Koftas are fried dumplings usually made with vegetables like bottle gourd or paneer or meat and cooked in a rich tomato and cream sauce. Everyone loves the rich creaminess of malai kofta. I wasn’t sure if a vegan version would be good enough. Surprisingly this version got the tick from the family. I don’t favour vegan cheese or vegan cream. I always feel it has a lingering after taste. That’s why in my no cream, no paneer version, I made with cashew nuts and tofu. Trust me, no one would be able to sniff the tofu and will convert even the worst sceptic.
I reckon you can make fritters with just about anything – a case in point are my pea fritters. They have edamame beans as well as kale – so I feel this is a complete meal. They are quick and easy that is take less than 45 minutes from start to finish.
Pea fritters with tomato chilli jam
INGREDIENTS
250g frozen peas, divided (thawed)
150g edamame beans, thawed
2-3 cloves garlic
1 red onion, finely chopped
50g kale, chopped
20 mint leaves
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
30g corn flour
30g rice flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for pan frying
METHOD
Put the edamame beans and 100 grams of the frozen peas in a food processor along with garlic, mint and kale. Add salt and pepper. Process for a minute or so until it is more than coarsely ground but not too smooth. Mix in the remaining peas and pulse for a few seconds so the peas are broken but still retain most of the shape. Remove to a bowl. Stir in the finely chopped onion and set aside.
Whisk the eggs with the corn flour, rice flour and baking powder. Fold in the pea mixture. Heat a pan and add a tablespoon of mixture to the pan in batches. Spoon a little oil on each fritter so it does not stick to the pan. Press down to flatten slightly and continue frying both sides on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until brown on both sides. Depending on size of your pan, you can do three to four fritters at a time. Repeat until all mixture has been fried. Makes 12 fritters. Serve with tomato relish.
Dhansak is the most well-known Parsi dish. The Parsis fled to India from Persia to avoid religious persecution in the 13th century. Quite a few Parsis settled on the Western Coast in Gujarat as well as in Mumbai.
It is often eaten on Sunday lunch and the word Dhansak literally translates to rice and vegetables. It is a stew of sorts and don’t be put off by the many ingredients – it comes together easily and you will have plenty of leftovers. I made a vegetarian version by simply omitting the chicken and replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock.
Dhansak (vegetarian)
INGREDIENTS
1.2kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut in half)
150g red lentils
50g split mung beans
100g channa dhal (split chick pea)
50g tamarind pulp
7cms piece of ginger, peeled and chopped fine
6 plump garlic cloves, peeled and chopped fine
300g onions, chopped
200g pumpkin, peeled and chopped
150g eggplant, chopped
150g potato, chopped
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 cup coriander leaves
20 leaves fresh mint
4tbsps vegetable oil or ghee
2tsps dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
300g tomatoes, chopped
1tbsp brown sugar
6 green chillies
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1tbsp coriander powder
2tsps Dhansak masala (available in Indian grocer or recipe given below)
1tbsp Parsi sambar masala (recipe given below)
2 cups chicken stock or water
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste
METHOD
Rinse all the lentils and soak in water for half an hour. Soak the tamarind in 50ml hot water.
In a large cooking pot, put the soaked lentils along with onions and other vegetables, turmeric, half of the ginger and garlic, a couple of tablespoons of coriander leaves and half the mint leaves. Pour in a couple of cups of water and simmer until the lentils are very soft. You may add additional water if it is drying out.
Use a stick blender and liquidize until it is creamy. Season with salt.
Make Parsi sambar masala mix by mixing 1tsp fenugreek powder, ¾ tsp mustard powder, ½ tablespoon chilli powder and ¾ teaspoon ground pepper.
Make Dhansak masala mix by combining 2tsps garam masala, ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice powder and a couple of pinches of ground nutmeg.
While the lentils are cooking, heat the ghee or oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Fry the remaining chopped ginger, garlic, coriander leaves, mint leaves, dried fenugreek leaves, Parsi sambar masala, dhansak masala and cumin and coriander powders. Fry continuously for two minutes. Add the green chillies and tomatoes and fry for a further two minutes. Toss in the chicken thighs, increase heat to high and sauté for a few more minutes.
Chicken dhansak
Squeeze the tamarind pulp out of the soaked tamarind.
