Vegan Mugh Makhani (aka “Butter Chicken”)

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 1 block of extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
• ½ zucchini (aka courgette)
• 3-4 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 chile (optional), minced
• ½ inch knob ginger, peeled and minced or freshly grated
• ½ red pepper, diced
• 1-2 cup greens (I prefer kale, but any type of wilted greens would work)
• 1 X 400 g (~15 oz) canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 can coconut milk (full fat preferable)*
• ¼ to ½ cup cilantro, chopped (coriander, for my Brits)
• 1 cup of raw cashews
• Olive oil

Marinade

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tbs tomato paste
• 1 Tbs garam masala
• ½ tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp dried ginger
• 1-2 tsp dried garlic
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt

Method:

1. Drain and press tofu for at least 20 minutes.
2. Mix together marinade ingredients. Add the pressed tofu and toss with your hands until fully coated. Set aside to marinate**.
3. Soak raw cashews in hot water.
4. Heat a large skillet or frying pan on medium high heat. Add olive oil.
5. Fry onion, garlic, ginger, and chile together until the onion just starts to brown.
6. Add tofu and marinade to the pan. Cook for 2-3 more minutes until the spices become fragrant.
7. Add the rest of your vegetables, minus the greens*** and cook for a few more minutes.
8. Add the tomato sauce and coconut milk and bring entire mixture to a simmer. Allow to simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, drain cashews and add to a blender or food processor. Take 1/3 cup of the cooking sauce from the pain and blend with the cashews on high until thick and creamy.
10. Add blended cashew mixture to the pan. Simmer for another 4-5 minutes.
11. Add kale to pan stir in until wilted.
12. Take the pan off the heat and stir in chopped cilantro.

* I like to use full fat coconut milk for this, as it adds a richness to the sauce. However, you can use low-fat or another type of non-dairy milk if you prefer, or if you don’t have full fat coconut milk.

** You can make the marinade and tofu ahead of time and set in the fridge. I usually make this the night before, or the morning of, to allow the flavours to meld. Also, this makes throwing together the actual curry that much simpler! If you do not have the time, you can simply allow the tofu to marinade while you chop the other vegetables.

*** You can use any vegetables that you prefer in your curry. This is recipe is great for cleaning out whatever needs using up in your fridge.

Baked Vegetable Samosas

Makes: 16 samosas

Ingredients:

Dough

• 1 cup all purpose/plain flour
• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup + 1 Tbs cold water
• ¼ cup neutral oil (I used canola)

Filling

• 2-3 medium-large potatoes, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 inch knob of ginger, minced or freshly grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced, or 2 tsp dried garlic
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• ½ chile (or more to taste), minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Olive oil

Method:

Make Your Samosa Dough:

1. Mix together flours, baking powder, salt, and turmeric.
2. Add water and oil. Stir until just combined.
3. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 minutes
4. Set aside in lightly oiled bowl to rest for at least 30 minutes while you make your filling.

Make The Filling

1. Boil potatoes for 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook them. You want your potatoes to be tender, but not mushy and waterlogged.
2. Heat a pan over medium high heat.
3. Fry onion, ginger, garlic, and chile in olive oil until onion is just starting to brown.
4. Add spices and fry until spices are fragrant.
5. Add kale to pan and gently wilt.
6. Remove from heat and stir in chopped cilantro.
7. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and mash with a potato masher or a ricer.
8. Mix together spiced vegetables and mashed potatoes.
9. Set filling aside until cooled completely.

Assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 400F (220C)
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll pieces into balls.
3. Take one of the dough balls and roll it into a 5 inch circle (about 1/8 inch thick) with a rolling pin. Cut the circle in half.
4. Wet your fingers and use them to moisten the outer edges of one of the half circles.
5. Place about 1 Tbs of filling in the centre of the half circle. Fold dough in half along the cut side and pinch to seal. It should look like a cone. Make sure you pinch to seal the pointed end of the cone to prevent the filling from falling out of the bottom.
6. Press filling into the cone shape to fill corners completely. Add up to ½ Tbs more filling if needed.
7. Pinch open edge of dough together to seal the pastry together into a triangle shape.
8. Repeat until all of the dough and filling are used.
9. Spray or brush both sides of the samosa with oil.
10. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.