We enjoyed this dish with a side of lightly steamed broccoli and carrots, which were a nice sweet side with the flavorful stew. Before settling with my version I was happy to find Nupur’s lovely and thorough blog post about khichdi, and closely read through quite a few kitchari recipes. Heikki loved this dish and commented that kids would probably enjoy it as well – before he even knew that it’s often the first solid food introduced to children in India!

This is what I used (serves 3-4):

• 2 dl brown basmati rice, soaked for 2 hours (unsoaked cooks longer)
• 1 and 1/2 dl green  mung beans, soaked overnight
• 1 or 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons each: ground coriander and cumin
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• pinch of asafoetida
• 6-8 dl water, and maybe more as needed
• sea salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons of vegan margarine
• 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste or lemon juice

I first heated the oil and fried the mustard seeds until they started to pop. Then I added the chopped ginger and fried it for a few seconds, followed with fennel, coriander, cumin and asafoetida, which I fried just until fragrant, being careful not to burn. Now, I added the rice and the beans along with about 6 dl of hot water and the turmeric, brought to boil, then lowered the heat and let the stew simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes. I added a little bit of water as needed, but not too much – I didn’t want this to be a soupy stew.

When the rice was soft, I removed the pot from heat, and added in the margarine, tamarind paste, and salt to taste. I stirred the stew briskly with a ladle for a few minutes to mash some of the beans and make it a bit creamier, and then it was ready to be served.

The secret of this soup is how we used tahini as a thickener, which produced an almost coconut-milk-like creaminess. It really worked well in this recipe, and we’ll be sure to try tahini in other soups in the future.

This is what we used:

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons cumin (jeera)
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
• about 6 dl of vegetable stock
• 5 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1 – 2 tablespoons lime juice
• salt to taste
• sugar to taste
• pepper to taste
• chopped fresh parsley to garnish

I began by prepping the potatoes, onion and garlic. Since we were hungry, I diced the potatoes into smallish cubes to reduce cooking time.

I heated the oil in a thick-bottomed pot and added the cumin, coriander, turmeric and paprika. I stirred with a spatula, until the fragrances were released. Then I added the onion and garlic, and sweated them for a few minutes. Next I put the potato cubes in the pot, and poured in the stock, just enough to cover the potatoes. I brought the soup to boil, covered the pot, and cooked until the potatoes were soft.

When the potatoes were done I added the chickpeas in the soup. Then I took about 1 dl of the liquid from the soup in a cup, mixed in the tahini with a spoon until no lumps remained, and poured it back into the soup. Then we added the salt, sugar, pepper and lime juice, and checked the taste until it was to our liking. Before serving, we sprinkled our soup with some chopped parsley.

We thought that the burgers turned out really well. The Indian-style spices, the earthy flavor of the cow peas and the delicate taste of the hemp seeds made a delectable combination. The burgers were served with a side of potato wedges, garlic yogurt sauce and some lettuce.

There are many reasons to use hemp seeds. First of all, they are a complete protein source, just like soy bean and quinoa. Also, unlike soy beans, hemp can be cultivated in Finland too. After making this dish, I realized there’s a third reason as well: Its mild, easily combinable taste makes it a great ingredient in plant-based cuisine.

This is what I used:

• 500 g boiled or canned cowpeas, mashed (about 1 cup or 2,5 dl of dried cowpeas)
• 1 dl ground hemp seeds
• 3 tablespoons gluten flour
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 2 teaspoons of coriander
• 1 fresh chili, minced (or to taste)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• olive oil for brushing

First I set the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. I heated the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and fried the onion until translucent. Then I lowered the heat, added the garlic, turmeric, cumin, and coriander, and stirred them into an oily paste. I continued to fry and stir for maybe a minute more, and removed the paste from the heat.

Next I simply combined all the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, added the paste from the frying pan, and kneaded the mix with my hand for a minute or two, until a delicate dough was formed. Now I spread some baking parchment on a baking sheet, and rolled eight balls from the dough, which I proceeded to tap between my palms into burgers.

I placed the burgers on the baking parchment, and brushed them with olive oil on both sides. I baked them in the oven for 30 minutes, 15 minutes on both sides. Before flipping them over, I brushed them with olive oil again. Together with the burgers I baked some potato wedges on a separate baking sheet, the burgers on the upper rack, and the potatoes on the lower rack.