Besan Fried Aubergine with Lentil Pilaf

Right, so the kitchen is unpacked, and the living room is clear of boxes. I've no idea where anything is, but at least have managed to find my bed every night, which is always a good thing! Saying that, my bedroom looks like it has been hit by a girl bomb*, but let's just ignore that for now. All in all, I'm getting settled - and hopefully normal blogging services will be resumed shortly!

The dish I'm serving up to you today is a feat of kitchen clearing. I prepared it in my last week at the flat, and was chuffed about using up lots of bits and pieces to actually make a fairly cohesive whole. Not only that - it was quick to make, ridiculously cheap, and damned tasty with it! My quantities are pretty rough - the end of a pack of basmati, finish off a couple packs of lentils, some bits of veg from the back of the fridge, a couple of almost empty jars of sambal...

Besan Fried Aubergine with Lentil Pilaf

Serves 4

• 1 cup red lentils, washed
• 1.5 cup basmati rice
• 0.5 cup broad beans (from the freezer!)
• Half a broccoli, florets
  
• 400g tin tomatoes
• 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
• 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
  
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• good pinch saffron
• Vegetable bouillon
• Salt to taste
• ghee to fry

Heat ghee in a heavy-based saucepan and add mustard and fennel seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop, add the garlic and ginger, then the fenugreek, lentils and basmati rice. Stir for 3/4 minutes, then add the rest of the spices, and salt as required.

Add the tin of tomatoes, and top up with hot bouillon to about an inch over the level. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 or 6 minutes.

Chuck in the broccoli florets and broad beans and add more bouillon if required. Continue cooking until rice and lentils are done, checking to make sure it doesn't get too dry, adding more bouillon as necessary.

Besan-Fried Aubergine

• 1 cup gram flour
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• water to mix
• 1 aubergine (eggplant!)
• ghee to fry

Mix together the first six ingredients, then mix in just enough water to make a thick batter.

Cut the aubergine into slices about 1cm thick, and coat them in the batter.

Heat the ghee in a frying pan to a medium to hot heat. Cook the aubergine for a minute or two on each side, until golden and crispy - but don't overcook!

Serve the lentil pilaf with slices of fried aubergine on top, and a couple dabs of sambal if you're in the mood for a bit more heat!

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* clothes, shoes**, make up, more boxes and some random utterly unnecessary objects... A small stuffed bagpuss mouse that sings "We will fix it". Except the battery is all but dead, so all it actually does is an aphonic "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.......". Then snuffles a little before returning to its glass-eyed voiceless state.

** did I mention I halved my shoe collection before I moved? I threw out 42 pairs... :-S

Think Spice... Think Fenugreek - The Roundup!

Oh dear - my very first time hosting a food event... and I'm late!

Apologies to anyone waiting for the Think Spice... Think Fenugreek round up. Life has been getting in the way of blogging, and I missed my target of the first week in October. But I'm hoping that the lovely selection of fenugreek based dishes will go some way to appeasing you all!

First on the list is this wonderful Punjabi Kadhi by Hitashi from Culinary Hike. It is a yogurt based curry prepared in way I haven't seen before - beating the yogurt with some spices and gram flour to create the base. Can't wait to try it!

Punjabi Kadhi

Priya from Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes took advantage of the fact that fenugreek is a legume to sprout the seeds and create this Sprouted Fenugreek Onion Gravy. She recommends serving it with hot rice and papads - all I can say is count me in!!

Sprouted Fenugreek Onion Gravy

Who knew making a pickle could be so easy, and look so good! Vijaya from Daily Meals presents this crunchy Cauliflower Pickle. With cauliflower in abundance at the moment, I can't wait to give this a go!

Cauliflower Pickle

Jayasree of Kaila's Kitchen shares with us these unusual Rice wade. Wades are like poori - deep-fried dough balls - in this case flavoured with methi and fennel. I'd love to try these with that moong dal Jayasree!

