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Tag: chickpea

Chana Burrito: A Spicy Handheld Meal

One of my earliest memories of living on my own in Toronto is of visiting Flying Monkey Natural Foods, near Kensington Market. As a naive student with limited cooking skills and time, I made heavy use of their prepared meals. I particularly enjoyed a small but filling burrito filled with the well-loved Indian chickpea curry known as chana (or chole) masala. It was thicker than the chana you get in a restaurant, which was a good thing because a burrito made with a thin curry would go everywhere and likely stain your clothes. If ever there was a quick meal designed for life on the go, this is it. The spices are rich and the chickpeas are filling, but the burrito travels well and waits for you until you're ready for it. The Flying Monkey doesn't exist on College St. anymore, and I've been unable to find this burrito anywhere else, so I set about making my own. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: chickpea, spicy, burrito, tortilla, Indian, chana

Making Better Hummus at Home

So, I guess the first question to deal with is why. Why make your own hummus at home when there are so many options at the grocery store that just require the effort of opening a lid? Two reasons mainly: cost and freshness. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: hummus, chickpea, healthy, tahini

Falafels from Scratch

A vegetarian newly arrived in any major city quickly sniffs out the decent falafel shops. It's really one of the only meals you can pick up and enjoy on the go with little advance planning. And I do mean enjoy. It's not about the chickpeas -- it's about the onion, lemon, parsley and spices. Of course, the chickpeas are the vehicle that delivers all that flavour to your mouth, and there would be no falafels without them, but the other ingredients are what make you go mmmmmmm. The chickpeas also contribute some good, quality vegan protein, which is never a bad thing. More

Filed under: Recipes > Main Dishes

Tags: falafel, salad, tahini, chickpea, comfort_food

Chana Masala is About the Most Fun You Can Have with Chickpeas

Like many Toronto people, my introduction to chana masala came from one of the many outstanding Indian buffet restaurants that I was addicted to in my 20s. When you think about it, these restaurants are unique in big cities for the proportion of their menus that are devoted to vegetarian offerings, and their dedication to spiciness, two very important qualities when looking for a place to eat out, IMHO. Chana masala was always a big part of the magnetic pull toward these restaurants, a pull that I found pretty much impossible to resist. More

Filed under: Recipes > Main Dishes

Tags: healthy, Indian, chickpea, curry, spicy

Hummus Wrap with Homemade Pita Bread

I work in a hospital during the week and I (very) occasionally have to avail myself of the trucked-in meals. The one thing in this factory-supplied, mini-cafe nightmare that I can count on for flavour, freshness and even nutrition is a pita wrap with hummus, romaine lettuce and shredded carrot. Inexplicably, the pita is always soft and fresh, the hummus tastes homemade and the raw veggies are crisp and abundant. Rather than tempt fate by becoming dependent on this pita-wrapped oasis in the desert of institutionally outsourced "food," I decided to try to duplicate it at home. Last week, I bought one and took it apart to reverse engineer it. More

Filed under: Recipes > Light Meals & Snacks

Tags: healthy, hummus, pita, wrap, carrot, chickpea

Quin-Bean Hash is Nothing Like any other Hash

You can call me Quin-Bean and baby I'll ruleeee... More

Filed under: Recipes > Main Dishes

Tags: healthy, quinoa, kidney_bean, bean, chickpea, cashew, nutritional_yeast