So for a quick-ish post tonight, I made Tomato Kurma with Leek and Paneer Kulcha (stuffed Indian breads). It was the first time I made Kulcha and they are absolutely amazing!
 |
| Tomato Kurma with Leek Kulcha |
Sunday 25 March 2012
Tomato Kurma with Leek Kulsha - Indian Food Week
I have writer's block tonight, probably due to the Brewer's Gold, Timmermans Faro and Boon Oude Gueuze that I drank earlier at the Kingston Arms, Cambridge. I'd recommend all 3 to anyone who enjoys a good beer (or 2 or 3!)
So for a quick-ish post tonight, I made Tomato Kurma with Leek and Paneer Kulcha (stuffed Indian breads). It was the first time I made Kulcha and they are absolutely amazing!
Tomato Kurma I know that this dish is only supposed to contain tomatoes, but to make it a bit healthier I added peas and carrots to it. I'm sure it would be delicious with fresh tomatoes only, but the UK isn't known for its bright red, juicy, tasty tomatoes in Spring so I added a tin of plum tomatoes to the sauce as well.
So for a quick-ish post tonight, I made Tomato Kurma with Leek and Paneer Kulcha (stuffed Indian breads). It was the first time I made Kulcha and they are absolutely amazing!
Saturday 24 March 2012
Lentil Dumpling Curry and Cabbage and Fennel Stirfry - Indian Food Week
I know I should have posted a recipe last night but we got side-tracked and ended up ordering pizza with Damon's colleagues instead... For those in the UK, check out the nutritional information for Domino's pizzas, I almost had a heart attack when I did!
Today's Indian food recipes are quite different from the ones most people are used to. The stir-fry is different from usual Asian stir-fries - it doesn't use any sauce, only fried spices. The curry is from South Indian cuisine - the flavours are more subtle and the texture less creamy.
Today was uncharacteristically (long word!) sunny and warm in Cambridge - 10C warmer than on the same day last year! We decided to take our Indian stir fry along for a cycle to Grantchester Meadows and frolick along the river Cam. For those audiophiles out there, Grantchester Meadows is indeed a Pink Floyd song from Ummagumma.
Cabbage and Fennel Stir-fry
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil/Olive oil
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
1 Onion, sliced thinly
1 Fennel, sliced thinly
1 Star Anise seed
1 small Green Cabbage, cut thinly
1 tsp Chilli Powder or Cayenne Powder
1/2 tsp Salt (or more if you're a salt fan)
Juice of a Lemon
1 tsp Garam Masala
How to:
Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat and toast the seeds until they start to crackle.
Add the onion, fennel and star anise, cook for 5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent and golden.
Add the cabbage and cook until it is wilted, about 5 minutes.
Add the chilli powder and salt and mix well.
Cook for another few minutes, then add the lemon juice and garam masala. Mix well and serve with some (veggie) burgers or use as a side for other dishes.
Lentil Dumplings Curry (Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu)
This recipe was inspired from this food blog.
I know it seems rather intimidating but this recipe is actually pretty straight forward, uses a lot of the same ingredients in different ways. We had it ready in no time and it was delicious!
Ingredients:
Curry Paste:
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds or Powder
2 Red Chillies - you can replace some of the chillies with tomato paste if you don't want it to be too spicy but want to keep the paste consistency
1 tsp Cumin Seeds or Powder
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 1/2 tsp Poppy Seeds
1/4 cup Grated Coconut
For the dumplings:
1 cup Toor Dal (or lentils if you cannot get hold of it), soaked in water for a couple of hours
1/2 Red Onion, roughly
1 Clove Garlic
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Red Chilli
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
Handful fresh Coriander
Salt to taste
For the Curry Sauce:
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Mustard
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1 tsp Curry Leaves - I used dried curry leaves but you could use fresh ones or even Curry Powder
1 Red Onion, chopped
1 small piece Ginger, crushed into a paste
3 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 tin chopped Tomatoes
Salt to taste
1 tsp Tamarind Extract (you can also soak a small ball of Tamarind paste in some hot water and use the juice squeezed from the paste) - this really gave the dish an interesting taste. If you cannot get hold of any, you could potentially add a teaspoon of brown sugar but it will not add any subtle flavour to the dish.
How to:
First, blend the curry paste ingredients and keep aside.
Blend the dal until it becomes a chunky paste - if it's not blended enough, the dumplings won't hold nicely. Put the dal into a large bowl and set aside. Blend the rest of the dumpling ingredients and mix them well in the dal.
Shape into squash ball-sized dumplings. Steam the dumplings for about 10 minutes. You could potentially skip the steaming step and cook them in the sauce instead, but the dumplings might not hold.
While the dumplings are steaming, make the curry sauce.
Heat up a tablespoon of oil in a large pan and add the mustard, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds. Cook until they start to splatter. Then add the onion, garlic and ginger until the onion becomes translucent.
Add the tomatoes and salt, cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the spice mix and a cup of water. Cook until slightly reduced but still saucy.
If, like me, you prefer a smooth curry sauce, you can blend it slightly at this point - watch out though because the sauce will be hot!
Add the tamarind, mix well. Add the dumplings in the sauce and cook on low heat for another 5 minutes. Serve with brown basmati rice. Enjoy!
Today's Indian food recipes are quite different from the ones most people are used to. The stir-fry is different from usual Asian stir-fries - it doesn't use any sauce, only fried spices. The curry is from South Indian cuisine - the flavours are more subtle and the texture less creamy.
Today was uncharacteristically (long word!) sunny and warm in Cambridge - 10C warmer than on the same day last year! We decided to take our Indian stir fry along for a cycle to Grantchester Meadows and frolick along the river Cam. For those audiophiles out there, Grantchester Meadows is indeed a Pink Floyd song from Ummagumma.
 |
| Cycling at Grantchester Meadow |
Cabbage and Fennel Stir-fry
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil/Olive oil
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
1 Onion, sliced thinly
1 Fennel, sliced thinly
1 Star Anise seed
1 small Green Cabbage, cut thinly
1 tsp Chilli Powder or Cayenne Powder
1/2 tsp Salt (or more if you're a salt fan)
Juice of a Lemon
1 tsp Garam Masala
 |
| Stir-fry with Quorn burgers and home-made cranberry green ice-tea |
Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat and toast the seeds until they start to crackle.
