Japanese curry is served in three forms – curry rice (simply referred to as curry), curry udon (noodles) and curry bread. You guessed it, curry was introduced from India by the British and is extremely popular in Japanese cuisine.
Katsu is simply a cutlet, crumbed and deep fried and put in a curry sauce. Mine is a vegan version and I shallow fried the tofu. I know, I wax lyrical about tofu because it is so versatile and a great bearer of flavours. So do try this curry as it is very different to Indian curries.
I served mine with medium grain rice which is naturally sticky. After cooking, I mixed through cut spring onions and poured a few drops of sesame oil on each serve.
There is no typo here!! If you love mustard flavour as much as my family does, this is the ultimate taste explosion. Broccoli belongs to the mustard family (Brassica or Cruciferae) and so does cauliflower – initially thought it would not be balanced but let me reassure you that this was an instant hit and it’ll become your favourite way to serve. I used mustard oil – very distinct aroma of mustard and you can get in any Indian store. This recipe uses mustard oil, wholegrain mustard and hot English mustard plus broccoli and cauliflower.
I served this as a vegetarian first course / starter. Please do try as you will not be disappointed.
Malaysian cuisine is a melting pot of traditions from its Malay, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and ethnic Bornean citizens, with heavy to light influences from Thai, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabian cuisines and British cuisines, to name a few. The condiments and spices used in cooking varies and this results in strong regional nuances.
There are two types of laksa: curry laksa and asam laksa. Curry laksa is a coconut milk curry soup with noodles, while asam laksa is a sour, most often tamarind-based, soup with noodles. I have tried to keep this vegan, (took inspiration from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty More) and so did not use any of the traditional seasonings like shrimp paste. Here is my take on the classic.
In India, poha (rice flakes) is a staple breakfast in many households because it is quick to prepare. Just soak poha in water for fifteen minutes and it is ready. Poha is unique because rice is flaked in the husk and handmade following traditional methods. Poha is the name of the dish as well as the name for rice flakes in Hindi.
My Amma (mum) likes to make sure there is enough protein in each meal and this is one of her recipes where she uses poha the same way you would use rice in rice salad. It is a lovely, gluten free and vegan lunch dish.
One of the reasons I love winter is because you can make a hearty soup that warms the body and soul. You kind of feel good tucking into a bowl of wholesome soup because you know it is very nourishing. I love to experiment not only with different flavour combinations but also incorporate beans or lentils or grains for the protein.
When I was growing up I hated cooked carrots, felt that they have a smell and it is more pronounced on cooking. Luckily I got over that and carrots cooked or raw are absolutely delicious. The soup is a bit different in the sense that I cooked the lentils separately.
A piece of trivia for you – I always thought chick peas were native to the Indian subcontinent but now know that they were grown in Turkey about 8000 BC!!
Tagine or Tajine is a North African Maghreb dish which is named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. Algerian and Moroccan tagine dishes are slow-cooked savory stews, typically made with sliced meat, poultry or fish together with vegetables or fruit. Spices, nuts, and dried fruits are also used. Common spices include ginger, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and saffron. Paprika and chili are used in vegetable tajines.
My version is a vegan one (omit the feta cheese as topping) and it is a one pot dish cooked over a couple of hours in the oven. Unfortunately, you can’t put the oven on timer and wander off as you need to stir once in a while and add the herbs in between! It is very flavourful and the prunes breakdown giving a bit of sauce and also makes the stew rich and gooey.
Chick pea tagine style
INGREDIENTS
400g dried chick peas, rinsed and soaked in lightly salted water overnight
This is my take on the Vietnamese classic Cha Ca La Vong. Cha Ca means grilled fish and “La Vong” was inspired by a local statue of Jiang Ziya, also known as Lu Wang (pronounced as La Vong in Vietnamese), the fisherman-turned-politician who symbolized the potential for patient, talented people.
I just love the combination of ingredients – fish that is flavoured with turmeric, lemon grass, tamarind and fish sauce and served with soft cold noodles, fresh and vibrant herbs and some crunchy peanuts. I used our local New Zealand fish warehou but any white fleshed firm fish like blue cod would work well.
Vietnamese Style Fried Fish with turmeric & herbs
INGREDIENTS
750 – 800g of firm white fish like monk or warehou or ling fillets
1 heaped teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons crushed lemon grass (I used ground frozen lemon grass)
A Canadian colleague of mine gave me this recipe a few years back. I have modified it (reduced butter, sugar and made it gluten free) and managed to retain the taste integrity. When the kids were younger and had to take something for a bake sale or whatever, I used to make these brownies and they were a big hit. They are good enough to be served up slightly warm for dessert with a scoop of ice cream and a bit of chocolate sauce.
INGREDIENTS
200g butter
½ cup white sugar
1 cup dark brown cane sugar
¾ cup cocoa
3 eggs
½ cup oats, powdered
¼ cup ground linseed (flaxseed)
1/3 cup ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing sugar for dusting
METHOD
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Butter a 23cm x 33 cm (9 x 13 inch) baking pan.
Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Add sugar and cocoa, stirring constantly. The mixture should look glossy. Remove from heat but keep stirring to cool slightly. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating before adding the next one in.
In a separate bowl, combine the oat powder, ground almonds and linseed (flaxseed) and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture in the saucepan. Stir in vanilla.
Pour mixture into the prepared tray. Bake for 30 minutes or 35 minutes or until the crust is firm and resistant to pressure. Check about every minute after 30 minutes as brownies easily overbake.
Remove from oven and let cool completely in the tray. Once cool dust with icing sugar and cut into squares.
Aash or Aush is a staple in Persian cuisine. Generally made with two unique ingredients reshteh a type of thin noodle and kashk which is a whey like fermented product. There are about 50 types of this soup and generally made during autumn and winter. My recipe has been adapted from Sabrina Ghayour’s book “Bazaar”. Please do try as it is wholesome and super delicious. Prepping the herbs takes a long time!
I buy a big bunch of bananas every week – some weeks everyone wants to use it for a breakfast smoothie and some weeks they just get riper and riper. What do you do with over ripe bananas – I make tofu puddings (great as a start to the day or end the night on a slightly sweet note) or this banana cake with over ripe bananas. This is a bit different in the sense that I have used a combination of stone ground wholemeal flour and buckwheat flour. Cocoa and LSA (linseed, sunflower and almond powder) added to the richness. If you don’t have LSA, use just linseed powder. Do try this recipe and let me know how you go.
Banana Chocolate Cake
INGREDIENTS
150g soft butter
1 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons dark brown cane sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 over ripe bananas, mashed
½ cup plain yoghurt, whisked
¾ cup wholemeal flour
¾ cup buckwheat flour
½ cup LSA
¼ cup good quality cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
METHOD
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Butter a 23cm round spring form cake tin.
Cream the butter and sugar, and beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.
Combine the flours and the baking powder plus soda. Sift and mix in with the dark brown cane sugar, LSA and cocoa.
Fold the flours into the egg mixture, a third at a time, alternating with the mashed bananas and the yoghurt.
Bake in the oven for 45 -50 minutes. You know that the cake is done when a knife pierced in comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to rest in pan for 15-20 minutes before turning it upside down onto serving platter.
You can jazz this up by icing with chocolate or keep it plain by dusting with icing sugar. You can serve with whipped mascarpone or crème fraiche or unsweetened natural Greek yoghurt.