Rice Wade

Nags from Edible Garden continues her mystery masala series to bring us this fantastically coloured sambhar cum rasam spice blend. Can't you just smell those wonderful fragrances from here?

Sambhar cum Rasam Masala Powder

Psychgrad from Equal Opportunity Kitchen really pushed the boat out with this Sri Lankan Red Shrimp Curry, managing to find pandan leaf (I'm jealous!) and trying cooking with fenugreek for the first time ever! She was a little underwhelmed with the results - but I think it looks wonderful!

Sri Lankan Red Shrimp Curry

And here is my submission! Fenugreek Poached Fish with Saag Aloo

Fenugreek Poached Fish with Saag Aloo

These went straight onto my to-make list! In fact, why haven't I made them already?? Aparna from My Diverse Kitchen sent over these beautiful baked methi muthias fenugreek crackers. She says they are a modified Gujarati recipe - and perfect to satisfy that savoury craving! I utterly agree!

Methi Muthias Fenugreek Crackers

Our second entry to use sprouted fenugreek is Geetha from The Fragrant Kitchen's Sprouted Fenugreek (Methi) Rice. I am definitely going to try this - it is healthy and sounds absolutely delicious!

Sprouted Fenugreek (Methi) Rice

Geetha also initally sent me this Methi Dal but as it uses fresh rather than dried fenugreek I couldn't count it as a Think spice entry. Then I thought I'd share it with you anyway, as it is a great dal recipe - and I love dals!

Methi Dal

Next, PG from My Kitchen Stories gives us a luscious Chicken Makkhan - also known as Butter Chicken. It is a rich dish, not too hot - doesn't it sound just wonderful?!

Chicken Makkhan

Rupa, from new blog A Virtual Vegetarian, just made it in time with another Gujarat dish - the impressive Methi dana aur papad ki subzi. She also shares another couple of health benefits of fenugreek - did you know it is highly recommended for diabetics as it aids the absorption of sugar?

Methi dana aur papad ki subzi

Thanks to everyone for these wonderful submissions - and thanks to Sunita for allowing me to host this great event!

Scottish Scran 6 - Lentil and Ham Hock Soup

Hello!

I'm back! Kittie is officially now in a different kitchen... and just about recovered from the trauma of moving...

What a week. In the space of seven days...

• I've packed up my wee flat and moved into a proper house!
• I've left the cats with their new owner - happy to report things seem to be going well so far!
• Three of my good friends have left the country - two to South America, and one to Turkey... have a wonderful time guys, missing you already.
• My work contract has come to an end - back to the bench for me...
  
• My best friend has booked her tickets for a six month traveling expedition - exciting!!
  
• ... and last, but by no means least, one of my best friends has just got married - congratulations, M&M!

So. After all the upheaval, bustle and rush, there is nothing like a huge steaming bowl of broth to sooth and comfort; make the world all seem just a little bit more normal. A soup that's seen me through sore throats and winter days, a student staple and a Christmas treat...

Lentil and Ham Hock Soup

Serves 10-12, depending on the bowl!

• 1 ham hock, preferably smoked
• 2 large onions, roughly chopped
  
• 3 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, for the stock
• 1 celery for the stock
• 2 cloves garlic (optional) Left whole, but bashed a bit
  
• 2 cups red lentils, washed
• 3 sticks celery, roughly chopped
  
• 6 black pepper corns
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 1 clove
• butter to fry
  
• salt to taste

Prepare the Stock...
Place the hock in a large soup pot. Add one onion, one carrot, one stick of celery and the garlic (if using). Add the bay leaves, peppercorns and clove, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for an hour and a half.

Strain the stock, reserving the hock, and discard the veg and spice.

Prepare the Base...

Heat some butter in your soup pot, then add the rest of the onion, celery and carrot. Fry until softened slightly, then pour in the stock. Stir in the lentils and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the lentils are cooked through. Check seasoning after about 10 minutes and adjust as required.

