Bak Choy, okra, long beans, eggplant, and diverse curry leaves. The list is long for the vegetables available in our local markets. And they are also good options to grow at home!
Whether you are a vegetarian or not, vegetables are undoubtedly a rich source of nutrients. With such a wide variety of veggies, you can cook plenty of delicious produce for your breakfast, lunch, or dinner platter.
The flavourful dishes are popular choices for many of us. And when you are pregnant, this is not just a choice—they are essential. Therefore, today, we will be sharing some vegetarian pregnancy recipes from our homeland, Malaysia.
But before we move forward with the details of the recipes, let’s have a look at some of the vegetables found in Malaysia and their proven benefits, shall we?
Beneficial Local Vegetarian Pregnancy Recipes Just For You
Nothing can be better than freshly grown vegetables found in local markets. Our Malaysian markets include lots of tropical veggies. If you cook vegetarian pregnancy recipes, you must ensure to add these vegetables to your meals.
Without further ado, let’s get right to them.
Bak Choy or Xiu Pak Choy: Enriched with vitamin C, and vitamin A, it helps to bring a natural glow to your skin. Also, it smoothens the bowel movement preventing the risks of constipation.
Broccoli: Another vegetarian source of nutrients is broccoli. Talking about the benefits, broccoli is enriched with high fibre, folic acid, and multiple vitamins. Moreover, it works as a good antioxidant.
Kailan or Kale: Ask any Malaysian and it is unlikely for them to be unfamiliar with the ever delicious and healthy kailan. On the off chance you haven’t tried it before though, do so now. It is filled with calcium, vitamins, and all the essential nutrients you may need during your pregnancy days.
Lettuce: It is a good source of chlorophyll and vitamin K. It also provides the benefits of multiple vitamins, folic acid, manganese, and chromium. People who are fond of leafy greens tend to opt for lettuce leaves in their soup, salad, and so on.
Cabbage: It is found in different colours and variants—red, green, Chinese. You can find lots of vitamins and minerals in it. Cabbage is a powerful antioxidant and is a cancer-fighting vegetable. Cabbage also helps in detoxification, giving you a refreshing feeling once consumed.
Healthy Platter of Popiah
Ingredients
- 1 cup bean curd
- 4 tbsp bamboo shoots finely chopped
- 1 cup cabbage finely chopped
- 3 tbsp yam beans
- 3 tbsp green beans
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 3 tbsp shallot sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 15 popiah wrappers available online
- fresh lettuce leaves washed and dried
- 4 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce light
- 2 tbsp green chilli sauce
- salt and black pepper as per taste
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Fry the curd beans first. Then, in another pan, fry other beans and vegetables. Once they are cooked, add the fried curd beans to them.
- Season with salt and black pepper. Add sauces and mix all of the ingredients well. Cook until the vegetables soften and fragrance comes out.
- Now, spread lettuce within the wrappers and pour the vegetable fillings into them. Take 2 or 3 tsp fillings for each wrapper. Roll up neatly.
- Arrange popiah in a tray and serve with preferred sauce or as is.
Nutrition
Healthy and Simple Vegetable Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp red chilli paste
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 red capsicum chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 200 g okra / ladies fingers
- 1/2 cup eggplant chopped
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1/4 cup cabbage chopped
- 100 g mushrooms pregnancy-friendly, chopped
- 1 stalk lemon grass only white parts, chopped
- 6-7 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp light coconut milk
- salt as per taste
- 2 pandan leaves tied in knots
- 5-6 curry leaves
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Add ginger garlic paste to oil and cook the vegetables with it. Fry the mushroom separately.
- Once the vegetables are sautéed well, add chilli paste, salt, and spices to it and cook for 5-10 minutes.
- Next, add fried mushrooms, vegetable stock, pandan leaves and curry leaves. Stir well and add some more salt if required. Bring it to a boil.
- Add coconut milk and lemon juice to it. Cook until you get the desired thickness. Serve after removing the pandan leaves.
Nutrition
Nasi Campur
Ingredients
For coconut rice
- 300 g rice long-grain
- 100 g creamed coconut chopped roughly
- water for boiling
For coconut marinated tofu
- 2 inch ginger grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 40 g creamed coconut chopped
- 100 g tofu puffs
- 1 tbsp soy sauce light
- 1 tsp turmeric
- salt as per taste
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp lime juice
For sambal
- 1 tomato chopped
- 2 tbsp spring onions chopped
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts crushed
- 1 inch ginger grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- lime wedges
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
Instructions
- To prepare coconut rice, boil, rice, creamed coconut and cook until the rice softens. Keep it aside.
