Monday, August 10, 2015

Curried Peas and Cheese a.k.a Muttar Paneer ( Curry paste instructions included! :)


I ventured to the grocery store the other day, intent on picking up stuff for a very traditional curry, "aloo gobi," or, 'potato & cauliflower,' though wouldn't you believe it- I forgot the cauliflower! 

I'd had it in hand, with everthing else I needed (no shopping cart/not basket), though dropped a tub of sour cream. In cleaning the bit that had made its way to the ground, and having to put everything down, I left the cauliflower behind. 

It didn't even dawn on me til today (2 days later). 

I've been so immersed in designing, that cooking was a side gig over the weekend- and so much so, that eating too, wasn't of much importance as I was fed by creativity. 
In any case, there came a single moment when hunger struck after many hours, and I just started cooking, without knowing what the end result would be. That's precisely when this unplanned and super quick dish came about. 





I went through a paneer making phase last year, and made tons of the stuff, but wanted to try Slovak "tvaroh," or quark. It's basically the same thing as paneer, in my mind, so I went for it. 


I cooked it up lightly beforehand in mustard seeds, cumin, chili & salt. In fact, that wasn't a really necessary step, as the quark didn't hold its shape like traditional paneer cubes. It was more crumbly, so the idea of browning it fell through rather quickly. Never mind, it was but a few minutes, and the result was still fantabulous- no word of a lie. :) 

Also, you're getting two for one here, as I go step by step how to make curry paste -yes finally! I even wrote down everything as I was doing it, and took pictures for those of you, who like me, are visual learners. ;) 


Finished Cheese, (Paneer/Tvaroh/Quark).
-The recipe-
For the Cheese:
1 tbsp Coconut oil 
1/2 spoon cumin seeds 
1/2 tsp mustard seeds 
Pinch of chili flakes 
250g quark/tvaroh/paneer (I'll get a recipe up for you soon ;))
Pinch of salt 
Simply heat the oil in a pan, add the seeds, salt, & chili. Heat until the mustard seeds start to pop. Add cheese- cooking until water is released, and mixture is dry. 


(There may not be any excess water depending on the type of cheese you use- in any case, your cooking it to assimilate the flavors, & sure you could skip this step altogether, & just add the uncooked cheese to peas). 
Set aside. 

**Curry Paste Instructions 
Relative size of Onion/ginger/garlic

2 small onions 
8 cloves of garlic
1"square of ginger 
Handful dried curry leaves 
2 tbsp Ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds 
1 tsp cumin seeds 
1/4 tsp chili flakes 
Salt 
2 tbsp tomatoe purée (approx 1/2 medium tomato) 
1 Heaping tsp garam masala 
Turmeric 
1 cup water 
450g / 1 bag of frozen peas 

Mustard, cumin, tumeric & salt 

1- In a blender, combine onions, garlic & ginger. 

2- heat up ghee, on medium heat. Add mustard, cumin seeds, chili flakes, curry leaves & salt, until mustard seeds start to pop. 

3- Add onion/garlic/ginger purée, and cook for a few mins, adding water, if it starts to dry out. Give it a taste and see what you think at this stage. Remember, we're playing and co-creating :) 

Curry paste pre- tomatoes 
4- Add tomato purée turmeric & garam masala, and again, have a taste. Should be pretty heavenly by now. (Keep adding water, a little at a time, if it's drying out- unless you fancy a dry curry). 

5- Add the peas- no need to defrost, and the extra water will wet the whole curry. Cook time is very little, just until the peas are soft. A couple of minutes. 
Masala in! 
Tomatoes in! 


Peas please :) 
6- last but certainly not least, time to add the cheese. Mix everything & you're done :)) 


**Please note that even though I've given measurements, they are fairly general, and I really encourage you to play with the tastes. The most important thing is that you get the balance between the gharam masala, salt & liquid/cream that you choose to use- (water, coconut milk, yoghurt, sour cream, cream...etc). If you can maintain this balance, you'll win over many hearts, whether you're a beginner or not. :)) 


I didn't even think to make anything along with the curry as I wanted to get back to designing- though surely this dish is well paired with cumin rice or roti/ paratha- whatever you please. 

