Dimlama – Gardener’s Dream Dish!

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Hello Hello!

Today I am sharing with you one of my favourite dishes (after borscht of course :))! This is a perfect dish for any time of the year, as it has a great flexibility in terms of what vegetables are in season and your personal choice. The original recipe has meat in it (usually lamb or beef), but we will be making a vegan version! Trust me, you WANT to try and make it! You will love everything about it: the smell, the taste, the look, like really EVERY SINGLE THING! Are you ready for your next favourite vegan recipe? Are you? So here is a traditional Uzbek stewed vegetables vegan Dimlama, full of vitamins, and a gardener’s dream dish!

🙂

So, why do I call it a gardener’s dream dish?

Here is why: you don’t need anything for this dish that you cannot grow in a garden! All ingredients are straight from your vegetable garden! (well, technically tomatoes are fruit, I know, but we will still take them as vegetables for now 🙂 )  If you don’t garden for any reason, well, you can still find all the ingredients in stores. The best part: this is not a set in stone ingredients list! Yes, some of the vegetables form a base for the recipe and determine it to be the Dimlama, and not something else. But most of it are the seasonal vegetables you like. How good is that? I know you will want to make it 🙂

We are lucky as we like both gardening and cooking. We rarely eat out for many reasons, and I will probably write a separate post on this if anybody wants to know why 🙂 Also, I won’t pretend to be an inventor or an exclusive author for the recipe. And because it is such a versatile dish, every family is making it in their own way. here, I am sharing with you how we make it in our home 🙂

Here is the recipe!

First, as I have already mentioned, a few vegetables form a base for it, and they are onions, carrots, potatoes, beets, garlic, cabbage, and tomatoes.

Then, you can check what other veggies you have in your fridge, and add them too. A few of my favourite ones are suggested below 🙂

The second key element of the recipe is in the layering. This is also what makes the dish so easy to make.

Turn the heat to medium and add a bit of the vegetable oil into the pot. Start with layering the vegetables right away. Yes, you don’t need to fry-stew-and-wait for the next layer to go on, just layer them. This is why you want all the vegetables sliced and ready before you start cooking them. Just keep on placing layer after the layer.

Add half amount of the spices and salt pepper on top of the potatoes.

And I like adding beets right after the potatoes. This way they will get coloured a nice pink 🙂

Just keep going! 🙂

I like having tomatoes as a final layer and adding the rest of the spices on top.

Almost done. Just cover the pot with the lid and let it stew for 10-15 minutes.

In 10-15 minutes mix the vegetables and check if potatoes are done or almost done. Cover with the lid again and turn the heat off. Wait for 3-5 more minutes (if you can :)).

And serve.

Isn’t it perfect?!

Stewed vegetables vegan Dimlama

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Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

Course: Main Course

Servings: 4 people

Author: Nat

Ingredients

These are the base of the recipe, you can adjust the quantities as you like.

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil I use sunflower oil
• 2 medium size onions
• 2 medium size potatoes
• 1-2 beets
• 1-2 carrots depending on the size
• 3-5 garlic cloves we like garlic, so we use it a lot
• 2 tomatoes
• 1/2 small cabbage

These are optional, but highly recommended 🙂

• 1 sweet pepper we like using red or orange to add a splash of a colour
• 1 eggplant
• 1-2 parsnips
• 1-2 celery stalks

Spices - these are a must! 🙂

• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon cumin and coriander seeds! we add both ground and whole seeds

Instructions

Cut and slice all the vegetables. Have them ready by your side. Turn the heat under the pot to medium and start layering the veggies starting with onions and tomatoes going to the top. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 15 minutes on the low/medium heat. In 15 minutes, mix the vegetables, check potatoes, and if they are ready, or almost ready, turn off the heat. Cover the pot again and let it sit for another 3-5 minutes. Enjoy!

Enjoy!