Ragda Pattice

Indian English speakers are usually tempted to change the spelling of this voluptuous street snack -- always spelled 'pattice' at eateries-- to the more correct 'patties.' But I say why spoil a good thing by forcing on it unneeded refinement?

There's nothing proper about this bold, tarty street snack from the swollen crush of Bombay's streets. It is a hodge-podge of random flavors and textures that no cook in their right mind would dream of putting together. There's sweet here and spicy and sour and salty. And then there's creamy and crispy and crunchy and crumbly. The final result is lush genius on a plate.

In Bombay, you can buy Ragda Pattice at the open stalls and carts lining the city's long beaches and eat it standing right there, your feet burrowing into the soft sand and the sea breeze whipping your hair into a salty tango. Or, if you're worried about hygiene and all that annoying stuff that gets between a foodie and his/her indulgences, you can order it at one of the city's restaurants.

Buckwheat-Brown-Rice Waffles (Gluten-Free)

My Saturdays start out with tons of plans but very little planning. All through the week I  keep in my head a running list of all the things I just have to do on that glorious day filled, at least from afar, with nothing but time. It's the day I will sleep late. The day I will call those friends I've been meaning to for weeks now. The day I will finally run that important but easy-to-put-off errand.

But come Saturday morning, it's quite a different story.

Well before the alarm can go off the cats start singing for their breakfast at the door and the dogs start licking our faces in hopes of getting us out of the house for a walk. Soon, unable to sleep with all this activity, either Desi or I gets up and gives in. And from there on the day pretty much spirals into a madly busy flurry of things that just have to get done, including a super-long walk for the irrepressible wag-tails.At the end of the day, though, it still feels like nothing really did get done.

Spinach 'Chicken' Curry

One of my most popular recipes with friends and family, in the days before I went vegan, was a spinach chicken curry.

It was a verdant treat, nutritious with leafy spinach, nutty with almond paste and fragrant with spices. But for some weird, unfathomable reason I had never tried to veganize this, my once-signature dish, until this past weekend. I used vegan "chicken" and mushrooms instead of chicken, and the result was so good that I surprised myself.

The best part about freeing this recipe from animal products is that you make what is a fairly healthy dish even far more healthier, because vegan chicken substitutes are of course cholesterol-free and usually low-calorie. They also pack a ton of protein, just like meat. Each serving of this very hearty recipe has just 128 calories, more than 10 grams of protein, and more than 4 grams of dietary fiber.

Breakfast With Desi

First things first, this is not really my own recipe, nor is it really a recipe because does oatmeal qualify as one? But it's a post I've been meaning to put up for a while now because someone wise once said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

At our home I make most meals, but Desi zealously keeps charge of breakfast. That's because he has a Seinfeldian love for cereal, and at any time you can find a dozen different kinds in our pantry. Not cheerios mind you, but healthy ones with words like "multigrain" and "wholegrain" and "bran" in their names

Methi Chaman

In our home, methi or fenugreek leaves are one of those vegetables that neither Desi nor I can have enough of. This is a rather pretty vegetable with small leaves and thick stems and a pleasantly bitter taste that mellows when cooked into a nutty deliciousness.

But the flavor, as addictive as it is, is not methi's greatest or only asset: this is one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat, prized in Indian homes for its ability to improve digestion, fight cholesterol and regulate blood sugar levels, among other benefits.

I love methi in almost anything: I add it to rice, dals, curries, pakoras, and subzis, and when I don't have fresh methi on hand I add dry, or kasoori methi, which is available at any Indian grocery store, to effortlessly add a healthy and delicious punch to whatever's cooking.

Today's recipe, Methi Chaman, has got to be one of my favorite ways of preparing this veggie. For one, it also incorporates spinach, another green powerhouse, that not only adds more flavor and health to the dish but also mellows out the bitterness of the methi, making it an ideal introduction to this veggie for someone new to it.

Crepes With Orange Cream Cheese And Apricot-Walnut Syrup

Let your sweetie know just how much he or she means to you this Valentine's Day with these decadent, exquisite Orange Crepes stuffed with a divine vegan cream cheese filling and drizzled with an apricot-walnut syrup.

As rich as they sound, these totally vegan crepes are perfect for Valentine's Day breakfast eats because they also show your special one that you care truly, madly and deeply about their heart's health: there are no cholesterol-laden eggs or dairy products here, and I use omega-3-rich flax meal to bind the crepes. I calculated the nutritional information for you, and each crepe with the cream cheese and syrup and all adds up to about 173 calories: not bad for a super-luscious treat for a special day.

Avocado Shami Kababs

When life gives you avocados and you just don't want more guacamole, try my Avocado Kababs.

Avocados are among my most favorite veggies. After all, what's not to love? They are creamily delicious, packed with healthy goodness, and who can hold a candle to that pretty pale-greenness? But avocados do present a challenge-- other than knowing exactly when to open one, that is. They do not lend themselves to cooking because heat destroys their flavor. And that means you have to find ways to use it up raw: I mostly use mine in salads, soups, pastas, as a garnish, and even in raitas and chutneys.

