Chunky Eggless Egg Salad
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Every recipe has a key ingredient that takes it from being average to over the edge. From the title of this recipe, you can easily see that I created an egg-free “egg” salad spread.
So, since no eggs were involved what was used to create that eggy taste? The key ingredient to this eggy success is a salt called “Kala Namak” or “Indian Black Salt” (not to be confused with Hawaiian Black Salt).
So what makes this salt so special? The sulfur content. It is composed largely of sodium chloride with several impurities giving the salt it’s color and sulfur smell. I found a good source for the Indian Black salt here.
Kala Namak, or Indian Black Salt, is a special unrefined mineral salt from Darjeeling, India. It is a volcanic rock salt mined in central India. The ground salt is not black, but more of a coral pink or pinkish-gray, and has a strong, sulfuric flavor.
I read that in India, Kala Namak is recommended for people with high blood pressure and for those who are on a low-salt diet. This is because it is lower in sodium and apparently doesn’t increase the sodium content in the blood. In Ayurvedic medicine, it is also known for soothing intestinal gas, heartburn, indigestion and other digestive problems.
Bob thoroughly enjoyed this salad but thought a diced sweet pickle would be a wonderful addition. I agree wholeheartedly, but I didn’t have any on hand. I have been working on a few recipes for a sweet, fermented pickle but I haven’t hit nirvana with it just yet. :)
This eggless “egg” salad is excellent on crackers, raw bread, or a dollop on a bed of greens, perhaps wrap it in Boston Bib Lettuce or … eat it all by itself… spoonful after spoonful.
Ingredients:
yields: 2 1/4cups (633 g)
“Egg” mixture:
- 1 1/2 cups (197 g) raw cashews, soaked 2+ hours or 1 ½ cups chopped avocado
- 1/2 cup (109 g) water
- 3 Tbsp (40 g) yellow mustard or raw mustard
- 2 Tbsp (20 g) raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp (13 g) maple syrup or raw agave nectar
- 1 tsp (3 g) smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp (2 g) onion powder
- 2 tsp (1 g) dried dill
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) curry powder
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) turmeric powder
- 1 tsp (5 g) Kala Namak (Indian Black Salt) gives egg taste
- 1/8 tsp (<1 g) ground black pepper
Mix-ins: (optional – fit to taste)
- 1 medium (125 g) red bell pepper, diced
- 2 large (77 g) celery stalk, diced
- 3 large (45 g) green onion, diced
- 2 Tbsp (17 g) raw sunflower seeds
- black pepper to garnish
- smoked paprika
- Raw Sweet Bread and Butter Overnight Pickles
Preparation:
“Egg” mixture:
- If using cashews; soak, drain, and rinse the cashews before adding to the blender. If using avocado; peel and remove the seed before adding to the blender.
- Add the water, mustard, apple cider vinegar, agave, paprika, onion powder, dill, curry powder, turmeric, Indian Black salt, and pepper. (Whew, I think I got it all). Blend until smooth and creamy.
- If you used cashews make sure that the sauce is smooth and doesn’t have any tiny bits of cashews.
- Pour into a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside.
Mix-ins:
- Add the bell pepper, celery, green onion, sunflower seeds, and cubed avocado. Gently fold into the sauce. Don’t over mash the chunks of avocado. We want the texture which resembles chunks of egg whites.
- When serving garnish with black pepper and smoked paprika.
- Enjoy right away or chill for a few hours to give the ingredients time to meld.
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Dice up the veggies.
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Blend up the “egg” sauce ingredients.
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Combine the all in a bowl.
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And enjoy!
© AmieSue.com
Tags: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free Option, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free, Vegan
Good Evening Amie Sue,
Your Busted, your still up!! I thought you’d be sleeping! :] But…….Oh yum!!! I was craving egg salad, how did you know? :]
Thank you !! Lyn :]
Doh! Busted indeed… I thought you were making truffles?! hehe We are both busted. :)
You got me, I was taking a break..that mean’s getting on your web site!!! I saw a picture that looked new to me sooooo….I had to investigate . Now I really am going back to the kitchen….yea I know the time..:] but I do some of my best work when everything is quiet, and all of the taste testers have gone to bed…well all but one…ME !!! He he Oh, I know this is probably not possible but, is there any subsitutes for mustard and turmeric in this recipe as Gene is allergic to both? Thanks!! :]
AAh you got a sneak peak before the post release went out. hehe All things are possible… for starters just omit the turmeric. I used it for the health properties and the coloring… not for the taste, so that one is easy.
