Coconut Vegetable Curry

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Go Nuts for Coconuts…

As a mother of two, I am always finding ways to make haste in the kitchen. I am always on the quest for quick recipes, which are easy to make and equally tasty and nutritious. It’s hard to imagine but such recipes do exist!

Today’s recipe is a good way to introduce your little people to curry and vegetables. My boys adore this dish and will happily eat thirds too. It combines the warm earthiness of garam masala with the coastal flavours of coconut. What makes this recipe fuss free is that you can pretty much use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge. My meat lovers, you could add chicken or fish or prawns to this dish, either way it’s lip smackingly delicious.

Ingredients: 16 Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves : 4

    One small cauliflower, cut into bite size florets
    Two potatoes, cut into bite size cubes
    Two carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
    One red capsicum, roughly sliced
    Handful of green beans, roughly chopped
    One cup of green peas
    One onion, finely sliced
    Two pods of garlic, finely chopped
    One thumb sized piece of ginger, finely chopped
    One heaped teaspoon of garam masala
    Half teaspoon of turmeric
    One medium size cinnamon stick
    One bay leaf
    800 ml of light coconut milk
    Salt to season
    Four tablespoons of vegetable oil

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add cinnamon stick, followed by onion, garlic and ginger. Cook until aromatic and onion is translucent.

Now add the vegetables and dry spices, except bay leaf. Mix well.

Add coconut milk, bay leaf and season with salt to taste. Simmer the curry on a medium flame for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Serve with steamed rice or savoury flatbread or simply eat it as a soup. So moorish, so tasty

Vegan Roast

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Now everybody gets a roast…

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A classic Sunday roast is such a beautiful family tradition. Whether you cook it together as a family or simply stroll down to your local pub, a Sunday roast is the perfect way to seal the weekend. Unfortunately finding a roast fit for  vegetarians and vegans is like finally finding a unicorn, they simply don’t exist. Not anymore! today’s recipe is here to make sure you never feel left out of the Sunday roast tradition.

The humble cauliflower is the perfect aid to make a vegan friendly roast. Thanks to its ability to perfectly char and crisp on the outside and yet remain succulent and delicate on the inside. I roasted the cauliflower on a tray of tinned olive oil glazed chickpeas and sweet potato wedges, which made for delicious accompaniments. You can serve this vegan roast with traditional Sunday roast accompaniments or just a simple salad. Either way, its lip smackingly delicious.

Ingredients:  8   Cooking time: 60 minutes

Serves: 4

  • One large cauliflower (leaves trimmed)
  • Two pods of garlic, minced
  • Two tablespoons of harrisa paste
  • One heaped teaspoon of cumin powder
  • One heaped teaspoon of smoked paprika
  • 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice of one lemon
  • salt to season

Prepare the cauliflower for the roast by trimming loose leaves and stems, so it can be laid flat on the roasting tray.

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Prior to roasting the cauliflower, steam the whole cauliflower for five to seven minutes. This helps the marinade to be coated evenly and also prevents the cauliflower from drying out whilst roasting.

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In a bowl prepare the marinade by mixing the oil, lemon juice harrisa paste, dried spices and salt. Apply the marinade on the steamed cauliflower ensuring its evenly coated.

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Roast the cauliflower on 180 degrees celsius for about 45 minutes or until crispy. Serve alongside your desired roast accompaniments and let this vegan roast become a part of your Sunday tradition.

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White Bean and Silverbeet Spaghetti

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A Vegan surprise…

Whether you like it or not vegan food and therefore vegans are here to stay. So if you can’t meat them you join them! Vegan food, when done right can be delicious and filling, saving you a trip to McDonalds later. Given the increasing popularity of this food religion, I am slowly trying to build a repertoire of recipes which are not only vegan friendly but also packed with loads of flavour. Leaves in a bowl with a can of chickpeas and a squeeze of lemon is definitely not my idea of a vegan meal.

