Vegan Dubai

July 20, 2020 by monica 1 Comment

IS VEGAN CHEESE KETO ?

Is vegan cheese keto?

This week we need the answer to the question: is vegan cheese keto?

We’ve been offered a pretty platter of vegan cheese from a lady who needs some honest feedback. But I am also fascinated by her ability to read tarot cards! And I think I may have found a new best friend in a jar of marine collagen with White Lindt Chocolate! But first, we must talk about Colin!

Welcome to another MonicMoment – a snapshot into a foodie bloggers life this week still in Dubai..

Is vegan cheese keto doindubai monica kapila with layla — Monica and Layla at home in Dubai

Update: Re Colin and his desserts

Colin has decided not to focus on the desserts that we featured on last MonicMoment post but rather on his Keto business for which there is an instagram already!

However, he would like to drop over some of his keto breads this week! I told him his Saffron Milk Cake was mine and our guests favorite dessert so not to forget about that. Saffron milk cake though is not keto at all is it? It’s carby, very carby, but very tasty! I would definitely order this for a large scale dessert.

Colin’s saffron milk cake party pudding

Is Vegan cheese keto?

I have no idea, but I will ask Sonia, the owner and founder of a vegan cheese business who approached me to get some honest feedback on her cheese platters. I have no idea about her prices as yet.

The last vegan cheese platter I looked at on a Dubai based instagram account cost AED 425 for 12 types of largish cheese balls, but they all fit on one platter! Is that a good price? I have no idea!

Vegan cheese zaatar coated dairy free

Sonia became interested in vegan cheese as it suited her system to avoid dairy, from there it was a logical step for her as a passionate cook, to go about making her own vegan cheese, but she also saw it in the cards! The tarot cards that she reads!

Breakfast with Blogging Mates

I was happy to have been asked out to breakfast by a couple of blogger mates I hadn’t seen for ages. We settled on a place called the Milk Bakery. What connotations come to mind? The reality is a high end coffee shop serving giant cake slices in a modern mixed development mall in Jumeirah 1.

Breakfast in a Box Milk Bakery

That’s fine though, breakfast was an acceptable AED 54, but what I didn’t expect in the 2nd week of July was a paper box for a plate, a paper cup for my coffee and plastic knives and forks.

I wrote a post on Eating Out in Dubai after lockdown, but it seems the rules are very inconsistent and vary from premises to premises. Cutting a Turkish simit roll with a bendy plastic knife was challenging!

Marine Collagen

One of my breakfast buddies makes her own matcha nut butter with cashews (also found in vegan cheese?) almonds, white Lindt Milk chocolate and.. wait for it.. Marine Collagen!

Hand made hope in a jar

I immediately asked whether I could put it on my face! She hadn’t thought of that one, but apparently even eating it or adding a spoonful to a morning coffee can improve wrinkles and fine lines.

Just for friends and family at the moment, I ask if I can pay her for ingredients and making time? I think it would be cheaper and tastier than my fancy face cream! Maybe I can spread this cremosso nut butter on some keto bread and have with some vegan cheese!

Tell me

Is vegan cheese keto? If we ask ourselves what is ‘keto’ then we have the answer but how low in carbohydrates is the Vegan Cheese. How low in carbohydrates does a food have to be to be labelled ‘keto’ ?

“So, what does “keto” even mean and how can a food be defined as such? It’s complicated” I found an explanation here. The article reminds us that not all ‘keto’ foods can be synonymous with “healthy.”

What are your experiences following a ‘Ketogenic diet” ?

Win a Gorgeous Vegan Cheese Platter

If you’d like to win one of these gorgeous vegan cheese platters then keep watching the doindubai instagram..

Next Time

I have a feeling London may be calling for the next MonicMoment..!

January 11, 2020 by monica Leave a Comment

VEGAN CAULIFLOWER HUMMUS

Join me in my kitchen and learn how to make a vegetarian and very versatile Cauliflower Hummus. It’s GLUTEN FREE and VEGAN but not expensive to make.

Cauliflower is a very nutrient rich food, high in fibre and a good source of vitamins B & C.

Serve up as a dip with crudités to accompany pre dinner drinks, spread onto crackers as an anytime snack or have as a chunky side to a main dish.

