Masala Dosai

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups - Idli rice or parboiled rice

• 1/2 cup - Skinless split urad daal (skinless black gram)

• 1/2 teaspoon - Methi seeds (Fenugreek seeds)

• 1/4 cup - Poha (beaten rice)

• 1/4 cup - Cooked rice

• 1/4 teaspoon - Cooking Soda

• 3 to 4 teaspoon - Sugar

• 1 tablespoon - Salt

• 1 handful - Chana dal (Yellow split peas)

Add parboiled rice, methi, poha, cooked rice, yellow spilt peas into one large vessel containing sufficient water for soaking. Then soak urad dal in water in a separate vessel. Soak for 6-7 hours or overnight.Then grind the contents from both the containers separately to a smooth paste adding water as required. After grinding the urad dal, add it to the main batter container and mix well. Add water as required until you get a pouring consistency.Now add sugar, salt, cooking soda and mix well. Cover and keep aside in a warm place for at least 7 hours. During this time the batter raises and reaches approximately two and a half times the original volume. So make sure you use a big enough container for the dosa batter. 


Dosai Filling
Ingredients: 

• 4 potatoes, medium sized

• 1 to 2 - Onion, medium sized long thinly sliced

• 12 nos - Small green chilies, not to be chopped. Just split them at the center

• 1/4 tsp - Turmeric

• Salt to taste

• 1/4 tsp - Mustard

• 1 tsp - Urad dal (black gram)

• 1 1/4 tsp - Chana dal (yellow split peas)

• 10  - Curry leaves

• 2 tbsp - Coriander leaves 

• 1 tbsp - Ghee

• 2 tbsp - Oil

Cut the potatoes each into 2 pieces with the skin intact and cook them in a cooker until one whistle. Then peel the skin of the potato and smash or squeeze them coarsely by hand and set aside.Heat oil in a khadhai or a pan amd add mustard. When the mustard starts popping or bursting add urad dal and chana dal. Keep stirring for a minute and then add onion, curry leaves, green chilies and turmeric. Saute for around 10 minutes. Add Salt and 1/2 cup water and stir well. Add the mashed potato, coriander leaves, ghee and mix well. Now take the pan of the heat and the potato subji is done.


Red Coconut chutney


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup - Coconut

• 4 to 5 nos - Red chili

• 1 teaspoon - Roasted split chickpeas

• 4 to 5 - curry leaves

• Tamarind - Size of a grape fruit

• Coriander or cilantro - 1 tablespoon chopped

• Salt to taste

Grind all the  ingredients and make a thick paste 

Choco holic fix

I am a proud choco-holic and thankfully so is my good mate
he's off in the wilds at present and I am trying not to over indulge but I had a little bar of dark choccie in the fridge and could have simply scoffed it but I decided to go luxe!
the beauty of this recipe is you can make as little or as much as you want

Elizabeth David’s Chocolate Mousse

Makes 1
1 medium eggs
30g chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)
1 tsp sugar (or to taste I used only a pinch)
1. Break the chocolate into pieces and put in a bowl over, but not touching, a pan of simmering water. When the chocolate begins to melt, turn the heat off. Separate the egg.
2. Whisk the egg white into soft peaks, add the sugar, and whisk briefly.
3. Mix the egg yolk quickly into the melted chocolate and then whisk in a third of the egg white. Fold the rest very gently into the mixture until just combined (be careful not to overmix), and then put into a bowl and refrigerate for at least four hours until set.

Quilting Arts and memories

My Quilting Arts Mag arrived yesterday and I was leafing through it and Pokey Bolton had published a recipes for clams! It brought back memories of an afternoon on Chesapeake Bay and the delicious clams.

While I stayed on the East Coast I cooked a number of dishes for friends I was staying with but one that met great praise was Teesryo. An Indian dish from Goa that you can use mussels with and wonderfully for all those stitchers is a relatively quick and DELICIOUS dish to make.

