What to do with left over Rice?

Yesterdays Rice stir fried in olive oil, black cumin seeds, garlic, fresh green chillies, fresh coriander, ground turmeric, chilli powder and salt to taste

Bombay Onions

 

Bombay Onions pack a punch, much stronger in taste than English and Spanish types.

Bombay Onions Relish

Ingredients

4 large Bombay Onions

1tsp Chat Masala

1tsp Deggi Mirch

1tsp Colman’s Fresh Garden Mint Sauce

1tsp fresh lemon juice

½ tsp salt

Peel and slice the onion to desired size, leave to one side.

In a bowl, sprinkle in the chat masala, deggi mirch, salt, lemon juice, Colman’s fresh garden mint and stir well with a fork.

Add the sliced onions and mix well using a fork. Cover tightly with some cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight for best results, before serving.

Compliments curries, barbequed meats or sprinkled on your favourite dishes.

 

Spicy Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms (Indian Style)

Ingredients

8 large Portobello mushrooms

175gms fresh spinach finely chopped

4 garlic cloves finely chopped

2-3 fresh green chillies finely chopped

1 small red onion finely chopped

1 medium tomato, seeds removed and finely chopped

50gms mature cheese or feta, finely grated

2tbsp breadcrumbs (freshly made)

1tsp ground white pepper

1tsp salt

6tbsp olive oil

Serves 4

Wash and dry the mushrooms first, then oil both sides with olive oil using an oil brush and place in a large non-stick baking tray. 

Place the finely chopped spinach in a large bowl and add in the garlic, green chillies, onions, tomatoes, cheese and stir in well. 

Then sprinkle in the ground white pepper, salt and breadcrumbs. Pour in 4 tablespoons of olive oil and give one more final stir.

Using a spoon, place the spinach mixture equally into each mushroom cap and gently pat down.

Place the tray into the middle section of a pre-heated grill around 200°C degrees and allow to cook for around 15-20 minutes until the mushrooms soften and you have a slight brown colour to the topping.

Enjoy!

Quick Indian Salsa

A quick and easy tomato, onion, chilly and coriander relish that you can knock up in minutes.

Ingredients

1 tin Italian Peeled Tomatoes

1 medium to large onion finely chopped

3-4 green Indian chillies finely chopped

10-15 gms finely chopped fresh coriander and stalks

1tbsp fresh lemon juice

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cumin

You will require a hand grinder for this recipe

Serves 4-6

Grind the tin of tomatoes through the hand grinder and remove to a medium sized bowl.

Add the finely chopped onions and mix in well.

Then throw in the finely chopped coriander, green chillies, lemon juice, ground cumin, salt and give it a good stir.

Cover tightly with some cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. You will notice that juices from the onions will appear on the sides; this just adds flavour to the salsa, so give it a final stir before serving. The salsa can last up to a few days in an air tight container or bowl, kept in the fridge.

Perfect with nachos, poppadoms, samosas, spring rolls, kebabs and fish dishes.

Potato with Rice Flakes

Originally called Batata Powa, a spicy potato and rice flake dish that is a popular amongst the Indian Gujaratis. Prepared and stir fried up with in 20 minutes and often eat in on Sundays for a light fulfilling lunch.

Ingredients

200gms Rice flakes

1Large white washed potato finely chopped into small cubes

1 Medium white onion finely chopped

3-4 Indian green chillies finely chopped

1tsp Cumin seeds

1tsp Mustard seeds

1tsp Turmeric

1tsp Salt

2tsp Sugar

2tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

4tbsp Sunflower Oil

Serves 4

Preparation

Rinse the rice flakes a few times in cold water, drain in a large sieve and leave to one side.

Heat up the oil on a medium heat in a non-stick wok, preferably one which has a lid.

Once the oil is hot add in the cumin and mustard seeds and allow to fry for a minute or until the mustard seeds stop crackling.

Add in the finely chopped onions, green chillies and stir fry for 5 minutes.

