Healthy Zucchini Curry

Zucchini also known as courgette and baby marrow are summer squash, which are herbaceous vines whose roots and seeds are edible even when immature. It is closely related, but not identical, to the marrow. Zucchini is a very versatile vegetable with numerous health benefits.

 Benefits of Zucchini

• A variety of vitamins, minerals, and beneficial plant compounds can be found in zucchini. Cooked zucchini contains a large amount of vitamin A. It also contains antioxidants, which are found in the skin which is why it's better to keep the skin and not peel zucchini.
• As well as protecting you against certain cancers, such as prostate cancer, these may benefit your eyes, skin, and heart. 
• In addition to being high in fibre, zucchini may regulate blood sugar levels and increase insulin sensitivity, thereby reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Carotenoids, fibre, and potassium in zucchini may lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and other heart disease risk factors.
• You may be able to lower your risk of age-related eye conditions by eating zucchini because it is rich in manganese, lutein, zeaxanthin, and vitamins A and C.

How can you eat Zucchini?

The zucchini can be eaten raw or cooked in a variety of dishes, such as soups, stews, sandwiches, salads, baked goods, and more. Water and fibre in zucchini, combined with its low-calorie content, may help reduce hunger, which could lead to weight loss over time. This is why Zucchini is perfect to include in your weight loss programme.

Some recipes that I have made with Zucchini are Spanish Warm Courgette Salad and Mucver- Turkish Courgette Fritters

Can I cook zucchini with other vegetables?

You can make zucchini and potato curry, zucchini and peas curry and zucchini and fenugreek curry. 

Types of Zucchini

There are all shapes and sizes of zucchini. You can get yellow, green, stripped, round oval and long. In terms of flavour they are all very similar.

 

You can also watch a video of the recipe below:

My favourite 10 UAE vegetarian dishes

The cuisine of the United Arab Emirates (Arabic) is one of my personal favourites. I adore the flavours, textures and aromas of Arabic dishes. Arabic cuisine makes effective use of spices and the blend of sweet and savoury flavours is delectable. There are many dishes that are influenced by the nearby countries of Persia and India.

Here are some of my favourite Arabic dishes:

Pilaf made with Burghul wheat

Burghul wheat pilaf is a delicious one-pot meal that is made with a medley of vegetables. The dish is flavoured with Middle Eastern spices and served with a vegetable stew.

Man'ooshe Bread

There is a flatbread called man'ooshe available in almost every street bakery in the UAE. In general, it is served with a spread called Za'tar. This spread is made of sumac, sesame seeds, and salt, topped with tomatoes, onions, and salads of choice. Then, it is wrapped up and eaten.  

Dango

Dango is a lovely appetiser made with boiled chickpeas. The boiled chick peas are coated and stir-fried in cayenne pepper and spices and served as a snack

Fatoush

Fatoush is a delicious salad that is made with crunchy salad leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, delicious sweetcorn, pomegranate seeds and Lavash bread. It’s dressed with the flavours of sumac, pomegranate molasses and coriander.

Muhallabia Milk pudding.

Muhallabia is a creamy and rich milk pudding flavoured with rose water and rose petals. The pudding is served chilled and is very delicious. Often nuts are used as a garnish.

Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a salad made mostly of finely chopped parsley, with tomatoes, mint, onion, and bulgur, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and sweet pepper

Falafel

Falafel is a Middle Eastern snack. A deep-fried ball or flat-shaped patties made with ground chickpeas, herbs, and spices. They are usually served on a meze platter with hummus, pitta bread and salad.

Labneh

To make Labneh, full cream yoghurt is strained and then salt is added to it. This is the base, and you can flavour it with herbs and spices, drizzled with olive oil. It can be used as a dip.

Hummus

The main ingredients in hummus are chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and seasonings. Red pepper hummus, smoky paprika hummus, and caramelised onion hummus are just some of the variations you can make with hummus.

Couscous salad

A delicious couscous and chickpea salad is seasoned with aromatic herbs and spices. To enhance the flavour and texture, flaked almonds, dried apricots and pomegranate seeds are added.