Add the onion, fennel and star anise, cook for 5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent and golden.
Add the cabbage and cook until it is wilted, about 5 minutes.
Add the chilli powder and salt and mix well.
Cook for another few minutes, then add the lemon juice and garam masala. Mix well and serve with some (veggie) burgers or use as a side for other dishes.
Lentil Dumplings Curry (Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu)
This recipe was inspired from this food blog.
I know it seems rather intimidating but this recipe is actually pretty straight forward, uses a lot of the same ingredients in different ways. We had it ready in no time and it was delicious!
 |
| Lentil Dumpling Curry - ready to be eaten! |
Curry Paste:
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds or Powder
2 Red Chillies - you can replace some of the chillies with tomato paste if you don't want it to be too spicy but want to keep the paste consistency
1 tsp Cumin Seeds or Powder
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 1/2 tsp Poppy Seeds
1/4 cup Grated Coconut
For the dumplings:
1 cup Toor Dal (or lentils if you cannot get hold of it), soaked in water for a couple of hours
1/2 Red Onion, roughly
1 Clove Garlic
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Red Chilli
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
Handful fresh Coriander
Salt to taste
For the Curry Sauce:
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Mustard
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1 tsp Curry Leaves - I used dried curry leaves but you could use fresh ones or even Curry Powder
1 Red Onion, chopped
1 small piece Ginger, crushed into a paste
3 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 tin chopped Tomatoes
Salt to taste
1 tsp Tamarind Extract (you can also soak a small ball of Tamarind paste in some hot water and use the juice squeezed from the paste) - this really gave the dish an interesting taste. If you cannot get hold of any, you could potentially add a teaspoon of brown sugar but it will not add any subtle flavour to the dish.
How to:
First, blend the curry paste ingredients and keep aside.
Blend the dal until it becomes a chunky paste - if it's not blended enough, the dumplings won't hold nicely. Put the dal into a large bowl and set aside. Blend the rest of the dumpling ingredients and mix them well in the dal.
Shape into squash ball-sized dumplings. Steam the dumplings for about 10 minutes. You could potentially skip the steaming step and cook them in the sauce instead, but the dumplings might not hold.
 |
| Dumplings - straight after steaming |
While the dumplings are steaming, make the curry sauce.
Heat up a tablespoon of oil in a large pan and add the mustard, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds. Cook until they start to splatter. Then add the onion, garlic and ginger until the onion becomes translucent.
Add the tomatoes and salt, cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the spice mix and a cup of water. Cook until slightly reduced but still saucy.
If, like me, you prefer a smooth curry sauce, you can blend it slightly at this point - watch out though because the sauce will be hot!
Add the tamarind, mix well. Add the dumplings in the sauce and cook on low heat for another 5 minutes. Serve with brown basmati rice. Enjoy!
Thursday 22 March 2012
Paneer Makhni - Indian Food Week Day 1
As promised, I'm going to post a week's worth of Indian food recipes - from Korma to Bhaji, including Parathas and Kulcha.
These recipes are not meant to be easy or quick (well, maybe except this first one...) - it's more of an experiment with flavours.
If you'd like tips on quick Indian food and how to prepare the basic sauce in advance to save time, see my earlier post on curries. I will try to keep these recipes as simple as I can make them and hope that you guys try them out too and let me know how they turn out!
Paneer Makhni
Nom nom nom - that's all I have to say!
Ingredients:
These recipes are not meant to be easy or quick (well, maybe except this first one...) - it's more of an experiment with flavours.
If you'd like tips on quick Indian food and how to prepare the basic sauce in advance to save time, see my earlier post on curries. I will try to keep these recipes as simple as I can make them and hope that you guys try them out too and let me know how they turn out!
Paneer Makhni
Nom nom nom - that's all I have to say!
Ingredients:
 | |
| Paneer Makhni ingredients |
Wednesday 21 March 2012
Easy Tasty Dinners
I have been rather lazy these last few days so the 2 recipes below are easy, tasty, lazy food!
But my laziness is only short-lived as I will be starting my Indian Food Week tomorrow! I've been shopping for spices online and I'm going to experiment with Indian food and try to make as many different types of curries as possible, all in one week so keep checking this page!
But my laziness is only short-lived as I will be starting my Indian Food Week tomorrow! I've been shopping for spices online and I'm going to experiment with Indian food and try to make as many different types of curries as possible, all in one week so keep checking this page!
Monday 19 March 2012
Post St Patrick's Day Hot Chocolate
Saturday was my first official St Patrick's Day in Cambridge and we decided to celebrate by having a braai (read barbecue) at our house. Thanks to everyone who could make it - it was such a fun party!
After most big parties, the best thing is comfort food. After St Patty's Day, I made Hot Chocolate, Spicy Stifry and Caponata (Sicilian Aubergine Stew) and hung around the garden reading "A Clash of Kings" - the second Game of Thrones book.
Coconut Hot Chocolate
While sitting outside on Sunday reading my book in the Spring sun, I had this craving for hot chocolate! Though after the previous night's Guiness drinking, I couldn't have handled a heavy hot chocolate so I decided to try and make a light yet chocolatey drink!
The coconut milk really adds a nice, exotic flavour to this hot chocolate but you can use any kind of milk though dairy will make it heavier.
Ingredients: (for 2 people)
2 cups Coconut Milk (or any non-dairy milk to make it lighter)
2 heaped tsp Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Almond Butter (you can leave this out)
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar or enough sugar/sweetener for your taste
A few drops of Vanilla Essence
Optional: 1/2 tsp corn flour diluted in some hot water- if you like thick hot chocolate, otherwise leave out.
How to:
Mix everything in a pan and bring to the boil, mixing well when boiling point approaches.
Pour in cups and enjoy warm!
