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a circle of amaranth puffs surrounds a bowl of dill yogurt....garnished by some mung beans and cilantro.
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Vegan Meatballs or Crispy Vegan Puffs

A balanced complete protein alternative to meatballs
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Active Time40 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Keyword: gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian
Servings: 3

Equipment

  • 1 bowl
  • 1 3 c size stainless pan for deep frying

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mung beans sprouted to 1/2 in tails, then 1 cup reserved for salads (Use remaining sprouts in recipe)
  • Mung Bean Alternative: 1 1/2 c dried lentils sprouted and prepared in the same way
  • 1/2 c flax seeds
  • 1/2 c dry amaranth cooked, or 1/2 c pre-popped amaranth cereal
  • 1 small leek or green onions (1/4 c greens 1/4 c onion part
  • 2 small red sweet peppers very finely diced (1/3 - 1/2 c)
  • 1 small handful spinach (optional) finely diced
  • 1 small handful parsley finely diced
  • 1 small handful cilantro finely diced
  • 2-3 T garbanzo flour or 1/2 c vegan dry white bread crumbs gluten-free
  • 1/2 t baking soda

Instructions

  • Steps:
    1. THREE - FOUR DAYS AHEAD OF TIME soak mung beans overnight
    2. Drain mung beans after a day, then rinse and put in a mesh colander on the counter to sprout. Cover with a towel.
    3. Rinse mung beans with a spray of water daily and recover with the towel until the beans have a 1 in tail. Reserve in a sealed glass container for up to 4 days more if desired.
    4. Add all but 1 cup of the sprouted mung beans to the blender (about 2 1/4 c) with 1/4 c water. Blend well.
    5. Add 1/2 c of flax seed to mung beans in a bowl and mix well. Let sit 30 minutes.
    6. Cook 1/2 c amaranth in 1 c water, uncovered, adding more water by 2 T increments if needed (another 1/4 c water can be added). Amaranth should be cooked through but not overly sticky like some amaranth porridges can be.
    7. Meanwhile sauté 1 small leek or giant green onion (1/4 c of greens part and 1/4 c of onion part) in 2 T olive oil with 2 small red sweet peppers, finely dice onion and pepper.
    8. Once onion and pepper are softened add 1/4 t cumin seeds and bloom.
    9. Turn heat off and add 1 generous teaspoon coriander to the mixture in the pan.
    10. Chop a handful of spinach, parsley and cilantro (equal amounts of each). A fine chop should yield a 1/2 - 3/4 c of greens. Before chopping it will appear to be 1 1/2 c of greens. You can change the proportions if desired (ie if no spinach, use more parsley).
    11. After the mung bean and ground flax seed have sat for 30-45 minutes, add 1/2 t baking soda and 1/2 t baking powder. Stir in all the other ingredients, including all but 2 T of the cooked amaranth**
    12. Heat 1 cup expeller pressed coconut oil in a small 1 pint (3 cup) size saucepan. A tiny saucepan is best for deep frying because it conserves oil, a precious commodity. Plan to fry each puff for 2 minutes, one at a time and do other kitchen work at the same time. Individual frying also works well because it keeps the oil at a more constant temperature than would occur in a large pan adding many puffs at a time. A hot, but not too hot temperature is important to prevent the puffs from absorbing oil and being mushy. They should be crispy on the outside with the amaranth grains all over the surface.
    13. Right before frying, quickly stir in baking soda 1/2 c vegan white dry white bread crumbs or 2-3 T garbanzo flour. Determine the amount of flour/crumbs your mixture needs by doing a test fry.
    14. Deep fry for 2 minutes large spoonfuls (1 1/2 T in volume) by dropping off the edge of a large wooden spoon. The oil should bubble and froth a great deal. After 1 minute 30 seconds, you may need to gently loose the bottom of your puff from the pan with a metal spoon.
    15. Let continue to fry until it floats in the oil and it is dark golden brown all over. Flax imparts a dark color to baked/fried goods.
    16. Drain on paper towels or an old tea towel.

Notes

The mung beans must be started 4 days to a week before making this recipe. Timing is flexible after 3 days. The amaranth and mung bean give a complete protein. Dip in a cilantro chimichurri sauce, curry mayonnaise, or a dill, chive, lemon, yogurt sauce.