Thursday 31 December 2009

2010

Well today is the last day of the year,so i have been bought up to believe.

I have had no luck with my car hunting,people want ridiculous amounts for cars  would be embarrased to advertise.
& i am now officially fed up and not car hunting ...kinda.


But anyways,readers,that read this blog,wishing u a very happy and prosperous foodie 2010.
eat well :D
drink better :D
Sleep it all off and enjoy :)
Most of all,a hugeourmous thankyou!! for helping me :D and making my blog what it is :D


Bigarade.x

Saturday 26 December 2009

Easy Peasy Vegeterian friendly starter or snack

okay so today is boxing day and ive actually got a day off work!!
been so busy,snowed under by massess of beautiful snow,in and out of work like theres no tomorrow but now,i have time,and im here.
Dedicated little girl arent i.
i was meant to be doing a give away but i mislaid my prize in my loft some place whilst tidying decorations. im one of those people who tidies to the extent i can no longer find anything.
So here i sit with a tube of benedicts chocolate,The bitter orange with a hint of chilli,Delicious they are DELICIOUS!

So ive opened all my presents in a excitement fuelled frenzy,ive got cook books :D a filofax a few bags ,clothes vouchers, money...

and i come bearing a recipe for you,

its a bit festive,and late i know!
but ive been so busy.

Its a Cranberry and stilton pate.
It's lovely!!

You will need,
100g Stilton (or another blue cheese)
15 g fresh cranberries
100g cream cheese
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Good pinch coarse cracked black pepper

    This is so simple!
    All you do,is line  a mould with cling film.
    cook your cranberry in a bit of water,only about a table spoon,until soft.
    mix all your ingredients togeether and fill the mould
    Chill and serve! i finished mine with a cranberry butter!!

    you dont even have to put it into a mould! you could put it into little bowls or make little quenneles :D






    Sunday 6 December 2009

    Thai salmon cakes

    mmmm.I love fish & sea food and one of my favourite fish dishes are Thai salmon fish cakes!
    Theyre so simple and absolutley delicious.
    They can be served with whatever you wish.
    My fave way to serve them is with a nice salad matchstick potatoes and yummy yellow or red sweet chilli sauce.
    *drools over her keyboard*

    So i thought i would share this recipe with you.
    As it is nearly christmas lol.


    you will need,

    60g Salmon
    5g Root Ginger
    1 Clove of Garlic
    2 tspn Nam Pla (fish sauce)
    1 tbspn of chopped corriander
    1 chilli
    1 stick of lemon grass (prepared by removing the skin and tip)
    squeeze of halfa lime
    enough vegetable oil to shallow fry.
    Wedge of lime to serve.

     I scaled these cakes to 6g each,i got 10 portions out of this mix.
    *dratz!  forgot to add slat nto my ingredients list,Salt to taste peoples!*
    These can easily be made smaller for little bites at a xmas party maybe.

    you know i told you this is simple,it really is.

    gather ones ingredients,like so.




    Thennn,grind them all up,i just stuck mine in my veg chopper because i quite like little chunky bits(no im not being lazy this time,i generally like texture lol)
    I added my corriander right towards the end,looks greener!
    Like so.


    I then did the same with my salmon,pulsed it a few times until it was kinda minced
    but still chunky because other wise it willgo to sloppy and you wont be able to work with it.
    Make your cakes and fry on a medium heat,you dotn want to obliterate the yummy salmon.
    (also some recipes say coat your salmon cakes in cornflour,you can do this but i prefer miner au naturale,il save the cornflour for something else 8-) maybe some turkish delight mmm)
    Mmmmm


    sorry incase you didnt read it b4, MMMMMMM. 





