Any good veg dishes I should look into?

[MonkeySage]

I'm looking to expand my recipe book, as right now it's still pretty thin. I've been a vegetarian for the past 6 years, and still only have a few things that I feel the pay off is worth the effort; I really go for flavor, and one of my absolute favorites is curry.

[Goodkill]

i just had a tempeh stir fry today and it was delicious. i definitely prefer tempeh over tofu, as it actually has a (sort of nutty) flavor.

we used a sweet chile sauce from Wegman's and my dad added some additional seasonings. broccoli, cabbage, onion, scallion, mushroom, whatever else you've got. cooked the fresh veggies in sesame and peanut oil, then added the tempeh, then just the right amount of sauce.

being a vegetarian is super easy (though not necessarily ethically superior unless you are very careful). i used to be a vegan, then a pescetarian (which is my ideal diet but mercury took away all the fun, so i only ate sardines and rarely other fish - pretty gross actually).

the only reason i switched to eating tempeh again is because i got gout (from beer - i never had that problem with beer binging when i was a pescetarian, tip for others :) ) so have to avoid red meat, which was my main source of protein for awhile.

having juggled around so many diets i fancy myself a pretty good cook as i know what seasonings work. i know how to prepare tasty beans as well if you really want to get into vegetarian eating. farts are the cost of not eating animals, unless you take beano maybe. my favorite bean dish i found off the back of a can of cannellini beans - cook the cannellini beans in olive oil and add sage, have with some tea with milk in it, and you've got delicious fuel and probably complete protein.

[JoshL]

Do you do saag paneer? It's one of my favorites. Also, a good thai style fried tofu with peanut sauce is a wonderful thing, but that's a little tougher to get right. If you already like curry, saag is a good next step. Also you can do Moussaka without meat pretty easily and just as deliciously!

[Goodkill]

Do you do saag paneer? It's one of my favorites. Also, a good thai style fried tofu with peanut sauce is a wonderful thing, but that's a little tougher to get right. If you already like curry, saag is a good next step. Also you can do Moussaka without meat pretty easily and just as deliciously!
i can actually give a recipe for spicy and sweet peanut fried tofu. it's pretty much the only way i prepare tofu:
1. dry fry or squish out the tofu moisture into paper towels
2. prepare the sauce - is apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, asian chile garlic sauce or chile powder with garlic powder, brown sugar, and peanut butter. stir it around and then put it in the microwave for maybe 30 seconds. stir again
3. fry the tofu in peanut oil, then drain
4. add the tofu and sauce to a hot skillet, then cook out some of the moisture in the sauce, and it's ready to eat after it cools down!

[Asmodean_]

http://www.justonecookbook.com/agedashi-tofu-2/

(obviously you don't have to add the tuna flakes though)

[Crow]

I recommend you go on youtube and search for the Vegan Black Metal Chef. His stuff is amazing. We started by just watching the videos and then trying them out ourselves, but eventually bought his cookbook.

We're not vegan, so we substitute meat where appropriate and it is still delicious.

[Serpentine]

You going for vegan or vegetarian? It'll make a bit of a difference.
I have some fun with gratins. Be basic version is a bunch of thinly sliced potato layered in a casserole dish or similar oven-proof dish and soaked in a flavoured liquid - usually milk and topped with cheese, but you could do stock instead. Bake for ages on low 'til tender all the way through. But I've also done them with different types of potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, kohlrabi, carrot, different cheeses, garlic... Not relevant here, but also slices of salami and things like that.

[Knaight]

There's tons of Indian food that is vegetarian and also really good, so I'd look into that in general. I'm also big on stir fries with noodles, vegetables, and sauces of some sort - they're easy, they're often quite good, there's a lot of variety. If you're not vegan then vegetarian quiche is also a good one (broccoli, cauliflower, and artichoke hearts on feta is my personal favorite).

[Mister Tom]

In addition to the above...

Depends what spices you like! india - southern in particular- has hundreds of veggie dishes, but You should definitely try these.

1) Kitchri- I've posted a recipe in the cooks in the playground thread already, but forgot the turmeric. Add some just before adding the water!

2) Bhajis-spicy chick pea floured vegetable fritters. The standard vegetable is onion.Felicity cloake has done her research here (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/nov/13/how-to-make-perfect-onion-bhajis) but the technique suits a variety of vegetables and you don't have to deep fry. My staple mixture uses carrot and onion but you can add courgette or crumbled cauliflower, or...

