Trying out various diets is common in the grown up world but I was surprised when my kids spoke of one of their friends who has been vegan for almost two years.
It’s not easy being a vegan teenager. More so when foods like ice cream, jelly and honey fall into that category. When this young friend asked me if there were some yummy vegan alternatives that could be whipped up at home and I thought of nut butters. While I’ve only ever made peanut and walnut butter at home, I often add other nuts to my pesto and chutneys. Most children and adults love spreads and dips and this is one way to get a dose of daily nutritive requirements in just a single teaspoon.
Nut butters are high in protein, taste delicious and are extremely filling. One can vary their taste from sweet or savoury by adding or deleting ingredients. These spreads are especially handy during hunger pangs during exams or just as an in between snack. Rummaging in my larder, I was happy to find organic nuts. So out came the walnuts, almonds, pistachios and cashews. A friend loves coconut butter and her recipe is fairly simple besides being made of a native ingredient, so that went on to my list of possibilities too.
To make a nut butter it’s essential to first roast the nuts lightly in a slow oven or in a dry pan. This draws out those natural oils . Once cooled , the nuts must be first blitzed in a heavy duty food processor or blender. In order to give it that rich buttery consistency, some sort of oil is usually required. Refined oil is a definite no no here. Cold pressed oils are the best because of their high nutrition content and flavour. The type of oil will obviously differ based on the nut used. I like to use walnut oil with the walnuts as it enhances the taste perfectly. In the event of non-availability I use the best Extra virgin olive oil that is available. A chilli walnut butter is just as delicious as a honey and cinnamon walnut butter. The savoury butter is great on crackers or on bread with some crunchy lettuce. The sweet walnut butter is great with grilled bananas.
Cashew nut butter is by far the most unctuous of all nut butters that I’ve made. There are various schools of thought about the best way to make cashew butter. One is to soak raw cashews for about six- eight hours and dehydrate them before blending. The other is to dry roast and cool before blending. I prefer the latter option. Cashew butter can be made with no added oil. All it needs is a blender and some patience. It goes from powder to doughy to creamy and glossy in a few minutes. One whiff of that buttery concoction and I wished I had some strawberries and melted chocolate on hand to make it a sinful meal.
These butters can also be used as a marinade or to toss into hot fusilli. I love it when the ridges of the cork screw pasta glisten with fine bits of nut paste. Almond butter is delicious for grilling mushrooms with some garlic and thyme. The one thing that my South Indian palate finds hard to accept is the coconut butter but I’m not giving up on it just yet.
Our local stores do carry pecans and hazelnuts which can easily be made into butters to go with pancakes or to accompany a warm apple crumble. These home-made, preservative-free jars of vegan deliciousness definitely have my vote.
