It was the lactose intolerance that made Chef Raveena Taurani approach food differently but consuming more unprocessed nutrient-dense foods made her feel so much better that there was no going back. Years later, in November 2018, she opened a brick and mortar store in Khar called Yogisattva, which functions as a cooking academy, retail store-cum-delivery kitchen and now an all-day farm-to-fork plant-based cafe that specialises in making healthy food tasty and affordable. But, what’s the biggest myth that she would like to bust? “That it's expensive! Dal chawal without ghee is vegan and available in every household. With Yogisattva, I strive to make plant-based food healthy, affordable and accessible,” shares 30-year-old Raveena.
For World Vegan Month, we asked her to share the recipe of one of her favourite snacks and she gave us her Grilled Avocado, Mango and Amaranth Cracker Tower recipe. “The main thing that makes it stand out are the flavours. The amalgamation of the tomato-flavoured beans with mango and avocado on top and some amaranth crackers for crunch make for the perfect bite,” shares Raveena, who likes having it as a mid-morning or evening snack and sometimes as an appetizer before her meals. But what’s the one thing that can make or break this dish? “Taste. It's non-negotiable. No matter how many good quality ingredients you add, if the taste is not up to the mark, the dish/recipe won't go very far,” says Raveena.
Recipe: Grilled Avocado, Mango, Amaranth Cracker Tower
Ingredients: 1 avocado ripe, 1/2 cups cubed mango
For cannellini beans: 100 g cooked cannellini beans, 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp dried sundried tomatoes (washed thoroughly and chopped), 1/2tbsp tahini, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp sweet paprika, salt &black pepper to taste
Method:
• Cube the mango
• Grill the avocado whole by removing the pit and cutting it in the centre and then cube. Adjust seasoning.
• To prepare cannellini beans, wash the oil of the sundried tomatoes completely and then rehydrate the sundried tomatoes in a bowl with warm or hot water for at least 20 minutes or until they’re soft. Now mix all the ingredients in a pan (adding the cannellini beans last) and cook for 10 or 15 minutes.
• To assemble, use a ring mould, add the cannellini bean mixture at the bottom, followed by the grilled avocado and mango mixture and top with amaranth crackers or any gluten-free crackers of choice.