Meatless Monday with Vegan Jhal Muri

Hello and welcome (back) to the Miratel blog for another Meatless Monday recipe share. We took the Meatless Monday pledge to reduce meat consumption 15% by eliminating it one day per week to preserve the health of the planet. Miratel includes this pledge as part of our CSR business strategies as it promotes going meat-free to show the impact of food choices on our environment. Every Monday we share a new vegan/vegetarian recipe to help make going meat-free easier.

Tonight we’ll be enjoying the flavours of a Calcutta street food by making a delicious vegan Jhal Muri. I first became aware of this healthy snack that eats like a meal when I saw it on the Food Network’s Eat St. when they visited Everybody Love Love Jhal Muri Express in London, England. The charming and eccentric owner, Angus Denoon, has a passion for his signature dish and it shows in how he deftly mixes portions and scoops them into paper cones made of newspapers. There was a steady stream of people at the vibrantly decorated supermarket trolley waiting to try the Jhal Muri and I couldn’t wait to try it myself and share it here.

Ingredients (1 serving)

Image courtesy of Eat St.

• 1 cup puffed rice (a.k.a. “Muri”)
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour noodles (a.k.a. “Sev”)
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts with skin, crushed
• 1/4 cup fried lentils (a.k.a. “Channa Dal”)
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 medium cucumber, chopped
• 1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, chopped
• 1/4 mild onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh coconut meat, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tamarind sauce
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• Pinch of chat masala spice
• Pinch of garam masala spice
• 1 teaspoon mustard oil

Directions

1. Mix puffed rice, peanuts, chickpea flour noodles, and fried lentils together in a pot.
2. Add tomato, cucumber, mung beans sprouts, ginger, mild onion, coconut, cilantro, and coriander.
3. Add tamarind sauce, lime juice, chat masala, garam masala and mustard oil. Mix well.
4. Serve in a bowl or a cone made from newspaper. Eat with a spoon.

Jhal’ means hot and ‘Muri’ means rice but there is so much more dimension to this dish. I know there are a few ingredients and some you may not be familiar with but most of these items should be at your local major grocery store. Dive in and give it a try – it’s well worth the effort.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the Meatless Monday pledge today. Spread the word at home and at work and promote CSR business initiatives to make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant or salon even greener.

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.