Recipes by Paramhansa Yogananda
Page One - Apple Custard through Cream of Celery Soup
Introduction by Gitabai Heater
Paramhansa Yogananda’s recipes were amazingly healthy for the 1930’s. They include concepts of health we are familiar with like, vegetized salt, “raw” sugar, honey, ground raw beets, carrots, nuts, dates and raisins. I was happy to see an Uncooked Apple-Banana Pie using a crust of raisins, and whole wheat or carob meal that is dried in the sun! Then, on the other hand, there are surprises with many recipes using sugar, butter, American Cheese, canned food, and, my personal favorite, cinnamon (candy) drops on top of cooked sweet potatoes and apples. After all, sugar was first discovered in India!
We have to consider, the time period the recipes were written in. Yogananda had to introduce vegetarian eating in a palatable form and in a way that people were used to. When I think of how I grew up in the 1950’s when all our food was cooked to death, and meat was the main course at each meal, I can see that his recipes were groundbreaking for Americans at that time.
My advice is to substitute where necessary using ingredients from your own diet regime. There are some new ideas and combinations in these recipes that will be fun to try out, like Peanut Butter Tomato Soup!?? Let me know what you like or some new combinations you have discovered. There are so many health food products out there now, there are endless possibilities to substitute and discover. Have fun and healthy eating!
Products used in recipes
Some products mentioned are no longer available like Savita, Somo, Smoein, and India Nut Steak.
American cheese: Please substitute a healthier cheese, preferably organic or raw milk.
Cardamom seeds: These are available at any health food store. Because cardamom powder loses potency quickly, it is best to buy the cardamom pods. Use a mortar and pestle to break the pods open, then, grind the little black seeds for each use.
Poultry seasoning: A blend of sage, thyme, celery salt and savory.
Powdered okra: (sodium content is high) I could not find online in the USA, but it is available on Indian sites.
Vegetable stock: This can be bouillon or the vege stocks in aceptic boxes at health food stores.
Vegex: (Brewer’s yeast extract) This is available online.
Editor’s Note: There is some question about if “smoked” seasonings and if smoking anything is healthy, but I could not find anything definitive on smoking chilies. Liquid Smoke is also questionable.
Somo - (a powdered seasoning with flavor like smoked meat. Editor’s note: No longer available. Substitutes: smoked paprika, or chipotle powder (this is spicy).
Smoein (vegetable smoked meat seasoning): Substitutes: Stripples or veggie bacon strips, Smoked Apple Sage and Mexican Chipotle Sausage made by Field Roast, smoked paprika, or chipotle powder (this is spicy).
APPLE SNOW
Beat together 3 cups finely grated or ground apples and 1/2 cup whipped cream. Sweeten with honey or serve with a sauce made with maple syrup and lemon juice.
APPLE STREUSEL
2 pounds tart apples
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon
Peel apples, remove core and seeds and cut into eighths. Place apples as close as possible in parallel rows in a well-buttered coffeecake pan. Mix raw sugar and nutmeg, or cinnamon, and sprinkle over apples. Mix flour and brown sugar, cut in butter and then rub mixture to crumbs with finger tips. Sprinkle over and between the apples and pat to make a smooth surface. Bake about 1/2 hour, or until apples are tender, in a quick oven.
AVOCADO and BEET SALAD
2 large avocados
lemon juice
1 cup diced beets, pickled in lemon juice lettuce
4 tablespoons grated American cheese
4 tablespoons well-seasoned mayonnaise
1/2 cup sliced green onions
Cut avocados in half lengthwise and sprinkle cut side with plenty of lemon juice and a little vegetized salt. Mix diced beets and green onion rounds and fill avocado centers with mixture. Blend mayonnaise and grated cheese and serve on top of salad. Place avocado halves on crisp lettuce leaves and serve.
AVOCADO AND ORANGE SALAD
Peel avocado and slice crosswise. Peel three oranges and separate into segments, removing all membrane. Place alternate slices of avocado and orange on crisp lettuce. This salad is delicious without dressing, but a little French dressing made with lemon juice may be added if desired.
AVOCADO and PINEAPPLE SALAD
1 avocado or alligator pear
1 teaspoon lime juice
2 slices pineapple, fresh or canned
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon paprika
lettuce – crisp
Peel and dice avocado, cut pineapple in small pieces. There should be twice as much avocado as pineapple. Arrange on lettuce. Mix the lemon juice, lime juice, salt, and paprika, and pour over salad. French dressing may be used if preferred.
BAKED ONION SOUP
Slice small onions very thin, one for each serving, and place in bottom of individual baking dishes. Add 1 teaspoon of butter to each dish and set in a hot oven until the onions are a light brown. Then add to each dish 1 cupful of onion-flavored vegetable stock to which a little Vegex has been added. Top each with a round of whole wheat toast and sprinkle thickly with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake ten minutes.
BAKED SPANISH ONIONS
4 large onions
vegetized salt
1 cup well-seasoned vegetable stock
Peel onions, sprinkle with salt and place in baking dish. Pour vegetable stock in bottom of baking dish, cover and bake about 30 minutes until tender. Baste with juices in dish, brown under broiler and serve.
BAKED SPINACH AND CHEESE ROLL
Cook 3 quarts of washed spinach for 5 minutes without adding water. Just cover and the moisture on the leaves will be enough. Drain, add 1 tablespoon butter, chop fine, and add 1/3 lb. American cheese grated, seasoning, and enough whole wheat bread crumbs to make a stiff mixture. Shape into a roll and bake in a moderate oven until brown. Baste occasionally with melted butter and water.
