Asparagus and Broccoli Curry

a vegan dish

It's a curry that involves asparagus and broccoli.  Best eaten with rice or soft potatoes.

You will find that the procedure involved in cooking this dish is quite cumbersome.  Processes such as boiling and simmering are repeated over and over again to ensure that the proper sauce consistency is achieved.

You must keep in mind that this is a type of stew and stewing always takes time even if it only involves vegetables.

If you follow the recipe strictly, you'll come up with a bowl that would serve:

- 3 people who really like curry
- 5 people who like curry but don't want to eat too much, or
- 7 to 10 people who don't like curry but are really hungry and have no choice but to eat it

You will need:

- 1 large potato, coarsely chopped 

- 1 medium sized carrot, halved lengthwise (leave one half intact & chop the other half) 

- 3 cloves of garlic, finely choppe 

- 1 medium sized onion, diced 

- 1 tablespoon of curry powder 

- 1 teaspoon of fresh dill leaves (1/4 teaspoon if dried) 

- 1 teaspoon of ginger paste or crushed ginger 

- 2 tablespoons of oil/butter/ghee 

- 1 tablespoon of plain flour dissolved in half a cup of water 

- 1 cup of asparagus 

- 1 cup of broccoli 

- 1 regular sized western tomato (or 2 medium sized Roma/Bangalore tomatoes), soaked in very hot water for five minutes and peeled 

- salt to taste 

- muscovado sugar or molasses to balance the flavour 

- chilli for an additional kick (optional)

Let's get cookin':

1. Heat two tablespoons of oil/butter/ghee in a sauce pan and drop in the onion and garlic together. 

2. Add in the carrot (both chopped and intact) and toss for about a minute. 

3. Pour in a cup of water, mix in your tablespoon of curry powder along with the ginger paste and bring to the boil. 

4. When it comes to the boil, add in the flour dissolved in a cup of water and stir to thicken. 

If you want to add in chilli, this would be the perfect time to do it. 

5. Drop in your chopped potatoes and bring again to the boil. 

6. When boiling, simmer gently for 30 minutes with occasional stirring. 

7. Remove the intact half of the carrot and blend it to purée.  Add the purée to the saucepan right after. 

8. Using your bare hands, squeeze the peeled tomato over the saucepan so that its juices fall onto your cooking.  Mince it using your hand, dropping each peace you pull right onto the saucepan. 

9. Drop in the dill along with your asparagus and broccoli and stir everything. 

10. Add salt and muscovado/molasses to your palate's delight. 

11. Bring to the boil and simmer for another 5-7 minutes before serving.

Garlic Chapati

a vegan bread

Chapati is a type of flat unleavened bread that traces its culinary origins from the Indian Subcontinent.  It's commonly made using only flour, water and a bit of salt but, in this case, I'm going to add garlic so we'll call it Garlic Chapati to avoid confusion.  It is best eaten with sauces like curry and marinara, or dips such as guacamole.

For every four (4) pieces, you will need:

- 1 cup (150 grams) of plain flour 

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt 

- 1/3 cup (80 millilitres) of water 

- 2 teaspoons of garlic paste

To make chapati:

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl and make some sort of well or hole in the middle. 

2. Stir the garlic paste into the water.  You will notice it form a suspension. 

3. Pour the garlic and water mix onto the well in the bowl. 

4. Mix the flour and the water to form some sort of ball.  Do not add any more water.  Just keep rolling the ball around until it collects the rest of the remaining flour and you are able to form a compact dough that is slightly sticky but soft. 

5. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover it with cling wrap or a plate and leave it in room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes. 

6. After resting your dough, divide it into four equal pieces.  Using your hand, form each piece into a small round flat disc about half an inch thick. 

7. Drop the disc onto a lightly floured surface and, using a floured rolling pin, gently roll the disc out into a very thin and flat circle about 7 or 8 inches in diameter.  Don't worry; it doesn't need to be perfect. 

8. If you have a roti pan or flat pan, use it.  Otherwise, you will have to settle for a frying pan with a flat base.  Put it over a stove on medium heat.  You don't want it too hot or you'll end up burning the chapati. 

9. Drop on one chapati at a time.  Yes, in case you're wondering, you have to cook it individually unless you have a freakishly large pan lying around your kitchen cabinet. 