Cabbage and Carrot Stirfry
One of my best comfort foods is a bowl of (leftover) stir-fry with noodles, eaten with chop sticks! You can pretty much use any vegetables with this basic sauce. You can add more spices/ingredients to the sauce if you like, just experiment!
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Red Chillies
4-5 Carrots, chopped into thin sticks
A small head of Cabbage. shredded into small strands
One Leek
Any other vegetable including Spinach, Bean Sprouts...
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 cm piece Ginger, crushed
2 Tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tsp Rice Vinegar
1/2 Cup Vegetable Stock
1 tsp Brown Sugar or Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp Pea/Whey Protein or 1 tsp Cornflour
Any type of noodles you like - Soba Noodles are delicious!
How to:
Heat up the sesame oil in a large pan or wok. Stir-fry the chillies and vegetables on medium heat for a few minutes.
In the meantime, mix up the rest of the ingredients (except noodles, of course) to make the sauce. Cook the noodles in some boiling water according to instructions.
Pour the sauce over the vegetable and cook for a minute until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve in a bowl with vegetables spooned over noodles. You can add some more soya sauce if you'd like.
I usually also make some marinated tofu to go with this dish but we didn't have any tofu that night so I left it out.
Ingredients:
A block of tofu, chopped into cubes
2 Tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Rice Vinegar
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Brown Sugar or Agave Nectar
How to:
Heat oven to 200C. Put the tofu cubes in an oven-proof dish.
Mix up all the sauce ingredients and pour over the tofu. You can let the tofu sit for an hour if you want a stronger taste.
Grill the tofu in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the tofu is golden brown, mixing the cubes up halfway.
Caponata
This is a Sicilian Aubergine Stew traditionally seasoned with sweet vinegar and capers. I replaced the capers with olives since they're cheaper. You can serve it as a starter, spooned on some bread or as a main with rice or pasta.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Aubergine
1 small Onion, chopped finely
2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
2 handfuls ripe Cherry Tomatoes, chopped into quarters
10 Olives (kalamata or green, pitted and chopped up)
1 tsp Dried Oregano
A handful Flat-Leaf Parsley, stems chopped small and leaves chopped
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
How to:
Chop up the aubergine into medium-sized pieces; too small pieces will soak up too much oil and become soggy.
Heat up the oil on medium-high heat and add the aubergines, oregano and a pinch of salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes, tossing every now and again until the aubergines are light brown.
Add the onion, garlic and parsley stems. Cook for a few more minutes.
Add the chopped olives, cook for a minute then add the cherry tomatoes and vinegars.
Cook until it reaches a thick consistency. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Serve with the flat-leaf parsley and some toasted bread.
After most big parties, the best thing is comfort food. After St Patty's Day, I made Hot Chocolate, Spicy Stifry and Caponata (Sicilian Aubergine Stew) and hung around the garden reading "A Clash of Kings" - the second Game of Thrones book.
Coconut Hot Chocolate
While sitting outside on Sunday reading my book in the Spring sun, I had this craving for hot chocolate! Though after the previous night's Guiness drinking, I couldn't have handled a heavy hot chocolate so I decided to try and make a light yet chocolatey drink!
 | |
| My reading spot in our garden |
The coconut milk really adds a nice, exotic flavour to this hot chocolate but you can use any kind of milk though dairy will make it heavier.
Ingredients: (for 2 people)
2 cups Coconut Milk (or any non-dairy milk to make it lighter)
2 heaped tsp Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Almond Butter (you can leave this out)
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar or enough sugar/sweetener for your taste
A few drops of Vanilla Essence
Optional: 1/2 tsp corn flour diluted in some hot water- if you like thick hot chocolate, otherwise leave out.
 |
| Coconut Hot Chocolate |
How to:
Mix everything in a pan and bring to the boil, mixing well when boiling point approaches.
Pour in cups and enjoy warm!
Cabbage and Carrot Stirfry
One of my best comfort foods is a bowl of (leftover) stir-fry with noodles, eaten with chop sticks! You can pretty much use any vegetables with this basic sauce. You can add more spices/ingredients to the sauce if you like, just experiment!
 |
| Stir-fry served with black rice noodles, topped with some grated beetroot |
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Red Chillies
4-5 Carrots, chopped into thin sticks
A small head of Cabbage. shredded into small strands
One Leek
Any other vegetable including Spinach, Bean Sprouts...
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 cm piece Ginger, crushed
2 Tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tsp Rice Vinegar
1/2 Cup Vegetable Stock
1 tsp Brown Sugar or Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp Pea/Whey Protein or 1 tsp Cornflour
Any type of noodles you like - Soba Noodles are delicious!
How to:
Heat up the sesame oil in a large pan or wok. Stir-fry the chillies and vegetables on medium heat for a few minutes.
In the meantime, mix up the rest of the ingredients (except noodles, of course) to make the sauce. Cook the noodles in some boiling water according to instructions.
Pour the sauce over the vegetable and cook for a minute until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve in a bowl with vegetables spooned over noodles. You can add some more soya sauce if you'd like.
I usually also make some marinated tofu to go with this dish but we didn't have any tofu that night so I left it out.
Ingredients:
A block of tofu, chopped into cubes
2 Tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Rice Vinegar
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Brown Sugar or Agave Nectar
How to:
Heat oven to 200C. Put the tofu cubes in an oven-proof dish.
Mix up all the sauce ingredients and pour over the tofu. You can let the tofu sit for an hour if you want a stronger taste.
Grill the tofu in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the tofu is golden brown, mixing the cubes up halfway.
Caponata
This is a Sicilian Aubergine Stew traditionally seasoned with sweet vinegar and capers. I replaced the capers with olives since they're cheaper. You can serve it as a starter, spooned on some bread or as a main with rice or pasta.
 |
| Caponata - to be served with flat-leaf parsley |
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Aubergine
1 small Onion, chopped finely
2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
2 handfuls ripe Cherry Tomatoes, chopped into quarters
10 Olives (kalamata or green, pitted and chopped up)
1 tsp Dried Oregano
A handful Flat-Leaf Parsley, stems chopped small and leaves chopped
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
How to:
Chop up the aubergine into medium-sized pieces; too small pieces will soak up too much oil and become soggy.
