Friends, Family and Food Adventures, USA

Hello Everyone! Apologies for the looooooong gap since my last post but I am back to prove the cynics wrong and VegDelights is back online. 🙂 During this break a lot has happened both in the kitchen and beyond: my husband and I went back to US to visit family and friends, I fell ill, my mother-in-law visited :), we took advantage of the many London festivals (Wine and Cheese and Restaurant Week) and hosted/attended many Diwali events/dinners.  I did enjoy taking some time off cooking; but of course a girl’s got to eat and I really enjoyed eating food made by others. 🙂

Back in the summer month of September, my husband and I took our first trip back to the States since we got married last year and the plan was to see and do as much as we could in the time that we had. We started our trip in Chicago and just an hour after landing, we started our food journey, which lasted until the time we were on our way back to London. First meal was of course the famous Chicago Stuffed Pizza. Nothing like the Italian pizza, it was nonetheless heavenly for me as I prefer the extra layer of dough on the top! Not one to stop there, just a few hours later that evening we went to dinner at Le Colonial, a French-Vietnamese vegetarian-friendly restaurant. The decor gave an exotic classy ambiance and food was nothing short of spectacular. Everything was perfect including the company. After dinner, as the last diners in the restaurant, we moved upstairs for that ‘last’ drink to their cozy bar/lounge area. Le Colonial was tastefully decorated with sofas, mini palm trees and had wooden floors and walls; it was like being whisked away on a tropical holiday.  A big heartful thanks to our family in Chicago for such a fantastic evening.

The next day we went on the stunning architecture boat tour and went to The Signature Lounge at the 96th for late afternoon drinks and dessert! 🙂 It’s located in the 96th floor of the John Hancock Center and is one of the most spectacular views around the city of Chicago. It was an ideal place to chit-chat and hang around with its casual atmosphere.

Signature Lounge at the 96th

As much as we I was sad to leave Chicago, I was equally excited to reach Atlanta, our next stop! I was in tears to see my cute little angels (niece and nephew) who had come with my sister and brother to the fetch me at the airport! The nine days in Atlanta were eventful to say the least, as I tried to check off all the restaurants that I wanted to eat at and maximize the time spent with family and friends. I had to take my husband to all the places that for the past year I had been going on and on and on about. Some of these restaurants were Cafe Bombay (Indian – Paneer Mughlai, Bullet Naan), Little Bangkok (Thai – Fried Rice), RuSans (sushi), Poblanos (Mexican), California Pizza Kitchen (Tostada Pizza), Chipotle, Taco Bell and many more. Sadly, I did not get to dine at every establishment on my list 😦 On the flip side it was wonderful to have some home-cooked meals made by mom! 🙂

My Angels

Our next stop was California; my first ever time! We started out by spending couple days in Napa Valley. It was the most relaxing and most scenic part of our trip. Thanks to our wonderful family, we were able to explore the Sonoma and Napa Valley in their convertible and admire the beauty of the vineyards so openly and soak in every ray of sun before our return to the UK! A convertible was the best way to do it; although I still can’t figure out how I lost a slipper sitting in the car! We indulged in countless tastings – wine, champagne, cheese, olive oil, vinegar, mmm…mmm…mmm! One of the nights we dined at Ubuntu, a Michelin starred vegetarian restaurant……..i know VEGETARIAN, I was psyched! Our dining experience was phenomenal. We ordered the entire menu, no joke! Each course was inventive, inspiring, and amazingly flavorful with its remarkable combination of ingredients. The dishes were impeccably and artistically presented. Their menu rotates seasonally and the ingredients comes from their own homegrown biodynamic gardens. All organic and healthy! For a small corkage charge, you can bring your own bottle of wine to most of the restaurants in Napa. I found a Chardonnay that I liked from all my tastings and enjoyed it on our perfect evening at Ubuntu. Conclusively, every minute was heavenly in Napa Valley!

Champagne Tasting in Napa Valley

Ubuntu

Ubuntu

Next, we had a day trip to Monterey and Carmel area including the 17-mile scenic drive. Stunning houses and golf courses! We ate a local gourmet sandwich cafe near a golf course and finished our night at a vegetarian Vietnamese hole in the wall dining place in San Jose called ToFoo Com Chay. It was great to try some Vietnamese food as have never found a Vietnamese vegetarian friendly restaurant. Again another great hit!

