Potato, pea and maize mash
Mukimo comes from the Kikuyu people of the green hills around Mount Kenya, Nyeri and Murang'a, and it is on the table at every family celebration, from weddings to Christmas, as well as at everyday suppers. Potatoes are boiled and mashed with pumpkin leaves, green peas and maize, so the mash turns a speckled green. Serve it with a bean or vegetable stew. A portion gives about 12 g of protein, from the peas, maize and potatoes, so it is a side rather than a high-protein main; with a bean stew it becomes one. Use spinach if you can't find pumpkin leaves. The common mistake is a watery mash from badly drained potatoes and greens; steam the potatoes dry and squeeze the greens. Chef's tip: blend the cooked leaves with a spoon of their cooking water before folding them in; the mash turns an even green instead of stringy.
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The fasting-day gulab jambu: soft balls of mawa (khoya) and mashed potato bound with cassava flour, scented with saffron and cardamom, fried slowly to a deep golden brown and soaked in cardamom syrup with pistachios and almonds. Soak them for 3–4 hours so they turn juicy all the way through. Makes 35 small jambu.
Golden potato pattice stuffed with fresh coconut, coriander and a sweet-sour lemon seasoning, bound with cassava flour so they suit a fasting day. The outside fries crisp while the inside stays soft, with a juicy coconut centre. Serve them hot with coconut chutney as a farari snack or light meal. Makes 15.
The fasting-day version of Gujarati chevdo: fine strips and round crisps of fried potato tossed with fried peanuts, cashews, green chillies, curry leaves and coriander, and seasoned with black pepper, sugar, salt and a touch of citric acid. It's crunchy, peppery, sweet and tangy. Make a big batch, store it airtight and serve it on fasting days with tea. Makes about 1 kg.
A classic Turkish dish whose name means 'the imam fainted', supposedly with delight. Aubergine shells are fried in olive oil and filled with their own flesh cooked with tomatoes, onion, red and green peppers, garlic and herbs, then baked until meltingly tender. Finished with lemon and parsley; good hot or cold with bread, salad and creamy garlic dip.
A fragrant Middle Eastern rice pilaf: rice simmered in vegetable stock with onion, garlic, chilli and cumin, then finished with golden vermicelli and pine nuts toasted in butter, sweet currants and fresh parsley. Serve warm with cacık.
Thin potato crisps blanched in salted water with citric acid and dried in the sun, a traditional store-cupboard standby for fasting days. Fried in seconds when needed, they puff up light, crisp and white. Sprinkle with black pepper or chilli powder. Drying takes 1–2 days of strong sun.
Diamond-shaped cutlets of potato and sweet potato with fresh coconut and roasted peanuts, dipped in a cassava-flour batter and coated in coarse peanut powder, then fried until golden. They're crunchy outside, soft and gently sweet inside. Serve hot with coconut and tomato chutney (use a farari one without onion or garlic). Makes 20.
Soft, thick uttapam for fasting days, made from a yogurt batter of samo (moraiyo), singoda (water chestnut) flour and rajagra (amaranth) flour, tempered with cumin and curry leaves and studded with cucumber, tomato, coconut and green chilli. Cooked under a lid, they're crisp at the edges and fluffy in the middle. Serve with yogurt and green chutney. Makes 6.
Samo (also called moraiyo, sama or barnyard millet) is the fasting-day stand-in for rice. Here it's simmered with potato cubes and crushed roasted peanuts after a ghee tempering of cumin, cloves and cinnamon, then finished with lemon and coriander. It's soft, nutty and mildly spiced. Serve it hot with yogurt or farari potato kadhi.
A crunchy, nutty barfi of roasted sesame seeds and ground peanuts set in a two-thread sugar syrup, pressed into a tray and topped with chopped peanuts. It's sweet and toasty, like a soft brittle, and keeps well. Good for fasting days and the winter festivals. Makes 20 pieces.
A creamy, chilled kheer of small sago pearls simmered in milk with sugar, pistachios, almonds, cashews, cardamom and saffron, then mixed with a separate milk of apricots, figs and raisins and fresh green grapes. It's sweet, fragrant and full of texture. A party-size dessert for fasting days or festivals. Serves 15.
A creamy, dairy-free and low-calorie 'ice cream' made by blending frozen banana and strawberries with silken tofu, honey and vanilla until thick and smooth. Layer it with chopped fresh fruit and garnish with mint. Serve straight away.
A quick, low-calorie way to use leftover rice: sprouted moth beans and green grams are cooked with garlic, ginger, green chilli, capsicum, spring onions and a few spices over a cumin and asafoetida tempering, then tossed with cooked rice. Served hot with fresh tomato and coriander.
A smooth, bright green, dairy-free soup of spinach and onion blended with a little creamed coconut, then simmered with vegetable stock, soya milk and a hint of nutmeg. Cook the spinach only briefly so it keeps its colour. Serve immediately.
A crunchy, high-fibre and low-calorie salad of boiled sprouted pulses (moth beans, chickpeas, green grams) with apple, orange segments, grapes, radish, salad leaves and spinach, lifted with a little green chilli. A light mint and yogurt dressing goes on just before serving. Serve chilled as a starter or light lunch.
Light savoury scones made from rice flour and gram flour, flavoured with dried basil, oregano, mustard and black pepper and topped with poppy seeds. Shaped as one round and marked into 8 wedges, they are good warm with soup or salad. The book's recipe uses one egg; to make them eggless, leave it out and add an extra 60 ml soya milk and 1 tsp baking powder.