Then add in the finely chopped potatoes, stir in and cover with a lid. Allow to cook for 10-12 minutes, occasionally stirring until the potatoes have cooked.

Reduce heat to low and add in the rice flakes. Sprinkle in the turmeric powder, salt, sugar and lemon juice.

Gently stir in all the ingredients until the rice flakes turn yellow and cook for a further few minutes.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander if you wish and serve hot.

You can always substitute the fresh green chillies with half a teaspoon of chilli powder or add in 100grams of corn while adding in the rice flakes for added crunch.

 

Hot Mutton Curry

Chunks of mutton on the bone, slow cooked for a couple of hours with yogurt, tomatoes, herbs and spices.

Ingredients
1kg mutton chunks with bone
1 large finely chopped onion
900ml water
250gms natural plain yogurt whipped
4tbsp sunflower oil
10 whole black peppercorns
1tsp cumin seeds
1tbsp crushed garlic
1tbsp crushed ginger
3-4 fresh red Indian chillies
5 ripe tomatoes de-skinned and liquidised
1/2tsp ground black pepper
1/2tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground turmeric
1tsp mild chilli powder
1 1/2tsp salt
Serves 4

Place the whisked yogurt into a large bowl and then gently pour in the water while whisking at the same time to form a smooth liquid.

Add in the crushed garlic, ginger, red chillies and whisk once again, before adding in the chunks of mutton and stirring in. Can be used straight away, though for best results leave to marinate for up to 3hours or left overnight tightly covered with cling film in the fridge.

In a large non-stick pan, one which has a lid, heat up the oil on a medium heat.

Once the oil is hot, throw in the peppercorns, cumin seeds and stir fry for a minute to release the flavours. (Note: some of the peppercorns may decide to pop up in the air after added to hot oil, so be careful and stand slightly back).

Add in the onions and saute until golden brown.

Pour in the marinated lamb and stir in well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover with a lid for an hour. Stirring occasionally.

Pour in the liquidise tomatoes and sprinkle in the ground black pepper, ground cumin, ground turmeric, chilli powder, salt, stir in well, cover and simmer for another hour. Stirring occasionally. (Note: If you find the sauce has dried up little add a cup of water, this may happen if the lid is not tightly put on and steam is releasing).

Serve hot with Naan Bread and Plain Rice

MUTTON CURRY

Savoury Indian Pancakes

Uttappam is a popular south East Indian style savoury pancake, which is also known to many as the Indian pizza.

Similar too western pancakes or crepes, these tend to be thicker, spongier and light in texture. Cooked on a flat round griddle for around 5 minutes, they are typically served with Sambar (lentil soup) and Coconut Chutney, for breakfast or lunch.
Through the years various other combinations of toppings have appeared throughout the food stalls in India, making Uttappams an increasingly popular street dish amongst locals. One of the favourite toppings is a mixture of onions, tomatoes, chillies and coriander which can either mixed into the batter or sprinkled over the pancake at the beginning of the cooking process, this we now call the Indian Pizza. Cheese can be sprinkled over the top, just before serving for that real pizza feel. Uttappam's can be found in nearly all good south Indian restaurants in the west with an array of topping choices. They make great tasty light lunches and are also low in calories, for those who are looking after their waistlines.

My own home-made Uttappam sprinkled with onions, tomatoes, chillies & coriander.

A typical batter mix making 4 pancakes consists of:

50gms Urad Flour (Black Matpe Bean Flour)
150gms Rice Flour
1tsp Salt
½ tsp Bicarbonate soda
1tsp ginger paste
1tsp green chilli paste
350ml water

Mix the flours together and then add the water, mix in well to form a batter. Add the rest of the ingredients and leave for 30 minutes.

Heat up a small round flat frying pan/griddle with a little oil on a low to medium heat. Once hot pour in the batter and either gently turn the handle or use the back of a large spoon to spread the batter evenly to form a round shape.

Sprinkle over toppings if using and using a spoon spread oil around the edges, cover with a lid and allow too cook for around 3 minutes.

