Indian Bento

Somehow my bentos are more often Indian-style than anything else. I had this one last week after Xmas. It's got plain basmati rice, kidney bean curry, cocktail tomatoes and an adaption of my all-time-favourite dish-

When I started cooking about five years ago, I got this Asian cookbook which had a curry chapter. I found this chicken curry that I became totally obsessed with. I made it all the time. Enter vegetarianism. Enter veganism.
I veganized a lot of stuff, but somehow this recipe never entered my mind. Mabye it contained too many animal products in the original.

However, I made it, and I've fallen in love again. The original recipe asks for yoghurt, so I took a small container (125ml) of the French Sojadé yoghurt and TVP chunks as meat substitutes.

Here's the recipe:

1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 inch piece of ginger
1/2 tsp chilli powder

-> peel and dice garlic, onion and ginger. Shortly sauté with the spices in a pan.
Using a blender, food processor or whatever, add 6 tablespoons of water and blend into a smooth paste.

-> in the meantime, reconstitute the TVP (I use vegetable broth with a pinch paprika and some tamari) and chop one red and one yellow bell pepper.

-> Sauté the TVP and peppers for about 10 minutes, then add the curry paste and half a teaspoon of salt.
Turn down the heat and add the yoghurt. Stir well and let simmer for about half an hour longer.

At first, you might think they curry turns out to dry. Don't add any extra water!
While cooking, the excess liquid from the TVP will mix with the curry paste and yoghurt.