8 Grilled Vegetarian/Vegan Delights

A compilation of eight Vegetarian/Vegan grill recipes.

I am bringing to you a Tempting Tuesday post with lots of color and vibrance today. This post is a compilation of eight of my favorite recipes that involve grilling. Late summer is the perfect time to bring out the grill and char those beautiful summer vegetables and produce and make a healthy vibrant meal.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and bring out that grill!

Vegetarian Souvlaki Rolls [Vegan option available]

Greek flavored grilled vegetables and a zingy yogurt sauce, rolled in your favorite bread.  I highly recommend a garlic naan bread. Just the colors in this dish will brighten up your day. Use vegan yogurt to make the recipe vegan.

Grilled Cauliflower Summer Bowls [Vegan]

A vibrant summer bowl of spicy grilled Cauliflower, chewy Black Rice, fresh vibrant summer salad all tossed with a mint coriander oil. Rainbow in a bowl!

Grilled Vegetable Open Sandwich [Vegan]

Grilled Summer vegetables over a bed of mashed ripe avocado on a slice of crusty sourdough bread. Perfect for healthy mornings!

Corn Tomato Bharta [Vegan]

Pureed sweet summer tomatoes and sweet corn simmer along with aromatics and spices to make a delicious curry. Serve it up hot with roti, naan or rice.

Grilled Eggplant and Coriander Hummus Rolls [Vegan]

There is no way we are talking about grilling and skipping the eggplant. Thinly sliced eggplant is grilled and rolled with coriander (cilantro) hummus to make finger licking rolls.

Grilled Vegetable Open Sandwich [Vegan option available]

Two crusty chunks of rye bread, a generous helping of creamy tartar sauce and the hero - a garlic and chilli marinated slab of Paneer that is grilled to perfection. Oh ya and lettuce too. That's what is in this Grilled Paneer Sub Sandwich. Replace the Paneer with Tofu to make the recipe vegan.

Instant Paneer Tikka [Vegan option available]

Paneer, Capsicum and Tomato coated in an instant marinade of spices and grilled to make a quick weekday snack. This Paneer Tikka is perfect for the lunch box too. Replace the Paneer with Tofu to make the recipe vegan.

Bean and Grilled Veggie Burger with Coriander Cashew Sauce [Vegan]

Vegan burger with a patty made from grilled vegetables and red kidney beans and topped with a sauce made from coriander and cashews.

If you tried these recipes, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook, tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com. I'd love to see what you are upto. 

If you like these recipes, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

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Bangalore Street Style Tomato Puri Chaat Recipe | Tomato Slice Recipe

Popular Bangalore Street food, made by topping tomato slices with a mix of sweet and spicy chutneys and topped off with salted puffed rice.

Do you want something (some what) healthy, that could ignite your taste buds? And how much more convenient would it be if this "healthy-tastebud-igniter" were ready in 15 minutes? 

Awesome!!! Right?

Presenting Tomato Puri or Tomato Slice Chaat, right from the streets of Bangalore. 

This chaat uses tomatoes like canapes. Tomato slices are flavored with sweet and tangy Tamarind-Date Chutney and the fresh and spicy Mint-Coriander Chutney. Top it up with some finely chopped onions, grated carrots and chopped coriander for added crunch. It also makes it almost a salad!! Wait, there are more toppings - the quintessential Sev, the only unhealthy thing out here. Sev is deep fried savory strands made from gram flour and is always present in any chaat. It is available in all super markets/ Indian stores very easily. After the sev, the whole plate is covered with a layer of salted puffed rice or churmuri or murmura.

If you are wondering why this is called "Puri" when there is no wheat and nothing has been deep fried, let me enlighten you my friend. The puri in the Tomato Puri is the puffed rice. Areas around Bangalore refer to it as "Kadle Puri" and hence, the puri since it overshadows the entire plate.

The chaat vendors also make versions where they replace the tomato slices with slices of cucumber. You can try that too, or make a mix of both.

Prep Advice: 

• Since puffed rice has a tendency to soften when exposed to moisture, I suggest you add it only when you are ready to serve. 
• The chutneys can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge. The Tamarind-Date Chutney will last several weeks, while the Mint Coriander Chutney stays good for 2-3 days. 

