Aubergine/ Onion Bhajis

This is a relatively unfussy recipe, and this time I am not giving exact quantities as they need to be made to your taste. Anything can be made into bhajis, my favourite are aubergines, as the spicy, crispy coating really complements the smooth, almost creamy mild flesh. Onion bhajis are almost a staple UK curry house favourite and you can jazz them up by adding shredded cabbage and chillies. The ones in the picture are cabbage and onion. Every household will have thier own bhaji recipe, this is mine.

This is the recipe for the basic bhaji batter. Vary it according to taste.

Recipe:

About 250 gms chickpea flour (also called gram flour, available at Indian groceries, and big Tescos)
About 100 gm rice flour (adds to the crispiness)
About 3 tsps mild chilly powder (or 1 tsp hot chilly powder)... taste, taste, taste.
About 1 or 2 tsps salt, again, to taste.
1 tsp baking powder or bicarb of soda
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)
Sparkling water (or just plain, if you can't be bovvered)
Oil for deep frying

Method:

In a bowl, mix together the flours, add 2 tsps of the mild chilly powder (1/2 tsp hot), cumin, baking powder, garam masala, salt and cumin seeds. Add water slowly, using your hands to mix the flours and spices into a thickish batter. It should be the consistency of thick double cream or custard.

Now taste, and add the remaining chilly powder if the batter is not spicy enough for your taste. Increase the amount of chilly powder, but keep tasting. Better to underspice, and then add more spice and salt according to taste, as opposed to overspicing. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes, and the batter is ready to use.

For aubergine bhajis, cut the aubergines into rounds of about 3/4 cms. Not too thick, as they won't cook and not too thin as they will turn to mush. Dip them into the batter and deep fry till brown. Drain on kitchen paper. For onion bhajis, shred onion finely, and mix with the batter. The onion/ cabbage should be more than the batter, and it should come together as a loose sticky ball. Drop handfuls of the mixture very carefully into the hot oil and fry till crisp.

Any vegetable you like can be made into bhajis, try cauliflower florets, green peppers, sliced potatoes, courgettes etc. Seve with a hot cup of chai, and some tomato ketchup, coconut or mint chutney.

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Tendli Tel Piaow (Ivy Gourd with Onion and Coconut)

Tendli (Ivy Gourd) are one of my favourite vegetables. This little vegetable can be bought at Asian grocers by weight, and it's very versatile. It can be stir fried simply in a spice mix, cooked with spices and coconut or made into this dish, which literally translates as 'with oil and onion'. The coconut adds a lovely sweet touch to a mildly spiced dish.

Tendli Tel Piaow

1/4 kilo tendli (ivy gourd)
1/2 medium onion sliced
1 green chilly, sliced
1/2 tomato chopped
Salt to taste
About 200 ml water
Handful or so, grated coconut

To temper:

About 2 tbsp oil
1 whole flake of garlic (bruised)
About 2 sprigs of curry leaves
1 tsp black mustard seeds

1. Wash and cut the tendli into quarters lengthwise.
2. Put the onion, chilly, tomato and salt into a pan, put in the tendli and add just enough water to cover the tendli and bring the water to the boil.
3. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, or until the tendli are soft (al dente, but without any rawness)
4. Add the grated coconut and stir. Add just enough coconut to absorb the water.
5. For the tempering, in a small pan, put in the oil and heat. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and the garlic, and stir until the mustard splutters, and the garlic turns a light brown. Watch yourself, as this really does splutter and hiss.
6. Quickly pop the tempering into the cooked tendli, stir once and cover to keep the aromas. When ready to serve, stir everything together and serve as a side dish with rice or any other Indian meal.

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Easy Mangalorean Lunch

Fried fish, saar (a version of dal), rice and fish curry !

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My Favourite Olive Bread

I came back home pretty stressed out and wanted to do something to relieve the stress. After playing with Adz for a while, it was time to bath and put her into bed, so while I enjoyed the time with her, I was still feeling like I wanted to hit something very hard. That's when I turned to my favourite stress reliever, making bread. I had fresh olives in the fridge, and a bunch of mint leaves, plus there were chives growing in the garden. I also had red onions in the back of my cupboard, so I thought of one of my favourites, olive bread. This recipe is actually Rena Salaman's from her wonderful 'Greek Cooking' but I've tweaked it, so it suits my taste. Feel free to look for the original recipe, as its fabulous. I borrowed the book from the library, so I only have a scribbled version that I kept in my recipe folder.




