Raw Raspeberry & Cashew Cheesecake

Let me preface this by saying, that this is the easiest and quickest recipe that I have ever tried. Once you have all the ingredients (which is a pretty short list in itself), the actual making is really a 'piece of cake' (sorry, couldn't resist). Ok - it's not exactly a traditional cake but more of an ice-cream cake but that's what I loved most about it. And best of all its completely raw. 
Though it is made up of all healthy and nutritious ingredients, some of you might not like the amount of cashews because of their high fat content (as a friend pointed out yesterday) that goes into it - all I can say to that is that unless you are going to eat the whole cake by yourself - you should be good.

INGREDIENTS
Crust
1/2 cup raw walnuts (can use pecans or almonds)
1/2 cup medjool dates - pitted
1/4 tsp salt

Filling
1½ cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, overnight is best
Juice of 1½ lemons (can go up to 2 lemons depending on how sour you want it to be)
1/3 cup raw honey (or agave syrup)
1/3 cup coconut oil - melted
1 tsp vanilla extract (or seeds of 1 vanilla bean)
1 cup raspberries

NOTES:
- I used a 7"springform cake pan, but the original recipe creator had suggested layering any cake pan with round edges with a seran wrap. I did not want risk it but on an afterthought I guess, it could have worked decently well. In any case use a small 7" or 8" inch pan as this is a small sized cake.

PROCESS

1. Put the nuts (walnuts or whichever one you are using) and dates along with the salt in a food processor and pulse until they are chopped into small pieces. For a finer crust - you might have to process them longer than for a chunky one. To test if your mixture is of the right consistency, take a spoonful and roll it in your hand - if it binds well together then it means its done. 
2. Scoop out the crust mixture and spread it in the cake pan. Press firmly with your hands making sure that the edges are well packed and that it forms an even base.
3. Warm the coconut oil and honey - I prefer not heat honey on a direct flame - so you could melt the honey by placing the jar in a pan of boiling water and melt the oil separately and then mix the two.
4. Place all the filling ingredients i.e soaked cashews, lemon juice, honey+coconut oil and vanilla extract in a food processor. Use the most powerful machine that you have - I used my Cuisineart food processor and it did a great job. At this point I would suggest testing out the sourness of the mixture - you can start with juice of 1 lemon and then add as you go till its sour to your preference.
5. Pour the 2/3 of this mixture in the cake pan (no need measure this exactly - a rough gesstimate will do) - spread it evenly with a spatula.
6. Now add the raspberries to the remaining cashew mix in the processor and blend them till they are smooth. Pour this in the cake pan as your third and final layer and smooth it out.
7. Place it in the freezer until solid. It took me about 2-3 hours. To serve get it out of the freezer and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. 
8. Run a sharp knife under hot water to easily cut the slices - although I did not feel the need for this step.

 Recipe Source: My New Roots

Kala Chana & Chickpea Green Medley

For the longest time, I used chickpeas only to make the traditional Indian chole curry but since that time I have started exploring different cuisines, I have used chole/chickpeas a lot more in my cooking especially in salads etc. This salad is one such example, the original recipe calls for chickpeas but I had boiled kaale chane (bengal gram) in the fridge which I added as well. They both tasted good and I would probably make it next time with just kaale chane. Let me also tell you that this salad tastes much better than it looks, so don't hesitate to try it out.

Serves 2
INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas/ kaale chane (3/4th cup uncooked)
• 4-5 cups chopped spinach
• 1 cup cilantro/ parsley- chopped ( I used cilantro)
• 1/2 red onion - diced

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

PROCESS:

1. Wash the spinach and cilantro and put in a food processor and chop it until its super small
2. Put the chickpeas in a big mixing bowl and add the spinach-cilantro mix to it.
3. Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl
4. Pour the dressing over the chickpea and greens mixture.
5. Ideally, let it sit for 10-15 mins at least to let the flavors develop

Quinoa Spinach Burger Patties

Whenever I think of burgers, the only one that comes to my mind and has me drooling is the Mc-aloo tikki at McDonalds in India. Since coming to US, I have tried burgers from a few different places including the world famous 'In & Out' one but I never found 'the one' that floated my boat - so I had basically given up on the whole burger genre of food. But now after turning into a vegetarian, I tried a couple of decent versions here in the city and was curious to replicate something similar and healthier at home
When I cam across this recipe as always I was quite doubtful about the success of these especially considering it was my first attempt at making patties of any kind. The long list of ingredients wasn't helping my confidence either but surprise surprise they turned out pretty awesome. I have already made them twice once at home and once for a friend's barbecue. Both times I went the extra mile to make some potato wedges and they were the perfect accompaniment to these yummy patties.

Makes 12 patties
INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups cooked Quinoa 
• 1/2 cup rolled oats ground into flour
• 3 tbsp besan/ chickpea flour (or regular all-purpose flour)
• 1 cup finely chopped spinach (can use Kale too)
• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp water
• 1/2 cup finely grated sweet potato
• 1/4 cup finely diced sun dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 tbsp finely diced onion
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp Tahini paste - runny (can add bit of oil to make it less firm)
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano flakes
• 1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• red pepper flakes to taste

NOTES:

• Its very important that you chop all the veggies very small - otherwise they would not bind properly.
• You can use oil soaked sun-dried tomatoes. I used the non-oily ones, but make sure to soak them in warm water for about 30 mins before chopping

PROCESS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Mix the flax seed powder in the water in a small bowl and set it aside for about 5 mins - till it thickens
3. Chops the veggies - spinach + sweet potato+ onion+garlic
4. Take a large mixing bowl and mix in all the ingredients - wet & dry. 
5. Mix them well and use your hands to form a dough
6. Wet your hands to roll the mixture into patties - you will use about 1/4th cup mixture for each of the cakes.
7. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put it in the oven.
8. Bake for about 15 mins, then take them out and flip them on the other side and bake them again for about 8-10 mins till they turn golden brown.
9. Cool for 10 mins and serve.
10. Serving Suggestion:  I placed them on a multi-grain bun along with a slice of tomato, onion and and some ketchup and mustard sauce. I also added a few slices of avocado and salad leaves. Serve with home made fries (Recipe coming up soon) 

Recipe Source: Oh She Glows

Tofu Manchurian

This is the easiest and the tastiest way to make tofu. I was never a big fan of tofu until I tried it this way. I learnt this recipe from a friend's husband and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. I have made it for lot of people, most of whom were not fond of Tofu and it was always a hit. So if you are a tofu novice then this is the recipe to start with. The best part about this is that you can keep the sauce thick to serve it as an appetizer or make it more like gravy to serve with rice or any other grain. And did I mention it takes no more than 20 minutes to whip this up:

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 bunches Scallions (Green onions) - only the green part
• 8 0z Tofu (Firm) (Brand I use)
• 1 tbsp ginger - minced
• 1tbsp garlic - minced
• Salt 
• Pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Sauce

• 4 tbsp Soy sauce/Tamari (Brand I use)
• 1 tbsp Chilli sauce 
• 1 tbsp Ketchup
• 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
• 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds

PROCESS:

1. Chop the green part of onions and sauté them lightly for a couple of minutes - make sure you do not overcook them especially if you are making this as an appetizer. 
2. Chop the tofu into 1 inch pieces and keep aside.
3. Add the minced ginger and garlic 
4. Mix in all the ingredients of the sauce - and add it to the green onions.
5. Add salt and pepper  to taste - while adding salt remember that the dish already has soy sauce so you might need very little additional salt.
6. Add tofu pieces
7. Serve as it is or on a bed of brown rice or quinoa or any other grain of your choice.