/2 head cauliflower
Spices: pinch of cumin, asafetida, paprika, salt & pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fresh herbs of choice
 
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into a lightly oiled baking pan and cook at 400 F (205 C) for 30 minutes. Lightly sprinkle with fresh herbs. Serve with your favorite hummus, chickpea spread or salsa. 

Теплый ноябрь. Запеченная цветная капуста с картофелем
​Представляем вам легкое и быстрое в приготовлении блюдо, которое Вы сможете приготовить, пока готовитесь к началу дня. Рецепт рассчитан на двух человек, поэтому если Вас больше, умножайте исходя из того, сколько вас.
 
Ингредиенты:
1 большая картофелина, очищенная от кожуры и нарезанная на кубики размеров 2 см на 2 см
1/3  - 1/2 соцветия цветной капусты
Специи: щепотка кумина, асафетида, паприка, соль и перец
1 столовая ложка оливкового масла
свежая зелень по Вашему вкусу
 
Смешайте все ингредиенты в миске. Высыпьте в емкость для выпечки, предварительно смазанную маслом и готовьте при температуре 205С (400F) на протяжении 30 минут. Добавьте сверху свежей зелени. Подавайте с хумусом, перетертым нутом или сальсой. 

A delicious twist on the popular chana masala dish - quite fast, easy, and nutritious! 
Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped kale
1/4 an onion, chopped (optional), sliver of ginger
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
Pinch of turmeric and cinnamon
Salt, pepper, lemon juice to taste
Fresh herbs to garnish
1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional) 
Pinch of cinnamon 
Method:
This is the easy way to make a flavorful chana dish. Mix the onion, ginger, cumin seeds, sugar and tomatoes in a blender or magic bullet. Heat your oil in a skillet and once hot, pour the tomato mixture over the oil. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes, then add chickpeas, turmeric and cinnamon. Let the mixture cook another 5-10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated, fold in kale and cook another few minutes. Add salt and pepper. Once you've turned off the heat, squeeze lemon juice and garnish with fresh herbs such as cilantro and/or mint. Serve with rice. 
NOTE: if no kale available, substitute spinach for an equally delicious experience!

This pasta dish is so delicious and so easy to make it's almost embarrassing to post the recipe! Total preparation time is literally 15 minutes. Here goes:

Ingredients:

Your favorite pasta
Juice from 1/3 a lemon
1 large ripe avocado
10 almonds, soaked for at least 4 hours
1/3 a cup of water
Handful of fresh basil
Salt/pepper to taste 
A few cherry tomatoes for garnish

​Method:

Boil your pasta for 10 minutes. While pasta is boiling, put the lemon juice, almonds and water in a blender, blend until smooth. Mix in the avocado and basil, salt and pepper, pulse a few more times until smooth.  Once your pasta is boiled, drain the pasta and then just mix in the avocado sauce. Serve with a bit of chopped basil and cherry tomatoes on the side. If you like your dishes spicy, feel free to add some chili sauce or adjika. Bon appetite! Note: this recipe makes enough for two - double or triple as necessary! 

This is a creative and beautiful dish to serve when pumpkins are in season through the fall!
​It's a two step process. First, make your plov!

Ingredients for the plov: 
 
1.5 cups rice (rinsed then soaked for at least 15 minutes)
2 to 2.5 cups water, depending on rice you use
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup carrots, sliced thinly and uniformly 
Handful of yellow raisins, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
Pinch of asafetida (this is widely used as a substitute for garlic and onion...however, feel free to use half an onion diced finely instead
Pinch of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt to taste if you want to use more or less) 
1-2 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil
 
Note here: You can also go a little untraditional and add other ingredients to the rice mix, such as celery, red or green peppers, and even zucchini!
 
Method - 
​
Heat the oil in a pot, and then fry the cumin seeds for about 30 seconds. Add asafetida. If using onion, add here and stir fry for a minute or so. Add carrots, fry another 3-5 minutes. Add salt. Add the rice, and fry another minute, then add turmeric. Next add the water and bring to a low boil.  Cover with a lid for 15 minutes. After fifteen minutes, add the chickpeas and raisins. Fluff the rice with a fork carefully, mixing the ingredients together, cover for another 3-5 minutes. Make sure that the rice is not burning at the bottom of the pan! Turn off heat. Fold in some of your favorite herbs if you'd like, such as cilantro.
 
