Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Caramelised Red Onion Chutney with Feta and Chickpeas Salad

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On a trip to one of my favourite supermarkets I purchased my first jar of caramelised red onion chutney. Coming from India my palate is well -acclimatised to red onions and their sharp sweet taste. The tangy taste and deep rich colour and versatility of this chutney got me hooked on this dish and I was using it ever so often.

Since then I had been planning to make this chutney at home and after scouring for recipes online, I found this interesting recipe by Fraser Doherty – The Super Jam Cookbook. It’s a basic and simple recipe yet perfect in proportion and that’s exactly what a great recipe should be.

Red Onions with bay leaves image 3

It’s a perfect accompaniment for a good roast or in toasted sandwiches with a light soup during a cold wintry day. This chutney goes well with feta cheese and chickpea salad as it does with cheese and crackers. This is also my way of using all those empty glass jars that have been stacked behind various shelves in my tiny kitchen.

Averse to consuming chickpeas in popular Indian fare like ‘’Chole Bhature’’( a chickpea masala gravy with ‘’Bhature’’ which is huge, puffed fried fermented wheat bread). I find this a much healthier alternative to get my husband to eat chickpeas and get a nod of approval from my biggest critic 😉

After adding vinegars

Caramelised Red Onion Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 8 red onions
  • 1 red chilli
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 25ml olive oil
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 150ml balsamic vinegar
  • 150ml red wine vinegar

Method:

Chop the red onions into fine long slices. Slice the chilli into long thin slits. Heat the olive oil in the saucepan and add the bay leaf and chilli followed by the red onions. On a low flame stir continuously and cook for about 20 minutes.

The onions will change colour now and turn dark and the mixture will have reduced in volume. Now stir in the sugar first followed by the vinegar, I used dark muscovado sugar as I love the rich dark smoky flavour. Simmer this mixture for 30 minutes and the chutney now turns sticky and thick.

While this is simmering, sterilise all those glass bottles and store the chutney in them. It takes a month for the flavour to mature fully.

Chutney close up in tiny bonne mamon jar

Feta Cheese and Chickpea Salad

Serves 4 as a side with a main meal

Ingredients:

  • 120g chickpeas (That’s half a can of tinned chickpeas ready to eat)
  • 120g packet of crunchy salad leaves
  • 100g feta cheese
  • A pinch of Maldon sea salt
  • Half a red onion sliced thin and lengthwise
  • Few cherry tomatoes
  • Few small boiled potatoes
  • Some slices of colourful peppers

Method:

Create a bed of leaves and throw in the chickpeas and other ingredients. A generous dollop of the caramelised red onion chutney in this salad will offset the feta cheese beautifully. It’s great for a meatless Monday lunch or a perfect accompaniment for a big family Sunday lunch.

salad with yellow tea towel

The best part of making this chutney is that I get to give some to my friends, sharing is fun isn’t it?

.

Egg Curry/Anda Curry/अण्डा कारी from my college days

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Egg curry and soft paav or square buns are the most common hostel food that one can make with a saucepan, some eggs and a few basic ingredients. It is hugely popular as a filling, tasty curry and there are as many variations as the imagination, one’s budget and availability of ingredients on a particular day will allow 🙂

This version is what I always make and is sort of derivative of what would be made in the North of India. I sometimes like to make it into a coastal flavoured one by adding freshly grated coconut but that’s only if I want to make it posh but that’s very, very rare. After all, this is a quick, save the evening sort of curry!

It’s National Curry Week and it’s wonderful to see how Britain has embraced an Indian food habit and made it, its own over the years, spinning off British Indian versions of popular Indian home-cooked curries.