I may have skipped the rice/ roti, but definitely not a dollop of sour cream! 

I ate it for three meals, and each time it was better and better :)) 

Try it yourself a few times, and if you're really stuck, you can always drop me a line, and I'll personally come round and show you the way, (if you're in the vicinity, or Skype ). :) 






PS- I know it's not the best looking meal in the world, but I assure you, the below curry - made of the things I had on hand- potatoes & cabbage, was another winner. My husband mentioned something about marrying me again  ;)) 

FYI- it was based on the same curry paste used above (just more of everything), and I used sour cream at the very end to make the dish more creamy, as requested by Yurai, and of course, the whole thing was doused with love ;) 

**Play with your food! 























Thursday, August 6, 2015

Red Split Lentils- Indian Style


Red Split Lentils are just about the easiest curry you can make, with absolutely no compromise on taste. Though I do take my sweet time to prepare any kind of food, I reckon this took me half an hour this morning, in total. I did go off and do some sewing whilst the lentils were boiling, but that's besides the point. Boil time was under 10 minutes, (after having soaked the lentils early this morning when I awoke). Total soak time must have been around two hours. When I saw that no more water was being absorbed it was time to cook! :) 


Not everyone soaks these lentils, but I find that it cuts down on cooking time drastically, to a mere 10 minutes.
      
Dry lentils 
Bloated and ready to cook! :) 

























For this curry, I added a cinnamon stick, bayleaves, cardamum and salt to the water before adding the lentils. I would advise you to add the cardamum later on, in the 'turka,' or curry paste, Since the cooking time was so little, the flavor didn't come out too strong. 








I added the tumeric once the lentils were cooked (after 10 mins). You may well wish to end the whole process right here and now, should you choose, and you'd still get a tasty meal, not to mention, very pure food. 






We will take it a step further though, for those of you who wish to impress a guest who pops in for lunch, and you need to whip up something quick! ;) 






You'll see all the ingredients as well as full method below, but suffice it to say that the final step is a cinch, and makes a world of difference to this lentil curry. 


Ghee, Ginger & Spices
Pictured to the left here are all the goodies that went into the ghee (clarified butter- cooked very slowly on low heat to remove milk proteins, and best suited for Indian cooking). 

In the centre of the picture, next to the heart shaped ginger (you know me ;) ), you'll see a spoon, with a yellowish powder: HING, aka 'asafoetida.' 
It's the smelliest thing in the world, but a perfect digestive aid, which couples very well in Indian cooking, especially for the legumes & bean curries. With a touch of hing, you can eat in peace, without anticipation of the dreaded after gas!
If you can get over the smell, you'll soon learn that you won't cook without it. 
You don't use a lot, but if you don't use it at all, you just kind of notice that something is missing, though you can't quite put your finger on what that something is. It is indeed the stinky yellow powder!  

I personally, didn't grow up using it, and was only introduced to the spice a couple years back, and must admit, I was fairly nauseous from the smell at first, but I don't go without now:). 

What I learned today, is that Hing assimilates best in fat, so where I normally just add it to the lentils whilst they're boiling away, today it was the other way around, and I added it first to the ghee for about 15 seconds, before adding the rest of the spices. 

Now, I've not quite mentioned that when you make lentils, it's not the usual curry paste (Turka), that is used - the typical, onion, garlic ginger combo with masala. Well, that's not how I do it anyway. 
You use the same method- heat up your spices but only add ginger into the ghee, (no onion, garlic, masala), and once you've got that smell going on, after just a few minutes, add the magic to the finished lentils- easy peasy. 


Spices working their magic in ghee. 

My lentils came out fairy thick and I did use a hand blender to smooth them out, (which you can totally skip). You could add yoghurt, cream, coconut milk, more water, to thin the mixture, should you wish (and sure, you could add a tomato at the end-sometimes I do, sometimes not. Try it for yourself). 


