Vegan Series.... Friends, Not Food! Recipe #1- Vegan Banana Walnut Muffins

Friends, Not Food is a special name I like to give these series. Though I am not vegan, I prefer to open up my mind to trying this at least once a week. Besides, it makes me feel good. Vegan does not automatically mean raw or tasteless. It can still be delicious & perfect if we add the right flavours...

This first recipe is a vegan banana walnut muffin (no eggs, no dairy). But it still contains wheat and nuts, so you might want to replace those if you are allergic. These can make a perfect tea time snack and they are great because they use less sugar. I first made these for a group of friends and they absolutely loved it.

I will be posting tips because vegan cooking differs from vegetarian slightly, so pls stay tuned to those as well :-)


BANANA WALNUT MUFFINS

Ingredients
Almond Milk: makes about 100 ml which is what you need for this recipe
50g almonds, soaked overnight and peeled
50-60 ml water
Bit more than 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Wet
3 bananas, peeled and mashed (preferably overripe)
2 tbsp coconut oil (30 ml)
Less than 1/3 cup (50 ml) normal cooking oil- I used rice bran; you may use your choice of cooking oil or margarine
More than 1/3 cup or less than 1/2 cup (90-100 ml) maple syrup
2 tbsp brown sugar
100 ml or so almond milk- see above recipe

Dry
1 cup (250g) all purpose flour
5 tbsp (75g) whole-wheat flour (atta: Hindi)
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2-1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
About 1/4 cup (60g) walnuts, chopped


Method:
1)
a. Preheat oven (normal ovens don't have fans, otherwise I have indicated fan)
- Normal Celsius: 180 deg C
- Normal Fahrenheit: 350 deg C
- Gas Mark 4
- Normal Fan Celsius: 140-160 deg C
- Normal Fan Fahrenheit: 284-320 deg F

b. Grease your muffin tins and line with cupcake cases

2) Blend almonds & water together into liquid. Add vanilla essence and set aside.

3) Mix bananas, almond milk, oils, syrup and sugar. Cream until well-incorporated. It will not be as fluffy as butter sugar mixture, but the mixture should be well mixed only. Don't worry about bananas being a bit lumpy, it makes muffins chunkier! :-)

4) Sift all purpose & whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda & cinnamon. Add salt and mix well. You can just do this directly into the bowl, but for best results, you should mix the flours etc separately from the liquid. 

5)  Fold in walnuts and mix gently with a spatula. Scoop batter into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown. Keep an eye on it and test with toothpick to make sure they are done.

6) Let your muffins cool and enjoy with tea or coffee :-P


- This recipe is tried & tested. Picture will soon follow...



Note:
Gluten free- if you want, you may replace both types of flour with your choice of gluten free flour

Nut allergies- you may replace with dried fruit like raisins or cranberries, otherwise oatmeal or chocolate chips are good too.

Vegetarian Cakes Available in Singapore-Nurture Cakes- Gourmet Cakes with Egg & Eggless Cakes

I first came across this lady when we were ordering a cake last year for my twenty-first birthday. We ordered a chocolate cake with chocolate crunch ball topping & a chocolate ganache icing. The cake was so wonderful, that we never hesitated with what to order for my brother's birthday. Yes, it was the same cake.

What surprised me was that both times, the cakes were not only flavoured well, but also very moist, which are very difficult to achieve with eggless cakes. I, myself, have baked eggless cakes, and it is very hard to get them to rise and to be moist at the same time. When we bake eggless cakes, we need to know which replacement for egg is best for which type, e.g. when we desire a soft cake, then we need something which will give the cake a lift and a moistness, like baking soda and lemon juice. If it is a brownie, then maybe we might need to try something like yoghurt which is more just for binding.

Ms. Manjari Jain has been baking cakes for over 5 years now. Her mission is, "Eggless cakes don't have to be a compromise," She does both cakes with egg and eggless cakes. If you specify certain products that you are unable to consume, she will take that into consideration as well, e.g. gelatine. She will then ensure that she uses something that meets that criteria, e.g. for a photo cake, she can use both edible photo paper with gelatine or vegetarian.

This year, I will be having her vanilla cake, and with that, there will be pictures of the cake to follow.
Meanwhile, I will post up pictures of the other cakes that she has made in the past, eggless and vegetarian.

Also adding Ms. Manjari's contact details:

Nurture Cakes
130 Tanjong Rhu Road
Pebble Bay
Singapore

Tel (mobile): +8161 4940
Email: manjarijain74@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Nurture-Cakes-Gourmet-cakes-with-egg-and-eggless-cakes-168960999882394/about/?ref=page_internal
Blogspot: http://nurturecakes.blogspot.sg/2010/09/eggless-cakes-in-singapore.html

Thank you, Ms. Manjari, for all the wonderful cakes! :P <3

Lunch Box Surprise- Vegetarian Nasi Briyani (Indian Malaysian Style Fried Rice with Mock Mutton): In Loving Memory of our Former President, Mr. S.R. Nathan (1924-2016)

A miracle occurred on 3rd July 1924, in the birth of one of our national heroes, our Former President, Mr. Sellapan Ramanathan, known for short as Mr. SR Nathan. All of us who have known of him must probably be aware that his life was never that easy in the start. But, he picked up the pieces and never gave up.

