Aloo Gobi (Indian potatoes and cauliflower)

This is a great party/potluck dish. The ingredients are cheap and mostly pantry staples.  It's a great autumn/winter dish as you can easily find potatoes, onions and cauliflower.   You can serve it hot or at room temp, and it holds relatively well, so you can cook it ahead of time.

I brought this to a brunch party today; the potatoey-goodness paired well with the other breakfast items.  It was a great way to sneak vegetables in!  Even though I'm an omnivore, I love bringing healthy vegan foods to parties, so that there's a healthy option, exposes people to new plant-based foods and typically helps reduce the amount of animal products that each person eats. I also have fewer fears of food sitting out at room temp if it's all plant-foods!

METHOD:

Prep first:
Dice 1-2 onions
Chop up 1 head of cauliflower into florets
Dice 3 potatoes (any kind, I used russet and yukon gold)
Grate 1 TB ginger

Measure out spices into a ramekin:
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander 

In a hot pan with olive oil, brown the onions with salt. This usually takes 5-10 minutes.

Now add the spices and stir. Let them cook in the hot oil for 60 seconds, or until fragrant.

Add the chopped potatoes and cauliflower into the pan and stir to coat.

Now add liquids: 1 can diced tomatoes, and a little bit of water (probably 1/4 C). Cover and simmer on low for 20-30 minutes until fork tender.

Serve as is, or with whole wheat toast, basmati rice or roti/naan breads.

Veggie Dumpling Soup

I adapted a recipe from Vegan Casseroles book and it was really good!   Nice hearty meal for autumn or winter.

METHOD
For 2 people

Brown diced onions in olive oil with salt
Add salt, pepper, oregano, crushed garlic and stir
Add 1 TB flour and stir for 30 seconds, cooking a roux
Add 4 C stock/veggie broth as well as chopped veggies, like carrot, celery
Simmer or pressure cook (5 min) until veggies are soft

Meanwhile, mix up the dumpling dough:
1 C flour
1/2 TB baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 TB olive oil
1/2 C rice milk

Stir in some cooked legumes to the soup, like lentils or chickpeas.

With the soup lightly simmering, spoon dollops of the dumpling dough from two spoons into the pot. Cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes without peeking.

Check dumplings are done inside, then serve hot.