Alternatively, because it has the consistency of mashed up tuna with mayo try it as a filling with some rocket leaves and cucumber for sandwiches or rolls.

You can store the hummus in the fridge for about 3 days.

Ingredients

450 g raw cauliflower
1 tbsp – 15g tahini paste
1 tsp – 1.8g peeled ginger
1/4 tsp red chilli in oil
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
salt & pepper to taste
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 tsp cumin seeds
fresh coriander to garnish
lemon juice if required

Equipement

2 bowls – 1 large & 1 small
A baking tray lined with aluminium foil
A pan to roast the Cumin Seeds
A blender or grinder to blitz the mixture
An oven warmed & set at 180 degrees C

How it's Made

STEP 1

Break the cauliflower into florets and place in a mixing bowl

STEP 2

Mix the oil, salt and pepper, ginger, garlic and chilli in a small bowl and mix well. Then pour this mixture over the cauliflower florets. Ensure all the florets are tossed in the mixture

STEP 3

Spread the florets evenly on a baking tray with aluminium foil and bake in a preheated oven set at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes. The florets are should be cooked through and a little coloured on top

STEP 4

Allow the florets to cool. While the florets are cooling dry roast the cumin seeds in a wok

STEP 5

Place the cauliflower florets into a blender or grinder and add the cumin seeds and pulse the mixture a bit

STEP 6

Add the tahini paste and blitz up the mixture

STEP 7

Check for salt and pepper, you can add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at this point

SERVE IT LIKE THIS

Spoon the mixture into a bowl and garnish with some extra chilli oil and chopped coriander or just some fresh black pepper

Additional

You can always roast some extra cauliflower at the same time and turn into soup later. A great idea for meal prepping.

Our recipe videos

Quick Shopping List

1. Cauliflower

2. Tahini Paste

3. Ginger Root

4. Fresh Garlic

5. Lemon

6. Red Chilli in Oil

7. Fresh Coriander

8. Aluminium Foil

COMING SOON

Monica Kapila

Chef at DoinDubai

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May 20, 2018 by monica 1 Comment

RAMADAN IN DUBAI Best Iftars and Deals

IT’S RAMADAN IN DUBAI Welcome to the best iftars and deals in Dubai

Ramdan Kareem to all our listeners and readers, you’ve come to the right place for the best iftars and deals in Dubai. How about a floating iftar on the majestic QE2 moored in Rashid Marina? In need a classy MEAL DEAL? Then try Moombai and Co’s curry combo for AED 69 and add a dish from the Mango Memory Menu.. it’s alphonso time again! For those who aren’t fasting I recommend a pop up breakfast at mediterranean restaurant Boca in DIFC. Plus 2 of our favourite casual cafes open for lunch in JLT. All this and more on this week’s Food News on Dubai Eye 103.8.

QE 2 PORT RASHID MARINA

On the waterfront – literally

DINNER REVIEW – IFTAR

We’re about to set sail from the Rashid Marina to Mainland Britain! We’ve come on board to look around the luxury ocean cruise liner the QE2. The history of the ship is fascinating and it’s worth booking a tour.

Highlights for us were the Queen Mary apartments complete with a sun lounge and a private deck area. They’ve even had a marriage proposal (accepted of course) on this deck! The newest and most modern eating area is definitely The Lido restaurant as shown below. The poshest restaurant though would be the Queen’s Grill!

We experienced the QE2 iftar in a tent accessed directly from the Lido restaurant. It’s not possible to see the sea from the tent though.

The iftar had a large variety of salads, but there was quite a limited choice of mains for vegetarians. The traditional ouzi normally made with just lamb also contained beef which I’ve not experienced before. The iftar tent was surprisingly full, but I think many people had a combination ticket of the tour and the iftar. As we were on the iconic QE2 we had expected a grander, more luxurious ambience as well as a wider choice of dishes for this iftar.

Cost AED 250 for iftar and AED 175 for Suhoor. But if you book a tour for AED 150, you can redeem AED 100 on food and beverage.

MOOMBAI AND CO Sheikh Zayed Road at the H hotel

A special Mango Memory Menu celebrating Alphonso season.

Great curry combo deal too.