While the lentils are cooking, remove as much meat as you can from the hock, and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Finish the Soup...

Once the lentils are fully cooked, remove the soup from the heat and blitz to desired consistency. Add the hock meat pieces into the soup.

Serve!
Serve your lentil broth with crusty bread, a grind of black pepper and a sigh of relief.

Scottish Word of the Day!

Puggled - knackered, tired,

Ah'm fair puggled efter moving' yisturday - ah wiz desperate fur mah scratcher by the time ah got in mah new hoose!

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This is also my entry for the amazing World Food Day event being hosted by Ivy and Val!

World Food Day is an event to raise awareness of the problem of hunger in the world and to bring to our attention what we can do about it personally. It is a day to encourage us and our governments to be well informed on the issues and to have a plan of action!!!

The event requires participants to make dishes that will feed at least 6 people...

We could then lay each dish back to back and have enough food to feed everyone on our street. If more people joined we could feed everyone in our city...our country...the world...you get the picture!!! A conga line of international dishes to feed the world!!!!

RFJ: Sambuca Orange Salmon with Spelt Crackers

Last month Peter won the Royal Foodie Joust with his Halvas, and selected fennel, parsley and dairy for his three ingredients.

I loved Peter's choice - and it took me a while to choose what to make, but in the end I decided on an appetiser of home cured salmon, with crackers and a chunky fennel sauce.

The salmon I cured with orange juice, sambuca and ground fennel seeds. It was the first time I have done anything like this, and I was really impressed by how easy it was - not to mention how tasty the final product was! I used two skinless salmon fillets, that had been lightly smoked.

I served the salmon with spelt crackers topped with parsley salt, and a chunky sauce of fennel, orange zest and yogurt. I was a bit concerned about the yogurt sauce as I'm not a big fan of raw fennel. However, the orange zest tempered the anise beautifully - I was really happy with how the flavours came together.

Orange and Fennel Cured Salmon

Inspired by Pixen's recipe here.

• 2 large fillets of lightly smoked salmon, skinned and deboned
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp coarse sea salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
  
• A shot of Sambuca (or any other anise liquor)
  
• 1 orange, halved

Prepare the Rub...
Dry toast the pepper and fennel for a couple of minutes - keep the pan moving, and turn the seeds into a mortar and pestle when they start to smell good!

Let cool for a couple of minutes.

Bash them up until pretty fine, then add the salt and sugar. Give it a bit of a bash - but don't obliterate the salt entirely - leave some bit chunky!

Prepare the Salmon...
Wash and dry your salmon thoroughly - removing any wee bones that are left in there.

Put the spice rub out onto a flat surface, and coat each fillet well. Give it a bit of a rub to get the flavours going!

In a bowl, mix any left over salt mix with the sambuca - and the same quantity of orange juice from one of the orange halves.

Lay one fillet out, and top with slices of orange from the other half orange. Lay the other fillet on top.

Place into a small food bag, and pour in the orange sambuca mix. Squish out excess air, and tie. Now tightly wrap in clingfilm, place in a bowl in case it leaks! And put something heavy on top. I used my mortar... or pestle... whichever part the base is anyway - it's one of those huge thai stone jobs, so pretty heavy!

Cure...
Leave for at least 24 hours - I left mine for about 36, though I probably wouldn't recommend much more than 48.

Turn every 12 hours or so, replacing the weight when you do.

Cured!
Remove from the food bag, and wash off the salt mix in cold water. Pat dry with paper towel and use a sharp knife to cut finely across the grain.

Parsley Salt

• 5 tbsp coarse sea salt
• small handful parsley leaves
• 1/2 clove garlic, crushed

Preheat oven to 140c.

Put the garlic and parsley into a mini-blender and blitz til smooth. Scrape into a mortar and pestle, then add the salt. Pound until the salt is fine to medium ground, and the parsley mix is thoroughly incorporated.

