This is what winter food is about to me, spicy flavourful deliciousness. Warming food that comforts you, makes you feel like you've been given a hug. Food like this also reminds me of my childhood, my mother used most of these spices daily and started showing me how to cook with them when I was still a child. It's a thrifty way to add flavour and life to dishes that otherwise might be a bit bland. Spice was gold in our family's kitchen and still reins supreme in mine.
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This chilli has a surprisingly sweet taste, which is good because the baby has some spice! I really like the taste of this, the orange zest and the sweet potato are perfect together. It's ready in less than 30 minutes and most of the ingredients are probably in your pantry already.
Serves 4 Ingredients: 1 large brown onion, cut in half and sliced 2 cups raw sweet potato, peeled and cubed 2 small zucchini, diced 1 can red kidney beans, well rinsed 2 cans tinned tomatoes with no added salt 1 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp himalayan salt 2 tsp freshly grated orange zest 1 cup water Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until the sweet potato has cooked through. That's it:) Quick, easy and delicious xxx One of the things I love about Indian cooking is the use of spices, how something with so few ingredients can just come to life with a sprinkle of this and a dash of that. This recipe uses paneer cheese, which is commonly used in vegetarian dishes. You can cook it similar to haloumi or use in a curry as I have here. It adds a wonderful texture. I know this tastes good as the first words out of Simon's mouth was (excuse the language) "Holy Shit... that's delicious!". Coming from a guy that loves meat as much as he does, this is a pretty good sign:) Try it out...
Serves 4 Ingredients: 4 tbs coconut oil 250g paneer cheese, cut into 2 1/2 cm cubes 4 green cardamom pods, bruised and cracked in a mortar & pestle 2 bay leaves 1 brown onion, finely chopped 2 tsp minced garlic (around 4 cloves) 2 tsp ginger, finely grated 2 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp ground tumeric 1 tsp chilli powder 150g canned tomatoes with no added salt 425ml warm water + 2 tbs 1 tsp himalayan salt 125g green peas, 1/2 tsp garam masala 2 tbs light greek yoghurt 2 tbs coriander leaves, finely chopped Heat 2 tbs coconut oil in a large non stick frypan over a medium heat. Add the diced paneer and cook for 3-4 minutes, turning often so they are evenly browned. Remove from heat once browned and place on some paper towel to drain any extra oil. Heat the remaining coconut oil in the saucepan over a low heat and add the cardamon pods and bay leaves, let them sizzle for half a minute then add the onion, increase the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens. Add the garlic and ginger, mix through and cook for another 4 minutes and the onion is a golden brown colour. Add the ground coriander, tumeric and chilli powder and stir for another 5 minutes. Add 2 tbs of water and stir for 3 minutes then add the remaining water and the himalayan salt. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the paneer back into the pan with the peas and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garam masala, yoghurt and coriander leaves. Serve immediately. Note: you may find the sauce too runny, if so mix a little cornflour together in a cup with some water and slowly pour, stirring constantly, into the pan. Be careful not to put to much in or it will completely dry up. Most people love a good curry and I'm no exception. Now, this is a much milder curry than I normally make, however it has so much flavour that you may consider going back for seconds... even though you are stuffed. This is a plant strong or vegan dish, that makes good use of spices and hearty, filling foods such as potato and lentils. The cucumber and mint rice is something I picked up recently from my boyfriend's mum that would make a tasty addition to any curry. Easy. tasty and ready in 45 minutes. YUM!
Serves 4 Ingredients: 2 tbs coconut oil 2 brown onions, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tsp freshly grated ginger 2 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground tumeric 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp chilli powder 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp himalayan salt 1 tsp brown sugar or agave syrup 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed 1 large potato, peeled and diced 1/2 cup red lentils, soaked and rinsed 1 can diced tomatoes 1 cup organic coconut milk 1 cup vegetable stock 2 tbs freshly chopped coriander 1 tbs lemon juice 1 cup basmati rice, 3 tbs fresh mint, finely chopped 1 small lebanese cucumber, diced Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium heat and cook the onions for 10 minutes, stirring to make sure the onion doesn't burn to the base. Add the garlic, ginger, ground coriander, cumin, tumeric, chilli and cinnamon, stirring for a minute or 2. Add the potato and lentils, stirring to coat with spices. Pour in the coconut milk, canned tomatoes, vegetable stock, garam masala, salt and sugar, bring to the boil, cover, reduce the head to medium/low and simmer covered for 20 minutes, stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Whilst the curry simmers place 1 cup of rice in a saucepan with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, stir, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook rice for 13 minutes. Add the peas to the curry and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir through the lemon juice and fresh coriander. Once the rice is cooked, mix through the mint and cucumber. Let sit for a minute or two then serve! |
~Lauryn~Ramblings from my kitchen in Australia Categories
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