Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Smoky and Spicy Lamb Burgers

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Come Summer and I am one happy bunny,more so because I really miss the omnipresent sunshine from back home in Mumbai city! But the one thing I love the most about the British Summer is the amazing BBQ’s we have ! Last years most fun barbie was at our friends place , we OD’ed  on grilled seafood and Pimms – hoping to have a repeat of that this year !

Some friends have a BBQ planned for later this month but I couldn’t wait so got myself some lamb mince and decided to use some fresh mushrooms and add my own twist to the burgers with a bright red smoked sweet red pepper! My trusty old griddle pan at hand , I turned my tiny urban open plan kitchen into a tiny BBQ party venue!

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Perfect time to use up some of the wonderful La Chinata smoked paprika powder.

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Ingredients:

  • 500 gm Lamb Mince
  • 1 bunch of spring onion
  • 1 big sweet red pepper
  • 250 gm button mushrooms
  • 150 gm cherry tomatoes
  • 3  tsp sweet paprika powder La Chinata
  • 1 tsp red chilli flakes
  • 2 tsp garlic paste
  •  4 tsp coriander powder
  • a large sprig of fresh rosemary
  • 1 1/2 tbsp chilli oil
  • Salt to taste

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Method:

  • Flame roast the sweet red pepper on a gas flame, if you’re doing a BBQ ,first rub some oil and garlic paste onto it.
  • After it has been roasted and cooled down a bit,peel off the skin and chop fine
  • Chop the mushrooms to tiny bite sized pieces
  • Finely chop the spring onions and cherry tomatoes
  • Wash the lamb mince under a running tap by placing it inside a sieve.
  •  Mix the chopped smoked sweet red pepper, mushrooms,spring onions ,cherry tomatoes,rosemary,chilli flakes,sweet smoked paprika powder from La Chinata and coriander powder,paprika and salt.

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  • Knead all the ingredients into the mixture.
  • Make mini burger patties by taking palm sized portions of this mixture and ty and pat them into roughly round shape.
  • On a griddle pan add some chilli oil and place a few burgers on it. Cook them for a few minutes on one side and them flip and repeat.
  • Serve the cooked lamb burgers inside wholegrain soft burger buns generously lined with butter , a thick slice of cheese, pickles,crunchy salad leaves and doused with ketchup. Or if you’d rather not then eat them plain – I did , served with some grilled button mushrooms and tender shoots of asparagus on which I slathered generous amounts of smoked paprika sweet chilli powder mixed with some oil and garlic paste – pure heaven!

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The sweet smoked paprika powder gives the lamb burgers a definite sweet hot flavour and the others spices combine well with the vegetables.Its also a great way to get fussy eaters to eat veggies hidden in layers of delicious meat and spices. I would have loved to add some boiled green peas too, they would add more bulk and taste too.

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*With thanks to La Chinata for sending samples  for review.No monetary compensation was provided for this post.All views expressed are my own.

 

Spicy Chorizo Pasta with loads of veggie goodness!

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I often struggle to get the hubster to consume hero veggies like Broccoli and Mushrooms ,both which I quite frankly love .. always have ! So what started off as a veg pasta was met with a grunt and audible grumbling and had to be re-engineered to create something fabulous ! I am therefore grateful for the grumbling  – totally depends on the end result right? 😉 Its also a very good recipe to use all the veggies lying around in your fridge and many some store cupboard excesses to start that spring clean you have been itching to do ( yes I love cleaning – am quite certain I have a mild OCD too)

Preparation Time: 25 minutes Cooking Time:40 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 500 gm Penne
  • 300 gm Chorizo chopped bite size
  • Broccoli a handful
  • Button Mushrooms – half a small packet – std supermarket size-chopped bite size
  • 200 gm Sweet Corn and Red Peppers canned
  • Grated parmesan Cheese – generous amount;)
  • 1/2 of a large Red Onion
  • 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes pureed
  • Sea salt
  • 2 large tablespoons Olive Oil
  • Chilli flakes as per taste
  • 2 large Spring onion finely chopped
  • 1/4th cup low fat cream
  • Dried italian herb mix for pasta 2 teaspoons

Method:

For the creamy sauce

  • In a saucepan heat one and a half large tablespoon of oil and saute the finely chopped garlic and when it begins to brown add 2 cloves of garlic chopped spring onion and saute for about 1 min
  • Then added the finely chopped broccoli
  • Now add the chopped button mushrooms and the sweet corn and red pepper mixture.
  • Add the cream and cook on a low flame for 2 – 3 minutes,season with salt  and then add generous amounts of cheese.
  • This sauce should have a balance between creamy and chewy with the mushrooms on the broccoli can retain a bit of its crunch so if you use a lid it may overcook

Before starting on the spicy sauce boil the past in a large saucepan and add sea salt and olive  a generous splash I use flavoured oil – the bottle had a large sprig of rosemary some crushed garlic and chilli flakes tossed inside to give it a deep rich flavour- so , so good!

