Homecooked Tales

05/08/201905/08/2019

POTATO GRATIN

Who doesn’t love the creamy goodness of an old fashioned potato gratin?

1 kilogram of waxy potatoes like Nadine

¾ cup cream

½ cup milk

3 cloves garlic finely chopped or minced

150 grams Gruyere cheese grated

15 grams butter cubed

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 180^oC. Peel and slice potatoes thinly (I used my hand or you can use a mandolin). Place the cream, milk and garlic in a largish pot and season well with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the sliced potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.

Gently transfer half of the potatoes to a baking dish. Cover with half of the cheese, grate some of the nutmeg, add the remaining potatoes and cream mixture and top with remaining cheese. Grate some more nutmeg and top with the cubed butter.

Bake for 40 minutes until golden and bubbling. Leave to sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

05/08/201905/08/2019

MOJITO

When there’s an abundance of limes from the garden, then it’s time for mojitos. The key is to have your limes and mint fresh. This is an easy classic cocktail and yet I have been served flavourless mojitos in bars and the reason being not using the freshest of ingredients.

1 lime

6-8 mint leaves plus a sprig for garnish

2 teaspoons of sugar

60 ml white rum

A splash of soda water

METHOD

Slice the lime into wedges. Place the wedges in a cocktail shaker. Muddle the limes with a muddler or the end of a rolling pin or other such implement until all the juice is extracted. Add mint leaves and sugar and muddle to combine. Add the rum followed by ice and shake. Strain out into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with a splash of soda and finish with sprig of mint.

05/08/201910/08/2026

CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH VODKA

Years ago, on our way to Hanmer Springs, we stopped for lunch at Pegasus Bay Winery. I ordered their cauliflower soup with Pernod and was completely taken with its rich, decadent flavour. Since then, I’ve substituted vodka for the Pernod, and the result is a wonderfully creamy and indulgent soup.

Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower (600–700 g), washed and cut into small florets
1 large potato (about 150 g), peeled and diced
1 large onion (about 150 g), peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
50 g butter
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
30 ml vodka, optional
1½ cups whole milk
1 teaspoon hot English mustard
Salt, to taste
Chopped Italian parsley, to garnish

Method

Melt the butter in a deep saucepan over medium heat. As the butter begins to melt and lightly brown, add the whole garlic cloves and cook for a couple of minutes until softened.
Add the chopped onion and ground white pepper, and cook for another minute.
Add the cauliflower florets and chopped potato. Stir well and allow the vegetables to heat through.
Make a small well in the centre of the vegetables and pour in the vodka. If you wish to flambé it, carefully ignite the vodka with a long match and allow the flame to die out naturally. Take care when flambéing and keep the pan away from any overhead or nearby flames.
Add 3 cups of water and the milk. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower and potato are completely tender.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the mustard and season with salt.
Reserve a few pieces of cooked cauliflower for garnish. Using a hand-held blender, purée the remaining soup until smooth, glossy and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Place a few reserved cauliflower florets in each soup bowl and ladle the hot soup over them. Garnish with chopped Italian parsley.

Serve with grilled cheese toast for a hearty and satisfying lunch.

Serves 6

02/08/201904/08/2019

MOOLI MASALA (RADISH MASALA)

I have adapted this recipe from Atul Kochhar’s “Simple Indian” cookbook. He made this dish with baby turnips but I feel the pink table radish we get here are succulent prepared this way.

400 grams radish, cleaned and trimmed

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon nigella seeds

1 green chilli, chopped

2 centimetre piece of ginger finely chopped

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

5 grams root ginger julienned

Salt to taste

METHOD

Cut the radish into quarters. Heat the oil in a sauté pan, add the nigella seeds, green chilli and ginger, and sauté for 1-2 minutes until the seeds crackle.

Add the radish and powdered spices, and sauté over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped tomato and salt. Cover and cook until the radish are soft.

Sprinkle chopped coriander and ginger julienne over the radish and serve hot as an accompaniment.

Serves 4

02/08/201904/08/2019

SPICY COUSCOUS

Until I started making couscous this way, I did not have a very favourable impression. It always felt dry and stodgy and lacked any real taste. I guarantee this recipe will definitely change your mind like it did mine.