The pasta recipe below is a good way to incorporate one vegan dish a week in your meal plan. Al dente spaghetti tossed together with creamy butter beans and earthy silverbeet (you can use spinach in place of silverbeet), flavoured with extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, chilli, parsley and finished off with fresh lemon juice. Now if this isn’t a flavour bomb I don’t know what is.

Ingredients:    Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

  • One packet of spaghetti
  • 400 gms of tinned white butter beans
  • One bunch of silverbeet or spinach (stalks included), finely chopped
  • One small onion, finely sliced
  • Four to five pods of garlic, finely chopped
  • One red chilli, finely sliced
  • Half a bunch of continental parsley (stalks included), finely chopped
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt to season

Cook spaghetti as per packet instructions.

Heat two to three tablespoons of oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add onion, once translucent add garlic, handful or parsley stalks and red chilli. Cook until aromatic.

Toss in the butter beans and pan sear on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until slightly charred. Turn the flame to medium and add the silverbeet.  Season with salt and cook until the silverbeet stalks are al dente.

Now add half the lemon juice to the silverbeet and bean mix. Toss until evenly mixed.

Finally add the spaghetti, remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Mix well and tada! Garnish with cracked black pepper and vegan cheese or parmesan if you are not going vegan the whole way. Either way, it truly is a lip smackingly delicious vegan surprise.

 

Spinach and Potato Bake

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Love what you do, do what you love…

After a long break, I am sitting here staring at the screen thinking of something profound to say. Trying to make a come back, with a bang. However, words fail me! I don’t have an explanation for my absence. I don’t know how long I am back for or how frequently I will post a recipe for you. What I do know, is I love food and as long as I can cook, I will share it with you.

Today’s recipe is a simple, hearty winter warmer. Layers of potato, garlicky spinach, cream and cheese, a perfect matrimony of decadence and nutrition.

Ingredients:  11          Cooking time: 60 minutes

Serves: 4

  • One large bunch of spinach, finely chopped
  • Three medium potatoes, thinly sliced
  • one small onion, finely chopped
  • two to three garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • Two eggs
  • 300ml of cream
  • 250 gms of grated cheddar cheese
  • 125 gms of grated parmesan cheese
  • Two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • One teaspoon white pepper
  • Salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Heat oil in a pan. Add onion, once translucent add garlic. Cook until aromatic.

Now add the chopped spinach, season with salt. Once wilted, drain the excess liquid (tip: you can use the liquid as stock in your gravies or pasta sauce).

In a bowl, combine eggs, cream, pepper and salt. Mix well.

Now grease a baking dish with some olive oil. Make a double layer the of the sliced potatoes, then add the spinach mixture and finish with a double layer of potatoes.

Pour the cream and egg batter and finally top it with grated cheese.

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until cooked and golden brown on the top.

I usually serve this with a side of roasted vegetables or a salad. Either way it is lip smackingly delicious.

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Shepherds Pie

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A hearty wholesome winters delight


I started my blogging journey with great pomp and flair. Trying to take the perfect photo, making sure I use the high appeal hashtags to get lots of likes and comments, checking my stats every few hours to see how it was all tracking, etc. As the months went by this passion started turning into bit of an obsession. The pursuit of perfection got even more intense. On the flip side the number of likes and comments  took a downward turn. The more I watched my posts being less liked, the lesser I was inclined to publish new content.

Life also got busier, I went from being a mother of one to a mother of two. While parenthood is the most beautiful thing in the world, the constant demands it has of you means somewhere, something has to give. For me it was blogging. Days turned into weeks and weeks to months before I knew it, it was over six months since my last post.

Why am I telling you this? Simply because it dawned on me one late evening as I was feeding my newborn and watching my toddler sleep. You must do all that it takes to keep doing things that make you happy and pursue happiness not perfection. Life is too short to care about the camera angle or the perfect photo or about the number of  likes and comments on your social media. What matters is what makes you happy! After all life is a pursuit of happiness. So is this recipe!!!


Don’t get deterred by the list of ingredients. You can use frozen or fresh vegetables, basically whatever you have in the fridge. Enjoy this hearty, wholesome winters delight that may not be a perfect picture but it is a perfect meal. Lip smackingly delicious in every way.

