Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Tomato and Lentil Soup

by 61 Comments

Sometimes the guilt of eating too many wrong things just gets to me and I need to balance the scales internally. This calls for a comforting and filling soupy treat with a pinch of something yum thrown in. Also, all those gorgeous cherry tomatoes and vine tomatoes sitting in my fridge were begging to used -asap or risk being dumped into my green food recycle bag. Thrifty that I am, I will not allow that to happen in my kitchen! And I always turn to my stored lentils for something comforting and homely.

This recipe is perfect for making ahead in a larger batch and freeze some for later.

1-IMG_6548 (Copy)
Manjiri Chitnis

Tomato and Lentil Soup

5 from 7 votes
Wholesome and delicious, this vegetarian and vegan friendly recipe is as easy on the tummy as it is on the pocket
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings: 2 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Fusion Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup Red Lentils/Masoor split without skin
  • 1/4 cup Yellow Lentil/Moong – split without skin
  • 4 – 5 medium-sized Tomatoes
  • 1 pinch Asafoetida
  • 2 Red Onions
  • 5 – 6 Garlic cloves
  • 2 tsp Coriander Powder
  • 2 tsp Cumin Powder
  • ½ Thum-sized Fresh Ginger – peeled
  • 2-3 Cloves
  • 1 tsp Pepper powder
  • Red chilli flakes – optional
  • 3 large tbsp Oil for frying
  • 1 tbsp oil for the tadka
  • Salt to taste

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker / Heavy-bottomed pan
  • Knife and chopping board
  • Kadhai or any pan
  • Potato masher or a large ladle
  • Blender / Mixer

Method
 

  1. Wash the lentil through a sieve and pressure cook – 3 whistles
  2. Let the steam escape and then loosen cooker lid
  3. Remove cooked lentils and allow to cool completely
  4. If you are not a pressure cooker lover then cook the lentils in a big saucepan with exactly two times the water than the quantity of the lentils
  5. Lentils cook quickly in a pan, cover and cook and keep an eye as water may boil over
  6. Finely chop red onions chopped into long slivers
  7. Chop the tomatoes into 4 pieces – just for ease of blending
  8. In a kadhai or wok heat the 3 tbsp oil and deep fry the garlic chopped into fine strips
  9. Add the red onions and sauté are absolutely crisp, the aroma is delicious
  10. Puree the washed tomatoes with the deep-fried red onion and garlic (leave some for garnishing)
  11. Use a potato masher ( or the back of a large ladle) and roughly squash the cooked and cooled lentils and mix them with the tomatoes puree
  12. In the same kadhai/wok or pan used to fry the onions and garlic – heat about 1 to 1.5 tsp oil
  13. Add asafoetida, whole cumin, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, cloves
  14. Sauté the spices in the oil for under a minute
  15. Add the cooked lentils and tomato puree
  16. Add water if the mixture is too thick
  17. Cover and cook on a low flame for 5 -8 minutes
  18. Season with salt as per taste
  19. Garnished with the remaining crispy fried onion and garlic bits
  20. Sprinkle some freshly cracked pepper
  21. Serve hot
  22. Best accompanied by hot buttered toast

Wholemeal bread, a crusty baguette, or a soft cheesy loaf – all make for great accompaniments with this soup. Indulge yourself by adding a blob of butter on top of the soup before serving.

1-IMG_6568 (Copy)
3-IMG_6572 (Copy)
1-IMG_6582 (Copy)
Tomato and Lentil soupy broth

Chapali Kebab Recipe

by 26 Comments

Succulent, melt-in-your-mouth meat that is a rich mix of flavours and a popular starter – Kebabs – I love sheekh kebabs the most, and close on their heels are Chapali Kebabs. I decided to do a taste experiment and used 500gm of lamb mince or kheema to make Chapali Kebabs using a packet shop bought ready to cook masala mixture and used the remaining 500gm of lamb mince to make the very same kebabs using a mixture of my own spices and homemade garam masala – oh yes I finally got around to making my own Garam Masala (recipe coming up this week with a huge surprise!)

But before I let you in on my easy peasy recipe, let us familiarise ourselves  with a slice of history behind the dish (oh yes – every great recipe has a story!)

The word Chapli derives from the Pashto word Chaprikh which means flat. It is prepared as a flat and round mini pancake but fried like a fritter and is served with Naan.

Kebab (also kebap or kabab) is a Middle Eastern dish of pieces of meat, fish, or vegetables roasted or grilled on a skewer or spit originating in the Eastern Mediterranean and later adopted in Central Asia and by the regions of the former Mongol Empire and later Ottoman Empire, before spreading worldwide. Indian cuisine is widely influenced by the various rulers and dynasties that ruled and colonised India at various periods including the British Raj. The Mughal Empire has left a heavy influence on the food, culture, and tradition and is deeply woven into the fabric of society to create a new, beautiful, and modern-day cuisine that has been adapted, modified to the local taste, and is now our own. 

In American English, kebab refers to shish kebab (Turkish: kebap) cooked on a skewer, whereas in Europe it refers to doner kebab, sliced meat served in a slice of pita bread. In the Middle East, however, kebab refers to meat that is cooked over or next to flames; large or small cuts of meat, or even ground meat; it may be served on plates, in sandwiches, or in bowls. The traditional meat for kebab is lamb, but depending on local tastes and religious prohibitions, other meats may include beef, goat, chicken, pork, or fish. Like other ethnic foods brought by travellers, the kebab has remained a part of everyday cuisine in most of the Eastern Mediterranean and South Asia.

Though traditionally these kebabs are large and very flat – almost as large as the palm of your hand, I wanted to make a smaller patty, easy to fry and serve as a starter and easy to pop in the mouth while wielding a chilled glass of wine don’t you think?