For the Spicy Sauce

  • In a saucepan heat half a tablespoon of oil and fry the red onion chopped lengthwise and 2 garlic cloves finely chopped.
  • Then add the bite  sized pieces of Chorizo and reduce the flame to low.
  • Let the chorizo almost start to get crispy and  then added the pureed tomatoes,dried herb mixture,chilli flakes and salt as per taste.

In a clean bowl add a generous portion of the creamy sauce, top it with cooked pasta and then add the spicy chorizo sauce.Sprinkle with as much cheese as you want and watch it melt into the steaming hot pasta.If you want just a bit of guilty pleasure drizzle some chilli olive oil on the pasta before mixing the whole thing together!

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Zingy Turkish Poached Eggs

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I am a fan of eggs in any form and when I chanced upon this delightful Turkish recipe for combining eggs with thick and fulfilling greek yoghurt I just had to go ahead and experiment! Total Greek Yogurt 0% is fat-free, gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians and pregnant women – all good, no nasties! Besides these virtues its consistency is great and I have in the past few days consumed one of the smaller pots per day part in smoothies and just a dollop with my rice and curry dinner. There are so many versatile combinations that are possible with this yoghurt. From smoothies and shakes to use in cooking as a marinade or cooling dip with chopped goodies like fresh chives, garlic, chilli flakes etc.The thick and creamy consistency is a bonus if you’re trying to watch your weight too!

I made these poached eggs for brunch and served them with wholemeal pitta toasted in the same pan where I made my chilli butter – fabulous!

Traditionally this dish is called Cilbir (pronounced as chillburrr, roll the r’s!) is a Turkish dish of poached eggs with yoghurt (often with garlic mixed in). There are records of Cilbir being eaten by Ottoman sultans as far back as the 15th century. It is now common to serve the dish topped with melted butter infused with Aleppo pepper, for which paprika can be substituted. (Source: Wiki)

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Serves :2

Ingredients:

  • 4 large eggs – 2 per person
  • a handful of fresh mint roughly chopped
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped fine
  • 500gm Total Greek Yogurt 0%
  • Butter 50gm
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • Plenty of freshly cracked black pepper
  • Sea Salt as per taste
  • a pinch of chilli powder – as per your tolerance levels

Method:

  • Boil water in a large saucepan (my time-saving trick -boil water in the kettle and add to the saucepan), then cover with the lid and allow to simmer on a medium flame for a while
  • When the water is absolutely boiling hot, take off the lid and reduce the flame to a very low simmer. Then, carefully crack the eggs into the water one by one. They seem to sort of go ‘freeze frame’ once dropped into the boiling water. Give them about 30 seconds and when it seems like they have been poached carefully remove them one by one using a slotted spoon. If you suspect that the yolk will just burst open it means it needs some more time inside. Don’t worry if this process isn’t perfect the first time around , its a learning curve and you will get it right in a few tries – in case of disaster scoop out as much of the egg as you can and after you are done with all the eggs use a sieve to save the remaining egg 🙂
  • Use two bowls or plates to serve. First, scoop some yogurt into each of the serving bowls. Season with sea salt, a generous sprinkling of cracked black pepper and a pinch of chilli powder. Mix well
  • Create a bit of shallow space in the middle of the yoghurt mix and place the poached eggs on top
  • Heat a non-stick pan on a medium flame, reduce flame to a simmer. Melt the butter and before it starts to brown add the finely chopped garlic and smoked paprika. Then add some sea salt
  • Quickly pour this delicious golden spiced butter over the eggs and yoghurt
  • Garnish by sprinkling some fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped for a burst of fresh flavour
  • Toast the mini wholemeal pitta bread portions in the same pan that was used to melt and spice the butter and it will give your pitta that extra kick of flavour!
  • Scoop the flavoured poached egg and the cooling yogurt with the pitta bread. It’s a beautiful sensation on your palate as the cold yogurt and smoked paprika work their magic on your taste buds.

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Disclaimer: With many thanks to Total UK. 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.

