Topic: meat substitutes

[diverdil]

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!!!!

[Stephen Lindsay]

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.

[sp]

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

[Peripatetic Phil]

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 for some ideas.

** Phil.

[PaulP]

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?

[sp]

How to make paneer...

[commis]

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

[Malc.]

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.

[spiceyokooko]

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.

[meggeth]

Grilled aubergine can be a nice alternative to meat.