Get Your Food On Issue 19
Crispy Onion Pan Pakoras (Fritters) + Asian Smacked Cucumber Salad + Produce Box Meal Prep
Welcome to Week 19 of "Get Your Food On" - my weekly Meal Prep Newsletter! A big hello to all new subscribers.
In 19 weeks, we have graduated to spending just over 2 hours to cook and prep 11 WHOLE RECIPES that contribute to at least 4-6 meals for 4 people/ That is incredible! I am working on something new and exciting which I know you are going to love!! Hence, the meal prep newsletter will be going on a break for a few weeks after Week 20. Don't worry, I will still be posting new recipes every week with my two weekly newsletters going out every week as well (just the meal prep part will be missing for the next few weeks as I dedicate that time on that new project) for your cooking pleasure so you can keep things interesting in the kitchen and have a wide variety of nourishing foods to feed yourselves and your families. If you have RECIPE REQUESTS .. can be specific recipes or types of recipes - more smoothies? more dinners? more light meals? more baked goods? Please write and let me know!
And finally, if my meal prep sessions are helping you, I would LOVE to hear your experiences! Please keep the feedback coming, it really helps me plan more content for you! And don't forget to SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER with your friends. Now let's begin ..
Sneh x
*****
NEW THIS WEEK
Crispy Onion Pakoras or Bhajis are the ultimate Indian snack. Vegan, gluten-free, made with besan (chickpea flour) and ready in 10 minutes. A perfect snack for any time of the day!
How To Make Crispy Onion Pakoras In A Pan Without Deep Frying
Onion Pakoras or Bhajis are a famous deep-fried Indian snack of onion slices soaked in a besan (chickpea flour) batter and fried in a pot of hot oil till they are golden and crispy. Although, nothing beats the traditional deep-fried version; it isn’t the healthiest to deep fry as we all know. Besides, I don’t agree with the effort and wastage involved in dedicating a pot full of oil to deep fry a snack. So, I have created a pan-fried version of it! The same delicious, authentic taste of a Crispy Onion Pakora – just pan-fried and ready in minutes whenever the craving strikes.
The onion to batter ratio is very important when you are making pakoras. You want lots of onion and less batter! This wonderfully strange combination creates a perfect snack – the onion gets crispy and fried on the surface while the onion inside the pakora gets tender and sweet making the pakora juicy.
Ajwain seeds are known for their ....
*****
ASIAN SMACKED CUCUMBER SALAD
An easy, delicious recipe for an Asian Smacked Cucumber Salad – a raw, cold cucumber salad made by smashing cucumbers and dressing them with warmed chilli oil and a few other ingredients. Delightfully complex in flavour and utterly refreshing. A must for lovers of cucumber and chilli.
A Good Smacked Cucumber Salad
I first had this salad decades ago at a fancy Chinese restaurant. We ordered it off the menu under the “Cold Entrée Section”. I was intrigued by the fact that the appetizers were cold. I was even more surprised when the salad arrived quite perfectly chilled. Not room temperature. But chilled! And it was delicious beyond words. The cucumber was smashed and cut into neat little chunks, the chilli oil set my mouth on fire in a good way and the aromatics added a depth of flavour that took something as simple as a cucumber to culinary perfection.
I have made many versions of this Smacked Cucumber Salad over the years. And I am sharing my favourite version. It is quick and also involves making a quick chilli oil from scratch. I usually make this salad when we are having dumplings and noodles. I serve it at room temperature. But sometimes, I make it in advance and chill it for a couple of hours. That version is quite special to me as it was the first time I had ever sampled this cucumber salad.
Cucumbers And Chilli
A continental cucumber is a good choice for this salad. It is long, so you will only need one and it barely has any seeds. I use everyday Lebanese cucumbers as they are what I usually have lying around the kitchen. They are also juicier. I remove the excess liquid after smashing by salting and draining the cucumbers. I don’t remove all the seeds, rather I remove half and leave the rest in.