Next, take your pumpkin and cut a circle out near the top. Carefully scoop out the seeds and 'stringy' parts, discard or save to roast seeds later.  NOTE: Japanese 'kabocha' squash (bright orange) works very well and the taste of the squash is even more delicious than standard 'Halloween' pumpkins.  Check if your pumpkin can sit comfortably in a flat pan - if not, cut a thin layer off the bottom to 'level out' the pumpkin. Spoon the plov into the pumpkin and cover tightly with the pumpkin top. Put your pumpkin in the oven at 350 F (180 C) for 35-40 minutes. At 40 minutes, the pumpkin should be done, but each pumpkin is different! Take your pumpkin out of the oven and remove the top. Carefully cut one 'wedge' and serve. You can then 'carve' the pumpkin and serve rice on pumpkin wedges, or just serve the rice and save the pumpkin for later.
 
Note: if you're using a big pumpkin to serve the rice in, then the leftover pumpkin is GREAT to use for pumpkin muffins, lentil-pumpkin soup, or pumpkin grechka! 

Ingredients:

2 potatoes
1 medium zucchini
1 carrot
1 small onion (optional)
1/2 cup all purpose flour (use brown rice flour for gluten-free version)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
2 teaspoons ground flax seeds

Method:

Grate the potatoes, zucchini and carrot and onion finely into a large mixing bowl. Drain excess liquid. Add the flour, flax seeds, salt and pepper.

Lightly cover a pan with non-stick cooking spray and use a spoon or your hands to form the potato pancake 'patties.' Put in oven at 400 F for at least 40 minutes (I cooked mine for 45), flipping them over after 20 minutes. Sprinkle with dill to serve, or serve with applesauce on the side!

Plov! There is actually such a thing as vegetarian or vegan plov. This delicious rice dish comes from the Central Asian region of the world and is eaten widely in many of the places I've lived and traveled in the region, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. There are many regional varieties and secrets - but this version is my own vegetarian one, inspired by local friends. The ingredients are:

1 cup rice (rinsed then soaked for at least 15 minutes)
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup carrots, sliced thinly and uniformly 
Handful of yellow raisins (could also add a few dried apricots!)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
Pinch of asafetida (this is widely used as a substitute for garlic and onion...however, if you prefer those, feel free to use them instead)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt to taste if you want to use more or less) 
1 tablespoon coconut or vegetable oil

Once the plov is ready you can garnish with our cucumber tomato salad.  You might want to add some hot sauce (adjika, sriracha or chili paste) as well. Enjoy! And please do let me know if you try it!

I spent the Central Asian holiday 'Nauryz' with my dear friends Slava and Vika this year, who happen to be currently based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. They greeted me with a literal feast on my first of three days in town. We started by eating tofu cutlets, which they served with chopped radishes, lettuce, soba noodles, and spicy Korean pepper sauce.  They got the idea for the cutlets from a Japanese restaurant in Bishkek and created them at home; the side dishes were already a sort of Korean fusion as their own inspiration. I decided to try the cutlets myself upon returning home. They were easy to make, quick to cook, and taste absolutely delicious! Here's my version:



Tofu cutlets (serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 small block of tofu, preferably the silken or soft kind
1/2 a carrot and 1/2 a small zucchini, grated finely
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated finely
1/4 cup celery, chopped finely 
2 tablespoons each of chickpea flour and regular wholewheat flour 
Fresh herbs to taste - dill, cilantro, parsley 
Spices to taste - I used black pepper, salt, coriander, red pepper and a pinch of asafetida
1 teaspoon ground chia seeds mixed with 3 teaspoons hot water; let sit for 2-3 minutes to gel (this acts as a vegan way to bind ingredients!)

Method: 
Just mix all the ingredients in a bowl until the tofu is well blended with everything else, then form small cutlets with your hands. Fry in olive oil for about 2-3 minutes on each side. For people averse to deep fried dishes, you could probably cook these in the oven as well. That will be my next experiment.

I served the cutlets with sliced tomatoes and shredded spinach. They'd go very well next to soba noodles or rice too.  Use your favorite sauce as a side. Enjoy! 

Thank you to Vika and Slava for the inspiration!