Tip the mixture onto an oven sheet and spread it out. Put in the oven for 6 minutes, then give it a bit of a stir. Put it back in for another 6 minutes, or until it has dried out, but still green.

Allow to cool, then put back into mortar and pestle, and grind.

Parsley Salt Crackers

 Inspired by Helen's recipe here.

• 0.5 cup plain white flour
• 0.5 cup spelt flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch salt
• 25ml olive oil
• water to mix
• parsley salt
• 1 egg, beaten

Preheat over to 140c.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder, then mix in the oil. Add enough water to make a dough.

Knead for a minute or two, then leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Cut the dough in two, then roll one piece out as thin as you can. Poke marks in it with a fork to stop it puffing up. Brush with beaten egg, then sprinkle with parsley salt to taste.

Cut into what ever shape you like and lay onto a non-stick baking sheet.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden and crispy!

Chunky Fennel Sauce

• 1 bulb fennel
• 150ml yogurt
• 1 tsp orange zest
• parsley salt, to taste

Strain the Yogurt...
Place a couple of sheets of strong tissue in a sieve and balance on a bowl. Tip in the yogurt and leave to sit for as long as possible to let the liquid strain off. ideally overnight, but at least a couple of hours. If you don't have as long, then spread out the yogurt as thinly as possible to accelerate the process.

Prepare the Fennel...
Remove the fronds from the bulb, finely chop and set aside. Remove any discoloured outer leaves and discard. Finely chop the rest of the bulb.

Put the Sauce Together...
Mix together the fronds and the fennel flesh, and mix with the orange zest. Mix in enough strained yogurt to hold the sauce together. Mix in the parsley salt to taste.

Serve!

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Goo!

I've got a bit of a story behind these cupcakes!

I had some friends round to dinner a few weeks ago and had made some of my 'special' chocolate sauce to go with caramelised bananas and ice cream. However, due to various reasons... (including plastic meltage, and my utter inability to find decent ice cream anywhere!) we decided to go with banoffee pie instead... leaving me with a glut of gooey chocolatey lushness tempting me from the fridge.

My special chocolate sauce is incredibly simple, and sounds a little horrific... but I haven't met anyone yet who doesn't like it. It's perfect for a quick dessert on top of ice cream. Or dip pears in it to pretend you're healthy... ;)

So, the following day I had some bananas going just past ripe and a pot of chocolate goo. Inspired by Dee's banana loaf, I decided to knock together some cupcakes before I went to the pub to meet some friends. And being the good friend that I am, it would have been churlish not to take along a few for them to sample. (Note, banana and chocolate don't go too well with beer ;) So eat 'em first, drink later!)

Anyway, beer drinking tips aside, we were happily sat at the pub and onto our second pint when I remembered about my cupcakes. I handed them out... we had one each... when a guy across the table asked for a taste! As I was feeling slightly sick from all the requisite tasting (see below) I was quite happy to give up mine. Just as well really, as it turns out he has just taken over a nearby cafe and was looking for someone to help out with some real home cooking!

So for the last couple of weeks I've been baking up a storm - and have a whole load of stuff to show you. It's been fun - but I can't tell you how tough it is to bake up a whole gooey chocolate cake, then give it away with barely a taste... Well, except from the bowl, of course! ;)

Chocolate Banana Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes!

• 3 ripe bananas - this is not the place for green or hard nanas!
• 1 cup plain white flour
• 0.5 cups wholewheat flour
• 0.5 cup soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 6 tbsp groundnut oil
• 6 tbsp yogurt
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch salt

Preheat oven to 165c.

Prepare the Batter...
Sift together the flours, baking powder and baking soda, then mix in the salt.

Whisk together the oil and sugar, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Smoosh up the bananas with a fork and add to the egg mixture along with the vanilla extract.

Add a third of the flour mix, then a third of the yogurt and mix until just moistened. Repeat until flour and yogurt finished!

