Recipes One

We should Cocoa is celebrating a year of chocolate challenges by asking us to create a dish worthy of a 1st birthday party.  Find out more over at Chocolate Teapot  Now, as far as I am concerned, no party is complete without a luscious trifle.

The finished trifle

3. Take a tub of bought fresh custard, warm it gently in a pan.  Finely chop about 80-100g of dark chocolate, add to the custard and stir until it is all melted.  Take the custard off the heat and let it cool for about 5 mintues, then spoon it over the cake and cherries.
7. Chill until ready to serve.

A single serving

Luscious layers left for tomorrow

(If you love trying out something new, then do prepare something ethnic for breakfast, something different from your own culture and send it across to Glenna for WBB #14 by 27th August, 10 pm Central Time, details here)

Picking a recipe from a place Ive never visited and preparing it to the best possible level using locally available ingredients gives me a kick of experiencing at least part of the culture of the place. After all, food is a large part of ones culture.
Ever since Glenna announced an ethnic theme for WBB, but different from your own culture, I have been doing searches and looking up a couple of world cuisine books to see what vegetarian breakfast I can make.

All the research narrowed down to a North African breakfast dish from Tunisia called Farka. According to Wiki Cookbook -

Tunisian meals have shown to incorporate various traditional cuisines from the surrounding ares of the Mediterranean, North Africa, and many Arab countries. For this reason, it is no surprise that Tunisian recipes incorporate many of these traditions including couscous and generous amounts of seasonings and spices. It goes without saying that it is almost guaranteed that any single Tunisian entree will be prepared with peppers, since the Tunisians enjoy a rather spicy meal. Also, Tunisian meals are considered social events, so expect a typical collection of dinner recipes to contain several appetizers, a selection of main dishes, and a vast array of desserts.

Traditionally Farka is cooked with couscous, sugar, oil & water - enriched with nuts and dates, the mix is baked off in an oven and served with extra milk and sugar. While you would think, this seems like dessert, Tunisians actually have it for breakfast. And you could too....reduce the sweetness a bit and it is actually a healthy whole grain breakfast, high in fiber and protein.

I have modified the recipe to suit the availability of ingredients and the time on hand.


Tunisian Farka
Category - Breakfast porridge, Whole grains
Time taken - Under 30 minutes
Serves - 2
Recipe Source - Adapted from here

Ingredients
1 tsp ghee
1/2 cup broken wheat
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp jaggery
2 tbsp mixed nuts and dried fruit, chopped
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp dried ginger powder

Prepared ingredients for Farka

Directions
1. Take ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the broken wheat along with chopped nuts to the pan and saute on low flame for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, keep 1 1/2 cups water to boil adding in the sugar, jaggery and grated ginger.
2. Once the water has come to a boil and the broken wheat has turned golden brown, add the sweetened water to wok over the wheat. Close the wok with a lid and let this simmer (on a low flame) till wheat is cooked and the water is absorbed. This will take 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the broken wheat particles. (See pressure cooking shortcut in notes)
3. Once the wheat is dry and almost cooked, add in 1/2 cup milk, stir well and keep covered for 2 minutes until it is absorbed and the grains are fluffed up. Switch off the stove and keep this covered for another 10 minutes, till all the moisture is absorbed and the porridge is dry.
4. Serve warm with some extra milk by the side to add if necessary.

Notes

• You can try this porridge with any whole grains you have on hand - eg. couscous, bulghur, semolina (not very fine).
• Use of ginger is entirely optional, I prefer some spicy notes in any sweet dish to make it suitable for my kapha constituency (Ayurvedic body type). You could substitute it with cinnamon or cardamom too, or leave it plain. To find your dosha (Ayurvedic body type), take the quiz here.
• Jaggery is my preferred sweetener, it also gives a rich golden colour to any dish. You could use plain sugar, demerara sugar or any sweetener that works for you.
• Instead of cooking it off in the wok, you can also transfer the sauteed broken wheat with the water into a small pressure cooker and pressure cook for 5 minutes, taking care that there is enough water to prevent the mixture from burning.

