Sharan » Healthy Kitchen CD

Healthy Kitchen-Cooking Demos by SHARAN Experts

This CD was prepared in response to requests from participants who attended the Peas vs Pills workshops. Since the one day workshops don’t have cooking demos some participants were at a loss of how to make the different vegan dairy alternatives. This DVD has been made with the help pf past participants who are happy to share their experiences and their recipes. This is especially suitable for India besides soya milk and tofu, vegan dairy alternatives are not easily available.

To order your copy of this DVD, please send a demand draft or multicity cheque of Rs 100 for postage within India to
SHARAN/ Dr Nandita Shah
Aurolec Premises, Kuilapalayam, Auroville 605104, Tamil Nadu, India

Please also send an email to nandita@sharan-india.org to inform us of your order.

I. Menu
1. Coconut Milk by Dr. Nandita Shah
2. Rice Milk by Dr. Nandita Shah
3. Almond Milk by Dr. Nandita Shah
4. Rejeuvelac by Dr. Nandita Shah
5. Peanut Butter by Dr. Nandita Shah
6. Nut Cheese by Dr. Nandita Shah
7. Vegan Boursin by Dr. Nandita Shah
8. Soy Yogurt by Dr. Nandita Shah
9. Cashew Smoothie by Marisa Paolillo
10. Mock Sour Cream by Marisa Paolillo
11. Raw Vegan Mayonnaise by Marisa Paolillo
12. Soya Milk by Nayna Parekh
13. Soya Yogurt by Nayna Parekh
14. Cucumber Raita by Nayna Parekh
15. Soya Shrikand by Nayna Parekh
16. Potato Tofu Bundle by Saroj Chaudhury
17. Health Aftermint by Saroj Chaudhury
18. Groundnut Milk by Dr. Rupa Shah
19. Groundnut Yogurt by Dr. Rupa Shah
20. Groundnut buttermilk by Dr. Rupa Shah
21. Groundnut rice by Dr. Rupa Shah
22. Groundnut dahi kadi by Dr. Rupa Shah
23. Bhaidku by Dr. Rupa Shah
24. Banana Milk Shake by Meghna Raj
25. Mint Drink by Meghna Raj
26. White Sauce by Meghna Raj

II. Recipes

1. Coconut milk
1 cup grated fresh mature coconut (not drinking coconut).
1 cup warm water

Grate a coconut and place in the grinder till the grinder is ½ full. Add a ½ cup of warm water and grind. Sieve the mixture through a sieve with slightly large mesh. Squeeze the substance well with a spoon or with the hands to take out all the milk. Save the fibre. Once all the milk is extracted, repeat the procedure with the fibre and a little water to extract the remaining milk. Discard the fibre.

2. Rice milk
4 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked rice (white or brown) or 1 cup cooked rice (white or brown)
1 vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cook rice, vanilla bean or extract and water until very soft.
Let cool, remove vanilla bean (if using) and put mixture into blender or food processor. Blend until very smooth.
Let stand for at least 30 minutes, and then pour the liquid on top into another container being careful not to let the sediments in or strain it. Refrigerate. It can be kept for at least 48 hours. Serve cold.

3. Almond Milk
20 whole almonds, soaked in water overnight
2 cups fresh water
2 dates

After the almonds have soaked overnight, drain and discard soaking water. (if desired, these almonds can be peeled) In a blender, blend almonds to form a smooth paste adding a little water if needed. Add the dates and blend again and finally add the rest of the fresh water.
Strain the mixture to remove any almond particles that may be left.  Once prepared, the milk should be refrigerated. It can be kept for up to 4 days.

Makes 2 servings

4. Rejuvelac
½ cup wheat berries (wheat grains that have not been milled)
water

Rejuvelac is the best starter for vegan curds. When you make some you can also drink it as a health drink which restores bacterial flora and which is rich in B12, make vegan cheeses out of it or make curds out of it. Rejuvelac can also be stored in the refrigerator for some time and can be used any time.

Wash the wheat berries and soak them in a jar in 1 cup drinking water. Leave this jar open for 24 hours in a cupboard or keep it lightly covered. In case of very cold temperatures it could be left a little longer. Depending on the climate it should take between 1 – 5 days but in India. In the summer it is ready in one day, in the winter it can take longer. You will know that it is ready by the color and taste.

The water will turn a little yellowish or serum colored and will have a sweet fermented smell. Pour this rejeuvelac into a glass. If desired another cup of water may be added to the wheat berries to produce more rejeuvelac after another 24 hours. It can be drunk or used to make still more cheese. After 2 such uses the wheat berries are usually thrown away.

