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25 recipes
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 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.
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 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 warm, protein-rich and low-calorie bhel of mixed sprouts (green grams, bengal grams and moth beans) quickly cooked with cumin, onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli, tomato and spices, then finished with lemon and coriander. Ready in 15 minutes; serve hot as a snack or light meal.
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 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.
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.
A Gujarati-style dry vegetable dish made with chopped colocasia (arvi) leaves and chana dal, cooked with peanuts, tamarind and jaggery for a sweet-sour taste, then thickened with a fresh paste of coconut, green chilli, coriander and ginger and finished with a mustard and cumin tempering. Uses only two teaspoons of oil. Serve hot with baked parathas.
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 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.
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.