Carmel Beach

Vegetarian Pho at ToFoo Com Chay

Next, we explored few days in San Francisco/San Jose area. Three of my  favourites to highlight: Eiks Place in San Francisco, Kara’s Cupcakes in Ghirardelli Square, the Google Tour! Eiks is a sandwich place that serves meat/mock-meat sandwiches. We were told about this place, just showed up and got lucky with the lunchtime queue. Apparently it is known to have queues of half hour to an hour; so much so that locals now have started ordering online/phone to avoid waiting. They have the most unusual sandwich combinations I have ever seen and interesting names to match. I even wanted to grab one on our way to the airport the day we left! It’s a must try if you ever find yourself in the Bay area. If only this could be replicated in the UK…..

Unlike my cheese desires, I am not much of a cupcake monster as quite often the frosting is too sweet, thick and sickly! However Kara’s Cupcakes in Ghirardelli Square were surprisingly hypnotizing. I was stunned at how soft and smooth the frosting was for the range of cupcakes we sampled that afternoon (it was a big group!). Since then I have been trying different recipes for the smoothest frosting but have not yet succeeded. When I find my perfect balance,  I will be sure to post about it!

Lastly, a tour of Google in Mountain View. A family member works at Google and was kind enough to give us a lavish tour of the Google campus. I had heard many things about GooglePlex and it was great to see (taste and experience) it firsthand. As Google is dedicated to providing free, largely healthful and artisan-produced meals three times a day to its employees, it was great to sample some of the dishes in one of their multi-cuisine cafes followed by burning off some calories on dance dance revolution in their arcade center.

Just a few hours before leaving to come back to London, we spent some time at the San Francisco Saturday Farmers’ market. It was inspiring to see so many varieties of fresh produce and try bits and bobs of everything I could get my hands on! With loads of catering stations, I just couldn’t resist buying a tub of herbed goat’s cheese spread and then find the best bread to match it, before devouring it in minutes!

San Francisco Saturday Farmer's Market

While the trip was for friends and family, it was an unforgettable food journey! I cannot wait until next year to do it all over again, but as yet the location is to be determined! 🙂

I am glad to be back blogging and will be sure to post regularly with the vegetarian meals, recipes and restaurants that I fill my stomach and desires each and every day. Thanksgiving is only around the corner…….. 🙂

Spiced Banana Bread with Chocolate Bits

Sadly no photo of my banana bread, forgot to take one :(!

It was 9PM on a workday and was just feeling restless and so decided to bake! I had two bananas that had ripened and needed to be eaten up rather soon, so banana bread it was.

I started with a recipe and soon realized that I completely decided not to follow it! This time my mission was to make a version that was relatively healthy and with a bit of extra spice and of course some dark chocolate! 🙂 To add nutritional value, I decided to use soya flour and be stingy with my use of sugar and butter.

I recently learned that soya flour can be used in baking for extra protein by simply replacing about a 1/5 of flour ingredient with soya flour for non-yeast raised products. Because baked products containing soy flour tend to brown more quickly, I had to the lower the temperature just slightly.

This healthy baking experiment was a success as it was enjoyed by all my work colleagues! 🙂

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp of cinnamon
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup plain/all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup soya flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup small chunks of dark chocolate (80% cocoa)

1. In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Next beat in eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and bananas until well blended.
2. Combine the flours, baking soda and salt and add to creamed mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in chocolate bits.
3. Spoon into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 170C/ 340F for about 55-60 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Custard Fruit Pie

This recipe involves a few steps and may seem like a lot of work, but trust me it’s quite the opposite: minimal baking and easy to put together. What’s more, my version is relatively healthy! 🙂 I initially made this fruit pie with a cream cheese filling following the recipe from a friend in Atlanta (now is Dallas) and it was mighty delicious. However, with the recipe below I have replaced the filling with vanilla custard to make it a lighter dessert for a dinner party that may already be laden with cheese.  I have also included a recipe for the sugar cookie base which uses half the sugar than that found in ready-made cookie dough mixture that you can buy at the grocery store (only available in US, not in UK). For the fruit topping, you can combine any fruits that you like. I have chosen berries for my recipe below, but you can use pineapple bits, kiwis, grapes, etc.