How to make curried lentils - my style: 

Ingredients
300g Dry lentils which will swell to just under double @ 700g
Approx 3.5 cups of boiling water  
3 bay leaves
Cinnamon stick 
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp tumeric

Turka (curry sauce)
2 Tbsp Ghee
1/4 tsp Hing/ asafoetida
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
3x cardamum pods (cut in half to release seeds)
1/4 tsp chili flakes (or as you desire)
A handful of Dried curry leaves, to start with (add more if you wish at the end)
2 tbsp chopped ginger 

1- Add bayleaves, cinnamon stick, salt  lentils to boiling water. Scrape off scum from lentils, and cook for approximately 10minutes. The lentils will already be done (taste to make sure they're soft, and add more salt should you wish). 
2- Add turmeric, and give it a good mix, allow to simmer on low heat, whilst you prepare the 'turka.'

3-Warm up ghee in pan, and add hing. Heat up for approximately 15 seconds, before adding everything but the ginger to the pan. Once you have a beautiful aroma wafting, add the ginger, cook for about a minute, and add the whole mixture to the lentils. 

Yes, that's it :). 
As always, play with your food. :) 
Too thick? Add more water, or cream or yoghurt, or coconut milk. 
Too salty, same as above.
Not enough of a curry flavour? Add more curry leaves, and coriander (I only had shoots on hand, but by all means, go nuts!). Speaking of nuts, you could add flaked roasted almonds on top, or even roasted sesame seeds (black ones would look beautiful on the yellow of this dish). 

Go on, your turn to play and create. 

Do let me know how you get on. AND as I'm new at writing out recipes, I'd love your feedback! Am I easy enough to understand? Are you getting all the info? 
Please comment and ask away. :) 

Peace & Love with all that you are and do <3


Always serve with a good spoon of ghee on top :)))) 



Tuesday, August 4, 2015

The Best (mostly) Raw Chocolate Torte- EVER.



I've made this delectable torte twice now, and I tell you, it gets better and better. Other than the four hour soak time for the cashews, it is about the easiest thing you can make, which would impress the fussiest eaters, and dare I say it, even non-dessert fans. (As in the case of a young fella, who actually went back for seconds).

Not another word without giving thanks to the person from whom I acquired this recipe: Anastasia Halldin, over at Healthymamainfo.com. Infinite thanks!! 

Ready for some serious simplicity? (Unless you only have a small grinder, like myself, whereby it just takes a lot longer....and even then, if you look at the bright side, the torte and everyone who eats it, gets that much more love :). 

What you'll need: 

CRUST
1 1/2 cups Almonds 
6 tbsp Cacao powder 
1 tbsp Maple syrup 
2 tbsp Coconut oil 
Pinch of salt 

FILLING
2.5 cups Cashews (*soaked & drained)
1/3 cup Maple syrup
1/2 cup Coconut oil 
6 tbsp Cacao powder 
1/4 cup almond milk (I used cream, hence not truly raw)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used beans from 2 vanilla pods). 
Juice from half small lemon 

GANACHE
1/4 cup Coconut oil 
1/4 cup Cacao powder 
4 tbsp Maple syrup 
1 tsp vanilla extract (I didn't use it)
Pinch of salt 

*As already mentioned, get your cashews soaking well before you wish to make the torte, at least three to four hours soak time.

Combine all crust ingredients in a food processor. Choose your coarseness, and grind longer for a finer crust, or less for more coarse texture. 

Press into cake pan, and place into freezer. 

Combine all filling ingredients in food processor. Blitz till smooth, and pour over crust. 

Place the torte back into the freezer for about an hour. 

To make the ganache, if the coconut oil is already at room temperature, melted, in a bowl, simply add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together, until you have a beautiful glossy sheen. 

If the coconut oil is hard, liquefy over a double boiler, then whisk in the rest of the ingredients. 

Add the ganache to the frozen cake, and watch it harden very quickly (love this part ;)). 

Place back into the freezer, until approximately an hour before serving. 

Use a hot knife to cut through the torte so as to keep it neat. 

Voila- c'est tout :)) 

Feel free to play around with the amount of cacao you use in the three separate layers. The first time I made it, the torte filling was lighter, looking more like milk chocolate, and this time, pure dark decadence. 
You can also add or reduce the amount of maple syrup. This recipe was just right for us all, with just the right amount of everything. 

As always, let me know if you try it, and tweak it somehow to give it your own signature ;D. 