As for the mustard… A lot depends on the recipe, of course. But “egg” salad isn’t “egg” salad without that mustardy ZING! In its place try:
Ground horseradish
wasabi
Worcestershire sauce (not raw)
Ground Ginger
vinegar+lemon juice
I hope this helps. Blessings! amie sue
Thank you Amie Sue, But now can I ask a possible dumb ?. Do I use all of those or just one. What measurement should I start out with when using them…… .Thanks, Lyn :]
No such thing as a dumb question… :)
I would just use one and the measurement would depend on which one you tried. Let me know which one would work for Gene and lets see what we can come up with. Many blessings sweet Lyn. amie sue
Great to see you exploring the vast ocean of the ancient Hindu science of longevity: Ayurveda!
Good morning Ben,
I am very much interested in Ayurveda… always have been and love to dabble with it. :)
I almost passed this one by, but it does sound yummy! I’ve got to try it one of these days. Thank you!
Shew, glad that it didn’t escape you. I hope you do try it and enjoy it! Please let me know what you think if you do Glorianne. :)
hi again, I have not tried this “eggless” recipe yet but managed to find some indian black salt here in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I am somewhat amazed that this salt actually smells eggs and tastes eggs. Who would have ever thought that?? i’ll let u know how this recipe turns out.
many thanks again, and again. joanne
Oh please do Joanne, I would love to hear your thoughts. That salt is pretty amazing, isn’t it? There is so much to learn, I love it! Have a great evening, amie sue
hi ami sue, well. I finally tackled this eggless salad this morning. here is what happened. I decided to use the avocado instead of the cashews as we do eat a lot of nuts with these recipes. I did the ingredients as listed above. BUT I did not have dried dill and added fresh instead. results: I think 3 tbsp. of mustard is too much for me….it all turned a browny yellow instead of creamy colored like yours. I can really taste the mustard and the dill…maybe too much of a taste for me. plus I use an ordinary teaspoon for measurements…maybe I should purchase the measurement spoons as sometimes we heap it on more in the regular spoons. oh well, I will definitely try this again….I am not past my learning curve yet!
Hello Joanne,
The avocado will cause some color change, nature of the “beast”. ;) Lemon juice can help tackle that but too much can affect the recipe flavor. As far as the flavor of the spices go… it is always best to add less and build up according to your taste buds. Remember that fresh ingredients will always vary in flavor. Even the fresh dill. I have bought fresh dill and sometimes it is very powerful in flavor and other times, not so much. That is more important that having an exact measuring spoon, but only you can trust your own likes and tastes. What is strong for you, may not be for me and so forth.
But, I do recommend measuring instruments when following recipes… without them you are not using accurate measurements. Sorry that you had these struggles but thankful that you are willing to press forward! amie sue
PS….is there something I could use to tone down the mustard taste now?? thx
The only thing I know of is to add a little sweetener to balance it a bit. Place a small amount of the “egg” salad in a bowl and add a drop of sweetener and see how it goes before adding it to the whole dish. amie sue
thank you for responding. will definitely try this again….but first will add the sweetener. I am not too careful about spices….I suspect this is a good lesson for me. :)
Make this today! Delicious!!!
Awesome Jean… I really appreciate that you let me know. I always love hearing! Have a wonderful evening, amie sue
Hi Amie-sue, I made this recipe last night for my mother and myself, it was the bomb!! There was hardly any left, I think that I am gonna make this again today.
I did steam the cauliflower slightly. Serve on a bed of Boston lettuce with sliced cucumbers and avocado. You are the Best! This is going to be one of my favorite.
Love the Website.
Thank you again.
Oh that sounds delightful Linda. So happy to hear that you and your mother enjoyed it! Bob just asked for me to make this again, it seems to be a keeper. hehe Have a wonderful day. amie sue
Hi again amie-sue
I made this recipe last night and it was great! but I forgot to add the sunflower seeds, will make again tomorrow, are the sunflower seeds suppose to be ground.
Thanks again.