5. Peanut Butter
Roast peanuts on a slow flame till the skins crack. Do not let the seeds burn. Roll them between your hands to let the thin skins fall off the peanuts, and then separate from the skins. Place them in the grinder up to a height of 1 inch. Grind until it turns to butter. If it is not evenly crushed, stir and grind again. (You can also use un-skinned peanuts if you like. The appearance changes a bit as also the taste, but its still good. It is healthier and quicker!)

Variations: you can use different nuts and seeds to make your own butters using the same method. Sunflower seeds, cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts etc All do not need roasting – eg cashew butter is good un-roasted. You can also mix different seed butters.

6. Nut Cheese
¼ - ½ cup rejeuvelac (see above for the recipe)
1 cup whole or broken raw cashews
Salt, pepper and herbs to taste

This recipe makes a healthy cholesterol free cheese which tastes amazingly like dairy cheese. It needs to be made before hand as it takes 2 or more days to get the mature cheese. This cheese bakes well, works well on pizzas and cheese toast too.

Grind the raw cashews to form a powder (it does not need to be absolutely fine) and then put this into a jar, which has at least twice the volume of the cashews. Pour Rejeuvelac over the cashews so that they are covered with it. Extra rejeuvelac can be drunk or thrown away. The whole mixture will now ferment and grow so if the jar is too small it can overflow. Cover the jar lightly so that it’s not airtight.

After about 6 – 8 hours the cheese is ready. Add salt, pepper and herbs or other seasonings. Serve.

Variations
You can make different tasting cheeses by fermenting different substances

Instead of cashews try soaked almonds / sesame / sunflower seed / other nuts for stronger and different tasting cheeses

Tofu – tofu is blended with rejeuvelac and allowed to stay outside for 8 – 24 hours. Add salt and herbs if desired. This is a great substitute for ricotta cheese

7. Vegan Boursin
100g tofu
100g cashews soaked in water
Salt
Garlic ground or minced fine
Fresh herbs (basil, tarragon, parsley or as you like)
Freshly ground pepper

Strain the cashews and mince or chop finely in a blender. Add the tofu and garlic in the blender to make a thick but creamy spread. Remove from the blender into a bowl.

Add salt to taste and finely minced fresh herbs and fresh pepper and stir together. Yeast flakes can be added for a cheesier taste if available but are not necessary.

8. Soy Yogurt
2 cup soy Milk
4 Tbsp rejeuvelac

The soy yogurt is not identical to dairy yogurt but it works well in cooking. As a starter you can use rejeuvelac. Bring the soymilk to 42-45°C. The culture will only thrive in a narrow temperature range, too cool and it won’t be active, too hot and it will die. It is just below body temperature so it should be the same temperature as baby’s milk. Add approx 1 tsp of rejeuvelac to every ½ cup soya milk. and mix well with a sterile spoon. Do not stir or move the container till the yogurt sets in - about 5 - 6 hours. Chill.

9. Cashew Smoothie
1 cup frozen bananas (peel the banana chop it then freeze it)
1 cup frozen papaya or mango
2 Tbsp cashew butter

All the fruit to thaw for 5 minutes. Chop into smaller pieces. Add
everything into a food processor and blend. Add a bit of water to the
food processor if it is too thick.

10. Mock Sour Cream or cashew ‘yogurt’ dip
1 cup soaked cashews
½ cup water
2 Tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp salt
2 Tbsp minced green onion
2 Tbsp minced carrot
1 Tbsp minced dill

In food processor blend everything except green onion, carrot, dill.
When mixture is smooth and creamy stir in the other ingredients.

11. Raw Vegan Mayonnaise
2 cups of cashews
2 tablespoons lemon juice
rock salt to taste
1 red capsicum minced
1 clove garlic
1 tomato chopped
2 tsp parsely
2 stalks celery
½ chopped white onion

Blend everything except the last 3 ingredients in the blender. Once smooth, add the rest. Done! You have a fantastic healthy raw sandwich spread.

12. Soya Milk
1 cup of soybeans, soaked in water overnight
water

Drain and discard soaking water from the soya beans. Grind the beans in the blender, making a smooth paste. Add water till you have the right consistency. Boil the milk for 20 minutes stirring while boiling. Cool and refrigerate. You can use the refrigerated milk for three days

13. Soya Yogurt
1 lt unsweetened soy milk
2 tbls yogurt

Warm the milk to body temperature. Prepare a bowl with 2 tbls plain yogurt for 1 lt soymilk. Add warm milk and keep overnight or for more or less hours depending on the room temperature. Once formed, the yogurt can be used for three days. The same yogurt can be used to cultivate the yogurt next time.

14. Cucumber Raita
2 cups of soya yoghurt
1 cup of Shredded cucumber
1 tbsp fresh mint minced
1 piece of chopped green chilli
1 tbsp mustard seeds ground
Sea salt to taste
1 tbsp fresh green coriander leaves finely chopped for Garnishing.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve cold.

