Mexican Chocolate Rice Pudding

My take on another Vegan With A Vengeance recipe, with the expected 'student kitchen' style substitutions. :)

200g arborio rice
350ml water
475ml soy milk
4 tbsp cocoa powder
0.24 tsp cinnamon
40g plain chocolate [I used dark chocolate with raspberry.]
2 tbsp molasses

Rinse the rice. Place in pan with water and 350ml soy milk. Cover and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add cocoa, cinnamon and plain chocolate. [I just broke the latter into chunks.] Stir well until chocolate melts.


Add the remaining soy milk and molasses. Stir constantly for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool to remove temperature. Then cool in the fridge for around 1 hour and serve.


[This made enough for 6 very full ramekins.]

Aubergine Curry

Silly as it sounds, I was curious about what aubergines taste like. I've never tried them before. So, I bought one and then had to think of something to do with it lol. I ended up watching Come Dine and it was the vegan one, where the woman cooks an aubergine curry. The one I made isn't the same but I think it worked well...

Oh, and my verdict on aubergines... They are okay. With the skin removed, they can form a good pulp which makes a good thick curry. :)

1 large aubergine, skin removed and chopped into 1.5cm cubes
1 tin of tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
1/2tsp ground ginger
1tsp coriander
1tsp turmeric
1tsp cumin
1tsp curry powder
1 dried chilli
200ml coconut milk
oil [I used ginger and sesame oil]


Fry the onions and garlic until softened. Add the spices. Cook for a few minutes.

Add the aubergine and coat in the mixture. Add the tomatoes [and the juice]. Stir well and cook for a few minutes on a medium heat.

Add the coconut milk and stir. Reduce the heat and cover.


Cook on a low heat for around 30 minutes, until the aubergine is soft. Then pulp the aubergines with the back of a fork and ensure everything is well mixed.

Serve over rice.

Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Curry

I haven't been eating too well these past few days, so I thought I would go for a vegetable and spice filled supper tonight. This hit the spot for sure! :)

1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tsp ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 cup vegetable stock
1 can [400g] chopped tomatoes
0.5 can [200g] chickpeas
300g sweet potatoes, chopped
300g cauliflower florets


Heat the oil and saute the onions and garlic.
Add the spices - cumin, coriander, curry powder, ground ginger. Cook for 1 minute.

Pour in the tomatoes, including the juice, and the stock. Bring to the boil.


Reduce the heat. Add the sweet potato and cauliflower. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chickpeas. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes.


Serve with rice or chapattis.

Mocha Chip Loaf

From the wonderful 'Vegan with a Vengeance' book, I have created this loaf version of a recipe for Mocha Muffins. As is so often the case, it was mainly due to resource limitations - ie. I have no muffin tin lol. I think it worked out pretty well though, along with the other minor modifications I made along the way. The taste test proves that this makes a really moist and rich cake - it is yummy! :D

1.5 cups self-raising flour
0.75 cups sugar
0.25 cups cocoa powder
0.5 tsp salt
2 tsp instant coffee
1 cup soy milk
0.5 cups vegetable oil
3 tbsp plain soy yoghurt
1 tbsp Tia Maria
8 pieces of chocolate, broken up

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add the coffee and mix well.

Separately, whisk together the milk, yoghurt, oil and Tia Maria.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.

Pour into a greased/lined loaf tin and cook at 180C for around 40 minutes. Check it is done by putting a fork into the middle [if it comes out clean, the cake is ready].

Curried Split Pea Soup

This recipe is taken from 'Vegan with a Vengeance' by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, who also runs a vegan-based website called Post-Punk Kitchen. I gave it a go tonight and was quite pleased with the results. The soup ends up thick and filling, and could definitely be put over rice as suggested in the cookbook. :)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
0.25 tsp coriander
0.25 tsp cardamom
Pinch of cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 pints water
450g dried split peas
1 carrot, grated


Cook the onions in the oil for a few minutes and then add the ginger, garlic and spices. Cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the water, split peas and stir well. Cover and bring to the boil.

Simmer for around 1 hour. 40 minutes in, add the carrot. Stir well and serve hot.

Sweet Parsnip Soup

I went on the hunt for a good parsnip recipe tonight and created this one by merging a few I liked the look of. I know the convention is to have spicy or curried parsnip soup but I fancied something a bit different. :)
[This makes 6-8 portions and is suitable for freezing.]

2 cups of diced parsnips
1 cup of diced carrots
1 chopped onion
2 chopped apples
4 cups of water
1 tbsp of vegan bouillon/vegetable stock cube
0.5 tsp cinnamon
0.25 tsp nutmeg
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil

Roast the prepared parsnips and carrots in a little oil for around 40 minutes.

Heat some oil in a pan and fry the onions.
Add the parsnip, carrot and apple.
Cook for around 5 minutes.

Add the water. Add the bouillon, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt & pepper to taste.

Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes.

Allow the soup to cool and then blend, using a food processor or hand-blender. Serve hot.

Bubor Pulut Hitam

This is a Malaysian rice pudding dish, made using glutinous black rice. I first tried it in a great restaurant called Tampopo, in Manchester, and have since wanted to try to make it myself. I think I did pretty well. :D

1 cup of black glutinous rice [Oriental food shops should stock this.]
2 cups of water
Handful of pandan leaves
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tbsp coconut cream

Soak the black glutinous rice for a couple of hours/overnight. This just helps to speed up the cooking process.


Drain and rinse the rice before putting it into a large pan. Add the water.
Break up your pandan leaves [but leave them in good sized pieces, as you must remove them later - you could tie them together to make it easier]. Add the leaves to the dish.


Bring the mixture to the boil and then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the rice does not stick to the pan bottom.

Add the sugar and a little more water if necessary. Cook for a further 20 minutes.


Remove the pandan leaves and serve warm and topped with coconut cream, once the pudding has reached a porridge-like consistency.

Vegetable & Coconut Curry

I spotted this recipe in an "Everyday Vegetarian" cookbook. As is often the case in a student kitchen, I didn't have everything required but cobbled together something very similar to the original recipe, which smells and tastes delicious!

1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2.5cm fresh root ginger, thinly sliced
2 crushed dried red chillies, complete with seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
Array of vegetables [I used 175g baby corn & mange tout, plus 2 carrots]
250g coconut cream Jasmin rice, boiled

Place chopped onion, garlic, ginger and the chillies into a food processor. Mix into a semi-smooth paste. [If you do not have a food processor, chop all very finely and mix together.]

Heat the oil in a wok or heavy-bottom pan over a medium heat. Add the onion paste, cooking for a few minutes whilst stirring constantly.


Add the spices - turmeric, coriander and cumin - and continue to stir. Add the vegetables and coat them in the spice paste.


Add the coconut cream, cover and simmer for 20 minutes [variable depending on your choice of vegetables], until the vegetables are tender.


Serve on a bed of rice and enjoy! :)


The curry can be cooled, and frozen, to be enjoyed at a later date.