    Thursday 3 December 2009

    GAME

    Between September and February the British menus are spewing brilliance,with seasonal dishes using locally caught game.
    My family eat a lot of game,we've had a game keeper in the family for donkies years,so I don’t think I appreciate it as much as people who don’t eat it as much as me.
    But it’s a beautiful thing!
    Im extremely lucky,not only because of our game keeper,but because I live somewhere,where local,sustainable produce is available readily,for those who are willing to use it.
    & nothing can beat game,it is in its own league of excellence,whether it be Duck or venison,Hare or rabbit,or maybe pigeon or pheasant.
    Game has a very low fat content,probably because it is wild & able to run around happily.
    It’s easy to cook,but can be expensive when bought oven ready,I think.
    Your thinking,”shutttttttup”,sorry.
    I was rambling but this rambling has meaning!
    the other day ) at college we had a guy visit us from a local farmers market ( I hope that’s right)
    And basically he bought us game to play with.
    Ok,not play but he came to enlighten our minds.
    We learnt about catching game,hanging it and then plucking and drawing the guts out of it.
    Sounds awful doesn’t it, im sorry vegeterian readers,if you are a vegeterian or animal lover,id stop reading now,personally.





    This is a Duck we plucked,
    Im not all that heartless,I felt really bad 
    It as sooo cute and fluffy.
    But duck is tasty,so its all a really big mess!But I suppose it’s the same for other meat too!
    But I don’t know why I actually enjoyed this,i love the whole catch it kill it eat it scenario.
    Its like history and science and culinary delight all in one realm.
    See there I go rambling again.
    Buut seriously guys,next time your eating out,and you see game don’t give it a miss.
    Try it,love it.obviously not you,vegetarian readers.


    I may post a game recipe.


    The end.

    Wednesday 2 December 2009

    Colcannon potatoes


    Colcannon potatoes are irish mashed potatoes,Theyre laced with leeks and scallions and cabbage,& just general yummyness,the kind of yummyness you appreciate when your frozen and starving.
    Theyre great on their own or with a casserole.Lovely with sausages and gravy,we all love gravy now don’t we!
     This served 6 rather large portions!!
    10g butter
    Drizzle of veg oil ( just to stop the butter burning)
    25g Leeks
    10g Scallions
    20g Shredded Savoy Cabbage
    Mash
    100g Potatoes
    20g Butter
    Cream or milk (your choice but creamy mash is lovley mash!)
    Plenty of seasoning ( I used cracked black pepper & sea salt)

    (My gorgeous orange knife!! <3 )

    Blanch your savoy & set aside.
    Peel & boil your potatoes,set aside.
    Right,its best to use a wok,but I used a frying pan that was a little to small ( there goes my lazyness,getting the better of me again!).Add you 1 lot of your butter,& your oil.Alow to get hot, then add your blanched cabbage,after about a minute add your leeks and scallions.
    Give it a good old mix.
    Keep it going until you start to notice some parts going brown,Its all flavour I say!
    When you feel happy with the look of your mix,set it aside.
    Mash your potatoes,Give them a good old mash,Season,add your cream and butter!
    Then mix in your cabbage mix.

    Et voile.
    Potatoes of the colcannon variety.




    Friday 27 November 2009

    Kebabs!

    (donner kebab ^)
    They're yummy in the summer, grilled/bbq'd and in a pitta with loadsa mint and cucumber raita or a nice garlic mayo! loads of fresh lettuce and onions!
    They can be either lamb,beef or pork!
    You can freeze them with ease!

    Right,Here is my recipe to simple recipe to kebabs.

    4 lb Pork mince ( you can use beef or lamb but i used pork because it was easier to get hold of!)
    8 cloves of garlic (minced)
    3 Chillies (mine are pretty damn hot)
    30g fresh root ginger (minced)
    10g bread crumbs
    1 whole egg
    1 tbsp cumin powder
    2 tsp whole cumin
    2 tsp Garam masala
    2 tbsp Chopped coriander 
    Salt to taste

     In a Bowl mix all of your ingredients!(how easy is that!!) By the way,i minced my ginger,garlic and chillies all in my vegetable chopper :D

    Roll them into any shapes and sizes you wish,they make great burgers!i made theminto these sausagey shapes because they hold theyre shape bettter when cooking.i weighed these out at 5g each. i got 50 peices out of this mix!

    Thursday 19 November 2009

    Crazy Cress

    Willy Wonkas factory never failed to amaze me,until today!
    We had a visit from The cress people.
    Cress people,yes.

    They say little things please litttle minds,but these little things will baffle and amaze Mr Einstein himself!
    We had cress that tasted like mud! flowers that made your mouth tingle! & flowers that looked to good to eat! All in one room!

    & GUESS WHAT!!
    Non of it was GM!

