Chickpeas Please - Yummy Channa Dal!

By Pam Hadder

Indian curries for the holidays? Why not!  My family and friends are eclectic and so is our feast.  This easy and delicious recipe for Channa Dal (spicy Indian chickpeas) can be warmly savoury or fiery hot, depending on your taste.  It's fantastic over rice, with a lush green salad, or in a pita with your favourite greens - you name it, it's simply delish... AND easy to make too.  Here's the recipe for you to try and enjoy xox.


Ingredients: 
2 large cans of chickpeas (about 3 to 3-1/2 cups)
2 medium yellow onions, finely diced
2 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger root
2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1-2  tsp. hot curry powder or cayenne (adjust to taste)
2 Tbsp. vegan margarine
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped cilantro (garnish)
Salt, to taste
1 litre vegetable broth

Method:
Rinse and drain the chickpeas.  Place in a medium saucepan with the vegetable broth, stirring in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, and curry. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat and simmer loosely covered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, melt the margarine with the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the onion and cook until soft and clear.  Stir in the garlic and fresh grated ginger and cook a few minutes longer - the onions should be slightly caramelized.   Add the chickpeas and all liquid they are in to the large skillet with onion mixture.  Mix to combine and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.  Serve with cilantro as a garnish.  Finely chopped fresh tomato is also a lovely garnish, as is vegan (non-dairy/no gelatin) yogurt.

Try varying this recipe by adding chopped tomato and cauliflower to the onion and garlic mixture, and by varying the levels of hot curry spice. 

Pumpkin Lasagna

By Pam Hadder

Another holiday season has come and gone. My home and kitchen are small and humble, but I always like to think BIG for holiday meals. It's casual and hearty, and I really have fun adapting traditional family favourites like turkey stuffing to my vegan diet. I also love to try new recipes and flavours.

I am a strict vegan, but my kids and family members are not, so the holiday feast presents challenges.  I have to be realistic and compromise - so, I still cook a turkey and make an orange jelly salad for the children (icky!), but all other dishes are vegan.  

This year the feast included an eclectic mix: vegan samosas with tamarind sauce, Channa Dal, whole grain buns, spinach salad with Mandarin orange and red onion courtesy of my sister, Sooz; cauliflower and carrots; cranberry sauce,  stuffing, gentle (mushroom) gravy, vegan cabbage rolls (thanx Mom!), mashed potatoes, pumpkin lasagna, assorted vegan dainties, and red wine sangria :)

Here is the recipe for my pumpkin lasagna - I was planning to make pumpkin perogies, but ran out of steam, and so the lasagna was born!  Hope you will try the recipe and enjoy it - fair warning, lasagna making  is more of a method, but I have done my best to give you accurate measures and proportions.  You will find it is very forgiving and simple to make, and whether or not you are vegan, I think you will appreciate the savoury and satisfying results :)

Pam's Pumpkin Lasagna

Ingredients:
One pkg. oven ready lasagna noodles
5 cups cooked and puréed pumpkin
2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms
2 medium cooking onions, finely diced
1-2 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp. summer savoury
1/3 cup of Vermouth or other sweet white wine
4 cups marinara sauce (home-made or store-bought)
4 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
Assortment of vegan cheese, finely grated (I use Italian flavour and cheddar flavour soy cheeses, Daiya Jack cheese, and soy Parmesan)
Fresh nutmeg, to taste
1 litre vegetable broth (home-made or store-bought)

Method:
To create the pumpkin filling, sauté the onion in the olive oil until clear.  Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook a bit longer - the mushrooms should be lightly browned, but take care not to burn the garlic.  Add in the Vermouth, savory and pumpkin, stirring to combine.  Add in enough of the broth to make a runny consistency - when working with the oven-ready lasagna noodles, additional moisture is essential.  When the mixture begins to bubble, cover and simmer for 25- 30 minutes to combine the flavours.  Meanwhile, grate the cheeses and set aside - you will need about 3-4 cups volume of grated cheese.

Preheat the oven to 350 and assemble your lasagna.  Begin with a 9 x 13 baking dish or medium-size lasagna pan.  Spread half of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan and place three dry noodles on top - do not worry if the lasagna noodles do not cover the whole bottom, as they expand when they cook.  Spread 1/3 of the pumpkin over the first layer of noodles. Add three more dry lasagna noodles, topped with 1/3 of the pumpkin sauce and a layer of sliced tomatoes (use half of the tomato slices).  Add a third layer of dry lasagna noodles and top with the final 1/3 of the pumpkin filling and top this layer with the second half of the tomato slices. Add a final layer of dry lasagna noodles, topped with the final 1/2 of the marinara sauce.  Spread your mixture of grated soy cheeses over top (use 1/2 of the 3-4 cup amount),  and grate the fresh nutmeg over top.  Reserve half of the cheese for later use - keep in the fridge. Cover the lasagna loosely with foil - creating a dome-like cover so that the cheese will not stick. Bake for 1.5 hours.  Remove the lasagna from the oven, and test noodles for tenderness.  If the noodles are not tender, you may need to add a few tablespoons of water or broth, re-cover with foil and bake for another 15 minutes.

If tender, top casserole with the reserved cheese and return to oven - broil for 5-7 minutes until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest 10 - 12 minutes before cutting into squares.  This lasagna can be varied using layers of your favourite veggies  in place of/or in addition to the fresh tomato slices - for example Japanese eggplant, zucchini or chopped broccoli.

This lasagna, like meat-based lasagna, is even better (and easier to portion!) on the second day.  I hope you will try making this and that you will enjoy putting your own stamp on this recipe by varying seasonings and vegetable choices xox.