Tomato cous cous

         

Ingredients

Tomato paste

Onions

Spring onions

Peppers

Coriander

Chickpeas

Spices

Heat oil in a deep pot throw in the onions and fry them till translucent. Add the tomato paste and spices with a pinch of sugar. I used bay leaves, cumin and a veggie stock cube use spices you like. Add a little water and let the stew simmer till the oil and tomatoes separate. The longer the tomatoes cook the redder the finished product will be. Give the stew 30 mins to simmer adding water gradually to make a sauce that will can be absorbed by the cous cous. Add the chickpeas and give them 5 minutes to cook .

In a deep dish add the cous cous with a bit of olive oil or butter throw in the rest of the chopped vegetables. Pour most of the sauce on the cous cous reserving some for garnishing. Allow the cous cous time to absorb the sauce fluff with a fork. Serve with the remaining sauce and dressing of your choice. 

Burmese tofu stir fry

This is a very simple recipe, it is vegan and gluten free what could be better. 

This is best and simplest recipe  of Burmese tofu on  the internet. I have however improvised it a bit . I usually add in finely chopped onion and red and green peppers. This adds colour and nutrition, it also saves time cooking the vegetables separately. 

The recipe above is very simple. Slice mushroom, spring onions, sauté the mushrooms in a flat pan till they have a nice colour on them add in the white bits of the spring onions separately in the pan toss them in the pan for a minute. Season the vegetables with soy sauce and sesame oil. You could season this dish with any sauce you like and adjust the seasoning accordingly. The tofu can be sautéed similarly in a pan, it wont get very crisp but it develops a light skin, season accordingly.

To prepare the noodles boil water in a deep pan add a little salt add the noodles cook till al dente, drain. Keep a little water from the noodles. Throw the noodles in a dish season with soy sauce and sesame oil or any oil of your choice. A spoon or two of the noodle water will prevent it from drying out. 

To serve place noodles in a dish, add the vegetables and tofu, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and finely sliced green bits of spring onions. 

PS: I have tried this tofu with various kinds of seasoning. It makes for a nice salad which doesn't require cooking. I chopped mint leaves, onions and peppers and added it to the tofu. To serve the salad I added Burmese tofu that had been in the fridge for an hour with a lime and palm sugar dressing mixed with mint leaves, onions and peppers. 

Feel free to try variations on this recipe and please experiment. 

Miso Udon Soup

This is my most professional looking bowl of noodle soup I followed the techniques from watching chefs and videos. One of the nicest meal I had and even taught a friend how to make this.

Ingredients.

Miso Soup
Udon Noodles
Sesame Oil
Tofu
Spring onions
Mushrooms
Seaweed sheets

Drain and slice tofu add it to a pot of boiling water throw in sliced mushrooms then spring onions (the white bits) followed by strips of the seaweed. Boil for five minutes. Boil noodles in a separate pan drain (you can boil the noodles in the same pot as the vegetables, it thickens the soup a bit and adds to the nutritional content). Add miso with a pinch of pepper and sugar in the serving bowl and dissolve or dilute in a tablespoon of water. Put in a portion of noodles ladle in the soup garnish with the green bits of spring onions, a few strips f seaweed and a few drops of sesame oil.

PS: I am going to try this recipe with dumplings next

Summer Pasta

This is a simple pasta recipe that is good cold and can be cooked in advance. It goes well with lots of vegetables and can

Boil pasta in hot salted water till al dente.

chop an onion and sauté in a hot pan with a little oil. I like to brown the onions to bring out their sweetness and add depth the pasta 

 

Chop a few mushrooms and add them to a buttered pan sauté till brown.

Drain the pasta well and while it is still hot add olive oil and butter, mix well. 

Add the vegetables mix well.

The sauce is easy to make. Add fresh chopped mint leaves, plain yogurt, salt black pepper, a little nutmeg and other spices you like. I like to add a little lime zest and a few drops of lime juice. Mix well and serve. 

Green chilli pickle

This is a sweet pickle that goes well on anything and especially cheddar cheese as a friend and I found out right after we made this stuff.

Ingredients
Green chillies
Jaggery
Salt
Oil
Fennel seeds
Chilli powder
Balsamic vinegar

I use these long green chillies because they are not too hot but feel free to try this with other chillies. 

Wash and dry the chillies thoroughly 

grate about 6 tablespoons of jaggery add more if you want a sweeter pickle add water dissolve the jaggery and let it come to a boil

Cut chillies to the desired size add salt, chilli powder and balsamic vinegar. Mix well and let it marinate for 30 minutes. 

Heat oil in a pan and let it get hot but not smoking. It would be advisable to open windows at this time as this pickle is very pungent. Add chillies in the hot oil with the marinade. The mixture will boil and sizzle, let the chillies roast for a minute or two the skins get a nice char that way. 

When the chillies look like they are softening  add the jaggery liquid in let it boil for another minute or two. Jaggery will thicken, don't let it dry out. How thick or runny you want this liquid is upto you. 

