The Veggie Blog

This is not the fancy Dal Makhani that you might have had at the Indian Restauranta. Not the oily Dal Fry either. Just the simple Dal recipe that a lot of Indian people actually eat on a daily basis. It is simple to make, not too spicy, easy to eat (babies to bed-ridden old people can have it), and best of all, just tasty. Like with anything else, simple is usually the best.

Try it and let us know how you like it.

Ingredients

1. Toor Dal: 1 cup
2. Onions: 1 medium sized
3. Tomatoes: 2 medium sized
4. Garlic: 2-3 cloves
5. Green chillie: 2
6. Fresh coriander leaves: Few sprigs
7. Red chillies whole: 2-3 (optional)
8. Mustard seeds: half tea spoon
9. Cumin seeds: half tea spoon
10. Oil: 2-3 table spoons
11. Asafoetida-a pinch
12. Salt: to taste
13. Lime juice: 1 tbsp (optional)
14. Curry leaves (optional)

Preparation:

1. Wash the dal and cook the dal well with 4 cups of water in a cooker.
2. Once cooked, mash it nicely. You can add water if it is too thick.
3. Peal and finely chop the onions. Wash and finely chop the tomatoes. Peal,wash and crush the garlic. Remove stems and chop  green chillies and coriander leaves and curry leaves. Remove stems and break red chillies into 2 each.
4. Heat oil in a pan .Add mustard seeds to it. Once the seeds crackle add the cumin seeds and whole red chillies and a pinch of asafetida.
5. Add green chillies and the onions. Once the onions turn golden brown, add the tomatoes and fry it till the oil from the tomatoes separate.
6. Add the cooked dal to the tomatoes mixture, add salt and bring it to a boil.
7. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves
8. Lastly add lime juice and its ready!!

A very subtle variation of this recipe can make you tasty Dal Soup as well. Just mash the Dal finer, use some additional water, leave out the coriander leaves and that’s it, you have Dal soup instead.

I am a vegetarian living in Las Vegas and if you are a vegetarian in the US, you know how it can be pretty hard to find good vegetarian food at times. That’s when you need to get positive and creative. There truly are a ton of vegetarian dishes right around the corner that we often don’t think about because the restaurant is not exactly known for its vegetarian dishes. Hey, the reason why some restaurants are not famous for their vegetarian dishes is because vegetarians eating at those places are in a microscopic minority, and sometimes their vegetarian dishes can actually be better than their other offerings. Here are three dishes that you should most probably be able to find in your neighbourhood without a problem, so here you go:

1. Einstein Bros Bagels: They have a Vegetarian Sandwich that is to die for. The sprouts and the garlic-paste in gives is a very refreshing taste and texture. They can even make your sandwiches on a bagel and you will probably agree that they make one of the best bagels out there. The sandwich costs about $6 and comes with a side of potato salad or chips. The potato salad is vegetarian and pretty good as well. So the next time you are wondering what new to eat for lunch, give the bagel bros a try!

2. Vegetarian Thai Fried Rice: I have had Thai Fried Rice in several Thai restaurants and they never disappoint me. Restaurants have different styles and that makes it fun to try this at different Thai restaurants. You can usually tell them how spicy you want it to be so you can adjust it to your taste. My favorite Thai restaurant in Las Vegas is Kung Fu. Their Fried Rice is just $6 and is amazing value for that money. I honestly would pay $9 for it I think. They also have the Panang Vegetarian and the Pad Thai which are to die for as well. The Panang Vegetarian is a coconut milk and peanut butter sauce based dish with sauteed vegetables. Yummy! Try your local Thai place the next time and ask them what they can do for you in Vegetarian. You will be surprised how good they can be.

3. Chipotle Burrito: This is my favorite when I am really hungry. They have a HUGE vegetarian burrito. Like all other Chipotle stuff, the burrito is quite flavorful. I always ask them to add a few drops of lime or lemon because I like the citrus flavor with burrito. What I like about their burrito other than the fact that is is perhaps the biggest Burrito I’ve ever had is that the tortilla is moist and soft. And the ingredients are always fresh. The rice is always perfectly cooked and tastes quite yummy. Ask to add the guacamole and their medium corn salsa, and you have a $6.5 dish that will fill you up good

I hope you enjoyed reading about these 3 vegetarian ideas to try out in your neighborhood!

It has been a while since I wrote a post on this blog. I have been wanting to, but honestly, did not have too many ideas on what to write about :). Finally came across this guide today and thought that some of you might like totake a look at it.

The guide is a nice one, with quality vegetarian and vegan recipes. Sometimes I think it’s true when they say you get what you pay for. The guide does cost some money ($13.50) but if you are interested in a veggie lifestyle, I think you will find the guide useful. Note that I am in no way connected with the guide though.

They even give you a free gift just for signing up and including a ton of news and tips that are likely to make a vegetarian life easier.

Click Here to get the Vegetarian Secrets Revealed Guide directly!

What’s your best part of the week? If it’s Monday morning, then…I’m sorry weirdo! Just kidding…well, most of us would answer Saturday Morning, right? That’s why I am going to tell you what my wife makes for me every Saturday morning…it’s probably the easiest thing ever…takes less than 10 minutes, but it’s ummmm….

Well, I am going to call it The Saturday Morning Chutney Sandwich. Chutney in Hindi means “sauce”. There are all kinds of chutneys from mild to hot, sweet to sour. They can have ingredients such as coconut, lentil flour, tamarind, cilantro, yogurt, Etc. I know I know this is already sounding too complicated That’s why I am going to make this extremely simple for you.

Here’s how you go about it.

Ingredients:

1. White Bread

2. Regular or Salted Butter

3. Cilantro Chutney (You can get this from any India Store in your locality). The brand I like the most and totally recommend is the “Nirav Coriander Chutney”. It rocks, like no other chutney I’ve tasted.

4. Cucumber

5. Salt, Pepper and Chat Masala. You can get Chat Masala from any Indian grocery Store as well.)

6. Sev (Very thin strips of fried flour). You just need to ask for this at the Indian grocery store. It is pronounced like “save”.

Preparation:

Take 2 slices of white bread and apply butter on one and the cilantro chutney on the other. make thin slices of the cucumber and place it on the white bread. Sprinkle a pinch of the chaat masala, salt and pepper. Add a little bit of the crispy Sev on top. Close the sandwich and cut into 6 rectangular pieces.

That’s it! If you have the ingredients handy, it takes less than 5 minutes to make one. My wife makes it and I LOVE it. I will post a picture here soon one of these days. Enjoy and let me know if you like it or need any more info.