Line muffin tray with cases, and divide the mixture between them.

Bake!
Bake for 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of one.


For the 'frosting'...

• 1 tin condensed milk
• 150g plain chocolate
• 1 tbsp butter
  

Put the condensed milk into a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Gently bring to the boil and cook gently for 5 minutes.

Taste a wee bit of the condensed milk to make sure it's ok. Is it? Best check again, just to be sure...

Break up the chocolate and add to the milk. Melt it up until you have a gorgeous gooey chocolatey mess.

Probably should taste it again - make sure it's chocolatey and gooey enough. It is? Sure?? Go on, check again...

Add the butter and stir gently until combined. Have another couple of taste tests. Maybe dip in a strawberry or marshmallow... if you happen to have any lying around...

Let it cool a bit, then smear on top of cooled cupcakes.

There should be some left to have with ice cream. Or straight from the bowl - it's your call ;)

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I'm sending these cupcakes to three events - two of them new ones to me:
Ben's I Love Baking event, and Fanny's Sugar High Friday!

The third is Lore at Culinarty's Original Recipe event!

Scottish Scran 5 - Girdle Scones

After a few days of feeling rather under the weather, I have been comforting myself by cooking up a storm of Scottish comfort food. Mince and tatties, lentil and ham soup, tattie scones... Not a chili in sight for four days - maybe a record for me?!

For a morning snack - still emptying those cupboards - I made these girdle scones - also known as drop scones, Scottish pancakes, griddle scones, drapped scones, scotch pancakes... Girdle is a Scots word for griddle - just in case you were wondering!

They are one of the first things I ever made myself - and also one of the few non savoury things I remember my mum cooking when I was young. Like me, she's always preferred savoury to sweet. One of the other sweet things was rhubarb tart - the only pud my dad will eat!

My favourite way to eat these is hot from the pan, slathered in good butter. Or occasionally with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of sugar... And once in a while, a daub of nutella. Some people like them with jam and cream - but I think they might just be secretly wishing for a baked scone...

Girdle scones really are best straight after cooking - and only take minutes to make, so there is no excuse!

Check out the rest of my Scottish Scran here!

Girdle Scones

Made about 20 scones!

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• milk to mix, up to 1 cup
• pinch salt

Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl and mix in the salt and sugar. Make a well in the flour and crack the egg into it, then start incorporating the flour into the egg. Add the milk little by little until you have a thick batter.

Heat a griddle (or frying pan!) to a medium heat and grease with a bit of butter or oil. Add tablespoons of the batter to the pan and cook until bubbles break the surface. This should take less than a minute, but shouldn't start immediately - it might take you a couple of goes to get the temperature just right - it always does for me!

Lightly grease the pan between lots.

I always have mine warm with butter... but a dab of jam, or lemon and sugar would also make good toppings!

Serve warm with a cuppa!

Scottish Word of the Day!

Ok, so it isn't actually a Scottish word - but here's a quick note on the word Scotch!

The word Scotch is actually an English adjective meaning 'of or from Scotland'. It was first recorded in the 16th century, and - despite being an English word - was incorporated into the Scots language in the 17th century,

By the early 19th century scotch was rejected by Scottish people as an Anglicised affectation. It is now pretty much obsolete for general use - and is often considered to be patronising and somewhat offensive.*

There are still some valid uses of scotch though, i.e. Scotch broth, Scotch whisky, Scotch pie, Scotch eggs... and of course, today's treat - Scotch pancakes... Funny how most of them are food and drink!

One more scotch thing... Butterscotch does not originate from Scotland! In this case, scotch comes from the Old French word escocher meaning to cut. So, butterscotch is a sweetie made from butter and usually cut into small pieces!