I also use my pestle for smashing. It is heavy and does a good job. Pressing down on the knife might work for some but you always run the risk of slicing your palm and depending on the cucumber, you might not be able to smash it easily. If you don’t have a stone pestle, use a ....
This week, I got a random fruit and veggie box and decided to create a meal plan based on what was in the box. It is quite easy when you have a steady supply of great, tried and tested recipes. I went through almost everything in the box except the two oranges. It was a success! It feels so good to see how much fruit and veg you can include in your meals in just 3 days! Today's Meal Prep is continuing last week's new format and will make you feel like a seasoned meal prepper (no pun intended!). We will be cooking/making 11 complete recipes in just about 2 hours. And this will give you at least 3 dinners, 3 lunches, 4 breakfasts/snacks and desserts. That is 3 whole days of no cooking and plenty of time to chill. All the dishes go really well together especially in line with the "This And That Bowl" philosophy of filling your meal bowl with a variety of colourful, nutritious items to make a complete meal. See my extras & serving suggestions for quick ways to boost this already great list of 11 recipes. Let's start!
RECIPES PREPPED (11)
BROWN RICE BIRYANI SALAD (recipe in my cookbook)
JAPANESE MISO ROASTED VEGGIES
MATCHA CHIA PUDDING (recipe below)
QUICK CORIANDER CHUTNEY (recipe below)
The Japanese Miso Roasted Veggie Recipe will be posted on Sunday morning. The Brown Rice Biryani Salad is from my cookbook Tasty Express.
legend / the above meal prep yields the following for four people - 3 DINNERS + 3 LUNCHES + 1 DESSERT + 4 BREAKFASTS/SNACKS
extras & serving suggestions /
Add a poached egg to the Japanese Miso Roasted Veggies for a filling breakfast.
Serve steamed fish/grilled chicken/ pan-fried tofu along with either the Chickpea Chaat Salad or Brown Rice Biryani Salad for a nourishing meal.
Smear Baba Ghanoush in a flat plate, add Onion Pakoras on top, garnish with salad greens, add a dollop of spicy chutney. Makes a great brunch!
Toss smoked salmon or crispy pan-fried tofu and stir-fried shiitake mushrooms with the smacked cucumber salad for a fun light meal.
Things To Do This Week (Friday)
1. Print out all the recipes you plan to cook
2. Make a shopping list of things you don't already have and buy them before the weekend.
QUICK RECIPES
MATCHA CHIA PUDDING
Ingredients // 3 tablespoons chia seeds + 1 cup light coconut milk + 1 tablespoon maple syrup + 1 teaspoon matcha + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method // Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover with a lid and chill/set in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
*****
CORIANDER CHUTNEY
Ingredients // 1 bunch coriander leaves and stalks (washed) + 1 garlic clove + 2-3 thin slivers of fresh ginger + 1/2 green cayenne chilli + juice of half lemon + 1 tablespoon peanut butter + 1 tsp salt flakes + 1 teaspoon sugar
Method // Add all ingredients to the bowl of a small food processor. Process until smooth. Store in a lidded glass jar in fridge for up to 3 days.
WEEKEND MEAL PREP SESSION (2 hours)
>> Before you begin, get a large plastic/enamel tub to catch all your scraps and rubbish (multiples if you are saving scraps for chooks/compost). I cannot stress how much time you will save and keep the bench tidy if you are not going to the rubbish bin every few minutes.
>> For Part II of the meal prep, I make sure the kitchen sink is clean and empty. This allows me to quickly wash my Vitamix and Nutribullet which are easiest to clean right after making the smoothies. I also have 6-8 300ml capacity lidded glass jars ready.
>> Some essential oils bubbling away in a diffuser where you are prepping is a great mood booster.