Olive Bread

400 g strong white bread flour (or use half wholemeal, it tastes just as good, and is healthier)
About 250 ml warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp salt
1 medium red onion, sliced finely
3 tbsp olive oil (virgin, extra-virgin is fine)
3 tbsp fresh herbs, finely chopped (coriander, parsley, chives, mint or a combination) This is not a hard and fast measurement, just go with whatever you have and however much you want to add.
About 150g olives, roughly chopped (try not to use the ones in brine, ideally ones you get in a deli are better, you can use any kind, but they do need to be pitted)

1. Reactivate the yeast in 100 ml warm water, adding sugar and whisking to dissolve the yeast. Leave until frothy. Preheat oven to 200 C. or 375 F.
2. Fry the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil, until soft and only very lightly coloured.
3. In a bowl, put the flour and salt. Stir together and add the olive oil, olives, fried onions and herbs. Add the yeast, and enough of the remaining water to pull together into a soft dough. You can do this by hand, or use dough hooks. Knead for about 10 minutes. Put into a lightly oiled bowl, and leave it in a warm place for about an hour and half, until doubled in size.
4. Turn out the dough, punch lightly and knead again for about 3 or 4 minutes. Roll the dough into a big ball or 2 small balls (reduce baking time)
5. Oil a baking sheet or a tray, and pop the dough on it. Very lighlty cover with cling film and leave in a warm place again for about half hour or so, unitl the dough rises again. Doesn't have to double, but should rise at leat by a third.
6. Put the bread into the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or so, until tapping on the crust elicits a hollow sounding noise. If the crust is browning too quickly, cover loosely with aluminium foil and continue to bake.
7. Enjoy with a pat of butter.

All stress was relieved, and a nice slice of bread to round off the day too :-)

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Alu ka Paratha with Masala Eggs (Parathas stuffed with Spicy Mashed Potaoes)

My favourite travelling meal. I first ate this divine combination when I was about ten, on a journey from Belgaum to Bangalore by train. My aunt Jessy prepared these quick and easy spiced eggs and soft stuffed spicy parathas. We were supposed to eat them as an evening meal, but between my uncle and me, we couldn't wait that long, so scarfed the whole lot down at four in the afternoon. We then had to buy food to eat in the evening. Aunt and Mom were so not impressed :-) Everytime I eat this combination, I think of that journey and it makes me smile.

Here's the recipe for the eggs. Its the quickest way to jazz up a boiled egg, and it goes well as a lunchbox treat, as well as with a nice biriyani. I know the pic looks a bit rude, didn't mean to do that, husband ate a piece of the paratha before I could get the pic and so I had to cover that bit with the eggs :-)

Masala Spiced Boiled Eggs (makes four to six)

4 - 6 hard boiled eggs
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp mild Kashmiri chilly powder (or 1/2 tsp hot powder)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garam masala powder

1. Heat the oil in a shallow pan, and put in all the spices. Saute the spices for about 1 minute or so, making sure they don't burn.

2. Meanwhile gently cut into the eggs a little bit, all around the egg till the yolk, but don't cut into the yolk.

3. Then put the eggs into the mixture, and roll them around until well coated with the masala. Heat the eggs through and serve. Yum!!!

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Cherry Cake

A classic, seriously easy to make and a real favourite cake of the whole family. A slice tastes amazing with a cup of tea during lazy spring evenings! My favourite part of the cake is that the cherries sink to the botton while baking, and therefore the last bite is always a cherry filled sensation! Mmm...!

Kind of funny, but I remember reading and loving Enid Blyton's Famous Five series, and always wanting to try Aunt Fanny's cherry cake, in which all the cherries sink to the bottom of the cake, and Anne describes it as the best last mouthful in the world. Add ginger beer and egg sandwiches, and you could have a summer picnic right out of Enid Blyton's world!

If you don't like the cherries at the bottom (why, why??), then you need to wash and dry them thoroughly to get rid of all the sticky juices. This gets them lighter and they are more likely to stay in the middle of the cake.

Recipe:

225g unsalted butter, softened
225g self raising flour
225g caster sugar
50g ground almonds (optional)
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
200g or so glace cherries

Method:

1. Wash and dry the cherries thoroughly and quarter the large ones, halve the rest.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, gas mark 4, 350F.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, flour, sugar, eggs, almonds and the baking powder until well mixed (about 2 minutes or so). You can use a wooden spoon to beat as well, but make sure everthing is well mixed in.
4. Fold in the cherries.
5. Grease a 8 inch deep round cake tin, and line it with baking paper (I use nonstick, so only use the greased tin, its never hurt the cake really!).
6. Turn out the cake mixture into the tin, level the top with a spatula, and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or so. Check after an hour, if the cake is not sticky in the middle and if the edges have pulled away from the tin, its done. The top should be a light brown colour.
7. Let the cake cool, and then turn out, and serve with a cup of tea. The cake freezes well, so I cut it into wedges and individually freeze them, for a quick treat :-)

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Shahi Paneer with Homemade Butter Naans (Indian Cottage Cheese in a Creamy Sauce)