Every time I have made it for others, it has gone down a treat! Why don’t you “bake” to impress! 🙂

Serves 8 /Total Time 45 minutes

Sugar Cookie Dough Ingredients:
170g /1-1/3 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
115g /1/2 cup butter, softened
100g/1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set these dry ingredients aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
3. Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Line a 12 inch/30 cm pizza baking tray with parchment paper. Roll the dough onto the parchment paper. You can use your fingertips to push it out evenly to the edges.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let it stand on on baking tray for about two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Vanilla Custard Ingredients:
250 ml  milk
100 ml  fresh cream  (I used 25% fat fresh cream)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornflour or cornstarch
1/2 of vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract/essence

1. In a saucepan, put the milk and cream together and add the vanilla seeds/extract/essence. Take 1/4 cup of this mixture in a small bowl and mix in the sugar and cornflour to make a smooth paste and keep aside.
2. Heat the milk mixture over a medium flame. When it comes to a boil, lower the flame and stir in the cornflour/milk mixture. Stir constantly until thick and creamy, making sure that nothing catches at the bottom of the pan.  Take off heat and set aside to cool.

Orange glaze ingredients:
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt

1. In a saucepan, combine all ingredients, heat over medium flame, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat. Allow to cool, but not set.

Topping Ingredients:
2 cups strawberries, sliced in halves
1 cup blackberries, sliced in halves
1 cup raspberries, sliced in halves
1/2 cup blueberries
or
Any combination of your favourite fruits

1. Once the fruit is cut up, set aside.

Assembly:

1. Slide the cooled baked cookie dough base on to a serving dish of the same size if you wish. Otherwise, just remove the parchment paper from the baking tray.
2. Spread the cooled custard over the sugar cookie base leaving 2 cm of edge of base uncovered.
3. Arrange chosen fruit in a circle around the outside edge. Continue with fruit of your choice, working towards the middle.
4. Now spoon over the cooled orange glaze over the fruits.
5. Chill for at least 1 hour, then cut into wedges and serve.

Stuffed Pasta Shells

One of my favourite all time pasta dishes are home-made stuffed shells. I originally learned how to make them from my sister. I have adopted it now and with my own minor alterations, the recipe has been a hit each time I’ve made it. The only reason it has taken me so long to post this up is because each time I forget to take a photo, only realizing after eating it all up!

This recipe is so simple, yet so delicious and involves no cooking at all, mostly chopping! As there is no cooking of the mix, the filling has a delicate crunch and the flavours compliment each other. You can play around with your own fillings and sauces; below is just one of the many combinations that works really well. What’s more, this dish is a great main for a dinner party as you can do all the prep ahead of time with only baking left for when your guests have arrived!

Serves 5-6; Total Time: 45-55 minutes 

Ingredients:

1/2 packet (approx 30) conchiglie pasta (jumbo shells)

1 bag (100g) fresh  spinach, chopped
1 tub (250g) ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 small green bell peppers, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small tub (100g) mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tbsp dried mixed Italian herbs or handful of chopped fresh herbs
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground black pepper/red chili flakes, or to taste

1/8 tsp salt or to taste
3 cups zingy pasta sauce

1. Cook the pasta shells according to instructions on the package. Run through cold water and set aside. Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, make the filling by mixing together all the ingredients above except for: pasta shells, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, and pasta sauce.
3. Spoon 1/2 cup of pasta sauce evenly over bottom of large baking dish.
4. Individually fill the cooked pasta shells with 1-2 tbsp of the filling made in Step 2. Place the stuffed shell in the baking tray. Repeat with the remaining shells.
5. Drizzle a tbsp of sauce on each shell and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover loosely with foil and bake for about 35 minutes.

Cool for a few minutes and serve. Bon Apetit!

Zingy Pasta Sauce

There are so many ways you can make your own pasta sauce. I specifically like a bit of zing to mine and prefer a orangey-red colour sauce that I have detailed below. It’s simple (as always) and you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or even freeze it.

Makes about 3 cups; Serves 4-5; Total time 50 minutes

Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2,  cans (400g) of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp dried red chili flakes
1-1 1/2 tsp sugar
2-3 tbsp double cream/whipping cream (optional)
large handful basil leaves, torn into small pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (generously season) to serve

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onions and garlic until translucent and softened.
2. Next, add the tomatoes, chilli flakes, dried herbs and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook on low heat for about 40-45 minutes.
3. Add the torn basil leaves, double cream, and season with salt pepper. You can serve it chunky or use a blender to make it into a smooth paste.