Add the lentil mix to the chicken along with the chicken stock, a cup at a time to check on consistency. Add the brown sugar, tamarind water and salt. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Squeeze lime juice and serve with steamed basmati rice. Serves 8 as a main.
When you feel like a no fuss, one pot dish for dinner, this is perfect as it is easy and tasty too. You can replace the kale with spinach.
Israeli couscous with kale and fried egg
INGREDIENTS
450g Israeli couscous
50g red onion, finely chopped
4 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
100g of kale or cavalo nero, rib removed and finely chopped
2tbsps currants
2 sundried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped
5tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp za’atar seasoning
1 tsp ground sumac
3 cups hot water
4tsps lemon or lime juice
2tsps harissa
Salt and pepper to taste
4 large eggs
METHOD
In a small bowl combine the lime juice with harissa. In another small bowl, combine the sumac with za’ atar. Set aside.
In a large sauce pan over medium, heat 4 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Add the couscous and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, 3-4 minutes.
Pour in ½ cup of the hot water and cook, stirring, until most of the water is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Repeat this 3 more times. On the fourth time, add the garlic, kale, currants, salt and pepper. Mix in well after adding the last half cup of hot water. You should have cooked the couscous for a total of 15 minutes or so and the couscous has a bite but cooked. Taste and check for seasoning. Stir in the sundried tomatoes and onion and continue cooking for a further minute. Turn the heat off and keep warm.
In another fry pan over medium, add a teaspoon of oil. Crack an egg and cook for about 3 minutes until the whites are set but yolks are runny. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
Divide the couscous among four bowls. Top with a fried egg and add a generous sprinkling of sumac mixture. Drizzle the harissa mixture too. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
This red pepper salad is vibrant and elegant and complements not only this cheese entrée but also pan fried fish. You may want to see my dory fillets with this salad which I posted a few months back.
I do get a bit irked when people refer to these Indian flat breads as “Naan bread”. Naan implies it is a flat bread and there is no need to say naan bread, just as there is no need to say chai tea or roti bread.
Normally naan is baked in a tandoor (clay pot oven) but my recipe has been adapted for regular oven. Pizza stone or pizza steel works well but I had neither so just used baking trays.
This is a recipe that requires time for proving so allow yourself enough time.
I hadn’t heard of pumpkin soup until I came to this country. In the late 80’s, sometimes pumpkins were given free and even now, thirty years later they are still wallet friendly and have loads of goodness in them.
I didn’t have a clue how to cut a pumpkin and had an accident on my first effort. I still have a scar on my left thumb to remind me how not to do it. If you are pumpkin challenged and you are preparing for soup, stick the piece in the microwave for a couple of minutes to soften the skin. This way peeling is safer!
There are several variations of pumpkin soup and this is a simple one using 4 ingredients and some spices.
Pumpkin soup
INGREDIENTS
1 – 1.2kg crown pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed and cut into 3-4cm chunks
A little tangy, a little spicy and a little sweet is how I would describe a prawn sambal. The ready to use sambal pastes you get in the supermarket are a bland version of this Malaysian dish packed with punchy flavours. The recipe is straightforward and because the prawns don’t need a whole lot of time to cook, the dish comes together in 45 minutes.
It has been nearly ten years now, but I have a great food memory of eating beetroot cured salmon in a pub in St Albans, England. It was delicious and always thought it to be complicated. Here is a step by step guide to preparing cured salmon and you realise it is so easy. You have to plan in advance as it takes 2 days to cure – you can serve it as a cold main on a hot summer’s day or as an appetizer on rye bread with some pickles. I serve it with radish pickles and potato chokta.
Beetroot Cured Salmon with pickled radish
1kg boneless salmon fillet preferably the loin part
For as long as I remember, after breakfast, my mother or grandmother would forage for greens in our garden or the neighbourhood. We always had to have greens on the menu at lunch time. It is only natural that any edible greens were treated as a bonus and among unusual things my mum cooked, remember radish greens or moringa (drumstick) greens. In the same tradition, I have started using the beet greens – sometimes I cook on their own and smother it with roasted peanuts. This variation is spicy, nourishing (incidentally beet greens are high in iron and other essential vitamins and minerals) and so easy to make.
