Category: Food

Slow Cooker Keema (the perfect Breakfast or Desi Brunch dish ever.
Stylemesisteradmin
August 17, 2016

Well hello breakfast, the most important meal of the day.

So before you all throw things at the screen pretending to hit me so I come to my senses please hear me out. This isn’t an everyday Breakfast dish; it’s a weekend/special occasion dish. It’s one of those dishes that takes hardly any time to prepare and can also be prepared in stages. For example I keep packets of ‘browned’ mince in the freezer that’s ready to be added to this dish. As I brown of the mince in bulk I’m saving time in the long run which is always my aim.

Slow cooker healthy no added fat keema mattar topped with an egg to make it the perfect East meets West Breakfast.

How does one enjoy such a dish? Serve with toast or parathas.
Keema is awesome. It’s great with flatbreads and a side of yogurt and a plain salad in summer. Plus as it’s cooked in the slow cooker let’s me honest there’s not much cooking apart from the 10 minute of frying off the mince.
If you want to be kitchen awesome why not fry off keema aka mince in bulk and keep …packets in the freezer to save more time.
This recipe serves 3 to 4 depending on your portion sizes and can be DOUBLED easily and frozen too. 
Recipe for the Slow Cooker keema:
500 grams mince (I used mutton)
1 tin chopped tomatoes (use 3/4 if you are not a fan of the acidy taste of tomatoes)
2 tbsp pre fried onions (from a pack)
1 tsp salt (adjust to your taste)
2 dried chilies
1 tsp haldi
1/2 heaped TBSP cumin powder
1/2 heaped TBSP coriander powder
2 TBSP fresh chopped coriander (stalks included).
100 ml water (if you like a bit of shorba e.g. sauce in your keema or 60 ml if you like it dry. I personally add 100ml).
75 grams frozen peas (I love peas but if you don’t like them that much use less at your own discretion)
1) fry off the mince on the stove. Dry fry it for 10 minutes and then drain the excess fat on kitchen paper.
2) place all the ingredients in your slow cooker (including the mince). Mix well. Turn your slow cooker to the high setting and cook for 2 hours. I generally stir halfway through to stop sticking.
3) check keema is done; it should be. Turn off the slow cooker and serve.

To serve as in the above photo:
Warm up 3 heaped tablespoons in a non stick pan. Stir and warm through. Crack open an egg over the keema return the heat and cover the pan. Allow the egg to cook and set. This won’t take long. Turn off the heat and serve as desired.
I grind over fresh pepper as I love the stuff. Feel free to add your own touch . Cumin powder also works.
Yummy!

Quick and easy Rajmah Daal
Stylemesisteradmin
August 15, 2016

Rajmah daal

Some foods are pure comfort food. The nostalgia they bring about cannot be matched by anything else. Memories of a bygone era haunt our minds like a poets words of a dead lover…oh come on who am I trying to kid.

This daal dish is bloody fantastic. The plus point of using canned lentils is you don’t need to prepare them and you’ve literally got a healthier-than-a-takeway meal on hand on busier nights. In all fairness this meal is on the table in less than 30 minutes. That’s so damn awesome.

Cooking kidney beans takes a while. You soak the beans then rapid boil to remove toxins and then drain and cook.
I usually don’t have the patience to cook them the old fashioned way…so came up with a method that results in less time at the stove.

This recipe serves 4 adults comfortably.

I’m labelling this as frugal as it costs less than 50 pence per portion and packed full of protein.

Ingredients:
1 medium red onion sliced OR 3 tbsp pre-fried onions soaked in water to soften (then drained)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 bullet chilies sliced in half
1 tsp garlic paste or 2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp ginger paste of 1 inch piece of ginger, left whole (fish it out after)
2 dried red chilies-whole
1 tbsp salt (reduce to taste)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
200 gram tinned tomatoes (chopped) or 3 medium fresh tomatoes chopped finely
2 tbsp fresh coriander (stalks too!)
2 x 400g cans of red kidney beans rinsed and drained
500-750ml boiling water (to speed up the cooking process)

