a commonsense approach to eating well, living well and travelling
This is home cooking at its best – not very creamy or buttery. The spices, tomato paste and yoghurt add the required richness. There is not too much sauce or “gravy” with the kadai chicken.
INGREDIENTS
800 grams boneless chicken thighs
6-8 green cardamom pods
2.5cms cinnamon quills
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 star anise
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
Rajma and rice is a very popular dish in India and each family would have their own version. Red kidney beans are little powerhouses of nutrition – they are low GI, high in fibre (the cholesterol lowering kind), complex carbohydrates and iron. When combined with whole grains such as rice, kidney beans provide high quality protein. So all the more reason to make rajma part of your repertoire.
INGREDIENTS
300 grams red kidney beans
7-8 centimetres ginger, divided
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
150 grams onions, peeled and chopped
200 grams tomatoes, chopped
1-2 bay leaves
Dhal or dal traditionally is made with toor dhal. Sometimes it is roasted and then cooked in the pressure cooker. This particular recipe is unusual in the sense that the dhal is made with urad dhal and most of the cooking is done while roasting with ghee. There is very little water used, most of the liquid needed is from tomatoes and onions. It is thick and delicious and is a satisfying plant based meal when served with brown rice.
INGREDIENTS
140 grams urad dhal, rinsed
100 grams moong dhal, rinsed
600 grams onions thinly sliced
80 grams ghee or clarified butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
80 grams ginger, peeled and finely chopped
INGREDIENTS
750 grams asparagus
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
20 snow peas
200 grams broad beans, frozen
450 grams shelled edamame beans, frozen
2 ripe avocados
1 garlic clove
5-6 small table radishes, cut in half lengthwise
Continue reading “SPRING VEGETABLES ON EDAMAME &AVOCADO MASH”
Most non Spaniards consider paella as a national dish but Spaniards attribute this to Valencia. Moors in Muslim Spain started rice cultivation since 10th century. Rice has been made into casseroles using fish and spices since then and it really symbolizes the union of two cultures – Roman and Arabic.
To make a good paella, you need to use Bomba rice, saffron and really good full bodied stock. I feel your paella is only as good as your stock. If you don’t have a paella pan, use a stainless steel pan but do not use cast iron or non-stick pans. If you use a heavy bottomed pan, you will not get the very desirable soccarat. Soccarat is the rice that gets crunchy and forms a crust at the bottom of the pan.
INGREDIENTS
200 grams monk fish fillets, cut into 5cm pieces
200 grams mussels, remove beards and scrub the shells
300 grams large prawns with their tails intact
250 grams bomba or calasparra rice
This is not a curry per se, at best it is Indian flavours matched with French cookery.
INGREDIENTS
350 grams brown onions, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon of finely chopped coriander stems
1 large red chilli, chopped (remove seeds if you wish)
3 centimetre piece of ginger, finely chopped
Continue reading “DECONSTRUCTED FISH CURRY WITH PAN ROASTED EGGPLANT”
Sometimes spelt Gong Bao, this is a spicy stir fried chicken dish with its origins in Sichuan province of south west China. The Sichuan peppercorns are a bit numbing but the combination of crunchy peanuts and juicy spring onions, complement the juicy chicken. I have adapted this recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop’s version in Every Grain of Rice.
INGREDIENTS
400 grams chicken thigh fillets, cut into 1 cm cubes
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 thumb ginger, finely sliced
Beans are used in a number of ways in Italy and I have taken inspiration from the flavours of Mediterranean when creating this recipe. It is hearty enough to serve on its own with crusty bread but it is also an excellent accompaniment to fish.
INGREDIENTS
250 grams dried small lima beans or 2 x 450 grams tin of any white beans, drained (save the liquid) and rinsed
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed, halved, cored and finely chopped
This pasta is great for lunch. You can even make it a weekday office lunch too but be sure to pack the chick peas separately and sprinkle them on top.
INGREDIENTS
1 broccoli, cut into medium sized florets
250 grams gnocchette
25 grams butter
3 shallots, sliced thinly
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
Continue reading “GNOCHETTE WITH BROCCOLI & PUFFED CHICKPEAS”
There are a lot of flavours in common when it comes to Mexican and Indian cuisine. Yes the extensive use of cumin, coriander, chilli and tomato come to mind but there are some lesser known ones like tamarind that feature regularly in both the cuisines. I was fascinated and looked into this and learnt that when the Spanish colonized Mexico, they introduced flavours like tamarind, sesame through the Moorish / African influence.
INGREDIENTS
For the filling
400 grams paneer, grated
1 x 400 grams tin of black beans, drained, rinsed and mashed lightly