Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) & Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen

Today I spent most of the day running errands before the snow storm hit, cleaning, and cooking. 

As many of you know I have been trying to do more foods that are inspired from different parts of the world.  Today one of the dishes I made was Rajma which is a Kidney Bean Curry.

After doing a little research of the origins of Rajma I found that not only is it popular in South Asia, Northern India, but also, Nepal.

This photo doesn't do the dish much justice but I think it came out pretty tasty!  To my knowledge this is the first time I have tried this dish.  It was perfect timing, too, because I had some tomatoes I needed to hurry up and use.

The recipe I used was from Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen.  This is another new book to my collection.  it's been on my wishlist for a long time!  I'm so happy I finally have it in my hands!  I know I will be referring to this book a lot!

Not only did I make the Rajma Recipe in this book today - I also did the Dal Bukhara - which is a Black Gram Lentils in Tomato Sauce type dish.  I will share that one with you another day!

I also have to recap Friday's nights festivities so I will probably do that in tomorrow's post!

What did you do this weekend!?  Which of Richa's Recipes are your favorites?

Veganized World Food Inspiration From Poland, Vietnam, and Pakistan!

I thought I would use this Friday Post to take a look back at some of the World Food posts I  have done that ended up being some of my favorite attempts at veganized versions of worldly favorites.  First up is Polish Creamed Mushrooms over Fettuccine.  You can use this as a pasta topping like I did here and/or you can use it like a soup or side.  I'm betting it would be lovely over mashed potatoes, too!  Are you from Poland?  Are you vegan?  If so let me know of some of your veganized favorites!  I would LOVE to try them!



Here is what I used for the Polish Creamed Mushrooms...

1/4 C Earth Balance
2 Cloves Garlic
10-ounces Mushrooms
1 C Soy Milk
1/4 C Tofutti Sour Cream
1 T Soy Flour (Bob's Red Mills)

This was reminiscent of what I remember Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup being but BETTER.

This was another blast from the past in term of a sauce I really enjoyed and being able to take a nice photo!  I'm currently in the process of re-working a photo space at my house.  I hope to have something like this back up and going soon.  The inspiration for this sauce came from Vietnam.  If you are from Vietnam and know of any vegan or easily veganized dishes I should look into please let me know!  I would love to try them!

The ingredients all went into a blender and it was super easy to make - as are most - if not all of the sauces I attempt here.  I remember this being a little thin the first time I tried it so I would suggest with less liquid when first starting to blend and then add more if you need it.

1/2 C Peanut Butter
1/4-1/2 C Water
2 T Bragg's Liquid Amino's
1 T Frank's Hot Sauce
1 T Wholesome Sweeteners Raw Brown Sugar
1 tea Minced Garlic

I remember a couple of years ago when I wanted to try a simple Pakistani dish and came up with this take on Aaloo Bhaji.  After I posted it a few people told me there are other countries that have their own version of this, too.  Such as Aloo Bhaji from India.  I'm interested in either.  So if you reside in a country that has this dish please let me know what it contains and which country you are from.  

I'm also looking for more dishes from Pakistan to that are naturally vegan or easily veganized.  So if you can help me out with ideas in comments I would greatly appreciate it.

As I have said a few times in the last week or two I want to branch out and attempt more world foods again.  I figured this time of year was a great time to do that.

Here is what I used in this attempt of Aaloo Bhaji.

2 C Potatoes - cooked
Small Handful of Wildtree Onion & Chive Blend (or you could use 2 small onions
1 t Black Mustard Seeds
1 t Red Chili Powder (and/or Cayenne)
1 T Earth Balance (I also used a splash of Garlic Grapeseed Oil)
1 t (or less) of Turmeric

All on the stove top until desired texture and darkness is reached. 

While I am writing up a post about world foods I would love to give a few shout outs to some visitors that stopped by the last couple of days!  Hello visitors from Czechia, Israel, and Finland - as well as those from Singapore, Turkey, and Lesotho.  Again if you are from any of these countries and are vegan I would LOVE to hear some of your favorite dishes!  And if you are from another country please feel free to let me know in comments, too!  The more the merrier!  I hope to do more shout outs and food inspiration posts like this in the near future!