December 3, 2008: Gujju's Cafe Too Chaat House

When Aduki's The Vegie Bar, The Vegie Hut, Soulfood, Bowl of Soul, Trippytaco, La Panella, Shakahari, Enlightened Cuisine, Bodhi, Lord of the Fries, Bo de Trai, Invita, Mr Natural, The Moroccan Soup Bar, Gopal's, The Tofu Shop, Soulmama, Lentil equally Anything, Vege2Go, Vegetarian Nirvana in addition to White Lotus - addition places similar Las Vegan, Fo Guang Yuan in addition to Ganesh that we've notwithstanding to weblog close - how much to a greater extent than could Melbourne bring to offer?

Quite a lot equally it turns out. The best matter close the Veg Guide is that it identifies vego places lurking inwards all kinds of Melbourne suburbs - in addition to inwards regional Victoria. There are many, many places to discover. So this calendar week nosotros decided to firstly discovering them, turning a measure Wed nighttime into a mini-adventure to Melbourne's south-east. The destination: Gujju's Cafe in addition to Chaat House inwards Malvern East. Gujurat, inwards western India, is almost only vegetarian, in addition to is famous for its veg-cuisine.

Gujju's, inwards south-eastern Melbourne, is only vegetarian in addition to deserves to live famous for its thalis in addition to chaat. It's a fairly unassuming house - concrete floors, plainly wooden article of furniture in addition to a television inwards the corner pumping out Indian news. The card is pretty simple: lead from closed to a dozen chaat options, including Irish Gaelic patato dumplings, lentil cakes, soups, puri in addition to many others; or only dive inwards to the all you lot tin consume thali.

Of course, nosotros chose the thali: undhiyu, daal, kadhi, pickle, salad, roti, thepla, a curry of the twenty-four hours (palak paneer inwards our case), dessert of the day, buttermilk in addition to a few lilliputian fried delights that I can't name. And all of it is wonderful. The soup comes inwards spicy in addition to sweetness versions - both perfect for dunking roti into, the battery fried treats concealed roasted chillies in addition to a mashed vegie filling, the pickles were salty in addition to sharp, the daal was chunky in addition to flavoursome, the undhiyu lightly spiced in addition to filled amongst fresh vegies in addition to the palak paneer was only heavenly. One of the finest palak paneers that I've tasted. And I tasted quite a combat - getting a twain of top-ups in addition to sneaking a seize amongst teeth of Cindy's. The breads were fresh, hot in addition to plentiful - everything was only wonderful. We ordered mango lassis to drinkable - thick, tasty in addition to cooling.

Even the buttermilk, which I've never been a fan of, was drinkable. The dessert was a tiny plate of semolina-based sweetness - a squeamish lilliputian destination to a ridiculously skilful meal.

It's non the cheapeast thali closed to ($16.90), but it's to a greater extent than than only a uncomplicated thali - it's an all you lot tin consume feast! Every few minutes the friendly staff stopped past times out tabular array offering us to a greater extent than roti, to a greater extent than fried treats, to a greater extent than curry, to a greater extent than soup - they seemed almost disappointed when I lastly declared that I could consume no more. As good equally endlessly offering us food, the staff were actually helpful - pointing out to Cindy which of the dishes were probable to examination her spice-eating abilities in addition to which were going to hitting the spot.

To total things up: this house is a hidden jewel, easily accessible past times world carry (#3 tram or Caulfield develop station), inundation amongst stunning vegetarian Indian food. Make the trip people, it's good worth it!

Address: 1/131 Waverley Road, East Malvern
Phone: 9571 1188
Price: thalis $16.90, chaat $3.50-$7.90
Licensed

December 5, 2008: Eastward Brunswick Lodge Iv

Edit 22/05/2012: The EBC has straight off closed, but most of the carte du jour has migrated to The Cornish Arms.

I've bought ane time or twice before. It's chunky in addition to really salty - non a peculiarly convincing simulated of a battered cod but rather addictive inwards its ain right, especially when slathered inwards tartare sauce. The sauce portioning is quite reasonable, but sauce-fiend that I am, I wished for to a greater extent than to dip my chips into. Thank goodness for those lightly dressed greens to freshen everything up.

slightly amend lit movie of the vegan 'chicken' parma, which goes for $17 when it's non on special. It's non equally jaw-droppingly special at this price, but the EBC deserves props for offering such vegan-friendly pub meals all calendar week long.

