‘Chicken’ Tikka Masala – Vegan Style

Recipe: ‘Chicken’ Tikka Masala – Vegan Style

'Chicken' Tikka Masala

Summary: My all time favorite Indian dish – Chicken Tikka Masala. Since my vegan conversion, this is one meal I surely thought, I’d never have again. Thanks to the folks at Gardein, their ‘chicken scallopini’ makes this carnivorous dish, 100% vegan friendly!

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Ingredients

(Marinade)

• 1 bag of Gardein Chicken Scallopini Breasts
• 1 cup plain soy yogurt
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground red pepper
• 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 6 bamboo skewers

(Sauce)

• 1 tbsp Earth Balance Buttery Spread
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup coconut milk (can substitute lite)
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Chop ‘chicken’ into 1″ cubes. Mix all marinade ingredients together and add the cubed Gardein chicken. Marinate for about 1 hour.
2. Soak bamboo skewers in warm water while preparing sauce.
3. For sauce, melt ‘butter’ on medium heat until melted.
4. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
5. Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt.
6. Stir in tomato sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Add peas and stir in coconut milk. Simmer on low heat (stirring often) while preparing the Gardein chicken.
8. Thread Gardein chicken onto skewers and discard marinade.
9. Broil Gardein chicken, turning occasionally, to cook through for about 8-10 minutes.
10. Remove Gardein chicken from skewers and add to sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
11. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with Basmati or Jasmine rice.

Vegan Masala

Cooking time (duration): 90 Diet type: Vegan Diet (other): Reduced fat Number of servings (yield): 6 Meal type: dinner Culinary tradition: Indian (Northern) My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★ Copyright © Vegan Hogg 2010. Microformatting by hRecipe.

Go Green – Eat Guacamole

Recipe: Go Green – Eat Guacamole!

Summary:

One of my favorite fruits, the avocado. You got to love it for its’ simplicity and versatility. I make this recipe almost every week and use it as a dip, spread, on chili and salads. The possibilities are endless…

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 small Roma tomato (diced)
• 2 tbsp chopped red onion
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste.

Instructions:

1. Slice each avocado in half and scoop the center out using a metal spoon. In a medium bowl, mash the avocado until desired consistency. A food processor can be used if you would like a creamy, lump free dip.
2. Stir in the lime juice until well blended and add sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste.
3. Add the diced tomato, red onion, garlic & cilantro. Mix well and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Quick Notes:

Serve with your favorite tortilla chips or fresh vegetables. Try adding a spoonful to some veggie chili!

Don’t throw away the seeds! Did you know that placing the seeds back into the completed dip (covered and refrigerated) helps prevent your guac from turning brown?

Variations:

Give your guacamole a little kick – consider adding 2 tsp of ground paprika.

Cooking time (duration): 10

Diet type: Vegan

Diet (other): Raw

Number of servings (yield): 8

Meal type: snack

Culinary tradition: Mexican

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★

Copyright © Vegan Hogg 2010.
Microformatting by hRecipe.

Classic Potato Salad (Vegan Style)

Who isn’t a fan of potatoes?  One of the ultimate comfort foods not only taste great, but are low in calories and packed with Vitamin C and B-6. Potato salad may seem like a summer picnic treat, but when it taste this good – it’s hard to wait!

Classic Potato Salad

And there you have it, a quick and easy recipe for one hearty potato salad!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds unpeeled white potatoes
• 4 strips vegan ‘bacon’
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
• 3 tablespoons mined white onion
• ¾ cup vegan mayonnaise (I like Veganaise – available at Whole Foods)
• 1 tablespoon soy milk or soy creamer
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste.

1. Cut potatoes into small cubes and add to salted boiling water.  Cook until tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain and set aside to cool.
2. In a large skillet, brown the ‘bacon’ strips and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, add the mayo, salt, pepper, soy milk, mustard and vinegar.  Mix until well blended.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the celery, onion and relish.
5. Once the potatoes have cooled, toss in the celery mixture and gradually add the dressing until desired creaminess is achieved.  I like a lot of dressing, so I add it all!
6. Crumble the bacon strips and add to the salad, mixing gently.

VeganYumYum » Mini Donut Test Kitchen

They turned out amazing!