Chapali Kebab Recipe

Easy recipe for succulent, melt-in-your-mouth kebabes
Print Recipe
Servings: 2
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 500 gms Lamb mince or ground lamb or kheema/Keema
  • 1 tsp Dried Pomeogranate seeds
  • 2 tsp Freshly Ginger – crushed
  • 1 tsp freshly squeezed Lemon juice 
  • 1.5 tsp Red Chilli powder
  • 1.5 tsp Coriander Seed Powder
  • 1.5 tsp Cumin powder
  • 1 tbsp freshcoriander leaves – finely chopped
  • 1 small-size redonion finely chopped
  • 1 medium-sized juicy red tomato finely chopped
  • 2 greenchillies – finely chopped
  • 3 small Eggs
  • Salt to taste
  • 3.5 tbsp Riceflour or Cornmeal

Equipment

  • 1 Frying Pan
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Spatula

Method
 

  1. In a large mixing bowl, crack the eggs and beat lightly, add all the spices and mix with a fork
  2. Then work in the corn followed by the meat
  3. Ensureany excess water is drained out and then add the finely chopped tomatoes andred onions
  4. Spread a large sheet of kitchen plastic foil or beeswax paper n a flat table or the kitchen platform and place the flatted patties on it, cover it with another sheet, and refrigerate
  5. In a kadhai or wok take enough oil for frying and fry them, and serve hot with lots of chopped tomato and red onions on the side. Tastes great dipped into a freshly made mint coriander chutney or any dip of your choice

Recipe Notes:

  • If like me you live in a tiny but expensive urban flat with an open plan kitchen – read tiny as a bird’s nest, then probably best to leave the entire mixture in the bowl, cover and refrigerate for about half an hour. Helps save on safe if you are using a smaller fridge.
  • Delicious with a fresh green coriander mint chutney or the life-saving ketchup 🙂
3-IMG_6561 (Copy)
1-IMG_6557 (Copy)

References:Wikipedia

Am submitting this recipe to Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior on his blog Cookinwluv

Made with Love Mondays Resized Badge
Chapali Kebab

Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll

by 20 Comments

Frankie – Popular Indian street food

Tawa Frankie Roll – How I decided to re-create this popular Indian street food at home. In 2014, global flavour leader McCormick, the parent company of leading herbs and spices brand Schwartz, is celebrating its 125th anniversary. The yearlong celebration kicks off with the launch of the 125th Anniversary Edition of the Flavour Forecast (a new, annual prediction of what ‘flavours’ will be most popular in the cooking world) and the Flavour of Together programme, with the goal of connecting people around the world as they share 1.25 million stories about the special role food and flavour plays in our lives through.

To inspire people to share their flavour stories and tell the blogger community about Flavour Forecast, McCormick challenged me and a few other bloggers  to come up with a new recipe that is based on the Flavour Forecast trends :

1. Chillies Obsession: Food lovers everywhere are seeking out their next big chilli thrill.

2. Modern Masala: Indian food is finally having its moment, breaking free of its traditional confines with modern interpretations.

3. Clever Compact Cooking: Proving that big flavours can come from small spaces, cooks in urban kitchens are making the most of what’s available.

4. Mexican World Tour: Mexican flavours are making their way around the globe, with people everywhere discovering new aspects of this bright, casual cuisine.

5. Charmed by Brazil: The world’s attraction to Brazilian cuisine is heating up, thanks to its seductive mix of global and native influences.

I decide to take up Modern Masala as a flavour trend. Coming from India, using a complex mix of spices as part of our daily diet has always been a part of my life. The beautiful large open fruit n vegetable markets even in major cities are a visual treat and there is a lot of passion involved in say getting the right type of chilli powder. So I think my recipe is an amalgamation of these two big flavour trends together – Chillies Obsession and Modern Masala and of course because I manage all my culinary experiments in my tiny urban kitchen which is the size of a postage stamp I am sure my recipe also covers the theme Clever Compact Cooking!

My most vivid memory of spices being sold loose is of this huge wholesale and retail market in an area called Parel, Mumbai in India. There are many tiny shops and vendors which hand carts with huge piles of spices, bright red chillies in jute sacks, and mini yellow mountains of turmeric and ever imaginable spice being sold in the open. Of course, with our modern industries being so well developed we always used masalas out of a packet but the sheer variety available locally in any small town in India is mind-boggling.

Pune, India - spice market
Pune, India – spice market

In London, whenever I trudge to my local Indian shop and purchase Indian spices, I secretly wish that I could get an unlimited supply of aai’s homemade masalas. Her garam masala and red chilli powder where she carefully selects 2 types of chillies with varying degrees of heat and roasts them in a kadhai after they have been dried in the blistering hot afternoon sun! Then she takes it to a local mill where it is ground and packed into a large ceramic jar and then stored at home.

I have made a simplified version of Tibbs Frankie using boneless mutton and a variety of Schwartz spices which were sent to me. You could safely say that this fella ”Frankie” is a distant cousin of the Fajita and the Kathi Roll.

How this Frankie came into being is also a very interesting story which I shall share in a few lines here. These lines are from the Tibbs Frankie website

”The year 1967 Mr. Amarjit Tibb on returning back from England had a stopover in Beirut. During his brief stop there he stumbled upon a very ingenious Lebanese preparation, which was a pita bread wrap, with a variety of stuffing’s, this fascinated him. Upon his return the idea still lingered on and he kept innovating it to suit the Indian palate, after a year of research along with his wife they hit upon the perfect concoction. This Indianised wrap was soon tried among friends and family and after testing brilliantly it hit the markets. That was a new era to the term fast food in Mumbai, it caught on like fire in the Jungle, people accepted it and kept asking for more.Now came the problem of naming the product, again a number of brainstorming became the order of the day till a unanimous decision on the name was taken i.e. Frankie”

