Meatless Monday

M E A T L E S S Monday

RECIPES VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

Nourish have promoted the idea of Meatless Monday for many years. You can, in fact, sign up to our Meatless Monday campaign and receive a meat free recipe each Monday.

The premise: being vegetarian is not a lifestyle change many people are willing to make but eating less meat is very doable. By consciously going meat free one day a week you will see just how easy it is. Who knows, it may flow on to more meat free days or meals.

The modern Meatless Monday movement started in the UK, spearheaded by famous vegetarian Paul McCartney but the idea is quite old. During WWII the American FDA urged Americans to reduce their intake of key staples, meat being one of them, to help the war effort, and slogans like ’Meatless Monday’ and ’Wheatless Wednesday’ were born. “I think many of us feel helpless in the face of environmental challenges, and it can be hard to know how to sort through the advice about what we can do to make a meaningful contribution to a cleaner, more sustainable, healthier world,” says Paul McCartney. “Having one designated meat free day a week is actually a meaningful change that everyone can make that goes to the heart of several important political, environmental and ethical issues all at once. For instance, it not only addresses pollution, but better health, the ethical treatment of animals, global hunger and community and political activism.” There is a lot of debate about the health benefits of a vegetarian diet but what most people agree on is that reducing our meat consumption can only be a good thing. So ease the family in with one meal a week and go meat free on a Monday. The environment, your health and your wallet will all thank you for it. NOURISH | RECIPES

BABY CARROT Biryani

When researching for this recipe I was surprised to find that a vegetable biryani is not common. I found this surprising because when I backpacked through Rajasthan (nearly 20 years ago!) this was my staple dinner. Much of Rajasthan is vegetarian but the real reason I enjoyed a regular biryani was because this tasty dish also lacked any ingredients likely to give me ‘Delhi belly’. What I thought was a biryani was possibly more a pilau. A traditional biryani begins with a curry that has par cooked rice layered on top or between it and more often than not this curry is chicken or lamb based. I’ve used the same principle just used baby carrots. You can, of course, use various other vegetables: cauliflower, broccoli, potato, kumara, mushrooms, capsicums all work well.

Marinade 1 cup plain yoghurt 3 garlic cloves, peeled 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger 1 tbsp garam marsala 1 tbsp ground coriander 1 tbsp cumin 1 tbsp sweet paprika 1 tsp salt

2 bunches (or about 4 cups) baby carrots, scrubbed and trimmed 1 cup basmati rice 2 onions ½ cup oil 1 tbsp salt 2 dried bay leaves 1 star anise 6 green cardamom pods 1 cinnamon quill 1 tsp saffron threads (loosely packed) - available from Vetro Rotorua 2 tbsp warm water fresh coriander raisins (optional)

Combine the marinade ingredients in a large ovenproof dish. Mix in the carrots, ensuring they are well coated, and allow to marinade for at least an hour.

Soak the rice in a big bowl of water.

Peel and slice the onions. Heat a ¼ cup of the oil in a large pan over medium high heat and add half the onions. Cook until golden brown (but not burnt) then remove from the pan, placing on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining onion.

Place the carrots in the oven and cook at 180°C for 35 minutes.

Drain the soaked rice and rinse a couple of times. Bring a large pot of water (at least 1.5 litres) to the boil with the salt, bay leaves, star anise, cardamom pods and cinnamon quill. When the water is boiling add the rice and cook for 4 minutes before draining.

Crush the saffron then immerse in 2 tbsp hot water.

Place the par cooked rice over the carrots and drizzle with the saffron water. Top with the golden onions, place the lid on and bake for a further 25 minutes.

To serve, garnish with fresh coriander and a few raisins.

PUMPKIN Dal

Madhur Jaffrey, the Queen of Indian cuisine, writes of the importance of dal when she says in her Curry Bible “you can take meats and fish and vegetables from an Indian, but you cannot take away his dal – the core of his meal”. Technically dal (also known as dhal, dahl or daal) is a term used for split legumes, think lentils, peas and beans. It’s also a term used for the popular thick soup like dishes made from these pulses. It’s not surprising this nourishing, thick, fragrant dish is so popular. 2 tbsp oil

1 onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, chopped 3cms fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped 1 kaffir lime leaf, tough central stem removed, finely sliced 1 fresh chilli (optional) 2 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp ground coriander 2 tsp garam masala 1 tsp ground turmeric 1x 400ml tin coconut cream 3 tbsp tomato paste 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped 2 cups water 1 cup Toor Dal lentils (if you can find, otherwise split red lentils) 4 cups pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 2cm pieces ½ tsp salt juice of 1 lemon 2–3 cups baby spinach

Heat oil in a deep fry pan, add onion and cook for 4–5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, kaffir lime and chilli if using and cook for 1 minute. Add spices and cook for 1 minute until fragrant, adding a ¼ cup of the water to stop them from sticking if need be.

Stir in the tomato paste and chopped tomatoes then the coconut cream, remaining water, lentils, pumpkin and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes, or until lentils and pumpkin are soft. Remember to stir a few times during cooking to make sure the lentils don’t burn and stick to the bottom of the pan.

Stir in spinach at the end, and season with lemon juice and more salt to taste.

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