All through South East Asia as well as in India, little patties or cakes are made from minced sea food be it fish, prawns or a combination. These are most often served as a snack or an appetizer. They are so moreish I often tell myself I should have made more!! Three are never enough!!
When you make with fish, use any firm white fish fillets. I often buy a big pack of prawn meat offcuts from the freezer section and use the off cuts to make these cakes.
Asian Flavoured Prawn Cakes
INGREDIENTS
400g prawn meat
2 shallots, finely chopped
A handful of coriander leaves and tender stems, coarsely chopped
Quesadillas are very popular with kids and adults alike. They are easy to put together and we love these vegetarian options for a quick weekend lunch. You can use a flat grilled sandwich press or do it old school, in a pan. If you use the pan method, use a spatula to press down firmly.
Bean quesadillas
INGREDIENTS
2 x 400g canned black beans, drained and rinsed well
I know there are several variations of this dish but I tried to create a creamy one without using cream. In some variations, I notice that the spinach loses its vibrancy and can be gritty so I created the dish where part of the spinach is pureed and the rest is added in the end. In India, Saag will often be made from mustard greens, silverbeet or other greens but I’ve used spinach. You can adjust the number of green chillies based on how hot they are and also your heat tolerance. The curry is not meant to be hot – kind of flavourful and spicy with a touch of chilli heat.
I’ve made variations of a vegetarian shepherd’s pie for a long time now. The kids loved the idea of a shepherd’s pie albeit vegetarian. I have modified the recipe over the years and this version is filling, satisfying and absolutely scrumptious even though I say so myself. I also stopped calling it shepherd’s pie and started calling it grower’s pie to reflect the meatless nature of this pie.
Grower’s pie
INGREDIENTS
For the filling:
400g tin of lentils
400g tin of beluga lentils
400g tin of kidney beans, drained, rinsed and mashed
Back in the day, I used to make my own paneer (it kind of resembles and tastes like ricotta) and it used to be quite the ritual of weighing the paneer down overnight with a tower of cans. Now like everyone else, I use store bought paneer.
Paneer is versatile because it absorbs the flavours of whatever sauce you are using. Mattar is peas in Hindi so this dish is peas with paneer in a thick tomato sauce. It is really nice with rotis, puris or any flatbread.
Mattar Paneer
INGREDIENTS
300g paneer
450g peas (frozen is fine)
150g onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons ghee
5cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
2-3 plump cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½-1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin seed powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
60ml cream
Salt to taste
For the sauce
100g onion, chopped
100g carrot, peeled and chopped
300g tinned tomatoes
1 red chilli
1 tablespoon oil
METHOD
To prepare the sauce heat the oil in a small saucepan. Fry the onions and carrots for 3-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chilli and 200ml water. Let it come up to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Once cool enough blitz in a food processor or a stick blender. Set aside.
Heat the ghee in a kadai or sauté pan. Fry the onions on low heat for 12-15 minutes until they are pale brown.
Pound the ginger and garlic in a mortar and pestle. Toss this paste into the onions and continue frying for 2-3 minutes. Add the turmeric, chilli powder, and cumin and coriander powders. Keep frying and when it starts sticking to the bottom of pan, add a couple of tablespoons of water. Fry the spice off for a couple of minutes.
Tip the sauce into the kadai and season with salt. Cover with a lid and allow to cook for 8-10 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, cut the paneer block into 16-20 pieces. Soak in warm water.
Soak frozen peas in water and change the water a couple of times. This way when you add to the sauce, they will retain their bright green colour.
At the end of cooking time, add the peas and paneer. Cook for a couple of minutes before stirring in the cream. Continue on the heat for a further minute or so.
This was a dish I used to make on a regular basis when the kids were younger. It’s a mild and creamy curry popular with adults and kids alike. My good friend Mini, asked if I could send her the recipe – I realized I hadn’t prepared this in over ten years! It was my concoction, so I recreated the recipe and my son vouched that it tastes like what it used to.
Please do try as I am sure it will become one of your favourites too.
Creamy Mushroom masala
INGREDIENTS
500g mushrooms
250g onion, divided
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 tablespoons ghee
½ teaspoon caraway seeds or shah jeera
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
½ teaspoon chilli powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
60ml cream
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish
1 teaspoon liquid honey
1 tablespoon oil
1 clove
1 fresh red chilli, slit in half, optional
2 tomatoes (I used tinned tomatoes)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3-4 roots and stalks of fresh coriander, finely chopped
METHOD
Chop 100g of the onion and finely dice the remaining and set aside. To make the sauce, heat oil in a saucepan, add the clove and let it fry gently. Toss in the red chilli and chopped onion and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and half cup water. Let it simmer for 20 minutes. Blitz using a stick blender and when cool enough sieve the sauce through a fine sieve and set aside.
Wipe the mushrooms and if too large, cut in halves or quarters. Heat the ghee in a kadai and add the caraway seeds. When they splutter, toss the garlic and then the finely chopped onion. After frying for two minutes, add the mushrooms. Mix well so mushrooms are coated in the onion mix. Cover with a lid and let sizzle on medium high heat for a couple of minutes. Stir in the garam masala, turmeric and chilli powder along with salt. Cover and cook for a few more minutes. When you see water in the kadai, remove the lid and evaporate most of the water.
Stir in the prepared tomato sauce along with the honey. Let it simmer gently for 4 or 5 minutes. Pour in the cream. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cook for a further minute and turn off the heat.
Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with rice and roti.
This dish is like a fried rice and wanted to call this “not fried rice but fried millet”. Millet is really so versatile and I use it like couscous or bulgur. Do try and let me know what you think.
When you think of kebab, you often picture meat on a skewer or stick which in India is also referred to as Sheek Kebab. The other type of kebab is a Shami kebab where it is a ground meat patty mixed with spices and besan or chick pea powder and sautéed.
This recipe is a plant based version of a Shami kebab. I used tinned chick peas and the spices are pantry essentials!
Chick pea & pumpkin kebabs
INGREDIENTS
800g tinned chick peas rinsed and drained
300g pumpkin, peeled and grated
150g onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
1 tablespoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
½ tablespoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garam masala
4 tablespoons chick pea flour (besan)
Salt to taste
Oil for shallow frying
FOR THE MINT & YOGHURT SAUCE
2 generous handfuls of mint
1-2 green chillies, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt to taste
300g Greek style yoghurt
METHOD
Mash the chick peas with your hands, making a semi coarse mixture which is not too smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Rest for 15-20 minutes. Form into 20 golf sized balls and flatten to form round kebabs or patties. If your mixture is too wet or breaks, add more chick pea flour.
Chickpea and pumpkin kebabs
Shallow fry the kebabs in medium hot oil until crisp and browned on both sides. Serve with mint yogurt sauce. Serves 4.
For the mint and yoghurt sauce
Place all ingredients except yoghurt in a blender. Blend well to a puree. Add the yoghurt and pulse a couple of seconds and your sauce is ready.
Phanaeng or Phanang or Panang is a type of Thai red curry that is a little sweet, salty and nutty. It is generally made with meat but my version is a vegan one. I used soy sauce instead of fish sauce. This is great served with sticky rice and a side of greens.
You might think chick peas and Puy lentils as an unusual combination to say the least, and throw in bulgur to the mix. I assure you it works well and makes a very hearty meal.
Spicy soup with chick peas and Puy lentils
I make stock at home and of late been adding coriander stems as well as leek tops and the stock is just bursting with flavour. I do recommend making your own stock at home as it is so much more flavourful plus no nasties in the ingredients list! I mention here because your soup is only as good as the stock you use!
