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1 cup lentils or waxed dahl (yellow split peas)

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup brown rice

¼ cup soy grits

3 tablespoons oil for sautéing

2 cups chopped onions

½ head cauliflower, broken into pieces and coarsely chopped (optional)

1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons Indian curry powder

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

Cayenne pepper to taste

1 cup yogurt

½ cucumber, chopped

Condiments: chutney, raisins, chopped nuts, coconut

Cook lentils and salt in 2 cups water until they lose their distinct shape, about 25 minutes. In another pot, cook rice and soy grits in 2 cups water, about 30 to 45 minutes. Heat oil in a large skillet and sauté onions, cauliflower, and garlic until onions are translucent. Stir in curry powder, sauté briefly, and add lentils, peas, cayenne pepper, and water as needed, about ¼ cup. Simmer about 15 minutes. In a small bowl, combine yogurt and cucumber.

To serve, put condiments in bowls on the table. Serve lentils over rice, with a generous dollop of yogurt-cucumber sauce for coolness. Everyone chooses their own condiments.

Instead of prepared curry powder, Deborah Bridge adds to the sauté mixture 2 teaspoons each coriander, mustard, and cumin seeds and 1 teaspoon whole red chili peppers, and stirs in 1 teaspoon turmeric before the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Complementary protein: lentils + rice

Summer Curry

4 servings

A favorite of Ping Ho and Doris Harkson of Palo Alto, California.

5 cups cooked brown rice (2 cups uncooked)

1 cup toasted sunflower seeds

1 cup raisins

1½ cups orange juice

¾ teaspoon nutmeg

1½ teaspoons Indian curry powder (or more to taste)

3 zucchinis, sliced

3 carrots, sliced

3 Pippin or tart apples, cored and chopped

3 bananas, sliced

1 cup yogurt

Grated rind of 2 oranges

Mix rice, sunflower seeds, raisins, orange juice, nutmeg, and curry powder and heat just to warm through. Steam zucchinis, carrots, and apples until barely tender and add bananas. Serve vegetable-fruit mixture over rice. Top each serving with yogurt and orange rind.

Complementary protein: rice + sunflower seeds + milk product

Song of India Rice

3 to 4 servings

Green peas make a good accompaniment to this dish; or, to be traditional, serve cooked yellow lentils (dahl).

1 tablespoon margarine

1 tablespoon curry powder

½ cup cashews and raisins

1 onion, sliced

1 apple, cored and sliced

3 cups cooked brown rice and soy grits (granules) (about 1¼ cups uncooked rice and 2 tablespoons soy grits)

Salt and pepper to taste

Yogurt

Heat margarine and sauté curry powder, cashews and raisins, onion, and apple. Add rice and grits and salt and pepper and mix well. Serve with yogurt.

Variations: Cook rice and soy grits with the raisins and part of the curry powder; the raisins plump up and the rice absorbs the flavor of the curry.

Add 1 teaspoon coriander seeds.

Instead of cashews, raisins, and apple, try 1 cup chopped mixed dried fruit and 1 cup mixed nuts, including some ground sesame seeds. Reduce curry powder by ¼ to ½ teaspoon and substitute the same amount of cloves.

Complementary protein: rice + nuts + soy + milk product

Fried Spiced Tofu

3 to 4 servings

A favorite of Eric Dunder of Greenbush, Maine. We served this at an Institute potluck while testing recipes for the Tenth Anniversary Edition. It was gone in minutes.

1 pound tofu

1 tablespoon oil

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon each sweet basil, thyme, ground cumin, and curry powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

⅛ cup nutritional yeast

Drain tofu, pat dry, and cut into ½-inch cubes. Heat oil (in a wok, if you have one) and sauté tofu over high heat for 5 minutes. Pour out excess water, reduce heat, and add turmeric; stir until tofu is uniformly yellow and add basil, thyme, cumin, and curry powder. Add garlic (and perhaps a little more oil to prevent sticking) and increase heat; then add soy sauce and yeast. Sauté until golden brown. Taste and add more soy sauce, if desired.

Good hot or