PS. Don't think it's come up before, but I used to study history - including a year of Scottish history! And I thought it would never come in useful... ;)

* I take this quote by historian A. J. P. Taylor as a point in case! ;)

Some inhabitants of Scotland now call themselves Scots and their affairs Scottish. They are entitled to do so. The English word for both is Scotch, just as we call les français the French and Deutschland Germany. Being English, I use it.

Preface to English History 1914–1945

***

Oh, ok then. I can't leave you with out a real Scottish word of the day... so here's a handful for you to decipher yourself!

Since ah've been no weel, ah've been awfy peely-wally an' feelin' fair puggled a' the time. An' a hud tae miss ma pal's pairty which wuz a right scunner: ah'd been looking forrit to a bit o' a swally!

Think Spice: Fenugreek Poached Fish with Saag Aloo

First things first...

Yes, ok, so I haven't been around much this last week or so: I'm woefully slow in my posting, and my google reader ridicules me everytime I turn the computer on, groaning under the weight of unread posts... I have been in the kitchen (a lot!!) but have been sorely limited in non-work pc time.

So apologies if I haven't been by as much as usual - I promise I'll sort it out soon!

I have still been managing to cook - and this post is my entry for this month's Think Spice... this month being hosted by... me!

I chose fenugreek as the spice, either in seed form or as dried leaves. I ended up using both forms in this dish - although the seeds were my main use.

Unusually for me, I have kept the heat in this dish to a minimum - I didn't want to overpower the subtle flavours in the fish. And I was really pleased with the result. It was spicy - but in a flavourful way rather than hot. The saag aloo may not be authentic, but its main ingredients are spinach an potato - so I figured it deserved the name!

There was quite a bit of gravy at the end - next time I would serve this with some lovely naan bread to soak up all the flavour. As it is I just had to drink it out the bowl... ;)

Only 10 days left to get your fenugreek-spiced dishes to me - come on peeps, get cooking!

Fenugreek Poached Fish with Saag Aloo

Serves 2 - with leftovers!

For the Fish and Broth...

• 1.5 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 350ml water
• 100ml milk
• 2 fillets firm white fish - I used pollock

For the Saag Aloo...

• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 large pinch dried fenugreek leaves
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1.5 tsp ground coriander
• 0.5 tsp turmeric
• 0.5 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  
• 1 large clove garlic, crushed
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 bunch spinach, washed, destalked and roughly chopped
• 4 plum tomatoes, diced (large)
  
• 4 medium potatoes, diced (large)
• 2 tbsp ghee

Prepare the Broth...
In a dry pan, toast the fenugreek seeds for 3/4 minutes until golden brown. Transfer them to a mortar and pestle and give them a bit of a bash. Warning - these little legumes are really hard - so just try to break them up a bit, don't worry about grinding them to powder.

Put the bashed fenugreek and the fennel seeds in a pan, then pour over the water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.


Prepare the Saag Aloo...
Heat the ghee over a low to medium heat and add the mustard seeds. When the start to pop add the onions and dried fenugreek leaves. Fry gently until translucent, don't allow to brown.

Add the ginger and garlic and cook for another minute or so before adding the cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli.

Add the diced potato to the mix, and top up with cold water to about half way up the potato. Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes or so, stirring a couple of times through out.

Prepare the fish while the potatoes are cooking...


Cook the Fish...
Once the broth is cool, strain through a fine sieve and discard the seeds. Add the milk, salt and turmeric. Lay the fish fillets in the broth - they should be totally submerged - otherwise top up with water.

Gently bring the broth to the boil. As soon as it reaches the boil, cover and turn off the heat. Leave in the broth for 5-10 minutes - until fish is cooked through (this will depend on how thick the fish is).


Finish the Saag Aloo...
Add the tomatoes and chopped spinach to the potato mix and stir well. Cover the pan, and cook for another 5/10 minutes - until the potatoes are cooked through, the spinach is completely wilted and the tomatoes are softened.

Depending on how much water is released by the tomatoes and spinach you may want to remove the lid for the last few minutes of cooking to let the sauce thicken.