I was sat in the pub with a couple of fellow rat lovers when “vegetarian kebabs” came into the conversation. Immediately my mind started ticking… how would I make a vegan doner kebab??

Before my veggie days, I used to love the occasional doner. All those flexible strips of mystery meat, drenched in chili sauce, all wrapped up in an oversized pitta or naan, finished off with a good old dollop of raita or garlic mayo. Mmm, heart attack city! I think the only healthy thing about a proper kebab is the salad that gets served with it!

Although my version is perhaps a little on the carby side, I think it makes a much more healthy, nutritious and satisfying treat! Succulent strips of seitan, fresh chili salsa, creamy mint tahini raita and oodles of fresh salad, all served up in a pita or a naan.

Vegan doner kebab recipe:

Makes enough for 4 kebabs.

Doner “meat”

Ingredients:

• 1 x small onion
• 1 x small sweet potato
• 1 x stock cube
• 1 x tsp minced garlic
• 1 x tsp chopped coriander leaves
• 1 x tsp salt
• 1 x tsp black pepper
• ½ x tsp dried chili flakes
• 1 x tsp ground coriander
• 1 x tsp ground cumin
• ½ x tsp cumin seeds
• 1 x tsp mixed dried herbs
• ½ x tsp nutmeg
• 1 x tbsp oil
• 1 x tsp garlic powder (or swap for more minced garlic)
• 1 ½ x cups wheat gluten

Method:

1. Fill a small pan ¾ full with cold water and crumble in the stock cube. Chop the sweet potatoes into chunks and the onion into halves and add to the cold stock. Heat until the sweet potato is tender.
2. Transfer the sweet potato and onion to a bowl and add a tablespoon of the stock (keep the rest for soup!). Mix in the garlic, coriander leaves, salt, pepper, chili flakes, ground coriander, cumin, cumin seeds, dried herbs, nutmeg and oil and then blend to a thick puree.
3. Add the wheat gluten and garlic powder and mix until a dough is formed. You might need to use your hands towards the end.
4. Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes, longer if you have time (I cheated and used the kneading tool on my food processor). You want the “meat” to be firm and kneading is the key to this.
5. Using your hands, try to mould the kneaded dough into a fat, smooth sausage shape. Then roll up in foil and loosely scrunch up the ends. Put in a steamer for 1 hour.
6. After one hour, remove from the steamer and leave in the tin foil until cool enough to handle (about 45 mins).

7. Slice the seitan “loaf” as thinly as you can, in order to create meaty “shavings”.

      8. When you’re ready to serve up your kebab, quickly fry in a pan with minimal oil, just to heat through and brown off the edges.

Tahini-mint raita

Ingredients:

• 1 x tbsp tahini
• 1 x tbsp vegan mayo
• 1 x tsp dried mint
• 1 x tsp faux milk

Method:

Thoroughly mix all the ingredients. Simple!

Serve the kebab meat on a pita or naan, with lots of fresh salad, chilli sauce and lashings of the raita!

The omni hubby actually reached over, stole and ATE a piece of the seitan without me asking him to try it! 
AND he said it looked and tasted exactly like doner meat and that the texture was closer than he ever would have thought!!! MASSIVE complement coming from him!

I hope you enjoy! (Maybe with a nice cold beer or two!)

Flash-Gordonette…x