Heat up the oil on medium-high heat and add the aubergines, oregano and a pinch of salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes, tossing every now and again until the aubergines are light brown.
Add the onion, garlic and parsley stems. Cook for a few more minutes.
Add the chopped olives, cook for a minute then add the cherry tomatoes and vinegars.
Cook until it reaches a thick consistency. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Serve with the flat-leaf parsley and some toasted bread.
Friday 16 March 2012
Curry! Did I hear Yummy?
As most of my friends know (this is for you Caron!), I am rather obsessed with Indian food and Indian cooking...
I've been experimenting for years to replicate the amazing, sweet, spicy and complex flavours of Indian food you can find in South Africa. When I was still living in South Africa, I only cooked Indian food occasionally. It was so much easier to drive down to the Indian restaurant and grab take-aways rather than wrestle with spices, garlic, ginger and chillies!
 |
| Basic Indian cooking ingredients |
Before I moved to Cambridge, Damon had warned me that the Indian food in the UK does not compare to the curries in South Africa. He was right! I haven't been able to find such tasty Indian food much to my tastebuds' despair! The only way for me to get my greedy hands on Korma, Masala, Makhni and other curries is to cook them myself...
 |
| Busy cooking Korma in our (tiny) Cambridge kitchen... |
Tonight I made Cauliflower Bhaji with Beetroot Paratha but I will also include other Indian recipes I've made in the past in this post (this is for all those who've been asking for my Korma recipe!).
Cauliflower Bhaji
 |
| Cauliflower Bhaji with Beetroot Paratha served with Yoghurt and Mango Chutney |
Ingredients:
Butter/olive oil/coconut oil/ghee
1 Onion, chopped
1 Red or Green Pepper, chopped
1 tsp Special Spice (see below)
1 tsp Fenugreek leaves, soaked in some water before adding to the curry
1 Cauliflower, cut into small florets and steamed/boiled/cooked
4 Tbsp Basic Curry Sauce (find recipe at the bottom of this post)
Optional: 2 tbsp Tomato Paste if the curry is not sweet enough for your taste
How to:
Heat the oil on medium heat. Stirfry the onion and green pepper until both are soft.
Add the Special Spice and Fenugreek leaves. Mix thoroughly.
Add the cauliflower and the Basic Curry Sauce (and tomato paste). You can also add a cup of water if the curry is too dry for you (I like my curry saucy so I added water).
Heat through and serve with Paratha or Basmati rice.
Beetroot Paratha (Stuffed Indian Flat Bread)
Ingredients:
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 cup Water to knead the dough (you may not need all of this)
2 tbsp Butter/ghee at room temperature
Salt to taste
Stuffing:
2 cups Beetroot, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
2 Red Chillies
2.5 cm piece of Ginger
2 Garlic cloves
1 tsp Garam masala
Salt to taste
Coconut oil/ghee/vegetable oil
How to:
Add the butter into the flour and mix well until it has the consistency of sand.
Add the salt and mix.
Add a spoonful of water at a time and knead the dough until it is soft. Keep aside.
Grind all the stuffing ingredients, except for the oil.
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the beetroot on low-medium heat until it is almost dry. Remove the heat
Divide the dough into small balls, roll them out into thick wraps and put a little beetroot filling in the centre. Bring the edges together in the centre and pinch them together. Roll out the dough purse into parathas (thick-ish wraps).
Heat some oil in a large flat pan and fry each parathas until light brown.
Paneer Korma (vegetarian)
I am not claiming this is a traditional Indian recipe but it is the one recipe amongst dozens that comes closest to the Paneer Korma I used to eat on a weekly basis in South Africa. I may modify it as I perfect it, so keep an eye out!
Note: I did add peas to this dish because I had them in the freezer. Feel free to add any vegetable that you have lying around to make this dish a little bit more "healthy".
I am not claiming this is a traditional Indian recipe but it is the one recipe amongst dozens that comes closest to the Paneer Korma I used to eat on a weekly basis in South Africa. I may modify it as I perfect it, so keep an eye out!
Note: I did add peas to this dish because I had them in the freezer. Feel free to add any vegetable that you have lying around to make this dish a little bit more "healthy".
 |
| Paneer Korma |
Ingredients:
250gr Paneer, grilled in a pan with a little oil (or meat - just let it cook long enough for it to be tender) 4 Tomatoes, skin removed
1 tbsp Tomato paste
2 tbsp Butter/ghee/coconut butter
5cm piece of Ginger and 3 Garlic cloves - blend it with a bit of water into a paste
2 Green Chillies (or 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder)
2 tbsp Butter/ghee/coconut butter
5cm piece of Ginger and 3 Garlic cloves - blend it with a bit of water into a paste
2 Green Chillies (or 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder)
3 Cardamom pods (or 1/2 tsp powder), seeds removed from the pods and crushed
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 Onion, grated
1/4 cup Korma paste
1/2 tsp Salt, adjust to taste
1/2 tsp Salt, adjust to taste
1 Anise Seed Star
1 cup Mava - you can leave this out if you'd like, just double the cream and add 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 cup Cream
1/2 cup Cream
1/2 tsp Garam masala
Handful of Coriander leaves
Oil/Ghee
Oil/Ghee
Korma paste:
1/4 cup roasted cashew nuts/raw almonds, blended to a paste with a splash of water
Mava:
Evaporated Milk 1 Tin ( Nestle Coronation or any such )
Milk Powder 2 cups
Mava:
Evaporated Milk 1 Tin ( Nestle Coronation or any such )
Milk Powder 2 cups
- Mix in a bowl into a thick dough. Use as needed for this dish and keep the rest in the freezer until needed again.
How to:
How to:
Cook the tomatoes and tomato paste on low-medium heat until the tomatoes have "melted", then blend into a sauce. Keep aside.
Heat up the butter on medium heat in a large pan. Cook the garlic and ginger paste until light brown.
Heat up the butter on medium heat in a large pan. Cook the garlic and ginger paste until light brown.
Add the cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon and chillies and cook until fragrant (about a minute) but watch out not to burn the spices.