Ingredients:  Cooking time: 45 minutes 

Serves: 4

  1. Two tins of canned brown lentils
  2. One tin of four bean mix
  3. One leek, finely chopped
  4. One small onion, finely chopped
  5. Four to five pods of garlic
  6. One zucchini, chopped
  7. Two parsnips, chopped
  8. Half a bunch of spinach
  9. 1.5 cups of frozen vegetable mix of peas, corn and carrots
  10. 1.5 teaspoon of garam masala
  11. Half a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
  12. 1.5 teaspoon of dried basil
  13. 250 gms of grated cheddar
  14. 125 gms of grated Parmesan
  15. Salt to season
  16. Black pepper to season
  17. Three tablespoons of olive oil
  18. Two tablespoons of butter

For Mash Potatoes

  1. Six to eight medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
  2.  300ml of milk
  3. Two tablespoons of butter
  4. One cup of grated cheddar

Heat butter and two tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy bottom saucepan. Add garlic, leek and onion. Cook until leek is soft and lightly caramelised.


Add all the vegetables, lentils, beans and spices. Mix well. Season with salt and add a cup of water. Cover the pan and let the lentils and vegetables simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes.

To make mash potatoes, boil potatoes until extremely soft. Drain water and add milk, butter and cheese. Mash the potatoes until smooth.

To assemble the pie in a baking dish add the lentils and vegetables at the bottom. Top this with a layer of mash potatoes. Add grated cheddar and Parmesan on top. Drizzle remaining olive oil on the potatoes ( this will prevent them from drying in the oven.


Place the bake dish under a grill and grill until cheese is caramelised. Your Shepherds pie is ready to serve.

Serve hot along with a simple green side salad and let this hearty winter delight fill your belly and soul with warmth.

Pumpkin, Carrot and Potato Soup

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Autumn in a bowl 


Autumn is one of my favourite seasons in Australia. There’s a slight chill in the air and beautiful heartwarming colours of orange, red and yellow everywhere. It is one of the most picturesque sites to see. 

This autumn was made even better with the birth of my second son Jai Alexander. I mean how time flies my older son is nearly two, I am a mother of two and life is just that little more chaotic but oh so beautiful. The merriment around the house tripled as my parents were visiting too. I can’t explain watching my parents with my children in words except that it filled my heart with so much love, warmth and gratitude. 

To celebrate our little bundle of joy and the last remaining days of autumn, I decided to cook with colours of autumn.  I’m not a fan of pumpkin per say but I have to admit when combined with other warming flavours, it truly shines. So I decided to make a pumpkin, potato and carrot soup with chilli, lemon and ginger oil. 

Ingredients: 16   Cooking time: 45 minutes

Serves: 6

For the soup

  • Half a pumpkin (I used butternut), peeled and cut in cubes 
  • Two carrots, peeled and diced 
  • Two to three potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • One onion, chopped
  • Two pods of garlic, chopped
  • One bay leaf
  • One teaspoon cumin powder
  • One teaspoon smoked paprika
  • One vegetable stock cube
  • Three tablespoons of olive oil
  • Salt to season 

For the lemon chilli oil

  • Five tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • One to two red chillies, chopped
  • One thumb size piece of ginger, grated
  • Juice of one lemon
  • One to two kaffir lime leaves

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottom saucepan. Add garlic, once aromatic add onion and cooking until lightly caramelised.


Now add all the vegetables, followed by all the spices (except the stock cube). Mix well. Then add one litre of water, stock cube, season with salt and cover the pan with a lid. Let the soup simmer on a low heat until vegetables are cooked.


To make the flavoured oil, combine all the ingredients in a pan and let them simmer on a low heat for five to seven minutes or until aromatic.

Using the stick blender, blend the soup until smooth. Season with salt as required, add more water if needed to reach desired consistency. Again let the soup simmer for another 10 to 12 minutes.