This explosion of flavours in a handy easy to eat roll which was given a  modern food truck makeover is a gastronomic delight and is available in a large variety of stuffings both veg and non-veg.I have rather fond memories of my college days and spending my pocket money which was always in short supply on these spicy, tasty rolls with a bunch of friends giggling away and then gathering any loose change we had left amongst us to buy a bottle or two of some fizzy cola to quench our thirst. Alert : have been suddenly been hit by a huge wave of nostalgia 🙂

I have created what is my version of a tawa chicken roll (tawa meaning pan in Hindi), the original Tibbs frankie filling is a tangy spicy  taste which they attribute to a secret ”Frankie Masala” – humm , well I think I got pretty close 😉 – evil laugh follows 🙂  You can go crazy and creative with the fillings and use this recipe idea to use up meat from your sunday roast, try various different veg and non veg patties with meat and masalas rolled into boiled potato casing and shallow fried. Great way to use a lot of colorful veggies and create a stir fry filling too – the possibilities are endless.

Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll
Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll
Manjiri Chitnis

Tawa Frankie Roll

5 from 7 votes
Popular Indian street food, this was created in Mumbai and is a deliciously paratha stuffed with a variety of fillings and green chutney
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings: 2 People
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Fusion Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

Tawa Chicken Filling
  • 50 Grams Chicken breast
  • 1 pinch Asafoetida
  • 2 tsp Garam Masala
  • Onion salt as per taste
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Minced
  • 2 tsp Coriander Powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin Powder
  • Red Chilli powder as per taste
  • 1/2 thum-sized Fresh Ginger fresh peeled
  • 2 medium Red onions finely chopped
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 2 lage Jjuicy tomatoes chopped very fine
  • 1 large Green chilli split lengthwise
  • 1 Red pepper slit lengthwise
  • 3 tbsp Cooking oil
Mint and Coriander Chutney
  • 1 large bunch Fresh Coriander
  • 1 small bunch Fresh Mint leaves
  • 2 Green chillies
  • 1/2 Lime – freshly squeezed
  • Salt to taste
For the Frankie filling
  • 1 large Red onion chopped lengthwise
For the Paratha coating
  • 2 small Eggs
  • Salt for seasoning

Equipment

  • Tawa – Flat frying pan
  • Saptula

Method
 

To make the Chicken Filling
  1. Heat a saucepan on medium heat and add the oil
  2. Once the oil is hot, add the asafoetida
  3. Then add split green chilli and crushed fresh ginger
  4. Saute' and add the garlic granules
  5. Saute' and add the garlic granules, when the garlic begins to give out a strong fried aroma its time to add the finely chopped red onion
  6. Cook the onion till it reduces and turns a delicious brown, then add the coriander and cumin powder and garam masala and mix well
  7. Then add the finely chopped tomato and add very little water and cook for 1 -2 minutes without lid
  8. Stir frequently, so as to ensure the mixture does not stick to the saucepan
  9. Now the spices have been thoroughly cooked along with the onion and tomato to make a thick gravy
  10. Cut the chicken breasts and red peppers into lenghthwise strip and add to the gravy
  11. Add onion salt to the mixture, red chilli powder and turmeric
  12. Cover and cook until done
To make the Mint and Coriander Chutney
  1. Wash the coriander and mint leaves, blend to a smoothpaste with a green chilli
  2. To reduce the heat use 1 chilli de-seeded.Add the salt and lime juice and sblend once again
  3. A smooth thick green paste is the consistency we are after – add some water to adjust the consistency
  4. This chutney stores for upto 10 days in the freezer in a clean ,air tight jar – rarely lasts that much in my house though -I love making Bombay sandwich for dinner with this delightful chutney
To make the coating for the Paratha
  1. Crack the eggs in a bowl and beat with a fork, add salt to taste
  2. Using a plastic brush spread on the surface of a frozen ready to eat paratha
  3. Place the eggy side down on a hot pan coated with some cooking oil
  4. Ready to eat frozen parathas are readily available in most supermarkets and Indian grocery stores
How to put the Frankie Roll together
  1. Once the paratha coated with egg has been cooked on both sides, slather it with the mint and coriander chutney and add some red onion chopped lengthwise
  2. Add a generous helping of the chicken filling , roll and wrap one end with some kitchen foil or baking paper. Enjoy hot
  3. Dip into the chutney or tomato ketchup as you munch along
Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll
Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll

After I received the samples and wrote up my flavour story, my left hand was operated on (unexpected rescheduling) – a minor but rather errrmmm painful surgery and I walk around most of the time with a sling (promptly remove it as soon as OH leaves home for work hehe) So I had a bit of a panic attack about getting this post up on time,I know I missed the deadline by a few days  🙁

But am really grateful to the kind folks up at McCormick for bearing with me. Also I would like to thank OH for patiently chopping and cutting all the fresh ingredients for me and helping me to click these lovely photographs – what would I do without you? Sighh…

The company has pledged to donate $1 to United Way Worldwide and it’s UK partner Focus on Food, for every story shared on the Schwartz website, Facebook page or other social channels.

Disclaimer: Schwartz Samples and voucher for ingredients purchase sent by McCormick I was not required to write a positive review and was not compensated monetarily for this post. As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Chocolate Coconut Cake with Coconut flavoured Icing

by 38 Comments

Decadent Chocolate cake with a delicious coconut flavoured icing

Dreaming of a chocolate cake, baking it, and devouring it, is a common obsession of mine. Also, I had many excuses to bake chocolatey treats, what with Valentine’s just around the corner. Not to mention many other reasons to eat cake following in quick succession after Valentines – my dad and husband’s birthday and our wedding anniversary, woohoo!

With so many occasions all lined up one after the other, a mega celebration was in order. And as we all know any celebration, big or small is incomplete without, yes you guessed right a proper cake.