Our 'excuse' for such a quick furnish watch was to cause got payoff of ane of the EBC's other features - the band room. Though nosotros were expecting the Basics to low-cal upward our night, it was cute Tokyo interlopers the Bawdies who won our hearts in addition to shook our fairly awkward hips.

____________

You tin read well-nigh our previous visits to the East Brunswick Club here, here in addition to here.

December 6, 2008: Strawberry & Rhubarb Pudding

this 18-month-old pudding recipe from Food Blogga, who was inspired past times a recipe past times Jill Dupleix)

600g rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch lengths
1 loving cup strawberries, chopped
1/3 loving cup dark-brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 loving cup apparently flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 loving cup sugar
100g butter, softened
2 eggs
100mL milk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a large baking dish, together with drib the rhubarb together with strawberries into the bottom of it. Sprinkle them alongside the dark-brown sugar, together with hence alongside a duet tablespoons of water.

In a modest mixing bowl, sift together the flour together with baking powder.

In a larger bowl, trounce together the butter together with sugar, adding the eggs i at a fourth dimension together with continuing to trounce until it's all good combined. Continue to trounce the mixture slowly, adding a 3rd of the flour mixture, together with hence one-half the milk, alternating i time to a greater extent than until they're all incorporated.

Spoon the batter over the fruit together with smoothen over the acme a little. Bake the pudding for virtually xl minutes, until it's golden dark-brown on acme together with a skewer comes out clean.

December 7, 2008: Concorde Crepes

January 2016: Doing a fleck of spider web log tidying upward together with it looks similar this house has been unopen for ages.

here). This stand, located on the Elizabeth St side of GPO, was opened upward together with poised to crank 'em out at tiffin fourth dimension on Sunday.

At outset glance the menu's got quite the multifariousness of total going on, but in that place are truly plenty of vegetarian options too: vegemite together with Jarlsberg cheese; tomato, basil together with mozzarella; egg, cheese together with parsley; fifty-fifty i amongst chilli beans! Michael opted for a filling of grilled veges, basil, caprine animal cheese together with spinach ($9.90) together with was thoroughly impressed. I'd endure surprised if whatever of the others could concord a candle to my crepe (pictured above), which featured Swiss chocolate-brown mushrooms, thyme, spinach together with iii cheeses ($8.90). Three cheeses is potentially a recipe for wrongness (think congealed oily ooziness everywhere) but these folks teach it so, together with then correct - there's just plenty curd to meld together the mushrooms together with spinach inwards savoury perfection.

If you're afterward something on the sweeter destination of the scale, they've got you lot covered amongst a few classics - lemon together with saccharide ($4.90, tested together with approved!), jam, dear or banana together with nutella. There's a brace to a greater extent than elaborate fruit-based ones, but don't become expecting lavish plates tizzed upward amongst aerosol cream together with icing sugar; this stand upward is augmented amongst exclusively 4 seats (and smoking-friendly ones at that) together with then everything's designed to endure enjoyed on your feet together with potentially amongst i hand.

Address: corner of Elizabeth together with Little Bourke Sts, exterior GPO
Unlicensed
Price: veg crepes $4.90-$9.90

December 7, 2008: Vegan Sausage Rolls

Liz O'Brien's recipe for vegetarian 'sausage' rolls longer than I've been vegetarian. Not alone are they guaranteed gristle-free, but they gustation equally expert equally existent sausage rolls (perhaps better!) as well as alone require ingredients that y'all tin regain readily inwards a supermarket. I've cooked them for birthdays as well as Christmas as well as for cold, lone wintertime nights on the couch. This recipe, my friends, is forever.

... except for my novel lil' discovery. With i or ii substitutions, y'all tin brand vegan sausage rolls that gustation merely equally motherlovin' awesome! Toss the cottage cheese as well as eggs, as well as squelch upward a block of silken tofu - that's it. The raw filling has a distinctive whiff of soy, but there's non a delineate of it in i lawsuit baked. These are the salty, flaky sauce vessels of your dreams.

If y'all compare the recipe below to the master copy version, you'll notice I've made a pair of other tweaks for convenience over the years. Perhaps y'all volition besides - the filling seems most forgiving.