Add the onions and cook on medium heat until translucent and soft. Pour in the korma paste, mix well and cook for another minute.
Add the tomato sauce, anise star, (peas) and salt. Cook for 3 minutes or until the tomato sauce is reduced a little bit.
Add in the mava, mix well to make sure it dissolves throughout the dish.
Add the garam masala, stir and reduce to low heat. Pour in the cream, stir well, making sure it does not come to the boil.
Carefully add the paneer in to make sure not to break up. Heat through and serve with Basmati rice!
Wednesday 14 March 2012
Festival Food
Ever been to a music festival with a vegan? Well, I have! And I've had
to get quite creative to keep the recipes tasty, cheap, quick and with
the minimum amount of ingredients to take along. All the recipes below are vegan but you can substitute ingredients for more conventional alternatives - though the chocolate fudgey bites are phenomenal as they are!
So yeah, sorry I haven't posted for a few days but we spent the weekend at a music festival (a vet, vegetarian, vegan and a legendary Essex lad!) - All Tomorrow's Parties - in Minehead (across the sea from Cardiff). To prevent excessive consumption of junk food during the weekend (we did pig out once for lunch...), I decided to come up with easy, quick recipes to feed 4 people using as few ingredients as possible.
Note that this is not for your typical South African festival, you'll need basic kitchen equipment for these recipes but they'll work for a quick meal.
Lunches and dinners for 3 night stay:
Tomato Soup
Leek and Parnsip Risotto
Roasted Potato with Beans (don't need a recipe for this one, lol!)
Butternut Mac n Cheese
Celeriac and Cauliflower Mash with Veggie Burgers
Snacks:
Chocolate Fudgey Bites
Pita and Carrots with Hummus
Tomato Soup
I absolutely love tomato soup - it is probably the best kind of soup out there. The trick to delicious tomato soup is to de-seed all the tomatoes before cooking them. It can be quite time consuming but it is really worth it. You can also use cherry tomatoes if you have the patience/time to de-seed them!
Ingredients:
1kg tomatoes (you can use 1kg cherry tomatoes or half cherry tomatoes/half normal tomatoes)
1 onion, sliced
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 liter vegetable stock (use as much as desired depending how thick you like your soup)
Salt and pepper
Optional: butter, bread (we used wholemeal sourdough from the Earth's Crust in the Cambridge market) and cream to serve
How to:
If you'd like, you can skin the tomatoes but it is not necessary.
Start by chopping up the tomatoes and remove the seeds.
Heat up some olive oil in a large pan and cook the onion until soft.
Add the tomatoes and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add the stock and the balsamic vinegar. Cook for 10 minutes.
Blend, season and serve warm with some cream and buttered bread.
Leek and Parsnip Risotto (with Ruby Orange Vodka Cocktail)
Ingredients (for 4 people):
1 onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 fennel, chopped into small cubes
2 leeks, sliced thinly
400 grams risotto rice
150ml white wine - I used Pinto Grigio but I think a drier white would work best
1 liter of vegetable stock, keep warm in a separate pan
juice of one lemon
parsley or thyme - I only had thyme handy but I think parsley would work better
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
How to:
Heat up some olive oil in a pan on medium heat and add the onion. Cook on low heat until the onions are translucent but not brown. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the fennel and leek and cook on low-medium heat until both are soft.
Add the risotto rice and make sure it is nicely coated with the leftover oil in the pan. Keep mixing gently for a minute.
Pour the white wine in the pan and wait until it has mostly evaporated.
Add ladles of the warm stock one at a time. Wait a bit in between each ladle until the water has been absorbed by the rice - make sure the stove's not too hot or the stock will just evaporate and not cook the rice.
You can always add a bit more stock if needs be, just taste the rice along the way until it is al dente!
Once the rice is cooked, add chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste and the lemon juice.
Serve immediately on a sunny patio with a cool glass of white wine.
For the Ruby Orange Vodka Cocktail:
Pour some Vanilla Vodka (I tend to be heavy handed so I won't give you any guidelines there, but the usual "single, double" rule should be alright here) in a tall glass. The mix is made up of 2/3 blood orange juice (or ruby orange juice) and 1/3 cranberry juice. Drink cold.
By the way, I need a creative name for the above cocktail - please help me with one!
Butternut Mac n Cheese
I stole this recipe from "Oh She Glows" so I'll link this up to her website where the original recipe is. I follow it to the letter and it comes out perfect, comforting and delicious.
Celeriac and Cauliflower Mash with Veggie Burgers (or any other burger for that matter)
Ingredients:
1 celeriac, peeled and chopped - I guess you could use parsnip or any other root vegetable
1 cauliflower, chopped
Thyme
A knob of butter (vegan or not)
A splash of milk (dairy or not) - adjust quantities depending on how thick/runny you like your mash
Salt and pepper
How to:
Boil the celeriac and cauliflower until very tender.
Drain and put into a large bowl. Add the thyme, salt, pepper, milk and butter.
Mash using a hand-held blender or a masher.
Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Serve with the burger of your choice - we ate Aduki Bean Kiev and they were delicious!
Chocolate Fudgey Bites
For snacks, I made these little devils: German Chocolate Fudge Bites and they came out so chocolatey and addictive!
Damon's musical note: Music wise, the weekend's highlights included the Boredoms, the mighty Fall, Group Doueh's infectious Saharan grooves, Mount Eerie, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the monumental Earth and Matana Roberts.
 |
| Doing what I do best - cook for everyone! |
So yeah, sorry I haven't posted for a few days but we spent the weekend at a music festival (a vet, vegetarian, vegan and a legendary Essex lad!) - All Tomorrow's Parties - in Minehead (across the sea from Cardiff). To prevent excessive consumption of junk food during the weekend (we did pig out once for lunch...), I decided to come up with easy, quick recipes to feed 4 people using as few ingredients as possible.
Note that this is not for your typical South African festival, you'll need basic kitchen equipment for these recipes but they'll work for a quick meal.
Lunches and dinners for 3 night stay:
Tomato Soup
Leek and Parnsip Risotto
Roasted Potato with Beans (don't need a recipe for this one, lol!)
