Soca Detox with Nana's Kitchen
Published:Tuesday | April 10, 2018 | 12:00 AMLatara Boodie/Gleaner Writer
Carnival season in Jamaica has finally elapsed and a sense of normality is beginning to return to the country. After several weeks of non-stop partying, it is imperative for us to get rid of all the excess alcohol that comes with the season. According to Marianna, founder of Nana's Kitchen, which is a plant-based vegan blog & recipe developer, excess alcohol is known to dehydrate the body and overwork the liver. "It may be common to wake up with dry lips, pasty skin and feeling incredibly thirsty (due to all the dehydration)."
Nana's Kitchen Top Recipes for Carnival Detox are:
Ingredients
- 1 small head of cabbage, shredded
- 3-4 scallions, finely chopped
- Half a Scotch bonnet, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water, OR 1 egg (if you are not vegan)
- Half cup water
- Half cup flour
- Pinch of salt
- Half teaspoon baking powder
- Coconut oil
The process:
- Make your flax egg (ground flaxseed + water). Mix well and set aside for 15 minutes. Omit this step if you are using an egg instead.
- In a large bowl, place the cabbage, scallion, Scotch bonnet and flax egg. Mix everything together.
- Gradually, add half of the flour and half of the water. Mix everything well. Things should start to get 'sticky'.
- Add the baking powder, and the remaining flour and water and mix well.
Let this mixture sit for about 15 minutes. Let everything to glue together.
- Drizzle some oil in a pan and let the oil heat up a little. Now place a generous spoonful of the cabbage mixture. Using the back of your spoon, flatten out into a circle, reduce heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes. Flip the pancake and cook for another 2-3 minutes. If you want this well cooked, you can flip it again and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
LENTIL-SPINACH CURRY
Ingredients
- 2 cups lentils (pre-cooked)
- 2 cups spinach, chopped
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 tomatoes, diced
- 2 cups coconut milk
- Curry spices
- Pinch of mustard spice
- A good hefty inch of ginger, chopped
- Coconut oil
- Salt
The process:
- In a large pot, drizzle some coconut oil and cook the onions, garlic, ginger, curry and mustard until translucent.
- Then add the spinach and cilantro and cook on high heat for 4 minutes.
- Now transfer all these ingredients into a blender. Add coconut milk and blend. Set aside. This is going to form your 'gravy' of some sorts.
- Back to your pot: Place some coconut oil and cook the tomatoes until soft.
- Add the lentils and mix everything together.
- Now add the blended mix and cook everything on medium heat for about 7 minutes. Season with salt to your taste.
PINE-CUCUMBER JUICE
Ingredients
- Pineapple, diced
- Cucumber, peeled and diced
- Water
- Ice cubes
The process:
- In a blender, throw all the ingredients together and blend until smooth. No sugar is needed as the pineapple is already sweet.
WATERCRESS SALAD
Ingredients
- A large bunch of watercress, washed
- 1 large zucchini (courgette) washed and grated
- 1 can of chickpeas
- Curry spices
- Garlic powder
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar (balsamic could be nice too)
- Just a few dried dates - no seeds, chopped coarsely
- Pinch of salt
The process:
Open the can of chickpeas, transfer to a sieve and rinse well! Set aside
In a pan, drizzle some oil, toss in the chickpeas, some curry spices, garlic powder and sear for about 5 minutes on high heat. You basically just want to give those chickpeas a flavour - real quick!
Now, bring a large bowl!
Chop your watercress (keep the stems and all!) and place in bowl.
Add the grated zucchini in the bowl too.
Add the dried dates and the chickpeas.
Then drizzle olive oil and vinegar, a pinch of salt and mix everything together!