XxM 


Sunday, July 26, 2015

A Berry Raw Cake ;)

For the finale of an Indian Feast I did a few nights ago, I made this raw cake, in honour of birthday girl, and dear friend,  Kat Witgruber.

What you ought to know about Kat, is that she's just as adventurous in the kitchen, though her passion & specialty lies in baking- hence there was just no way I was baking anything - nothing compares to Kat's baked goods!! 

As for this cake, I kid you not, it is so very very simple. 

The ingredients are simple, and it doesn't take so long to prepare. I'm all about simplicity these days, without compromising on taste. 


I got the idea for this from this recipe, by someone I can only find as 'Megadaisy1's- thank you whoever you are!
I adapted it by substituting almonds for the macadamia nuts, and maple syrup instead of dates in the crust.     There's a fair bit of room to play, so go for it, do your own thing, using the following as a rough guideline. 


CRUST (& Topping)
2 cups Almonds 
1/2 cup Shredded Coconut 
1/4 cup Maple syrup 
Pinch of salt 

FILLING:
2x Avocado 
4x Banana (very ripe) 
Cacao powder

TOPPING:
Your choice of fruits & remainder of crust ingredients (if you wish). 

Put all the crust ingredients into a food processor, and blend to from a coarse mixture. 

Blend avocados, bananas and cacao powder. Fill in the crust. 

Add berries and voila- all done!

It did turn out to be quite a hit. So much so, that it's fast becoming part of my Indian Feast repertoire. 🌞 

Let me know if you try it, and in the mean time, I'm heading back into the kitchen to prep for tomorrow's lunch time feast, with a few angels. ;) 



Sunday, July 5, 2015

Kohlrab & Courgette 'Pasta.'



Kohlrab & Courgette 'Pasta'
I bumped into a friend the other, moments before I was being interviewed (by 9muz), about my first published fairytale, "Piyar & Soleil."

We had just enough time for him to tell me how amazing my food looked on instagram, and for me to ask him if he'd tried to make any of it yet.

His answer resonated with what I'd been feeling of late with my food, I've really got to simply.

So, this is for my dear friend, and anyone else looking to make a beautiful looking and tasting meal, in very little time.

As an artist, I still do pay attention to detail, rather than time, so by all means, you don't have to shave the kohlrab, nor cut the courgette so finely, but believe me, it'll impress. ;)

Fettucine Aglio Olio & Peperoncino
That was about the longest part of this meal, which was still complete in about half an hour. (You could cut that time in half).



Before I carry on, I've got to admit, that I did imitate the 'Fettuccine Aglio Olio& Peperoncino, ' that I made for my husband the other day, (the traditional way). As I was in the first day of my cleanse, I didn't taste it all, but got the gist of it today. :).








Moving right along-

What I used for this meal (All very loose estimates).

2x kohlrab
1x large courgette
1/2 red pepper, cut into small pieces
6 garlic cloves
6 leaves of fresh sage
Parsely flakes
Salt & Peppercorns (crushed to your liking)
Tbsp butter
3Tbsp olive oil
Juice from half a lemon

I peeled and shaved the kohlrab, sliced the courgette into noodle shape/size, lightly boiled them (separately), in a little bit of water, on low heat, with the lid on the pan. (Kohlrab was still a little crunchy, and courgette, 'al dente.' :)

That done, on low heat again, I melted the butter in olive oil, added salt, pepper, chopped sage, parsley flakes, and let it all fuse together for a few minutes, then tossing in the veggies.

I added the raw red pepper bits, right at the very end, just before serving, along with a squeeze from the lemon.

A hit, as usual. :)

If you try it, let me know.







Tuesday, June 30, 2015

A Tasty Treat in Just Minutes, & Only Four Ingredients :)

My sweet tooth dragged me to the kitchen after making my a couple of videos today, a welcome note for my website, plus a new EFT video.



First came the coconut, then I added cacao powder, figured I'd need something to sweeten - maple syrup from Yurai's parents- thank you very much - and cream, just because I can. ;)

You don't need a recipe, do you...? 

