Spicy Couscous Soup

This recipe is more than just a soup, it's a hearty and nutritious meal. The blended beans and the couscous make the soup thick, satisfying and and filling. You can adjust the spiciness by using more or less chili, but the fresh coriander is a must.

10-minute soup recipe

Ingredients

• 400g can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 red chili
• 1 stock cube
• 400g can of kidney beans
• 400g can of butter beans
• 100g couscous
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• fresh coriander

Spicy Soup Recipe

Place the tomatoes, garlic, chili and stock cube in a large saucepan and apply a strong heat until the tomatoes start to simmer. Add one liter of water, along with the beans, and stir well. Cover and allow the soup to come to the boil. Take the soup off the heat and blend using an electric hand blender. When it is blended to a smooth and thick consistency, return the soup to the boil and add the couscous and the lemon juice. Cook for three minutes, stir in the fresh coriander, and serve.

Saag Aloo

The Indian dish, saag aloo (spinach with potatoes), is the perfect accompaniment to the Lentil Dahl Recipe in the previous post, with basmati rice as the ideal third component of this meal. Spicy in a way that is flavorsome rather than hot, this saag aloo recipe is both tasty and dangerously more-ish.


Saag aloo is vegan if it is cooked using oil rather than ghee (a type of butter traditionally used in Indian cooking). You can use any type of oil for Indian cooking, provided that it does not have a strong flavor.

Ingredients for Saag Aloo (Serves 4)


350 g of pureed fresh or frozen spinach

1 small onion, finely chopped  
1 clove garlic, finely chopped  
1 green or red chilli, finely chopped  
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp fenugreek

1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tablespoon of oil

How to Make Saag Aloo


Step 1 Heat the oil in a non-stick saucepan. Add cumin seeds and toast them for a few minutes.
Step 2 Add the onion, garlic and chili, and fry while stirring for 5-10 minutes.Step 3 Add the potatoes and fry for a few minutes more, stirring to avoid sticking.Step 4 Add the spinach, and a little water, as well as the coriander and fenugreek, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked. The water should have boiled away or been absorbed by the end of the cooking process.

Step 5 Serve with basmati rice, brown rice, and/or lentil dahl.

Vegan Dahl Recipe

Red lentil dahl with brown rice and fresh coriander.

Vegan lentil dahl is warm, stodgy comfort food... perfect Friday night food for the end of a long week. This vegan dahl recipe includes grated carrot, chopped mushroom and red pepper to add extra texture and flavor.


Traditional Indian food is cooked in ghee (butter). However, it is easy to make vegan Indian food by substituting ghee for oil. Any type of oil will do, providing it does not have a strong flavor. I used sunflower oil.


Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

• 500g grated carrot
• 2 mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into ~1cm pieces

• 1 liter vegetable stock

• 1/2 cup dried split red lentils

• 1 tablespoon curry powder

• salt and pepper

• 1/2 cup fresh coriander

How to Make Lentil Dahl


Step 1 Heat a little oil in a non-stick saucepan. Add cumin and mustard seeds and fry until the mustard seeds begin to pop.
Step 2 Add the grated carrot, mushroom and pepper, and fry while stirring for 10 minutes.
Step 3 Add the vegetable stock and the lentils.
Step 4 Add curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
Step 5 Simmer until the lentils cook together into a thick mush. Add the coriander just before serving, but save a little for garnishing.


What to Serve with Dahl: Serve vegan dahl with rice and saag aloo.

Go Go Vegan is Back!

After a 5-month update hiatus (I moved house and changed jobs twice), the Go Go Vegan blog is now back up and running. Watch this space for delicious vegan recipes appearing over the next few days.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie made with Tofu

I'm getting into the Thanksgiving spirit with pumpkin pie!  Just like traditional pumpkin pie, but using tofu as a binder instead of eggs.

Recipe

Mushroom Risotto

Further proof that you don't need butter, cream or cheese to make risotto rich and creamy if you use tasty, fresh ingredients and good quality risotto rice and vegetable stock.

Ingredients:
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
6 large brown mushrooms
225g risotto rice
1 litre vegetable stock
A little thyme
Splash of soy sauce

This served 3, with a tiny portion left over. Last time I made this I also added a few green soybeans (edamane), which was also nice

I followed a similar process to my pea and mint risotto recipe: fried the ingredients in a little olive oil, added the rice and fried for a further two minutes, then added the stock a little at a time, stirring constantly to help the rice take on the right consistency without sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Pea or Broad Bean and Mint Risotto

This is the best vegan risotto recipe I know of.

During cooking...

The finished product...

Creamy (without the cream), yet light and refreshing. The addition of fresh mint livens up a nutritious meal of rice and peas (and/or beans).

Ingredients (to serve four)

300 g risotto rice
200 g green peas, soya beans, or broad beans (or a mixture of all three)
1 small white onion
1 litre vegetable stock
2 handfuls chopped fresh mint

Pea (or Broad Bean) and Mint Risotto Recipe

1. Fry the onion in a little olive oil in a high-sided frying pan or wok.
2. Once the onion is soft, add the risotto rice and fry for 2 minutes, stirring continuously
3. Add about half the stock and the peas or beans
4. Bring to a gentle boil and allow the mixture to simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Add more stock as the rice gradually absorbs the liquid.
5. Close to the end of cooking, stir in the chopped mint. The risotto is cooked when the rice and peas are soft and all the liquid has been absorbed.
6. Serve on dishes, bowls or plates with a mint garnish.

Want more vegan risotto recipes? Check out these tasty vegan risottos:

• Vegan Mushroom Risotto