I'm back! Onion and Fenugreek Pakora Anyone??

Well, hello, hi and howdy doody!!!

This is my first post in an absolute age. First of all I was on holiday in Ibiza for a week... and what a week it was! Have a pic of me swimming at sunrise! It was just beautiful.

What wasn't so great was getting sunstroke on the last day (durr - how annoying/stupid was that, I'd had on loads of SPF, and drank plenty of water, but still got ill after 3 hours in the sun. It was HOT!). The upshot was I had to stay at home in bed while my friends went out for the big last night out. And what was even worse than that was that I still felt worse than they did the next day for the journey home - they could at least have had the decency to fake hangovers!!

For the rest of the time, I've been having massive issues with my internet at home - and been busy during the day so not even had much time for lunchtime blogging! I have been doing quite a bit in the kitchen - but because of my internet issues I've had to go to an old entry rather than any of the new exciting things I've been working on this week!

These pakora were the last thing I managed to deep fry before my oil finally gave out! Having this oil for deep frying has been a bit of an education since I first made the Guyanese Bakes - and I'm not sure my waistline has thanked me for it. I am very tempted to refill it immediately - primarily to make this szechaun squid again...

I have blogged pakora once before - though I got slightly snack happy... churning out huge Mushroom pakora, Courgette & Carrot pakora and Onion & Red Pepper pakora - as well as the 'typical' onion variety. We were eating them for days! This time round I made far far less, made each one a bit smaller, and quartered my onions instead of halving them so that they make smaller bundles. Bear in mind that the baking powder causes these to puff a bit - a heaped teaspoon of mixture will give a nice sized pakora... a tablespoon will make you a giant!!

Feel free to fidget about with the spices you use - I stuck to the basics here as I really wanted to emphasis the fenugreek - but make it as plain or as complex as you like!

Onion and Fenugreek Pakora

Makes about 15 pakora

• 1 large onions, quartered then fairly thinly sliced
• gram (chickpea) flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• water to mix
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
• Large handful fresh fenugreek leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste

Heat the Oil...
As I'm frying these in a pot I don't have a proper temperature gauge - but the last time I made these in a deep fryer I cooked them at 175c.

Prepare the Onion Batter...
Put the onions in a large mixing bowl.

Mix the about 6 heaped tablespoons of flour, the baking powder and the spices together (including the dried fenugreek) and sprinkle over the onions.

Give it a good stir, them add a bit of water to make a fairly thick paste. You want the batter to be thick enough to cling to the onion, but not so thick that it clumps together too much (otherwise it will go stodgey in the middle). And if it's too thin the pakora won't stick together in the fat, and will separate into pieces... You might want to add another bit of flour, then another bit of water if you want more batter.

Tip!

Don't be tempted to make the batter in advance - the baking powder will be activated as soon as it is exposed to liquid. Make it just before use for best results!

Cook the Pakora...
Pick up teaspoonfuls of the mixture and slide into the hot oil. They will take 4/5 minutes to cook - turn them once or twice during cooking to ensure even colouring.

Serve!
Serve with a dipping sauce... or even better with two dipping sauces - one hot tomatoey and tangy sweet - the other creamy and cooling!

Another Simple Snack: Edamame with Salt n' Chili

I'm in a rush, so I just thought I would quickly share with you one of my favourite quick snacks! Did you know that edamame are baby soybeans? How cute!

And they're even good for you - so crack on in there and enjoy!

Edamame with Salt n' Chili

Ah, go on - d'you really need a recipe?? I use frozen ones - I don't even know how long you'd need to cook fresh!

Cook the edamame according to the packet, drain, then whilst they're still damp sprinkle on flaky sea salt and chilli flakes.

Eat by putting the pod in your mouth and squeezing the beans out with your teeth!

Feel smug.

The Simplest of Snacks and an Award!

Mmmmm... I am soooo loving the summer sun! Ok, so it isn't as warm as it was last week, but just seeing the sun when I open the curtains in the morning starts the day off in the right way.

The other thing that I am loving about the shifting seasons (yeah yeah, I know, me and every other Western food blogger!) is the changing available produce. As much as I love the soups and stews of winter, nothing beats real fresh summer fruit and veg.

