(vegan) Fried Green Tomatoes

from https://yupitsvegan.com/vegan-fried-green-tomatoes/

These were really great. I made them in a nonstick 12" skillet and I think that--both the size and the nonstick surface--really helped. 

4 large unripe/green tomatoes, cut into 1/4 or 1/8 inch slices 

flour mixture:

1 cup all-purpose flour  

1/4 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp paprika 

1/4 tsp garlic powder 

liquid mixture:

1/2 cup aquafaba  

2 tbsp unsweetened extra creamy oat milk 

breading mixture:

1/2 cup panko-style breadcrumbs 

1/2 cup cornmeal 

2 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Put (well-mixed) flour and breading mixtures on small plates; put liquid mixture in shallow bowl

Put oil in large pan to reach about 1/2". Heat over medium heat to 360 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer you can put one popcorn kernel in the oil at the beginning--when it pops, the oil should be about 360 degrees. 

Lightly dip the tomato into flour mixture. Shake off excess. Dip into liquid, let excess drip off.  Then dip it into the breadcrumb mixture. Press gently to adhere the coating. Let any excess crumbs fall off and place the battered tomato on a plate.

Put tomatoes into hot oil without crowding. Brown on one side (about 2-3 minutes) then flip and fry on other side. Turn/remove with slotted wood spoon. Place on paper towels to drain. 

Black-eyed beans with mushrooms

From Madhur Jaffrey's terrific book Indian Cooking, with very very slight changes

8 oz dried black-eyed beans, washed and drained
2 pints water
8 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped through the stems (1/8" thick)
6 TBS veg oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 med-to-large onion peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
14 oz tomatoes peeled and chopped (I didn't peel them because I'm a lazy bastard)
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt try using less --1.5 was slightly too much
ground black pepper
3 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Place beans and water in pot. Bring to boil, cover, turn down heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, let sit for 1 hour. (I did this last night so I could prepare everything else while the beans were actually cooking the next day)

Bring beans to a boil again, cover and turn down heat, simmer for 20-30 minutes or til tender.

[meanwhile] Put oil in frying pan over med-high heat (I used a heavy-bottomed pot that can serve as one.) When hot, put in the cumin seeds and cinnamon stick. Let sizzle for 5-6 seconds, then add onions and garlic. Stir & fry until the onions turn brown at the edges. Add mushrooms, stir/fry til they wilt. Add tomatoes, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir/cook for a minute, then cover and turn heat to low. Allow mixture to cook in its own juices for 10 minutes. Turn off frying pan.

Add mushroom mixture to bean mixture (or as I did, add the beans to the mushroom mixture - that's where the heavy-bottomed pot used in place of a frying pan comes in handy - so that you can sort of deglaze the pan and get any of the nice oils from the cooked onions/mushrooms/spices.) Add salt, black pepper, and parsley. Stir, bring to a simmer, and cook uncovered on med-low heat for 30 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick before serving.

I felt like it could use something sharp/sour (like lemon juice) as a counterpoint, but haven't tried it.

Update: I made this for the second time, many years later, with the following modifications: maybe 1/4 tsp of cinnamon instead of the stick, and a bunch of cumin powder instead of the cumin seed. (I just added these after sauteeing the onion & garlic for a bit.) I also used fresh tomatoes this time, very overripe, probably closer to 1.5 lbs. It was really delicious this time.