10. After 30 seconds, you will notice the chapati begin to puff up.  Flip it over using a cooking spatula--preferably perforated.  On the flip side, use the spatula to push the puffed bubbles down without breaking or puncturing the bread.  Do this for about 10 seconds then flip the chapati over again. 

11. Press the bubbles gently with the spatula.  Your aim is not to have no bubbles (because if we wanted to do that, we could easily just poke a hole on it but that's not what we want to do).  We want to have just one large puff like a balloon and not individual bubbles. 

12. After another 10 seconds, flip it over again and press gently for 15 more seconds before putting it on a plate.  It's not necessary to achieve the balloon effect but it is necessary to keep gently pressing the chapati down as you cook it. 

13. Repeat the process for every piece of chapati you cook.

Guacamole

a vegan sauce

A Mexican dip best paired with tortilla crisps and flat bread like tortillas, roti, chapati, naan, or pita.

If you follow the recipe strictly, you'll come up with a bowl that would be enough for:

- 4 pieces of flat bread, or
- 1 regular bag of unflavoured tortilla chips

You will need:

- 2 ripe avocados 

- 3 tablespoons of lime or kalamansi juice 

- 2 medium sized tomatoes (or one large western tomato) peeled, de-seeded and finely chopped 

- 2 tablespoons of coarsely chopped/diced onion 

- 1 tablespoon of coriander (also known in some places as cilantro) 

- Your choice of hot pepper (jalapeño, bird's eye, tabasco, espada) de-seeded and very finely chopped (add according to heat tolerance with a minimum of one teaspoon) 

- salt for seasoning

- 1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder (optional) 

- 1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder (optional)

To make it:

1. Put the lime/kalamansi juice in a bowl. 

2. Scoop out the flesh of the avocados and chop coarsely. 

3. Add the avocado to the lime/kalamansi juice in the bowl. 

4. Coarsely mash the avocado using a fork or a potato masher until it becomes a bit smooth and creamy.  It's okay to have little lumps here and there.  NEVER EVER BLEND IT. 

5. If you don't like the onions to crunch in your mouth, you could crush it using a mortar and pestle.  If you're okay with crunchy onions, skip this step. 

6. Add all other ingredients into the bowl with the avocado and mix well. 

7. Season with salt to your taste buds' delight. 

8. Chill in the fridge for one hour before serving.

Stir-Fried Broccoli and Cauliflower

a vegan dish

It's broccoli, cauliflower and a bunch of other things hungover from partying in a cast iron wok.

If you follow the recipe strictly, you'll come up with something that would serve:

- 1 hungry person who really wants to eat, or
- 2 people on a diet

You will need:

- 1 cup of broken broccoli flowers 

- 1 cup of broken cauliflower heads 

- 1 medium tomato, peeled and coarsely chopped 

- 1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped 

- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped 

- 1/2 teaspoon of dill leaves (only a pinch if dried) 

- 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley (only 1/2 if dried) 

- 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar (or you can use whatever type of vinegar you have if you don't have Balsamic vinegar; but trust me, this minute amount makes all the difference in the world) 

- 1 tablespoon of corn syrup 

- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce 

- 4 tablespoons of olive oil (preferably extra virgin)

Let's make it:

1. First, boil the broccoli and cauliflower until readily edible and a little bit tender but not too soft.  Set it aside. 

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on a wok or skillet over ridiculously high heat.  Make sure your pan has a firm handle. 

3. Drop the onion and garlic onto the oil.  You must then quickly grab the handle to toss and turn it around.  It is quite possible that the inside of the wok/skillet will catch fire.  Don't be frightened; it's completely normal.  Only allow 5-7 seconds for the spices to dance around without adding anything else.  As much as possible, do not allow the spices to burn. 

4. After 5-7 seconds, when the smell becomes considerably strong, drop the tomato in and toss it around for some 10 seconds. 

5. Introduce about 1/4 cup of water so you don't end up with a burnt dish.  Toss around for 20 seconds more. 

6. Add the boiled broccoli and cauliflower. 

7. With a 5-second interval, one after the other, add the vinegar, soy sauce and one more tablespoon of olive oil.  Continuously move the pan to agitate the ingredients for about 40 seconds. 

8. Flick in the parsley and dill and make sure they get fully integrated into the dish by mixing them in properly. 

9. Add the corn syrup.

NOTE: If your taste buds somehow find the flavour inadequate, you may increase one or more of the liquid condiments.