I mentioned last week about the gorgeous British Vittoria Tomatoes that are currently available here. Well, here they star in their own right as a tasty, healthy snack. This isn't in any way a recipe - but, well, sometimes you just don't need one!

Vittoria Tomatoes with Maldon Sea Salt and Pepper

Lick the tomato and dip it one side into the maldon salt, then the other into the pepper (a 50:50 mix of Szechuan pepper and plain old black pepper, toasted and ground).

Place the tomato on your tongue, salted side down, and let it sit there for a second or two while the salt starts to melt in your mouth. (It shouldn't be too salty - don't use table salt!!!!!!) Bite into the tomato - sweet meets salty, a hint of heat from the pepper and a lot of juice...

Repeat as required.


Done!


And now to an award!

Many thanks to Icsa99 from Heaven is Chocolate, Cheese and Carbs for awarding me the Blogging with Purpose Award.


I have now been blogging almost 6 months, and I am enjoying it so much! Food blogging is forcing me to think even more about food. I can't remember the last time I resorted to a beans on toast dinner - each mealtime at home is an opportunity to try something new!

For this reason, to hear that my blog was part of the reason that someone else decided to come into this wonderful world is incredibly touching. Thank you Icsa99 - and also, thank you for introducing me to your blog - I look forward to more of your recipes!

Here are my picks! I've chosen three because that's the best number (it should have been five...)

1. Sher from What Did You Eat? This was the very first food blog I ever found - only about a year ago! Compared with how huge the food blogosphere is- I can't believe I didn't know about it. I will be recreating that recipe soon - watch this space!

2. Ruth from Once Upon a Feast. Her Presto Pasta Nights event was the first food event I ever took part in, with some Roast Garlic Ragu - still one of my favourite recipes!

3. Heather from Gild the Voodoolily... just to annoy her. Snarf snarf. Ok, it's really because she's got a great blog and great recipes... but this will annoy :P

A Quick Freezer Snack: Gyozas with Spicy Sauce!

I got home from the pub the other day, desperately wanting to snack, but with nowt a thing t' eat. My store cupboard challenge had gone well... too well... superfluous food stocks at an all time low.

I suddenly recalled some vegetable gyozas I found in my freezer during the aforesaid challenge, spicy and healthy* - perfect! I simply heated a teeny spot of nut oil in a hot frying pan and placed the gyoza in, straight from the freezer, flat side down. After a couple of minutes add half a cup of water, cover and allow to steam for another couple of minutes, or until all the water has gone.

The spicy sauce to go with it was another store cupboard knock up: add a couple of tablespoons of sambal brandal to a couple of tablespoons light soy sauce. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime, mix together and you're set to eat.

Time from pub to belly? 7 minutes!





* healthy as compared with my friend's snack...



... chips and curry sauce from across the wee Chinese place across the road! Ok, I confess, I had more than a couple of chips... it would have been rude not to with a plate that size... and damn they were good!!!

Spicy Crunchy Chana Dal

I went to my local Asian food store a couple of days ago to satiate an urge for some spicy bombay mix. But, for the first time ever... there was none! I walked down to the next store... and again, disappointment. What was I to do - I was starving hungry and my curry wasn't going to be ready for another hour...

I returned to the first store in the hope that my eyes had deceived me, and whilst I didn't find bombay mix, I did find a large bag of fried spiced chana dahl. The lovely gent at the counter asked me if I planned on eating them (confused? What else??!) When I confirmed I was indeed planning on munching my way through the lentilly goodness he warned me they may be rather dry and offered me this recipe instead.

I have made a couple of alterations - using lime instead of lemon (it's what I had in!) and adding some chilli (I was still suffering from underactive taste buds at this point).

I'm so glad they were out of bombay mix!

Spicy Crunchy Chana Dahl

• 1.5 cups fried chana dhal (I'm going to try making this myself soon - watch this space for a recipe!)
• 2 red chillis (or to taste)
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• A little bit of grated ginger
• Teeny bit of oil
• 1 lime

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the chilli, garlic, and ginger and fry until soft.

Add the red onion and dhal and fry for a minute or so - keep it moving - you're basically just heating it up right now :)

Serve with the lime on the side, to be squeezed over to taste!