Despite the fact that Arabic cuisine is predominantly meat-based, it makes use of a lot of fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices, making it a very healthy and nutritious cuisine. There are plenty of vegan and vegetarian options available to eat and enjoy in the UAE. 

If you are looking to travel to UAE, finding a restaurant in the UAE can be made easier by visiting the Square Meal UAE. Here you will find plenty of restaurant choices at a click of a button.

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World Vegan Month with tastecard

I have always been a vegetarian all my life, but in the last few years, my diet has been shifting more towards a vegan diet. I have found that veganism is more readily accepted worldwide and catered for in most places. Most restaurants have at least 1-2 vegan dishes if not more on the menu and some restaurants have separate vegan menus that they serve.

November is world vegan month and I have joined forces with tastecard to enjoy a vegan meal at a local restaurant. tastecard partners with many restaurants to offer discounts on meals as well as days out and coffee clubs, along with many more benefits. tastecard membership can start from as little as £5.99 a month or annual membership from £39.99 offering excellent value for money.

There are many restaurants in Watford to choose from. We decided to visit Namaste Watford an Indian restaurant that came highly recommended by a friend who had been there. Namaste Watford serves a good variety of Indian Cuisine. Looking through the menu, there were ample dishes to choose from. We were extremely impressed with the staff's knowledge of the ingredients used in the dishes and their suitability for vegans and anyone with allergies.

The restaurant is spacious, bright and well-decorated. There is plenty of seating to accommodate large groups and families alike. There is also a well-stocked bar with plenty of soft and alcoholic drink choices.

While waiting for our appetisers to be prepared, we enjoyed some soft drinks, poppadum, and delicious chutneys.

Our appetisers included Chilli Garlic Mogo (cassava in spices) and Crispy Bhajiyas (deep-fried potatoes dipped in chickpea coating and spices). 

Both dishes were delicious, and we really enjoyed them. The portion sizes were generous and since we did not finish the entire starters. The waiter kindly offered to pack them to take home as a kind gesture.

 

For the main course, we opted for some Tarka dhal, Methi Corn (a curry made with sweetcorn and fenugreek) and steamed rice. 

The food was piping hot, freshly prepared, and had just the right balance of spices making it tasty and appetising. Once again, the portions were generous and there was plenty of food left over that we took home with us.

There were no vegan desserts on the menu, but tea and coffee were available. Following an excellent meal, we were too full to sample dessert, so we were not concerned.

Namaste Watford was a suitable choice of restaurant to visit during World Vegan Month especially as they accept the tastecard, making the dining experience more affordable. 

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Vegan Supper Club with Chef Saurav Nath at Chakra Restaurant Kensington

My family and I love discovering new places for dining out. With the Covid situation now improving the options have opened to allow us to travel to London and visit our favorite restaurants. Being a vegetarian my first choice of restaurants are the ones that accommodate our dietary requirements and offer a good range of dishes not one or two, so that we can enjoy a variety of textures, tastes and flavours. 

We were recently invited to attend the Flavours of a Vegan Indian Spring supper club at Chakra Kensington hosted by Humayun Hussain one of the UK’s leading exponents of Indian food and restaurants and Chef Saurav Nath who is an extremely experienced chef who has headed up the kitchens of some of the finest of Indian restaurants in the UK as well as worked alongside such revered European chefs as Pierre Koffman and Eric Chavot. There are so many amazing chefs in the UK such as Merlin Jabron Johnson, Chet Sharma , Shelly Abe and many more extremely talented chefs who also run restaurants. You can check them out at Square Meal UK

 

We were lucky that the British weather was thankfully in our favour and we were able to dine outside under the stars. We sipped on refreshing Passion Fruit and Rose and Cardamom mocktails. 

The menu presented to us was extremely exciting, especially as a lot of thought and attention was given in choosing interesting ingredients, spices, flavours and textures. Here is the menu we sampled.

AMUSE BOUCHE

Palak & Aloo Chat

Tangy potatoes, sprouted beans, popped lotus seed, pomegranate, tamarind sauce, soya yogurt foam, red onion.