So my plan was to bake an indulgent and rich chocolate cake and how better than Nigella to look to for a good recipe! Unable to pick a recipe on my own, I asked my neighbour’s adorable 5-year daughter to flip through Nigella Lawson’s book ”Feast” – Food That Celebrates Life. Lucky for me she stopped flipping pages at Nigella’s Old Fashioned Chocolate cake recipe. Better still it is made using only the food processor – so very perfect.

Besides, no better way to bring in Valentine’s week than by baking a decadent chocolate cake with hints of coconut flavour and adding some coconut flavoured icing on the top. I love Nigella’s original recipe which I have (dared to!) modify as I had been thinking of ways to use the lovely samples sent to me by Sugar and Crumbs.

I have modified the original recipe by using three medium-sized regular eggs, thick yogurt instead of sour cream, and have reduced the quantity of ingredients for the icing because I am not a big fan of slathering a very thick layer of sugary icing in between the layers nor am I very fond of a huge layer of icing on the top but I guess even after reducing the quantities of ingredients for the icing I still managed to get lots to smother the cake with. I have used Sugar and Crumbs flavoured cocoa powder in Chocolate Coconut and Sugar and Crumbs flavored natural icing sugar in coconut flavour, result – a perfectly balanced taste of coconut without being overpowering. So am calling my cake – ”Chocolate Coconut Cake with Coconut flavoured Icing”.For the remaining part, the original recipe is perfect, basic, simple, and therefore beautiful as it is foolproof and even a novice can get an excellent delicious, fluffy, and intensely chocolatey cake – very satisfying indeed! Thank You, Nigella!

Chocolate Coconut Cake with Coconut flavoured Icing

Chocolate Coconut Cake

Easy and delicious Chocolate cake recipe
Print Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings: 8 portions
Course: Dessert
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 200 grams plain flour
  • 200 grams caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 40 grams Sugar and Crumbs flavoured cocoa powder in Chocolate Coconut
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 175 grams soft unsalted butter
  • 3 medium-sized eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 150 ml thick-set yogurt

Equipment

  • Two 8 inch Round cake tins
  • Food Processor or stand-mixer
  • Spatula
  • Measuring spoons
  • Cake tester or thin skewer

Method
 

  1. Sift the plain flour through a sieve into a large mixing bowl
  2. Add the caster sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and bicarbonate of soda
  3. Mix well with a spatula and transfer it into the food processor
  4. Crack the eggs into the mixture, add the vanilla essence and the yogurt and mix roughly with a spatula before running the food processor to ensure that the loose flour doesn’t fly all over the place. For the first 30 seconds, I lightly covered the chute of the processor with my palm to prevent the flour from flying out in a mist. Now, this is the reason I want a Kitchen Aid 😉
  5. After an initial spin, use the blunt edge of the knife to scoop out what stuck to the walls of the processor and mix well with the cake batter.
  6. Don’t worry if you think the batter is very thick, another spin for about a minute should give you the required consistency to ”pour” into the cake tins
  7. Grease two removable base 8-inch tins with butter and equally divide the cake batter into each tin
  8. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/350ºF
  9. Bake for 25 minutes and then test the center of the cake with a cake tester or thin skewer
  10. My cakes were done in 25 minutes but you may need up to 30 minutes depending on the type of oven. The cakes rose beautifully but the top had cracks. The icing was there to save the day and make the cake look pretty
  11. Remove cakes from the baking tray and leave to cool down on a wire rack

Coconut flavoured Icing

Print Recipe
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 50 grams unsalted butter
  • 125 grams best quality dark chocolate broken into small pieces
  • 225 grams icing sugar
  • 100 ml sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
 

  1. While the cakes are in the oven prepare the icing by mixing together all the ingredients of the icing
  2. The original recipe calls for adding golden syrup but I totally gave that a miss
  3. Why? Because I had already borrowed some butter, some yogurt, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda from my very patient neighbour H 😉 – yes, yes she did get a large portion of this cake 🙂
  4. Now to ice the cakes place the slightly domed part of one cake face down and slather icing on the flat part and place the other cake flat side down on the icing and then slather icing all over the cake
  5. I had some pretty pink and white sugar stars which I used to decorate my cake.

I have also been sent Sugar and Crumbs Coffee Flavoured icing sugar and a pack of salted caramel powder, maybe cupcakes need to be baked next ?:)

Need more recipe inspiration to get baking?

Why not check out my other recipes here:

Linking this post to the  We should Cocoa event hosted by Choclette who blogs at Choc Log Blog where the challenge is to use an ingredient and that ingredient is chocolate – how apt for Valentines, and with all that gorgeous dark chocolate this cake certainly qualifies!

My blog post is being linked to Dom’s Random Recipes event hosted by Dom who blogs at Belleau Kitchen, where for February the challenge is to select any chocolate-themed recipe book and to make a randomly selected recipe from that book. The idea of this recipe challenge is to make us home chefs step outside our comfort zones and make something that we would otherwise hesitate to and totally avoid. Humm okay, I got off easy this time 🙂

Also for the first time. I’m joining in with Jibber Jabber’s Love Cake first-ever event where the theme for the month of love is Baking with Passion and is a cake-baking challenge.

Events-1024x256

Disclaimer: With many thanks to Sugar and Crumbs for the generous amount of samples to test and review.I was not required to write a positive review and was not compensated monetarily for this post. Like all my previous posts about events and reviews, ALL opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Mushroom Omelette with French Cheese

by 34 Comments

Egg Omelettes are my ultimate delicious start for the day and on weekends if we wake early to have breakfast I like to do a huge omelette with salad ,toast and steaming hot cuppas of Masala Chai. Heaven !

My current favourite addition into a lot of salads,soups and omelettes are chestnut mushrooms so when I was sent the French Cheese Chaource produced by family-owned French dairy Fromagerie Lincet, I decided to make my own recipe for a fluffy, stuffed and thick cheesy egg omelette.