BEET CELERY SALAD
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup ground, raw beets
1 cup watercress tips in small pieces
Mix with French dressing.
BEET TOPS
Wash thoroughly, preparing like spinach, mincing to desired size. Steam gently. Add butter or olive oil and lemon (half and half) when serving. A bit of your favorite powdered flavoring herb may be added. An interesting, as well as highly beneficial change, from spinach greens.
BRAISED BROCCOLI
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 cup minced onion
1 lb. broccoli – washed and cut into small pieces
Vegetable stock seasoned with Vegex or Savita: Editor’s note: Savita no longer available but there are many vegetable stock options on the market. Search for vegetable bouillon and broth.
Put carrot and onion in bottom of buttered baking dish. Add broccoli. Cover with the well- seasoned stock. Cover and bake until tender. Spinach or Swiss chard may be used in place of the broccoli.
BRAISED SAUERKRAUT
Wash the sauerkraut thoroughly and drain. Chop a carrot and an onion and brown them with 2 or 3 cloves in butter. Add a bouquet of thyme, half a bay leaf, parsley and a little tarragon. Add this mixture to the sauerkraut along with a little vegetable stock. Put into a baking dish and bake from 2 to 3 hours.
BRUSSEL SPROUTS WITH CHESTNUTS
1 qt. Brussels sprouts
1 lb. chestnuts
1/3 cup butter
Pick over sprouts; wash and soak in cold salted water for 10 minutes. Drain, and cook uncovered until just barely tender in boiling salted water and drain.
Put chestnuts on to cook in cold water and boil five minutes. Remove skins and cut in halves or quarters.
Arrange alternate layers of sprouts and chestnuts in buttered baking dish. Dot with plenty of butter and add just enough water to moisten. Bake 30 minutes in moderate oven.
CABBAGE AND TOMATO SOUP
1 can or 6 large fresh tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon vegetized salt
1 large onion
sliced Somo - (a powdered seasoning with flavor like smoked meat. Get it at Health Food Store.)
Editor’s note: No longer available. Try Spanish smoked paprika or chipotle powder (spicy).
1 medium head cabbage, shredded
1 quart boiling water
4 tablespoons butter
Brown the onion and cabbage slightly in the melted butter. Add seasoning, tomatoes, and water. Simmer in covered saucepan for about one hour.
CANDIED CARROTS
Cut carrots in two lengthwise and cook in very little water, or steam until almost tender. Place in buttered baking dish and pour over them a syrup made by boiling 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup brown sugar for 5 minutes. Dot with butter and brown in a hot oven.
CAULIFLOWER, CRESS, AND TOMATO SALAD
Cook one head of cauliflower whole, with inside ring of leaves left on, in boiling salted water until just tender. Do not overcook. Set it aside to chill. Chop 2 bunch of watercress and add it to 1 cup of French dressing. Pour this over the chilled head of cauliflower. Surround with a border of sliced tomatoes and garnish with parsley.
CELERY SAUTE
1 bunch celery cut in 3 inch lengths
1/2 Cup hot water
8 tablespoons butter vegetized salt
Vegex or Savita seasoning
Editor’s note: Savita no longer available. There are many vegetable seasonings on the market.
Melt butter in a frying pan and add enough celery to cover bottom of pan. Cook slowly and turn frequently until the celery is browned and tender. (Do not overcook.) Add hot water mixed with about 1 teaspoon Vegex, cook 5 minutes and serve.
CHESTNUT BALLS
Shell, boil, remove brown skin and grind l quart of chestnuts (l qt. when ground), add two beaten eggs, 2 cups diced celery, l cup whole wheat crumbs, 4 tablespoons melted butter and one teaspoon salt. Mix into balls, put into well-buttered baking pan and bake in a hot oven until browned. Baste with juice of l lemon and l tablespoon of butter.
CHINESE TOMATO SOUP
1 quart stewed tomatoes
vegetized salt
1 small onion
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 stalks chopped celery
2 teaspoons minced parsley
Vegex or Savita
Editor’s note: Savita no longer available, but there are many vegetable seasonings on the market.
Put tomatoes, onion, celery, and salt into pan and cook for 20 minutes. Strain, add Vegex or Savita and heat again. When soup is boiling rapidly, pour in the egg through a coarse strainer so that the egg forms long threads when it touches the soup. Add parsley. Remove from heat and let stand a few minutes without stirring so the egg will cook. Reheat and serve.
COCOANUT APRICOT BALLS
3/4 cup apricots
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 cup shredded cocoanut
1/2 teaspoon orange rind, grated
3/4 cup pecans
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated
Steam apricots 5 minutes and grind or chop them very fine. Add cocoanut, pecans, juice and rind. Mix well and form into balls, roll in more cocoanut and chill in refrigerator for several hours.
COCOANUT CUSTARD
Soak l cup whole wheat bread crumbs in l cup milk and mash well. Soak l cup of grated coconut in 3 cups of hot milk for one hour. Mix together and add 2 tablespoons melted butter, 2 eggs, slightly beaten, 4 tablespoons raw sugar or honey, a little salt, and grated rind of 2 lemon. Put mixture in pudding dish, set dish in pan of hot water and bake in moderate oven until well set and brown.
CREAM OF (STEAMED) CELERY SOUP
Clean carefully, cut into short strips, and steam gently. When done, add cream, minced parsley, and any leftover vegetables you may have on hand. Thickening with powdered okra gives a nice body to it. A bay leaf or a dash of cardamom seeds provides a nice twang flavor.
