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! 

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!

Healthy and Easy Vegan 'Pie'
Здоровый и легкий в приготовлении веганский пирог

We have started experimenting with more and more easy vegan recipes and this one is a hit!  All you need is a few ingredients and you're set.  Here they are:

3 potatoes, sliced thinly (by hand through a grater)
1/2 a head of cauliflower, sliced thinly
1/2 can of green or black olives, chopped finely
1/2 cup of chopped pumpkin (we buy already cut from Green Bazaar) 
2 large ripe tomatoes 
Your favorite fresh herbs - basil, dill, cilantro, mint
Salt, pepper, olive oil

Directions:

Brush the bottom of a pie pan with olive oil.  Coat the potatoes very lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper, and make them the bottom layer of your pie.  Next, add the cauliflower, olives and pumpkin.  Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of olive oil over this section of the pie.  Finally, in a blender, mix together the tomatoes with some of your favorite herbs, salt and pepper.  Coat the pie with the tomato layer.  Cook for at least 30 minutes on 180 C (350 F).  Once out of the over, add more fresh herbs to the top - your pie will look like a pizza!  This dish is perfect for a weekend brunch. Enjoy! 

Здоровый и легкий в приготовлении веганский пирог!

Мы начали экспериментировать с более и более простыми веганскими 
рецептами и этот рецепт стал хитом! Все, что Вам необходимо - это 
небольшой набор ингредиентов и можно начинать. Вот они:

3 картофелины, тонко порезанные (вручную, с помощью терки)
1⁄2 качана цветной капусты, тоже тонко порезанной
1⁄2 консервных банки черных или зеленых оливок, порезанных на кусочки
1⁄2 порезанной тыквы, можно взять готовую на Зеленом Базаре (Алматы)
2 больших созревших помидора
Ваши любимые свежие травы - базилик, укроп, кинза и мята
Соль, перец, оливковое масло.

Процесс:

Смажьте дно емкости для запекания пирога оливковым маслом. Смажьте 
тонким слоем масла порезанный картофель, добавьте туда соли и перца и 
выложите на дно посуды. Затем, добавьте цветную капусту, оливки и тыкву. 
Сверху побрызгайте оливковым маслом над новым слоем. Не больше 1 
столовой ложки. Последнии слой, в блендере смешайте вместе помидоры 
и травы, соль и перец. Запекайте как минимум 30 минут при температуре 
180 градусов по Цельсию. Как только достанете из духовки, добавьте 
больше трав сверху. Вам пирок будет выглядеть как пицца. Такое блюдо 
замечательно подойдет к бранчам на выходных. Приятного аппетита!

While this looks like quite a few ingredients, it's actually a very easy dish to make. The key is to follow the steps involved. Feel free to experiment and add other vegetables as well. That said, this combination is a good hit!  

Ingredients:

1 zucchini
1 red pepper
1 cup pumpkin
1.5 cups chickpeas (soak overnight then boil for 90 minutes before using in the recipe)
3-4 medium sized tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1/2 cup of nuts - peanuts, almonds, cashews all work well (or any mix of them) 
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
Pinch of asafetida
Salt to taste
Squeeze of lemon juice

Directions:

Chop the zucchini, red pepper and pumpkin into small chunks. Heat the oil in a large pan, then add the asafetida, cumin and coriander. Sauté for 30 seconds.  then add ginger and sauté another 30 seconds.  Add the zucchini, red pepper, and pumpkin, and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Next, add the tomato paste and sauté another 3 minutes. 

Finally, blend the tomatoes, sugar and nuts in a blender. If the consistency is very thick, add a bit of water. Pour into the pan.  Add chickpeas and salt.  Stir occasionally. Once the tomato sauce is boiling, reduce to a low heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.   Before serving, squeeze a bit of lemon juice.  Optionally add fresh herbs to garnish. Enjoy! 

Looking for a new and original dish to serve your dinner guests? Try making this delicious vegetable pie!  Ingredients as follows:

Dough:
3 cups flour
1 cup warm water mixed with kefir or yoghurt 
(1/2 water, 1/2 kefir)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Tablespoon vegetable oil

Mix the dough ingredients together and knead by hand; put the dough in a plastic bag and store in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, knead again.  Split into two halves, roll out for the pie once your other ingredients are ready.

Filling:
1 cup wild rice, cooked 
1/2 cup favorite herbs - we used dill, basil and cilantro
3 tablespoons sour cream or yoghurt
2 cups chopped pumpkin
2 carrots, finely shredded
Salt, pepper to taste 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
Handful of pine nuts (optional) 

Method: 
To prepare the filling, cook the wild rice and mix in the fresh herbs and half of the sour cream or yoghurt.
In another pan, heat the olive oil and then sauté the carrots and pumpkin together, adding a bit of water if necessary.  Add a dash of salt and pepper, cover and let cook on a low heat for 15-20 minutes.

Set the filling ingredients in bowls to slightly cool. 

Now lightly brush your pie pan with olive oil. Roll out the dough and spread the first layer in your pie pan. Then, layer your pie ingredients as such:  1 layer of carrots/pumpkin, then the second layer of wild rice with herbs, and finally the third layer of carrots/pumpkin.  Top the inside of the pie ingredients with an optional thin layer of sour cream/yoghurt, and optional herbs or pine nuts. Roll out the second layer of dough and cover your pie, sealing the layers.  Brush the top of the pie lightly with olive oil.

Put your pie in the oven at 180 Celsius (350 F) for 40 minutes. Optionally, at 35 minutes put another teaspoon of olive oil or butter over the pie and let cook for 5 more minutes.  

Serve with tomato sauce or sour cream and enjoy! This makes an excellent 2nd dish for a dinner party.