    I was so amazed i had to pretend i wasnt,i didnt want to look like the weak link in my class or anything!



    Also Thankyou Anncoo For this lubly award :D

    Saturday 14 November 2009

    A Cyber Gift From Me On To You





    Awards :D
     i thought i would join the bandwagon of award givers!


    My first ever Award.made by me!
    & i feel for this month these bloggers deserve it ;
    Collabrative Curry
    Peaslovecarrots
      KO Rasoi
    Chacko's Kitchen

    Just because some of their resent posts have made me drool!!


    Wednesday 11 November 2009

    Going green



    So today at college we were talking about dietary requirements,Veganism, cooking for diabetics and celiacs and stuff. My friend being as self centered as she is, couldn’t understand how or why people would want to be a vegetarian let alone vegan!
    Im not exactly a huge fan of meat, but I do love my fish, but I feel I could do without it.
    But here I am now...Vegetarian for a week.
    This doesn't bother me, because I love vegetables! I love my pulses and beans too and if anything I see this as an opportunity to get more intact with my roots. 
    We are from the Indian part of Punjab you see!(well my family is)
    Where foods like; Rajma,Rongi and saag are everyday foods! (Just to name a few of my favorites!)
    As a student chef im always trying to new recipes and ideas, and I already find it hard to work with food, well taste it because I do not eat beef or halal.
    Obviously Halal being cheaper for some unknown reason, we use allot more of it; I have no problem cooking it, its just eating it.
    I struggle here because if I don’t taste it how do I know if I’ve cooked it right?!
    But still enough of all this, im going to post you one of my favourite recipes!



    Dhal Makhani!


    150g whole urad daal
    2 tablespoon Red kidney bean
    1 1/2 litres of warm water
    2 medium onions finely chopped
    3 tablespoon butter
    2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    2 teaspoon turmeric powder
    125g chopped tin tomatoes
    25g Ginger piece
    3 green chilies minced ( mine are really strong so adjust this to your chillies!)
    2 tablespoons minced garlic
    10 floz Double cream
    2 tablespoons yogurt
    2 teaspoons of tandoori powder
    3 teaspoons cumin seeds
    2 teaspoon Garam masala
    Salt to your taste


    Normally this dhal is cooked for about 3 hours! but i would say this takes just over a hour and a half..
    Make sure the red kidney beans have been soaked the night before,just too speed things up a bit.(you can also soak your urad by the way)
    The dhal should be cooked until soft,kidney beans contain toxins which can kill you!(eeek!) So please make sure you cook them properly,otherwise you wont be making my yummy dhal again,will you!!
    To soak the beans just put them in a bowl and cover with boiling water and leave over night!The longer the better.

    Anyway,enough of this morbidness!

    Right!
    In a largeish pan,heat your oil and heat your butter.
    Temper your jeera.
    Then add your onions and ginger,& cook until translucent.
    Add your garlic and your chillies and cook until brown.
    Add your Tumeric & tandoori powder,cook out for about a minute.
    Then add your Urad dhal,and your tomatoes & cook out futher,until you feel the dhal starting to stick.
    Add your water and you kidney beans and place a lid on your pan!
    Leave for about half an hour and keep checking to make sure your dhal has plenty of water in it.
    when you notice the water has reduced a bit,and the urad has started to fill out/split,test your dhal. Remove a kidney bean and urad dhal and squash it,there should be no hard bits in it.
    If at this stage the shal is soft,add your yogurt & cream and salt and reduced to a desired consistency!


    PS.
    I will add pictures soon! and i am sorry about the state of this but the blogger editor is playing up and just making a bigger mess out of my mess :( !! HELP!!

    P.P.S.
    ive just returned from asda! i went to go get double cream so i can take pics of this for you people to see!
    and the double cream split in the carpark and covered me! and im sticky and i probably smell like mouldyness and OH the shame :(  SEE WHAT I DO FOR YOU!







    Monday 9 November 2009

    squish squash

    Firstly,My apologies if this is a little messy & the pictures are worse than usual! Ive been busy at work :( and now im eating saag and ARRRGH i cant let anything come between me and saag!!