- Add nearly 25 g creamed coconut to boiling water and prepare coconut paste. Add it to tofu pieces. Add other ingredients for coconut tofu accordingly. Mix well.
- Fry the marinated tofu on a medium heat until they turn golden brown.
- Mix tomato, spring onions, peanuts, and other ingredients for sambal together. Saute them lightly on a low flame.
- Place the coconut rice in the middle of the platter. Surround it with sambal and coconut tofu, before serving.
Nutrition
Mee Goreng with Vegetable Salad
Ingredients
- 300 g yellow noodles boiled
- 50 g bean curd
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 inches ginger minced
- 1/2 cup bean sprouts
- 4 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 potato boiled and smashed
- 1 tbsp soy sauce light
- 1 tbsp green chilli sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato sauce
- 5-6 lettuce leaves fresh, blanched
- salt and black pepper as per taste
- 2 tbsp lime juice
For salad
- 1/4 cup cabbage chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 1 tbsp green onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1/4 cup coriander leaves chopped
- salt and black pepper as per taste
- oregano herbs (optional)
Instructions
- Fry the bean curd and keep them aside. Pour garlic, ginger, and potato into the pan and sauté well.
- Add boiled lettuce leaves to it with salt as per taste.
- Once they are cooked, pour noodles into pan and mix it with the vegetables. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the fried bean curd and mix the sauces. Stir all of the ingredients well.
- Sauté all of the vegetables for salad. Season with salt, black pepper, and lemon juice. If oregano is there, you may add some in.
- Drizzle lemon juice over cooked noodles. Serve the noodles with sautéed vegetables.
Nutrition
Banana Leaf Rice and Curry
Ingredients
- 350 g boiled rice
- 100 g tofu
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 7-8 curry leaves
- 1 star anise
- salt and black pepper as per taste
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 cup vegetable stock
For vegetable side dishes
- 1 cup potato boiled and cubed
- 1 cup cabbage chopped and boiled
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 onions chopped
- 2 tsp mustard seeds
- oil for frying
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 green chilli chopped
- salt a pinch
- lemon wedges for garnishing
Instructions
- Sauté tomato and onion with ginger garlic paste and add tofu to it. Fry until they become golden brown.
- Add spices and curry leaves to it and cook well. Mix a little water if the tofu seems too dry.
- Sprinkle salt and black pepper according to your taste.
- Add one cup of vegetable stock to it and wait to get desired thickness.
To prepare the side dishes:
- Fry potato with onion, cumin seeds, salt, and turmeric powder.
- Fry cabbage with onion, mustard seeds, salt and a pinch of turmeric powder. Add green chilli to it.
- Serve the platter with rice, main curry and two other side vegetable dishes and lime wedges.
Nutrition
Bubur Sumsum
Ingredients
- 7-8 pieces bubur or biji salak sweet potato dumplings, cooked beforehand
- 2 and 1/2 cup light coconut milk
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup water (for sugar syrup)
- 3 pandan leaves knotted
Instructions
- You can bake the sweet potatoes and smash them, adding sweetener to prepare the bubur. Cook it beforehand and keep it in freezer.
- Combine rice flour, coconut milk, and salt in a bowl. Mix well leaving no lump in it.
- Pour it into a pan and add pandan leaves to it.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes. Add bubur to it and cook for 2-3 minutes on a low flame.
- Boil sugar and water in a saucepan to prepare the sugar syrup. Pour it slowly into the bubur dish. *Note: You may consider reducing or omitting the sugar syrup altogether, if you prefer.
Nutrition
Vegan Pineapple Curry
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 inch turmeric peeled, whole
- 2 red chillies
- salt
- 1 cup pine apple chopped
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- 1/2 cup cabbage chopped
- 50 g tofu cut into small pieces, fried
- 1/2 cup capsicum cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Blend garlic, onion, ginger, turmeric, red chili, and, salt in a blender into a smooth mixture.
- Pour the blend into a pan and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
- Add coconut milk and all of the vegetables. Stir well and mix them.
- Add fried tofu to the curry and cook well for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve with nasi lemak or plain rice.
Nutrition
The Takeaway
Do give these yummy and healthy vegetarian recipes a try at home. Don’t forget to share how you find them after as we are eager to know how you liked the recipes. If you’re in the mood for some meat, do check out this list of chicken recipes here.
For more insightful stories and fun recipes, stay tuned to Motherhood Story!