Butternut Mac n Cheese
Celeriac and Cauliflower Mash with Veggie Burgers
Snacks:
Chocolate Fudgey Bites
Pita and Carrots with Hummus
Tomato Soup
I absolutely love tomato soup - it is probably the best kind of soup out there. The trick to delicious tomato soup is to de-seed all the tomatoes before cooking them. It can be quite time consuming but it is really worth it. You can also use cherry tomatoes if you have the patience/time to de-seed them!
Ingredients:
1kg tomatoes (you can use 1kg cherry tomatoes or half cherry tomatoes/half normal tomatoes)
1 onion, sliced
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 liter vegetable stock (use as much as desired depending how thick you like your soup)
Salt and pepper
Optional: butter, bread (we used wholemeal sourdough from the Earth's Crust in the Cambridge market) and cream to serve
How to:
If you'd like, you can skin the tomatoes but it is not necessary.
Start by chopping up the tomatoes and remove the seeds.
Heat up some olive oil in a large pan and cook the onion until soft.
Add the tomatoes and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add the stock and the balsamic vinegar. Cook for 10 minutes.
Blend, season and serve warm with some cream and buttered bread.
Leek and Parsnip Risotto (with Ruby Orange Vodka Cocktail)
 |
| Eating lunch outside in the sun - an ATP festival first! |
1 onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 fennel, chopped into small cubes
2 leeks, sliced thinly
400 grams risotto rice
150ml white wine - I used Pinto Grigio but I think a drier white would work best
1 liter of vegetable stock, keep warm in a separate pan
juice of one lemon
parsley or thyme - I only had thyme handy but I think parsley would work better
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
How to:
Heat up some olive oil in a pan on medium heat and add the onion. Cook on low heat until the onions are translucent but not brown. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the fennel and leek and cook on low-medium heat until both are soft.
Add the risotto rice and make sure it is nicely coated with the leftover oil in the pan. Keep mixing gently for a minute.
Pour the white wine in the pan and wait until it has mostly evaporated.
Add ladles of the warm stock one at a time. Wait a bit in between each ladle until the water has been absorbed by the rice - make sure the stove's not too hot or the stock will just evaporate and not cook the rice.
You can always add a bit more stock if needs be, just taste the rice along the way until it is al dente!
Once the rice is cooked, add chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste and the lemon juice.
Serve immediately on a sunny patio with a cool glass of white wine.
For the Ruby Orange Vodka Cocktail:
 |
| Eating tasty Butternut Mac n Cheese |
By the way, I need a creative name for the above cocktail - please help me with one!
Butternut Mac n Cheese
I stole this recipe from "Oh She Glows" so I'll link this up to her website where the original recipe is. I follow it to the letter and it comes out perfect, comforting and delicious.
Celeriac and Cauliflower Mash with Veggie Burgers (or any other burger for that matter)
Ingredients:
1 celeriac, peeled and chopped - I guess you could use parsnip or any other root vegetable
1 cauliflower, chopped
Thyme
A knob of butter (vegan or not)
A splash of milk (dairy or not) - adjust quantities depending on how thick/runny you like your mash
Salt and pepper
How to:
Boil the celeriac and cauliflower until very tender.
Drain and put into a large bowl. Add the thyme, salt, pepper, milk and butter.
Mash using a hand-held blender or a masher.
Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Serve with the burger of your choice - we ate Aduki Bean Kiev and they were delicious!
 |
| Chocolate Fudge Bites! Nom Nom Nom |
Chocolate Fudgey Bites
For snacks, I made these little devils: German Chocolate Fudge Bites and they came out so chocolatey and addictive!
 |
| Mark E Smith and Me! - "Good Evening, we are the Fall" |
Damon's musical note: Music wise, the weekend's highlights included the Boredoms, the mighty Fall, Group Doueh's infectious Saharan grooves, Mount Eerie, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the monumental Earth and Matana Roberts.
 |
| The Boredoms (and me!) - Acid Police! |
Wednesday 7 March 2012
Erev Purim - Spicy Butternut Soup with Dumplings and Poppy Seed Pastries
Tonight is Erev Purim (eve of Purim) - the celebration of Esther, Queen of Persia, who saved her Jewish community while married to King Ahasuerus of Persia. It's traditional to eat triangular foods that represent the villain (he did try to kill all Jews in Persia) Haman's triangular hat (or pockets) so I decided to make Bombay Potato Kreplach (triangular dumplings) in Spicy Butternut Soup and Mohn Hamantaschen (Poppy Seed Triangular Pastries) - they taste amazing and I'm usually not a fan of poppy seeds.
It's also customary to give 2 different types of food to an adult and give charity to 2 poor people on Purim.
From the 3 recipes above only the Spicy Butternut Soup and Bombay Potato filling are my "creation" so I'll post links to the other recipes.
Kreplach (made about 12 dumplings - though I can't be sure as I ate quite a couple of them along the way)
I made the filling first:
Bombay Potato Mash
Ingredients:
2 potatoes, peeled, chopped and steamed/boiled. Grossly mashed.
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
chillies or chilly powder to your taste
Olive oil
3-5 Tbsp milk
A knob of butter
How to:
Pour a good "swig" of olive oil in a pan and heat on medium heat.
Add the mustard seeds and wait until they've "popped" (you might want to cover the pan as the seeds tend to jump all over the place). Add the turmeric and chillies and heat up for about one minute.
Add the potatoes to the pan until they are all coated evenly with spices and turn to a lovely golden yellow colour.
Take off the heat, add a knob of butter and the milk to make an extra creamy, smooth mash.
Keep aside and let cool down to room temperature.
I used this recipe for the dough.
To make it easier I posted a shortened version.
Ingredients:
2 cups flour (I use spelt flour and that seemed to work quite well)
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
2 egg yolks
½ cup water or as much/little as you need
1 ½ tsps baking powder
How to:
Mix everything together.
Roll out the dough thinly onto a floured surface and cut out square 5cm x 5cm.
Put a small teaspoonful of potato mash in the middle of the square. Fold the dough into a triangle over the filling.
I always struggle to close dumplings with my fingers.