    Oh my Gourd enough of that already! * teehee *
    Don't you just love them,Pumpkins,Squashes! Call them what you wish!
    Whether they be sweet or savoury, theyre well worth eating,and when better to eat them,than this time of year.
    We needed something quick and simple to eat & Whats better than a spicy,hearty,Butternut squash and potato curry!


    You will need:
    230g Butternut squash (peeled & diced into bite size pieces)
    170g Potato ( Peeled & diced into bite size pieces)
    80g Chopped onion
    200g chopped tomatoes ( i used tinned)
    25g chopped Garlic
    20g Chopped ginger ( you can mince or grate the ginger and garlic if you wish)
    2 tablespoons of veg oil
    2 curry leaves ( i crushed :$ )
    2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
    2 teaspoon whole cumin
    1 small pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
    2 teaspoon Tumeric
    3 Chillies ( i used birdseye and they were pretty hot you can tweak this to suit your taste)
    1 teaspoon of paprika
    Salt to your taste
    1/4 pint of water





    Method:

    In a pan temper your Cumin,Black Peppercorns & Curry leaves.
    (Until the cumin goes a little darker (NOT BLACK)



    Add your Onions and Ginger and cook until the onions are translucent and starting to go brown.
    Then add the ginger and chopped chillies.

    Cook until goldenbrown Then add your;
    Hing,tumeric,paprika.

    Cook Mix in all the spices,Then add your potatoes and cook
    out for a further 5 minutes.

     Add your squash,And cook until you can feel the curry just starting to stick to the pan,
    Add your water and placer a lid on top,and cook on a low heat until the potatoes & squash are soft.
    When soft take off the heat,sprinkle with plenty of freshly chopped cilantro!
    Et Voile;

    Wednesday 4 November 2009

    Dhokla, haa un tamene prem karu chhu

    Check out my gujrati che! :D
    Have you ever been to Southall?
    Where Indian sweet shops plague shopping parades?
    Names like Ambala and Jalebi junction.
    Not only do they taunt you,they lure you into purchasing some of they're uber delish foods!

    Weve all been there,if not in Southall,Some other place!

    Ever been in to one of these shops and thought,"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" ?
    Probably not,But sometimes i go in and i think "do i really want something sweet?"
    So i buy some freshly made bombay mix,Maybe some patra and Dhoklaa! Okay i admit i do nick some mixed mithai somebody in my family bought!

    So Dhokla,Oh The Guji people of the world,i know you don't know me,but thankyou for this one,really,thanks.



    Usually you get a choice of a Mint or red chilli chutney,or if your lucky some tamrind chutney! Mmm
    Dhokla has a really unusual taste and texture and just keeps you coming back for more!
    & guess what lovely people!

    I GOT YOU A RECIPE!! :D
    ( Ideal as finger food at a party! Oh i also found you some music just because it was what i was listening to whilst making it!)



    *Jumps around with excitement for a while*


    Just to add,This recipe is steamed! If like me you don't have a steamer,Just use a large pan with a tight fitting lid!! I also used a 8 inch square cake tin as my Dhokla mould...(Gosh i am useless!)
    Alsoooooo,There is many different variations of this recipe,some call for semolina some call for Eno and all sorts,this is a way i found worked!



    RECIPE
     

    280g Besan (Gram flour/Chickpea flour)
    240ml Yoghurt 
    600ml Warm water

    2 chopped green chillies
    1 inch chopped ginger
    1/2 teaspoon powdered tmeric
    Salt (to your taste)
    1 teaspoon Baking soda

    2 tablespoon oil
    Juice of 1 lemon



    To decorate these beauties;


    2 teaspoon mustard seeds
    2 dried Curry leaves 

    3 tablespoons of Freshly chopped corriander
    A generous sprinkling of grated coconut




    Sift your Besan into a bowl
    Add your water & yoghurt and Salt

    Whisk until it is of dropping consistency and has no lumps
    Leave it to ferment for about 2 hours, ( The longer you leave it the better,so i am told)
    Blitz your ginger and chillies into a paste (using a food grinder)
    Grease your make shift dhokla pan
    Mix the lemon juice,half the oil and all the bicarb soda in a little bowl and add to the fermented besan mix

    Pour your batter into the tin and add into your steamer
    Steam for about 12 minutes! ( Or until it springs back when poked)

    When the dhokla is done,cool and cut into desired shapes,sizes and pieces!

