For quite a long time, it has been my idea to make vegan pelmeni that taste just like the real thing. Pelmeni are basically Tatar meat dumplings. The ingredients are pretty simple: mince, onion, salt and black pepper. Instead of meat, I used ground seitan and spiced it up just enough to make it toothsome…
Main courses
Vegan butter chicken
I must say I never tried real butter chicken. But the popularity of this dish makes me super curious. So curious that I went through the trouble of making my own chicken-style seitan. And my own vegan butter chicken without any meat or butter. The sauce is silky and creamy; the spices are perfectly balanced….
Vegan Christmas roast
This is a straightforward and fancy-free vegan Christmas roast recipe. It is full of yummy earthy umami flavours and looks pretty on a dinner table. I love to add lots of fresh rosemary and sage. These are my top favourite Christmas flavours! The filling is juicy and doesn’t require any additional sauce. Serve it alongside…
Kidney bean curry (Rajma Masala)
One of my favourite ways to cook beans is to make this kidney bean curry. Serve it over rice for a filling main meal or as one of the side dishes. It is very fast to make if you already have cooked beans on hand, or you can just use canned ones. I prefer to…
Kabocha squash vegan barley risotto
Coconut-lime ramen
This coconut-lime ramen is incredibly delicious. It is tangy, creamy and packed with umami! Noodles are my survival food for all time. When travelling on a budget to the Philippines, I lived on fruits and noodles. My absolute favourite was the Calamansi-flavoured one. Calamansi is a local citrus fruit that looks like a tiny lime….
Vegan pasta Carbonara
Spaghetti with vegan meatballs
Pretend that you have an Italian grandma. Man, I have a long-term relationship with pasta. Since I was a kid, I’ve liked my pasta al dente. It was a long time before I learned this term. But it’s not that I’m a snob. I literally make my pasta sauce with leftovers from the fridge. I…
Vegan plov (Rice pilaf)
Originating in ancient India, plov (or pilaf) is a traditional dish in Central Asia. It is highly popular in post-Soviet countries, especially the Uzbek-style plov. As a kid, I ate a lot of it. Although meat is a key ingredient in plov, I did veganise it without losing its authentic flavour. The recipe is pretty…
Winter miso soba
I haven’t seen the sun for a week. It is dark, cold, and cloudy outside. All I want to do is drink tea, wrap myself in a blanket like a burrito, and binge-watch cartoons. There’s no room for thin miso soup. You need some rich stuff, more noodles, protein, and umami. Add healthy vegetables for…