1) Heat the oil in a heavy based pan. Add the onions. If using fresh fry until lightly browned. Add the garlic and ginger and continue to fry for 2/3 minutes.
If using the pre-fried onions fry for 1 minutes then add the garlic and ginger and fry for another 2/3 minutes. In essence you are removing the raw taste of these ingredients.
2) Add all the spices and bullet chilies. Fry to cook the spices. Stir continuously to avoid burning or catching them on the bottom of the pan. Is the spices start the stick to the bottom (catch) add 1 tbsp water. Continue to cook for a total of 3/5 minutes. I find 3 minutes is enough.
3) Add the tomatoes and stir well. Now fry until the oil starts to separate from the tomato mixture.
4) Now add the beans. Stir to coat. With the back of a wooden spoon start mashing the beans. You want to mash/crush around 40% of the beans.
5) Now add the coriander and boiling water-be careful it may splutter! I usually add 750 ml of water as I like a daal that is slightly runny to go with rice. Remember that you will lose some of the liquid during the cooking process. Bring the mixture to the boil (this won’t take long as the water is already at a high temperature). Reduce the heat and simmer gently for approx 25 minutes. Stir during the cooking process. If you find the liquid is evaporating too quickly add more boiling water. Again bring to the boil and simmer.
6) After 25 minutes check out the consistency. The daal is ready to serve.

Serve with plain boiled rice (or steamed), aachar and a simple salad of red onions, tomatoes and mint.

Nawaabi Egg Pulao
Stylemesisteradmin
August 14, 2016
Nawaabi Egg Pulao
(Fragrant one pot royal style rice with eggs…but that doesn’t sound as regal or yummy as it’s posh Indian name).

I have a confession to make. I have a weak point for all things Nawaabi/Mughali/Regal.  From deep purple and royal blue (which feature heavily in my wardrobe) to their food. There. I’ve said it. Now moving swiftly on. Here is a vegetarian recipe I believe many will love.

Cheap, quick and yummy.
This dish isn’t hot; it’s very fragrant and suitable for all the family. If you have issues with whole spices you could fish them out before adding the rice. Or you could use a muslin stock pouch to infuse the flavour into the rice.

Please note: rice cooking times are approximate as the age and quality of rice affects the time required to cook rice to perfection.

Enjoy.

Happily serves 4 or 6…depending on your portion control and what you choose to serve with this delicious moreish dish.

Ingredients:
450 grams Basmati rice (rinsed until water runs clear)
900 ml water-double the volume of rice in boiling water
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp pre-fried onions soaked to soften and drained of excess liquid

WHOLE SPICES:
8 whole cloves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
3/4 dried bay leaves
1 large piece of cinnamon or cassia bark (I used cinnamon for this recipe)
3 large black cardamom pods-whole
2/4 dried red chilies (note: if you don’t want any heat leave the chilies out)

Ground seasoning & spices
1 tbsp salt (adjust to your tastes)
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp cumin powder

40 grams whole cashew nuts
4/6 eggs hard boiled and cooled (cut a small slit in the eggs to prevent them exploding)
Juice of 1 lemon (or 3 tbsp lemon dressing-you find this is squeezy bottles on offer in Asian Supermarkets. I’ve used KTC brand before).

OPTIONAL: If you are NOT catering for vegetarians add a meaty stock cube. I use lamb stock granules. Just remember these contain additional salt so if using half the salt and adjust once you add the boiling water to the rice (more info below)

1) Rinse the rice and put to one side
2) Heat the oil in a heavy based pan. Add the onions and fry on a low/medium heat for 2/3 minutes. Add the whole spices and cashew nuts. Continue to fry for 3 minutes stirring to stop the mixture catching. Add the salt and ground spices. Fry for 2 minutes to cook the spices. Add 2 tbsp of water if the mixture starts sticking.
3) Carefully add the whole eggs and fry for another 3 minutes. Again if the mixture starts sticking or clumping add 2/3 tbsp water.
4) Now add the rinsed rice. Carefully stir to coat the rice in the onion mixture. Crumble in the stock cube (if using) or add the stock granules. Add the lemon juice.
5) Now add the boiling water. Stir well. Now taste the stock to see if you need more salt/chili. If you find the salt levels are slightly higher than your normal taste DON’T panic. This is normal and will adjust once the rice is cooked.
6) Bring the rice to the boil. Reduce the heat to a medium heat. Now you need to wait for the water to literally evaporate. This will take the rice up to the half cooked point. This is best done on a low/medium heat depending on how fierce your cooker is. Keep an eye on your rice stirring occasionally to ensure the rice doesn’t catch the bottom of the pan. This stage can take around 10 minutes.
7) Once the water evaporates you need to remove the rice from direct heat. Place a tava (flatbread pan) or other flat pan on a low heat. Heat the pan up. Now take a clean tea towel. Soak it in cold water. Now place that tea towel over the rice pan and replace the lid. This gives a tight finish. Take the corners of the tea towel and place them on the lid and using clothing pegs clip them away from the edge of the pan to avoid fires. Although the flame is low you should ALWAYS be extra careful when it comes to fire hazards.
8) Now place the rice pan on the tava. You are now going to steam the rice to perfection. The wet tea towel provides the moisture needed. The low heat is perfect for this. After 10 minutes check the rice. If its cooked turn the heat off, remove the tea towel (carefully as it will be hot) and leave for an extra minute.
9) If the rice isn’t cooked give it another 5 minutes and repeat step 8.