Mr. Nathan, like many other leaders of Singapore, always put "country before self". Singapore was his first love before his lovely wife, Mrs. Urmila (Umi) Nandey Nathan. With her, he had two children, a daughter, Ms. Juthika Ramanathan Cheong & a son, Mr. Osith Ramanathan, and in due course, he was blessed with 3 grandchildren, a girl (Monisha Cheong) & 2 boys (Kiron & Kheshin Cheong).

Mr. Nathan was a hero to many of us. Those who know of the Laju incident, probably are aware that he risked his life for the hostages on board. He loved art and he loved people, often stopping to meet different people from various walks of life. I myself had the pleasure of hearing a story from my father.

My father once witnessed a boy who had fallen off his scooter and started crying. Many people stopped to see what happened. As soon as the boy's father helped him up, President Nathan himself walked up to the little boy and dusted his pant legs off the dust and sand that had collected. He did not worry whether he would get his hands dirty. After that, my respect, admiration and love for the man has not and will never be the same again.

Mr. Nathan was a foodie according to all his friends and family. His favourite was nasi briyani and he preferred simple local dishes like mee goreng (fried noodles), char kway teow (flat rice noodles with soy sauce) and nasi lemak (mixed rice).

Mr. Nathan passed away on 22nd August 2016 at Singapore General Hospital following a stroke at the age of 92.

In this episode of Lunch Box Surprise, I chose to do a vegetarian nasi briyani (Indian Malaysian rice with curried meat) in his memory. I opted to do a low fat version of this, as Mr. Nathan was like a grandfather to the youth and so, I chose to dedicate this healthier version also to our senior citizens, who are health conscious.

Here is the recipe for your viewing pleasure:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdS8HVXjadI

Ingredients
Nasi Minyak (Rice)
1/2 cup Basmati or any other Indian long grain rice, washed, soaked for 1/2 an hour and either parboiled or cooked
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp Indian clarified butter (desi ghee)
1 small stick cinnamon (daalchini: Hindi, kayu manis: Malay)
4-5 pcs green cardamom (elaichi: Hindi, photo: Sindhi, buah pelaga: Malay)
3 pcs cloves (laung: Hindi, cengkih: Malay)
4-5 pcs black peppercorns (kaali mirch ka daana: Hindi, biji lada hitam: Indonesian)
2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 small onion, blended or chopped finely
1/4 tsp saffron, mixed in 1 tbsp hot milk (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder (dhania: Hindi, dhaana: Sindhi, serbuk ketumbar: Indonesian/Malay)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi: Hindi, serbuk kunyit: Indonesian/Malay)
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 tsp (or 1 small drop) kewra essence* or rose essence
1/4 tsp (or 1 small drop) pandan essence (screwpine essence)

Mock Meat
100g mock mutton (vegetarian), defrosted and cut into chunks
Pinch of meat tenderiser or a little bit of raw papaya juice
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp Indian clarified butter (desi ghee)
1 small stick cinnamon (daalchini: Hindi, kayu manis: Malay)
2-3 pcs green cardamom (elaichi: Hindi, photo: Sindhi, buah pelaga: Malay)
3 pcs cloves (laung: Hindi, cengkih: Malay)
2-3 pcs black peppercorns (kaali mirch ka daana: Hindi, biji lada hitam: Indonesian)
2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 small onion, blended or chopped finely
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder (dhania: Hindi, dhaana: Sindhi, serbuk ketumbar: Indonesian/Malay)
2 tsp biryani masala (can be found prepackaged at any Indian supermarket)
Little lemon juice

Garnish
2 tbsp coriander leaves (dhania patta: Hindi, kotmir: Sindhi, daun ketumbar: Indonesian/Malay), finely chopped
2 tbsp cashew nuts, roasted
12 slices onion, air fried or sautéed

METHOD:
1. Prepare your mock meat first. In a bowl, mix mutton, tenderiser, ginger and garlic paste, as well as lemon juice. Stir well and let it sit for at least 1/2 an hour, to soak up the flavours.

Nasi Minyak (Rice)
1. Heat oil and ghee, add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and peppercorns. Add ginger, garlic and onion. Stir till onion is golden brown.
2. Add very little water, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cover and cook for a little while. The water is only required so that the onions do not burn.
3.  Add artificial flavourings and rice; stir well. For best results, you can also add saffron milk as mentioned above.
4. Cook till water vanishes. Keep rice aside.

Mock Meat
1. Heat ghee, add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and peppercorns.
2. Add ginger, garlic and onion. Mix well and add meat.
3. Add spices, salt and a little water. Mix well, and cover and cook for a little while, so that all the flavours are absorbed.
4. Add lemon juice and biryani masala, mix well and cover for a little while more.

