Meera Sodha's vegan store-cupboard recipes for lockdown - MW

If you see my mother's cupboard, you might think she has been locked for years. Each one is like Narnia: from the outside, you won't know about the vast world hidden behind. There are thigh-high crates full of rice and chapati, three-liter jars (four horizontal and four deep) of all the pulses, rice and spices available in the modern world, and the entire shelf dedicated to roll values a kitchen.

To protect her, her family, like many political refugees, has found it difficult and her bulk purchase, in part, from the need to find a smarter way to cook and eat. frugal, but also from deep fear, just like we are now all going through, potentially hungry.

It's safe to say that apples don't fall off a tree, and I love to cook from the cupboard - it gives me the thrill of enjoying a meal made from cereals and tins. But when ingredients are sparse, freshness becomes a luxury but essential, so here is a list of recipes from my storage to help you use your cupboard, along with a Few vegetables you can find in stores now. Meera Sodha

Onion ramen noodles (above)
KA: You can exchange the money for any green vegetables and sake for dry sherry.

Irac beans

Kitchen Assistant: This will work with any type of bean, whether canned or dried (of course, soaked and cooked first). If allspice is scarce, try a mixture of equal parts nutmeg, cinnamon and clove; and use parsley (or, really, any fresh herbs you like) instead of coriander.

Aubergine katsu curry

KA: Because when you can go to Wagamama, you can order panko for normal bread crumbs and soak whatever vegetables you like, if you can find turnips.


Lebanese green beans and rice noodles

KA: Use any thin pasta in place of the vermicelli; orzo would be another option. And if you can’t get green beans, try courgette batons or asparagus instead, though those both need less cooking, or they’ll turn to absolute mush.

Peanut butter and broccoli pad thai

KA: Sub out purple broccoli for normal broccoli, brown rice syrup for brown sugar, Thai basil for basil leaves. If you want to keep ginger and Thai chili longer, prepare and freeze ginger in parts, and freeze Thai chili as it is now.

Broccoli, dill and stewed mung beans

KA: Sub fennel adds broccoli, or even tomatoes (or anything you have, such as celery, carrots or peppers).

Potatoes, radishes and coconut curry

KA: If the chard is hard to come by, just use another green color: spinach or Chinese cabbage, kale, in which case it will require more cooking - so take five minutes and refresh.

Aloo tikki peanuts with coconut and peas

KA: There are many variations on tikki as well as there are people who eat them - mix and match to suit your preferences and availability.

Chocolate, olive oil and passion cake

KA: No butter, no eggs, no raising agent. If you don’t have the passion fruit, it doesn’t matter – either leave it out or swap in some other tart or acidic fruit.

MW