I like mine with plenty of juice and not too thick. Turn of the heat and let the pickle cook in its own heat. Once completely cool transfer into sterilised jars and into the fridge. The pickle should keep for a month. I have never been able to keep for that long as I eat in rather quickly. 

St Patricks Day Wrap

This year I find myself surrounded by Irish people who are rather keen on St Patrick's Day celebrations,  so I decided to join in and make this tasty lunch. The colours of the ingredients are green, orange and white a tribute to the Irish flag

Ingredients

A handful of spinach leaves

4 white or brown mushrooms

Red Leicester cheese 

A ripe Brie

Nutmeg

Salt 

Black pepper

Butter

Pine nuts - they add a nice crunch but I didn't have any

Warp - I buy them readymade you could make your own

If you are vegan skip the cheese and add roasted tofu instead

Chop the mushrooms in small slices, heat a little oil in a pan throw in the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms cook on one side till they turn brown and have a nice colour on them. Wash and chop the spinach roughly and add this to the pan. Spinach cooks very fast so give it 2 or 3 minutes till the excess moisture has dried out. Season and let the mixture sit in the pan as you prepare the other ingredients. 

Heat the wrap for 30 seconds or so on a flat pan. Cut chunks of cheese and sprinkle evenly on the wrap. I usually put the toppings in a straight line with a little gap on the top and bottom to fold in (see picture below). Add the mixture and more cheese, roll and seal. I like my wraps a bit crunchy so I dry roast it a but on a hot pan for a minute or two. 

And now for a closeup

Alternatively this vegetable mixture would be nice on Irish soda bread or in rice or cous cous. Feel free to eat this the way you like. 

Mushroom Biryani

I promised my flatmate I would give his Dutch pot used in several recipes credit. The pot was present from his grandmother who gave it to him when he started university, he graduates in a few months as a medical doctor I wish him all the best. This is a big thank you to his grandmother and him for the thoughtful gift and for the lovely meals it has cooked all these years.

This recipe is my token of gratitude to him

Ingredients

Mushrooms - I used button mushrooms.

Potato- sliced in a way you like

Onions- I love lots of onions in this dish so feel to add more if you like. 

Rice- Basmati rice would be the best rice for this recipe.

low fat yogurt 

Oil and 

Butter 

Spices- 

Salt 

Pepper 

Chili powder

Cumin powder

Cinnamon powder or stick

Nutmeg grated

Bay leaf powder or stick

Slice onions lengthways, follow the lines on the skin of the onion. Heat oil in a deep dish let it turn nice and hot throw in the onions and fry them till golden brown. Throw in the potatoes cook this for 2 minutes or so add water if they start sticking to the pan. 

Add sliced mushrooms throw in the spices add yogurt mix well. Let this simmer for 5 minutes add water only if you need it. 

Soak and wash the rice for 30 minutes drain and add to the dish pour in a little hot water. Don't mix the rice into the vegetables but let it sit on top add knobs of butter and cover the dish. I have used salted butter but if you have ghee (clarified butter) go ahead and use that. I have tired using a half butter half olive oil mix too and it has turned out nice. This rice needs some kind of fat to make it nice and fluffy.

Let this cook on the lowest setting for 15 minutes. Serve hot with yogurt and fried onions. 

This is what it looks like when cooked. The veggies settle at the bottom with the rice on top. bits of the rice mix with the stew some of it stays on top. 

PS: Add chopped mint to the yogurt dip for nicer accompaniment. 

Dum aloo - easy potato curry

This curry was quite popular with my mum when I was growing up, but it is rather greasy so I decided to make a lighter version of it. The recipe calls for the potatoes to be deep fried, I roast them instead.

Cut potatoes to a size of you like. Heat a pan in the oven with oil, drop the potatoes in when the oil is hot but not smoking toss them around the pan and ensure they are well coated in oil. Half way through the cooking, add a clove or two of garlic and roughly chopped onions. Roast till golden. The garlic should soften and become easy to mash.

To prepare the curry base, heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions and sauté until translucent. I usually add a bit of the spice mixture in at this point, here are the spices, all quantities are according to taste:

Salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, mango powder, nigella seeds, garam masala, a pinch of sugar, a little dried basil.

Add tomato paste or puree to the onions in the pan, mix well, add the rest of the spices and sauté. I added a little yogurt to reduce the sourness, if you are vegan skip this.  Add another  pinch of  garam masala and cook for a minute or two. Add the roast potatoes, mix well ,garnish with coriander and serve.

Feel free to add ingredients and make variations of this recipe.

Photographs below-

Sauté onions till translucent

Add tomato paste. You can use fresh tomatoes or puree 

Mix well

Add spices I usually add a pinch of sugar to make the tomatoes less tart

Let this cook for a minute or two

This mixture started to bubble a bit 

As it was getting a bit dry I added a little water and let it simmer

The oil and tomatoes should separate and start bubbling in the pot.

Add yogurt and stir well 

 Add the roasted potatoes at this point and mix well. 

This is my meal in a lovely plate with mango lassi, chapatis and butter