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Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll

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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

Tawa Frankie Roll

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

Equipment

  • Tawa – Flat frying pan
  • Saptula

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

Instructions
 

To make the Chicken Filling

  • Heat a saucepan on medium heat and add the oil
  • Once the oil is hot, add the asafoetida
  • Then add split green chilli and crushed fresh ginger
  • Saute' and add the garlic granules
  • 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
  • Cook the onion till it reduces and turns a delicious brown, then add the coriander and cumin powder and garam masala and mix well
  • Then add the finely chopped tomato and add very little water and cook for 1 -2 minutes without lid
  • Stir frequently, so as to ensure the mixture does not stick to the saucepan
  • Now the spices have been thoroughly cooked along with the onion and tomato to make a thick gravy
  • Cut the chicken breasts and red peppers into lenghthwise strip and add to the gravy
  • Add onion salt to the mixture, red chilli powder and turmeric
  • Cover and cook until done

To make the Mint and Coriander Chutney

  • Wash the coriander and mint leaves, blend to a smoothpaste with a green chilli
  • To reduce the heat use 1 chilli de-seeded.Add the salt and lime juice and sblend once again
  • A smooth thick green paste is the consistency we are after – add some water to adjust the consistency
  • 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

  • Crack the eggs in a bowl and beat with a fork, add salt to taste
  • Using a plastic brush spread on the surface of a frozen ready to eat paratha
  • Place the eggy side down on a hot pan coated with some cooking oil
  • Ready to eat frozen parathas are readily available in most supermarkets and Indian grocery stores

How to put the Frankie Roll together

  • 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
  • Add a generous helping of the chicken filling , roll and wrap one end with some kitchen foil or baking paper. Enjoy hot
  • Dip into the chutney or tomato ketchup as you munch along
Keyword Frankie
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.

Mushroom Omelette with French Cheese

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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

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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)

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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!

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  • 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.

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  • 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 🙂

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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

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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.

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2nd Feb'14 Omlette with Cheese Sample

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

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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! )

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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!

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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 🙂

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

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.

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  • 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.

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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!


Serves:2   Prep Time:10 Minutes In the Oven: 20 Minutes


Ingredients:


    

  • 5 eggs
    • 

  • a small bunch of chives finely chopped
    • 

  • 2 large tsp cream cheese
    • 

  • 1/2 red onion finely chopped
    • 

  • 4 spicy chorizo sausages chopped
    • 

  • 5-6 chestnut mushrooms
    • 

  • Coriander to season
    • 

  • Sea Salt
    • 

  • Freshly Cracked black pepper
    • 

  • 2 tbsp butter
    • 

  • 2 tsp red chilli flakes
    • 

  • 1/4th potato thinly sliced
    • 

  • 2 tsp olive oil
    • 



Method:


    

  • 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.
    • 

  • In a saucepan add the oil and sautee’ the red onion till they go soft n juicy and then add the chopped sausages, cook on a low flame for not more than 2 minutes
    • 

  • 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.
    • 



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  • Pre heat the oven to 220° C and place the mini cocottes on a tray, bake for the first 10 minutes with lid  and then wait for 5 minutes then open the oven and bake again for 15 minutes without lid.
    • 



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.


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


Tasty and Quick Pasta for two from ”nothing”


 by  21 Comments 
We all have those days when we realise that all those reserves we had stowed away in various places – the fridge, the cupboard are well..not there and you are hungry and it’s too late to step out.


Panic not! There are ALWAYS a few things here and there which can be thrown in to make something superb! I made some very tasty and quick pasta yesterday and it was such a satisfying experience I cannot tell you how pleased I was with the outcome.


Please feel free to throw in stuff that you have, that needs using up.Waste not want not I say!


Ok so here goes.


Ingredients:


    

  • Pasta – whichever type you have left enough for 2 people – used tagliatelle and generally 2 rolls are good for one very hungry adult 🙂
    • 

  • Sea salt (basically just regular salt)
    • 

  • olive oil or regular vegetable oil 1 tbsp
    • 

  • Tomato puree/ 1 large tomato sliced and diced fine (I scraped off some leftover tomato puree in a can that was at the very back of my fridge  – just in time !
    • 

  • Chilli flakes as per taste)
    • 

  • Chorizo – again I have a small portion lying around and it packs a punch in the taste department!
    • 

  • Spring onion finely chopped, I had a small bit left over from a bunch and it tasted awesome with the chorizo
    • 

  • Dried herb mixture – 2 tsp (or use fresh herbs off your kitchen plants – my dried herb mixture is a bit of left over artisan mix from one of the many food fairs I go to 🙂 it has garlic,parsley,chilli,sun dried tomatoes,salt and basil)
    • 

  • 2 – 3 cloves garlic sliced very fine and deep fried to give a superbly crunchy deep taste
    • 

  • Some cheddar cheese, I had 2 different packs tied with a rubberband and lying quietly in a small corner of my fridge door – ha! perfect find for pasta I say!
    • 



Method:


    

  • Boil the pasta in a saucepan with a sprinkling of sea salt and drizzle some olive oil as it nears the point when it’s cooked completely, this will ensure it does not get sticky and stodgy.
    • 

