BHOK LAGYO!

Orecchiette with broccoli Cook about 400g orecchiette (or other...

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 18:34:00 -0400

Orecchiette with broccoli

Cook about 400g orecchiette (or other shell shaped pasta) in a saucepan of salted water and drain

Blanch the broccoli (1 head cut into florets) for 4 minutes and immediately drain

Heat olive oil (enough to lightly coat the pasta) over medium heat and fry thinly sliced garlic (a couple of cloves will do, more if you love garlic) for a couple of minutes

Add a couple of pinches of dried red chilli flakes

Add the broccoli and pasta and toss together until heated through

Add salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle with grated cheese (parmesan, pecorino romano or any other hard, salty cheese) and serve

BEST SANDWICH IN THE WORLD: MUMBAI SANDWICH Is the Mumbai...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:59:00 -0400

BEST SANDWICH IN THE WORLD: MUMBAI SANDWICH

Is the Mumbai sandwich a real Mumbai thing? I don’t know, but I saw this photo/recipe and was compelled to make it. It’s an amazing sandwich idea and simple to make, once you get an assembly line going. Enjoy! :)

TOFU AND BROCCOLI STIR FRY I followed this Martha Stewart recipe...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:41:00 -0400

TOFU AND BROCCOLI STIR FRY

I followed t his Martha Stewart recipe and ended up with something that reminded me of American-style Chinese takeaway (but in a good way). I skipped step two where you blanch the broccoli, and just cooked it in the pan directly. Blanching first definitely gives you the best tender yet crisp broccoli but plain stir fried/grilled broccoli is very nearly as good!

Nepali food, khaja edition Aloo pakauda with tomato...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 11:41:00 -0400

Nepali food, khaja edition

Aloo pakauda with tomato achar

Pakauda is a fairly common Nepali teatime snack. It can be made with different vegetables but the potato version is my favourite and keeps things simple. You simply peel and slice potatoes thinly and dip it in your besan (chickpea flour) batter before placing into hot oil for frying. The besan mix can be as simple or complex as you want. I didn’t want to go to too much trouble (because it’s supposed to be simple!).

I mixed together:

chickpea flour, chopped cilantro, ajowan seeds, cumin, turmeric and coriander powder and salt. Add water to the mix. The batter needs to be smooth, a bit like thick cream.

The oil needs to be hot. Test it by dropping a tiny bit of batter into it. It should bubble up immediately.

Fry the pakaudas in the hot oil, turning over a few times. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon (leaving most of the oil behind) when the pakaudas are golden-brown and transfer to a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Serve as soon as possible.

Tomato achar

My sister Arati taught me how to make this golbheda achar. It is the kind of achar that goes very well with momos but is excellent with any Nepali meal or snack.

Ingredients: tomatoes, garlic, ginger, fresh coriander, timur, dried red chillies, turmeric and salt.

Process: Quarter the tomatoes and fry with a little oil for a few minutes. Do not overcook the tomatoes, we just want it to have a light brown colour all over. Add a little turmeric while cooking. Chop up the garlic, ginger and coriander and mix it in the food processor. Add the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients and mix it until you get the desired consistency. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before eating.

Notes: Arati uses dry red chillies instead of fresh green chillies. I love how this gives a deeper flavour to this achar but I also love the fresh aroma and flavour of green chillies so you can use either.

I used very little fresh coriander for this version. Later I realised that this achar is even better if I use no fresh coriander at all and it ends up with a beautiful orange-ish colour which looks very appealing. So some of these things are down to individual taste.

Ottolenghi’s Black Pepper Tofu This must be my most cooked...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 09:52:00 -0400

Ottolenghi’s Black Pepper Tofu

This must be my most cooked and most popular dish ever! It has several amazing attributes. Some of them are:

- It’s good as a protein centre for a vegetarian meal

- It’s my number one weapon of choice to use on friends who “hate tofu” or cannot imagine being satisfied by a vegetarian meal

- It’s fairly flexible

I’ve made many different variations of this dish and they all work. Sometimes I don’t have the right type of chillies, sometimes I forget the black pepper (!) and sometimes I mix in other ingredients (like mushrooms). I’ve made a gluten-free version (with gluten-free soya sauce and no dark and sweet soya sauce) and I don’t think I’ve ever used the actual amount of ingredients in the original recipe (12 shallots? 16 spring onions?? 150g butter???). The point is, this recipe works even if you don’t follow it religiously. Enjoy. :)

Happy Valentine’s Day for those who don’t really...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:28:00 -0500

Happy Valentine’s Day for those who don’t really celebrate it…notice there is nothing pink or red on the plate

Cauliflower risotto with grilled mushrooms

The risotto recipe can be found on Jamie Oliver’s website. I improvised a little bit. For example, I used green olives instead of anchovies for the pangrattato. I also used a random Sauvignon blanc I had lying around instead of the vermouth that Jamie Oliver suggests in his basic risotto recipe.

And here comes food lecture #1: Just cook with whatever you have. It’s great to get the correct ingredients and it’s worth the effort but you have to cook constantly to improve and once you start feeling like it’s a burden or a big deal, you simply won’t do it.

Grilled mushrooms: This is just chestnut and oyster mushrooms with chopped parsley, olive oil and a lot of garlic, roasted in the oven for about 15 minutes. You can add this as a side to practically any dish.

Goat’s cheese fritters and pomegranate, baby spinach and...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:10:00 -0500

Goat’s cheese fritters and pomegranate, baby spinach and rocket salad with balsamic dressing, inspired by this recipe.

Our friend Smit made delicious walnut bread (with rosemary...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:03:00 -0500

Our friend Smit made delicious walnut bread (with rosemary sprigs) for Christmas!

Another amazing aubergine dish by Ottolenghi, aubergine with...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:57:00 -0500

Another amazing aubergine dish by Ottolenghi, aubergine with herbs

Asparagus quiche

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:47:00 -0500

Asparagus quiche

Ginger cake Sultana cake

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:33:00 -0500

Ginger cake

Sultana cake

Dinner by Zoubein Grilled mushrooms and asparagus with puy...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:39:01 -0500

Dinner by Zoubein

Grilled mushrooms and asparagus with puy lentils and a green salad

Vegetable pulau with Nepali achar

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:32:53 -0500

Vegetable pulau with Nepali achar

Hello 2011! What do you do when you want to get rid of a...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:30:03 -0500

Hello 2011!

What do you do when you want to get rid of a courgette?

Courgette boats stuffed with crumbled tofu and vegetarian sausage

Dark chocolate truffles are ridiculously easy to make! Recipe:...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:25:15 -0500

Dark chocolate truffles are ridiculously easy to make!

Recipe: all over the internet

Green beans and tomato sauce on a polenta base

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:18:15 -0500

Green beans and tomato sauce on a polenta base

Aubergine obsession continues… Quick recipe: mix aubergine...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:08:35 -0500

Aubergine obsession continues…

Quick recipe: mix aubergine pieces with oil and roast in the oven until golden brown

In a bowl, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, red chilli slices (or flakes if you want), finely chopped coriander and coarsely ground timur (aka sichuan pepper)

Sprinkle sauce over aubergine, add some coriander leaves for garnish and you’re done!

Pasta with tomato sauce, topped with fried baby eggplants,...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:55:42 -0500

Pasta with tomato sauce, topped with fried baby eggplants, mozzarella and breadcrumbs and oven baked

Fig salad Oven roasted mushrooms with garlic and parsley

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:16:45 -0500

Fig salad

Oven roasted mushrooms with garlic and parsley

I hope this omelette turned out ok :)

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:09:17 -0500

I hope this omelette turned out ok :)