Dal Palak & homemade vegan naan

After my Aloo Palak spinach epiphany, I felt bold enough to branch out to other spinach recipes. I love dal, so it was a natural choice to try out a spinach dal recipe.
I made some adjustments to the original recipe, so this is by no means authentic, but it's pretty darn yummy nonetheless.
I recently also made my own naan for the first time, so I'm including that recipe here as well.

Dal palak (4-5 servings):
1,5 cup toor dal (yellow lentils)
200g frozen spinach, thawed.
4 cloves of garlic, minced (or 4 tsp garlic paste)
2 medium onions, chopped
2-3 tsp sambal oelek (or more to taste)
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tbsp oil

Rinse the lentils and pick out any stones etc.
In a large pot, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Once they start to pop and give off scent, add onion, garlic and sambal oelek. Saute until onion is translucent, then add lentils and spinach.
Add ca. 1l (2 pints) water and crumble in the stock cube, stir everything together and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer the dal approx. 45 min, covered. The dal is done when you can easily crush the lentils. I like a thick dal, so I usually cook it uncovered for a bit to reduce the liquid. Using a spatula or masher, mash part of the the dal.
Serve warm with rice, naan or roti.

Tip: I like to make this dal in a stovetop pressure cooker. Saute the ingredients in the pressure cooker as described above. After adding the water, close the lid on your pressure cooker and bring to high pressure (2). Cook for 7-10 minutes, then use natural release.

Original recipe

Naan (serves 4):

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp warm tap water
3/8 tsp dry active yeast
6 tbsp warm non-dairy milk (I used Alpro unsweetened almond milk)
1/2 cup non-dairy yogurt (I used Alpro unsweetened soy yogurt)
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1 tsp coriander powder (optional)
Oil for brushing

In a bowl, disolve the sugar in the warm water. Add the yeast and stir to disolve. Set aside for approx. 10 mins or until the mixture starts to froth and rise.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder & coriander powder (if using).
When the yeast mixture is foaming, add the warm milk and yogurt, stirring to combine.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine with a spatula. When the ingredients are combined, finish mixing the dough with your hands to form a ball. Do not overknead.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and leave to rise for an hour at a warm place.
Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll each part into a thin oval on a floured surface.
Thoroughly heat a skillet. Brush oil on both sides of the bread.
Add one piece of bread to the pan and cook 1-2 min, covered. Bubbles should form on the bread.
Flip the bread and cook another 1-2 min. Repeat with the rest of the naan.
Serve warm. These naans freeze well too.

Original recipe

Dutch holiday loaf

In the Netherlands, it is customary to eat a special raisin bread with almond paste filling for Easter and Christmas. This is a vegan version, and a friend of mine thought it was much better than the store-bought varieties!

What you need (for 1 large loaf or 4 small loaves):
- 100g raisins or sultanas
- 100g currants (or extra raisins)
- 2 tbsp lemon zest (I used store-bought zest from Dr. Oetker)
- 3 tbsp rum or water
- 1 package ready-made almond paste (Dr. Oetker) or make your own (see recipe below)
- 7g dry yeast
- 200ml non-dairy milk
- 60g unsalted vegan margarine
- 125g caster sugar
- 430g flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp soy yoghurt (or pureed silken tofu)
- sunflower oil
- additional non-dairy milk
- flaked almond (optional)
- icing sugar

Mix raisins, curants and lemon zest in a bowl, add rum or water and soak, covered, for 2hrs until all liquid has been absorbed. (Prepare the almond paste if making from scratch, see recipe below).
Melt the margarine and mix in milk, sugar and yoghurt. Let it cool to approx. body temperature, then stir in the yeast.
In a large bowl, stir together flour and salt, then make a dip in the centre. Mix in the milk mixture and knead for approx. 10 mins. until the dough is soft and elastic. Add a bit of flour if the dough is too sticky. Shape the dough into a ball, brush a bit of oil on top and let it rise, covered, for 1 - 1,5 hrs. at a warm spot.
Knead the dough, then flatten in on your work surface. Sprinkle the soaked fruit on top, then fold over the dough and gently knead it until well-mixed. Shape the dough into an 20cmx30cm (8"x12")oval. Knead the almond paste and shape it into a 30cm (12") roll. Put it on top of the dough, then fold over the dough so the almond paste is sealed inside. Let the loaf rest and rise for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (circulation oven: 170°C). Brush a bit of milk on top of the loaf and sprinkle on some flaked almonds, if desired. Bake the loaf for 30-35 mins. until golden brown.
Once the loaf has cooled, sift some icing sugar over the top. Cut into slices and serve with margarine and sugar.

Note:
This bread freezes quite well. Instead of 1 large loaf, consider making 4 smaller ones (each is enough to generously serve 2 people) and freezing the leftover loaves. Put the icing sugar on top after defrosting the loaves.

To make your own almond paste, you´ll need:
100g almond flour
100g sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
3 tbsp water

Mix all ingredients into a thick paste. Store at a cool place until ready to use.

Based on this recipe.

Vegan Bento No. 7 | Sandwich Bento

On a recent trip to Japan I went on a major bento shopping spree, and also managed to get my hands on several hard to find (outside Japan, anyway) sandwich bento boxes.
Sandwich bento boxes differ from other bento boxes in the sense that they:
1) have mesh sides so prevent the bread from getting soggy
2) are collapsible (very efficient on your way back home when you've finished your sammies)

I broke in my newly acquired bento box with a focaccia sandwich, consisting of:
~ basil & garlic bake-off focaccia bread
~ homemade arugula pesto
~ grilled aubergine & courgette slices
~ sliced tomato
~ fresh arugula

Toasti's

Whether you call it a tosti, toasti, panini, provencette or toasted sandwich, they're all sandwiches that are grilled and eaten warm. Here are a few classic as well as not-so-classic combinations:

Savory:
- pesto, pine nuts, tomato and slices of vegan mozarella.
- horseradish (or wasabi), shredded faux chicken, tomato slices and vegan cheese.
- pesto, grilled pepper strips, fresh basil and vegan mozarella.
- mango chutney and shredded faux chicken (use naan instead of regular bread for an Indian touch)
- tomato ketchup, sliced mushrooms and vegan cheese.
- sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced avocado and vegan cheese.
- ragout and vegan cheese.
- pesto, grilled zucchini, grilled eggplant and pine nuts.
- grilled eggplant, artichoke hearts (quartered) and sundried tomatoes.

Sweet:
- chocolate spread and thinly sliced banana.
- raisin bread (instead of regular bread), vegan cream cheese, maple syrup and banana.
- peanut butter and banana (Elvis's favorite!)
- peanut butter and chocolate spread.
- jam and thinly sliced apple.
- chocolate spread and thinly sliced pear.

Roti (Hindustani flat bread)

What you need (6-7 rotis):
500g wheat flour
125g white bread mix
500ml tepid water
300g extra flour
Pinch of salt
Sunflower oil

Put 500g flour in a bowl and make w hole in the middle. Add the bread mix, salt and water and mix (the mixture is still sticky at this stage). Knead for 5-10 mins and add extra flour if necessary to make a dry, elastic dough. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 15 mins.
Divide the dough into 6-7 egg-size balls and press them flat. Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into flat bread of approx. 25cm diameter.
Thoroughly heat a large skillet and lower the heat when the pan is hot. Put a flat bread in the dry pan and brush oil on the pancake. Turn the flat bread and brush with oil again. Repeat twice more and put the flat bread on a paper towel covered plate and cover with a clean towel to prevent them from drying out. Cook the rest of the flat breads the same way.
Serve the rotis warm with chicken massala and potato & beans.