Neerob_#WFPB002 - Oil-Free Roti 1 - Flour based

 We recently had a food sampling at Neerob and Khokon introduced us to "Green Roti," a particular variety of roti that is geared to the 3WFPB lifestyle.

Here is the most basic version:
https://shahzadidevje.com/indian-roti-recipe/

I will be experimenting with making it from Einkorn flour:
https://www.einkorn.com

to minimize the salt, you could use Green Salt, and/or you could put some Yondu in your water.

What follows is a version how Neerob makes it:

• 2.5 Cups of whole wheat roti flour, or oat flour, or most any flour that catches your fancy, with some extra for dusting your work surface.
• puree one cup of spinach leaves with water and garlic,
• some salt; to reduce sodium use green salt, or you can also use Yondu, or Bragg's Liquid Aminos in your water.
• Warmer water is better.
• knead it till the right consistency
• roll into balls - 2.5 cups should make about 8 balls
• 
  roll them out into 6" roti's and cook them on a tawa, or you can use a griddle if you have that on your stove.

And here is an excellent instruction video.

Neerob_#WFPB001- Introducing Izzy & The Neerob project

 

Meet Israt "Izzy" Rito.

Izzy is a wonderful young lady who works with the PEP Agency in our neighborhood (Parkchester Enhancement Program for Seniors), a social services agency. She and I have begun to collaborate with outreach in the Bangladeshi community, specifically in connection with the Lifestyle Medicine Dinners at Neerob, and my cooking classes at St. Helena's church. 

I was very impressed when she told me her story about researching ways to help her mother with diabetes, and on her own she helped her mother switch to brown rice instead of white, and they already noticed a significant improvement. Now, she is learning about the whole range of Whole Foods Plant-Based nutrition, and I am sure that will help her even more.

In the context of my involvement in these things, we are now beginning to work on a collection of Bangladeshi-style recipes, some that will come from Neerob restaurant, and some that came from home cooking. Inevitably some will be more Bangla - #WFPB - Fusion. We will clarify that in each article.

What is inspiring to me from living in this Bangladeshi community, which grew up around me, is all the new fruits and vegetables I learned to eat, and I am still learning. Learning also how Type Ii Diabetes (T2D) and Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) run at levels of 30-40% above the average population, because of a genetic handicap of simply smaller diameter blood vessels, it is particularly inspiring to be working on a way to help with health improvements through better nutrition and better kitchen techniques. There is so much healthy food in the Bangladeshi kitchen, but, besides leaving out animal protein, it is also the style of preparation that makes all the difference in the world. We look forward to a healthy collaboration involving Izzy, Neerob Restaurant and its owner, Mohammed "Khokon" Rahman, and myself, along with Plant Powered Metro New York and the T. Colin Campbell Institute of Nutrition Studies.

Ever since we met Dr. Zafar Mirza from Pakistan a few months ago, who is now the President of the Pakistan Association for Lifestyle Medicine, we have become aware of how Lifestyle Medicine has caught on in Pakistan, and we hope that the Bangladeshi community will follow suit.  

Pasta Fazool just before the first snow...

For our St. Helena's Cooking class on 12/13/2025, we made a great salad and Pasta e Fagiole. It felt like the right day to do so, and lo and behold, as soon as the class was over, it started to snow.

My point of departure was this recipe:

https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/2025/12/08/plant-based-pasta-fagioli/

and here is the video:

The only thing I really changed, was the quantity, for we made it for five people, and I just about doubled everything.

One addition we made was we added a block of baked Seitan, cut in cubes, which adds some chewy texture. Sometimes recovering carnivores appreciate that. 

Along with it, we made a nice mixed Salad, ingredients:

1. A head of red leaf lettuce (we used CalOrganics, from ShopRite, Bruckner Plaza)
2. 2 tomatoes, cut up
3. 2 shredded carrots.
4. 1 stalk thinly sliced celery
5. 2 cups of quinoa
6. 3 tbsp of capers
7. some sliced cooked beets
8. 1 red onion, cut up fine

The dressing was my usual 1/2/3, adapted from Esselstyn's 3/2/1, for symple reasons of physics:

If you are measuring it with a spoon, the mustard washes out the maple syrup, and the balsamic washes out the mustard, plus then I added the juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 lime:

1. 1 tbsp maple syrup
2. 2 tbsp dijon mustard
3. 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4. juice of 1/2 lemon
5. juice of 2/2 lime

If that dressing becomes too acidic, you can sprinkle in some date sugar, or you can also make it thicker and milder by adding in some chia seeds, but that works best if you can marinade it in the fridge overnight.