This dish holds several memories of my time in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi. Its a stunning campus, with loads of green spaces. I spent the best two years of my life there, while doing an MA in Sociology! I also made some of my best friends there. JNU is known for its famous dhabas. Many a night have I spent under the stars eating hot egg parathas with chai at Ganga dhaba and drinking Maamu’s famous mango lassi, eating those finger-lickin pakoras at the Godavari dhaba. I tried the political thing too, but it wasn’t for me and that’s another story :-)

Anyway, coming back to the food, I hated the food that we got in the hostel mess. So most nights would find me wandering off to one of the dhabas or to the many cheap eateries dotted around the campus [what was I doing during the day, you ask? Sleeping is the answer; those nocturnal wanderings came with their price, and studies, what studies? :-)] One of my favourite eateries was Teflas, a round non-descript building with some good food and dirt cheap prices for those with a cast iron tummy of course :-) My favourite food here was the shahi paneer (or a damned good version of it) and butter naans. I had other favourites which I will talk about in later posts, but this was my ultimate comfort food! So about nine years after having been a not-so-starving student (parents were very generous, thanks ma), I remember the food there fondly, and I had a real craving for it. So I decided to try and make my version of the paneer and naans, and they came out bloody good! And no Delhi Belly afterward either :-) Can’t ask for more than that surely??

Recipe:

2 packs of paneer, cubed
3 medium sized tomatoes, chopped (or 225g can chopped tomatoes)
½ inch piece of ginger
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 inch piece of cinnamon
5 cloves
½ tsp or more if desired, hot chilli powder
25 gms blanched almonds or cashews
100 ml greek yoghurt or 150 ml single cream
1 medium onion, diced
About 2 tbsp butter (replace with oil, not olive oil, if desired)
Salt to taste (or about 1 tsp)
Chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Method:

In a shallow pan, heat the butter gently and fry the onions till soft and light brown. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan, and fry for about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are mushy.

Toast the coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cloves for about 30 seconds.

In a blender, whizz together the friend onion and tomatoes, toasted spices, ginger, garlic, chilli powder, and almonds or cashews to a fine and not grainy paste. You may have to add some water to the blender to get a smooth paste.

Meanwhile, fry the cubed paneer in a little butter or oil for about 2 minutes until golden, and don’t worry about getting the cubes evenly golden.

Put the ground paste into the pan, and cook until any rawness disappears. Again, keep adding a little water if the sauce gets too dry. Turn the heat off, and let the sauce cool for a little bit. Then add the yoghurt or cream, and fold it in gently.

Season to taste, and then add the paneer pieces to the sauce. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves, and serve with the naans.

Butter Naans

2 tsp yeast (dried is fine, but you’ll need to reactivate it. I use Allinsons)
1 tsp caster sugar
3 cups plain flour + a little more, if required
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp caraway seeds (optional)
2 tbsp or less oil (I use sunflower, olive or vegetable also works)
6 tbsp Greek or natural yoghurt
1 cup (250 ml) warm water

[Optional garnishings (fresh coriander/ garlic/ nigella seeds/ sesame seeds etc)]

Method:

Put the yeast and sugar in a warmed bowl and pour over 50ml hand-warm water. Don’t make the water too hot, or you’ll kill the yeast. Stir with a fork until the yeast is dissolved and leave in a warm place for about 5 minutes or so. The yeast should start frothing.

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder into a large bowl. Add the cumin and caraway seeds.

Make a well in the middle and add the yeast mixture, yoghurt and oil. Add just enough water to knead into smooth, soft dough. Knead well.

Grease a large bowl lightly; roll the kneaded dough into a ball, put into the bowl. Cover with a dishcloth and leave in a warm place for about 1 or 2 hours until the dough has risen and almost doubled in size.

Punch down the risen dough lightly and divide into 6 or 8 balls. Roll out the naans into a bicycle seat shape, or if you can’t be bothered, just round. They should be roughly around 1/4 - 1/2 cm thick. Don’t do too thick, or it will be doughy, too thin will make it crispy. The proper size will come with practice, and it’s a personal preference too.

Grease a baking sheet, and put one or two naans on it. Pop them under a preheated grill for about 2 minutes each side (keep a sharp eye on them, when they start getting light brown spots and puffing up, its time to turn them over)

Make the rest of the naans the same way. Brush a tiny bit of salted butter over them so the butter melts on the hot naan.

Wrap all the naans in aluminium foil and put them into a warmed (not too hot) oven and they will stay warm until eating time.

PS – If you want any garnishings on the naans, add them at step 5, rolling them gently into the naan. Continue cooking them as before. For peshwari naans, chop some nuts and raisins finely and add a little grated coconut to make the filling. Take a ball of dough and stretch it out, put a little filling in the middle and close the dough around the filling, rolling it out into a ball. Then roll the dough ball out gently so that the filling doesn’t escape the naan and cook as before.

PPS - You can also make the dough in a bread machine. Once the dough has had its first rise, take out and shape naans by hand.

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