Family-owned French dairy Fromagerie Lincet has been producing cheeses typical of the Champagne and Burgundy regions for five generations. Rich,soft and creamy, the dairy’s Chaource AOP is great in omelettes ,risottos and tarts.Similar in texture to Brie and Camembert, Chaource AOP is creamier, richer and slightly acidic. With no artificial colours or flavours and 100% natural ingredients, it also benefits from PDO status.

Lincet is committed to its founding principles ‘flavour, natural ingredients and tradition, brought together to make good food’; using all-natural ingredients, traditional cheese-making methods  and milk from local farms.Lincet has upheld the tradition of ladle-moulding since its opening and the dairy’s cheese curdling technique is the oldest known for making cheese.Longer than usual (12 hours +), this is what gives Lincet cheeses a melting texture and distinctive slightly acidic, flavour

image002

2-IMG_6505 (Copy)

Serves :2 Prep Time:5 minutes Cooking Time :5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium sized eggs
  • 1 small red onion finely chopped
  • 3-4 cherry tomatoes halved
  • 2-3 chestnut mushrooms chopped into bite size bits
  • Sea Salt
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes – if you don’t want heat avoid completely
  • Freshly CRacked Black Pepper
  • A generous portion of Chaource Cheese
  • Some fresh coriander chopped fine to garnish
  • a blog of butter for the pan(2 tsp)

3-IMG_6507 (Copy)

1-IMG_6508 (Copy)

Method:

  • In a large bowl crack the eggs and add the chopped red onion,mushrooms,cherry tomatoes and chopped coriander and whisk well with a fork.
  • Then season with salt ,red chilli flakes (if you don’t want heat avoid completely) and pepper and whisk again with a fork.
  • Now add the cheese and mix thoroughly and whisk again to get the air circulating and make this omelette really fluffy and thick.
  • On a pan on medium heat melt about 2 tsp of butter and pour the egg and cheese mixture.
  • Cook for about 2-3 on one side and loosen edges with a spatula.
  • To watch the cheese bubble while it cooks is such a delight!

2-IMG_6513 (Copy)

  • Then with a light hand loosen the omlette with the spatula ensuring it isn’t stuck to the pan or it will break while tossing over.
  • Flip over and cook on the other side for under 2 minutes to get a beautiful light brown golden delicious colour.

4-IMG_6515 (Copy)

  • Serve hot with fresh cherry tomatoes or iceberg lettuce and warm toast and lots of Earl Grey,English Breakfast or my new fav Chamomile tea 🙂

03-IMG_6519 (Copy)

What I like about the Fromagerie Lincent Chaource is the goeey soft ,rich taste with woody undertones, it definitely gave a depth of flavour to my omelette and am now going to use the remaining in a risotto for a weeknight dinner.

It is available at:

  • Waitrose, Top Tier Chaource AOP Hugerot 250g, £4.49 Waitrose
  •  Tesco Finest Chaource 250g, £3.00 Tesco
  •  TTD Chaource AOP 250g, £3.30 Sainsbury’s

07-IMG_6523 (Copy)

Disclaimer: I was sent a sample of  Fromagerie Lincent Chaource to test in my kitchen and was not required to write a positive review and was not compensated monetarily for this post.Like all my previous posts about events and reviews, ALL opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

2-IMG_6528 (Copy)

2nd Feb'14 Omlette with Cheese Sample

Chicken and Red Lentil Stew – a complete ONE POT meal (Suran & Red Lentil Stew)

by 33 Comments

There are times when I really want a hearty meal but don’t have the energy to stand and cook an elaborate meal. It is at times like that I turn to One pot meals, served with a warm baguette it is a filling, healthy and easy and quick to meal option which NO compromise on taste whatsoever! Moreover, its homemade, has flavour and is a satisfying experience to make .

I had been meaning to try and cook a stew using red lentils (masoor – Marathi for red lentil )for some time , they are my most favourite lentils and I am ALWAYS stocked up on a large 2 kilo pack of dried red lentils split and without skin , from my local Indian grocery shop at Tooting called Dadu’s. Also since all the other fresh ingredients were procured from my local LIDL this dish is GREAT value for money too! Am totally in love with the FRESH fruits and vegetable selection at LIDL right now.I bought some bright red long crunchy sweet peppers, a pack of medium hot chillies, fresh chicken breast fillets, a very cute packet of garlic, mixed pack of cauliflower and broccoli florets and a packet of gorgeous looking Shallots.( I have always wondered why the lentils are called RED when clearly they are a  lovely light orange colour !)

I love inventing a recipe as I go along and when I got my vegetable tray out on Sunday morning I had all these lovely vegetables staring at me and I just threw in what I thought would taste good together and VOILA ! A Steaming hot , thick, wholesome and tasty chicken and red lentil broth was born.

I love having some baby potatoes in stock and they are always handy in a stew , besides being quite the self-proclaimed ”queen of curries” I always am well stocked on Indian spices so bay leaves and cinnamon sticks aplenty in my kitchen larder – oh yes

Please don’t feel put off by the ingredient list , trust me they marry well together in the taste department and the end result is well worth your time and effort!