This is my submission for Weekend Breakfast Blogging # 14 hosted by Glenna of A Fridge Full of Food.

Tags: north african cuisine, tunisian recipe, breakfast, tunisian breakfast recipe, farka, WBB, Saffron Trail, Recipe, Food, Indian food blog, Healthy eating, Healthy living, Mumbai, India

MOZZARELLA, TOMATO and PESTO BRUSCHETTE
Carrabba’s Italian Grill Copycat Recipe

Serves 2

1/4 cup butter, softened
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
6 (1/2-inch) slices Italian bread
6 slices mozzarella cheese , trimmed to fit bread slices
3 tablespoons basil Pesto
6 (1/4-inch) slices Roma tomato
julienne fresh basil, for garnish

Mix butter with garlic and garlic powder. Spread butter mixture over bread slices. Place a slice of mozzarella on each piece of bread. Place a slice of tomato on each slice of mozzarella. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of Pesto over each slice of tomato. Place bread on a cookie sheet and bake in a 500 degree F oven for 4 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Sprinkle basil over the top.

Ive been taking the Chobani Greek Yogurt pots to work for my lunch, I started with this Blood Orange flavour.

The yogurt is very thick, it is creamy but also has a slightly cloying texture which I havent noticed in other 0% fat Greek Yogurts.  I really liked the blood orange sauce, it had a sharp acidity and cut through the diary beautifully. Definitely a thumbs up for the Blood Orange flavour.

5-6 sheeps hearts (or 4-5 pigs hearts)
10-12 prunes (stoneless)
600-700 ml mixture of equal proportions water and milk
50 g butter
50 g flour
salt and pepper
sauce colouring

Chop up the prunes and stuff the hearts with them. Sew closed. Melt the butter in a pan and brown the hearts in it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add the milk/water mixture and cook for 1-2 hours. Remove the hearts from the cooking liquid.

Make a paste of the flour and a little bit of cold water. Bring the cooking liquid to the boil and stir in the flour paste to make a sauce. Add sauce colouring if desired.

Cut the hearts into slices, and serve with the sauce on the side.

RAGI IDLI
This is a totally diabetic-friendly recipe. Ragi or millet flour is a complex carbohydrate grain, which has a low glycemic index, meaning it raises the blood sugars slowly than compared to simple carbs (these are usually refined products made with sugars and all purpose flour). These are whole grains too hence very ideal for people who are watching their carbs or calorie intake. I make ragi idlis when we are in the mood for something different than our regular idlis and dosas. These idlis turn very soft and fluffy with a good earthy taste but the batter has to be fresh each time. The idlis do not turn out that soft when left even for a day in the fridge. Usually I prepare the idli batter with only one cup of flour at a time. One cup of flour gives around 12 small-size idlis.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Ragi or millet flour, 2 cups.
2. Urad dhal, 1 cup.
3. Fenugreek seeds, 1 tsp.
4. Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Wash the urad dhal well and soak it for half-an-hour along with the fenugreek seeds. Grind the dhal into smooth paste with a blender or grinder. When the dhal is well done, add the millet flour and blend everything together to a smooth paste until the batter is fluffy. Add salt to the batter and mix everything well. Let it sit overnight or 6-7 hours to allow fermentation to take place. When the batter has risen to 1/3rd of its size, they are ready to be steamed. Pour them into idli moulds and let it steam for 5-7 minutes. Remove the hot idlis from the moulds and serve the idlis with chutney or sambar.

The Best of British Challenge is currently being hosted at Choclettes Chocolate Log Blog. The idea is that each month for six months, a county or region around the UK will be selected and bloggers will post their interpretation of a recipe or dish from that region.   This month the challenge is to showcase something that embodies Cornish food. I have chosen to feature Smoked Mackerel.  Mackerel is a fish I associate strongly with Cornwall and I although I am not so keen on  fresh mackerel (although my husband loves it), I do like smoked mackerel and love that it is very versatile.