STARTER

Global Artichoke Doughnut

South Indian spiced infused globe artichoke patties, sesame seed & tomato chutney, black onion seed, coriander oil, mooli & peanut salad.

 

MID-COURSE

Beet & Broccoli Tikka

Tandoori spiced, glazed beet root & broccoli tikka, coconut & wild garlic chutney,  shimeji mushroom, golden beet, quinoa & walnut salad.

 

MAIN COURSE

Served with vegetable Yakhni Pulao

Separate grainS of rice, light and fluffy cooked to perfection with subtle flavours to compliment the curries and dhal.

Spring Green Kofta

Melt in the mouth spring green & soya ball cooked in Awadhi kormas sauce.

Tofu Hara Pyaz

Organic tofu tossed in black pepper & coriander flavoured tomato sauce with spring onions.

Dhaba Dal

Channa dal tempered with cumin & garlic.

 

Tandoori Roti

Soft tandoori roti cooked on the griddle, the perfect accompaniment to mop up the delicious curries.

Dessert

Boondi with Poached Pears and Icecream

Boondi pearls dipped in syrup served with poached pears in cinnamon syrup and creamy vanilla icecream.

 

Each and every dish was beautifully constructed, well balanced in look and flavours. I especially liked the fusion touch that Chef Saurav Nath introduced to the Indian cuisine. Using ingredients such as artichoke, beetroot, tofu and quinoa in a very unique way was welcoming and very exciting to eat.

I was a guest at the supper club and would like to Thanks Chef Saurav Nath and Humayun Hussain for inviting me to sample this gastronomical feast. My tastebuds were rocking and rolling all evening as each course arrived. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are of my experience of the supper club. If you would like more details for further information on all forthcoming Supperclubs and dinner events please contact Humayun Hussain or Chef Saurav Nath.

Vegan Chilli Cheese Toast

I have been a vegetarian all my life but I do eat dairy ie cheese, milk, yoghurt and milk base products. However my daughter recently changed to a vegan diet, so I have been trying lots of substitutions for dairy products that I can use in my vegan recipes so she too can enjoy all the food that I cook.

One of our favorite lunches is Chilli cheese toast, basically this is a delux vegetable packed spicy cheese on toast. I tried to recreate it using the Violife vegan cheese. 

Violife is an alternate to cheese, it is a plant based product which is free from dairy, soya, gluten, lactose, nuts and preservatives. Its is made from coconut oil, modified starch, salt and vitamin B12. You enjoy them sliced in your sandwiches, spread on your bagel, sprinkled on your pasta or melted on your pizza. Violife is the vegan alternative to cheese that tastes and cooks great! It resembles grated cheddar in appearance, it does soften upon grilling but does not go brown like normal cheese. The flavour is similar to dairy cheese and its a great cheese substitute.

There is a variety of products available in the Violife range, some that I have tried are:

Violife Le Rond Camembert  flavour is soft, round and creamy. It can be baked it in the oven or microwaved. It can be served with vegetable crudites, crackers and crisps. It is perfect appetiser to present at any party with a glass of wine.

Violife Original Flavour slices,this classic flavour that gives you your cheesy taste. Its great in a tastycheese salad or cheese ploughmans sandwich and can also be grilled to make a cheese toasty.  

Violife Smoky Cheddar flavour Slices are delicious served with warm crusty bread or rolled up with olives and sundried tomatoes. This makes a delicious starter to serve with a glass of red wine. 

Violife Epic Mature is a really nice crumbly texture that is great grated or cut in cubes to serve with cheese and pineapples . It has great robust flavour that is perfect for sandwiches and wraps or grated on pies and pasta too.

For my Vegan Chilli cheese toast I used the Violife ready grated cheese, it is convenient to use and comes in a handy resealable bag so it remains fresh even after opening. 

The Violife range is available from most large supermarket, such as Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda.

The chilli cheese toast recipe is really easy and can be made in less than 10 minutes. It has lots of healthy ingredients and the perfect balanced lunch to enjoy.

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