250 grams of wholemeal couscous

1 x 400 grams tin of chick peas drained and rinsed

1 medium sized onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped very fine

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon allspice powder

1 teaspoon chilli powder

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

1 x 400 grams tinned tomatoes

1 green chilli finely chopped

12 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

1 tablespoon finely chopped mint and parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a heavy based fry pan that has a lid. Add onion and cook on a low heat until soft. Then add the garlic, coriander, cumin, all spice, chilli powder and paprika, and mix well. Cook for a couple of minutes, add tomatoes, green chilli and honey. Cook for a few minutes, add a cup of water and let it come up to the boil. Now add the couscous, chick peas and olives. Cover and cook over a low heat until the couscous swells up and is soft. This will take about 5 -10 minutes. Just before serving stir the parsley and mint through. Serves 4 -6.

02/08/201905/08/2019

ZHOUG

A fiery hot chilli relish originally from Yemen but now popular in Israel. It is eaten as an accompaniment to just about everything. I served it up with roast Maryland chicken. This recipe is courtesy of Greg and Lucy Malouf from their Moorish cook book.

4 cardamom pods

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

2 cups fresh coriander, roots removed

4 – 6 red chillies – I did not remove the seeds but you can if you don’t like super-hot relish

6 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

A splash of water

Crush the cardamom pods, peppercorns and caraway seeds in a mortar and pestle, then sift to remove the husks. I used a tea strainer.

Wash and thoroughly dry the coriander. Put the chillies, coriander, garlic, salt and water in a blender, add the spices and mix well. Tip into a jar and seal with 1 tablespoon olive oil. It will keep for around a week in the refrigerator.

Makes 100 ml

TRAY BAKED CHICKEN MARYLAND

A chicken Maryland is a cut of chicken which contains both the drumstick and thigh. It is a great budget-friendly cut to use for a quick roast chicken or in a one-pot wonder meal.

4 pieces chicken maryland cut legs

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Maldon sea salt

Preheat oven to 210^oC or 190^oC fan bake. Rub the vegetable oil on the legs and sprinkle Maldon sea salt liberally. Place legs on a wire rack over an oven tray. Bake in oven for 30 to 35 minutes until done. Serve with couscous and Zhoug. Serves 4.

Schmaltz is the rendered chicken fat which collects in the tray. You can spoon into a small bowl and use it to flavour rice or couscous.

02/08/201905/08/2019

BEETROOT & CARROT VEPUDU

In Andhra Pradesh, the state where I was born vepudu is a common method of cooking vegetables. It literally means fry but the vegetables are not deep fried and the dish is dryish to look as it is eaten with liquid accompaniments like rasam or sambar.

There is sweetness from the carrots and beetroot and a hint of chilli coming through. The vegetables are lovely and juicy and I think it is a colourful accompaniment.

3 large carrots (450 grams) evenly diced to 1 centimetre pieces

3 medium sized beetroots (250 grams) evenly diced to 1 centimetre pieces

1 dried red chilli

1 green chilli finely chopped

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon channa dhal (split chick pea)

3 tablespoons peanut or other vegetable oil

3 tablespoons roasted peanuts

3 tablespoons desiccated coconut

Salt to taste

METHOD

Heat the oil in a heavy based fry pan with a lid. When hot add the channa dhal if using, followed by the red chilli. Allow them to fry slightly for about thirty seconds and then add the green chilli and cumin seeds. When you can smell the cumin seeds, add the beetroot and fry for a minute before adding the carrots. Put the burner to high heat and cover the pan with lid and do not touch for a minute. Then remove the lid, stir to mix and do the same again that is cover with a lid and do not touch for a minute. Then reduce heat to low, add salt and stir to mix. Cover with lid and allow to cook for ten minutes. Fry once more this time remove the lid and allow the moisture to evaporate. Turn off the heat, add the desiccated coconut and the peanuts, mix and serve. Serves 6.

