Maygun’s Mango Chutney

4 mangoes, peeled, cut into small bite sized chunks
1 cup champagne vinegar
In a small sauce pan, cook mangoes and vinegar over low heat until mushy. Stir frequently to prevent burning.

Evan’s Pakoras

While making these pakoras, Evan suggests you listen to HELLKRUSHER’s Doomsday Hour LP.

1 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup water, plus extra just in case
cayenne pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup cauliflower
1/2 onion, chopped
oil for deep frying

In a medium bowl mix together the chickpea flour, spices and salt.

Add the water and beat well to make a smooth batter. If it seems really thick, add more water tablespoon by tablespoon until you have a consistency that can be dropped nicely from a spoon. Add in the chopped vegetables and cilantro and mix well. Don’t taste the batter! Raw chickpea flour tastes AWFUL and you will be SOO sorry for doing this.

Heat the oil in a fryer or pot. You know it’s hot enough when a small drizzle of pakora batter sizzles and rises to the surface right away. Drop tablespoons of the pakora batter into the oil. If your pot is shallow, make sure the pakoras don’t stick to the bottom-you need enough oil to cover them completely so they don’t sit on the bottom of the pan. Also, the oil shouldn’t be too hot, otherwise the pakoras brown before the middle gets cooked. They are done when they are crunchy and a nice golden brown.

Remove the pakoras from the oil and drain on paper towels. Salt immediately.

Frank Appache’s Palak Paneer

one big bunch of spinach
1 cup fresh tofu paneer (use Jen’s
tofu recipe listed below!)
1 medium sized ripe tomato
several green chillies, chili powder
works in a pinch too
1/2 onion, chopped finely into
small pieces
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro, minced
1 teaspoon of dhania-jeera (coriander-cumin) powder
quarter cup cashews (OPTIONAL)
half teaspoon of salt

Sauté the spinach with chilies until wilted in a little oil. Throw those in the blender until it looks like you’ve got slime in there!

Boil the tomato in water until the skin breaks down.

Roast cashews, then crush.

In a medium pan, heat oil and sauté tofu paneer until crispy. Remove from pan and saute onion until translucent. Add Garlic, ginger, cilantro, coriander and cumin. Add spinach mixture and tomatoes. Add a dash of turmeric and salt, cook on low for 8 minutes. Add tofu and let simmer a few minutes more. Serve over rice.

Liz’s Tomato Cucumber Salad

Serve this salad next to heavier hot dishes to balance the plate with a fresh cold salad.

1 cucumber, peeled and diced
2-3 medium tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
pinch of coriander, ground
Mix all together and serve chilled.

Vince’s Samosas

For the dough:
3 cups of unbleached flour
1 stick of vegan margarine
12 tablespoons of COLD water

For the filling:
2 medium sized potatoes, cubed
1 tablespoon vegan margarine
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large carrot, cubed
1 large white onion, diced,
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 inch of peeled ginger, minced
1/2 cup of frozen peas
several stalks of cilantro

Start with the dough. Place the flour in a bowl while melting the stick of margarine. Once melted combine with a fork until crumbly. While still mixing with a fork, add water one tablespoon at a time until it comes to a dough consistency, adding extra flour or water depending on what is needed for an even dough. Knead dough several times then work into a disc shape, wrap in plastic and let sit in refrigerator for an hour.

Boil potatoes until semi-soft in a large pot. Drain and set to the side. Melt margarine in pot and add carrot, onion, coriander and cumin and cook on medium high until onions start to look translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cook until garlic becomes aromatic. Add peas, potatoes and cilantro and keep cooking until potatoes become fully softened.

Roll out dough until it is about 1/8th to 1/16th of an inch thick. Cut 7” circles in the dough using an old Casualties 7” as not to harm your good records. Cut each circle in half, moisten straight edge and press together to form a cone shape with the dough. Fill the cone with filling but not so much that you can’t seal the cone into a triangle shape. Repeat until you don’t have enough dough to make anymore.

Heat about 3” of oil in a saucepan on medium to medium high heat. Once oil is heated, drop 3 samosas in at a time frying until they are golden brown with a few darker spots here and there. Place on a plate with a few layers of old newspaper on it to soak up the oil. Serve with your favorite chutney.