Vegetation

This recipe was one of my absolute favourites when I was omni. I felt very devastated I'd never eat it again because to be honest, the idea of it with seitan just didn't seem to appeal.

Then I discovered DEOTS II chicken seitan and I can't get enough of it! (well technically I can, but suddenly I am enjoying a whole lot of recipes I'd discarded earlier).

Admittedly this is another vegetarian recipe but again, it's easily veganisable by using soy yoghurt (or another yoghurt alternative~note that I haven't tried it yet with a non soy non dairy alternative). It was for the whole family so not a time to go experimenting with cashew yoghurt. Anyway, it turned out really yummy and was very similar to the omni version (minus the fat from chicken thigh fillets and the torture of death).

Butter Chicken
Preparation: 10 minutes
Total cooking time: 35 minutes
Serves 4-6

2 Tbsp Peanut Oil
1 batch Seitan O Greatness (or 2-3 cups of your favourite chicken seitan), diced into small squares
60g Margarine or Butter (if you use butter, weird as it sounds I don't, even though I eat some dairy and the occasional egg)
2 tsp Garam Masala
2 tsp Sweet Paprika
2 tsp Ground Coriander
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh Ginger
1/4 tsp Chilli Powder (omit if you're a wimp like me)
1 Cinnamon Stick
6 Cardamom Pods, bruised (do this by squashing a bit with the flat edge of a large knife)
350g Tomatoes, pureed
1 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 cup (60g) plain Yoghurt (or soy yogurt or nut milk thickened with corn flour/cornstarch)
1/2 cup (125ml) Cream (or thick soy or almond cream or cashew nut cream or if you're lucky and live in the states, mimicream which makes me superbly jealous!)
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Heat a large saucepan or frying pan (or preferably a wok if you have one, mine died) and add 1 Tbsp of the oil. Add the seitan and fry the seitan for a few minutes until it crisps slightly on the edges. Remove from the pan.

Lower the heat and add the margarine or butter and melt. Add the spices (all of them) and fry them gently for about 1 minute or until they are fragrant. Return the seitan to the pan and coat it in the spice mix.

Add the tomatoes and the sugar and bring to a boil. Lower heat again and simmer, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Add the yoghurt, cream and juice and stir for 5 minutes or until the sauce has re-thickened somewhat.

Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods (don't worry if you can't find them, just spit them out, they won't hurt you) and serve over rice.

In other news, today I picked up, from my local library, The Joy of Vegan Baking. I have no idea what to make first, but oh my there's some yumminess encased in it's pages!

Posted by Vegetation at 2:42 PM |    

Labels: Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk, Mains, Seitan, Vegetarian