    In a pan temper your curry leaves and mustard seeds,when you hear the seeds pop pour this mix over the dhokla!
    Garnish with split green chillies and chopped corriander,oh and the coconut!

    Enjoyyyyyyyy!! 

      I got this recipe out of a book from India i have at home but had to mess around with it!
      So Now it is mineeee!! ALLLL MINEEEE BWHAHAHAHA!!  *ahem

      Tuesday 27 October 2009

      Banoffee Pie

       We all love simplicity,good flavour and down right yummyness!! Well i know i do anyways!
      So i saw this on a tin of carnation milk once! I always see things like,Banoffee pie and pumpkin pie  as being these American sweet things full of ingredients we dont get in the uk! But i am still going to try making pumpkin pie! So when i saw this i was way chuffed! my whole world lit up! (yes i know i am sad)


      The Recipe
      • 110 mins
      • Serves 12

      Ingredients

      Base:

      • 100g (3½oz) butter, melted
      • 250g (9oz) digestive biscuits

      Filling:

      • 100g (3½oz) butter
      • 100g (3½oz) dark brown soft sugar
      • 397g can Carnation Condensed Milk

      Topping:

      • 4 small bananas
      • 300ml carton double cream, lightly whipped
      • grated chocolate
      You will also need:
      • 20cm (8”) loose-bottomed cake tin, greased



      1. To make the base, process the biscuits until crushed. Stir in the melted butter. Press the mixture into the base and 4cm (1½") up the sides of the tin. Chill the base while you make the filling.
      2. To make the filling: place the butter and sugar into a non-stick saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Add the condensed milk and bring gently to the boil, stirring continuously. When the caramel has started to boil, remove from the heat and pour over the biscuit base. Cool, and then leave to chill for about 1 hour, until firm.
      3. To serve, remove the pie from the tin and place on a serving plate. Slice the bananas, fold half of them into the softly whipped cream and spoon over the caramel base. Decorate with the remaining bananas and finish with the grated chocolate.



      Just to add,I went one step lazier  *hides behind her cheffing certificates*
      I used a tin of their caramel Instead of heating the condensed milk through with the brown sugar!
      I also whacked some ginger nuts in with the Digestive biscuits.
      For you Americans out there,digestives are like Graham crackers.

      Oh i actually feel ashamed at my laziness,Okay im over it now.

      Bwahaha!



      Dont stop here! Read my older posts :D








      Monday 26 October 2009

      Walnut & chicken stir fry

      This is an amazing dish,one of my friends made it last year in one of our lessons.
      The buttery nuttyness of the walnuts goes really well with the chicken and mmm it is delicious!

      This recipe was from the internet (ive forgotten where!) but adapted because we had restricted ingredients.

      You will need;
      1lb chicken breast (or boneless thigh)
      4 tbsp soy sauce
      3 tbsp minced fresh ginger root
      4 cloves of freshly minced garlic
      1 tsp chilli flakes
      pinch of salt and pepper
      drizzle of veg. oil
      6 tbsp walnuts pieces
      4 spring onions
      ( White rice or Egg noodles to serve with)

      How to go about it ;
      • Cut the chicken into bite size cubes.
      • Mix the garlic,ginger,soy sauce and chilli flakes in a bowl,add a pinch of salt and cracked black pepper.
      • Add the chicken,mix and coat well and leave to marinate for about 10/15 minutes in the fridge.
      • Heat a wok over high heat until hot.
      • Drizzle oil into the wok and heat. 
      • Add walnuts and fry until lightly golden. take out and put into a bowl.
      • Add the chicken and all of the marinade to the wok fry  until chicken is cooked (break a peice in half it should be white and have no pink).
      • Add The spring onions (scallions). You can serve this with either rice or egg noodles,personally i prefer egg noodles.
      • Enjoy!



        Dice your chicken!

        Crush your garlic and ginger! & chop it into teeny tiny pieces
        (i know i said mince it,but have you ever tried to pick out the garlic,from a garlic mincer?!)


        In a bowl mix your scallions,pepper,salt,garlic & ginger.
        Though i re-wrote that recipe & method,it still seems pretty long!
        (i also whacked in my walnuts too! Nothing like saving time i say!)