Garnish with a generous drizzle of the chilli, lemon and ginger oil. Serve with a side of garlic bread and feel your heart and soul warm up with this autumnal goodness.

Fridge Clean Out Pasta

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A little bit of this, a little bit of that


Some days you can plan all you want but nothing goes to plan. Most days in the life of a stay at home mum are like this. Since baby number two has come along, all I seem to be doing is feeding him and trying to stop my toddler from poking his baby brothers eyes out. The struggle is real!

Amidst all this craziness I find taking out even 15 minutes to cook gives me composure and peace. After all when you do what you love you are one step closer to nirvana! Today I was all set on making my husband his favourite chicken schnitzel with mash potatoes and roast vegetables. Only problem was I had none of the ingredients in the fridge. Talk about things not going to plan!

While last minute food shopping was out of the question! Yes you do lose basic liberties like running out to the shops on a whim when you are a parent. My 15 minute window to put a meal on the table was rapidly closing too. After ransacking the fridge and pantry, I managed to pull together – a pack of spaghetti, a punnet of grape tomatoes, handful of kalamata olives,  capers, half a bunch of parsley and a bag of frozen peas. There was only one way this was going, we were heading to Italy (well metaphorically anyway) with a big bowl of pasta.

 

Ingredients: 12  Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

  • One packet of pasta (I used spaghettini)
  • One punnet of grape/cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
  • 250 gms of peas
  • Handful of olives, cut into halves
  • Two tablespoons of capers 
  • Half a bunch of parsley, finely chopped
  • One onion, finely sliced
  • Three to four garlic pods, finely chopped
  • Five tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • Salt to season 
  • Cracked black pepper to garnish (optional)
  • Grated Parmesan to garnish (optional)

In a heavy bottom sauce pan bring water to a boil. Cook the pasta as per packet instructions.

While the pasta is cooking, in another saucepan heat three tablespoons of EVOO. Add garlic, once aromatic add onions and cook until onions are lightly caramelised. Then add half of the chopped parsley, along with the olives and capers. Mix well. Cook on a low flame for four to five minutes.


Now add peas and toss the mixture thoroughly. Once peas are slightly soft add the tomatoes, season with salt and cook on a high heat for two to three minutes. 

Finally add the pasta, followed by the rest of the parsley and EVOO. Toss through to make sure all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Your fridge clean out pasta is ready to serve. Garnish with cracked pepper and Parmesan. 

Aloo Mutter ki Tahiri (Potato and Pea spiced Rice)

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A simple indulgence 

Somewhere over the last few months, I lost a little part of me. Priorities shifted from what I like to do vs. what I need to do. While I like blogging a lot, my growing toddler’s needs meant I had to put it on hold. Add to this being pregnant and bringing another little wonder into our lives. Busy has a whole new meaning in my world today. Also, truth be known, I got lazy! Free time meant catching up on sleep, watching a little TV, etc. 

So here I am, trying to rekindle my food blogging love affair. I assume you missed having your daily dose of LSD too? Today I bring to you a quick, simple yet hearty recipe of Tahiri. This dish has its roots in Lucknow, an eastern Indian city known for its artistic flair and as the seat of Nawabs ( Indian Royals). Interestingly, Tahiri is also enjoyed across Pakistan which makes me wonder if India and Pakistan could just make peace over a plate of Tahiri.

Ingredients: 16    Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6

  • Two cups of basmati rice 
  • One medium size onion, finely chopped
  • One thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
  • Two to three green chillies
  • Two medium size tomatoes, finely chopped
  • Two medium size potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 250gms of green peas
  • One teaspoon cumin seeds
  • One large bayleaf
  • Four to five cloves
  • Two green cardamom pods
  • 1.5 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • Juice of one lemon
  • Two tablespoons of ghee
  • Salt to season

Heat ghee in a heavy bottom sauce pan. Add cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom pods. 

Once the cumin seeds splutter and are aromatic, add the onions. Followed by ginger and green chillies. Cook until onion is lightly caramelised.


