• 1 cup of okra
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 egg substitute - lightly beaten (sometimes I use ground flax seed and water)
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup grated carrot
• 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
• 1 tablespoon shoyu
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• Oil for deep-frying

METHOD:
Combine the first nine ingredients, mixing well, and shape into patties. Heat the oil to 180C/350F in a wok, skillet or deep-fryer. Drop in patties and deep-fry until crisp and golden brown.

NOTES:
If deep-frying is inconvenient, patties may be fried or broiled. Also, try adding cooked brown rice.

Read more »

• 1 cup lentils (adas baladi, if available)
• 1/2 cup rice
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 3/4 t pepper
• 1 1/2 t cumin
• 1 onion
• 1/4 cup olive oil

METHOD:
Wash the lentils under the running tap. Put them in a cooking pan with just one cup of water and bring them to a boil on high heat, it takes 5-7 minutes. Lower the heat and cook them covered for another 15-20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Add the washed rice, the salt, pepper, and cumin, add another cup of water, stir gently and leave to boil, then lower heat. At this stage of the cooking you can put a grid under the pot in order to make sure that the rice and lentils will not stick to the bottom of the pan.

While the lentils are cooking, peel and wash the onion and chop it into rings. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion rings until they turn golden. By this time, the cooking water of the lentil and rice mixture will have been almost absorbed: add the hot oil from the pan to the lentils, but do not add the onion rings, and stir gently with a wooden spatula. Leave to simmer for a few minutes until the liquid is totally absorbed, then remove from the stove and leave to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Use the onion rings to decorate the top of the serving plate and prepare a tomato salad to serve on the side.

Read more »

• 1 young eggplant, peeled and diced
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 4 large mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 2 T fresh parsley, chopped
• Braggs to taste

METHOD:
Combine all, coat with Braggs and let marinate about two hours before serving. Eggplant requires a lot of Braggs. Be careful when choosing eggplants for raw preparation. Ones with a lot of seeds inside tend to be bitter. Remove excess seeds when possible.

NOTES:
For variation, marinate eggplant separately, squeeze out and discard juice. Add to recipe.

From 'Dining in the Raw' by Rita Romano.

Read more »

• 1 cup dried lentils
• 2 t salt
• 2 T margarine
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 cups canned tomatoes
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1 t sugar

METHOD:
Cover lentils and salt with water; bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until tender; drain.

Melt margarine, sauté onion and bell pepper until onion begins to brown. Add cooked lentils and remaining ingredients, bring to simmer, cook (covered) 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve over rice or noodles.

NOTES:
Modifications:

I find the initial 1 hour cooking of the lentils to be too long; half an hour is fine, since they cook another 30 or 40 minutes with the other ingredients. Also, I use more pepper than the recipe calls for, and less sugar. A little sugar is an old trick for preventing dishes with cooked tomatoes from getting too sour tasting, but 1/4 teaspoonful will do the trick for this dish.

Source: 'The All-American Bean Book', by F. H. "Ted" Waskey

Read more »