  • As soon as the pasta is on the boil, in another saucepan,heat 1tsp olive oil or sunflower oil and fry the garlic until it is crisp, to get them to crisp slice them superfine,as much as you can manage to without slicing off your fingers;)
    • 

  • Then throw in the chorizo slices and as they cook they release a lot of oil and it really can add a lot of flavour and you don’t buy propecia want to waste that so quickly chuck in the chopped spring onion and the tomato puree,stir and cook this mixture for about 2 minutes on a very low flame.
    • 



The oil from the Chorizo adding flavour to the spring onion


After the Chorizo is cooked it should look like this 


    

  • Drain off the excess water from the pasta ensuring there is just a little bit to allow the pasta to remain smooth.
    • 

  • Turn off the heat at this point and mix well.Then add some chilli flakes and the cheese – as much as you have or as much as your waistline and conscience allows 😉
    • 

  • The heat trapped inside the pasta and the sauce will melt the cheese and it just disappears into the pasta giving it that perfectly cheesy not over-the-top taste,which is ex-actly what you want folks!The yummy deliciousness that this pasta is makes me want to dive right into the plate and its smoky garlicy flavour with just the right amount of chilli and chorizo which is my absolute personal favourite for pasta dishes,what more could one ask for!?! 🙂
    • 

  • I wish I had some smoked ham,fresh basil and some more chorizo – but hey this was so good I am going to make it again and again!
    • 

  • I hope you do too and if you do drop me a line here in the comments, I love reading what you have to say!I am most looking forward to those comments where you were in a similar situation and used the ”nothing” from your fridge and made pasta as delicious as mine – just use your imagination!
    • 



The best pasta I've ever made!




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  • I am entering this recipe into the ”No Waste Food Challenge” for Jan ’14,hosted by the lovely Elizabeth who blogs at  Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary and has taken on the baton to host this challenge from Kate over at Turquoise Lemons who initiated this very challenge,couldn’t think of a post more apt for this I say ! If you too would like to link up but find the details on Elizabeths blog. Find the whole round up here
    • 



no-waste-food-badge


    

  • I am entering this frugal recipe for Credit Crunch Much hosted by Helen of Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla of FabFood4all and for Feb’14 hosted by Angela of My Golden Pear. Making use of ingredients which I wouldn’t have otherwise used together and finding things lurking in my fridge which have been salvaged and not chucked into a food bin a few days later, I think this recipe definitely fits the bill for this challenge.
    • 



Credit-Crunch-Munch-Just-Pic


Tasty and Quick Pasta for two from ”nothing”




Caribbean themed Summer Fruit Smoothie


 by  11 Comments 


There’s no better way to get your summer party guests to cool down and settle in than by offering them a chilled fruity delight that takes away the torture of travelling in summer with the sun not feeling unapologetic as it beats down upon us!





I wanted to create a more complex flavour but settled for a sweet tangy combo with a few ingredients. It’s quick,easy and absolutely exploding with summer fruity goodness.





Makes 1.5 l and the plastic posh glass I served in holds 100 ml.





Ingredients:





  • 2 large organic mangoes
  • 5 juicy strawberries
  • 400 gm Pineapple chunks  with juice – I bought the long life jars since I have a shockingly tiny refrigerator.
  • Juice of 1/4th  lime
  • 225 gm Mango Pulp – I used half of a 450 gm tin of Kesar Mango Pulp





Method:





  • I bought the Mediterranean Mangoes,the ones from a supermarket shelf where the skin appears green but when you gently press down onto the skin and pulp moves easily inside that means, they are ready for consumption, if you buy them a day in advance ensure you refrigerate them minus the plastic packaging to prevent over ripening and also ”sweating” of the fruit inside the plastic packaging.
  • Scoop out the pulp from the ”cheeks” of the 2 mangoes and leave the rest for Caribbean Sweet Mini Pepper salad. Chop into big chunks for the blender.
  • Wash the strawberries, halve them after removing the stalk
  • Blitz the mango pieces, the pineapple pieces and the juice, the strawberries, mango pulp and juice of half a lime ensuring there are no seeds in it.
  • Pour into a jug and leave to cool in the refrigerator.
  • Serve with ice cubes in a fancy glass, I bought these plastic ones on a steal deal from the party section of a discount store. 🙂





This simple but delicious smoothie is perfect as a summer cooler and will not fail to impress your guests and besides its a great way to kick off a summer party!I hope you enjoy making and sharing this smoothie as much as I loved creating and writing about it, each glass refilled made me smile – a lot.





Carribean Themed Summer Smoothie





Why not also have a look at this easy and yum Strawberry Mojito Recipe by Helen who writes the blog Actually Mummy.









		

		
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