Assembling
1. Put some nasi minyak on one side of the plate.
2. Put some meat on the other side of the plate.
3. Garnish this with coriander, air fried onion and cashew nuts.
4. Serve and enjoy however you like. I served with curried potato, pickles (achar) and fresh homemade yoghurt.

Vegetarian Nasi Briyani
As prepared by myself (lilpanda108)

Our Former President of Singapore
Mr. Sellapan Ramanathan (SR Nathan)
1924-2016

Bajri Jo Dodo (Millet Flour Flatbread)

Hi guys, this is a recipe for a popular Sindhi breakfast item... If you are looking for a different breakfast, please try this. It's nutritious (millet flour is a great replacement for white flour, and is protein-rich and fibrous), and really delicious and spicy.

This recipe is dedicated to the loving memory of my grandfather, who loved to eat this with yoghurt. He was born on 16th October 1934, and passed away on 7th December 2000.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups bajri (millet) flour (OR 1 1/2 cups bajri-Sindhi/bajra- Hindi or millet flour, and 1/2 cup atta or whole wheat flour)
1 tsp small cumin seeds (jeeri- Sindhi)
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1/2 cup chives, chopped finely
1/2 cup coriander leaves, chopped finely
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp amchur (mango powder)
1/4 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 cup ghee (clarified butter) as required

1. In a hand blender, add onion,  chives, coriander leaves, amchur and coriander seeds.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix flours, cumin seeds and salt. Knead with ghee and water.
3. Add the paste and make a thick dough.
4. Separate into balls and roll out into 1/4 inch thickness.
5. Heat griddle and cook one side. Prick holes into the other side and pour a little ghee into it.
6. Cook on other side till whole bread is golden brown.
7. Serve hot with yoghurt.

Mystery Box Fridays- Episode 1 (Vegetarian Mee Siam- In Loving Memory of our Founding Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew)

Dear Viewers,

It is with immense honour that I post this video on my blog. It is not only the first ever video for Mystery Box Fridays (details on 'Mystery Box Fridays' post), but also, it is a humble tribute to one of the finest world leaders ever, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. This is a very small thing as compared to what he did for Singapore. Singapore was his first love and the most important thing for him. He lent a hand to all those who needed him especially during war time, and he turned Singapore from a tiny fishing village into a major city and trading port. Today, because of him, millions of tourists come to visit us and actually report wonderful things about us. 

According to an interview with Mdm. Monica Lee, Mr. Lee loved Singaporean fare like gado gado (vegetable salad with peanut sauce) and mee siam (what we are going to prepare here). As explained here, mee siam is a noodle dish with coconut milk and other fragrant spices. This is a wet version of mee siam and on this blog, there is another recipe for dry mee siam. 

Please watch this video and give your views: 

Transcript of the recipe is available here. 

VEGETARIAN MEE SIAM- GLASS NOODLES WITH VEGETABLES, COCONUT MILK AND OTHER FRAGRANT SPICES

Serves: 6-8 people

Calories: 1, 454
Per person: 181.25 

For chilli broth: 

4 dry red chillies
1 fresh red chilli 

1/2" ginger

3 small shallots

4 cloves garlic

1/2 stalk lemongrass

2 tsp sambal belacan
2-3 tsp salted soybeans (tau chio-Chinese), washed and drained- gets rid of excess saltiness

1 tsp soy sauce

Salt to taste

1-2 tsp tamarind paste (soak tamarind in water before use)
1-2 tbsp oil for frying paste
About 1/2 tsp chives, finely chopped - Chinese chives

1/4 cup coconut milk OR 2 tbsp coconut milk mixed with less than 1/4-1/2 cup low fat milk 

1/2 cup hard tofu puffs (tau pok- Chinese), cut into juliennes

*Ginger, garlic, shallots and lemongrass need to be washed before use, peeled and cut roughly. 

For main noodle preparation: 

150g rice noodles or vermicelli (also known as 'bee hoon'- Chinese), washed, drained and boiled  before use
1/2 cup bean sprouts (taugay- Chinese)

2-3 slices mock (vegetarian) wu fish, cut into juliennes - optional

1 tbsp oil for stir-frying

 Salt to taste

*Bean sprouts need to be washed before use

For garnish: 

Chives, finely chopped- about 1/2 tsp

Small limes (about 4)

METHOD
1. In a blender, blend dry red chillies, fresh red chillies, ginger, garlic, shallots and lemongrass together.
2. Add salted soybeans, soy sauce, salt if needed and tamarind water. Mix well.
3. For best results, heat oil in a pan and fry the paste to get rid of raw flavours. If not, then just bring mixture to a boil with lots of water.
4. Add chives and coconut milk to make a nice broth, throw in the tau pok and bring to a boil.cook for 2 mins, before reducing to a low simmer.
5. For noodles, heat a bit of oil and add bean sprouts. Add wu fish if you wish. Cook till crunchy.
6. Add noodles and top with a little sambal belacan to give pink colour. Mix well.
7. Pile the noodles onto a plate with gravy, and garnish with chives and small limes. Serve hot.