Although I'm not a vegetarian, my best friend is, and I spend lots and lots of time at her place cooking veggie Indian food (she's from Bombay). Indian food has some unbelievably delicious choices for vegetarians. I love Paleek Paneer (spinach with cottage cheese) and all of the yummy nutritious veggies with exotic herbs and spices. One of my favorite dishes that she makes isn't strictly "Indian", but a variation on the British Beans on toast. Let me tell you, I thought beans on toast would be extremely horrible, but I am here to say that the way my friend makes it, ALL of our friends, including me, beg for it on a regular basis! It is literally one of the most delicious foods I've ever eaten. It's also super high in protien and Fiber and super low in fat and calories! And it's extremely fast and easy to make. Here's the recipe:

Two cans Vegetarian Baked Beans (Heinz)

1.5 or two fresh green Chili peppers, chopped

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Two fresh garlic cloves, minced

One onion, chopped

One turn of the pan of olive oil

Sliced whole grain bread

Directions:

Pour about one turn of the pan with olive oil and heat. Sautee garlic, onion, and chili peppers together until all are somewhat soft. Pour baked beans into pan and cook on low to medium heat for about ten minutes to let the flavors sink in. Add in cilantro and lower heat. Simmer for five minutes.

Serve over toasted whole grain bread.

Let me know if you try it and how you like it if you do!

MMMMMM....yep, I'm gonna try it!

Sunta - can I ask a favor? Can you ask your friend about a dish for me?

I had a friend in h.s. who was Indian, and looked forward to every meal I was invited over for. We've lost touch since, but to this day I crave a particular dish her grandmother used to make for us. I absolutely loved it. The dish was "Pothra" or something that sounded like it. That's not the right spelling because I've tried Googling for a recipe and can never find anything. This was a loooong time ago, but from what I remember it was a yellowish dough/bread with some kind of greenery/leaves like spinach or something mixed in it...baked... mildly spicy, always eaten with chapatis and ghee (which probably doesn't narrow it down much!)

If your friend (or you) recognize that dish, can you give me the right spelling so I can find a recipe? :eek:

OOO OOO OOO I am with Wheetsin... There was a yogurt drink with mangos I think... I dont know the name of it but I sure wish I did it was yummy

Hey Meow, that sounds familiar to me. My friend's family made a mango drink with crushed cardamom. It was thick, and perfect on a hot day. I believe it was a type of sweet "Lassi". If that's it there are tons of variants, but see if this looks familiar at all.

Wheetsin,

I think you mean Parantha....my hubby is British and I've been introduced to lots of different Indian foods...he loves to cook. Here's a website with a basic recipe...you can add fresh herbs and such to change the flavor....http://www.indianfoodsco.com/Recipes/breads.htm

Another great one...is Naan Bread.....I love the one with raisins and pistachios. Good luck if you try this....the ones I have had taste really fattening!

Wow! Thanks so much for this!!!!

We banded vegetarians are sometimes overlooked! :-)

DBarrett - I don't think that's quite it. This was definitely baked, not griddled, and not something I would consider a bread - it was the main dish.

(So in my determination to figure this out I tried spelling variants of what I perceived phonetically, I may have found it. Patra - made with spinach leaves. Will have to try the recipe and see how close it is to what I remember)

what kind of green chili peppers do you use. We have several different kinds of green chilis here in the stores in TX

Wheetsin is the Bestest!!! LOL Thats exactly what it is!!! Woooo hoooo...I will be making it for hubby this weekend...Me too but no sugar.... Spenda it is!!!

Check out Robin Robertson's vegetarian cookbooks. REALLY good.

I'm sorry for not checking back to this thread till now! Usually I get emailed when a new reponse comes but this time my email only sent me the very last reponse, so Wheetsin I am sorry I didn't respond earlier! I am glad you found the name of the dish and the recipe for it. I'm going to see if my friend can make it for me- sounds delicious!

Last night I made another wonderful veggie dish for my friend. Here's the recipe:

Half package veggie meatballs (soy based or "Quorn" will work fine)

Half pack any frozen veggies you like

One onion

Half (large) tub of yogurt

One Tablespoon butter

Fresh Cilantro

Three Teaspoons garam masala (you can get this if you have an Indian store near you or at Wegmans or you could order it online. You could really use almost any "masala" you like; look at the spice section of the store and pick one that looks good and that recommends using it with veggies or potatoes and it will work)

Melt butter in medium pot and sautee onions until browned. Add veggie meatballs and frozen veggies and sautee. Add yogurt and masala and simmer for 20 minutes. Add chooped cilantro and simmer for 10 minutes. Mmmmm mmmm good, creamy, and spicy! The yogurt gives the sauce a "cream sauce" taste without all the fat and calories of a real cream sauce. Serve with mango pickle, lime pickle, and rice.

I just went & made this for my lunch. It is soooo...... good!!! Thanks Sunta!!

I can not wait to be able to make these dishes! They sound so good.

Thanks