I just finished making the donut recipe (below) that I found on the Vegan YumYum site. I’m happy to say that they turned out fantastic! My donuts don’t look that pretty, but they taste phenomenal!

I did alter their recipe a teeny bit:  I left out the salt (didn’t have any) and I substituted ¼ cup of applesauce for the Egg Replacer.  I also cooked mine about 5 minutes longer because they seemed a bit too ‘wet’ at 12 minutes.

So, I highly recommend these donuts to any vegan (or non-vegan), as they are sure to impress!  Enjoy!

Vegan YumYum’s Recipe for Donut’s

I’ve been craving donuts for awhile now and came across this tasty looking recipe from Vegan Yum Yum. I can only hope that my batch of donuts turn out as good as theirs!

via VeganYumYum » Mini Donut Test Kitchen.

Mini Baked Donuts
Make 20 Donuts

Dry Ingredients:
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp (scant) Nutmeg
1 tiny pinch or shake Cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Soymilk
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Egg Replacer for 1 Egg
4 Tbs Earth Balance

Preheat oven to 350º F

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients with a whisk to mix thoroughly. Combine wet ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium low heat and mix until earth balance is melted. This mixture should NOT get too hot, you should be able to stick your finger in the mixture. It should feel slightly warm. If you burn yourself, 1) it’s not my fault! and 2) it’s too hot for the dough!

Add wet to dry and mix until just combined. It should form a very soft dough.

Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out dough into your ungreased nonstick mini-donut pan. Smooth out the top of the dough with your fingers, this will make for more even, prettier donuts, but isn’t crucial.

Bake for 12 minutes. They should not be browned on top, but a tester will come out clean. Invert hot pan over a cutting board or cooling rack to release donuts. Allow to cool completely before decorating.

Time for toppings!

Glaze with Sprinkles
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar (lump free!)
1 Tbs Soymilk
Bowl full of sprinkles (1/4 to 1/2 cup, ish?)

Whisk soymilk and powdered sugar together. Dip the “bottom” half of the donut (the side with the nicer shape) into the glaze, let some drip off, then dip glaze-side down into sprinkles. Transfer to a wire rack that has been set on top of some parchment paper. The excess glaze will drip through the rack onto the paper for easy cleaning later.

Chocolate Dip

This is the easy part. Melt 6 oz of high quality fairly sweet chocolate over low heat in a double boiler. Remove from heat and stir until chocolate is smooth and barely warm to the touch. I should mention that you should be very careful not to get any water in the chocolate or it could seize, and no one likes that!

Dip your donuts one-by-one into the chocolate until completely covered. Place donut on your wire rack to drip off excess chocolate – it’ll make for a much smoother appearance than if you try to scrape off excess chocoalte with your fingers. Allow to set until chocolate isn’t so shiny and can be picked up without making a sticky mess!

*Edit!! So, I waited until the chocolate was set and realized that my donuts had glued themselves to the rack, making the bottoms rip off when your try to pick one up. I think it’d be better to let these set on parchment paper! Also, use a decently sweet chocolate, mine was too bitter.

Vegan Style Buttermilk Biscuits

Thick and flaky just like your grandma used to make…but better!  All natural and 100% Vegan!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Soy Milk + 1 tsp Cider Vinegar
• ¼ cup Vegetable Shortening (I like Earth Balance sticks)
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
• 2 tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter – for brushing (Earth Balance)

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 400°

In a small bowl, combine the soy milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle.  In a separate large bowl combine the flour, baking powder & salt and mix well.  Cut small pieces of the vegetable shortening into the dry ingredients and mix (I find that using my hands works best for this) until coarse crumbles are formed.

Next, add the soy milk/vinegar mixture and the maple syrup to the crumbles.  Again, using your hands, mix until all ingredients are blended and form a ball of dough.  Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes.  Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough until about ¾” thick.  Using a round cookie cutter or the top of a drinking glass/cup, cut circles measuring 2 ½” in diameter.

Place the biscuits onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes.  If you would like your biscuits to have a nice golden brown top, after 8 minutes of baking quickly brush a small amount of vegan butter over each biscuit top and return to oven for the last few minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool a couple of minutes before indulging.  Serve warm with vegan butter and fresh fruit preserves.  Enjoy!