We had too much food, because two people did not show up, but we fed Melissa in the rectory, and some of the crew for an event that was being held in the gym later.

We finished off the meal with a red dragon fruit, quartered and sliced, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Fancy Snake Gourd Soup with Celery...

This is getting fun, here is the next step int he evolution, still simple to make, but it takes a little more time...

 The evolution was simple. In the first round, I added some more aroma courtesy of some panch puran and some Tijanjin vegetables, but then I wanted more substance.

1) roast 1 tbsp of panchpuran lightly, to release the flavor.

2) add a chopped onion and stir slowly 

3) gradually add a cup of veggie broth, or just water with liquid aminos, or Yondu, or some such.

4) if desired add some Tianjin veggies, or a 1/4 TSP of green salt, and, if you like it hot, some chopped Thai chilis.

5) On medium heat cook till onions are caramelized

6) add 1 cup of split yellow peas (or lentils) and enough broth, so they can swim. 

7) let it simmer for an hour or two, so the peas get soft. Or, if you want to save time, you can precook the split peas in an Instant Pot.

8) Add in 3 or 4 sliced celery stalks. 

9) Let it simmer for another 20 mins or so, and blend smooth with a stick blender.

10) add in the coursely julienned snake gourd, and let it simmer for another 15 minutes.

11) turn off the heat and serve.

Finger-licking good, I assure you.

N.B.: About Panchpuran - the name means five spices. It is an excellent way of adding flavor to veggie dishes, without salt. Buy the seeds not the powdered version. 

Simple Snake Gourd Soup with Celery

With apologies to Sharan, I cannot read a recipe and not mess with it. In this case, it was a bit embarrassing, for it spoils the simplicity of the recipe, but so be it. You have a choice as to how you make it.

So here goes my version:

1. lightly roast a tablespoon of Panchpuran in a stainless steel or titanium saucepan, or a wok.
2. Add a chopped onion, and 2-3 garlic cloves, and  pinch (1 tsp) of Tianjin vegetables.
3. Sautée with either a cup of veggie stock or water with one tsp Yondu, or Braggs Liquid Aminos
4. add in the diced snake gourd and thinly sliced celery.
5. Let it cook for a while, and then blend it with a stick blender, or use a food processor.
6. top it off with some pepper and maybe some parsley. 
7. Enjoy.

I still think my version does not really increase the time involved, You can have a delicious soup in 20-30 minutes counting everything from prep through serving.

Natto with GABA rice

 This week I have been making my favorite Natto breakfast with GABA brown rice, mixed 1/2 brown basmati and 1/2 black rice.

It is out of this world. 

Here are the ingredients on display:

It starts with mixing the natto with wasabi, mustard, and some Yondu.

And then you blend in the rice. Mix it all together really well.

At the end you can add some scallions and/or Chives.

A Simple Kala Chana Chaat...

Wow, what a lovely recipe, expanding on the repertoire.

 

Finding Chaat Masala was easy.

Not all of the Bangladeshi stores in my area carried the Amchur powder, but I found at least one who did. (Al Aqsa). I think I went to six stores before I found it.

Deconstructing Jackfruit

• The following is a pictorial on how I take a Jackfruit apart. After a lot of experimentation, I find this the most satisfying, and as always, practice makes perfect..
• Coat your knife with Coconut oil so you don't struggle with the sticky juice.
• I begin by cutting out the stem first with a circular cut, about 1" deep.
• Then I score the skin in a spiral fashion into one strip about 2-3" wide.
• And then I cut in between the flower pods, and under them, to get little sections, that I can then easily take apart.

• And I continue to take these sections apart. 

And I sort the flowers and the seeds separately.

And eventually, out of a 22 lb jackfruit, I harvested about 6.5 lbs of flowers, and 2 lbs of seeds. I cook the seeds, and then I peel them and refrigerate them to make dal with.