Spicy Butternut Soup
Ingredients:
1 butternut
2 Tbsp yellow or red curry paste
1 tin coconut milk
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
How to:
Preheat oven to 200C.
Cut butternut in halves, removes seeds and cut each piece in half. Put into an oven-proof dish and drizzle olive oil generously over the butternut. Cook for an hour or until butternut gets really soft.
Once it is soft enough, simply scoop out the flesh from the skin (I HATE peeling butternut, just ask my old room mate!) and put it in a large pot.
Add the coconut milk and curry paste to the butternut. Blend until smooth. Start heating the soup on medium heat, add water until it reaches the desired consistency.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Tonight I added some of the leftover Bombay Potato mash from the dumplings into the soup as well, so delicious!
If you make the dumplings, serve the soup with a couple of dumplings in it.
For the Hamantaschen, I used the Shiksa in the Kitchen's recipes:
I made the dough (I only made 4 cups of flour worth of dough and it made a LOT of Hamantaschen) first so it had time to rest in the fridge and then the Mohn - a sweet poppy seed filling ("Mohn" means poppy seed in German - thanks Wilhelm!).
I used the Shiksa's method of rolling the edges of dough into a triangle rather than folding them over the filling.
It's also customary to give 2 different types of food to an adult and give charity to 2 poor people on Purim.
 |
| Hamantaschen - they reminded Damon of his childhood! :-) |
From the 3 recipes above only the Spicy Butternut Soup and Bombay Potato filling are my "creation" so I'll post links to the other recipes.
Kreplach (made about 12 dumplings - though I can't be sure as I ate quite a couple of them along the way)
 | |
| Kreplach in Soup |
I made the filling first:
Bombay Potato Mash
Ingredients:
2 potatoes, peeled, chopped and steamed/boiled. Grossly mashed.
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
chillies or chilly powder to your taste
Olive oil
3-5 Tbsp milk
A knob of butter
How to:
Pour a good "swig" of olive oil in a pan and heat on medium heat.
Add the mustard seeds and wait until they've "popped" (you might want to cover the pan as the seeds tend to jump all over the place). Add the turmeric and chillies and heat up for about one minute.
Add the potatoes to the pan until they are all coated evenly with spices and turn to a lovely golden yellow colour.
Take off the heat, add a knob of butter and the milk to make an extra creamy, smooth mash.
Keep aside and let cool down to room temperature.
I used this recipe for the dough.
To make it easier I posted a shortened version.
Ingredients:
2 cups flour (I use spelt flour and that seemed to work quite well)
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
2 egg yolks
½ cup water or as much/little as you need
1 ½ tsps baking powder
How to:
Mix everything together.
Roll out the dough thinly onto a floured surface and cut out square 5cm x 5cm.
Put a small teaspoonful of potato mash in the middle of the square. Fold the dough into a triangle over the filling.
I always struggle to close dumplings with my fingers.
Spicy Butternut Soup
Ingredients:
1 butternut
2 Tbsp yellow or red curry paste
1 tin coconut milk
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
How to:
Preheat oven to 200C.
Cut butternut in halves, removes seeds and cut each piece in half. Put into an oven-proof dish and drizzle olive oil generously over the butternut. Cook for an hour or until butternut gets really soft.
Once it is soft enough, simply scoop out the flesh from the skin (I HATE peeling butternut, just ask my old room mate!) and put it in a large pot.
Add the coconut milk and curry paste to the butternut. Blend until smooth. Start heating the soup on medium heat, add water until it reaches the desired consistency.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Tonight I added some of the leftover Bombay Potato mash from the dumplings into the soup as well, so delicious!
If you make the dumplings, serve the soup with a couple of dumplings in it.
For the Hamantaschen, I used the Shiksa in the Kitchen's recipes:
I made the dough (I only made 4 cups of flour worth of dough and it made a LOT of Hamantaschen) first so it had time to rest in the fridge and then the Mohn - a sweet poppy seed filling ("Mohn" means poppy seed in German - thanks Wilhelm!).
 |
| Mohn, dough and finished Hamantaschen - heaven! |
I used the Shiksa's method of rolling the edges of dough into a triangle rather than folding them over the filling.
Tuesday 6 March 2012
Fennel and Blood Orange - a poorly advertised love story?
For the second time since we started getting our veggie box, I was faced this week with an old enemy: fennel! The first time was during the second week of February - Valentine's Day week! I really despise the stuff and despite my mom's best efforts have never really willingly dished it on my plate, let alone bought some from the shops! But unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I had no choice seeing as it had been delivered to my door amongst other better tasting vegetables.
Having recently discovered Master Chef UK (I don't know why I always watch that show AFTER dinner, then I get soo hungry), I decided to search the BBC Food database for a tasty way to tackle my old foe. Boy, oh boy, was that a good decision! I came across this beauty: Red mullet, fennel puree and fennel salad with lemongrass broth which is what I made for our Valentine's Day dinner (I replaced the red mullet with sustainably source Pacific Tuna).
Topped with some real pink champagne and amazing Hotel Chocolat Truffles, this was a finger-licking good Valentine's Day.
So I found that the trick to fennel is two things: anise seeds and blood orange. The anise seeds emphasize the taste of the fennel and the blood orange beautifully complements it. Blood oranges work so well with fennel that I ordered a kilo of them along with this week's veg box as soon as I found out we were getting more fennel. I was actually excited to get more fennel! Say what?
I know it sounds crazy, but take it from a fennel hater - this works!
So tonight is the night where I'm eating fennel again! I went back to the BBC Food website and found this recipe: Mozzarella Bruschetta with Shave Fennel and Courgette. I forgot to buy courgette and used up the lemon juice in last night's latkes so I modified the recipe a bit - we'd also run out of mozzarella so I had to use a gouda style cheese which was a little strong for the dish.
Damon thought that orange and cheese should not mix but I disagree, I thought the salad was great on the toasted cheese. Each to his/her opinion but do give it a try with a neutral cheese, like mozzarella.
