VEGAN MUNG BEAN ROSTIS WITH TAMARIND AND TOMATO CHUTNEY + A COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY! (V+, GF)

How to make vegan mung bean rostis - The Little Plantation

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a lovely, wonderful and delicious Easter break! The man and the boy in my life and I have just come back from a week long holiday in Croatia. And I wish I could say I'm still in holiday bliss mode but the reality is my feet have had to hit the ground running; preparations for my supperclub with Silvia are in full swing and then I had today's blog post to share with you all too of course! But, the hard work is worth it as today's amazing recipe for vegan mung bean rostis with tamarind and tomato chutney and vegetarian cookbook give-away are super dreamy.

So what's the book like?
Let me delve right in, shall I? Right, so I have an extra copy of Mira Manek's new book Saffron Soul up for grabs courtesy of Quarto Publishing! The book is packed full of healthy vegetarian heritage recipes from India, where Mira has her cultural roots. This deeply personal connection to the recipes in the book really shines through and it's so clear to see how passionate Mira feels about sharing them with us.

Expect colourful, fragrant, delicious dishes with a contemporary twist, which are all achievable and easy to recreate in a home kitchen. Sure, you'll need an array of spices and a handful of more exotic ingredients to make the recipes from the book, but that's to be expected of an Indian cookbook!

Highlights from the book include...
I think the breakfast recipes are really fun and creative starting with the Indian gooseberry and green juice and the mango and cardamom smoothie and ending with such delights as rose and pistachio tapioca porridge or figs with hazelnut crumble. With such inventive recipes there is bound to be one there that's totally new to you and worth a try :).

What you need to be mindful of...
This is vegetarian rather than a vegan cookbook, so numerous recipes call for milk and other dairy products. There are some recipes which can be easily turned vegan and others where it's a tiny bit trickier.

What you need to do to win a copy...
THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED! All you need to do for a chance to win is to finish the following sentence: A great coobook is/has/does/makes/includes... Be quick with your answers, entry to this giveaway closes at midnight (Greenwich Time) on Monday, April24th, 2017. The winner will be picked and notified within a week of the closing date.

Please note that this competition is open to UK residents only. Therefore, I'd be super grateful if you can be clear when you comment whether you live in the UK or not. And even if you don't live in my neck of the woods, please do feel free to finish the sentence anyway. As always I'm super interested to read your answers no matter where you live. Good luck everyone! THE WINNER IS ANNA! CONGRATULATIONS!

Thanks for reading and see you in 2 weeks :).

Today's recipe is of course taken from Mira Manek's lovely new vegetarian cookbook Saffron Soul. The blog post name here is slightly misleading as you're actually getting 3 totally delicious recipes (rather than the 2 the title suggests). That's because the full blog title would have been too long *blush*! Anyway, you can make all three recipes together or prepare just the chutney and salsa without making the rostis and vica versa, which is why I've split them up into 3 different sections. There's also some soaking to do before you get stuck in (worth it!), so do read the instructions carefully please before you get started ;). I hope that all makes sense and isn't too confusing. Happy cooking everyone! (P.S. The tamarind and date chutney is to die for. A MUST make ;)).

Tamarind and date chutney
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Makes: a little jar full of chutney

Ingredients for the tamarind and date chutney:

100g/3.5oz dry, seedless tamarind (I used something like this)
200g/1+1/3cups pitted dates, I used Medjool dates
400ml/1+2/3cups water
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt

Instructions for the tamarind and date chutney:

NOTE: If you are making all three recipes, start with this one here.
Place all the ingredients in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and boil for 15 minutes, then sieve the juice from the blend and discard the pulp.

Keeps well in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 weeks.

Tamarind and tomato salsa
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Makes: a small jar full of salsa

Ingredients for the tamarind and tomato salsa:

15 cherry tomatoes or 4 tomatoes, washed and finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped and briefly washed under running cold water, then dried well
3tbs tamarind and date chutney (see above)
juice of 1/2 orange
1 tsp salt

Instructions for the tamarind and tomato salsa:

NOTE: Please make the chutney before making the salsa! And make the chutney/salsa prior to making the rostis ;). It's just easier that way.
In contrast to the original recipe, I suggest giving your chopped onions a quick rinse under running cold water. It takes the edge of the onions and makes the salsa a little milder. Just ensure you really get rid of any additional liquid so that the salsa isn't too runny. Then, mix the salsa ingredients together and you're done!
Keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for a 2-3 days.

Recipe continues below...

Mung bean rostis
Soaking time: 4-5 hours or overnight
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour+ 15 minutes
Makes: 8

Ingredients for the mung bean rostis:

80g/1/3cup dry mung beans
200g/7oz/2 small sweet potatoes
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
10 walnuts, chopped into small pieces
2 tbs ground flax seeds
4 garlic cloves, grated
5cm/2inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
handful of chopped coriander leaves
juice of 1/4 lime
2 tbs rice flour

2 tsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil) for frying

Serve with (optional):
cucumber ribbons
fresh tomatoes
slices avocado
seeds
chutney and salsa (see above)

Instructions for the mung bean rostis:

NOTE: If you are making all three recipes, please start with the chutney, then tackle the salsa and prepare the rostis last of all.
Rinse the mung beans in a sieve under cold running water, then place in a saucepan or bowl and cover them with cold water. Leave to soak for 4-5 hours or ideally overnight.

When the mung beans are ready, pour the water away, place the mung beans in a saucepan, fill with fresh, cold water and leave to cook on a medium-low heat for around 1 hour or until they are soft. If they look like they are on the verge of drying out (AKA you used too little water) then add some more water as they continue to cook. When the mung beans are cooked through, drain all excess water away; the mung beans should be cooked through and completely dry if not the rostis will not hold together well! Then mash up the mung beans and place in a large mixing bowl with all the other rosti ingredients. Taste the mixture and add more salt if need be. Then form 8 rostis with your hands.

Melt the coconut or vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a low to medium heat. Add the rostis about 2-3 at a time. Cook the rostis for a few minutes on one side, then turn over and cook for a few more minutes on the other side. Repeat until both sides are lightly toasted and brown.

To serve, place 2 rostis on each plate, top with some chutney and salsa and serve with cucumber ribbons, avocado slices and a dash of lime juice. Enjoy!

Tip 1: Please do not be intimidated by the lengthy ingredient lists. Each recipe is super easy to make.
Tip 2: Forget to soak the mung beans but ready to get stuck in? Then soak for as long as you can and just cook for longer. It's doable.
Tip 3: If you don't have the time to make the chutney and salsa, just serve the rostis with store bought mango chutney. Should be super delicious too.
Tip 4: Make sure that the mung beans are totally dry after cooking. If not it will be harder for the rostis to hold together.