Vegan sausage rolls

125g pecans
stale staff of life to brand 1/2 loving cup breadcrumbs
1 onion
300g silken tofu
1 loving cup rolled oats
1 Massel beef-style stock cube
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons soy sauce (you tin role less - the halt resultant volition live on less salty as well as brown, as well as hence less resemble a 'real' sausage roll)
ground pepper, to taste
3-4 frozen puff pastry sheets ( 25cm square, Borg's is vegan)
water or vegan milk for brushing pastry
sesame seeds

My preferred means of prepping this filling makes maximum role of my nutrient processor. If y'all don't accept one, chopping as well as mashing volition practice the project merely fine. Start past times processing the pecans until they're thoroughly chopped, but non all gone to powder. Tip them into a large mixing bowl, as well as so toss the staff of life into the nutrient processor as well as whizz it until it's crumbs. Toss the crumbs inwards amongst the pecans as well as deed onto the onion. Chop it into 8 chunks as well as procedure them briefly until they've a 'finely chopped' kinda texture. Add them to the mixing bowl, as well as in conclusion whizz upward the tofu until it's a smoothen mush. Add it to the mixing bowl, equally good equally the remainder of the filling ingredients: rolled oats, a crumbled-up stock cube, garlic powder, soy sauce as well as pepper. Stir everything together well.

Now preheat the oven to 200 degrees C as well as lightly grease a baking tray. Thaw out your puff pastry, as well as spell each canvass inwards one-half so that it makes ii rectangles. Spoon the filling downward the optic tertiary of each pastry rectangle; lightly brush to a greater extent than or less other tertiary amongst H2O or milk as well as and so whorl the pastry, starting from the empty tertiary as well as tucking it into the brushed third. Slice the whorl into halves, thirds or quarters equally y'all wishing as well as house them on the baking tray. Make a pair to a greater extent than diagonal cuts inwards the peak of the roll, brush the peak amongst to a greater extent than water/milk as well as sprinkle over to a greater extent than or less sesame seeds. Repeat amongst the remaining filling as well as pastry. Bake the rolls for close twenty minutes, until they're golden brownish as well as flaky. Serve amongst lots of sauce - this i comes highly recommended.

December 7, 2008: Zucchini Crumble

Vegan sausage rolls weren't the solely triumph of Lord's Day night's dinner. We typically augment pastry meals amongst steamed or sauteed greenish vegetables but on this occasion I branched out, taking my cue from an almost year-old comment from Kathryn of sausage rolls). Lightly grease a baking dish (I used a small, foursquare cake tin).

Slice several zucchinis into rounds. Layer them inwards the baking dish; it doesn't affair if at that spot are gaps or overlaps. Sprinkle each layer alternately amongst solid soil black pepper or chicken-style powdered stock every bit you lot become - don't overdo it, you lot simply desire a picayune seasoning to select out the zucchini's flavour.

Time to crumble! Sprinkle over breadcrumbs, chopped fresh or dried herbs, a lite layer of grated parmesan, nooch, vegan parmesan and/or ground nuts.

Bake the crumble until the zucchini is tender as well as the topping is golden brown, nearly 15-20 minutes. You tin gear upward it farther than the colouring you lot seen inwards the photograph inwards a higher house - our reheated leftovers had a deeper coloring as well as flavour.

December 8, 2008: Locro

one or two exceptions), it was pleasant too filling without beingness something interesting plenty for us to bother making again. I used fresh corn too peas, only it was in all likelihood an unnecessary examine - they were sort of buried inward the stewy mush, too hence their freshness didn't stand upward out at all. The primary flavor is the sweetness pumpkin, too amongst some cheese on pinnacle too a fresh salad on the side, this was a reasonable halt to a yr of international recipe adventures.

Locro - pumpkin stew

1 loving cup sweetcorn
450g pumpkin, cutting into small-scale pieces
1/2 loving cup peas
4 potatoes, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons Lycopersicon esculentum paste
200g cheese, grated
1 teaspoon nutmeg
oil
salt too pepper

Boil the pumpkin for 10-15 minutes, until soft. Drain too mash into a thick paste.

Heat the stone oil inward a saucepan too shaver the onion over depression oestrus for v minutes. Add the garlic too shaver for some other infinitesimal or so, stirring.

Add the Lycopersicon esculentum glue too potatoes, along amongst plenty H2O to submerge the spuds (about 1.5 cups inward our pot). Bring to the boil too simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Add the corn, pumpkin too peas too stir everything together. Simmer for some other x minutes. Sprinkle the grated cheese too nutmeg on pinnacle too serve amongst a salad.