I wanted to start off my posts for National Curry Week, with this one because of how easy it is to make and a great recipe for students everywhere 🙂

Manjiri Chitnis

Indian Egg Curry

Street food style Indian Egg curry, reminiscent of the delicious street food I enjoyed during my student days in Mumbai, India
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings: 2 People
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 4 Medium-sized Eggs
  • 2 Medium-sized Red Onions/ Mumbai Onions
  • 2 Medium-sized Ripe Tomatoes
  • 2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
  • 2 tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp Garam Masala
  • 1 tsp Cumin Powder
  • 1 tsp Coriander Powder
  • 2 Green Chillies
  • 1 tsp Ginger Paste
  • 1 Clove Garlic finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • A pinch Asafoetida (Heeng)
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh coriander to Garnish

Equipment

  • 1 Saucepan with Lid
  • 1 Wooden Spoon/ Spatula
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Chopping Board

Method
 

  1. Boil the eggs in an open saucepan and leave aside to cool
  2. Roast the chopped red onion in a saucepan and spritz it in the mixer with the chopped tomatoes and green chillies. (If you want a coastal touch add 2 tbsp of freshly grated coconut in this mixture and puree it together, ensure to use at least 3 finely chopped garlic in the pan as they set off the taste of fresh coconut beautifully)
  3. In a saucepan heat the oil and add a pinch of asafoetida, then add the chopped garlic and roast till it turns light brown, then add the ginger paste, turmeric, red chilli powder,garam masala, coriander and cumin powders
  4. Stir in the onion and tomato puree
  5. Cook on a low flame for 2 minutes
  6. Then add some water to make a gravy-like consistency and add the boiled, peeled eggs after cutting them in half, add salt and cook for a further 5 – 6 minutes
  7. Serve with hot chapatis/naan bread,paav, soft fresh wholemeal bread or with steaming hot boiled white rice –to make the rice taste heavenly drop a blob of butter, and the steam trapped in the grains of rice will melt the butter into a golden pool of gooey goodness – pour the egg curry into this and enjoy the best and simple pleasures of curry!
Anda Curry

Looking for a Curry Recipe? You might also like:

While we are talking things curry, do also check out this interesting Mapo Tofu curry from one of my favourite blogs 🙂

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

Tasty and Quick Pasta for two from ”nothing”

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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 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”

Baked Salmon and a crunchy vegetable salad

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This is probably my simplest ,fastest and yet very tasty AND healthy meal option. All you need is 2 slices of salmon some salad leaves and a hotch potch collection of any thing that can yumm up a salad! Few Minutes in the oven and hey Presto ! a healthy meal is ready to tuck in.

What I love about the after feel of this kind of a lunch or dinner is that it leaves me full and satiated and not feeling bloaty or heavy or drowsy for that matter!

So my ingredient list goes like this , but honestly for the salad just use any combination of leafy stuff and spices that you have in your fridge and cupboard and slam them together to make your own accompaniment!

  1. 2 slices of salmon fresh
  2. 2 thick slices of lime to wedge into the fish and a large slice to splash over the salad.
  3. one spoon olive oil
  4. Mixed italian herbs to season the fish – better if you have fresh herbs
  5. crushed black pepper and rock salt to sprinkle
  6. some capers for seasoning
  7. Salad leaves of your liking I use the mix leaves packets from the supermarket – rocket,spinach,lettuce mixed with some peppers and red onion sliced  for some colour, crunch and taste.
  8. Cherry Tomatoes
  9. A cheese slice – anything that you fancy
  10. Some onion flakes to dust over the salad

This meal takes lesser time to cook than it took me to write this blog post 🙂

Method:

  1. place the salom piece on a foil, lightly drizzle olive oil , wedge a slice of lime in between and sprinkle sea salt and crcaked black pepper and a generous sprinkle of italian herbs, mine came out of a bottle.
  2. Give the Salmon just enough time in the oven to cook, fish cooks fairly fast and these 2 slices took less that 7 minutes in a pre heated oven.
  3. Once done serve the salmon alongside a generous helping of salad leaves and juicy cherry tomatoes,toss a few capers , tear some cheese to season, give another drizzle of olive oil and a big squeeze  of lime ,finally add some crispy fried onion bits, finish off with sea salt.
  4. Dig in and feel full inside and light and skippity on a full stomach.

P.S: of the time you save when you choose this light, easy and quick dish , grab that novel you have been waiting to get done with enjoy a relaxed afternoon curled up on the sofa…I did…:)

The salmon is ready for the ovenThe salad is all done!Dig into crunchy wholesome goodness and juicy fish

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