Seitan - which although looks like a Shaitan, is in reality very good for you :). It looks like meat but is actually made from Wheat gluten. It has a sort of chewy but at the same time firm texture. According to Wikipedia "It is made by washing wheat flour dough with water until all the starch dissolves, leaving insoluble gluten as a gummy mass, which is subject to further processing."

Where to look for it : It is available mostly in health food stores / natural food markets or in any well stocked large super markets. Look for it in the refrigerated/ chilled section.

Flavor- Enhancing/Cooking It does not have a standing out flavor on its own and therefore benefits largely with marinades. It can be sliced /cut into chunks, stir fried or simply added to stews in the large stage of the cooking. It is a very good meat replacement. It does not need long cooking time and gets done in matter of minutes.

Benefits:Its immensely rich in Protein - said to be almost the same as in Beef!! Also rich in essential amino acids and abundant in minerals and vitamins. As per the statistics - A four-ounce serving of seitan supplies between 6 and 10 percent of the U.S Reference Daily Intake of vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and iron." Any more reason not to look into your local health stores?

Here is one simple dish with seitan which I have been trying out for a while and it works with all sort of additions. I had noted down this from the internet.