 I couldnt actually get Cornish smoked mackerel, the mackerel available locally is sourced off the west coast of Scotland and out into the north west atlantic, however, Im sure that same shoal might have passed the Lizard and been caught off the Cornish Coast - we will never know!



There are prizes up for grabs with this challenge. This challenge is being sponsored by New World Appliances, one of only a few British manufactures of kitchen appliances. Each month an entrant will be picked at random and will win a £50 Amazon voucher. At the end of 6 months all entries will be judged and the best will be awarded a £300 Amazon voucher, if youd like to take part in the Cornish part of this challenge get over to the Chocolate Log Blog for full details, you have until 15th June and then you need to come back to me for the Scottish leg of the challenge!  Its just like the Olympic Torch relay - errr, well maybe not quite!

So to my recipes for the challenge:

Smoked Mackerel Kedgeree (serves 4-6)

1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp curry paste (I used Pataks Garam Masala paste)
300g long grain rice
handful of coriander stalks, finely chopped
handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 pint dry cider or white wine
1 pint vegetable stock
cup of frozen peas
4 small smoked mackerel fillets, skinned and flaked
3 eggs, hard boiled
2 spring onions, finely chopped
3 tbsp caramelised onion chutney
3 tbsp Greek yogurt/soured cream/half fat creme fraiche (whichever you prefer)
3 hard-boiled eggs shelled and quartered.


1. Put a tbsp of olive oil in a large saute pan or large pot (I used my Le Creuset casserole), add the onion and cook until softened.  Add the curry paste and stir to coat the onions.
 2. Add the rice and coriander stems and stir until coated in oil and curry paste.
3. Add the wine or cider, then gradually add the stock stirring until all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is just soft but still holding its shape.



4. Add the mackerel and peas, put the heat off, stir and put on a lid.  Leave for 10 mintues or so.
5. Serve the kedgeree, sprinkled with the spring onions, add a spoonful of yogurt or cream and a spoonful of sweet chutney, top with the quartered hard-boiled eggs and sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves.

I made this quantity for three people and there is enough left over to have cold with salad for lunch tomorrow.  Its a simple and tasty dish which I would thoroughly recommend.

 

Last week I went to my friend Ginas house and showed her how to throw together a pantry meal. Her pantry is well stocked and it was easy to come up with a quick dish. Gina and I like a lot of the same foods and like me she has kalamata olives in her fridge. I realize that I use them a lot and you all must be tired of seeing them in my recipes. If you dont like them leave them out and put in whatever you like, maybe some artichoke hearts! Yum! I call this picchi pacchi because its made with diced tomatoes and basil and Ive seen variations of this but they all contain diced tomatoes.

Gina and I have different preferences when it comes to pasta. I will always choose lined pasta such as penne over ziti. I just feel like the sauce sticks better because it fills up the the ridges. It really doesnt matter though, this dish was delicious!

Ziti with Pantry Sauce


Ingredients:

1 lb pasta
1 medium onion, diced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (Dorat frozen cubes from Trader Joes)
2 teaspoons of chopped basil (Dorat frozen cubes from Trader Joes)
2 - 16 ounce cans petite diced tomatoes
1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1 tablespoon capers
Splash of white wine
extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions:


In a medium saucepan saute onion and garlic in extra virgin olive oil. Add garlic and basil and stir (frozen cubes will melt and cook quickly). Add a spalsh of white wine and let the alcohol cook out (about a minute or so). Add tomatoes, capers and olives, stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 20- 30 minutes. About halfway into cooking time, add pasta to boiling salted water. When pasta is al dente combine it in the pan with sauce. Toss to combine sauce with pasta.