FOOD HEALTH SPECIAL .....Guilt-free eating

Guilt-free eating





Whether you practice veganism as a lifestyle or philosophy, these simple substitutions will help in calorie counting too

Four years ago, 53-year-old Mayavi Khandelwal was suffering from diabetes, hypertension, severe joint paint and migraines that refused to subside even with medicines. Weighing 92 kgs and unable to take the daily struggle, she decided to consult a naturopath, who advised her to try a dairy-free and meat-free diet.

“Within a month, I lost 10 kgs and my various health problems lessened. And with subtle changes in my diet, I don't deprive myself of anything,“ says the plant-based nutri-chef.

According to Dr Rupa Shah, a co-founder of the Ahimsa Festival, which is currently on in Mumbai, “The first step is transforming the kitchen and making people aware of the numerous alternatives available today to lead a dairy and meat free lifestyle. The primary aspect of ahimsa is towards oneself -in particular towards one's health.The idea is to inspire people to eat more wholesome without sacrificing their favourite foods.“ Among the examples she gives are: yoghurt made from peanuts and rice milk and cheese churned from nuts such as almonds and cashews.

For Jinal Rathod, a vegan chef, “being Vegan is a move towards a preventive lifestyle where you start eating better.Even for hard-core meat eaters, there's so many mock meat options that one wouldn't miss meat,“ she says, adding that her mock-meat preparation with raw jackfruit at a restaurant was a hit and had `repeat customers'.

Here are four vegan recipes that are sure to fool your tastebuds.

NO BAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

“This no-bake cheesecake recipe doesn't require you to heat up your oven and it's ideal for warm weather. It's free of refined sugar, oil, dairy and is healthy,“ says Vinita Contractor, founder of Down 2 Hearth, who makes her gluten-free crust with walnuts, almonds and oats that doesn't require butter. “A lemon version can be made by adding two tablespoons of lemon juice to the middle layer and lemon rind as the third layer. For a mango version, use 12 cup pureed fresh mango as the middle layer and chopped mango as the third layer,“ she says.

CREAMY HERBED PASTA WITH PARMESAN

When it comes to vegan white pasta sauces, there are a number of choices. Apart from the creamy cashew sauce, which isn't an everyday indulgence because of its higher fat content, there's also a lower calorie version with cauliflower puree or a healthy, protein-rich chickpea sauce that is best consumed the day it's made. “This vegan white pasta sauce has it all: it is silky, creamy, garlicky, savory, delicious, and a combination of coconut milk and potato gives great flavour and is lighter,“ says Jinal Rathod. The parmesan can be stored in the fridge for a month.

METHOD

1 Wash and soak raisins in a bit of water for a few minutes and then grind into a paste

2 Grind the dates, raw nuts, oats with 2 tsp salt, till a mixture is formed.

3 In a loose bottom 4-inch cake ring, spread the mixture evenly and compact well. Freeze until set (about an hour). Line the inner surface of the ring with a plastic mousse strip for a clean finish and for easy unmoulding.

4 Grind the cashews first and then with raisin paste, strawber ries, a pinch of salt till well combined. Spread onto the first layer and freeze till set for about 4 hours or more.

5 Just before serving, slice or chop strawberries and garnish on top. Unmould and serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS

Pasta

one cup thick coconut milk

one steamed potato (blend coconut milk and potato into a creamy liquid)

1tsp olive oil

2tsp finely chopped celery stalk,

onion and garlic fresh herbs or dried ­ thyme,

oregano,

parsley ½ cup

vegetable stock 150 gms Penne (Pre-boil it separately) 

Sea Salt and black pepper to taste

Vegan Parmesan One cup

Cashew Or blanched almonds 4Tbsp

Nutritional yeast flakes ¼ tsp

Garlic powder Sea Salt to taste

METHOD

1 In a pan add olive oil, roast onion, garlic and celery until brown.

2 Add vegetable stock, stir for a min.

3 Add blended coconut potato white sauce, penne pasta and fresh herbs. Stir for few mins.

Salt and pepper. Keep the pasta saucy.

4 For the cheese, add all ingre dients to a food processor and pulse in 3 sec bursts.

5 Garnish with oodles of Vegan parmesan.

BADAM -PISTA SURTI GHAARI

Traditionally, the sweet is prepared during the festival of Chandani Padva (A day after Sharad Poornima, the last full moon day in the Hindu calendar) but legend has it that Ghari was invented by the cooks of Tatya Tope as a nutritious sweet to provide extra strength to his soldiers. “The crispy outer layer is made of flour and is rich in ghee.But the vegan version uses a paste of cashew, pistachio and saffron instead of clarified butter,“ says Meena Shah, a raw food and vegan chef.

METHOD

Mix coconut water with malai in 1 a bowl and allow the jaggery to melt in it.

2  Roughly crush rawa powder, coconut powder, cardamom and saffron and add it to the above mixture. Add 3 tbsp of half crushed dry fruits and 2-3 dates.

3  Make sure the consistency of the dough is thick enough to make round balls out of it. Keep these in the fridge for 1 hour to set.

To replace ghee, finely crush 4 the cashews with pistachio (3-4 pieces) and a pinch of saf fron to make a smooth paste.

Remove the Laddu from fridge 5 and apply the kaju paste on it and garnish with grated pistachio and let it settle in the fridge for 2 hours.

VEGETABLE MAKHANWALA

This immense popular dish's smooth texture and the fabulously thick, creamy and buttery flavour is from the cashew cream that's made by soaking and pureeing the nuts. Mayavi Khandelwal's version is devoid of any usage of oil, sugar or dairy and is prepared from organic ingredients. “When eating out, it is difficult to get good Indian vegan dishes and the choices to stick to are idlis, baingan bhartas or plain dals,“ says Khandelwal whose delivery service My Pure Path has dishes such as dal makhani, proso millet khichadi and veg makhanwala among others.

METHOD

Dry roast the cumin seeds.

1 First add the green chilli and then add the tomato puree and cook for a few minutes.

2 Keep 1 tsp of cream for garnish and add the rest to the tomato puree.

3 Cook for a few minutes. Add the steamed vegetables and the kasoori methi powder.

4 Add 2 tbsp of coriander and mix. Garnish with the remaining cream and coriander. Serve hot.

Sayoni Sinha MumbaiMirror 5NOV17