Ok, if you do, here's approximate measurements-

1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 Tsp (unsweetened) cacao powder
1Tbsp maple syrup 
1Tbsp cream 
(**add whatever else you fancy, cinnamon, cardamom, chia seeds, cacao nibs, oatmeal.....)

Mix everything together.

If mixture is too wet, add more coconut, otherwise more cream or maple syrup, depending on your tastebuds, and roll into balls or eat straight out of the bowl with a spoon.

How many portions? Enough.
-------

Play with your food! :D 

That's all, post done. 

Let me know if you try these, and don't forget to add a whole lotta love-- It'll negate the rest of the ingredients, if that's a worry for you (like it used to be for me). <3

Much peace and love. 



My very first chutney


With all the cherries we recieved from Yurai's parents, I'd been promising to make chutney. We cooked up all the cherries so they wouldn't go off, kept some in the fridge to be neatly rolled into crepes, made some cherry chocolate ice cream (which is so simple and really, there's no need for an ice cream maker), and the rest sit in the freezer, waiting to be turned into chutney.
Key word be 'waiting.' 



Alas, such is the way with this dear foodie, who has half a dozen projects on the go. No stress, I just roll with it. :)

With the cherries waiting, Yurai's folks made a surprise drop off over the weekend. This time tons of currants, red, white and a blueberry shade too-. 

Neither of us really love them, so Yurai pulled off the stems (not my favourite job-bless him- !!!), whilst I had my creative mind elsewhere for a few moments-revamping our 'Modern Alchemy for Emotional Freedom,' website.  Still working on the totally new one, which will compliment my own website, and eventually, Yurai's- like a small collection, but I'm not designing clothes, this time.
Once an artist, always an artist. ;)

I digress...Back to currants. Once he finished, into a pot they went, on low heat, cooking in their own time, while I carried on playing with our website. 

There was a beautiful crimson blob by the end, which I converted into an even more beautiful crimson blob, complete with rich flavors from the onions, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, coriander...not forgetting the compulsory brown sugar & vinegar. 

On an aside, less than a year ago, I wouldn't have made chutney because of the high sugar content, even though I loved it. "That just cannot be good for you...." Blah blah blah. 
Gone is that rule. Thank God (myself).
If I love it, and it's supposed to have sugar, then I will add the sugar and love it too 😉. 

Now then, I have to admit though, as with most of what I cook/create, this one is a very loose recipe. 

The ratios for sugar:vinegar are roughly the same (or 1 : 66, respectively). That was pretty much all I knew for certain, the rest I could and did swing, having reviewed a few different recipes for chutney, (linked below).

I love my first batch which contained roughly: 

3 cups of mixed (cooked) currants (juice removed) 

1.5 medium sized onion 

1 cup brown sugar 

2/3 cup (plain) vinegar 

(Approximately)

1 tsp salt
1tsp coriander seeds (whole) 
1/2 tsp cloves 
1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger (finely chopped) 
1 tsp mustard seeds 
1/4 tsp Chili flakes
(a lot of recipes call for raisins, I didn't have any, so skipped that part). 
--- 
Quite literally, you just throw everything into a pot at the same time, and cook on low heat for about 45mins to an hour, keeping a watchful eye towards the end, so as to not reduce too much, burning your lovely chutney.

If you do what I did, and already have cooked fruit, you don't need to cook the mixture for as long. Having cooked the berries, they'd released a lot of water, which in the process, turned into a ruby red syrup- I did add a little (to moisten the mixture), at the very beginning. Go with your gut. :)

**Instead of adding everything to the pot, as mentioned above, I left the currants till last, once the onions had softened. 

 AND, seriously, play with your food. I've given rough estimates above, always leaving room for your own tastebuds to make magic. OR pop along to anyone of these recipes, which I skimmed through:

From The Kitchn, Marisa Mcclellan's 'An Adaptable Chutney'
From The Kitchn, Nigel Slater's 'Dark and Sticky Fruit Chutney'
From BBC's Goodfood.com, Emma Lewis' 'How to make Chutney'
From Jamie Oliver.com, Claudia Medeiros' 'Cherry Chutney Recipe'

Serve as you wish, I had a few bites with the potato curry/masala I made a couple of days ago, but I can imagine this piece of art with a dozen other foods already. 