The biggest bonus of this stew recipe is that you can create your OWN vegetarian version by replacing the chicken with Quorn or if you don’t for some reason like or have never tried or have no access to Quorn then try replacing the chicken fillets with  Suran/Elephant Foot Yam, it can be chopped into big chunks and it takes up flavours very easily. But with the yam the cooking time drastically will reduce as it can go from just right and chewy to soft, goeey or totally disappear into the stew ! My aai (mum) always used suran as a meat replacement and marinated it well in the spices we would use for chicken or lamb and made a thick gravy dish with it, when I was younger she has managed to fool me many times over thinking it was mutton 🙂 – Aai I miss you and all the food you cook – sigh…. no India trip in sight anytime soon 🙁

(Dangerous though it looks the elephant foot yam is very very tasty! )

4-IMG_6502 (Copy)

Serves:4  Preparation Time: 10 minutes  Cooking time:35 minutes

Ingredients:

  • Red Lentils / Massor Dal -3/4th cup
  • Chicken breast mini fillets – 750gm / Comparable Quorn fillets
  • 5-6 baby potatoes
  • 6 shallots approx 200gm
  • 2 large sweet and crunchy pointed Red Peppers – approx 200gm
  • 2 short medium hot chillies
  • 2-3 bay leaves dry
  • red chilli flakes as per taste
  • sea salt as per taste
  • 1 veg stock pot
  • 3 dried red Kashmiri chillies
  • 1 large roll of cinnamon
  • 4 tbsp sunflower oil
  • a handful of Broccoli and Cauliflower florets
  • 2 large tbsp of tomato puree or half of a large tomato finely chopped
  • Red chilli powder
  • Sugar 2 tsp

Method:

  • Wash and soak the red lentil in water to soften them so they cook more quickly then get on with all the other chopping and cutting prep’s.
  • Chop the shallots lengthwise.
  • In a large stew pot or huge saucepan heat the oil and add the bay leaves,cinnamon stick and dry red kashmiri chillies which I have a very big packet of and am trying to finish , they only add colour and no heat so if you don’t have these you can totally leave them out – no harm done here.
  • Now add red chilli powder and sugar and just when the sugar starts to caramelise add the shallots and shallow fry them till they reduce and begin to turn a lovely brown colour.
  • Now add the 2 large tbsp’s  of tomato puree or half of a large tomato finely chopped and stir till it mixes well with the shallots.
  • Add the roughly chopped long red peppers and baby potatoes and saute’ for 2 minutes.
  • Add the washed chicken fillets/suran (elephant yam), soaked red lentils with the water it was soaked in.
  • Add the washed and roughly chopped Broccoli and Cauliflower florets and now add enough water.
  • I did not measure the water I added but add enough to get a nice thick stew , while the ingredients are cooking together on a low flame ,feel free to top up with more water as the lentils easily soak up as much water as you feed it with. Having said that you don’t want to end up with a watery stew so don’t add more than 3/4th cup at one go.
  • Season with sea salt , I love MALDON SEA SALT which I use and I have a few packets ALWAYS stashed away, great n salads it is!
  • Then sprinkle red chilli flakes and gently place a veg stock cube on top on this lovely pot of goodness bubbling away. I prefer the KNORR veg stock cubes , they have a great bouquet of flavour and are very handy at times when am exhausted and need to quickly cook up something tasty!
  • Stir well, cover with a lid and cook on a medium flame.
  • The red lentil will froth as they cook not to worry simply stir now and then and mix well, don’t allow the stew to get too thick we want enough lovely gravy to slurp this stew and dip the baguette into!

1-IMG_6495 (Copy)

I was so hungry that I didn’t click any photos of my lovely fresh ingredients but it was a brilliantly sunny day yesterday and after this wholesome stew for lunch we had to really force ourselves to go and get some much needed fresh air at Morden Hall Park – I happily left my smartphone behind so photos to share but suffice to say that it was a gorgeous walk through the huge grounds and we saw many happy families ,happy couples and cute old folks and even happier kids and dogs romping around in the muddy park  fun! And because we were so good we treated ourselves to hot tea and a sandwich at a local Turkish Cafe 😉 hehehe

Am very happy and proud of this new original recipe creation from my experimental kitchen. Next time I make this stew I will smoke the sweet and crunchy long red peppers and peel off the skin , to add a deep smoky flavour to the stew and not have the skin floating around – double whammy I say 🙂

1-1st Feb'14 Chicken & Red Lentil Stew1

Chicken and Red Lentil Stew – a complete ONE POT meal (Suran & Red Lentil Stew)

Vangyache Bharit- वांग्याचे भरीत (Baingan ka Bharta) (Smoked Aubergine)

by 20 Comments

I have noticed that I have become a bit more inclined towards celebrating festivals after coming to London, maybe it is out of being homesick during festive times and also to ensure that I remember the traditions involved I guess. ‘Makar Sankrant’ is a Hindu festival celebrated by my community ”Maharashtrians” with great pomp and enthusiasm as it heralds the season of Harvest. Similar to this festival is Lohri which is celebrated by the Punjabis in the North of India, Pongal in the state of Tamil Nadu, Uttaryan in the state of Gujrat. One festival so many names and so varied ways of celebrating! It is not only in India that this festival is celebrated it’s also welcomed in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Laos amongst others!

My mother always used to make a smoked aubergine vegetable dish called Vangyache Bharit – written in Marathi as – वांग्याचे भरीत on Makar Sankrant so I decided to make it too for Sankrant this year which was on the 14th of Jan’14. We also exchange small ladoos made of sesame seeds and jaggery called ”Tilache Ladoo” and wish each other by saying तिळगुळ घ्या गोड गोड बोला -‘Tilgul ghya god bola. It means that we shall forget and forgive any past bitter exchange of words and start afresh with this sweet offering and only speak sweet words of love. Til stands for sesame and Gul stands for jaggery in Marathi, so TilGul means a sweet made using sesame and jaggery as the main ingredients

The recipe is modified in various regions of the state of Maharashtra and also the variety of vanga/eggplant/aubergine or brinjal as we know it in urban India, is different in various parts of the state and in various states of India, of course differing due to climate and soil. Aai ( meaning Mother in the Marathi language – my mother tongue) always looked for the light green vanga or eggplant with white stripes on its skin which she rightly said tastes way better than its darker purple-skinned cousin.