Ingredients:
2 blood oranges, with skin removed and segments cut into small pieces (I guess you could use normal oranges but I don't know how that would turn out)
Juice of one (blood) orange
Juice of half lemon
1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
A few sprigs of mint, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Sourdough bread (2 slices per person is the way I usually go about it but feel free to adjust)
1 large garlic clove, cut into halves (one clove per 4 slices of bread)
Mozzarella, grated or sliced
How to:
Toast the sourdough slices. Once toasted, rub the garlic clove halves on one side of the toast and keep aside.
Mix the fennel, blood orange segments and mint in a bowl. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil on them and toss gently.
In a cup, mix the orange juice, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Mix into the salad.
Sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella on each toast. You can quickly pop the toasts in the oven for a "toasted cheese" effect or keep the cheese as-is.
Serve the toast next to the salad and decide whether you're adventurous enough to eat the salad on the toast.
Having recently discovered Master Chef UK (I don't know why I always watch that show AFTER dinner, then I get soo hungry), I decided to search the BBC Food database for a tasty way to tackle my old foe. Boy, oh boy, was that a good decision! I came across this beauty: Red mullet, fennel puree and fennel salad with lemongrass broth which is what I made for our Valentine's Day dinner (I replaced the red mullet with sustainably source Pacific Tuna).
 |
| Pacific Tuna, fennel puree, fennel and blood orange salad with lemongrass broth |
So I found that the trick to fennel is two things: anise seeds and blood orange. The anise seeds emphasize the taste of the fennel and the blood orange beautifully complements it. Blood oranges work so well with fennel that I ordered a kilo of them along with this week's veg box as soon as I found out we were getting more fennel. I was actually excited to get more fennel! Say what?
I know it sounds crazy, but take it from a fennel hater - this works!
So tonight is the night where I'm eating fennel again! I went back to the BBC Food website and found this recipe: Mozzarella Bruschetta with Shave Fennel and Courgette. I forgot to buy courgette and used up the lemon juice in last night's latkes so I modified the recipe a bit - we'd also run out of mozzarella so I had to use a gouda style cheese which was a little strong for the dish.
Damon thought that orange and cheese should not mix but I disagree, I thought the salad was great on the toasted cheese. Each to his/her opinion but do give it a try with a neutral cheese, like mozzarella.
 |
| Dinner - toasted cheese with a twist! |
Ingredients:
2 blood oranges, with skin removed and segments cut into small pieces (I guess you could use normal oranges but I don't know how that would turn out)
Juice of one (blood) orange
Juice of half lemon
1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
A few sprigs of mint, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Sourdough bread (2 slices per person is the way I usually go about it but feel free to adjust)
1 large garlic clove, cut into halves (one clove per 4 slices of bread)
Mozzarella, grated or sliced
How to:
 |
| Adventurous toast! |
Mix the fennel, blood orange segments and mint in a bowl. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil on them and toss gently.
In a cup, mix the orange juice, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Mix into the salad.
Sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella on each toast. You can quickly pop the toasts in the oven for a "toasted cheese" effect or keep the cheese as-is.
Serve the toast next to the salad and decide whether you're adventurous enough to eat the salad on the toast.
Monday 5 March 2012
Parsnip Latke served with Horseradish
 |
| Latkes dipped into the soup topped with some horseradish cream |
I know that potatoes and onions are traditionally used to make latkes but the parsnip adds a little zing to them and make them extra crispy. If you don't have parsnip, you can use onions instead, use 1 onion for 2-3 potatoes.
To be honest, the kale soup had been sitting in the fridge for a few days... I'd been defeated by the amount of kale we've been getting in out veggie box lately (from Riverford) and didn't know what else to do with it so I threw it in a pot with some onions, garlic, potatoes, stock and blended it all together. You can pretty much use any soup but the latkes are perfectly respectable (read DELICIOUS) when served alone or with some horseradish cream.
For the Parnsip Latkes (I adapted this recipe Smitten Kitchen for what I had lying around)
Makes at least 12, excluding those used for tasting while cooking :-)
Ingredients:
1 large potato
4 medium sized horseradishes
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 spring onions, sliced thinly
1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup soya flour (or some other high protein flour, though you could just use some more whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil for frying (this uses quite a bit)
How to:
Peel and grate the potato and horseradish using a coarse grater (or anything else you've got handy).
Using paper towels or a clean kitchen towel, dry the grated horseradish and potato until there are quite dry - this ensures extra crispy latkes!
Transfer the grated veggies into a bowl and add the lemon juice and spring onions. Mix.
In another bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, salt and pepper (to taste) and the 3 eggs. Add to the veggies and mix well.
Pour olive oil into a heavy pan (cast iron is best but you can use any pan you have lying around) so that the oil is about 3-5mm deep (!!). Heat up the oil until it starts to sizzle - the guideline is that a drop of water flicked in the oil should hiss and sputter. Then try to keep the temperature as constant as possible, adding oil to the pan if necessary through the frying process.
Using your fingers, grab a small ball of mix, roll it then flatten it between your palms. Throw it (gently) into the pan. Repeat until the pan is full, though leave yourself some space to be able to flip them. Let each side cook about 3-4 minutes.
Once a latke is done frying, put it out onto some brown paper or kitchen paper towel to get some of the excess oil off.
Serve as is or with some horseradish cream or any other sauce of your choice.
Enjoy!
 | |
| Just keep on frying! |
HELLO, WORLD!
Hello, World!
So here it is, in the "flesh", my first ever food blog! All you guys out there who have been nagging me for recipes this is for you (there's too many to mention but you know who you are)!
It's been a rough couple of weeks here in Cambridge. After finding out that I couldn't practice as a vet in the UK until I receive my graduation certificate in April, I decided it was time to spend some time doing something else I love - COOKING!
I'm going to be posting recipes of what I cook for dinner as well as what we eat out or cool restaurants we go to.
Hope you guys like it!
So here it is, in the "flesh", my first ever food blog! All you guys out there who have been nagging me for recipes this is for you (there's too many to mention but you know who you are)!
 |
| Food makes me happy! |
I'm going to be posting recipes of what I cook for dinner as well as what we eat out or cool restaurants we go to.
Hope you guys like it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)