Thai Basil Rolls

On numerous occasions in the Far East I found myself searching for these fresh basil rolls. Let’s just say I couldn’t find them very often, in fact perhaps only once, so didn’t get a chance to really satisfy my cravings with the authentic version. Ever since we have been back, I have wanted to make them myself. One day, as I had all the ingredient I needed (from my recent trip to the local chinese shop) I decided to make what I believe are the most amazing fresh basil rolls :). I really only wanted to experiment making a few as a starter, but there turned out to be 12 in total for me and my husband to devour! They were so easy to make and so healthy,  it was a heavenly experience to eat them. I took some rolls for lunch the next day and shared them with a co-worker and let’s say she did enjoy them very very much!

It would seem that I no longer have to go to a Thai restaurant to eat unlimited amounts of fresh basil rolls!

Makes 10-12 rolls; Total time: 2o-25 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup soaked rice vermicelli noodles, but run through cold water
10-12 round rice wrapper sheets
1 bunch fresh Thai holy basil leaves (not the normal supermarket one)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro/coriander
1 cups bean sprouts (optional)
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
100 g tofu, cut into matchsticks
100 g shiitake mushrooms, cut into matchsticks
1 tsp soy sauce

Dipping Sauce (yields 1 cup of sauce):
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
2  tablespoon water

1. Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tsp of oil in pan, tofu, mushrooms and soy sauce. Stir fry for five minutes or until mushroom are cooked. Set aside. Be careful not to stir too much as you don’t want the tofu to crumble.

3. Fill a large bowl with hot water (not boiling). Dip a wrapper in water for about 30 seconds until soft and flexible. Lay wrapper on a flat surface.Add another wrapper to the hot water as you fill and roll the first one.

4. Place 3-4 basil leaves in center, side by side, about 2 inches from edge of wrapper. Lay two pieces of tofu and mushrooms each on basil, followed by small amounts of bean sprouts, lettuce, carrots, noodles, and coriander leaves.

5. Starting at one end, roll the wrapper over once, fold both sides in toward the center, and continue rolling as tightly as possible without tearing. To seal it wet the edge of the wrapper with a little water and press it down gently. You will quickly get the hang of working with the rice sheets and like with my attempt, the first one rarely comes together the best and should be used as a taste test 🙂

6. Repeat for remaining rice sheets.  Serve with dipping sauce .

Aloo Tikki Chaat (Potato Patties Snack)

So this dish may seem very complicated and time-consuming. Yes, if you make everything from scratch. But if you have part of the Assembly Ingredients (below), such as  the chutneys and sev readily available (thanks to your mom and mom-in-law), it’s super quick and easy to prepare. Otherwise, the chutneys and sev are readily available from any local Indian shop or even in the International section of local supermarkets (at least it is the case here in London :)). Alternatively if, like me, you want to make the chutneys yourself and have them to hand for later use in snacks, it’s quite simple and uses very few ingredients.

I was really craving this chaat as we were going to watch a Hindi fim later that evening. In the US, I would generally be able to buy samosas at the theatre hall. However, my husband quickly pointed out to me that it is not the case in London. Therefore I had to satisfy my craving by making my chaat at home beforehand and unfortunately the extra one packed away for devouring during the intermission was quickly eaten by our starving friend during the car journey! 🙂 This Aloo Tikki Chaat was such a yummy treat!!! mmm..mmm.. and more mmmmmmmmm!

Serves 3; Total time: 30-40 minutes

Potato Patty Ingredients:
3 large potatoes, boiled and mashed
2 tbsp bread crumbs (tub or fresh)
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander-cumin powder
1/4 tsp amchoor (mango) powder (or more lemon juice)
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp lemon juice
handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients above and to make a smooth dough.
2. Divide dough into 12 portions and make a ball, then flatten it to get a pattie shape. I used cutter ring to make perfect circle patties.
3. On your grill/griddle machine, spray oil on plates . Place the potato patties on the plate and cover the top. Grill until golden brown. This should be about 8-10 minutes. Alternatively, if you don’t have a grill/griddle machine, heat some oil in a pan and shallow fry on both sides to a golden brown color. Set aside.

Choley (chick-pea curry) Ingredients:
400 g can – chick peas, drain water and wash well
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1 tomato, chopped
Spice Batch  1: 1/4 tsp – Cumin seeds; 1/4 tsp – Hing powder; 2 cloves; 1 cardamom; 1 small cinnamon stick; 1 bay leaf
Spice batch 2:1 tsp  coriander-cumin powder; 1/4 tsp red chili powder; 1/4 tsp turmeric powder; 1/2 tsp amchoor powder; 1/4 tsp garam masala powder

Method
1 ) Add 1 tbsp of oil to a pan. When hot, but not smoking add Spice Batch #1. Temper for roughly 25 seconds or until the spice aroma is released.  Then add onions and fry untill golden brown (at least 5 minutes).
2 ) Add spice batch #2 and fry for a 30 more seconds. Add tomato and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add chickpeas, 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Smash the chickpeas roughly with stirring spoon. Add salt to taste and  simmer covered for 10-12 minutes.

