Monday, November 22, 2010

VeganMoFo: Indian Eggplant, Collards & Mango Lassi

Today we're off to amazing India!

I've been to India twice now, and the glory of Indian food is definitely one of the many great joys of traveling there. Indians are absolutely down with vegetarian food... in fact, they usually have to advertise if they offer meat, so people looking for meaty options will know where to go! Reverse-o Land! However, they are also nuts for secretly injecting ghee and curds into everything they make, so us vegans usually end up with a sore tummy every once in a while. Nonetheless, India food is definitely one of my most favorite cuisines, and it wasn't easy to pick just one meal from the countless glorious options.

So, to help me decide, I decided to stay true to my usual "eat local, eat seasonal" ethos (which hasn't always been easy during this "Around the World in 30 Days" project) - and I went with a simple meal of Smoked Eggplant, Collard Greens with Asafetida, and rice. All recipes are from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian.

This whole meal came together quite quickly and was really good, and plenty spicy! Yeah! In order to prepare for our first trip to India, I started loading up on the hot sauce whenever we'd go out for Mexican food... the equivalent of weight lifting for my tender taste buds. It definitely worked, and I have much more of an appetite for spicy foods now than I ever did before that trip. Both the eggplant and the collards were perfectly spicy, and they were a great compliment to each other. The collards have an earthy, just-barely-bitter quality that was a perfect balance with the sweetness of the eggplant. mmm!

Also! Vegan Mango Lassi to go along with dinner. The (soy) yogurt here was a great friend with such a spicy dinner. I don't usually let myself buy too many mangoes... but I have found a little produce shop near my house which has been selling the most incredible football-sized mangoes grown right here in California! I'm sure they're from Southern California, so they definitely aren't local, but it's not like they're flying in from Thailand either. I won't make a habit of it, but it's nice to have a tropical fruit every once in a while!

Here's an old picture of me, from my first trip to India. A lovely woman named Galesh is dressing me up in her sari... it was really a joy to meet Galesh and her family. I still think of them often!

10 comments:

  1. I haven't had a lassi in so long. I also like that glass. Glass of win!

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  2. I <3 India, and that photo of you! This meal is just my taste. I have never made Indian spiced collards, but this is officially on my to-do list now.

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  3. That eggplant looks so delicious! I love the pic you in the sari; it suits you. How wonderful to have traveled to India twice.

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  4. I love, love Indian food and I really like that you picked two foods that aren't usually featured in Indian food (well, eggplant is I suppose but not collards so much).
    BUT WHERE IS THE NAAN??
    Looks delicious anyway.

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  5. i love the picture of Galesh dressing you in the sari. the sari is beauuuutiful, Amey! i'm down with indian eats, too - although it's been about a bahbillion years since dan and i have enjoyed them. gonna have to change this, and i think i'm gonna need a mango lassi in my life soon, too. a tasty, spicy meal that comes together super fast is the best! reverse-o land made me laugh. thanks, Amey!

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  6. What a beautiful sari. And dinner looks great, too!

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  7. The collards sound wonderful, and Indian eggplant dishes are always some of my favorites. This looks like a wonderful meal!

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  8. Oh how I adore Indian food. I haven't been to India yet but I have already fantasized about all the meals I would potentially eat if I do visit. I'm in training for spicy-food tolerance as well, but I probably still have a ways to go before I am 'there'. Practice makes perfect, and luckily practice is delicious too :)

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  9. Mmm, I just love Indian food (I have yet to meet a vegan who doesn't, actually) but haven't explored too much in that culinary arena myself. Smoked eggplant sounds amazing- That would be my first choice of where to start!

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  10. That looks like one plate of deliciousness, I never ever cook Indian food but I really should.

    And you look gorgeous in that sari!

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