Remove lid and using a large spatula turn the uttappam over; allow cooking for 2 more minutes this time with the lid off.

Remove to a serving dish and serve hot.

You can buy Git's Uttappam Flour Mix, in specialist Indian groceries, which is a complete mix were you only have to add water, so why not give it a go.

Mint & Coriander Chutney

Green & Mean

A fiery green chutney, made from fresh mint, coriander, garlic and green chillies.

 
Ingredients
80gms fresh coriander (Washed) roughly chopped
40gms fresh Mint (Washed) roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 green chillies roughly chopped
1tsp salt
2tsp sugar
1tsp cumin seeds
2tbsp fresh lemon juice
200ml water

(You will require a food blender for this recipe)

Preparation

First place the garlic, green chillies and cumin seeds in the food blender.

Add the fresh mint and coriander in next.

Pour in the water, close the lid and blend the ingredients together with short bursts of power or use the pulse switch that many new blenders have.

Open the lid, stir with a spoon and repeat the process. You want all the mint and coriander leaves broken down and the chutney to be freely moving while being blended.

Now add in the salt, sugar and lemon juice and give a few more spins, before removing to a serving bowl.

Cover with cling film, leave to chill for 30 minutes before using.


Accompanies

Grilled or barbecued meats

Dry Fish Dishes

Roasted Vegetables

Samosas, Spring Rolls & Pokoras

Vegetable Fritters

Toasties

Does anyone remember the Brev, short for Breville, the 80's toastie machine, I bet everyone's got one, somewhere. After last week's BBC One Show's feature on how toastie's are on the return, I had to decide what to have for lunch today, though where was my Brev?

After a short little search, I found it, behind things in one of the cupboards, right at the back, still in immaculate order; I took it out and gave it a bit of a clean, before plugging it in to see if it works.

Oh yes it does, these machines, were built to stand the test of time, now for my filling.

The Spicy Cheese Toastie

Ingredients:

100 gms Cheese (Cheddar) grated,

1 small white or red onion finely chopped,
1/2 green bell pepper finely chopped,
1 small tomato, seeds removed finely chopped,
2-3 Indian green chillies finely chopped,
8 large slices of wholemeal/oatmeal bread,
Margarine/butter spread

Makes 4 Sandwiches.
Preparation

Mix all the ingredients well in a bowl, as in the above picture.

Using a sharp knife, cut away the ends of the bread, so that you have a rectangular shape, according to the size of your machine plate.

Evenly spread one side of the bread and place the buttered side down on the plate.

Add the cheese filling evenly, place another slice of bread over, making sure that the buttered side is on top.

Press the lid down and switch on.

A few minutes later.....
Where's your Brev?

Salmon Tikka

Succulent chunks of salmon, marinated with garlic, ginger and spices, char grilled to produce a mouth watering dish.

Ingredients
500gms salmon chunks
1tbsp garlic crushed
1tbsp ginger crushed
1tbsp fresh red chillies chopped
1/2 large fresh lemon, freshly squeezed
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp kashmiri chilli powder
1tsp salt, to taste
1/2tsp ground black pepper, to taste
2tbsp sunflower oil

Preparation

Add the garlic, ginger and fresh red chillies into a small food processor and blend well until all pieces have broken down. Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and sunflower oil, blend until you have a paste.

Sprinkle in the dried ground spices, including the salt and pepper and blend well once again, to form a marinade.

Place the salmon chunks in a medium bowl and pour in the marinade. Either using your hands or a spoon, mix the marinade in well, making sure that all pieces are coated well. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes, in the fridge.

Cooking

Pre-heat a grill to 200 degrees/ gas mark 6.

Place the marinated salmon chunks, in a non-stick oven tray and place under the grill, not to close to the heat. (If you do not have a non-stick tray, use a tray with kitchen foil).

Cook either side for 15 minutes, until slightly charred, as in the picture.

Remove and serve hot with a salad of your choice and lemon wedges.

Try the same marinade with other white fish, such as: Cod, Haddock, Monk or Tilapia.