And the results are nothing to sneeze at 😅

Natto Breakfast 2.0

 

I had some interesting experiences with Natto, since I started having Natto breakfasts on occasion. In this neighborhood, the only source I have found for natto has been Chang-Li Supermarker, for they have a significant oriental clientele. So they are my go-to for oriental specialties from tofu, to seitan, to miso and, but of course, natto. I wrote about it here before.

At that time, they had mostly imported natto, obviously from Japan, since it is Japanese custom. I had some mishaps when the natto occasionally was bad out of the box, and the problem was they kept it refrigerated, but it should be kept frozen, and they changed the storage, but also, they added a new variety, Rhapsody natto, which is US made, and delicious. 

It is my favorite right now, so I have updated my recipe:

• 1/4 portion Rhapsody natto
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp Yondu fermented veggie broth
• 1/4 tsp Wasabi
• 1, 2, or three scallions, sliced fine.

The results are below in pictures:

And here is the Rhapsody website, with good nutritional information.

https://rhapsodynaturalfoods.com/natto-available-now-from-rhapsody/

One serving of natto (about 100g/3.5oz) contains:

• 22% RDV Dietary Fiber
• 22% RDV Calcium
• 22% RDV Vitamin C
• 48% RDV Iron
• 6% Vitamin B6
• 76% Manganese
• 29% Magnesium
• 21% Potassium
• 20% Zinc

And, as you can tell, I like a mixed rice. In this case I use a mixture of black rice and brown basmati.

More about Purslane

This is just an anecdote:

I love a potato salad with Purslane (Verdolaga in Spanish).

In Europe I knew a variant that we call postelein - see here: 

https://en.jardin-planet.com/17827588-postelein-cultivation-care-and-use

It seems to be rare today in my native Holland, and it is considered a 'forgotten' vegetable.

The version I find here mostly in Mexican or other Latino stores, is Verdolaga, or Purslane.

The version I find here has smaller, and thicker leaves and heavier stems. 

https://www.almanac.com/purslane-health-benefits-and-recipes

I posted here before my favorite recipe, with this style of Purslane/Verdolaga:

https://starlingaveplantbased.blogspot.com/2024/08/econo-wfpb-3-fingeling-potatoes-with.html

Celery Root Salad - Antillana Supermarket

 The whole multi-cultural experience reveals interesting things from time to time.

As a kid, I used to love a salad made from Celery root, but most supermarkets do not carry it. Once in a while, I could find it at the Green Market by Virginia Park (Parkchester Station), but it was hit or miss.

Now we have a new Antillana Supermarket at 2750 East Tremont Avenue. They carry celery root, and I made my favorite salad immediately.

The recipe is simple, you need to vary it with the size of the root, but here it is:

Celery root.

And here again, before I skinned it with a potato peeler.

On the left you see them skinned and quartered and above,
and above I julienne them to match stick size.

And finally the end result.

Here is the super simple recipe:

• one celery root, julienned to match stick size.
• juice of 1-2 lemons depending on size,
• about 2 tbsp honey per lemon
• about 2-3 tbsp of raisins per each lemon (soak in warm water first, till they are soft)

Mix it all together, let it marinate in the fridge for a day, it is always better the second day.

You can eat this on toast or a cracker. I love it on a Wasa cracker.

And now the mission is to find out what the Dominicans make with it. 😉

Begian Endives Oven Dish

I made this with fingerling potatoes and some mushrooms on the side, and a salad.

Absolutely 5 star!!!

Belgian Endive with Besan Sauce

for two

Ingredients

8-12 heads of Belgian endive, cored and sliced 1/4"

4/5 red skin potatoes

1 medium/large onion, cut-up fine.

1 Tbsp Panch Puran

4-6 cloves of garlic

1-2 thumb sized pieces of turmeric, grated, or a tsp of turmeric powder

2-3 tbsp besan flour

2-3 tbsp pinenuts & cashew, minced (food processor)

2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp of black salt (kala namak)

1 cup veggie stock

1 tbsp panch puran

3-4 tbsp Panko Whole Wheat bread flakes

Directions

dry roast pine nuts briefly and put aside

dry roast panchpuran

cutup the onion

caramelize the onion for 5 mins at medium high dry roast, with the panch puran

mince the garlic

grate the turmeric

add the garlic and turmeric

stir fry at medium high for 5 mins while slowly adding about 1/4- 1/2 cup of veggie stock

add besan, ground-up nuts, nutritional yeast and black salt, add the rest of the veggie stock

cook for 10-15 mins at medium while stirring with a whisk to make sure the besan is dissolved and does not clump.

