Farida Abdel Malek 
My mom has this incredible cookbook from the '90s that she loves taking recipes from and, sort of, adapting into her own. When I was preparing for this article I knew I wanted to go to her for simple vegan recipes. I also wanted to talk to her cousin, who we knew had some delicious vegan recipes as well. I can't tell you how happy I am that I did, because these easy vegan recipes are so simple, diverse and tried, tested and loved.
You don't want to miss these amazing vegan recipes below, especially the dessert one! It's so easy...
Vegan Maklooba Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups white rice
- 1 eggplant
- 1 tomato
- 1 carrot
- 1 potato
- 1 big onion
- A bowl of mushrooms
- Olive oil
- Salt to preference
- Pepper to preference
- Spices
- Chili (optional)
Steps:
1. Cut up the potato, eggplant and carrot into circles or rings and grill them in the oven in a pan with olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper.
2. Cut up the onion into rings, the mushrooms in half and cook them in pan with olive oil on the stove.
3. Get a big rice pot and start layering the ingredients like a cake.
4. Start by laying down the tomatoes, then potatoes and then the rice.
5. Now add a layer of mushrooms and onions and then carrots, topped with another rice layer.
6. Finally layer the eggplant and add a final layer of rice.
7. Keep layering in this order until you finish them, but keep in mind that you should have the final layer be the rice.
8. Mix together 2 cups of water, 2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper, 1/2 tsp of your preferred spices, chili if you'd like and 2 Tbsp of olive oil.
9. Pour this mixture over the layered rice and vegetables and leave it to cook as you would with cooking normal rice.
Vegan Mehalabya Recipe (Vegan Milk Pudding)
Image Credits: Kirbie's Cravings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- 1 Tbsp honey or sugar or maple syrup
- 1 tsp grated coconut shavings
Steps:
1. Dissolve the corn starch in the cold coconut milk.
2. In a pot on the stove, add to the milk the coconut shavings and sugar or honey, stirring really well.
3. Once it thickens and almost starts creating swirls from the spoon, turn off the heat.
4. Pour it while it's still hot in bowls and then refrigerate.
5. You can garnish and eat it, when it cools down, with raisins, nuts and cinnamon.
Vegan Piccata Recipe
Image Credits: Food To Glow
Ingredients:
- 2 cups mushrooms
- 1 big onion
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- Salt to preference
- Pepper to preference
- Spices
- Olive oil
Steps:
1. Mince the onion, but not too finely. Just a medium mince.
2. Fry the minced onion in a pan with olive oil, until it becomes golden brown. Then remove the onions from the pan.
3. Cut up the mushrooms into thick slices and
4. Add the mushrooms to the same pan you cooked the onions in, cooking it in more olive oil and adding the corn starch as well.
5. Add the onions again to the mushroom, stirring them together and leaving them to cool down off the heat.
6. Now add to the them 2 cups of water, 1 full tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp of a spice mix you prefer.
7. Stir all this together really well until it's well mixed.
8. Now put the mixture back on the heat and keep stirring until it thickens.
9. You can eat this with rice or pasta.
Delicious Roasted Vegetables Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- 3 carrots
- 3 zucchini
- 2 onions
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 2 large potatoes
- 3 cups of whole mushrooms (you add more if you like)
- 1/2 a cauliflower
- 1 small broccoli
- You can add any other vegetables you like
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 ground ginger
- 5 Tbsp Olive oil
Steps:
1. Preheated the oven to 280°C.
2. Cut up all the vegetables in whatever shape your prefer.
3. Drizzle olive oil in a big oven friendly tray or pan and spread out the vegetables in the tray.
4. Mix them well, making sure the olive oil coats them all.
5. In a bowl mix together the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, thyme, pepper and ginger.
6. Add the seasoning to the vegetables and mix and move them around to coat them all.
7. Place the tray in the oven.
8. When they start browning at the bottom, stir them around and put them back in.
9. Right before you feel like they're done, put them the grill for around 2 minutes.
Vegan Onion Soup Recipe
Image Credits: Cook The Story
Recipe Credits: Good Housekeeping 'New Step-by-Step Cook Book'
Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Medium sized bread loaf
- Vegan grated cheese (optional)
- 3 peeled onions
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 900 ml vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt to preference
- Pepper to preference
Steps:
1. Add olive oil to a pan.
2. Add in the thinly sliced onions, cooking them until they turn golden brown.
3. Add in the flour and keep stirring for around 1 minute.
4. Pour in the stock, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
5. Once it boils, cover the pot and leave it to simmer for about 1/2 an hour. When it's done, take out the bay leaf.
6. Cut the bread into 1cm pieces and slightly toast them.
7. In an oven-friendly serving bowl, place 2 slices of the bread and pour in the soup over them.
8. Add the cheese on top and place the bowls in the grill until the cheese is melted.
Vegan Avocado Salad Dressing Recipe
Image Credits: Downshiftology
Recipe Credits: Tasty Yummies
Ingredients:
- 1 large avocado
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup water
- Juice of 1 lime
- A handful of cilantro (fresh)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
Steps:
1. Mix all these ingredients together in a blender.
2. Leave in the fridge until it's time to serve.
3. Add it to any salad you want.
Potato Rosti Cakes
Image Credits: Waitrose
Recipe Credits: Good Housekeeping 'New Step-by-Step Cook Book'
Ingredients:
- 2 onions
- Around 10 potatoes
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
- 1 Tbsp chopped coriander
- Salt to preference
- Pepper to preference
Steps:
1. With a fork, prick the potatoes.
2. Place them in the oven to bake at 200°C for around 40 minutes. They shouldn't be cooked all the way through.
3. Peel the onions and chop them finely.
4. In a pan on the stove, add the olive oil and onions.
5. Cook the onions until they soften, but don't let them brown.
6. Wait for the potatoes to cool down with the skin on.
7. Now peel them and grate them into coarse shreds.
8. Now stir the grated potatoes with the onion and coriander.
9. Create with the mixture small round circular cakes.
10. In a pan with a thin drizzle of olive oil, place the round potato cakes and flip them on both sides so they're crispy and golden.
Roasted Potatoes Recipe
Picture taken from: Good Housekeeping 'New Step-by-Step Cook Book'
Recipe Credits: Good Housekeeping 'New Step-by-Step Cook Book'
Ingredients:
- Potatoes (around depends on your serving)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cumin
- Olive oil
Steps:
1. Peel the potatoes and cut them in half.
2. In a pot, cover them cold salted water and bring to boil for 2 minutes.
3. Drain them and cool them with cold water.
4. Place each potato on the flat side.
5. With a knife create uniform multiple cuts all around each potato, cutting about 1/3 of the way through. Don't slice it all the way in. The potato should still be standing with almost a fan like top.
6. Cut out square pieces of foil.
7. Place each potato in the center of the foil.
8. Season with salt, cumin and olive oil.
9. Now wrap the foil around each of them individually to enclose them.
10. Place in the oven until they cook through.
11. Take them out of the oven and remove the foil.
12. Place them in the grill to get some color.
Main Image Credits: Kirbie's Cravings
