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.
We all love masala vadas and these are my mum’s speciality. I think she makes the best and the smell wafting from the kitchen is very telling of the spice and crunch that is to follow. You can say they are a bit like falafel in the sense that they are made with 2-3 different kinds of lentils. I have tried making these a few times and until now, they were a flop. The trick is to soak for three hours or so, not grind it too much (pulse a few times) and lastly keep the lentils separate. Follow my tips and you can have mouth-watering vadas at home.
Masala vada
INGREDIENTS
1 cup urad dhal
½ cup channa dhal (split chick peas)
½ cup red lentils
2tbsps finely chopped ginger
2-3 red or green chillies
200g onion chopped
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
METHOD
Combine the channa dhal and red lentils. Rinse well and soak for three hours. Rinse the urad dhal well and soak in a separate bowl for three hours.
After soaking, wash well (a sieve works well) and using a food processor, grind the urad dhal with salt. Pulse and try to grind without adding water. If you must add only a spoonful at a time. Remove and set aside.
In the same food processor bowl, grind the channa dhal and lentils along with chillies and ginger. Add salt to taste and pulse. The lentils should be combined and half of them will be left whole and this is okay.
Heat oil to 180 degrees C (or if you add a small piece of lentil, it should spring up to the top immediately) in a kadai or a small sauce pan. Section the urad dhal and lentils mix into three equal portions. In a separate small bowl, combine one section of urad dhal and lentils mix. Mix in a third of your chopped onions.
Masala Vada
Wet the palm of your less dominant hand and shape a small lime sized mix into a patty or vada. You can also use a banana leaf or a plastic sheet instead of your palm. You want them fairly thin – too thick means they will take longer to cook and also won’t be as crunchy. Slide the vada very gently and carefully into the hot oil. Repeat with the remaining. Fry till golden (can take up to two minutes on each side) and serve hot. Makes about 30 medium sized ones.
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.
A lot of people say they don’t like tofu. Ten years back that was me. The thing about tofu is that it has no flavour of its own and happily take on whatever flavour you throw at it. There are several types of tofu – silken, soft, firm, extra firm, marinated, etc.
For this dish, I took inspiration from Adam Liaw’s recipe. This is simple, easy and you can put it together in ten minutes.
Silken tofu
INGREDIENTS
300g silken tofu
75g onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped
3tbsps vegetable oil
1tsp sesame oil
2tsps soy sauce
Pinch of sugar
Finely chopped spring onion for garnish
METHOD
Invert the silken tofu onto two or three layers of kitchen paper while you work on the next step.
Put the vegetable oil on medium low heat in a small saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and fry on medium heat for 10 minutes until lightly browned. Mix in the soy sauce and pinch of sugar along with the sesame oil.
Discard the kitchen paper and unmould by inverting the silken tofu onto a serving platter. Spoon the onion mixture on top of the tofu and drizzle the liquid evenly onto the tofu. Garnish with the spring onions and serve at room temperature.
I don’t have much of a sweet tooth – I prefer savoury stuff any day and these are perfect with a cup of coffee and great to take on a picnic.
You can use pesto or Branston pickles instead of tomato relish.
Tomato & cheese scrolls
INGREDIENTS
DOUGH
400g strong bread flour
8g salt
7g instant dry yeast (contents of one packet)
15g olive oil
250ml water
Additional flour for dusting
FILLING
5-6 tbsps tomato relish
150g tasty or any sharp tasting cheese, grated
Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
METHOD
Place flour, salt, yeast and oil in a large bowl and mix together. Add the water and using a wooden spoon, combine to form a dough mass. Tip dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10 -15 minutes, resting it for 1 minute every 2-3 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for approximately 45 minutes, until almost double in size.
Tip dough onto the work surface and gently deflate by folding it a few times. Return it to the bowl, cover and let rest again for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 220 degrees C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Tip one portion onto a well-floured work surface and roll out to about 30cm x 25cm.
Spread the tomato relish up to half way through your rolled out dough. Sprinkle the cheese to cover the relish. Gently roll the dough like you would roll a carpet. Using a sharp knife, cut cross-ways about 3 centimetre wide scrolls. You should get between 8 -10 scrolls. Lay them on the baking tray and cover with the kitchen towel. Let them prove for another 30 minutes. Repeat with the other portion.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush immediately with olive oil and place on a wire rack to cool.
This is a delicious dessert and I have substituted most of the cream with yoghurt and hung yoghurt making it relatively light. To prepare 300 millilitres of hung yoghurt, spoon 600 millilitres of plain unsweetened yoghurt onto a muslin cloth. I tie mine overnight to the kitchen faucet and you have thick hung yoghurt by the time you wake in the morning.
The roasted nectarine recipe is adapted from Peter Gordon’s book “A World in My Kitchen”.
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 reckon every household in Andhra makes a variation of this dish. The word “Pulusu” denotes a sauce made with tamarind. Thiyya pulusu is mixed vegetables in a sweet and sour sauce. In Andhra Pradesh, it is served alongside plain dhal and rice. You can use any seasonal vegetables of your choice but the classic combination always includes pumpkin, kumara (sweet potato) and drumstick. You can use choko, eggplant, okra, beans, cooking melon, etc.
