Spicy Couscous with potatoes and nuts (bateta couscous)

It was Sunday morning and I wanted to make a quick and easy brunch. I often make bateta pawa for brunch but thought I would use the same recipe but use couscous instead of pawa (flaked rice). I got introduced to couscous by my son. He told me that he often takes a mixture of couscous and boiled vegetables for his lunch when he is at Uni but finds it quite bland so we tried this recipe and managed to come up with ideas to spice up his lunch too!!

Ingredients for 4 servings: 

1 medium sized potato diced
¼ cup sweetcorn (I used tinned sweetcorn)
1 grated onion
handful of almonds and peanuts
2-3 chopped green chillies
1 cup of couscous
1 tsp salt
½ turmeric
1-2 tbl lemon juice
1 tsp sugar (optional)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds or cumin seeds
A few curry leaves, coriander and chilly powder for garnishing (optional)

 Method 

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add mustard seeds to it.

2. Once the popping stops, add the onions, green chillies, nuts and stir.

3. Add the salt, turmeric and sugar.

4. Cook the onions for a couple of minutes.

5. Now add the diced potatoes and sweetcorn and cook this until the potatoes soften. This should take about 5-7 minutes.

6. Whilst the potatoes are cooking, soak the couscous in room temperature water. For one cup of couscous, you will need two cups of water. The water will get absorbed by the couscous and within two minutes - the couscous will swell up and look cooked.

 7. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the couscous to the mixture. Using a large pronged fork, lightly mix in the couscous so that it fluffs up and blends in and takes the flavour of the spices in the potatoes and sweetcorn.

8. Add the lemon juice, sugar, coriander and curry leaves and allow the mixture to cook on a low heat for a couple of minutes. If it looks too dry, just add a couple of tablespoons of water to it. 

9. Sprinkle some chilly powder to the spicy couscous and serve it hot with plain yogurt.

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Mutter Paneer with Tikka masala

There are several paneer recipes on my blog.  I am always trying out new variations of mutter paneer and often the taste is guided by the taste of my children.  This recipe was made at the request of my son and he wanted me to use plenty of double cream in the dish. Using home made paneer made this dish taste great.

Ingredients (serves 4):

4 cups Home made paneer :(If using store bought paneer try and look for softer version of paneer)

I cup green peas (fresh or frozen)

2 tsp ready made Patak’s tikka masala paste

1 cup natural yoghurt 

1 teaspoon of grated ginger (or use the cubes of frozen chillies, ginger and garlic)

2-3 cloves of freshly minced garlic 

2-3 green chillies cut finely

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

half teaspoon turmeric powder

½ cup  cashewnuts, powdered

1 cup of Pasatta

½ cup of double cream

Small bunch of chopped coriander leaves

½ cup sunflower oil or similar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar or sugar substitute

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Cut the paneer into half inch  strips and then cubes

2.  Mix 2-3 teaspoons of the paneer tikka masala to the yogurt and pour it on the paneer cubes.  Mix well.  If using home made paneer, be gentle as you don't want the cubes to start breaking.  Allow this mixture to marinate at least 30 minutes.

3.  Cover a baking tray with aluminium foil, brush  some oil on the foil and arrange the cubes on the tray.  Allow for some gap between the cubes. If you have any of the marinade left over, save it to add to the curry.

4.  Cook these in the oven  at 160 degrees Centigrade (Gas mark 3 or 325 F)  for 15 minutes.  If the paneer hasn't browned a bit at the sides, give it a couple of minutes more.

5. Allow the paneer cubes to cool.

6. Prepare the sauce.  Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add the mustard seeds to the oil. Once the mustard seeds stop popping, add the pasatta and stir.  Add in the blended ginger, garlic and chillies; the salt, lemon and sugar.  Also add in the peas  and allow to cook for 5-6 minutes - giving you time to remove the paneer cubes from the tray.

 7.  Add the paneer cubes to the curry.  Also add in any left over marinade sauce mixture at this stage.  Allow the mixture to simmer gently.