Now add the tomatoes and remaining dry spices, except bayleaf. Mix well and cook until tomatoes are soft.

Then add the potatoes and peas. Followed by basmati rice, mix well. Add enough water to cover the rice. Add bayleaf, lemon juice and season with salt. Bring to a boil, cover the saucepan with a lid and cook on a low heat, until rice is cooked.


Tahiri is now ready to be served. Serve alongside plain yogurt or with an Indian pickle or just by itself. I guarantee every mouth full is lip smackingly delicious.

Mint and Sumac Green Bean Salad

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A real flavour explosion 


As the festive holiday season draws near I bet you all are getting your chefs hats on and figuring out the Christmas lunch menu this year. While meat is the obvious choice and barbecues are the go to way to cook, I find people often struggle to come up with equally tasty vegetarian options. 

There’s definitely more to vegetables than roast potatoes and a boring green salad. Today’s recipe is not only vegan/vegetarian but it will also make sure to please the hearts of hardcore meat eaters. So this Christmas try this lip smackingly delicious Green Bean salad with mint and sumac. I promise it will be a hit.

Ingredients: 12 Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 6

  • 500 gms of green beans, ends trimmed
  • Two fresh tomatoes, chopped
  • One red onion, sliced
  • Two pods of garlic, finely chopped
  • One bunch of fresh parsley( stems and leaves), chopped
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • One teaspoon red chilli flakes
  • One tablespoon sumac powder
  • One tablespoon dried mint leaves
  • One teaspoon of brown sugar
  • Salt to season 
  • Five tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Heat oil in a pan. Add garlic, onions and chopped parsley stem. Cook until aromatic and the onions lightly caramelised.

Now add tomatoes, all the dried spices and sugar. Cook until the tomatoes are slightly soft.


Then add the green beans, lemon juice and season with salt. Cook until the beans are tender.


Garnish with fresh parsley and serve at room tempature. You can also top it with crumbled feta if you want to make it a bit more decadent.

Enjoy the festive season with this flavour bomb.

Roasted Cauliflower and Lemon Spaghetti

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Let this heal your broken heart


Yesterday as I was prepping for dinner, Donald Trump was announced as the President of the United States. I needed a minute to digest what I had just heard, how could this be? My heart immediately reached out to all the blacks, the Muslims, the women, the lgbt community. What would happen to their American dream?

My hangry, screaming toddler got me to snap out of my downward spiralling thoughts. Yep, hurry up Mum, I’m hungry, focus!! So I looked over my kitchen bench and saw half a cauliflower  staring at me. A thought crossed my mind, what if this was our last meal? After all Trump becoming President is a sign of all hell breaking loose.

What was going to be a plain old boring dinner, suddenly got very glamourous and this is how.

Ingredients:  12   Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

  • One packet of spaghetti
  • Half a cauliflower, cut into small florets
  • Half a bunch of parsley (stem included), finely chopped
  • One onion, finely sliced
  • Five to six pods of garlic, crushed
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 1.5 teaspoon of chilli flakes
  • 1.5 teaspoon of smoked paprika
  • 100ml of extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Cracker pepper to taste
  • Goats cheese for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Celsius.


In a baking dish assemble the cauliflower florets. Add three crushed garlic pods, sprinkle with chilli flakes and smoked paprika. Drizzle about three to four tablespoons of olive oil. Bake the cauliflower for 20 – 25 minutes until slightly charred and crispy.

Bring water to a boil in a stock pot and cook pasta as per packet instructions.

In another saucepan, heat remaining olive oil. Add remaining garlic, once aromatic add onion and half the parsley (mostly chopped stems). Cook this mixture for four to five minutes.


Now toss in the spaghetti into the onion mixture, followed by lemon juice and season with salt. Mix the spaghetti well. Then add the roasted cauliflower and gently toss the pasta. Add more olive oil if the pasta looks dry.

Garnish with the remaining parsley, cracked pepper and goats cheese.

As you eat dinner tonight spare a thought for all the people in the world, send out positive vibes and always spread goodwill and love.