Jeeze, I love food, and creating. 🌞

1                                                     2                                                        3  


My Visual Mind:

A little picture story about a Potato Curry, paired with a mixed  Currant Chutney, my first ever, would you believe? :)

Picture 1- Quite simply, Potatoes, chutney & Coriander Shoots
Picture 2- Let's add some chill flakes
Picture 3- And currants as garnish
Picture 4- Currants atop the Potatoes, of course
Picture 5- Another view :)










Take some time for you and play. C'est tout :)
Much peace and love. <3

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Quick and Easy Bean Salad

This was wonderful as it was, though I can imagine all kinds of goodies coming from this concoction.

Quite simply, I stirred together, tamari and dijon mustard, with coconut oil, and tossed in spouted, then lightly boiled kidney beans, and topped with rucola.

I was hooked on this for days!



Once again, I thank you for coming along and visiting my food blog, and for your patience. I got then posts up today, and am happy with that. I'll get back here at my soonest convenience to get more details up.

Till then, please play with your food, try out new things, and share!! :) Drop me a line anytime, should you wish for a food chat. In any case, come along to my Instagram page, where you'll find tons more food, and other things I love :)


May you be blessed.
xxMunjeet 

Fancy Fries & Eggs, w/ Spring Onions, & Sprouts

Carrying on from the last post, with this lovely picture, the feature this time is not leeks, nor pasta, rather a breakfast for champs.

My favourite, fancy fries, with eggs made in a cookie cutter, leeks on the side, with rocket sprouts and plenty of dill.

As with the rest, recipes, or outline of what I did to come. Thanks for your patience!
xx






Pasta without the pasta- Leeks

For long, I've been substituting breads and pastas for veggies, coming up with not so usual combo's. Sure this has been done before, but as it's sooooooo easy, I have to share.
I picked up the pictured veggies, from a couple who comes in from Hungary and sells their produce just down the road, (literally on the sidewalk). I thought I might use everything together, but came up with this, and then the rest I used for the next post- fancy fries and eggs made in a cookie cutter, with other yummy fixings :). 




Leek 'pasta' with the usual fixings of olive oil, butter and garlic, a pinch of salt, and a few tomatoes, and fresh dill. 

A Birthday Cake of Epic Proportions: Chocolate chunk Cookie, Ice Cream Cake, with a Rich Ganache topping.

It was my husband's birthday last week, and as you know, he loves chocolate chunk cookies. Sooo, I got it in mind to make one for him, a big one, with ice cream on top, and ganache to finish it all off. 

The result? Another hit with the family :) 

For the uber health conscious, who won't take my word for it, that healthy is a state of mind, this one wasn't so bad. Besides the cookie layer, I made the banana chocolate ice cream and ganache, and it all had a huge dose of love. <3

Details to come!! :)










This is what he got on his actual birthday - a personalised
castle like cake for a man who knows his greatness-
"Kral Yurai," which translates to "King George" ;D 

We're swapping over to sweets for a few posts :) 

Without any guilt or shame, I'm here to tell you that both my husband and I, love cookies, especially my cookies, full of butter, sugar and most importantly, a whole lotta love. :) "Healthy," is a state of mind, so for me, these guys a thumbs up. 

His favourite happen to be chocolate chunk. In fact, what he requests are chocolate chunks with bits of cookie. 

I found many recipes for the best cookie ever, and played with a couple of them to come to these beauties. One more trial and I've got them down pat, and ready to offer you :). 

Chocolate chunk with bits of cookie. There's a block of chocolate in the centre of these babies, and each chunk was placed
on top by yours truly. The ultimate cookie, made with love <3

A Heap of Sprouts, Brown Rice, Alfalfa, & Masoor Lentils

In my sprouting frenzy, I did a whole lot of brown rice, which meant a lot of playing :)

This little meal was heaven in my mouth, and if you don't count the sprouting time, it took only minutes to make.

Ingredients are on Instagram, though I've got a few more things to get up before switching tracks, so again, bear with me please. Thank you!





A Heap of Sprouts- Brown Rice, Alfalfa, & Masoor, with avocado, tamari, coriander and more :)





































Sprouted Brown Rice