Aai’s recipe which I will share now is how we have always made this dish at home. There are several variations and styles depending on which part of Maharashtra you hail from and also various sub-cultures and availability of local ingredients and palates.I guess what makes this recipe so special is that it brings back happy memories of childhood, festivity, celebration and the unmistakable smoky and rich vanga (eggplant/aubergine) taste with the crunchy red onion and a slap of hot spicy green chilli mixed in between, all balanced so well with the various masalas that go into this bharit Ummm!

 bi_makar_08_dec_26_162509

Image Credit WebDunia

Vangyache Bharit- वांग्याचे भरीत (Baingan ka Bharta) (Smoked Aubergine)

Traditional Indian Smoked Aubergine dish
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings: 4 portions
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Large vanga/baingan/eggplant/aubergine
  • 1 Large Red Onion
  • 3 Green Chillies
  • 6 cloves Garlic
  • 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
  • 1 tsp Cumin / Jeera
  • 2 tsp Garam Masala
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 tsp Hing / Asafoetida
  • 1.5 tsp Turmeric
  • 1.5 tsp Red chilli powder
  • 3 tbsp Oil
  • Fresh Coriander/Cilantro leaves to garnish

Equipment

  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Chopping Board
  • 1 Tongs
  • 1 non-stick heavy bottom saucepan with lid

Method
 

  1. Roast the eggplant on a gas hob over a naked flame, completely turning it on the side and moving it up and down so you don’t miss any bits. Refer to my recipe notes if you would prefer to do this in the oven or on a BBQ.
  2. Allow this to cool and then charred skin will come off easily.
  3. Roughly mash the aubergine using a fork.
  4. Finely chop one large red onion.
  5. Remove the skin from the garlic cloves, place garlic and green chillies into a mortar pestle and ground into a rough paste.
  6. Heat the saucepan and add oil, when the oil is hot, add asafoetida. Then add the mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter, then add the cumin.
  7. Now add the garlic and green chillies, chopped red onion and cook on low heat until the onions sweat.
  8. Then add the red chilly powder, turmeric and garam masala and stir well, follow it up with the smoked aubergine.
  9. Mix well and cook until done.
  10. Garnish with finely chopped coriander/cilantro.

IMG_6465 (Copy)

Recipe Notes

  • The beauty of this dish lies in the deep and rich smoky flavour of the eggplant, I would love to use charcoals and do this bit on an open rustic fire but well I make do with my hob. You could use the oven but it will take much longer but directly on the hob – though a bit messy, it’s quicker!
  • While roasting the aubergine on the hob ensure you monitor it closely and use tongs to turn it over. Cooking over a flame on a gas hob directly should be done very carefully. Use the overhead extractor fan so that the smoke does not set off your fire alarm.
  • For oven cooking, make some cuts in the aubergine using a sharp knife, rub lightly with some oil and wrap tightly with foil and place on a baking tray, and roast in a preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes at 180-degree celsius. Allow to cool completely before unwrapping and peeling off the skin.
  • My Aai does not add tomatoes to this dish and at times uses some Goda masala as well as it has dry grated coconut which can really alter the taste. Many people add chopped tomatoes.
  • Serve with hot rotis or steamed rice and dal.
  • We also enjoy this cold, cool completely, and serve it with a generous helping of set curd/ yoghurt.
IMG_6467 (Copy)
  • Mash with your hands in a smooth mass of soft cooked, smoked eggplant.
IMG_6477 (Copy)

IMG_6472 (Copy)

IMG_6482 (Copy)
Vangyache Bharit- ????????? ???? (Baingan ka Bharta) (Smoked Aubergine)

LEARN HOW TO COOK WESTERN COASTAL INDIAN CUISINE FROM THE C.K.P COMMUNITY WITH MY EASY-TO-FOLLOW RECIPES.

FIND BELOW A LIST OF INDIAN RECIPES ON MY BLOG, SOME TRADITIONAL, SOME FUSION, AND MANY REGIONAL FAVOURITES!

Healthy Baked White Fish with a mint and spice dressing

by 26 Comments

Ladies this one is to be bookmarked and is perfect for any day when you want to treat  your taste buds and yet not load on the calories.

Serves:2  Prep Time:5 Minutes Marination time :20 minutes In the Oven: 15 – 20 Minutes

Ingredients:

  • Fry Lite or olive oil 4 tsp
  • 2 thick white fish fillets – I use Haddock
  • 2 tbsp mint and coriander dressing
  • 2 heaped tbsp ginger garlic paste
  • 2 tsp red chilli  powder
  • 2 tsp turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • Handful of finely chopped spring onion
  • Handful of chives finely chopped
  • Freshly cracked black pepper to garnish
  • sea salt for garnish
  • 1/2 lemon juice for garnish

Method:

  • Wash the fillets and place on a large dish to apply the marinade.
  • Sprinkle the red chilli powder, turmeric,coriander,cumin,salt and along with the ginger garlic paste and mint and coriander dressing mix well and totally coat the fish.
  • Marinate the fish for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to seep in and develop.
  • In a baking tray use just 4 sprays of fry lite and spread evenly across the tray, add the chopped spring onion and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
  • Place the marinated fish on this and sprinkle the finely chopped chives on the top.

IMG_6377 (Copy)

  • Pre heat the oven to 200°C and bake for 15- 20 minutes.
  • Garnish with a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
  • Serve with a side of salad leaves and cherry tomatoes and a soft crusty baguette.

IMG_6390 (Copy)

I know the photographs here look terrible but honestly by the time I got the fish ready on Sunday it was almost 3pm, had a lazy start to the day and by then the light was gone so even after cleaning up the image it is quite sorry looking and is no way doing justice to this awesome dish! I do hope that I can get better pictures next time!

I do hope you enjoy this recipe and share your thoughts if you make it! Cheers!

Just in the nick of time, I have entered this original recipe creation in the #Cookingwithherbs challenge by Karen Burns-Booth on her blog Lavender and Lovage. The theme for January 2014 is citrusy and herbs, this fish definitely has it all and a citrusy bang! I wonder why I haven’t entered this challenge in the past, most of the dishes use so many herbs especially lime, oh well, here’s to a fresh start!



