a commonsense approach to eating well, living well and travelling
Chaat meets Nachos – East meets West in this dish. This fusion really works – I used corn chips instead of papadi and created “Chaachos”. To add to the authenticity of chaat, I used ragda instead of refried beans, tamarind sauce and of course coriander chutney. Incidentally tamarind is used in Mexican cooking.
FOR THE RAGDA
INGREDIENTS
200 grams dried white peas (safed vatana)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
6-8 curry leaves
These are my favourite dumplings. The origins are a bit sketchy but the name means priest stranglers. The story goes that a gluttonous priest in Florence swallowed the dumpling whole, choked as a result and hence the name.
Don’t worry these dumplings are so soft and delectable, there won’t be any choking only wanting more!!!
INGREDIENTS
500 grams ricotta, drained
200 grams Parmesan cheese, finely grated
½ nutmeg, grated
600 grams of spinach, leaves only
Dhal or dal traditionally is made with toor dhal. Sometimes it is roasted and then cooked in the pressure cooker. This particular recipe is unusual in the sense that the dhal is made with urad dhal and most of the cooking is done while roasting with ghee. There is very little water used, most of the liquid needed is from tomatoes and onions. It is thick and delicious and is a satisfying plant based meal when served with brown rice.
INGREDIENTS
140 grams urad dhal, rinsed
100 grams moong dhal, rinsed
600 grams onions thinly sliced
80 grams ghee or clarified butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
80 grams ginger, peeled and finely chopped
This pasta is great for lunch. You can even make it a weekday office lunch too but be sure to pack the chick peas separately and sprinkle them on top.
INGREDIENTS
1 broccoli, cut into medium sized florets
250 grams gnocchette
25 grams butter
3 shallots, sliced thinly
2 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
Continue reading “GNOCHETTE WITH BROCCOLI & PUFFED CHICKPEAS”
There are a lot of flavours in common when it comes to Mexican and Indian cuisine. Yes the extensive use of cumin, coriander, chilli and tomato come to mind but there are some lesser known ones like tamarind that feature regularly in both the cuisines. I was fascinated and looked into this and learnt that when the Spanish colonized Mexico, they introduced flavours like tamarind, sesame through the Moorish / African influence.
INGREDIENTS
For the filling
400 grams paneer, grated
1 x 400 grams tin of black beans, drained, rinsed and mashed lightly
This is from Peter Gordon’s cookbook “A World in My Kitchen” which is one of his earlier cookbooks. This is simple, earthy and nourishing so have made it many a time not only just in winter but anytime I want a quick and easy meal. All you need is some good crusty bread.
INGREDIENTS
80 grams butter
200 grams onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
12 sage leaves, torn in half
This is my vegetarian take – the lamb version is popular in Spain as well as in Greece. You can make it vegan by using vegan cheese.
INGREDIENTS
2 eggplants, each weighing about 250 grams
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ red pepper, finely diced
1 shallot, finely diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
INGREDIENTS
750 grams cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
400ml milk
45 grams butter
45 grams flour
1 cup grated cheddar
75 grams cream cheese at room temperature
INGREDIENTS
1 (200 grams) orange kumara, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1 (100 grams) parsnip, diced into bite sized pieces
2 (200 grams) carrots, diced into bite sized pieces
Continue reading “ROAST WINTER VEGETABLE AND CHICKPEA GRATIN”
INGREDIENTS
250 grams good quality cannelloni tubes
1 large leek, washed thoroughly and cut lengthwise first and then into half moons
500 grams mushrooms chopped into ½ centimetre pieces
250 grams frozen spinach, thawed and drained well