Madras Lentils/Daal Makhani with brown rice from ministryofcurry.com

  • 1 cup Black Gram Beans/adzuki beans/whole brown lentils
  • 1/3 cup Red Kidney Beans
  • 1 tablespoon oil ghee or coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 cup finely diced onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
  • 2 cups diced tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1/2 cup light cream or coconut cream or cashew cream
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala optional for non-spicy lentils
    1/2 tbsp coriander powder
  • 1 tbsp. dried fenugreek
  • 1/2 tbsp  cumin powder
  • cilantro for garnish

Rice:

  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 1 tsp salt

  1. Rinse and soak black gram beans and red kidney beans in 3 cups of water. Overnight or 6-8 hours. Drain the water after soaking and keep the beans aside.
  2. Set Instant Pot to Sauté(more) mode. Once the “Hot” sign displays, add oil and cumin seeds. Add onions and mix well.
  3. Add turmeric powder, fresh ginger, tomatoes, salt, red chili powder, 1/2 tablespoon of cumin powder, 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic along with ginger and red chili powder, 1 tablespoon kasoori methi {dried fenugreek leaves} along with fresh cilantro in the end. 3. You can also add more or less red chili powder and garam masala to adjust the spice level.and beans. Mix well.
  4. Add 2 cups of water.

For pot in pot rice (optional)

  1. Rinse and drain rice. Add rice, 2 cups of water and salt in a stainless steel container.
  2. Put a tall trivet ( I have a 2.75 inch one from amazon) over the beans.
  3. Place rice container on the trivet.
  4. Close Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Manual(Hi) for 30 minutes followed by Natural Pressure Release.
  5. Open Instant Pot and set to saute mode.
  6. Carefully take out the Rice container and the trivet.
  7. Stir in cream, add garam masala (optional) and garnish with cilantro.

Walnut meat tacos from with lime cream sour cream vnutritionandwellness.com

  • 1.5 cups de-shelled walnuts
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 Tb tamari (or soy sauce if not gf )
  • 6 Taco shells

Toppings

  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 1 cup red cabbage, chopped
  • 1/4-1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • cilantro, choppped

lime cashew sour cream

  • 1 Cup cashews soaked overnight (or soaked at least 10 mins in boiling water)
  • 1/3 cup water (more if needed)
  • 2 Tb lime juice
  • 1 TB apple cider vinegar
  • Pinch of salt
  1. Add walnuts to a food processor and process until mixture is kind of “meaty”.
  2. Put mixture in bowl and add seasonings and mix.
  3. Add rest of the ingredients (up until tamari) and stir until incorporated
  4. Fill taco shells with walnut mixture and top with toppings of choice.
  5. To make the lime cashew sour cream put all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Add more water if needed to get a sour cream consistency.

  6. Top tacos with sour cream and enjoy!

Creamy Mexican Street Corn Dip from 12tomatoes.com/

  • 3 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen, then thawed)
  • 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup cotija cheese, crumbled, garnish
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  1. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream, and mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
  2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and sauté corn and jalapeño for 6-8 minutes, or until softened and browned.
  3. Remove veggies from heat, then pour into cream cheese mixture, stirring to combine.
  4. Season with chili powder and cumin, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
  5. Fold in cilantro and green onions, then sprinkle with cotija cheese and serve with chips. Enjoy!

One Skillet Mexican Quinoa

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (optional)
1 can green chilies
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (28 ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 cup yellow corn
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cup veggie  broth
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute jalapeno pepper and garlic in hot oil until fragrant, about 1 minute.  or start with green chilies

Stir black beans, tomatoes, yellow corn, quinoa, and veggie broth into skillet; season with red pepper flakes, chili powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, cover the skillet with a lid, reduce heat to low, and simmer until quinoa is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed, about 20-35 minutes. Stir avocado, lime juice, and cilantro into quinoa until combined.

Better Tomorrow Vegan Chili from splendid table

461153915The story of chili always ends with the statement that it’s better the second day. So why don’t we just make it ahead of time and consider that first day as part of the cooking process? I do. My “vegan-ified” version uses pecans, which have a distinct richness and “meaty” mouthfeel, and play very nicely with the brown spices. The dried mushrooms are a nifty addition that I learned from Cook’s Illustrated. Not only do the pulverized mushrooms thicken the chili, they also add that forest-floor bass note that we interpret as “hearty.” I keep some dried mushroom powder in my spice rack at all times—whatever’s cheapest—and you should too. A spoonful will add a layer of complexity to vegan dishes and omnivorous dishes alike.

 

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 16 ounces button mushrooms, stems removed, wiped clean, and quartered
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 large green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, diced
  • 2 jalapeño peppers, seeds and ribs removed, finely minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 2 cups pecans (about 7 ounces), toasted, very finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • Two 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
  • 2 cups vegetable stock (or vegetable broth, and cut the salt by half)
  • One 15-ounce can tomato sauce
  • One 1-ounce package dried mushrooms (whatever is cheapest), pulverized in a blender
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

In a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil and add the fresh mushrooms. Cook, stirring only once, until browned, about 6 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot and stir to incorporate. Simmer until the vegetables and nuts are soft, about 30 minutes. Let cool. Refrigerate overnight.

HOLD IT? Keep the chili in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Reheat the chili in a pot over low heat, stirring often.

PLATE IT! My ideal chili-serving vessel would be the dolsot, which is an individual Korean earthenware bowl that retains tons of heat. You can find them online. Warm them up slowly in the oven, and then ladle in the chili. Or you can scoop the chili into a bowl. Garnish with whatever you like (see below).

BREAK IT: Chili is kind of an open-source recipe. Now that you’ve made it, customize it to your liking. Change the beans, add some greens, or even wrap it in a tortilla and fry it up like the chimichangas.