8.  Add the powdered cashews to the curry and stir.

9. Once the sauce looks nice and thick, add in the double cream slowly , stirring in between.

10.  Allow the curry to simmer on a low heat until the sauce is nice and thick.

11.  Remove  and garnish it with coriander and some cream

12.  Serve with hot chappatis or naan bread.

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Spicy Pasta

This is a quick and easy pasta recipe - really handy for those days when you are hungry and don't want to spend too long preparing food.  This one is also a favourite with children.

To make cooking easier - I tend to use American cup measurements .  It makes cooking a lot easier as you don't have to weigh the ingredients. In the case of this recipe, you can estimate a lot of the ingredients and make it to your taste.

Ingredients for 2 Servings
Time 30 minutes

2 cups of  pasta  (you can use penne or Fusilli Pasta)
1 cup any mixed vegetables
2 cups passata (Passata made from ripe tomatoes that have been puréed and sieved to remove the skin and seeds and is available in all supermarkets)
2-3 cloves of garlic - use a garlic press and blend the garlic
4-5 spring onions - finely chopped 1 small finely chopped sweet chile pepper or jalepeno
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander and cumin powder (dhana jeeru)
½ teaspoon pepper
2 -3 teaspoons olive oil
½ teaspoon oregano

Method: 

1 Cook the pasta and mixed vegetables together by boiling them in hot water with some ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil.

2. Once cooked, drain off the water.

3. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil in  a frying pan.  When the oil gets hot, add in the chopped spring onions,  chopped pepper or jalepeno and garlic. 

4.  Add the salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin and coriander powder (dhana jeeru) and stir well.

5. Add the cooked pasta and vegetables and stir again.

6.  Add the pasatta, stir well  and cook the pasta for 5 minutes.  

7. Sprinkle some oregano and serve hot with a salad.

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Sandwiches: Cheese and Pepper salad

I make sandwiches for myself every single day for lunch with various fillings but have never shared a recipe.  I am sharing this for two reasons - One is because my  blogger friend Nayna from Simply foods is hosting an event called Let's make sandwiches.  The second reason is because one of the fans from Authentic vegetarian recipes Facebook page likers asked me to share this recipe.


Ingredients  for one sandwich:


2 slices of any bread (I used whole meal bread) 
butter or margarine
mixed salad (I used lettuce, shredded carrot, red cabbage)
peppers (I used red,orange and red peppers)
black pepper
dry basil
1/2 cup grated cheese


Method:


1. Wash and prepare the salad and peppers


2. Spread the butter or margarine to your bread.

3. Spread out the peppers and salad on the bread.  The peppers add a lovely spicy taste to your sandwiches. 

4.  Sprinkle the grated cheese on one side of the bread.

5.  Sprinkle some black pepper and basil on the salad if you wish.  Try not to use salt as it's not good for you plus will make your sandwiches soggy if you prepare them early for your lunch. 


6.  Join the two slices of bread, remove the crust and cut your sandwiches into triangles and pack them for your lunch.  These sandwiches have to be eaten cold. 


7.  Enjoy these colourful sandwiches with any drink of your choice.  


8.  Watch out for more variations of my sandwiches over the coming weeks. 

Sending this recipe to sandwich event by Nayna:

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Kenyan Green beans and potato curry (posho bateta nu shak)

Years ago when on a business trip to Kenya - I was taken by the BHC, to see a vegetable packing plant where the Kenyan ladies were packing these freshly picked green beans, baby corn and mange tout for stores like Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco.  The best beans are picked very early in the morning, washed and prepared in three ways -either  left whole, left with just the top and bottom chopped or cut into tiny pieces.  This was being done under strict hygienic conditions.  They even had a British Airways Cargo container at the factory where the vegetable boxes would be labelled - showing which farm the crop came from and the date picked etc. before loading them in the container.  These beans were flown out the same evening from Kenya and they got to UK early morning for the market wholesalers to pick up.  It was an amazing visit and since that day I have always looked with wonder at the beans and other vegetables from abroad and appreciate the fact that the best crops are exported to UK where people like me can enjoy cooking them. 

These beans cook really fast and are so tasty that they don't need much effort to prepare. 