Part I
1. Pre-heat oven to 200°C. Pop on a pot of QUINOA to cook. Pop on a pot of BROWN RICE to cook. (5 minutes)
2. Make Matcha Chia Pudding. Make Coriander Chutney. (8 minutes)
3. Start roasting an EGGPLANT on an open fire. (2 minutes)
4. Chop POTATO, SWEET POTATO, CARROT AND ONION for the Japanese Miso Roasted Veggies. Make dressing. (5 minutes)
5. Make Japanese Miso Roasted Veggies and pop in the oven to bake. (5 minutes)
6. Make dressings for Cucumber Salad and Chickpea Salad. Make Chilli oil for Cucumber Salad. (10 minutes)
7. Chop CARROT, GREEN BEANS, PURPLE CABBAGE, ONION for Biryani Salad. (5 minutes)
8. Chop CAPSICUM, TOMATO, CUCUMBER, ONION, CARROT, CHILLI, CORIANDER for Chickpea Salad. (10 minutes)
9. Chop CARROT, ONION, CAULIFLOWER, TOMATO for the Daal. (5 minutes)
10. Smash and prep CUCUMBERS. Make Smacked Cucumber Salad. (5 minutes)
Check on eggplant and brown rice constantly. Pack away Matcha Chia Pudding, Coriander Chutney, Japanese Miso Roasted Potatoes. Smacked Cucumber Salad.
Active Time - 60 minutes
BREAK 10 minutes - Time for a break. Make yourself a cup of tea/coffee or pour a glass of wine. I like to load the dishwasher, put away ingredient containers and wipe down the counter at this point to reduce my work later.
Part II
11. Make Baba Ghanoush (2 minutes)
12. Make Chickpea Chaat Salad (5 minutes)
13. Make Biryani Rice Salad (recipe in my cookbook) (5 minutes)
14. Pop all ingredients in a pot and Make Weeknight Veggie Daal (5 minutes)
15. Gather and prep ingredients for both smoothies (5 minutes)
16. Make Happy Smoothie (5 minutes)
17. Make Vegan Strawberry Milk (5 minutes)
18. Make Crispy Onion Pan Pakoras (10 minutes)
Pack away smoothies, salads, daal and pakoras. The actual smoothies only take a couple of minutes to make but I am allowing time for clean-up and washing of the appliances. I use my Nutribullet and my Vitamix to make the smoothies and milk.
Active Time - 42 minutes
BREAK 5 minutes - Time for a break. Refill your cuppa or glass. Stretch, close your eyes and get some sunshine or do some deep breaths.
Part III
19. Feeling Extra And Want To Inject Some Heart Loving, Gut Loving, Skin Loving Boosts to your meals? - Grate some beetroot and pack away in a lidded container (Use this beetroot and cooked quinoa later in the week to quickly make these delicious Vegan Beetroot Burgers). Pop a couple of beetroots in a pot of boiling water for 25-30 minutes, cool and store in fridge for up to a week. They are great to just peel, slice and enjoy with salt and pepper at every meal. Or you can whip up Beetroot Hummus in 5 minutes or this gorgeous Beetroot Carpaccio. Juice 3-4 beetroot, 3-4 tomatoes and 1 lemon. A super nourishing and refreshing drink for your mid-mornings.
Pack away hummus, curry, prepped fruit and veggies
Active Time - 15-20 minutes
FINAL CLEANUP - Wash and wipe the last bit of the prep. Make a list of all the RECIPES you have cooked and allocate days to when you will use them up.
Well done guys!! You are now set for the next 3 days!
" I am a firm believer in using your intuition. The kind that tells you to smell when a cake is done, to feel when the dough has breath, and to sense the point between brown and burnt.
~ Thalia Ho, Wild Sweetness
I have limited copies of my cookbook Tasty Express - a labour of love filled with over 100 of our family's most tried and tested and exciting 30-minute recipes inspired by street foods of the world. Mostly Vegetarian recipes that go from breakfast to quick dinners in a heartbeat. They make great gifts for you or a friend!