I do have one exception that I've shared with you before on this blog: my Butterless Avocado Brioche, where the avocados replace the butter and get baked into a perfectly flaky, light bread.

Yesterday, faced with a bag of fast-ripening avocados and wondering what to do with them, I was hit with inspiration. I made my Avocado Kababs pretty much as one would make traditional vegetarian shami kababs, using a lentil base. And I kept the cooking to a minimum by pan-frying them over medium-high heat to give them a perfectly golden, crispy crust. That way the center remained creamy and gorgeous and flavorful. Perfect.

I like to think of this recipe as a unique blend of Indian and Mexican flavors: there are a number of traditional Indian spices here, but an equal-credit star is the smoky-hot chipotle chili in adobo sauce.

Vada Pav for Superbowl Sunday (With Whole-Wheat Laadi Pav)

Whether you're rooting for the Steelers or the Packers, there is no way you can lose at your Superbowl party with this classic snack straight from the streets of Bombay.

I like to think of the vada pav as an Indian hot dog-- a spicy, deep-fried, incredibly crispy potato dumpling cradled within a soft, fluffy roll and smeared with some exquisitely red-hot garlic chutney. Its many layers of flavor, textures and its stark, rustic simplicity make it one of the most beloved street foods of Bombay. You can find vendors at practically every street corner in the city frying the red-gold vadas in bubbling hot oil and serving them up to salivating customers faster than you can say "vada pav."

When I was at school, the cafeteria served up vada pavs for as little as a rupee, which is about the equivalent of two cents. I don't think any of the kids even considered eating anything else-- I certainly didn't. And although I am sure it costs much, much more now, thanks to rapid inflation in India over the past few years, it is no doubt one of the most affordable snacks you can find anywhere in the city.

I try to make my vada pav healthier without taking away any of the flavor by making the pav, or the tiny roll that the vada is cradled in, with whole wheat flour. This is a recipe I'm really proud to share with you because it's just so darn good. I used some wheat gluten flour to help build the bread's structure and it was just as cushiony and soft as the traditionally white pav.

Andhra-Style Stuffed Eggplants, And Tips For Traveling Vegan In India

India is point zero for vegetarianism. More than 30 percent of the country's billion-plus residents shun meat -- in fact most people in this group have never, ever eaten a creature that once breathed-- and this is perhaps the only place on earth where you can find as many exclusively vegetarian restaurants as non-vegetarian ones.

Which might make it appear odd that I often get this SOS from vegan readers: I'm going to India and I am worried I won't be able to eat anything. Do you have any tips?

To another vegan, that question makes perfect sense. Because vegetarian India is also incorrigibly milk-happy.

India's religion-based circle of compassion fails to embrace one of the most horribly abused animals in the food industry: the cow. And most Indians unfortunately turn a blind eye to the fact that the gentle animal they tout as holy gets pumped with hormones, is tethered all day in garbage-filled barns with hundreds of other cows, is denied veterinary care even when she is sick enough to be dying, and is given filthy water to drink. Most cows and buffaloes used for milk stand in their own feces all day and workers trying to manipulate them hit them with sticks and pull them by their tails. All this so people can have their fill of ghee (clarified butter), butter, yogurt, paneer and cheese, all significant components of the average Indian diet.

Vegans visiting India-- and a growing number of vegans in India-- very understandably want no part of this. But there's no reason to despair either: while it is true that dairy is heavily consumed in India, the belief that it is impossible to eat vegan in the country is not just far-fetched, it's a complete myth.

You Asked For It: Peeling Winter Squash, Making Soymilk, And More

'You Asked For It' is a new occasional feature here at Holy Cow! where I will answer readers' queries about cooking, vegan cooking, transitioning to veganism, vegan substitutes, animals, or just about anything you care to ask me (nicely, of course).

Holy Cow! gets a lot of emails from readers and for a while now I've felt that my responses would be helpful or at least interesting to nearly everyone who visits Holy Cow! Many of these questions are on topics I've already been through in my various posts, but there are more than 400 posts on this blog now and I do understand you can't dig through each and every one to get to the information you are looking for.

I'm starting off with four of the most recent questions in my mailbox. If you have any, feel free to email me at myveganworld@gmail.com. And if you have better answers than the ones I've got for any of the queries, or just want to add your two beans, don't hold back-- I want to hear from you.

Do you have any tips for peeling hard-skinned winter squash?
Jeannie

I must admit I (perhaps not very smartly) take the hard way on this one. I poke a sharp knife through the center to make an incision, ease it in, and then go all the way round the squash until I can separate it into two halves. I then place the squash, flat side down, on a cutting board and slice off the skin lengthwise. It can be quite a workout with most winter squashes.
There are apparently easier ways to do this: you can microwave the squash for a minute which makes the skin a little softer and easier to manipulate, or place it in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Of course, you don't want to cook it too long before peeling it (unless that's okay for the recipe) because the texture of the squash flesh will be compromised.