Cooking with Herbs








Smoky Chorizo and Chives baked  Eggs in Pots


 by  4 Comments 


Of all the crazy boxing day sale shopping I am most happy with what I found for my kitchen (of course!). Amongst a few things the best buys are a massive Denby cast iron crock pot which doubles up as a slow cooker and I plan to use it real carefully,maybe even pass it down as a family heirloom, and then there are the beautifully dark burnt orange mini cocotte from Le Creuset. I couldn’t think of a better way to inaugurate the cute mini cocottes than by making baked eggs.





I created this recipe for Baked eggs and decided to give it a twist with laying a base of wafer thin potatoes, they give this dish a whole new dimension and are like a secret surprise at the bottom of this miniature stockpot of goodness!





  

    

      
    

    

      

        Manjiri Chitnis
      

      
Smoky Chorizo and chives Baked Eggs in pots

      

      
      

      
      

      

        Print Recipe
        
        
      

    

  

  

    

    
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 20 minutes 

    

    
Servings: 2 people
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Fusion

  





  


















 Ingredients
















 Method

  

    

      
Ingredients
  
 
  • 5 Eggs
  • 2 large tsp Cream Cheese
  • 1/2 Red Onion finely chopped
  • 4 Spicy Chorizo Sausages chopped
  • 5 – 6  Chestnut Mushrooms
  • 2  tbsp Butter
  • 2  tsp Red Chilli Flakes
  • 1/4 Potato thinly sliced
  • 2  tsp Olive Oil
  • A small bunch of chives finely chopped
  • Coriander to season
  • Sea Salt
  • Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

      
    

    

      
Method
 
  1. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add the cream cheese, finely chopped chives,the chopped mushrooms, finely chopped coriander, sea salt and red chilli flakes
  2. In a saucepan add the oil and sautee the red onion till they go soft and juicy and then add the chopped sausages, and cook on a low flame for not more than 2 minutes
  3. Grease the mini cocottes and place the potato slices at the bottom, add the red onion and sausage mixture and then pour the egg mixture on them
  4. Pre-heat the oven to 220° C and place the mini cocottes on a tray, bake for the first 10 minutes withlid  and then wait for 5 minutes then open the oven and bake again for 15 minutes without lid

      
      
      
      

      
    

  







IMG_6263 (Copy)





IMG_6267 (Copy)




It’s super to watch the egg puff up and form the most perfect brown crusty top.I spent so much time getting the setting right that they collapsed by then – gaaaahhh! but still I am so happy with the results of this taste experiment!Serve with hot buttered toast and a large pot of English Breakfast tea.





This  is the perfect indulgent breakfast for a Sunday morning, you could prepare the pots at night if you want to make them in large batches for a big weekend  brunch.Simply cover and store in the fridge with lids on.






IMG_6304 (Copy)





IMG_6299 (Copy)




Mind you these may look like tiny pots but one of these and you feel stuffed!!





WHY NOT TRY MY OTHER RECIPES WITH EGGS AS THE STAR INGREDIENT?









I VISISTED A BUSY EGG FARM WHERE HENS ROAM IN RURAL ENGLAND, HAVE A READ AND BROWSE THROUGH SOME PICTURES FOR A VIRTUAL TOUR





Behind the scenes at an Egg Farm


Chai Concentrate


 by  7 Comments 
Its been a very hectic year and I was really looking forward to a festive break. In the run up to Christmas I was gifted some really tempting edible gifts. I then took to Pintrest to find something that called out to me and ask me to make go make it ! I found a beautiful photograph of Chai Concentrate here .  It was an easy to prepare recipe and so I started to get all the ingredients together and wasn’t able to get my hands on orange pekoe tea bags so I decided to make a few modifications of my own.


Ingredients:


    

  • 6 cups water
    • 

  • 5 English breakfast tea – tea bags
    • 

  • 5 mulled wine spice  bags
    • 

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
    • 

  • 12 whole cloves
    • 

  • 9 cardamom pods split open and the seeds powdered
    • 

  • 8 coriander seeds or 1/4th tbsp of ground coriander powder
    • 

  • 2 cinnamon sticks
    • 

  • 2 star anise pods
    • 

  • 1 vanilla bean sliced in half
    • 

  • 1.5 tbsp orange zest
    • 

  • 1 inch piece of ginger,skinned n cut into thin strips
    • 

  • 1 tbsp honey
    • 

  • 1/2 tsp ground allspice
    • 

  • 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
    • 



IMG_6242 (Copy)


Method:


    

  • In a large sauce pan bring the water to boil and reduce the heat to a minimum
    • 

  • Add the spices, tea bags,orange zest and ginger and cover with lid and let it simmer for 25 minutes.
    • 

  • After 25 minutes take the saucepan off the flame and let it stand for 10 -15 minutes.
    • 

  • Then add the honey and stir it in along with all the beautiful spices which have steeped in well into the mixture.
    • 

  • Let this cool completely , the  strain the chai concentrate through a large sieve lined with a fresh cheesecloth. The spices are to be discarded.
    • 

  • Add the strained chai concentrate into clean glass bottles.
    • 

  • Decorate the glass bottles with pretty tape and add a small name tag with a bit of coil.
    • 

  • This mixture stays for 2 weeks in the fridge and can be had as hot winter drink with 1/3rd parts concentrate and top it off with hot milk, it also is good with a glass of cold milk and ice with a dollop of honey stirred in!
    • 

  • I loved the idea that the chai concentrate can be added into cookie dough for an extra zing – I am going to try that soon!
    • 



After making this gift I feel so good inside that I have taken an extra effort to actually create something unique, I think am going to make a habit out it and make delicious little treats for birthdays and anniversaries too! 


IMG_6274 (Copy)









		

		
Recent Posts