boil or steam the potatoes

steam the Belgian endives for 30 mins

Preheat oven to 350F

cut the endives in half lengthwise

arrange an oven dish with endives in the center and cubed potatoes (with skin) around the edges, and cover with the besan sauce ( this amount of sauce is sufficient for making this dish twice, or for 4 people instead of two).

bake for 20-25 mins at 350F, allowing some of the moisture from the endives to boil off, and the sauce to thicken, with a light crust forming on the sauce.

finish with 5-7 minutes under the broiler to brown the top.

Precooked Belgian Endives, covered with the Besan Sauce.

Panko flakes for a finishing touch

Ready to go

350 Oven 30 mins

P.S.: Another pitch for titanium pans, roasting the pine nuts, and then the panch puran was never easier, and then to caramelize the onions, first dry and then with gradual addition of some veggie broth, or water with Yondu.

Locro de Lentejas revisited

First:
Locro de lentejas means Lentil Stew, not lentil soup, this is intended to to be a meal. "You can stick a fork in it."

In our cooking classes, we made this recipe, which came from Fatima, in one of the early classes. The original recipe is from Ecuador, and quite mild, but my interpretation has some jalapeños and serranos in it. I like it with just a little "zing" and the juice of one lime is the finishing touch.

We had a few minor glitches, but it came out OK.

I was motivated however to do it again and specifically also to use my Forever pan Pro, which is made with Titanium for the dry roast of the panchpuran and the onions, etc. and that worked very well - see pics.

Browning the onions, in the forever pan, while gradually adding some water with Yondu.

I also put in 2 celery stalks sliced thin and a grated carrot.

And then all the spices before transferring it to the soup pot. Then I added the broth.

The cabbage is added on the right.

======================================

Recipe: ================================
======================================

Locro de Lentejas (Ecuador)

Lentil soup with Cabbage

blogspot.com

Ingredients

1 tsp panchpuran

one small green or savoy cabbage, quartered and sliced in 1/4" strips

1 white onion cut up in small pieces,

2-3 large red onions, sliced thin

1-3 serrrano peppers - to taste

2-3 jalapeño peppers, sliced thin (without seeds)

1 cup water with 1 tsp Yondu

6 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped fine.

1-2 king mushroom cut in strips, or other mushrooms

2 celery stalks

1 shredded carrot

1 tbsp tienjin vegetables (optional)

1 teaspoon of savory

1 teaspoon of tarragon

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp thyme

5 bay leaves

2 pints of low sodium vegetable stock

1 lb whole lentils

1 lb young potatoes (the kind with the thin skin, either yukon gold or redskin), quartered or smaller, depending on the size and personal preference

1 cup of barley (I consider this optional, if you want more "substance," than soup)

2-3 pints of water

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 lime (juiced - optional)

Braggs Liquid Aminos, to taste, alternatively gochujang, or better than bouillon veggie bouillon

If using miso instead dissolve one heaping tablespoon of miso paste in water and add at the end and use less liquid aminos - never cook the miso.

Directions

Dry roast the panchpuran just enough to release the flavor.

Dry fry the onions with the peppers, panchpuran and the king mushroom over a low flame for about 5 minutes until they get soft and start to brown. Add the cup of water with Yondu during this process, so it does not stick to the pan.

Once the onions are sufficiently caramelized, add garlic, the vegetable stock and the herbs, the lentils and the potatoes (with about a 15-20 minute delay). Let cook for another 10-15 minutes, and add the cabbage.

Let it simmer for 30-60 mins. until the cabbage is soft.

At the end, add some miso, dissolved in water and some chopped cilantro. If you want it spicier, you can use gonchujang instead.

(Notes:

1) Some people would peel the potatoes, but if you buy thin-skinned potatoes, you can easily cook them in the skin, even cut-up: you lose less nutrition that way.

2) Evidently, you can vary the herbs and spices to taste.

3) Don't boil the miso, or gonchujang, just dissolve in hot water and add at the end.

4) I like to make it spicy, but the traditional Ecuadorian way is mild.