TEESRYO

1 kg clams or mussels
3 tablespoons oil
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
5 cm piece fresh ginger, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 fresh hot green chilli peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tablespoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup freshly grated coconut (you can use less) **
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves
Heat the oil and fry the chopped garlic, ginger, onion, and chilli peppers until the onion is golden brown. Stir in the turmeric, ground coriander, and cayenne pepper. After a few minutes add the clams. Simmer, covered, for about five minutes, by which time the clam shells should have opened. Remove from heat and put in a serving bowl. Sprinkle with the freshly grated coconut, lemon juice and fresh coriander.

**Fresh coconut can be hard to source and I certainly didnt have any when I was in the US, I changed the recipe slightly by adding a small can of coconut milk just prior to adding the clams which gave me a deliciously soupy broth that was ideal for serving with rice.
Serve with rice and cucumber slices dressed with a little lemon and salt.


Another Mussel favourite of mine is a Mediterranean style that can also be adapted for use with clams.



CHILLI MUSSELS


1 kg Mussels
1 tin peeled tomatoes or 1 1/2 cups of passata
basil and oregano (fresh is best and add to taste)
3 sliced chillies (deseeded if desired)
Olive oil
Black Pepper
6 Garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 Tbsp of lemon zest
Parsley chopped


Puree tomatoes (or chop if you would prefer a slightly chunkier texture)
Heat olive oil and sauté garlic and chilli gently, toss in basil and oregano and season with pepper.
Stir in tomato and cook until oil begins to separate from tomato and then add Mussels and allow to simmer for about 5-6 mins until open and flesh is firm. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and lemon zest.
Serve in bowls with crusty white bread and chilled white wine

Dinner

I really love my slow cooker.
I have made this in the past in the oven to finish off or on the stovetop but today I did it in my slow cooker which meant I could stitch to my heart's content and let it simmer away without too much attention.
Now all I have to do is some couscous and roast some sweet potato (kumera) which I will toss in olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper and some crushed garlic.
A salad of onion, cucumber tomato and mint with a squeeze of lemon makes a nice fresh flavour with it
or a tzatziki would go well with it too.
If I was in Melbourne I would hunt out a pomegranate and scatter the ruby jewels through the couscous as well- Enjoy!

Moroccan Goat

For the goat:

1 tbspn olive oil
750g goat shoulder, cut into 4-5cm cubes
1 onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 can plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
100g dried apricots, roughly chopped
pinch of saffron
goat or lamb stock or water

For the spice mixture:

1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground chilli
Maldon salt and freshly ground pepper

To garnish:
4 tbsp finely chopped coriander
1/2-1 tsp of harissa paste
zest and juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp honey

Place the olive oil in a large saucepan or casserole pan and put it over a moderate-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion to the pan and sweat for one minute until transparent.

Place all the spice mixture ingredients in a bowl and mix together until combined.
Toss the goat in the spices so that it is well coated. Add the spiced goat and garlic to the pan and seal the goat on all sides so that it is browned.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes, cinnamon stick, apricots, saffron and enough stock to just cover the goat. Bring to the boil then reduce to a slow simmer. Leave the goat to cook for 1 - 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon (add more stock or water if the liquid is below the goat).

If the stew is too watery, drain off the excess liquid into a saucepan and reduce until thickened. Then return to the stew.

Dessert tonight

Cooler nights and feel the need for a choccie blast
Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding

Serves 6.

90g butter
120g dark chocolate
60g (1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon) caster sugar
250ml (1 cup) milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (1 teaspoon natural vanilla essence)
125g (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) self-raising flour
60g milk or dark chocolate, chopped

Chocolate Sauce Mixture
185g (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon, firmly packed) brown sugar
16g (2 tablespoons) cocoa powder
250ml (1 cup) boiling water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (1 teaspoon natural vanilla essence)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Grease six ramekins or ovenproof cups with at least 190ml capacities.

Melt butter and 120g dark chocolate over low heat. Cool to room temperature.