        Check out these beauties,i cracked them and picked
        out the yummy bits :D



        You can use the packet stuff,but i had time to kill
        before my driving lesson,(ive heard killing
        time is better than mowing down innocent pedestrians!)


        Throw your marinaded meat into the oil,in the wok.
        i haven't got a wok ( ok i lied we got given one for xmas!! it went rusty and died :| ) so i used my amazing trustworthy Indian karai.
        Ive cooked Masala fish to tuna fish pasta in this Gorgeous little thing!
        Make sure the oil is really hot and keep moving your chicken because you dont want to be stewing it!

        Serve! And indulge,eat till you feel like your going to explode.
        Then wash it down with some ice cold water,or maybe some blackcurrant squash.
        Mmmmm.



        I came back from my driving lesson,to find this.
        i think my brother liked it too much!










        Wednesday 21 October 2009

        The cheese that cant help but please!

        Whether it be in your saag,your rasmalai! or floating around with some pea's,you have to love it.

        PANEER!

        The gorgeous cheese that is so versatile i could go on forever about it.

        Ode to the paneer
        so yummy and delicious
        not only are you tasty your pretty damn nutritious! 
        creamy and white a culinary delight
        you keep me full up all through the night.

        Cute huh! i wrote it my self :D *takes a bow*




        Previously i made rasmalai! Using this wonderful dairy product,But before i made that,i also made some spinach and paneer spring rolls.

        Okay italiano's! i did nick your spinach and ricotta flavour fiesta! it's amazing, what more can i say?
        But these,oh these! were out of this world!

        Recipe?

        Ah,go on then :D

        for these i used ready made Filo pastry sheets!

        • 1 block of Paneer cubed small (available from most Indian food shops,i also posted a recipe for it)
        • 1 medium onion,finely diced
        • 1 green chilli chopped small (you may take out the seeds if you wish,Wimps!)
        • 200g spinach
        • A knob of butter
        • salt to taste
        • Cumin
        • pinch of garam masala

        In a pan fry the cumin,add the onions and cook without colour,for about 2/3 minutes.

        Add the chilli and cook off for a minute or two more.

        Add the spinach and wilt.Add the paneer and heat through,you can fry the paneer off before hand,until it is golden.(I usually do this but i was in a rush).

        Et voile. One batch of spring roll stuffing.

        I managed to get 15 out of this.










        Cut your filo into a square.


        Place on some of your delish filling


        Fold over the top corner,make sure the filling is well enveloped behind the filo


        Fold in the other two corners,make sure the filling is well covered


        Roll over the covered filling,Then roll again
        Use some water to seal the last edge
        & deep fry,Enjoy!
        I got too carried away and forgot to take a picture of the cooked product *doh!*






        Monday 19 October 2009

        Punjabi samosa

        I made mini samosa's,Well i say mini but they were half the size of an average one.
        I served them with a red onion,tomato and baby gem lettuce garnish and a sweet imli (tamrind) sauce.

        These are delicious pastries filled with your choice of filling.Traditionally the filling is potatoes and some other sort of vegetable,usually peas,or it is potato and keema (mince).

        I made these a vegetarian dish..

        For my filling i used peas,spinach and potatoes and a mix of spices.


        This mix should be enough for twenty,a little extreme i know!


        3lb Plain flour
        1/2lb Butter  (room temp)
        Pinch of salt
        A pinch of loveage seed
        Luke warm water to bind the dough


        In a bowl add all of the dry ingredients. Then add the butter and rub into the flour until you have a sandy textured mix.Slowly add the luke warm water until a elasticy dough is formed.
        cover with a wet tea toweland set aside int he fridge for 30 minutes.


        Filling:

        200g spinach
        125g peas
        400g potatoes (maris piper or another fluffy potato nothing to waxy)
        50g root ginger
        Large pinch of toasted cumin seeds
        Large pinch of Brown mustard seeds
        Large pinch of garam masala
        Large pinch of chopped corriander
        Large pinch of salt


        • Peel and washt he potatoes. Cut into large chunks and boil until soft. 
        • Drain and allow to cool.
        • When cooled add mash with your hands making sure it is not to smooth
        • Add the rest of the ingredients (you may want to wilt the spinach before hand)


        • Make golf ball sized balls out of the dough.
        • Roll out to about 6 inches
        • cut in half
        • make a cone out of these half moon shapes
        • fill with your filling and seal with the last edge (Use a slurry of flour and water as a lue to keep theedges sealed.
        • Deep fry until golden brown
        • Enjoy!


