a commonsense approach to eating well, living well and travelling
Thiyya Gavallu literally translate to sweet shells. Store bought ones pale in comparison to homemade ones. This is an Andhra sweet and is like a sugar dipped dough nut. My grandmother used to make them and I have her shaping device but if you don’t have any such contraption, you can use the back of a fork.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour or standard flour
2 tablespoons ghee
Oil to fry
This is a traditional Indian sweet that I made for Diwali a few days back and it was well appreciated by the family.
Around Diwali, I reminisce about my own childhood memories of this festival with a huge smile. Diwali is about wearing new clothes, decorating the house with as many oil lamps as you can manage, eating a feast and then fireworks. A month prior to Diwali, the preparations for making our own rockets, flower pots and pencils would start. We had a real chemistry lesson patiently delivered by my father. We lived on a University campus and would always have competitions with neighbours. Now we all know better and it is good everyone is keeping away from fireworks because of pollution. The spiritual significance of Diwali is to try to distinguish the truth from lies, illumine our minds from darkness with light and realize the oneness of energy in all living beings. It is believed that the spirits of our ancestors return on the night of Diwali and the fireworks are an offering to their spirits.
There isn’t ever a dessert course in a traditional Indian cuisine. Sweets and other sweet things are served alongside and in some regional cuisines they are eaten at the start of a meal. It is good to have some of these sweet treats as part of your repertoire so you can create an authentic Indian dining experience.
INGREDIENTS
1 and a ½ cups sugar (frozen is fine)
Pies (the meat kind I mean) could very easily be the national dish of New Zealand. I don’t know how true this statistic is, but on an average every New Zealander eats 17 pies a year. I don’t know who is eating our family’s share!!! I have never come across a vegetarian pie that looks good enough to make me want to try. So I have been on a quest to develop a vegetarian pie that is bursting with flavour and I think I have just the recipe for you.
This mushroom pie is so delicious and using dried as well as fresh mushrooms makes it yummy and flavourful. This is great as a family meal or you could do individual ones as a first course for a dinner party. I used store bought butter puff pastry (Edmonds) but you could just as easily make your own with a bit of planning.
INGREDIENTS
750g butter puff pastry
5-10g dried mushrooms (like porcini)
125ml boiling water
60g butter
1 leek, finely sliced into half moons
1 small carrot, finely diced
1 stick celery, finely diced
1 sprig thyme
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.
INGREDIENTS
400g prawn meat
2 shallots, finely chopped
A handful of coriander leaves and tender stems, coarsely chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
1 tsp mayonnaise
If I remember correctly, it was Christmas break 1990– we went to Thames and it rained every day. The most memorable part of that trip was eating cream and jam filled scones straight from the oven with a cup of tea. I know some scones are just so stodgy and tough – this could be because of overmixing. My daughter is somewhat of an expert in scone making and she reckons I taught her but I’ve never made scones until now. In fact, my daughter kind of showed me her technique which I will share with you.
Cheese and onion is a classic combination if you ask me. I always like to add a touch of cayenne to make them extra savoury. Use a sharp tasting cheese like cheddar. You can easily double the recipe if you are making for a crowd.
INGREDIENTS
3 onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons oil, for frying the onions
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups grated cheddar or tasty cheese, plus extra for topping
300ml milk plus extra for brushing on top
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.
INGREDIENTS
2 x 400g canned black beans, drained and rinsed well
100g red onions finely chopped
100g corn kernels
150g grated melting cheese
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.
INGREDIENTS
400g chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
200g fresh spinach
200g onions, finely chopped
2 medium sized tomatoes
3 tablespoons oil
2 cardamom pods
5-6 cm piece of cinnamon
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
Continue reading “MURG SAAGWALA – CHICKEN & SPINACH INDIAN STYLE”
One of my favourite South East Asian salad is Som Tum. Traditionally it is made with green papaya but here I made with kohl rabi and carrot. It is such a classic and if you get green papaya do try, although kohl rabi works well too. The salad is slightly acidic, a little sweet from palm sugar, a little sour from tamarind contrasting the crunchy kohl rabi, green beans and peanuts.
INGREDIENTS
1 kohl rabi about 450g
100g carrot
1 heaped teaspoon brown sugar
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ – 1 finely chopped bird’s eye chilli
8-10 French beans, halved lengthways
I love pumpkin – they are so versatile. Suitable for sweet or savoury dishes and lends well to all manner of cuisines and cooking methods. There are a few months during summer when pumpkins are in short supply and I do miss them. Pumpkins have become one of my staples that I buy each week.
This is one of my mum’s recipes.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups plain natural yoghurt (Greek style)
200g pumpkin, peeled and grated
1 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1-2 green chillies, chopped
2 tablespoons desiccated coconut threads
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 dried red chilli halved
½ teaspoon urad dhal (optional)
10-12 curry leaves (optional)
Salt to taste
METHOD
In a small fry pan, toast the cumin seeds. Place the toasted cumin seeds, green chillies and desiccated coconut in a spice grinder and blend to a fine powder. Mix this spice powder into the yoghurt, season with salt and whisk until smooth and creamy.
Heat the ghee in a fry pan and gently fry the grated pumpkin on medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Once cool, mix it in with the yoghurt.
Heat the oil in a small sauce pan. Add the urad dhal if using and let it become light brown. Now throw in the red chilli, followed by mustard seeds. Stir well with a spoon. When the mustard seeds start popping, add the curry leaves if using and remove from heat.
Pour the seasoning over the raita. Serve with rice and dhal as a side dish or to accompany parathas.
Serves 3-4
I adapted these coriander flatbreads from King Arthur Baking Company’s recipe collection. It is kind of a wet dough and don’t be alarmed as they roll easily with a dusting of plain flour. I served mine with an herbed yoghurt (dill, mint, and lemon rind and lemon juice, sweetened with honey). Personally I feel they are a cross between Indian Nan and flat bread.
INGREDIENTS
½ cup warm water
½ teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
200g atta or fine whole wheat flour