3) tadka dal ( or its hot and sour southern Indian cousin the sambar).
Lentil stew (dal- which you can make lots of in advance) is finished off with the tadka- hot fried aromatics like mustard seed, fenugreek, cumin and asafoetida. The internet abounds with recipes, eg http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/dal-tadka-recipe-homestyle/ use your smallest saucepan for the tadka!

[MonkeySage]

Oh, lots of good responses so far! :D Very interested in that saag paneer. But yeah, I'm goin for vegetarian, though vegan is cool, too. I use eggs and dairy in many of my recipes, including my own stir fry recipe.

[gweams]

I'm veggie too and sometimes it's rly hard to think of stuff! Last night though, I made gazpacho (cold tomato soup)... it depends heavily on your tastes but if you're like me & like fresh veggies a lot, it's very good & easy (all you do is process the vegetables and chill it for a bit). Made it with polenta (also very easy)- a good & refreshing dinner that's a change from a lot of veggie dishes.

[Ifni]

Easy Ethiopian dishes (somewhat similar to lentil curries, but different spicing):
Mesir wot (http://thespiceisland.blogspot.com/2010/05/mesir-wot.html)
Kik alicha (http://lowfatveganchef.com/kik-alicha-ethiopian-yellow-split-pea-stew/)

The first link there goes to the Spice Island blog, which generally has a lot of good recipes.

Other recipes:
My favorite lentil soup (http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016062-red-lentil-soup-with-lemon)
Moo shu vegetables (http://www.food.com/recipe/moo-shu-vegetables-137090)
Vegan pasta puttanesca (http://holycowvegan.net/2011/08/vegan-sluts-spaghetti.html)
Quick-and-easy vegan chocolate cake (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/8389/wacky-cake-viii/) (I'm not vegan, but I don't use eggs and milk very much; finding that you can make chocolate cake in 45 minutes without either ingredient was a bit of a revelation, and probably bad for my health :smallwink:)
Spanakopita (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/swiss-chard-spanakopita-casserole)
Black bean tacos (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/228915/black-bean-tacos/) (the key here is to mix the salsa into the black beans while they're cooking, and don't go easy on the salsa; I used to just put it on top, but the beans get much more flavorful if it's cooked in)

[Socratov]

I have had succes on a barbeque with a paprika in which I put cheese. I then put the paprika on the grill unitl the cheese has gone liquid and serve it with bread or other dippable things as a personal cheese fondue...

[Flickerdart]

Boil and mash a potato. Stir in salt, pepper, very caramelized onions, and paprika. Let the mashed potato cool until it holds a shape. Shape into meatball-sized balls, coat with flour, then egg (or sesame oil if vegan), then breadcrumbs (Panko preferred). Fry in a little bit of oil until golden brown on both sides. Consume with sour cream (if not vegan) or apple sauce. Continue experimenting with the spice mixture to achieve deliciousness.

Advantages: Dirt-cheap, super easy.
Disadvantages: Too delicious - eating this much potato will make you fat.

[Ceaon]

Easy Ethiopian dishes (somewhat similar to lentil curries, but different spicing):
Mesir wot (http://thespiceisland.blogspot.com/2010/05/mesir-wot.html)
Kik alicha (http://lowfatveganchef.com/kik-alicha-ethiopian-yellow-split-pea-stew/)

The first link there goes to the Spice Island blog, which generally has a lot of good recipes.

Other recipes:
My favorite lentil soup (http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016062-red-lentil-soup-with-lemon)
Moo shu vegetables (http://www.food.com/recipe/moo-shu-vegetables-137090)
Vegan pasta puttanesca (http://holycowvegan.net/2011/08/vegan-sluts-spaghetti.html)
Quick-and-easy vegan chocolate cake (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/8389/wacky-cake-viii/) (I'm not vegan, but I don't use eggs and milk very much; finding that you can make chocolate cake in 45 minutes without either ingredient was a bit of a revelation, and probably bad for my health :smallwink:)
Spanakopita (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/swiss-chard-spanakopita-casserole)
Black bean tacos (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/228915/black-bean-tacos/) (the key here is to mix the salsa into the black beans while they're cooking, and don't go easy on the salsa; I used to just put it on top, but the beans get much more flavorful if it's cooked in)

Thanks for sharing these!

[10Fold]

The Happy Pear channel on Youtube has some quick (5 minute) vegan dishes.