A refreshing, lighter mango lassi made with low-fat yogurt: ripe mangoes, yogurt, a little sugar and rose water are blended with water until smooth and frothy, chilled and poured over crushed ice. Perfect on a hot day or with a spicy meal.
A lighter, eggless quiche: a crisp wholemeal pastry case made with soya spread, filled with red and green peppers and mushrooms bound with cottage cheese, soya yogurt and grated soya cheese, and baked until set. Serve hot with a green salad.
A pretty, low-fat dessert: short-grain rice simmered slowly in semi-skimmed milk with cinnamon until thick and creamy, sweetened and flavoured with orange rind, then pressed into a ring mould over a layer of dried fruit and chilled. Turned out, it shows off a jewelled top. Serve chilled, with a little orange juice spooned over.
Quick, low-calorie party bites: warm diced potato tossed with chilli, cumin, onion, green chilli and coriander is piled onto thin canapé or water biscuits, topped with sweetened low-fat yogurt and drizzled with mint and onion chutney and tamarind chutney, like a mini chaat. Assemble just before serving so the biscuits stay crisp.
Light, eggless pancakes made with wheat flour, soya milk and water, rolled around fresh banana, peach, apricot and strawberries and finished with cinnamon, chopped almonds and pistachios and a drizzle of maple syrup. A colourful dairy-free breakfast or dessert; serve immediately.
A light, eggless bread pudding: dried fruits are plumped in hot apple juice and mixed with diced stale bread, sliced banana and cardamom and clove, then soaked in skimmed milk, sprinkled with brown sugar and baked until firm and golden. Serve hot or cold with low-fat yogurt.
A light, eggless and butter-free cake made with self-raising flour, cinnamon, light muscovado sugar, apple juice and a little sunflower oil, studded with juicy cranberries and diced apple and baked in a ring mould. Drizzled with warm cranberry jam and decorated with apple slices, it looks festive and is low in fat.
A naturally sweet, fat-free fruit compote: dried apples, prunes, apricots, raisins and sultanas soak overnight in apple juice with cinnamon and lemon rind, then simmer gently until plump and glossy. Serve hot or cold, on its own, with yogurt or over porridge.
A light, low-calorie chocolate mousse with no eggs or cream: silken tofu is blended with banana, tahini dip and a little honey, then grated chocolate is whizzed in for flecks of flavour. It takes five minutes to make; chill in glasses before serving.
A wholesome, low-calorie twist on khichdi, using bulgar wheat in place of rice. Husked green gram lentils and bulgar cook in the pressure cooker with peas, cauliflower, potato and onion, tempered with a little ghee, cumin and whole spices. Soft, comforting and filling; serve hot with banana raita or plain yogurt.
A hearty but light one-pot stew from the book's Low calorie section: sweet potato and chickpeas simmer in grated tomatoes and tomato paste with onion and garlic, spinach is wilted in at the end, and a spoonful of miso (made from soya beans) adds a deep savoury flavour. Uses only a teaspoon of oil. Serve straight away with bread or rice.
A crunchy, nourishing low-calorie salad of peppery watercress, fennel and Chinese cabbage, scattered with sunflower, pumpkin, linseed and sesame seeds, flaked almonds, raisins and dried apricots, then dressed with sesame oil, balsamic vinegar and a touch of honey. Serve as a light lunch or a side.
A soft, moist low-calorie slice made without flour, eggs or refined sugar: ripe bananas are blended with sunflower oil, vanilla and cardamom, then cashews, desiccated coconut, oats and grated apple. Baked and cut into wedges, it is naturally sweet and good with tea or in a lunch box.
A low-calorie version of the tea-time puri: wholewheat dough flavoured with fresh fenugreek, cumin, chilli and turmeric is rolled thin and baked until crisp and golden instead of being deep-fried. They keep for a couple of weeks in an airtight tin, ready for snacking with tea.
A light, low-calorie pullao from the book's Low calorie section. Basmati rice is cooked with baby carrots, baby corn and fine French beans, whole spices, garlic, ginger and green chilli, using a little semi-skimmed milk for softness and onions browned in the oven instead of deep-fried. Serve hot with the remaining baked onions and masala yogurt.
Soft dates cooked briefly in butter with cardamom, shaped around a fried almond and rolled in desiccated coconut. A simple no-bake sweet that is rich, chewy and naturally sweet, perfect for festive trays and with coffee. Makes about 40.
Slices of matoke (green cooking banana) cooked with cumin, chilli and ginger in a tomato sauce thickened with roasted peanuts, a simple vegan curry for fasting days. The bananas turn tender and potato-like and soak up the nutty, tangy sauce. For a farari potato curry, use yogurt instead of tomatoes and potatoes instead of the bananas.
A high-protein, low-calorie uppma made with soya granules instead of semolina. The soaked soya is tossed with grated carrot, cabbage, onion, ginger and green chillies over a crackling tempering of cumin, urad dal and asafoetida, then finished with lemon and coriander. Serve hot for breakfast or a light supper.
A full falafel meal: crisp chickpea fritters flavoured with fenugreek, spinach, chilli and ginger are stuffed into pitta pockets spread with hummus and tahini, then packed with a crunchy cabbage, cucumber and carrot salad and a fiery home-made red chilli sauce. Serve with green, red and tamarind chutneys.
Tum tum are thick, chunky gram flour sticks pressed through a 1 cm disc, spiced with chilli, cumin-coriander, black pepper and ajwain, and balanced with lemon and sugar. They are hot, tangy and crunchy, perfect with tea, and one of the components of bhusu.
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