Dupnitsa kebab is a traditional regional dish of the Bulgarian national cuisine, which my mother and grandmother often prepared for dinner. It is usually prepared from pieces of pork and onions, red tomatoes and many spices. And it was always served with slices of bread. I prepare my interpretation of the traditional Dupnitsa kebab in a healthy vegan gluten-free version, following the tradition and serving with slices of homemade buckwheat bread DANARA – the recipe can be found in the blog.

In the region of Dupnitsa, where I was born and live with my husband Danail at the moment, there are many specific dishes from the Bulgarian traditional cuisine. When we stopped eating animal products, I started experimenting and preparing the dishes of my grandmothers and great-grandmothers in an entirely plant-based version. Because my family has always been religious, Christian fasting has been observed over the years, and our family cuisine abounds with recipes for vegan dishes. For a healthy vegan and gluten-free option, I replaced some of the traditional ingredients in family recipes such as sugar, wheat products and a large amount of extracted vegetable oil, as well as some cooking methods such as frying.

In the traditional recipe for Dupnitsa kebab, I replaced the pieces of pork with soy bites of organic soy for an authentic look of the dish. I missed the traditional frying of onions in vegetable oil by putting all the products together and thickening the sauce by boiling. The traditional spices for Dupnitsa kebab are a mixture of savory, mint, thyme, oregano, paprika sweet powder and black pepper, bay leaves, as well as a few hot chili peppers. I added my mixture of spices, which is as close as possible to the traditional taste, but still does not give the specific taste of Dupnitsa kebab with meat.

Dupnitsa vegan kebab

Course: Main dishes, Recipes

Количество

1400

грама

Подготовка

minutes

Готвене

minutes

Калории

1074.92

ккал

Soy bites with tomatoes and onions

INGREDIENTS

200 g soy bites bio
400 ml. hot filtered water
400 g onions
400 g peeled red tomatoes from a jar
can be replaced with canned peeled tomatoes
7 g Himalayan pink salt
can be replaced with any other salt
10 g paprika sweet powder
5 g turmeric powder
5 g coriander seeds ground
3 g ground cumin
2 g ground green cardamom
2 g ground allspice
2 g ginger powder
1 g ground black pepper
1 g bay leaves dry
400 ml. hot filtered water
30 g fresh celery leaves /chervil/
25 g peanut tahini /peanut butter natural/

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

With a kitchen scale I measure the required amount of soy bites, put in a bowl and pour hot water. I leave the bowl aside for 10 minutes, stirring periodically – during this time the soy bites absorb all the water. I measure all the ingredients in the recipe separately.
I clean and wash the onion, cut it in half lengthwise and then cut each half into crescents 0.5 cm thick.
In a pot with a lid, I put the chopped onion and tomatoes, salt and spices, soaked soy bites and hot water. I put the pot on the stove and turn on the highest heat. Once it starts to boil, I stir periodically until the sauce thickens – it takes about 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to cool.
I wash and finely chop the fresh celery leaves /chervil/. I add to the pan along with the peanut tahini and mix well.
I serve in suitable plates together with slices of home-made buckwheat bread DANARA.