Garnish the rice with extra fried onions (if using pre-fried onions do NOT soak them as you want them crispy).

Serve with non-yogurt raita and salad. This rice dish does great with Chicken Pasandas and Nawaabi Kebabs (recipes coming soon).

 

Chutney wahle Murghi kaleji
Stylemesisteradmin
March 19, 2016

 

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Chicken livers in chutney

We know I love cooking. We also know sometimes it’s impossible to dedicate hours to slaving over a stovetop to prepare a quick meal.

Livers are a great frugal ingredient. They are also full of iron which so many folk currently don’t get enough of. And the best bit is they cook so quickly and can be kept in the deep freezer for a quick meal.

My current favourite ways of eating livers is either this way or in a quick pasta sauce (recipe coming soon!).

NOTE: a splatter guard is useful ( or a lid of some kind) as the livers splatter a lot.

To serve 4 people for lunch you will need:

500 grams of chicken livers, trimmed of fat, washed and dried (this makes nice generous portions you could half this for a lighter meal).

1 and 1/2 TBSP vegetable oil

1 TBSP salt

1 TSP freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch of coriander (approximately 60-80 grams) stalks and all. Washed and roughly chopped

30 grams of mint leaves washed and roughly chopped

6 green chilies (for medium spice) or less for those who don’t really dig chili. Increase to 10 if like me you need a chili hit

Juice of 1 lime

To serve: Tandoori Rotis (other flat breads)

Optional extras to serve:

Sliced green chilies

1 TBSP coriander leaves chopped

1 lime quartered

1) Firstly make the chutney. I make it in a food processor (the jug variety or mini food processors). Place the mint, coriander and chilies in the processor. Whiz with 2 TBSP cold water. Add the lime and blitz until you have a rough paste.

2) Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the livers and fry until the livers are cooked. This for me took 5 minutes on a medium heat.

3) Add salt and pepper and the chutney. Stir and ensure all the livers are covered in the chutney. Turn the heat off. Leave to rest for a minute and serve.

I like to serve this quick meal on tandoori roti (store bought). But you can serve it with any type of flatbread you like.

Enjoy!

 

Slutty Skillet Cookie
Stylemesisteradmin
March 17, 2016

I’ll be honest with you; the name does this cookie no justice. However it’s named after the infamous Slutty Brownie. So you have your basic cookie recipe. What makes the cookie ‘slutty’ is what you add to the cookie. You need 100 grams of chocolate. You can choose any chocolates you may have lurking in your treats cabinet. Or perhaps you have some fun size bars you want to use up. I would say it’s a great way to use up leftover chocolate. But who would I be kidding by saying LEFTOVER chocolate? Is there such a thing?

Anyway I had various fun size chocolates (store own brand). I used peanut and caramel bars (snickers will do), sweet coconut bars (Bounty) and some soft nougat bars (Milky way type) and a few M&Ms (chocolate ones). You can use whatever suits you.

This recipe is suitable for introducing young people into the kitchen as apart from the chopping up the recipe is pretty much child friendly and simple too.

For the basic skillet cookie (made in a 20CM skillet) you will need:

90 grams butter/margarine

80 grams soft brown sugar

80 grams castor sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla (I used flavouring)

150 grams plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

And of course 100 grams chopped up chocolate bars

Preheat the oven to 170 C/350F.

Grease the Skillet pan. I used 1 cal coconut spray oil. You can use what it suitable for your needs.

In a mixing bowl beat together the sugars and butter. Once it’s smooth add the egg and mix well. Add the vanilla.

Add the flour and salt. Beat to incorporate the ingredients. You now have your basic cookie.

Now you can either fold in the chocolate or let little ones decorate the cookie with them. If you want the little ones to decorate the cookie (and this is fun-see photos) tip the cookie dough into the pan and evenly distribute it in the pan. Then let the kids go crazy with the chocolate.

If you fold the chocolate in stir it well to evenly spread the chocolate into the mixture. Then tip it into the pan and evenly distribute it in the pan.

Place the pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 15 minutes (or 20 minutes depending on how well you like your cookie done). Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

I served the cookie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

NOTE: this recipe produces a semi-crumbly soft cookie. It’s more of a dessert like cookie than a chewy cookie.