02/08/201905/08/2019

AMMAMMA’S CABBAGE SALAD

My maternal grandmother (Ammamma) passed away when I was very young and I did not have the privilege to know her better. My mother talks of the food she used to prepare very fondly and this is one of my grandmother’s recipe. You need tender baby cabbage the one that has almost soft, buttery leaves.

1 small tender, baby cabbage, washed and dried

100 grams grated coconut (I used frozen coconut)

1 thumb ginger finely chopped

2 green chillies (seeded and finely chopped)

1 shallot finely chopped

Juice from one lemon (about 30 ml)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil like canola

50 grams peanuts (handful)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon channa dhal (split chick pea)

1 dried red chilli

Pinch of asafoetida (optional)

Salt to taste Using a box grater, grate the cabbage. In a large bowl, mix the cabbage with the green chilli, ginger and shallot. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a small fry pan and fry the peanuts until golden brown. This needs to be done on low heat otherwise they burn and taste bitter without the crunch. Once fried, remove and set aside. Put the fry pan on heat again and add the remaining oil to prepare popu (seasoning). Add the channa dhal, followed by mustard seeds. When the channa dhal turns slightly brown, you can also hear the mustard seeds popping, add the red chilli and asafoetida if using. Remove heat as the residual heat is sufficient to fry off the asafoetida and chilli. Just before serving, add the popu (seasoning) along with peanuts to the cabbage mixture. Add salt, lemon juice and adjust seasoning to your taste. Serve immediately. Serves 8 -10.

01/08/2019

WARANGAL 18.0 N 79.58 E

Warangal is a city in the South Indian state of Telengana. It can be easily accessed by road from Hyderabad and while it makes for a long day, like me you can do it as a day trip. We started about 7am and returned home about 10pm. It is about 150 kilometres but can take three hours to get there because of traffic congestion within Hyderabad. It is settled in the Eastern part of the Deccan Plateau made up of granite rocks and hill formations. Summer is very hot and temperature can go as high as 42^oCelsius and so my recommendation is to go in winter where the day is pleasant at 22 to 24^o.

Intricate detail in the thousand pillar temple, Warangal

Visiting Warangal is a lesson in history. Warangal which is a version of Orugallu or Ekshila Nagaram means a “single stone” referring to a huge granite boulder in the Warangal Fort. The city itself was the capital for the Kakatiya rulers who ruled between 12^th to 14^th century AD. When I visited the temples, I was in awe and wondered how it was humanly possible to have the vision to carve, chisel and create exquisite temples with one of the hardest and heaviest materials on earth. Remember there was no automation and nothing to assist the artisan – if the king commissioned you got the inspiration and just did it. They are very inspiring and you are left wonder struck not only at the enormity of the edifices but the detail as well. There are several legends being told about the benevolent rulers. Our guide demonstrated the space between petals by passing a thin coconut fibre through the gap!

Did you know that the Kakatiya’s were the original owners of the Kohinoor diamond? The city of Warangal was captured and looted by the Delhi Sultanate. They destroyed some of the art work within the temples and the broken or defaced elephants are a reminder of this.

Nandi in one of the Shiva temples in Warangal

Warangal is a city of more than million people but it appears most of the business seems to happen in Hyderabad. There are a few decent places to have lunch and we paid about $4 per person including tip for a vegetarian meal.

31/07/201904/08/2019

ORANGE and ALMOND CAKE

It was my son’s birthday over the weekend and I baked this cake. This is my go to cake for any occasion. A friend of mine Trish, gave this recipe about 20 years ago and we love it. It is so moist, easy to prepare and uncomplicated and gluten free. The whole house has a beautiful orange aroma when the cake is in the oven.

6 Eggs

250 grams caster sugar

250 grams ground almonds

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 oranges

Put the oranges and 2 cups of water into a saucepan that has a tight fitting lid. Cover and boil for 2 hours. Check that the oranges don’t boil dry. Once cool, discard the water and cut oranges open. Remove pips and core and purée.

Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Fold in oranges and ground almonds then add baking powder.

Pour into a lined cake tin, preferably with a removable base. I used a 26 centimetres tin. Bake for about 60 minutes at 180°C. Cool in the tin before turning out.

Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.