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Serves: 1 cup 
Prep time: 20 minutes (active); 30 minutes (inactive)

#### What you’ll need:

- 10 dates
- 1 ball fresh tamarind (small lime sized)/ 1 tbsp tamarind paste (I get my fresh tamarind slab from the local Indian store)
- 1 cup water + 3/4 cup water + 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp salt

#### What you’ll want to do:

- Soak the dates in hot water for 30 minutes to soften them
- If you are using fresh tamarind, soak the tamarind ball in 1/2 cup hot water for a few minutes
- Once the tamarind has soaked, stir to mix fully
- Use a strainer to separate the raw tamarind from the water
- Start boiling the tamarind 1 cup water on the stove in a medium sized pot. If you are using tamarind paste, add 1 tbsp of the paste to 1 cup of water and start boiling
- Add the palm sugar and fennel seeds to the tamarind-water and let this boil for 10 minutes
- While that is boiling, peel and deseed the softened dates and user a mixer to blend it together, with 3/4 cup of water. Blend until you get a paste (it should be a little thick)
- Set this aside and focus back on the boiling tamarind water
- Add the red chili powder, cumin powder and salt. By now this should be steadily boiling and bubbling
- Switch off the flame and mix in the blended dates
- Set aside to cool and wait for the flavors to meld in with each other
- Serve with my Hara[ Bara Kebab](https://shruskitchen.com/hara-bhara-kebab/) or [Vegetable cutlets](https://shruskitchen.com/vegetable-cutlets/), along with some delicious [coriander and mint chutney](https://shruskitchen.com/coriander-and-mint-chutney/)!

Indian Food

Sauces and Dips

Tamarind and Date Sweet Chutney

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Serves: 1 cup 
Prep time: 5 minutes

#### What you’ll need:

- 1 cup packed mint leaves
- 2 cups packed coriander leaves (with stems)
- 6 tbsp water
- 2 green chilies/ thai green chilies
- 3/4th tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5-6 tbsp lemon juice

#### What you’ll want to do:

- Roughly chop the mint and coriander leaves before transferring half of them to a blender (I use my Nutribullet)
- Add the green chilies and water and start blending. Once you get a watery consistency, add the rest of the leaves
- Blend until you get a smooth paste, add more water if needed but be careful not to make it too watery
- Transfer to a bowl before adding cumin powder, salt and lemon juice
- Stir until fully mixed
- Serve with my [Hara Bara Kebab](https://shruskitchen.com/hara-bhara-kebab/), [Vegetable cutlets](https://shruskitchen.com/vegetable-cutlets/), or just a slice of toast!

Coriander and Mint Chutney

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Serves: 2-3 people 
Prep time: 2 hours (inactive), 30 mins (active)

#### What you’ll need:

##### For the cashew sauce:

- One cup cashews, soaked in hot water for 2 hours
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 deseeded jalapeño (optional but highly recommended)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Salt to taste
- Water

##### For the spiced mushrooms:

- 1 cup sliced cremini/white mushrooms
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1 tsp crushed basil
- 1/2 tsp crushed thyme
- 1/2 tsp crushed rosemary
- 1 tsp crushed oregano
- 1 tsp salt + more to taste
- 1/4 tsp freshly crushed black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil

##### For the chickpeas pasta:

- 1 8oz box of Banza Linguine
- 1 pot of water to boil
- Generous amount of salt

#### What you’ll want to do:

- Boil water in a large pot with some salt. Once the water starts boiling empty the box of Banza into it. Let it cook for around 7-8 minutes before starting to monitor it closely.
- It’s important to take the pasta out of the hot water before it starts getting too soft.
- Simultaneously, sautée the mushrooms, bell pepper and spinach in the olive oil. Add all the crushed spices, salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender.
- In a Nutribullet or high-speed blender, combine the cashews, garlic, jalapeño, salt and a little water. Add water slowly as you blend to get a creamy sauce. Add more water if you prefer a more liquid consistency.
- Plate the pasta, vegetables and cashew sauce without completely mixing together. Top the sauce with red pepper flakes.
- Enjoy!

Dinner

Italian Food

Creamy Vegan Sauce with Italian Spiced Mushrooms

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Serves: 4 people 
Prep time: 30 minutes to the plate (active)

#### What you’ll need:

- 8-10 roma tomatoes, skinned and seeds removed
- 1 medium white onion, coarsely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp crushed oregano
- 1 tsp crushed/fresh basil
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp red chili flakes (scale back if sensitive to spice)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste

#### What you’ll want to do:

- Place the tomatoes in hot water to soften them
- Peel the skin off and remove the seeds (blog post with the step-by-step process coming soon!)
- Roughly chopped the skinned and deseeded tomatoes
- In a pan put all the other ingredients along with the tomatoes and bring to a simmer while mixing
- Crush the tomatoes a little with your mixing spoon depending on the consistency that you would like
- You can also remove some onion if you’d like a more tangy and smooth sauce
- Add more salt and pepper to taste
- Pairs well with grilled vegetables, vegan eggplant panko (recipe coming soon) and on PIZZA. Also great to make in bulk and store for the week

Fresh Marinara Sauce

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Serves: 2-3 people 
Prep time: 5 minutes (active)

#### What you’ll need:

- 5 cups packed spinach
- 5 tbsp walnuts
- 1 medium lemon, juiced
- 6 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 6-7 cloves garlic
- 1/4th cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt + more to taste
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- Red pepper flakes to taste

#### What you’ll want to do:

- Add all the ingredients except the oil to a food processor.
- Slowly add the oil as your blend the ingredients
- You can add more/less oil depending on your preference of taste and consistency, and can also use water instead.
- Add more nutritional yeast if you want a cheesier flavor. I’m a big fan!
- Also add more salt, pepper and red pepper flakes as needed.
- Serve with my FAVORITE[ Eat Banza](https://www.eatbanza.com/collections/pasta/products/shells) chickpeas pasta and [Roasted Red Peppers](https://shruskitchen.com/roasted-red-pepper/).

**Recipe Musings:** I love pasta. And pesto. And parmesan. But I also can’t eat dairy and think that basil and pine nuts are way too overpriced. This is my attempt at recreating pesto with ingredients that are healthier and easier on the pocket. Nutritional yeast, a vegan gem, adds a hint of cheesiness to this pesto and makes up for the lack of parmesan. This is undoubtedly one of my most favorite sauces that I use on almost everything – pasta, toast, vegetables and pizza.

Vegan Spinach and Walnut Pesto

Recipes