Curry Recipes Online
Curry Chat => Lets Talk Curry => Topic started by: diverdil on April 01, 2013, 07:24 PM
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i have many vegetarian friends and like to cook for them. instead of just making a vegetable dhansak, biryani or whatever else i have been exploring options of quorn or tofu. has anyone else used any of these products and if so how was it fo them. i tried quorn chicken style pieces but i cooked it first in a mix and it fell to pieces.
any ideas or should i just force them all to eat meat!!!!
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My friend's wife doesn't eat meet though she will eat prawns and her fave is a Pathia. However for pure vegetarian dishes you could consider Brinjal Bhaji (curryhell's), Bombay Potatoes, Mushroom Bhaji, Aloo Gobi and Channa Dhal to name but a few. They are all great dishes and not an ounce of horse between them.
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Both my wife and my father are veggie, so I do have some experience of cooking for them. Aside from the usual mixed vegetable (from frozen, straight into the madras etc) or mushroom (same applies) curries, Quorn or supermarket-branded meat-free alternatives like lamb style strips or chicken style pieces are best lightly fried first so they keep their shape - think of it a bit like browning beef to seal it. Then the pieces can be used in the curry and they won't fall to bits. I do a "Quo-rma" that goes down very well for the lightweights... ;) pop the frozen quorn pieces in, fry for a minute or so, then add the base, almond powder, coconut block etc
The other advantage is they don't need pre-cooking and the pieces cook in minutes
Hope this helps
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any ideas or should i just force them all to eat meat!!!!
No ! I would very strongly recommend trying your hand at southern Indian vegetarian cuisine. I am a committed carnivore, but if I were to find myself in (say) Kerala, with no option of meat, I could very happily live on southern Indian vegetarian cuisine. Masala dosa would be my first choice, but there are so many wonderful southern Indian vegetarian dishes. Look here (http://www.sagarveg.co.uk/covent-gardens-menu/) for some ideas.
** Phil.
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I tried Quorn mince a while back in a chilli con carne.
Never again, and it costs the same as beef! I wouldn't be surprised if they find out it is bad for you in the future.
I would stick to vegetables and pulses myself for veggie guests. What about that Indian cheese, panir I think it's called?
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How to make paneer... (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/paneer_86451)
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Hi
I've always had good results with mushrooms. I'd also consider tofu, cut to size and blanched first, so that it maintains its shape.
Regards
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There is no reason why you couldn't use tofu though I would opt for one of the vegetarian dishes already available like the Sag Paneer.
But as Phil hinted at, there are many traditional vegetarian curries that you could do. I tried the Rajma Masala recently which if you like kidney beans, is a fantastic vege alternative, almost like a chilli con carne but with no meat.
Chick peas are also good in a curry.
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any ideas or should i just force them all to eat meat!!!!
I've never had particularly good results with meat substitutes such as the ones you mention. That might simply be because I don't understand how to cook them properly, but I generally don't bother with them for the simple reason I don't have to!
If it were me, I'd probably stick to cooking reasonably well known Indian vegetable dishes and getting them right rather than perhaps trying to cook say a chicken madras with quorn instead of chicken.
There are many Indian vegetable dishes along the lines that people have mentioned. Saaj Bhaji, Bombay Aloo, Mushroom Bhaji, Aloo ghobi, many Dal, lentil and chickpea dishes, Okra, Saag Paneer, Mattar Paneer, the list is endless. If they eat fish, that opens up many options too.
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Grilled aubergine can be a nice alternative to meat.
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You could try Seitan
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You could try Seitan
Never heard of that before. Certainly looks the part. :)
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thanks for your ideas. will look into them
the reason i suggested quorn and tofu was for the marinading process. many vegetarians look for options other than yet more veggies
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Have you tried making Keema (but instead of mince meat, use minced soya) my wife made it last week and I have to say it was fantastic. I'm a carnivore through and through, but I do like the pure minced soya (not quorn mince).
Graham
http://heeraspices.com (http://heeraspices.com)
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I have used quorn pieces in a lot of recipes from this site and it works fine.
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you make a very good point. I really get fed up with the same old lamb/chiken all the time.
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We're vegetarians and I mostly use Paneer & veg in my currys.
The veg being:Peas,sweetcorn,chickpeas,chopped spring onion and a few pinches of mustard and cumin seeds.
I start off by lightly deep-frying the paneer then set it to one side,while boiling the veg for 5 minutes.
Just before I cook the main curry,I then take a frying pan and cook the Paneer ,veg and add a sprinkling of spice mix/curry powder.
Cooked Paneer soon goes hard after it's been cooked,so it's best used immediately in the curry after the final fry.
I've tried so many variations of veg,quorn,tofu etc, over the years,but this is the one I'm sticking too.
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Have you tried making Keema (but instead of mince meat, use minced soya) my wife made it last week and I have to say it was fantastic. I'm a carnivore through and through, but I do like the pure minced soya (not quorn mince).
Graham
http://heeraspices.com (http://heeraspices.com)
I love Keema Aloo with peas (takes me back to my childhood days but with curry) so I'll have to give the soya one a go. Do you use just regular soya mince like TRS do or do you use the Beanfeast stuff.
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i tried quorn chicken style pieces but i cooked it first in a mix and it fell to pieces.
any ideas or should i just force them all to eat meat!!!!
Hi diverdil .
It's best to add the Quorn to the curry at the final five minutes of cooking.
Prep the Quorn beforehand by -lightly frying in oil and some spice mix.
I never bother with Tofu;it's a bugger to marinade,but if you're keen on giving it a go my advise would to be freeze the tofu in advance.
Freezing changes the structure of the tofu,making it firmer and allowing more water to be squeezed out thus allowing flavours/marinades to be absorbed easier.