LUNCH REVIEW

We were a bit skeptical about mango with everything at Moombai and Co but We LOVED every course of our lunch from the special mango memory menu! It’s alphonso season again and that brand is synonymous with the highest quality mangoes around.

The Mango Memory Menu itself is short, that’s a good thing according to me, so we tried the very moreish crispy bhindi and tangy, but perfect mango chicken tikka to start with. The main course is a very good raw mango and coconut prawn curry which we all agreed was excellent.

If you have room you should try (maybe share) the almost tropical mango lassi to drink, or if that’s a bit heavy for you, then opt for the thirst quenching aam panna drink, that has a bit of kick to it. Everything is designed to share. I’d go back again to try this menu. Not sure how long mango season is on for so go soon.

How would you describe a mango? to quote from the article from The Guardian.. 27th April 2012…”a cross between peach, nectarine, apricot and melon with notes of honey and citrus. But better…” If you shared a large aam panna drink, both starters, one main and one thick, creamy, glorious mango dessert you’d be looking at around AED 200 per head with rice, naan bread and still water. Worth going back for.

And if you fancy making that crispy bhindi at home then try our easy doindubai recipe here, great to eat with DoinDubai’s favourite spicy red pepper dip recipe.

ALSO OPEN DURING RAMADAN are

CALI POKE – a new branch just opened in JLT Cluster J! Vegetarian or Seafood bowls of fresh goodness to eat in or take away. The eat in area is quite small, so I would opt to take out from here.

WOKYO – our favourite noodle bar also in JLT Cluster J for Japan. Every kind of noodle and broth you can think of, or customise your own. Don’t forget they have a vegan ramen bowl as well. We love Zak and Nazlie and Wokyo, but I think I love their Singapore Laksa and cappucinos more than them! Lovely vibe at Wokyo, a very cool place to sit during the day if you’re not fasting

We also think the DEMOISELLE Deal at lunch time is really cool..

A very pretty cafe in City Walk that will be serving a 3 course lunch for an extremely reasonable AED 53. You get a choice of hot soup to start then one of 3 choices for a hearty lunch and to finish you get a choice of an artisan coffee or fresh juice.

Here’s Corrado who now works at Galvin telling us about the delightful decor at Demoiselle..

BOCA in DIFC is offering a pop up breakfast every morning. So expect some avocado on toast and the usual breakfast fare at this very cool, upmarket Mediterranean style cafe in Dubai’s main financial district.

But if you’re in the media city area, then I like the sound of the deal at CERTO at the Radisson Blu Media City. Certo is a very established Italian restaurant that had a brand new make over last year. The deal is AED 199 for 2 people sharing a range of Italian dishes or AED 299 to include a bottle of wine! That’s a really delicious deal in my book, it’s open for lunch and dinner of course..

FIND OUT FIRST following the DoinDubai Instagram page

Previous posts with lot’s of good foodie ideas are here..

MISSED THE LIVE BROADCAST?

The live broadcast happens on a Tuesday, this week Tuesday 22nd May from 3 to 4 pm on Dubai Eye 103.8, but if you missed it, then you can listen to the podcast.

We’ll add it into the article here when it’s ready for uploading, the day after the live broadcast. But in the meantime, we’ve left the podcast from the last show in for you to listen to.

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Thank You Monica.

No grilled meats on this iftar plate! We’re eating pure vegan food at Urth in Cluster J. We really liked both our soups – carrot and mint and spinach, beautifully presented too. The most interesting dish on this vegan iftar menu was the fattus hummus with vegan yoghurt made with a cashew cream base.

Warm, wholesome, real chick peas, perfect as a mini meal in itself with salad and bread. But you have more, the main courses are vegetarian stews served with rice and condiments. I would like to have tried the special Urth Style Sayadieh with fried onions, but that wasn’t available on the day we tried.

You will LOVE the desserts.. we had and highly recommend the raw carrot cake and an apple spice cake with warm apple puree icing on top.

Open for those who would like to try the vegan iftar in the evenings, after fasting time is over, but also open during the day for those who aren’t fasting. Very cool, laid back vibe. Last but not least point to note is there is a Ramadan Deal on – 2 iftars for the price of one till 28th of May, so for AED 120 you get 2 five course iftars! Well Done Urthlings!

For some vegan cooking at home this Ramadan try our brilliant cauliflower burger recipe..