          Sunday 18 October 2009

          I wish

          I wish i was Ras malai,so i could sit and float in this rose,pistachio and cardamom milk. With no cares in the world,my sole aim to fill the stomach of some hungry person!

          Ahh...If i had half as much brain as i was supposed to i would write a blog dedicated to my love of indian sweets!!
          From the pistachio barfi to the besan ke ladoo! From jalebis in hot milk to gulab jamans with ice cream! Kulfi,gujrela,ras gulla,ras malai!

          Sorry please excuse me whilst i drown in a pool of my own drool.

          If you havent already clocked on,I have awful photography skills,my writing skills are probably worse so,you dont really get the true "umph" of these delicious foods i try to explain to you. I wouldmake video but my accent is awful and my videoing skills,Well lets just say my pictures seem professional next to them!

          Anyway,enough of this self pity.

          I present to you;
          The one and only,
          RASSSSSSSS MALAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI!!!!!



          • Paneer
          • 1 liter blue milk
          • 8 table spoon sugar
          • 1 tablespoon cardamom powder (or just use pods)
          • thinly sliced almonds & pistachios
          • A couple of dashes of rose water

          • pulse the Paneer in a blender till very smooth. Make into balls of your preffered size and then flatten slightly.
          • When you have done this setthe balls aside.
          • In a pan boil the milk with sugar, till thickened enough to loosley coat a spoon.Add the cardamom and rose water mix well.If using cardamom pods strain the milk. ( Dont stop stirring)
          • Allow to cool,a little,add the paneer.
          • garnish with the pistachios and almonds,Chill well and serve!


          Here is the paneer recipe i used!



          ENJOYYY!!



          A realllll bad picture i know :(

          Saturday 10 October 2009

          Finger licking good


          So here i go with the fusion again.I introduce to you,The tandoori spiced BBQ chicken! Mmm.
          Tasted fab i assure you.This picture is a bit premature mind,i did cook it off a bit more to give it that charcoal Smokey crispness.

          I marinated the chicken for about 4 hours,yes over night is always best.

          i used yogurt in this mix,Just because my family always do.But i did watch this programme by Heston Blumenthal... ( HESTON <3)



        • 1 pint of live natural yogurt
        • 4 Tablespoon Cumin powder
        • 2 Tablespoon Cumin seed
        • 1 Tablespoon Brown mustard seed
        • 2 Tablespoon garam masala
        • 2 Teaspoon Coriander powder
        • 2 Teaspoon sweet imli sauce
        • 3 Teaspoon Chopped green chilli
        • Juice 1 lemon
        • 8 cloves garlic - crushed
        • 2 inch grated ginger (grate over a bowl because the juice is the best!)
        • Red, or no food colouring
        • Amchoor
        • pinch or two of salt
        • Chaat masala to finish or black salt
        • Chopped cilantro (corriander)
        • Ok so where should i start!


          In a bowl,Mix the yogurt with all the ingredients excluding the cillantro and chaat powder, but including the juice from the ginger.

          Give it all a good mix.
          You should have something that doesnt look to great.

          Then cut slits into your chicken,I always think it is best to use chicken on the bone,because it cooks better and holds better. Cut about 2/3 slits into your chicken legs but make sure you stay within the chicken if that makes sense,and make sue they are deep enough to reach the bone.Basically dont cut over the edge. Then wash the chicken and place into the marinade.cover it and allow it to sit for as long as you can.

          When cooking you can either BBQ it or cook it in the oven,i have cooked it in the oven before tastes fine,i just finish it under the grill.

          In the oven at 220 deg, put the chicken in on the top shelf for about 20-25 minutes until cooked,i usually foil it andput about a table spoon of water in the tray just helps keep it moist i then finish it under the grill.

          On the BBQ i cook it for about 10 -15 minutes,well just till its cooked really.
          then sprinkle with the chaat masala and squeeze over some lemon,sprinkle over the chopped cilantro.


