Bharwaan Baingan: Vegan stuffed baby aubergine curry

I picked up some baby aubergines (eggplants if your not a Brit) they were a total bargain of a quid for 8! I remember seeing on a menu in an Indian restaurant once stuffed aubergines and investigated further and found this dish of Bharwaan Baingan which is a North Indian tangy curry.I adapted the recipe slightly and added some dessicated coconut to the stuffing mix and some soya yoghurt to the curry sauce for extra richness but apart from that it's pretty authentic. I promise you even though it's not the most beautiful thing you will ever see the taste is phenomenal with a combination of sweet coconut, deep spiciness and tangy yoghurt.

You will need:

• 6-8 small Eggplants
• 1 Large Onion chopped roughly
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 green chilli chopped
• 2 tbsp chickpea flour
• 1 tsp dry mango powder or amchoor
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp corriander
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp dessicated coconut
• 2 tbsp soya yoghurt

•  Wash and cut the aubergine in a cross, while keeping them together at the stalk (ideally you want your aubergines to be plumper than mine as they hold together better but this is all the market had)
• Put all other ingredients except cumin seeds and oil, in a blender and make a smooth paste, add a little water if necessary.
• 
• Fill the split eggplants with half of the paste.
• Heat olive oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and toast.
• Add you aubergines and cook with the lid on turning to make sure all sides cook evenly.
• Once all sides are cooked, stir yoghurt into the remaining paste and add to aubergines and simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes.
• Serve with a little soya yoghurt and some warm chapatis.

Happy 1st Veganiversary to me!

So guys, you have journeyed with me on my tofu clad road of veganism for a whole year! To be honest I knew I could do it i'm a Capricorn so can be a very stubborn goat at times. But it's not only stubborness that has helped me stick to being vegan it's throwing myself into vegan cooking and really enjoying explaoring new techniques and ingredients and learning alot about food production ethics along the way. Here's to this time next year! 

My first vegan Christmas

I thought I would find my first vegan Christmas difficult with the lures of cheese boards, brandy butter and my Nana's famous sherry trifle - but with a little planning and perseverance it turned out to be easier than I thought!

Firstly, I made myself a standby Christmas cake loaded with rich dried fruits and brandy to treat myself to when everyone else was chowing down on flaming Christmas pudding with lashings of cream.

My vegan Christmas Cake

You will need;
340g plain flour
170g soft brown sugar
200g currants
200g raisins
60g chopped glace cherries
30g chopped mixed peel
280ml dairy free milk (I used almond)
70g dairy free spread (I used Pure sunflower spread)
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp mixed spice
pinch of salt
A few glugs of brandy

• Sift flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice in to a large mixing bowl, then rub in the dairy free spread.
• Stir in the sugar, currants, sultanas, raisins, peel and cherries. Add the lemon rind and give it a good stir. 
• Add all but 2tbsp of the soya milk and stir lightly. Heat the remaining soya milk in the microwave for about a minute and a half microwave so its the temperatur of a warm bath. Pour on to the bicarb and then stir it thoroughly into the mixture lightly.
• Put into a lined 73/4 inch diameter tin, smooth and slightly hollow out centre.
• Bake at about gas mark 4 for an hour, then turn down to gas mark 3 for a further 30 minutes. Until when you push a skewer into the centre of the cake it comes out clean. 
• Let the cake cool and then skewer the cake all over and carefully spoon the brandy over the surface of the cake, depending on how boozy you want it repeat this over the next week or so every other day. 
• To store wrap the cake in baking paper and store in an airtight container. 
• Finally to serve, cut a large slice of the cake I like to warm mine slightly in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then pour over some dairy free cream (I love Aplro single cream) and some icing sugar. Nom! 

My vegan Christmas dinner

My actual Christmas day dinner was a bit of a cheat as I have almost zero cooking time as we have dinner at my Nana's house and while she is finishing off the veggies and potatoes I have to cook my whole meal.

So I had prepared and cooked my nut roast beforehand - I don't normally eat nut roasts like most carnivores don't normally eat turkey any other time that at Christmas. I use the Granose mix and add some little extras to make it a bit more special I had lots of chopped nuts to give it texture and some soaked porcini mushrooms for meatiness and then I made a simple redcurrant currant sauce by reducing redcurrants, water and sugar over a low heat to serve over it. I then roasted my parsnips in agave nectar and nutmeg which went crunchy and gooey at the same time. Mmmm!

I hope you all had a great veganoid Christmas and I wish you a very peaceful new year!