Assembly Ingredients:
1/2 cup beaten plain yogurt
1/4 cup tamarind-date chutney
1/8 cup green coriander chutney
1/4 cup fine sev
handful coriander leaves

To assemble:
1. Lay  4 aloo tikkis (potato patties) on a plate, add the Choley (chick-pea curry) on top then add 2-3 tbsp of yogurt, 1 tbsp of coriander and tamarind chutney. Generously sprinkle sev and coriander. Repeat for other 2 starter dishes.

There is no strict order. It’s like a big salad ..as long as you spread the ingredients somewhat evenly over the potato patties. Enjoy this heavenly snack!

BEST Spicy Basil Tofu EVER!

One of my favourite Asian dishes of all time is the spicy basil tofu from a Thai restaurant in Atlanta called Top Spice.  When we were travelling the far east earlier this year, we had this dish at a restaurant on the small island of Koh Lanta in Thailand. It looked gorgeous and tasted out of the world. So impressed was I that I asked the cook (in my best Thai!) if I could come the next day and learn from him how to make it. Sure enough, I was there learning how to make it the most authentic way in a somewhat basic (mosquito-ridden) kitchen. Taking into consideration what I learned there and another good recipe, below is the combination that I think makes an amazing spicy basil tofu. I think it’s definitely comparable to the one at Top Spice! 🙂

The non-negotiable ingredient in this recipe is the holy basil (tulsi). You can get this Thai basil at an Asian supermarket and the standard supermarket basil is completely different and most definitely not a substitute. Holy basil’s aroma and subtle hint in the dish works brilliantly to bring all the flavours together. Another ingredient that I think is equally important is the vegetarian (shrimp-free) chilli paste. We got our chilli paste from Chiang Mai. Having dined at an amazing veggie restaurant (May Kaidee) we had to ask where she got her veggie paste from; it was quite a mission to find as the shop was only a ‘hole in the wall’ in a huge food market. (Having found the place, we were so elated and desperate to buy more vegetarian Thai ingredients, but the language barrier limited us and we nearly walked away with a herbal constipation and vomiting cure!) We now use the chilli paste a lot in our Asian cooking and absolutely love it. Though, if you can’t get hold of the Thai veggie chilli paste, you will be able to get the kick from the chinese chilli paste but perhaps not the full flavour. Not sure what we will do when our jar is over!

This Spicy Basil Tofu is really healthy and quick to make and did I mention, tasty?!  🙂

Serves 4/ Total time 15-20 minutes 

600 g tofu, cut in to 1″ chunks
2 medium red or green bell peppers, cut into thick slices or chunks
1/2 large onion or 1 medium onion, cut into thick slices
3/4 cup vegetable stock
1/2 tbsp Thai vegetarian chilli paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
4 tbsp oil
Big handful of holy basil leaves (1 cup worth at least :))
salt and pepper to taste

For Paste:
12 garlic cloves
1/2 large onion or 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 to 3 hot Thai green chilies

1. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a frying pan or wok.  Pan fry the tofu and turn every few minutes so that each piece is golden all over and has a thin crust. Do not stir too much, just move the tofu around by shaking the pan or using tongs. This process should take roughly 10-12 minutes and once done, remove from pan/wok and leave aside for later.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the paste by pulsing it to get a rough paste.  Be sure not to make it into a fine paste.

3. In the same pan,  heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the paste.  Saute for  about 2-3 minutes on medium heat, making sure not to burn the garlic.

4. Next add bell peppers and onions saute for about 2  minutes. Add in soy sauce, sugar, chili paste and stock. Stir-fry for a few minutes to allow the sauce to thicken a bit.

5. Add in tofu and stir-fry for 2 more minutes to allow the sauce coat the tofu.  Add the cupful of basil leaves and stir it in. Serve this dish with steamed rice.

We had this dish together with the Aubergine Curry at a recent vegan dinner party for some friends and I think the meal went down a treat.

