Protein
One of the obstacles vegetarians face is how to get enough protein to their diets. According to the USDA, the recommended amount for women is about 5 ounces and between 5.5 and 6 ounces for men.
Because they are so versatile, Chillies combined with protein rich non-meat ingredients provide an easy and delicious way of maintaining the amount of protein you need on a vegetarian diet.
The top providers of non-meat proteins are eggs, cheese, seitan, Soya products like texturised Soya protein, tofu and tempeh, nut butter, beans, pulses like chickpeas and vegetables.
In some dishes, two or three (or even more) of these proteins can be combined for some great tasting dishes. Grilled Halloumi or paneer skewers can, for example, be served with Satay (peanut sauce), eggs served with cheese in omelettes and eggs, beans, cheese in Huevos Rancheros. Other examples include Seitan combined with satay sauce or Chickpea curry with cheese.
Combining high protein non-meat ingredients into one dish is a great way to get more protein into your vegetarian diet in one meal. With a bit of planning, you can ensure that at least one of your meals is very rich in proteins, and the others are supplementary to making up the recommended amount for a healthy diet. Doing this with Chillies is not only easy, because they are so tasty, but they are also great for our health.
Other great spicy protein-rich dishes with chilli include:
Curries.
Great tasting curries can be made with eggs, cheese, vegetables, pulses, tofu and tempeh. The chickpea is widely used in Indian cooking to make dishes like Channa Chat (a chickpea salad) and Chana Masala (a chickpea curry). Fantastic curries can also be made with Soya protein chunks.
When it comes to cheese, once again, there are great possibilities. Dishes like Kadai Paneer (paneer curry) and Saag Paneer are fantastic examples.
Cheese.
Besides grilling cheese in dishes like grilled Halloumi, cheeses like Feta cheese, Brie, and Camembert can be baked with Chilli flakes for great tasting meals. Chillies and peppers can also be stuffed and baked with cheese in dishes like Chiles Rellenos (which also includes eggs). Additionally, firm cheeses like mozzarella can be coated with spicy breading and fried
Beans.
Can be used in dishes like vegetarian tacos or spicy bean burgers. Other fantastic dishes include vegetarian Chili con carne and Rajma Dhal (kidney bean curry).
Nuts and nut butter
Nut butters like cashew and peanut butter, are delicious and make great nut sauces. Nuts can be used as an ingredient in many vegetarian curries. Thai and Indonesian dishes like Rujak Sayur (a salad made with peanuts, tofu and tempeh) are also examples of where nuts are used. Another idea is to make a nut sandwich with peanut butter, vegetarian yeast spread (like Vegemite or Marmite) with hot sauce or Chilli flakes. Absolute bliss
Eggs.
Are another great source of protein in a vegetarian diet. Not only can they be used in curries, omelettes, but they can also be used to make dishes like Shakshuka, spicy Frittata, Ugandan Rolexes and Kimchi Bokkuembap (Kimchi fried rice with eggs),
Seitan
Probably the number one replacement for meat for vegetarians. It is a product made with wheat gluten, which, when cooked, resembles meat remarkably. It combines particularly well with Chillies in dishes like spicy Seitan Satay and vegetarian spicy fried chicken.
Finally
It shows that there are many ways that Chillies can make your vegetarian meals exciting and delicious. With just a little imagination, these ideas can be built upon for even more taste and flavour