General Pav's Seitan for A.W.E.D-Chinese

I usually make Chinese food at least once a week; be it Indo-Chinese, American Chinese or even Pavani Chinese(this is where I get extremely creative and add soy sauce and sesame oil in almost everything to make it Chinese). But I wanted to make something authentic Chinese for A.W.E.D-Chinese event (brain child of DK @ Culinary Buzaar)

So I searched online for General Tso’s Chicken (Seitan) recipe and found them here and here. I adapted both the recipes to make my own General Pav’s Seitan. I have to say it didn’t taste bad at all and it also had the same glazed look that General Tso’s dish does. I’m going to make it again.

Ingredients:
Seitan – 1 cup, homemade or store-bought (I used home-made Seitan)
Peppers – 2, I used one green, one red pepper
Carrots – 2 medium, thinly sliced
Chinese Broccoli – 1 bunch, chopped
Green Onions – 1 bunch, chopped
Ginger – ½” piece
Garlic – 2 cloves, crushed
All-purpose flour – 2tbsp
Cayenne Pepper – ½ tsp (or to taste)
Garlic powder – ½ tsp (or to taste)
Red Pepper flakes – ½ tsp
Salt & Pepper – to taste

For the Sauce:
Sherry (or Rice Wine) – 2 tbsp
Rice Wine vinegar – 1½ tbsp
Honey (or sugar) – 1½ tbsp
Corn Starch – 2 tbsp
Soy Sauce – 3tbsp


Method:

• Whisk AP flour, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt in a bowl. Drop seitan and toss around to coat with the flour.
  
• Heat 1 tbsp peanut oil in a pan and sauté seitan on medium-high heat till lightly browned on all sides. Remove and keep aside.
  
• Rinse and wipe the same pan clean; add 1 tbsp peanut oil, sauté on medium-high heat green onions, carrots and peppers along with ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes till tender and browned around the edges, about 8-10 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
  
• Now add Chinese broccoli, cover and let the leaves wilt.
  
• In the mean time mix all the ingredients for the sauce to make smooth slurry. Add some water to help mixing.
  
• Slowly stir in the sauce and sautéed seitan into the veggies and cook on medium flame until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve over brown rice or noodles.

Masala Egg Curry

This is another one of my MIL’s recipes. This masala gravy can also used to make mushroom or potato curries.

Ingredients:
Eggs – 5, boiled
Red Chili powder – ½ tsp
Lemon - 1

For the Masala:
Onions – 1 large, roughly chopped
Garlic – 6-7 cloves
Green chilies – 6-7
Peppercorn - 1tsp
Cinnamon stick – 1” piece
Almonds - 2 tbsp
Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves – ½ cup
Mint leaves – ½ cup


Method:

• Grind masala with little water to a smooth paste.
• Heat 2tbsp oil in a pan, add the masala and fry till it turns lightly brown and does not smell raw anymore, about 12-15 minutes.
• Add about 1cup water and salt to the gravy and let it come to a slow simmer (add more or less water depending on the consistency of the curry). Slide in the eggs along with salt and red chili powder. Simmer on low flame for another 7-8 minutes. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon and serve with rice.

I'm sending this to Mansi's Healthy Cooking event at Fun and Food. Thanks Mansi for hosting this healthy event.

Golden Bowl

This recipe is from Vegetarian Times magazine. I usually keep at least two varieties of frozen mixed vegetables in my freezer. Very handy when there is no time to clean, peel and chop the veggies. Simply thaw and use them in pulao or mixed vegetable curry or upma or anything for that matter.

(Recipe adapted from Vegetarian times)
Ingredients:
Extra firm Tofu – 1 15 oz. package
Onion –1 cup, finely chopped
Frozen mixed vegetables - 2 cups (I used Italian style blend that has broccoli, beans, squash etc)
Mushrooms – 1 cup, sliced
Cabbage - 1/2 cup, shredded
Carrots - 1/2 cup grated
Low-Sodium Soy sauce – 2 tsp plus more to taste
Nutritional Yeast – 2 tbsp, or more to taste
Salt and Pepper – to taste
Brown Rice – 2 cups, cooked


Method:

• Heat 1tbsp vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add tofu and saute 10 and 15 minutes, until light brown all over. Sprinkle with soy sauce, and saute 2-3 minutes more to further brown tofu. Transfer tofu to paper-towel-lined plate.
• Drain and rinse skillet, and wipe dry.
• Heat 1tbsp oil over high heat. Add tofu and all vegetables. Saute 5-7 minutes, or until tofu is browned and vegetables are tender, tossing constantly with spatula. Sprinkle with soy sauce to taste. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast over tofu to coat. Saute a few seconds more. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Serve over brown rice.

This is my second entry to Protein Rich monthly event hosted by Sangeeth @ letusallcook.

Adzuki Beans – Kale Curry

This is a hearty and delicious curry that is very good for health too. Adzuki beans (red chori in Hindi) are small red colored beans that are high in protein (about 17grams in one cup of cooked beans) and are very good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese and B vitamins. Kale is considered to be highly nutritious vegetable with powerful anti-oxidant properties and is anti-inflammatory.

Ingredients:
Adzuki Beans – 1 cup, sorted, rinsed and soaked overnight or at least 8 hours
Kale – 1 bunch, roughly chopped
Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Tomato – 2 medium, chopped
Chole Masala – 2tsp
Red chili powder – ½ tsp
Amchoor – ½ tsp
Turmeric – pinch
Garlic – 2 cloves, crushed
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Pressure cook the soaked beans for 3-4 whistles (or add 3¼ cups water to 1cup soaked beans; cover and simmer for 45 minutes).
  
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan; add onions and sauté till light brown. Stir in turmeric and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
  
• Add the tomatoes; cover and cook till they turn mushy. Now add the masala, red chili powder and salt. Mix well and cook for 1 minute.
  
• Next add chopped kale; cover and let it wilt. Add the beans with ½ cup water; cover and cook again till the curry reaches the desired consistency. Serve with rice or roti.

This is my entry to Protein Rich monthly event hosted by Sangeeth @ letusallcook.