Thai Aubergine Curry

For those of you who do not like aubergines (eggplant), this is a must try to get you hooked! I do not fancy aubergines much, but lately they have grown on me tremendously, partly thanks to this recipe. I found this recipe when attempting to make a sumptuous last-minute meal for my hubby. Below is my adaptation of the BBC Food recipe that I found. I must admit it was a magical moment when I tasted it! It wonderfully tickled all my taste buds! 

As it was such a great hit, I decided to make it for an upcoming dinner party with a vegan friend. It was a perfect match as the coconut milk provided some creaminess that Sunil & I were craving since (prematurely) giving up cheese for the Hindu religious month of Shraavan. Everyone enjoyed it! I have been raving about it to my mother in law and she has been patiently waiting for me post the recipe! Mom, I hope it was worth the wait. 🙂

Serves 2-3; Total time: 30-35 minutes

1 medium size aubergine, quartered lengthways, then halved
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp sugar
1-2 spring onions, finely chopped
200 ml coconut milk
200 ml vegetable stock
1/2 of small tin of bamboo shoots
2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1 tsp soy sauce
Handful coriander sprigs, chopped

For the paste:
2 green/red chillies,  seeded
2″ piece of galangal (can use ginger as substitute) or a mix of both
1 lemon grass stalk, trimmed and roughly chopped
3-4 garlic cloves

1. Pulse the chillies, garlic, galangal/ginger and lemongrass to a paste. Set aside.

2. Mix the turmeric and chilli powder together and rub all over the aubergine wedges. Be careful not to spill out the bowl over your kitchen counter or not wash your hands properly before touching things. YES, speaking from experience, turmeric will stain everything!  🙂

3. Heat the 1/2 tbsp olive oil in large frying pan, add the aubergines as a single layer, allow to cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, turn to ensure even browning, remove from the pan and set aside. This process should take about 10 minutes. Be sure not to stir or move the aubergine pieces too much else they will break down and become mushy.

4. Add 1/2  tbsp of oil to the same pan and cook the paste, sugar, kaffir lime leaves and spring onions for a few mins, then return the aubergines to the pan. Add the bamboo shoots, soy sauce, coconut milk and stock. Mix well and bring the liquid to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook gently until the aubergine is tender. This will take about 15 minutes.

5. Season to taste and sprinkle with fresh coriander. Serve hot with steamed rice.

It might seem like a very spicy curry but the coconut milk balances it out in the end. If you prefer less heat, you can choose leave out fresh green/red chilies. There are really not great substitution for any of the ingredients as the flavour comes from all the fresh herbs.  You can easily get these ingredients in any Oriental/Asian shop. Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did!

Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffins

I had a streak of making muffins a few months back that led to me adding another 4 recipe books to our bookshelf that was already struggling to stay on the wall. My next phase of my cooking journey led me to baking bread and now with the birthdays and events of close people mostly behind me, I have gone full-circle and back to sweet breads/muffins! (Equally bread making is for patient people and we always found ourselves staying up later than we wanted waiting for the bread finish proving for that perfect loaf.)

On my husband’s return from work this week, he brought me a large punnet of raspberries, fresh from the fruit farm in Cheshire. How thoughtful! 🙂 I love them and sometimes eat them all up in one sitting. This time, given the quantity, I would have needed a couple of rounds. The next day he also brought some cherries home when he was just supposed to get some vegetables we needed for a pot-luck dinner (my list for him did not include cherries!). Again very thoughtful, but how was I going to finish all this fruit before it went bad (haha, there is no pleasing women! :))? As raspberries perish the fastest, I decided to make these muffins and to follow the Strawberry Bread, share them with my work colleagues. It’s so great I now have people to bake for at anytime I want. These muffins were quick and simple to make and more importantly not a daunting task to start at 9 pm!

As with any adventure in the kitchen (or in life) I undertake, I consulted quite a few sources as I wanted them soft, moist and bursting with raspberry flavour with every bite! I finally found one from Nigella Lawson that I felt happy to challenge myself with. After watching many of her TV shows, I know her recipes are more on the decadent side and thought it would be a good place to start.

Here are my alterations:

1.  I used 300g of raspberries instead of 100g. I thought 100g was not nearly enough for 300g of flour. Plus I wanted raspberries to dominate.

2.  I used 150g of white chocolate and 160g of sugar to compensate the tartness of the additional raspberries.

With these small alterations, I made about 24 mini muffins. My husband and I really enjoyed them, especially warm out of the oven. Equally they were well received from my co-workers! I was a bit nervous with my extra additions, but they worked a treat and just how I wanted! 🙂