Bento favourite: vegan tamagoyaki

Tamagoyaki is a Japanese rolled omelet, which is a popular Bento staple. My favourite vegan version is made with a chickpea batter.

Omelet mix (yields 2 cups)

What you need (dry mix):

1 cup chickpea flour (a.k.a. gram flour)

2/3 cup tapioca flour or cornstarch

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 - 1 tsp kala namak (Indian black salt)*

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp mustard powder

1/4 tsp curry powder

Sift all ingredients together, mix and store in an air-tight container.

* You can use regular salt instead, but it won't have the eggy taste of kala namak.

For 1 omelet (2 servings):

1/2 cup dry mix

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water

1/2 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp (rice)vinegar

Oil for frying

In a small blender or bowl, mix together dry mix, water, vegetable oil, soy sauce and vinegar into a thin batter.

Heat a bit of oil in a skillet or frying pan, and pour the batter into the pan. Spread the batter around into a thin omelet. Cook until the the top of the omelet is completely dry and turn off the heat.

Fold 1/3 of the omelet to the middle. Fold the opposing 1/3 of the omelet also to the middle, you now have 3 layers.

Line a sushi mat with a piece of cling film.

From one of the open ends, roll up the layered omelet. Transfer the roll to the sushi mat. Roll up the sushi mat + cling film tightly, making sure to twist the ends of the cling film so the roll is tightly sealed. Let the tamagoyaki cool inside the sushi mat.

When preparing your bento, cut the tamagoyaki in even slices and place in your bento box.

The dry mix keeps for several months in an air-tight container.

Once cooked, the tamagoyaki keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Original recipe omelet mix (Dutch)

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

Chili con carne from scratch

Store-bought spice mixes often contain a lot of salt. Making a dish from scratch is ideal if you want to watch your salt-intake. And I bet it will taste better too!

What you need (3 servings):
200 g very lean ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic paste)
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp of tomato puree
1 large can of beans (such as pinto, kidney, black-eyed), rinsed and drained
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder (or more if you like it spicy)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped (optional)
salt & pepper, to taste
1 tbsp ketjap manis (optional, to counteract acidity of the tomatoes)
sour cream or guacamole to serve (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pan and saute the onion and garlic, and chopped bell pepper, if using. Add the ground beef, and mash with a fork to break up the meat.
After the meat has browned slightly, add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the spices and ketjap manis, if using. Season with some salt and pepper. Add the beans and simmer for a few minutes.
Serve in a bowl with crackers, or use as filling for taco's or burrito's. Top with a dollop of sour cream or guacamole if you feel adventurous :).

Try this:
- add a small can of corn, drained, along with the beans.
- want a thicker chili? Drain the chopped tomatoes before adding to the pan.
- use ground chicken instead of beef for chili con pollo.

Veganize it!
Use a vegan mince or minced TVP (TSP) for chili sin carne.

Humus

Another dip that's served all over the Middle East is humus. There are tons of different recipes available online and in recipebooks. Last week I used a basic recipe from one of my cookbooks and tweaked it a bit to my own taste.

What you need (approx. 4 servings):
small can of chick peas (Bonduelle, 212ml)
2 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1tsp harissa (chili paste)
1 clove of garlic, minced, or 1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp cumin powder
salt & pepper to taste
dash of lemon juice

Drain the chickpeas in a collander and save the liquid for later. In a small bowl, puree the drained chickpeas and the other ingredients with an immersion blender (or throw everything into a small food processor). Add some of the saved liquid if the puree is too thick for your liking and taste occasionally. Add some more harissa, salt, pepper or cumin if necessary.
Serve with pita bread or crudités (raw veggies) for dipping. Should keep in the fridge for at least a couple of days.

Try this: a bit more taste and colour? Add a red roasted pepper (from a jar) to the rest of the ingredients and blitz to a puree in your food processor, like I did in the picture.

Spicy bean stir fry

What you need (4 servings):
250g chicken or turkey breast, in cubes
150g leek, in rings
150g finely sliced white cabbage
100g onion, in half rings
25g bean sprouts
1 red chili, finely chopped (or less if you prefer)
1 clove of garlic, pressed
1 large can of kidney beans (ca. 700g nett weight), drained and rinsed
Oil
Salt, pepper

Heat some oil in a wok. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook in the wok until golden brown. Take the chicken out of the pan and put aside.
Heat some more oil en stir fry the onion, garlic, white cabbage, leek and chili in the wok. When the onion has softened, add the beans, bean sprouts and chicken and cook for a few minutes until everything is piping hot but the bean sprouts are still crispy. Serve immediately on its own or with rice.

Try this:
- use a mix of beans such as kidney beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas etc
- replace the chicken with tofu for a vegetarian dish

[adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe]

Dhal soup (Indian-style red lentil soup)

What you need (2 servings):
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 can of tomato cubes
60g red lentils, rinsed
1 tsp lemon juice
2dl vegetable stock
1dl coconut milk
oil
salt, pepper

Sauté the onion and garlic. Add the spices and fry for approx. 30 secs. Add the tomatoes, lentils, lemon juice, vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Simmer for approx. 25-30 mins until the lentils are cooked (I like to reduce the liquid so that it becomes more of a dip than an soup).
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with naan.