Vegan Festive Indian Cooking 

Live Online Cookery Class - Vegan Festive Indian Cooking 

The Event

Join nutritionist Rohini Bajekal and her mother, Dr Nitu, to learn how to make five Indian dishes, including a festive dessert!. 

You’ll learn:

• How to make Jeera Meera Kadi, a healthy South Indian curry with tamarind, cumin, pepper and coconut
• How to make tasty side dishes including South Indian Green Peas, tangy Tomato Chutney and Cumin Spiced Pulao Rice  
• Make Gajjar Ka Halwa, carrot Halwa - a mouth-watering festive dessert and the perfect 'pick me up'
• How to dry roast spices for an oil-free tadka (traditional Indian seasoning for dishes), or tempering without oil
• How to create delicious and healthy Indian dishes without oil or animal products
• The benefits of a whole foods plant-based diet and how to prioritise legumes in your diet

This class would be especially useful for who would love to learn some easy, healthy and affordable Indian recipes or learn more nutrition tips.

Please note that this is not a strictly oil-free class and we will provide options for both in order to be inclusive.

For ingredients and equipment needed see below 

About Rohini

Outside of running her own nutrition practice, Rohini Bajekal is an Advisory Board Member and Nutritionist for Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, a Community Interest Group dedicated to the promotion of a whole foods plant-based diet for optimal health and wellbeing. Rohini is also Brand Manager for Women for Women’s Health UK, a voluntary service set up to empower women of all ages to make lifestyle choices that will help improve their own health as well as that of their families. Rohini loves sharing the benefits of eating more plants and working with others to create delicious food, posting nutrition tips and recipes every day on Instagram @rohinibajekal

Rohini Bajekal: MA Oxon, MSc Nutrition and Food Sciences, Dip IBLM/ BSLM, Nutritionist and International Board-Certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional
www.rohinibajekal.com

About Dr Nitu

Dr Nitu Bajekal is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist for 20 years on the NHS with over 35 years of clinical experience in women’s health. She is also one of the first US board-certified Lifestyle Medicine Physicians in the UK. She is the founder of Women for Women's Health, a voluntary service set up in 2014 to educate and empower women to make dietary and lifestyle choices to help improve their own and their families’ health. Dr Nitu is passionate about educating the public and doctors about women’s health, plant based nutrition and lifestyle medicine, as she firmly believes these go hand in hand.

Dr Nitu Bajekal: MD FCOG Dip IBLM, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Ambassador for Made in Hackney. Follow @drnitubajekal on Instagram for recipes and tips on nutrition and women’s health with many more free resources at www.nitubajekal.com

Fee: £20 (£10 concession).  All funds raised go towards our community meal service providing free nutritious, tasty meals to households who need them during these challenging times. 

If you are able to donate to our crowdfunder please visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/...

If you would like to be added to our FREE online community class mailing list - just drop a line to classes@madeinhackney.org. Please note that, in the interest of fairness, opportunities to attend free classes are limited. 

Refunds: we require a minimum of 24 hours' notice for any cancellations or transfers once you have booked onto a class.

INGREDIENTS LIST 

CUMIN SPICED PULAO RICE (JEERA PULAO)

• 2 cups pre-cooked brown rice (cooked beforehand- 1 cup of brown rice requires 2 cups of water)
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 small onion, cut length wise into strips (the way you cut them for caramelised onions)
• 1 small handful of cashew nuts
• 1-2 bay leaves (fresh or dry)
• Sea salt to taste

GAJJAR KA HALWA (CARROT HALWA)

• 1 generous handful of cashews, chopped and dry roasted 
• 2 crushed cardamom pods or a large pinch of cardamom powder (optional)
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter (I used Pure soya butter)
• 2-3 large organic carrots (1 -1.5 cups grated medium, ideally. Fine is ok, not very coarse)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or scrapings from one vanilla pod
• A large pinch of sea salt
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or use 1/2 cup brown sugar)
• 1 handful golden raisins (or black raisins)
• 1 carton of Alpro Single soya cream 250 ml (OR you can use 300-400 ml of soya or any plant milk and 3-4 tablespoons of ground almonds)

SOUTH INDIAN GREEN PEAS

• 1teaspoon of black mustard seeds
• A pinch of fenugreek (methi) seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• A pinch of asafoetida (also known as hing - this is optional)
• 2 dried red chillies, broken in half (less if you prefer)
• 3-5 fresh or dried curry leaves
• 250g of frozen green peas
• 1/4 teaspoon of jaggery or any sugar e.g. coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt to taste (optional)
• Fresh coriander and/ or fresh coconut to garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon of olive or coconut oil (optional)

JEERA MEERA KADI (A SOUTH INDIAN TAMARIND CUMIN PEPPER COCONUT CURRY)

• 1/2 -1 teaspoon olive or coconut oil (optional)
• 2 -3 medium cloves of garlic, crushed and slit into long pieces
• 1 teaspoon each of cumin powder (jeera)
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper powder (meera)
• 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
• 1 can of coconut milk (Can opt for light version - it will be less creamy)
• 1 can of butter beans OR cannelloni beans or black eyed beans (rinsed)
• 1 heaped teaspoon of tamarind paste
• 100ml of water
• Sea salt to taste

TOMATO CHUTNEY

• 1 teaspoon olive oil (optional)
• 1 heaped tablespoon of the Five Spice called Panch Phorun*
• 4-6 curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• One pinch of pepper powder
• A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 2 -3 medium fresh tomatoes (roughly chopped)
• One handful chopped dates/raisins/dried mango pieces
• 1-1.5 tablespoons of jaggery or 1-2 tbsp coconut sugar
• Sea salt to taste

*OR if you do not have panch phorun, use the following:

• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds

EQUIPMENT LIST

• Sieve to wash the rice
• One medium saucepan with lid for the rice
• One small saucepan with lid for the peas dish
• One medium saucepan for the gajjar ka halwa
• One small or medium sauce pan for the jeera meera kadi
• Kettle or extra pan to boil water
• Teaspoon, tablespoon and cup measures
• Wooden utensils – spoon
• Knife for chopping vegetables and herbs
• Ladle
• Can opener (for tomatoes and beans)
• Chopping board
• Grater for the carrots or to speed up things, a food processor

For information: classes@madeinhackney.org / 020 8442 4266

Location: Zoom, details to be provided via email (usually the day before the class). Check your junk mail if need be!