My New York-based multi-talented niece Dr Vedika Kumar, who is training to become a psychiatrist, has always been passionate about vegan food.
Finding vegan food is increasingly easier, I have discovered on my travels, in the United States, the UK, Ireland, and many parts of Europe. It feels quite good, as a vegetarian myself, to pick up a packet of food in a British or Irish grocery store and see a thoughtful little message -- 'suitable for vegetarians' or 'suitable for vegans'.
And much of Indian, Chinese and Thai cuisine one bumps into is vegan too or easily adaptable as vegan.
But to get the kind of meals that appeal to her, Vedika cooks a wide range of vegan food regularly when she is off duty from the hospital and is an accomplished home cook.
She invited me on a lovely June evening for an al fresco dinner in the tiny but precious garden of her Brooklyn apartment, where she grows a variety of vegetables.
Vedika made a smorgasbord of tasty vegan food from scratch -- spring rolls, a dip with crudites, noodle salad, stuffed lettuce wraps, Thai curry, steamed rice. There was even vegan strawberry ice cream at the end of it.
The Thai curry, with tofu in it, was particularly special. I asked for her recipe, which is below, with her comments, and this is what she said about the recipe:
"This Thai-inspired tofu curry is a tasty and balanced meal with endless possibilities for customisation. I like to use it to clear out my fridge of produce at the end of the week. Or, if you keep certain canned items around, you can put this together with relatively few fresh ingredients too."
"The amounts here are purposefully vague because these ingredients vary hugely in terms of their flavour profile. I recommend tasting as you go and altering the recipe when you want to."
Vedika's Vegan Thai Red Curry With Veggies and Tofu
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the gravy
Vegetable or protein for the curry
Very customisable, these are just suggestions. Pick and choose based on what's on hand. You want around 3-4 cups of these items chopped. But if you have more than 3-4 cups, just add more coconut milk.
Packaged
Fresh
Garnish
For serving
Method
Vedika's Note: Thai root or galangal is often hard to find -- when I find it, I freeze it and use it for a year. You can substitute it for ginger, but the flavors are pretty different.
Red Thai curry paste is sometimes hard to find but is available online in India and if you live abroad in East Asian grocery marts.
If you are vegetarian, make sure to find one without seafood or fish sauce. But sometimes pastes with seafood pictured on the label are actually vegetarian -- read carefully! I have had great success with tom yum paste as well. Some commonly found vegetarian brands are Thai Kitchen and Maesri.
If you are not vegetarian, you may like to add a few large prawns peeled, de-veined, head removed and tailed, while frying the vegetables.
Those on a diabetic diet should opt for quinoa or millets or red rice instead of white rice.
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