Almost like the original
Veganuary: Enjoy meatless – Homemade kebab in vegan
Wonderfully juicy, fresh and wonderfully aromatic at the same time – with this recipe you start the new year with pleasure
© Vladimir Mironov / Getty Images
The New Year invites you to make good resolutions. Reducing one’s own meat consumption is a popular goal. With this recipe for a homemade vegan kebab you won’t find it too difficult – aromatic, juicy and tasty in taste.
Doner kebab is always possible – it’s not for nothing that the dish has been at the top of the most popular fast food dishes for years. The term “doner kebab” itself comes from Turkish. Doner means something like “rotating”, kebab is the Turkish word for grilled meat. According to this, a “doner kebab” is ultimately nothing more than “rotating grilled meat”.
At the start of Veganuary 2022, however, we will serve you a wonderfully juicy doner kebab without any meat – an “etsiz doner”, so to speak. Combined with fresh salad, crunchy vegetables and airy, soft flatbread, it is as good as nothing inferior to the original. The absolute highlight: The sauce – after all, this is what makes a good kebab a very good kebab.
What is the Veganuary?
Veganuary is a non-profit organization and campaign that aims to inspire people to try a purely plant-based diet in January. The term is made up of the words “Vegan” and “January”. The focus countries of the campaign, which has been active since 2014, include Great Britain and the USA as well as Germany. In principle, anyone who is curious about vegan nutrition can take part in the “Veganuary” – as part of the campaign month, participants will be provided with plenty of information and recipes. The aim of the organization is to get people enthusiastic about a vegan diet in the long term.
Juicy and aromatic – without any meat
Whether it’s permanently vegan, temporarily or just now and then – this recipe is definitely worth a try. Instead of traditional kebab – this is sliced lamb or beef – seitan is used. Seitan is also called “wheat meat” and consists of wheat protein, the water-insoluble gluten in wheat flour. The origin of the meat alternative can be found in the Japanese-Chinese Zen tradition, and the product is still part of Japanese tempura cuisine to this day. The firm, meat-like consistency and appearance make seitan a popular meat substitute, which is surprisingly similar in taste to a wide variety of meat dishes with the appropriate seasoning. People with gluten intolerance should not consume seitan due to the large amount of gluten it contains. Instead of seitan, you can replace the meat with sliced soy or peas and season accordingly.
The vegan kebab meat is accompanied by fresh salad, plenty of vegetables and the typical flatbread. However, the sauce plays a role that should not be underestimated – and this is where opinions often differ. Garlic, yoghurt or spicy sauces are extremely popular, depending on your taste, you can use your favorite (vegan) kebab sauce here. A hearty garlic sauce based on soy yoghurt, almond butter and plenty of spices gives the dish its aromatic note. Voilà, the vegan kebab is ready – the perfect start to the veganuary.
Recipe for two homemade vegan kebabs
ingredients
For the kebab sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 200 grams of unsweetened soy yogurt
- 20 grams of white almond butter
- 1 teaspoon agave syrup
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- pepper
- 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
For the vegan kebab meat
- ½ vegetable onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander, ground
- 1 teaspoon paprika, hot pink
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon of oregano
- ¼ teaspoon of rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 300 g seitan
- Olive oil for frying
Besides that
- 1 red onion
- 1 tomato
- ½ cucumber
- ½ iceberg lettuce
- ½ bunch of parsley
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- salt
- ½ flatbread
- Olive oil for brushing
preparation
- First, the sauce is prepared: peel the garlic cloves. Mix the soy yogurt, almond butter, agave syrup, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
- Squeeze and add the garlic cloves, stir in the parsley. Put in the fridge and let it steep.
- Now mix the marinade: peel the 2 cloves of garlic and the onion. Press the garlic cloves, finely grate the onion.
- Add the oil, lemon juice and spices and stir everything well.
- Cut the seitan into thin strips and add to the marinade. Let it steep for at least four hours, stirring occasionally.
- For the topping, peel the red onion, cut in half and cut into fine strips. Wash the tomato, remove the stalk and cut into thin slices. Wash the cucumber, cut in half and cut into fine slices. Wash the lettuce, remove the stalk and cut into fine strips.
- Wash, finely chop the parsley and mix in a bowl with lemon juice and salt.
- Quarter the half flatbread, cut into a pocket and toast briefly on both sides in a hot pan without oil, remove.
- Heat some olive oil in the pan and fry the seitan with the marinade for about six minutes.
- Brush sliced flatbreads with a little olive oil, add a little sauce and fill with seitan, onions, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce and parsley. Drizzle with more sauce.
- Serve and enjoy immediately.
Source: veganuary