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

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Tomato Puri Recipe | Tomato Slice Chaat Recipe

Popular Bangalore Street food, made by topping tomato slices with a mix of sweet and spicy chutneys and topped off with salted puffed rice. Vegan and healthy tomato canapes recipe.

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     0 minutes
Total time:     15 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 firm Tomatoes
1 small Onion
0.5 Carrot
2 Tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped
4 Tbsp Tamarind Date Chutney
4 Tbsp Mint Coriander Chutney
2 cups Puffed Rice
0.5 cup Sev
0.5 Lime
Salt to taste
Chaat Masala to taste

Method:

1. Slice the tomatoes, at least 3mm thick.
2. Finely chop the onions and grate the carrot.
3. Add chopped coriander to the onions and carrot. Squeeze the lime and mix well.
4. Lay out the tomatoes on the plate with no overlap.
5. Sprinkle salt and chaat masala on the tomato slices.
6. Spoon the tamarind date chutney and the mint coriander chutney on each of the tomato slices.
7. Spoon the onion-carrot mix on the tomato slices.
8. Add sev to each of the tomato slices.
9. Add the puffed rice over the tomato slices and serve immediately.
10. Don't let it sit too long, else the puffed rice will soften.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Pani Puri

Dahi Bread Chaat

Masala Puri

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Bread Pizza Cups [Video]

Pizza in a cup - cups made with bread, filled with your favorite pizza toppings and sauce, topped with cheese and baked until the bread is crisp and cheese is oozy.

Tell me, do you love Pizza? Did you just say yes??? Then you will LOVE this recipe.

So, since you asked for more snacks, I've been sharing recipes for snacks here. Just early this week, I shared the recipe for Masala Bread Toast - a popular bakery item in Bangalore. And today, I bring to you Pizza in a cup. Cute, right?

These Pizza cups are straight out easy to make and they are highly customizable. All you need are fresh bread slices, your favorite pizza sauce, toppings - again just use what you love or you have leftover in the fridge, and cheese. Yes, lots of cheese. I say the cheese is never enough. 

Okay, so there is a reason I mentioned fresh bread slices up there. The fresher the bread, the softer and easier to work with. The bread won't crumble when you try to shape them. I had a few slices that just crumbled on touch, so bad for the pizza cups. Use wholewheat bread to make it healthier.

Next, the Pizza Sauce. I made my own sauce following an older recipe of Eggplant Pizza, and I think this Basil Almond Pesto will also go famously. You can get creative and use this Manchurian Sauce instead or you can just buy the Pizza Sauce. If you don't want to go through all the fuss, just use Ketchup and add some Italian seasoning or Oregano to it.

The best part of any Pizza is the toppings. I kept mine super simple - chopped tomatoes, capsicum and sweet corn. It tasted delicious. But this is where you want to get creative and add what you love or as I suggested before, just use up leftovers. Also, a brilliant way to sneak in those healthy veggies your family won't eat.

I topped my Pizza Cups with Mozzarella cause I love the way the cheese melts and gets all stringy. Use any cheese you love, but remember, for cheese, less is never more!! Add more cheese, always!

So where all can you show these Pizza Cups off, let see:

• High Tea - These Pizza cups will perfectly complement those cute little pastries you have for high tea
• Kid's birthday parties - What's more fun is you can make the kid's add their own toppings. 
• Cocktail Parties - let's just agree, these are perfect for any party, really!
• Snack boxes?? I wouldn't highly recommend this, cause the bread may get soggy, but if you have non-fussy family, I say go ahead. I actually kept aside a few for 2-3 hours and ate them later and they still held and were just as tasty.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook, tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com. I'd love to see what you are upto. 

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

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Bread Pizza Cups

Cups made with bread, filled with your favorite pizza toppings and sauce, topped with cheese and baked until the bread is crisp and cheese is oozy.