Add sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla to chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Gradually add flour and stir until mixture is smooth.
Sprinkle batter with the chopped chocolate.

.

Divide mixture evenly between ramekins or cups.
(can be done in a 1.5 litre ovenproof dish at 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced) for 40-45)
Make sauce mixture (see instructions below). Gently pour sauce mixture over batter, dividing evenly between cups or ramekins. I poured the sauce mixture over the back of a spoon to avoid disturbing the batter too much
Place ramekins/cups on a baking tray (to catch any overflow) and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Sauce Mixture
Combine sauce ingredients in a jug with a spout. Stir until cocoa and sugar have dissolved.


I discovered I didnt have any cocoa powder when I went to make the sauce so I blitzed up a few squares of dark chocolate into a powder and then warmed up the brown sugar in the microwave before blending it with the hot water, there was a little bit of seizing in that process but I used it anyway and it make a deliciously gooey sauce rather than the more soupy version that cocoa powder makes

Rendang Daging

or Spicy Beef Stew with Coconut

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound boneless beef short ribs (cut into cubes)
5 tablespoons cooking oil ( I dont use this much probably about two-two and half at most)
1 cinnamon stick (about 2-inch long)
3 cloves
3 star anise
3 cardamom pods
1 lemongrass (cut into 4-inch length and pounded)
1 cup thick coconut milk
1 cup water
2 teaspoons tamarind pulp (soaked in some warm water for the juice and discard the seeds )
6 kaffir lime leaves (very finely sliced)
6 tablespoons kerisik (toasted coconut)
(otherwise toast dessicated coconut in a dry pan until just coloured)
1 tablespoon sugar/palm sugar or to taste
Salt to taste

Spice Paste:

5 shallots
1 inch galangal
3 lemongrass (white part only)
5 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
10-12 dried chilies (soaked in warm water and seeded)
2 pieces of fresh turmeric (kunyit) otherwise one heaped teaspoon turmeric powder


1.Chop the spice paste ingredients and then blend it in a food processor until fine.
2.Heat the oil in a heavy based pot, add the spice paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom and stir-fry them until aromatic.
3.Add the beef and the pounded lemongrass and stir for 1 minute.
4.Add the coconut milk, tamarind juice, water, and simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently until the meat is almost cooked.
5.Add the kaffir lime leaves, kerisik (toasted coconut), sugar/palm sugar, stirring to blend well with the meat.
6.Lower the heat to low, cover the lid, and simmer for 1 – 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is really tender and the gravy has thickened.
7.Add salt to taste. If not sweet enough, add more sugar to taste.
8.Serve immediately with steamed rice and save some for overnight.

you can braise off the meat and spices and put them all in a slow cooker with the coconut milk and let it cook away merrily while you go back to stitching. remove the slow cooker lid about half an hour before serving to thicken gravy if required.
Ah the slow cooker and the rice cooker make like so much easier

Pumpkin?!

Anyone who knows me is aware of my ambivalence to this particular veggie BUT Naomi who came sailing with us last night made this from one of Ken's pumpkins. REALLY good!!

Kara'a (libyan pumpkin dip)

500g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded, and chopped into 2cm cubes


1 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1 lemon, juice only

80ml extra virgin olive oil

pitta bread, to serve

1. Put the pumpkin in a saucepan with 150ml of water, and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until soft.




2. Drain the pumpkin and return to the empty pan. Season well with salt and pepper and mash with a fork until smooth. Set aside.



3. Dry-roast the caraway and cumin seeds in a small frying pan over a medium-high heat for a couple of minutes until aromatic. Crush the toasted seeds using a pestle and mortar then add the garlic, chilli, and a pinch of salt, and work into a smooth paste.



4. Stir the spice mixture and lemon juice into the mashed pumpkin, then mix in the olive oil.



5. Serve either hot or cold as part of a mezze, accompanied by lots of hot griddled pitta bread.