15. Soya Shrikand
3 cups of soya yogurt
nuts (blanched and sliced almonds and pistachios)
cardamom
3 ½ stevia powder (sweetener)
saffron

Put the yogurt in cheese cloth; squeeze out excess water. Add stevia poweder, cardamom and saffron; decorate it with nuts.

16. Potato Tofu Bundle
2 med steamed ( salt mixed ) potato slices backed or steamed
1/4 tomato slices ( med )
1/4 zuccini slices ( med )
4 thin slices of tofu ( med )
4 leaves basil ( crushed )
2 spring onion greens
1/2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp tomato sauce
salt pepper

Heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the zucchini. When cooked add the crushed basil, salt and pepper.
on 1 slice potato
keep little tomato sauce
1 slice zucchini
1 slice tofu
1 slice tomato

Apply tomato sauce on top of potato slice. Add salt and pepper, a slice of tofu, a dash of sauce, a slice of zucchini, a slice of tomato, and then another slice of potato. Hold together with a tooth pick; tie bundle with spring onion green. Serve.

17. Health Aftermint
For calcium, anioxdants, minerals etc
100 gm sesame seeds slight roasted
100 gm flax seeds slight roasted
50 gm aniseed slight roasted
50 gm corriander daal slight roasted

Mix all these. You can have 1 tbsp after lunch. The mixture can also be powdered.
Store in air tight bottle. Rich in calcium and omega 3 too.

18. Ground nut Milk
100 gm ground nuts
200 ml water.

Soak 100 gms of ground nuts for 4 hours. Grind finely, to a smooth pastea adding just abit of water. Once it’s a smooth paste, add more water. Extract as much ground nut milk – using ½ litre of water. Strain the milk. (This is ground nut milk). Stir-Boil on low fire, then cool to room temperature.

19. Ground nut yogurt
Use thick milk.
Set curds as usual for ground nut curds. The quality of curd depends on the ground nuts.

20. Ground nut yogurt butter milk
Add water to the ground nut yogurt. Churn well with a hand mixie. Add salt, roasted cumin powder. Garnish with coriander leaves.

21. Ground nut yogurt rice
2 cup cooked rice
½ cup ground nut yogurt
Minimum oil or no oil.
Udad daal
Mustard seeds
Hing (asafoetida)
Curry leaves
Ginger pieces
Green chilli cut into small pieces
Coriander leaves finely chopped for garnishing
Salt to taste
Heat a pan on stove.

Add minimum oil or no oil. Add udad daal. Let it get roasted lightly. It should be just light pink in colour. Now add mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Now add hing or asafoetida. Add curry leaves. Now add ginger and chillies. Now add the rice and yogurt or the ground nut butter milk mixture. Add salt to taste. Stir well for about 2 minutes. Let it cool. Add coriander leaves to garnish.
It tastes very good, even when cooled well.

22. Ground nut Dahi Kadhi
Besan flour
Ground nut butter milk
Salt,
Ginger,
Green chilli,
Jaggery,
Curry leaves,
Methi seeds,
Coriander chopped to garnish.

Mix the besan flour & the butter milk. Add the above ingredients. Heat this mixture on slow flame for about 5 minutes. Add ginger, salt, and jaggery to taste
For the tempering – take a little oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves
Tastes very good.

23. Bhaidku

For the flour
2 cup rice
1 cup Bajri
1 cup jawar
1 cup Mung Daal,
1 cup Muth

For the Bhaidku
Water
Ajwain seeds
Asafoetida
Groundnut or soya buttermilk
Salt to taste
Ginger chilly paste (optional)
Curry leaves
Coriander for garnish

All the above ingredients are put in a dry grinder and made into a coarse flour which can be stored.

When you want to make the Bhaidku, take 3 tbsp of flour, Roast for a few minutes. Add 1 cup water and a few ajwain seeds to taste. Cook for about 7 minutes. When cooked add ground nut butter milk or soya buttermilk. Mix well. Add salt, add ginger chilli paste if desired, asafoetida, a few curry leaves. Cook for 3 more minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Makes a good breakfast.

24. Banana Milkshake
2 bananas
seedless date or jaggery syrup
1 cup coconut milk (can use any other vegan milk)

Blend all to make a smooth mixture chill and serve.

25. Mint Drink
2 glasses of water
30 gm mint leaves
Juice of 2 lemons
4 tsp jaggery syrup or kaakvi
2 tbsp grated fresh apple

Blend the mint leaves and lemon juice. Add the blended mixture in the water and put the jaggery syrup and grated apple. Serve chilled.

26. White Sauce
boiled potatoes
coconut milk
salt
oregano
whole pepper

Blend the mixture. Add more milk if necessary. Boil it to take out the starchy taste. Can be used with pasta or vegetables