Vegan samosa class

How about a vegan samosa making class?!

Legendary London community kitchen Made in Hackney is set to host an online class teaching you everything you need to know about vegan samosas.

Taking place via Zoom, the class will take place on Saturday July 25, 2020 between 2:00pm and 4:00pm.

The suggested donation for joining the class is £20 but any donation amounts accepted. All funds raised go towards the Made in Hackney community meal service providing free nutritious, tasty meals to households who need them during these challenging times.

Details for the Zoom class to be provided via email (usually the day before the class). Click here to find out how to to register.

Need more details about the event?

Back by popular demand, plant based chef, Sareta Puri, will show you how to make a healthier version of one of India’s popular and famous street food snacks, based on a recipe handed down to her. You’ll also learn how to make two delicious dips: coriander chutney and cucumber raita, as well as a lovely cuppa Chai.

The class will include:

  • How to make healthier versions of popular Indian street food samosas
  • Discover how to make a classic Indian dough which can also be used for breads
  • Making plant based versions of classic Indian dips: coriander chutney and cucumber raita
  • ‘Chai ‘n’ Chat’ about food traditions and culture across India
  • Recipe handout
  • All levels of spice preference will be catered for. See below for ingredients and equipment lists

Who is Sareta?

Sareta Puri is a Scottish-Indian plant based chef who learned how to cook as a child from her chef father and has been mainly self-taught since. Sareta became a chef through hosting supper clubs and has expanded her repertoire to include street food, retreat catering and private catering, as well as recipe development and food writing. Sareta is passionate about creating positive experiences through food and teaches for a range of community-based organisations including Made in Hackney, Life After Hummus, and People’s Kitchen.

Ingredients you will need for the class:

Dough

150g plain flour
100ml water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
0.25 tsp sea salt
0.5 tsp kalonji (Nigella seeds) – optional

Filling

3 medium sized potatoes (approx 300g)
125g frozen peas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil + oil to brush
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 green chilli
1/4 inch ginger (1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon hing (asafoetida)

Raita

50g soya yoghurt
1⁄4 cucumber
Handful of fresh coriander (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Coriander

Chutney

1 cup of fresh coriander (stalks and leaves)
Half a lemon, juiced
1⁄2 inch ginger
1 green chilli
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Chai

Black tea bag
Plant milk (oat, almond or coconut – not soy as it curdles!)
Fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamon pods, black peppercorns (or whatever you can source)
Date syrup to sweeten (optional)

Equipment list

Rolling pin
2 large mixing bowls
Pestle & mortar (or rolling pin will do)
Chopping board
Knife
2 pans
Baking tray + paper
For the coriander chutney: a blender

The above list gives you enough of a head start to make sure you are ready for the class.

Click here for full details of the class and be sure to follow Made in Hackney on Instagram.

Vegan Yorkshire puddings

This isn’t new information but I thought as I just received a gift box of these gorgeous Yorkshire puddings from Mabel’s, I should give you all a reminder.

If you are not from the UK or haven’t spent much time here, you might just be a little bit confused about Yorkshire puddings.

I can recall when I first came to the UK back in 1998 how completely confused I was by the concept of Yorkshire puddings. They are doughy like cake but you eat them with gravy?!

A lot of vegans have told me just how much they miss eating Yorkshire puddings as traditionally they are made with egg and milk.

Thankfully, Mabel’s have come along with these vegan beauties.

How good do they look?!

My plans for this weekend include a giant roast dinner with Mabel’s Yorkies as the centrepiece, dripping in gravy.

You can order your own vegan Yorkshire puddings from the Mabel’s online store.

Follow Mabel’s on Instagram.

Extra notes: Mabel’s also sell a gluten free version of their fab product AND all packaging is either recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable.

Döner Summer is open in Leeds

Döner Summer started life with their decadent comfort food and cocktail menus in York, but have now branched out with a location in nearby Leeds.

Josh popped a long on the weekend and sent me these photos to share with you all.

Check out the gorgeous interiors and tasty-looking food below.

How great does this all look? And being on Call Lane is the icing on the cake. It’s a great part of the city centre.

If you love food, cocktails, and ice cream then you probably want to follow Döner Summer on Instagram and dine with them soon and often.

Vegan shopping in Tesco

Super quick post to show you some of the fab vegan items I purchased in Tesco today.

That’s it. That’s the blog post.

I told you it was going to be super quick.

Vegan pizza in Sheffield

If you haven’t heard, I have recently relocated to the UK city of Sheffield.

First call of order is of course to find as much vegan food as possible and eat it all as quickly as possible.

I made a start to this task by ordering a whole bunch of vegan pizzas from Nether Edge Pizza Company.

This independently-owned pizza company has two Sheffield locations and an impressive vegan-friendly section on their menu.

Check out my dinner selection from tonight below.

Click through to the Instagram post to see all the items I ordered.

Everything was delicious, especially the garlic bread. I can’t wait to eat with them again.

Click here to visit the Nether Edge Pizza Company website.

Five vegan takeaway meals in the UK

During the past two weeks, I have been living in a London hotel room in order to follow the Government mandated self isolation.

I was originally booked into a hotel with a fridge but during my flight back from Mexico, my booking was cancelled. I ended in a room above a pub with no kitchen and no fridge.

And that means takeout food for two weeks.

Here are my top five fast food items I enjoyed during my stay.