Recipe Type:  Snack
Cuisine:            International
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     15 minutes
Total time:     30 minutes
Yield:                Makes 6 Pizza cups

Ingredients:

6 slices Bread
6 tsp Pizza Sauce
2 Tbsp diced Tomato
2 Tbsp diced Capsicum
2 Tbsp Sweet Corn, boiled
6 Tbsp shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 tsp Olive Oil
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning / Oregano (Optional)
1-2 fresh Basil leaves(Optional)
Water as required

Method:

1. Lightly sprinkle the bread slices with water and tap to wet the bread slightly.
2. Flatten the bread using a rolling pin.
3. Cut the bread into a circle using a bowl or a box cover.
4. Grease the muffin tray generously with olive oil.
5. Carefully place the bread into the muffin tray in the shape of a cup. See video above for reference.
6. Spoon in the pizza sauce.
7. Add the chopped tomatoes, capsicum and boiled sweet corn.
8. Sprinkle Italian seasoning or oregano if using.
9. Top each cup with 1 Tbsp of shredded cheese.
10. Top with a little bit of sauce and chopped basil leaves.
11. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes at 200 degree Celsius.
12. Serve hot/warm.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Masala Bread Toast

Dahi Bread Chaat

Coriander Chutney Sandwich

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10 Savory Vegetarian/Vegan Breakfasts ready in under 30 minutes

A compilation of ten easy to make vegetarian / vegan breakfasts that can be made in under 30 minutes from scratch!

Do you love breakfast? Or are you one of those people who just wants to be done with it cause every scientific article calls it the most important meal of the day? 

I am definitely the breakfast lover category. If you are in the same category, welcome my friend!! 

If not, why is it that you would rather skip this meal - crunched for time? not hungry in the morning? don't have good breakfast options? I'm here to solve some of these problems for you through this teeny weeny post. I am also forever crunched for time, you see while I love breakfast, I am not an early riser and most of my morning is spent scrambling to get ready to catch my bus to office. I give myself exactly 60 minutes from wake up to run for bus. Also, I am absolutely against cereal for breakfast, I believe it is just sugar. So it is always a savory breakfast for me. I have hence, compiled a short list of 10 breakfasts that you can make in under 30 minutes for those busy mornings. Also, a few of them can be prepped the previous night or even, prepared the previous night. Just reheat and enjoy in the morning.

1) Churmuri Soosla [Vegan]

Churmuri Soosla is a stir fry made from salted puffed rice (not the cereal), onions, tomatoes and turmeric.  It is then topped with lime juice and roasted gram powder. This makes for a very good after school snack or evening tea time snack too.

2)  Bread Upma [Vegan]

My favorite way to use up old bread is to stir fry it with spices, onion and tomato. You can make this bread upma with fresh bread as well. Quick and easy recipe.

3) Tomato Omelet [Vegan] 

Omelet always means Eggs, except in this case. Tomato omelet is made from chickpea flour or besan. Add lots of tomato to it and some spices for taste. Pour them onto a hot pan and cook them just like you would cook an omelet. Serve it with bread or eat it just like that, the choice is yours.

4) Wheat Dosa | Savory Wholewheat Pancakes [Vegan]

This one is very similar to the Tomato Omelet above, but this Dosa is made with whole wheat flour or atta instead of chickpea flour. Serve this with some coconut chutney or sambar in pure South Indian style.

5) Breakfast Bruschetta [Vegan]

If you love bread for breakfast, you will love this bruschetta. One is a classic bruschetta with onions and tomatoes while the other is a take on avocado toast with avocados and green olives.

6) Chutney Sandwich [Vegan Option Available]

My favorite picnic breakfast of all times - bread with one slice smeared with butter and another with a simple coriander-coconut chutney. Use vegan butter to make it vegan or just skip the butter. The chutney can be prepared the previous night if you want to cut down on time in the morning. Make the sandwiches when you plan to eat them to avoid a soggy mess.

7) Vegan Zucchini Frittata [Vegan]

Frittatas can be vegan too! Try out this vegan frittata made with chickpea flour or besan and baby zucchinis for added health. Load it up with your favorite veggies to make it healthier.

8) Beetroot Chickpea Pancake [Vegan]

This is just a different take on the tomato omelet mentioned above. Here the tart tomatoes are replaced with sweet grated beet roots that add that wonderful pink hue to the pancakes. For a quicker breakfast prep in the morning, grate the beet root the previous night and save time.

9) Instant Ragi Dosa  [Vegan Option Available]

Instant Ragi Dosa is a very healthy breakfast option as it uses finger millet or ragi flour. Ragi is rich in nutrients and very good for healthy. Ragi flour is mixed with fine semolina or cream of wheat with spices, onions and herbs to make a very runny batter. he only dairy element in there is yogurt to add a little sourness to the dosa, you can either skip it or replace it with vegan yogurt to make this recipe vegan. 

