Big Mountain Indian Starters
#BigMountainFoodsRecipeChallenge #BigMountainFoods #Veganrecipes
Big Mountain Indian Starters, another great chance to create fun new recipes using products that are new to me. I applied and was accepted by the Big Mountain Foods company for their recipe challenge.
I read all about their products before I even applied; vegan, plant based and made with ingredients you can actually pronounce. Besides that, the company is certified vegan, non-gmo verified, certified kosher, cruelty free and WOMEN-owned.
Big Mountain Foods company sent qualified food bloggers two of each of the following products.
Cauli Crumble Veggie Grounds
Big Brat Veggie Links
Super Food Brekkie Links
Big Brat Veggie Links
The recipe challenge has 3 categories! A blogger can enter all three!
One Holiday Entertaining Winner (appetizers & sides dishes): $500.00
Cash Prize One Holiday Entrée Winner: $500.00
Cash Prize One Holiday Breakfast / Brunch Winner: $500.00 Cash Prize
Also, a grand prize winner of $1,000.00!
Upon becoming acquainted with their line of foods, I began to see some of their products on my grocerers shelves. Funny how that happens. Our stores are packed with products from all over. It certainly is easy to not notice them all. But now I can’t walk past the fresh produce shelves and not notice them.
So why Indian starters?
In 2014 I competed at the World Food Championships live cook off in Las Vegas. I did’t advance but I did meet Simon Majumdar (well recognized TV personality) who was one of the final table judges. I had no idea at the time when we first met that we would become good friends through food. A half year later, my husband and I were blessed to host Simon and his lovely wife in our home for a book tour he was traveling about for. Then we hosted Simon the next summer for the Oregon State Fair. Which by the way, was his first fair ever!!!!
The first night Simon arrive to our home, he arranged to make a full meal for my family. It was Indian food, the best we had ever had. He told us stories around our fire pit that I will always remember as well as his cooking. Today, I refer to his recipes knowing the meals will be packed with flavor.
Simon Majumdar is not the only reason I love Indian cuisine, it’s also my work. Supporting a sweet young adult gal with special needs who was adopted from Kolkata, India. My husband works with her sister from the same orphanage. We all love to get in the kitchen and cook Indian food together. The gals especially love it.
Each appetizer stands on its own with different Big Mountain Foods products. Cauli Crumble Veggie Ground is used to make a Pakora, a spiced fritter. The Cauli Crumble is blended with spices and gram flour to create a batter then deep fried. A creamy Cilantro Mint Yogurt serves as the perfect dip.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom Crumble is added to a flavorful stock to make an outstanding easy but show stopper Indian Soup. This recipe was the favorite of all three from my taste tester.
Last but NOT least is the Curry Veggie Sausage Kabobs made with the Big Brat Veggie Links. Each link is cut into 8 pieces then marinaded in a curry seasoned yogurt, skewered with red bell pepper and fresh sliced jalapeño, simply to be finished on a hot grill pan to heat the kabobs.
Fresh lime is always a great compliment to Indian food so I served sliced wedges to be squeezed over the kabobs. Below you will find each recipe and links to the Big Mountain Foods products. Currently I can find a couple of their products at my local Safeway. Possible more to come!
Follow Big Mountain Foods for more recipes and great plant based products. Below you will find the links to their social media platforms.
Website: https://bigmountainfoods.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigmountainfoods/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigmountainfoods/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bigmountainfood
Making the Big Mountain Indian Starters
To prepare the appetizers I found it easiest to start with the soup. Once it was cooked I let it set and reheated it if needed. Next I marinated the Curry Veggie Sausage Kabobs and assembled them to have ready to grill. Lastly I made the Cauli Crumble Pakora fritters and fried them just before serving. I hope this helps with your preparation to try these Indian Starters.
Lion’s Mane Indian Soup
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbs. avocado oil or coconut oil
1 1/4 cup chopped onion
4 small garlic cloves, finely minced (approx. 1 1/2 tbs.)
2 tbs. fresh ginger, finely minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped (see optional toppings below)
1-10.58 oz package Big Mountain Lion’s Mane Mushroom Crumble
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves, (see optional toppings below)
3 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup full fat coconut milk
Optional toppings: slices of fresh tomato and sprigs of cilantro to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a Dutch oven size pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add in the onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add in the garlic and ginger and continue to sauté for another minute.
Add in the spices and salt and cook a few minutes to release the aromas of the spices then add in the chopped tomatoes, Big Mountain Lion’s Mane and cilantro.
Sauté the ingredients in the pot to blend together and heat through. Add in the vegetable stock and coconut milk. Continue to heat and simmer for 5 minutes to blend flavors.
Serve immediately or remove from the heat and reheat for later.
Cauli Crumble Pakora
INGREDIENTS:
Cilantro Mint Yogurt Dip:
1/2 c. yogurt (or vegan yogurt)
1 tbs. finely minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 tbs. finely minced fresh mint leaves
1 finely minced garlic clove
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp fresh lime juice
Ingredients for the fritter:
1 c. garam flour (also known as chickpea or garbanzo flour)
2 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1-12oz. package Big Mountain Cauli Crumble Veggie Grounds
1 tbs. minced fresh jalapeño
2 tbs. fresh chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala powder
5 tbs. water or more if needed only to form a thick batter
2-3 cups cooking oil (enough to cover 1” on the bottom of the skillet)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Prepare the Cilantro Mint Yogurt Dip and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Prepare the fritters: In a large mixing bowl, add the garam flour, 1 tsp. kosher salt and Big Mountain Cauli Crumbles. Blend until well combined. Add in the minced jalapeño, chopped cilantro and Garam Masala powder, toss to combine. Slowly add in the water until a thick batter is formed. Shape the batter into small patties using 2 tablespoons of mix or a cookie scoop. Arrange on parchment paper to have ready to fry.
Heat the cooking oil in a deep sided skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is hot enough, a small bit of batter will float up immediately. Working in small batches, carefully drop the patties into the oil. Fry the patties in small batches until golden brown, turning part way. This will not take long but it will depend upon the temperature of the oil.
When golden brown, remove from the oil and place on paper towels. Immediately sprinkle with some of the remaining kosher salt. Continue frying the remaining patties and seasoning when done frying.
Fritters can be kept warm in an oven set to the lowest temperature but better served immediately.
Curry Veggie Sausage Kabobs
INGREDIENTS:
5.3 oz container yogurt or vegan yogurt
3/4 tsp. Madras Curry powder
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1-10.58 oz. package Big Mountain Big Brat Veggie Links
8 slices of fresh jalapeño
1 red bell pepper cut into 16-1” cubes
8 wooden skewers
Optional garnish: cilantro and lime wedges
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a bowl, blend together the yogurt, spices and kosher salt until well blended.
Slice each of the Big Mountain Big Brat Veggie Links into 8 pieces and add them to the yogurt spice blend. Mix well to cover all of the pieces and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, cut the jalapeno slices as well as the red bell pepper cubes.
Assemble each skewer with a piece of sausage, then red bell, sausage, jalapeño, sausage, red bell and one more sausage.
Continue on with the remaining skewers. (You could cover and refrigerate the skewers at this point and grill them before serving.)
Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Place skewers into the pan but do not overcrowd. You may need to do two batches. Allow all surfaces of the skewer to heat and turn as needed. You are looking to heat the kabob through and give some char as well.
Arrange on a platter and serve with cilantro and lime if desired.