Margherita pizza from Franco Manca

This Isn’t Chicken curry from Pho

Veggie sushi collection from Itsu

Vegatsu seitan katsu curry at Wagamama

Vegan box from wasabi

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCdYibDFvRf/

Purezza set to open another location

They just can’t slow down.

Only days after announcing their third location will be opening in Hove, superstar vegan pizza chain Purezza has announced ANOTHER location is on its way.

This time in Bristol.

Not long after tripling the size of their Camden branch to become the biggest vegan restaurant in the UK, Purezza will be opening at 79-81 Gloucester Road, Bristol which just happens to be the site of a former butcher before being taken over by Pigsty, a pork and BBQ restaurant.

They are reclaiming the space for the vegans!

The ethos and ingredients behind Purezza’s plant-based Neapolitan pizzas may be a far cry from the building’s previous occupants, but they are nonetheless loved by foodies globally, having won National Pizza of the Year in 2018 in the UK, Vegan Restaurant of the Year 2018, and being prize winners in the World Pizza Championships in 2019.


Purezza is known for crafting its own plant-based mozzarella, and a unique sourdough pizza base made with organic wholegrain flours. These are used in a range of pizzas from classics like the Margherita, to unique inventions like the Parmigiana Party which uses aubergine parmigiana and meat substitutes for its toppings.

The restaurant will also serve a full gluten-free menu, a large range of creative cocktails, and raw dishes including a raw pizza using a base made with seeds and nuts, and raw tiramisu made using finely blended cashew nuts. Food will also be available via local delivery services.

Follow Purezza on Instagram.

Vegan Quarantine: Day 95

Welcome to Vegan Quarantine: Day 95. This daily video series is my way of keeping spirits high within the vegan community while also supporting independent business, charities, and musicians.

Links for everything duscussed can be found below.

Plant and Planet is a vegan cafe and store in Castleton, UK. Please follow them on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/plantandplanetstore/

Food By Sumear is a vegan cheesemaker in the UK. You can order online:
https://foodbysumear.co.uk/

Follow Food by Sumear on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/foodbysumear/

Dominos UK do vegan pizza. No link for this one but I think it should be easy to find!

Please donate to the Jstice for David Dungay Junior legal fund and help David’s mother Leetona fight for justice:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/d9qkb6-justice-for-david

Recipe of the day. Simple vegan oatmeal cookies:
https://lovingitvegan.com/simple-vegan-oatmeal-cookies/

Music recommendation of the day. Black Parade by Beyoncé:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EHbf5QUjNE

You can support these daily videos by donating to my PayPal:
https://paypal.me/pools/c/8oikSipsfP

You can become a FGV Patreon supporter here:
https://www.patreon.com/FatGayVegan

Vegan brioche buns in Waitrose

If you have been watching my daily Vegan Quarantine videos on Facebook, you might have heard me mention that I am helping superstar vegan food brand Make No Bones with a spot of promotion.

Make No Bones is a much-loved vegan restaurant in Sheffield, feeding fans for a number of years. Unfortunately, they have been experiencing some downtime during the global crisis but that doesn’t mean they have been out of action completely.

The restaurant recently teamed up with local Fletchers Bakery to design and produce their own vegan brioche bun.

The buns have been such a massive success already with runaway sales in Tesco stores around the UK. (Order online from Tesco)

With this initial success under their pleather belts, Make No Bones have now announced a collaboration with Waitrose supermarkets.

The Make No Bones vegan brioche buns are available in Waitrose stores around the UK as of Wednesday June 17, 2020.

I asked Waitrose how they felt about the launch and a spokesperson told me:

We are excited to be launching these delicious vegan alternative rolls. At Waitrose, our vegan options are extremely popular with all our customers, not just those following a vegan lifestyle, so we know our shoppers will love these. The rolls will be a great addition to our shelves this barbecue season and will pair perfectly with our fabulous selection of vegan patties and burgers.

I haven’t been into a Waitrose store in a while due to the fact that I have been out of the country, but I will certainly be making it one of my first stops upon my return. I’ve been told by a few friends that their vegan offerings are pretty impressive these days.

You can buy the Make No Bones brioche buns online from Waitrose and be sure to click here to see the full list of stores currently stocking the product.

Follow Make No Bones on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Vegan Quarantine: Day 92

Welcome to Vegan Quarantine: Day 92. This daily video series is my way of keeping spirits high within the vegan community while also supporting independent business, charities, and musicians.

Links for everything mentioned are included below.

Tom’s Diner in Banbury, UK needs financial support. Help them reach their fundraising target:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/tomsdiner

New book about being an ethical vegan available for pre-order from September Publishing:
https://www.septemberpublishing.org/product/ethical-vegan/

Make No Bones vegan brioche is now available in Waitrose stores around the UK. See list of stores here:
https://tinyurl.com/MNBwaitrose

Shop for the vegan brioche via the Waitrose online store:
https://tinyurl.com/waitroseONLINE

Follow Make No Bones:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/mnbvegan/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/mnbvegan
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MakeNoBonesVegan/

Applewood Cheese is launching a festive cheese pack. See details on this Facebook post:
https://tinyurl.com/yc3rckrr

Cafe Vegetal is open again in Mexico City. Follow them on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/cafevegetalmx/

Recipe of the day. Baked vegan corn dogs:
https://tinyurl.com/y9epyw87

Music recommendation of the day. Blow Me Away by Party Nails:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JutRkDRrGSg

You can support these daily videos by donating to my PayPal:
https://paypal.me/pools/c/8oikSipsfP

You can become a FGV Patreon supporter here:
https://www.patreon.com/FatGayVegan