10) Instant Rava Dosa [Vegan Option Available] 

Again, this is very similar to the Instant Ragi Dosa, but made with rice flour. A popular breakfast in Bangalore, this recipe will teach you how to make it at home with a lot less oil. The only dairy element in there is yogurt to add a little sourness to the dosa, you can either skip it or replace it with vegan yogurt to make this recipe vegan.

If you tried these recipes, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook, tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com. I'd love to see what you are upto. 

If you like these recipes, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

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Lauki Kofta Recipe [Video Recipe]

Dumpling made from Bottle Gourd and simmered in a creamy tomato and nut based vegan gravy. 

So I've had a good last week. My bestie flew in on Sunday and we had one of those "Shop-till-you-drop" evenings, where we managed to fill her empty bag with all sorts of stuff and our tummies with some guilty goodness. She even got me juicy ripe sweet Mankurad Mangoes, a variety only available in Goa and cherished by all back home. I'd forgotten how delicious they tasted. Thank you Nammu!

And then there was a very slow monday at work, which was just fine with me.

Tuesday was Labor Day, so we took full advantage of the holiday and went out to meet more friends.

That's how the week looked like, meeting friends and eating delicious mangoes that reminded me of my seaside state of Goa. And yes, the rains!!!

It's also been raining heavily at nights with strong winds. The kind of nights you want to sit near the window with a cup of hot tea and feel the occasional spray of water on your face. I've been enjoying those.

A good mood also makes me want to cook good food. So I've been whipping up some delicious indulgent treats. Did you check out my last post on Eggless Blueberry Muffins? They are a winner and definitely not to be missed!

While I was onto to cooking good food, I made this Lauki Kofta in a creamy spicy tomato based gravy too. One more into the indulgent basket. The only reason I feel a little less guilty about this one is because of the Bottle Gourd or Lauki - it is super healthy. Bottle Gourd is full of water and fiber and is perfect for summers. It is known to cool down your body plus help you reduce weight.

Although I know it is good for me, I am not particularly fond of bottle gourd. But this is one of the only ways I really enjoy it. It is also a sneaky way to make your kids / family eat this bundle of health.

Traditionally, koftas are dumplings made of meat, but this is a vegan version of the same. Also, koftas are usually deep fried. I tried to make it slightly healthier by shallow frying them in a Paddu Tava. You can bake them or shallow fry them in a regular pan too.

Shallow frying in a paddu tava

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook, tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com. I'd love to see what you are upto. 

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

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Lauki Kofta

Bottle gourd dumplings in a tomato based gravy 

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:          Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     45 minutes
Yield:              2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

For the Lauki Kofta

1 whole or 2.5 cups grated Lauki or Bottle gourd
3-4 Tbsp Besan / Gram flour
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
0.5 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Salt
Oil to fry the Kofta

For the Creamy Tomato Gravy

2 medium Onions
2 medium Tomatoes
0.25 cup Cashews
0.5 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp Red Chilli powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
Water as required
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

To make the Lauki Kofta

1. Peel and grate the lauki. Squeeze out as much water as you can from the lauki and keep the water aside to use later.
2. Add the garam masala, red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, besan and salt.
3. Mix well. If the dough is too stiff, add a little of the water set aside. If the dough is too watery, add more besan.
4. Shape the dough into koftas.
5. At this point, you can choose how to cook the koftas, you can deep fry them until golden brown or shallow fry them. I fried in a paddu tava. You can use a regular pan to shallow fry, however you may need to flatten the koftas a little bit. You can also bake or deep fry the koftas.
6. Fry them until golden brown and crisp. Keep the kofta aside.

To make Creamy Tomato Gravy

7. Soak cashews in warm water and keep aside. You can use almonds instead.
8. Grind together the onion, tomato and ginger-garlic paste with a little water until smooth.
9. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
10. Once the cumin seeds brown, add the onion-tomato paste and cook on low flame until the water evaporates.
11. In the meanwhile, grind the cashew or almonds into a fine paste using a little water.
12. Once the gravy thickens, add the red chilli powder, garam masala and cashew paste. Mix well.
13. Add the squeezed lauki water as required. Add more water for a thinner consistency.
14. Add salt and mix well.
15. Simmer for 4-5 minutes on low heat.
16. Add the koftas and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
17. Serve hot with rice or roti.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Babycorn Masala

Dal Fry

Gujrati Undhiyu

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