Just goes to show that it can be good without them. hehe I didn’t grind my sunflower seeds down, I wanted the texture. :) Enjoy and have a blessed evening, amie sue
HI Amie Sue, well after spending a couple of weeks going to every store trying to find indian black salt, I finally broke down and ordered it. I have never had to do that before since living in Orlando,florida we have many health food stores and Indian food stores but alas nobody had it.I ordered it the day before I left on my 4 day cruise with the hubby and it was waiting for me when I got back. I immediately started making the recipe and I must say at first I wasn’t so sure if the hubby would like it because the smell was surprisingly strong. At first the kids thought someone had “cut the cheese” lol.Any way this also goes into the keeper file for the husbands lunch.Thank you so much for your recipes you are truly inspirational.
lol Aliyah, I had to laugh at the “cutting the cheese” line. I am thrilled that your family liked it. It is one of our favorites too. I hope that you had a wonderful time on your cruise. Where did you go? I would love to do that one day. :) Thank you so much for sharing all of this with me Aliyah. It made my day. Blessings, amie sue
BS”D
Amy-Sue, I must start by saying that your site is my favorite of all, anywhere, hands down. I have made sooooooo many of your recipes. Yum, awesome, easy, great instructions, and the crowd goes wild! So I have made this recipe quite a few times, but finally (FINALLY) got the SSS (special sulfur salt). That’s the way, uh, huh, uh, huh I like it, uh, huh, uh, huh! Also, fyi, I make this recipe by creaming the ingredients with the cashew base, but then adding in chunks of avo for the “eggie bits”. I then love to put it in half a pepper and just nibble away! Gevaldik! Thank you. xoxo
Hello Roz,
So nice to hear from you! I am thrilled that you have been making and enjoying so many of my recipes… just sad that I haven’t heard from you before. :) And thanks… that song, “That’s the way, uh, huh, uh, huh I like it, uh, huh, uh, huh!” was stuck in my brain all night. lol Thanks for sharing your experience, it sounds wonderful. Have a glorious day. amie sue
BS”D
Amie-Sue,
While I have commented before once or twice (maybe only once), unfortunately, I don’t always think to leave responses. I will endeavor to correct that in the future. I have also tried several of your kale chip recipes. I go through “phases”. I started with cheesy then graduated to Pad Thai, then I went through my dill onion phase but lately I have been obsessed with the cracked pepper (to which I add dill because I am crazy for dill). I also thoroughly enjoy your breads, particularly the, yup, caraway-dill. I am about to undertake the Caramel Pecan Ice cream with walnuts instead, cuz that’s what I have and those dehydrated apples covered in maple coconut nirvana goodness. I lost over 40 lbs. after becoming a raw vegan. People think I’m in my 30s and I am almost 50. You are one of my most favorite people in all the world. You bring me joy. Sorry about the stuck song! Thank you. xo
Good afternoon Roz,
I am so happy to hear from you. It always makes my day to read comments from you all who try the recipes, etc. I know that it can be hard to always come back and comment so thank you. :)
Never apologize for getting a song stuck in my head. It brought me joy. It’s my belief that only a happy heart can sing so it’s a good sign when songs stick and keep me singing. hehe
40lbs! That is wonderful. Great job! Eating and living a healthy life is a true testament to your youthful beauty, :) Keep it up!
P.S. – you and I ought to create a Dill perfume to sell. lol I LOVE DILL too! Thanks for sharing, I love it! Have a blessed evening, amie sue
Dill perfume!!!!! You are a genius! The perfect spray when you are in a pickle! xo
LOL that was priceless my friend. You cracked me up!
Tried this one 3 times now. I have tried with cashews and with avocado for the egg mixture. I much prefer cashews and it is spot on! My omni mom and neighbor love it! The pickles recipe that can go with it is also unbelievable. My husband who normally hates pickles love yours! I never added sunflower seeds and it turned out great still. Thank you for this wonderful realistic eggless egg salad! Everyone can enjoy this one. It was perfect for this 4th of July.
Hello Brigitte,
Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I too prefer the cashew version, but it’s nice to have options. :) So happy to hear that it has been well received and that you hubby enjoys the pickles. :) You made my day. Have a blessed weekend. amie sue
Hi Amie Sue, I finally bought some black salt at the Indian Grocers yesterday and couldn’t wait to try this recipe. Well, it’s not exactly your recipe, but you gave me the idea and the foundation! Instead of using the cashews for the base, I used organic tofu, which I know is not raw, but . . . it’s a vegan alternative that others can know makes fantastic eggless salad. I absolutely was amazed at the smell and taste of that black salt, which was not really black as a powder. It was a grey pink. lol I couldn’t believe the taste and texture! It was a fabulous alternative! Thanks for experimenting for us and sharing your ideas!
Hello there Nancy,
So nice to hear from you. That black salt is pretty amazing stuff, isn’t it?! So far every version of “eggless” egg recipe that I have made, has turned out amazing. Who knew that stuff existed. hehe Thanks so much for sharing. I always love hearing from you. Blessings, amie sue