Ingredients to serve 2-3people:

2 medium potatoes -washed and diced.
2 cups of chopped Kenyan beans

1 tablespoon oil (Most cooking oils are fine but try and use one which is low in saturated fats and trans fats)

2-3 cloves of fresh garlic
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chilly powder (or as required to your taste)
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of ground cummin (jeera) powder.
Half cup of tinned tomatoes. 

2 teaspoons lemon
1 teaspoons of brown sugar or jaggery.

A small bunch of fresh coriander.

Method: 

1. Dice the potatoes into cubes and the beans into very small pieces and soak them in cold water.

2.  Heat the oil in a saucepan.

3. Add the mustard seeds. They should start popping - if not, stir them with a wooden spoon and wait for them to pop.

4. Drain and add the diced potatoes and beans and add them to the saucepan.

5. Add the salt, turmeric, chilly powder, cumin powder, garlic (small pieces or crushed) sugar or jaggery and stir well.

6.  Transfer this mixture to the microwave and cook for 3 minutes.

7.   Add only half a cup of water and cook for a further  5 minutes in the microwave.
Check to see if the potatoes have softened.  If not give it another 2 minutes.  Everyone's microwave is different so the timing could vary.  

8.  Once the potatoes feel soft, add the tomatoes and lemon juice and let it cook for 5 minutes.  I don't add too many tomatoes to this curry and tend to make it dry. The whole cooking process for me was 10 minutes in the microwave as the beans were so fresh and tender.

9. Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve with hot chappatis.

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Black eyed Beans Curry (Chora nu shak)

Black eyed  beans  are full of protein, are easy to cook and taste really great.  They are available ready boiled in cans or as dried beans which need to be soaked for at least 2 hours in cold water before cooking.  The best way to boil them is in a pressure cooker as it is quicker.  I tend to soak a huge batch overnight  and cook them all in a pressure cooker with plenty of water.  Add a couple of drops of oil in the pressure cooking before shutting the lid and this helps to cook the beans and stops the pressure cooker from over flowing. Drain off all the water once the beans are cooked and allow the beans to cool.  Freeze the extra beans in zip lock bags to use when needed. 

I have always been very fond of black eyed  beans and love them best cooked as a curry with a slightly sweet and sour taste.  This is a dish I make at least once a month so I was surprised that I had not included this recipe in my blog under the Mirage series. (Mirage series contains recipes which are a favourite with my son and his young friends).  There are lots of different ways of making this curry but I feel that my style is quick and easy to make. 

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 cups of boiled black eyed  beans. If using dry black eyed beans  remember you need to soak them overnight and then boil them until soft preferably in a pressure cooker.

I cup of crushed tomatoes ( you can used fresh tomatoes too or  Passata too. Passata is made from ripe tomatoes that have been puried and sieved to remove the skin and seeds.  It's sauce is a lot thicker and helps make the gravy in curry look richer and thicker. Passata is sold in bottles or cartons in most supermarkets and comes in various flavours such as garlic, basil etc.

2 tablespoons of oil (I used sunflower oil)

2 teaspoons of tempering mix (it’s a mixture of cumin seeds, whole peppercorns , cloves, cinnamon, whole coriander )

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon chilly powder

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1  tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoons jaggery or brown sugar (optional)

1 small bunch of coriander and some curry leaves.

2 fresh green chillies sliced into 4

Method:

1.  Add all the spices -salt, turmeric,chilly powder, crushed garlic, lemon juice, green chillies, curry leaves, coriander and jaggery to the tomato mixture and mix it all together. If using fresh tomatoes, I suggest that you boil them in hot water to soften them first .

2.  Add the 2 tablespoons cooking oil to this, add the tempering mix and allow them to cook until the cumin looks dark brown.

3.  Add the tomato and spices mixture to this hot oil and cook until the tomatoes go soft and homogenous.  

4.  Add the boiled black eyed beans to the tomato mixture and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes.   
 

5.  The sauce should all be nicely soaked up by the black eyed beans.
Tip:Some people like their gravy to be runny in which case you can add half a cup of water to the mixture.

6.  Serve the curry with rice and chappatis.

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