This weeks @cookwithus challenge is homemade takeaway food, so I thought i'd share with you my veganized version of what used to be one of my favorite fast food treats

I've been following a pretty strict diet for a few years now and to be honest I don't eat out... I know that vegan takeout food is on the rise but I still don't know what other ingredients they use, i'm very picky that I don't want regular table salt in my food, I also no longer eat fiery foods because i'm a pitta dosha in Auyvedic philosophy, hot foods can cause irritability, uncomfortability and shortness of temper even though I used to love spice alot, I also include black pepper and garlic as hot foods. After working in a restaurant for a few years I know that food is always prepared in advance, I also know that sugars are often used to sweeten the food, even if it's savory because it makes it more delicious! I'm not a fan of the price tag that goes with eating out or takeaways these days. Don't get me wrong I used to eat out alot when I was a student, my loan and 2 part time jobs gave me extra income to indulge myself, also back then I wasn't strict with my eating at all but my mind and my body were both not in the best place either.

When I would go out drinking I would have an intense craving for fried chicken, there was a time I never thought I could be a vegetarian let alone vegan because of my love for chicken. I didn't think I would become t-total either but here I am and it certainly stops you craving high fat & convenience foods!

I did slip up once, after about 6 months into my vegetarian journey, I was traveling and stayed on a work away placement in Panama. They all wanted to go to this fried chicken joint that they were all raving about, they said the guy running it was Jamaican and it was the best fried chicken they had, as the chicken was free range and local.
I've tried a whole spectrum of fried chicken from that really grimy take away stuff where there are rhumours that they are frying rats not chickens and I have that home made stuff from your friends mama, and i've had the posher restaurant style fried chicken (actually wings or little drum sticks used to be my favorite)
So lets say I had a high bar of expectation for this fried chicken joint in panama, I was willing to be flexitarian for the night so not to miss the opportunity and honestly it was not worth it at all! It was greasy and average, the batter was just not up to scratch and just ruined what was supposedly a really fresh chicken. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it however, which is interesting how your perspective can really change after short period going veggie. I knew then that I didn't really want to eat meat again whatsoever. The next day I felt really bad, like I'd poisoned my system and I didn't like the feeling of knowing I ate a dead animal, it brought me to tears.

Even though I'm on a strict diet, I do not feel restricted whatsoever, pretty much any dish out there can be veganized and I can tailor make it to my taste. Cooking all the time did get a bit tiresome at one point but if you can food prep in advance and make batches, all you have to do is grab the food from the fridge or freezer with minimal effort. That's what I did with this vegan fried chicken, I prepared a whole load and then ate some fresh and saved some for later.

Fried Vegan Recipe

A selection of mushrooms (wash and dry)

Batter mix

• 1/2 cup plant based milk ( I made a homemade oat milk)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oat flour (grind oats into fine powder)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seed flour (grind sunflower seeds into fine powder)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• Seasoning of choice ( I used an organic tandoori spice mix)

Breading mix

• 1 cup sunflower seed flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• Seasoning of choice

Once you have made our batter mix add all the mushrooms so they are completely covered and leave in the fridge for half an hour for the batter to harden.

Then heat oil in a pan. Whilst the pan is warming up, removed the battered mushrooms and toss them into the breading mixture and into the pan. Turn the pieces occasionally so they are golden brown on each side.

Once the battered mushrooms are cooked, remove from pan and put on a cooling rack with a plate underneath to collect any excess oil, then serve.

Fried chicken is great on it's own but I really want to eat it in a wrap as well because I was having memories of another favorite take away I used to enjoy after partying all night long was chicken kebab wraps. So I decided to make my own sweet potato & platano wraps.

Recipe for sweet potato wraps:

• 1 cup sweet potato puree (make your self by using one medium sweet potato & 1/2 cup water and boil)
• 1 1/2 cup platano flour (or other gluten free flour of choice)
• 1/2 cup arrow root flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Combine all the ingredients and kneed the dough, then grap hand size chunks and round into a disk shape. Dust a piece of greese proof paper with flour and place the dough disk on the paper, dust some flour on top and add another piece of greeseproof papaer on top and roll with a rolling pin into wraps.

Removed each wrap from the paper gently and heat a pan, warm each wrap on the panm turning on to each side until golden brown.

Now you can create a delicious wrap with any fillings you like and most importantly the 'fried chicken' I also made a creamy homemade mayo with left over potatoes, some chickpeas, nutrional yeast, kosher salt, a splash of oil and water all blitz together in a puree maker attachment for the food processor.

Honestly this was too good!!!! The mushrooms really have a fantastic fleshy texture, the batter was a lot better than your regular fried foods and the sunflower seeds have a surprisingly 'chicken' flavor once fried. The sweet potato wraps were nice & soft, really holding together the whole meal.

Thanks to @curie and @sneaky-ninja for supporting the contest! Thank you to the Cook with Us team - @chefsteve, @pandamama and @offoodandart for running the comp!

I hope you give it a try... let me know what you think in the comments below.....

@celestialcow