          You could also make a chicken tandoori masala dish if you wished
          To makes things easier and to make the dish look neater,debone the thigh/legs or just use breast.
          cook the meat as stated above,then mix through a masala sauce.

          Saturday 19 September 2009

          Ihaveaphobiaofhavingphobiasaphobia,

          Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia .... An phobia of long words,ironic eh?!
          Eisoptrophobia ... A fear i have,i wouldn't call it a phobia,mind. A fear of mirrors.
          Coulrophobia ... A fear of clowns.i fear clowns i really do the old fashioned ones with the big foreheads *shudders*.
          But surely there should be a line drawn.
          I always thought a fear was just being scared of something,and an phobia an actual diagnosis. But this is getting beyond a joke.Ive read about people having phobias of,peas,knees,Neked people ... The colour yellow...hmmm.
          Surely this is getting a bit out of hand?
          Same with allergies,when i was little no one was allergic to anything,actually one girl in my class was allergic to "dust",she was too blonde,to prim and too proper to have a immune system.
          Just to add,the film "killjoy" never helped my fear of these beautiful clowns.Just read some of the comments on the film killjoy,as i nicked the pic from IMDB,ok.
          So you don't like a film,what do you say?
          "its a bad film i wouldn't recommend it"
          i would say thats ample to get the point across but for some people,gosh! they just don't know where to stop. Have a butchers at this fool.
          "I hope anyone who clicked this link as a true fan gets brain cancer because that rotten piece of gray meat moldering your skull needs to be put out of its misery. this is the worst piece of film ive EVER EVER EVER seen. This is the bottom most component for my movie rating scale. "Well it sucked, but at least it wasnt as bad as killjoy..." Seriously. Buy this movie, burn it, spread the ashes over a 5th of vodka, and burn them again. No really. Do it. Seriously. Ill buy the vodka. Send the bill to "I HAte Killjoy rd. THis movie sucks. INdiana. 48Dontrentthis506. Id rather cut off my thumbs and try to play halo for my parents inheritance than watch this again."
          I bet hes one of these idiots who starts arguments in the youtube comment boxes...a downright FAIL.



          Saturday 4 July 2009

          Cuppy Cake Adventures

            Cuppy cakes
            4oz plain flour
            4oz Caster sugar
            4oz butter
            2 eggs (room temp)
            Splash of vanilla essence (or almond :D,well anything you please really)
            (I also throw in some smarties,or hundreds and thousands now and then)


            I usually get 24 cupcakes out of this mix! I also use this mix for my normal cakes,Works a treat!

            Cream the sugar,Vanilla essence and butter together until white and fluffy.
            Then add the eggs and give another whizz.
            Add the flour and fold in gently ( add the smarties or sprinkle now).

            Cook in a pre heated oven at 180 Deg. for about 20 minutes!
            Check them though i forgot to lol! just until
            theyre golden brown and firm to the touch!

            take them out and allow them to cool.

            Then enjoy,but if you want to ice them heres a recipe for icing i use.
            Well more of a frosting lol!

            Frosting
            250g White chocolate chips/chunks
            300g mascarpone


            Melt the chocolate over a baine marie. Then mix into the beaten mascarpone!

            Its a really rich frosting,and tastes like milky bar!

            you can adapt it! Ive whacked fresh raspberries through it before just to break down the sweetness a bit.

            Thursday 9 April 2009

            No bake Bittersweet mousse ameretti cake

            Now that is a mouthful^
            But im sure it wasn't as Delish! as a mouthful of this :D



            This was basically a last minute idea.It's a extremely rich no bake cheesecake. Its made by crushing amaretti biscuits and then mixing in a splash of Dissarano.Then binding it with butter and some caster sugar.Place that into a spring loaded tin and allow to set. Then lightly toast some flaked almonds and then sprinkle them across the base.
            Melt some bitter chocolate.In a bowl whisk some double cream with some Dissarano & icing sugar to stiff

            peak,dont over whisk it!! Then fold it into some beaten mascarpone which has had the melted chocolate mixed into it.pour this mix into the mold on top of the base and allow to set.Cut through it using a heavy and hot knife. Serve with fruit or fruit coullis to cut through the richness of it all.

            I dont do measurements.Use the eye thats why it is there.sorry :$



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