This is sort of a Westernized version of couscous that makes a great summer side or main dish. It’s from James McNair’s Beans & Grains cookbook. Ready to get your groove on?

What you need:  3 cups cooked garbanzo beans, 2 cups quick-cooking couscous, 2/3 cup dried currants (soaked to plump, then drained), 2/3 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper, ½ cup sliced green onions (including tops), ½ cup chopped fresh mint, ½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley, ½ cup pine nuts, ripe tomato wedges for garnish. For the dressing you’ll need ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 tsp minced or pressed garlic, ½ tsp ground cumin, harissa to taste, salt and pepper added sparingly.

What you do: Prepare couscous according to package directions and set aside to cool. Mix all dressing ingredients together, whisking until combined, and set aside. Combine drained beans, cooled couscous, remaining ingredients except for pine nuts and tomato wedges, and dressing. Toss well and chill. Toast pine nuts  in a heated skillet and set aside. When ready to serve, garnish the salad with tomato wedges and toasted pine nuts.

This recipe has a great deal of flexibility. Serve it solo, along side lamb chops, with a rotisserie chicken or mix in some pre-cooked chopped chicken leg meat from an assembly cooking marathon.

Photo Credit: Tyger Lyllie

Written by Madhu Gadia, The Indian Vegan Kitchen has numerous recipe suggestions for creating healthy, flavorful international food for the meatless crowd.

Those who already love Indian food will enjoy this book, and those looking to enjoy international cooking while remaining on a budget will appreciate savings that can come from the fact that meat and dairy are not included in these particular recipes. While not a vegan personally, we are exploring foods and menu pairings that use less of these items, so it’s been a particular treat to review The Indian Vegan Kitchen. A few recipes of note?

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  Mung bean crepes


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  Buckwheat potato fritters


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  Black-eyed pea dip


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  Buckwheat – zucchini pancakes

Featured Recipe:

I always like to feature one recipe when I review cookbooks, to give a sense of the types of ideas a potential reader can expect to find between the cover pages. Usually, the choice is a bit tougher. This time however, the featured recipe jumped right out at me. Why? Well, it isn’t because the other recipes weren’t worthy of their own solo performance, I can assure you. The reason I picked this particular recipe ( Bean and rice pancakes ) to feature is because it is literally the only recipe I’ve ever seen that combines the commonly suggested complete protein food pairing into one actual food. This adds another whole level of flexibility and creativity with meal planning that traditional bean and rice dishes don’t bring to the table.

Here’s what you need: 1 cup of uncooked long-grain rice, ½ cup of split and hulled chana dal, ¼ cup of split and hulled urad dal, ¼ cup split and hulled mung dal, 1 tbsp peeled and chopped ginger, 1 tbsp finely chopped green chile, 1 cup water, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro, 2/3 tbsp canola or vegetable oil, ½ onion that has also been finely chopped.

Here’s what you do: Combine the rice and dals in a bowl and wash in 3-4 changes of water, then leave to soak 4 hours or overnight. Rinse and drain. In a food processor or blender, mix all ingredients except the cilantro and salt. Pulse or blend until coarse and grainy. Transfer back to bowl and mix in salt and cilantro. Then lightly coat a hot fry pan with the canola oil and pour about a ¼ cup of batter in the center, using a spoon to spread out the dough into a six-inch wide circle. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the edges start to lift, then flip and cook for an additional one minute. Repeat with the remaining batter.

These are great served with various chutneys and dipping sauces, and provide an additional alternative to bean burgers and falafel for those who don’t particularly care to eat meat. At our house, we actually do eat a variety of meat and fish, but make extra efforts to keep the intake low for planetary impact reasons.

Personal Verdict:

A nice addition to any personal library of international and / or vegan recipes, and a great source of affordable recipe ideas for those wanting to explore Indian cuisine.

Available from Amazon.Com in October of 2009.

Photo Credit: Amazon.Com

Donna Klein’s new cookbook The Tropical Vegan Kitchen covers healthy and tasty plant based meals inspired by tropical locations in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. For those looking to try new international foods minus the meat, or just wanting know what to cook in the hostel kitchen while on the road, this book offers a variety of suggestions and unique recipe ideas.

I think what impressed me the most about The Tropical Vegan Kitchen was the diversity of flavor pairings the author presented within the standard categories of appetizers, main dishes, desserts, etc. Island bean burgers with Caribbean style creole sauce, black bean and avocado enchiladas with chipotle, pineapple vinaigrette and Thai corn chowder with lime and basil are just a few of the recipe ideas of note in this treasure trove of healthy food fare. A few others of note?

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  Baked sweet potatoes topped with a spicy black bean chili.


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  Papaya ketchup


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  Cambodian tomato soup


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  Baked wonton crisps


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  Caribbean eggplant spread


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  Warm new potatoes with Indonesian peanut sauce

Featured Recipe:

One simple recipe that caught my eye as exotic yet simple was this easy black bean and tropical fruit salsa. As for affordability, I can find all of these ingredients at my local Save-A-Lot.

Here’s what you need: ¾ cup chopped fresh papaya, ¾ cup chopped fresh mango, ¾ cup chopped fresh pineapple, 1 fifteen-ounce can of rinsed and drained black beans (or the equivalent amount of prepared dry beans), 1-2 jalapeño chilies (seeded and finely chopped), ½ cup finely chopped red onion, ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, 2 tbsp canola oil, 1 tbsp fresh lime juice, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Toss all ingredients until thoroughly combined and let sit for ten minutes for flavors to combine. Serve with tortilla chips as a snack.

Personal Verdict:

The Tropical Vegan Kitchen is definitely a worthy purchase for those exploring veganism, or just trying to reduce meat and dairy intake for planetary reasons. It’s also an excellent resource in its own right for exploring flavor pairings from the various tropical regions of the world. Available on Amazon.Com.

Photo Credit: The Penguin Group