My pimped up leftover Rice (using store cupboard ingredients)
Double carbs; everyone loves them but boy are they hard to get ‘rid’ of when it comes to excess weight.
I use rice quite a bit….and can sometimes cook too much rice. Well apart from serving it with daals or using them in a rice bowl or salad what else can I do with it?
A few days ago I had a bit of a ‘OMG that will work’ moment. As a rule I don’t serve double carbs (but remember from my childhood being served Mashed Potatoes and Chips in the same meal) however in this recipe it works! Just trust me.
So when you have leftover rice, a tin of potatoes, some cumin seeds and a pack of fried onions you end up with this recipe (which also works well with a fried egg on top if you have any around).
This recipe in my opinion can be served for a Brunch, Lunch or even Supper. It’s quick and easy and uses up leftover rice. And with a dollop of yogurt or a fried egg it’s got a big personality in a bowl.
To make two big bowls of my Pimped up double carbs sorry-not-sorry Rice you will need:
2 bowls pre-cooked Rice (mine were Basmati)
2 TBSP oil
2 heaped TBSP fried onions soaked in water and drained
1 heaped TBSP garlic paste
1 TBSP cumin seeds (whole)
1 heaped TBSP ground coriander seeds
1/2 TSP chili powder (for a spicier rice go up to 1 TSP)
Cooking salt-to your own requirements
Additional stuff:
2 eggs-fried
Additonal fried onions (not soaked)
1 lemon cut in half
Chili sauce-to drizzle over
1) Heat the oil in a large wok or similar pan on a medium heat.
2) Add the cumin seeds and allow to splutter.
3) Add the onions and fry for 1 minute. Keep stirring to avoid sticking/burning them.
4) Add the garlic paste and fry for 30 seconds.
5) Add the potatoes and fry for 3 minutes stirring so things don’t burn.
6) Add the salt and spices and fry for one minute.
7) Add the rice and stir/turn the rice to coat it in the spicy onion mix.
8) Tip into two bowls and serve.
Additional ingredients are a suggestion only.
Apply to face/stuff your face and enjoy.
I’ve always naturally leaned towards vegetarian food. Perhaps the fact I love lentils a tad bit too much for a lot of people’s liking is the reason I love a good vegetarian curry.
I love a good curry. None of this paste/out of a pack business (I’m Asian so….) it’s from fresh and needs to be cooked to perfection.
Since I was a child Tarka Daal has been my comfort food. Over the years I tried pimping it up however I always resort back to the basic, original homely edition.
My plate of daal usually contains more daal than rice (I’ve reduced carbs in my daily diet) plus pickles and freshly sliced red onions dressed in lemon. And that’s it. No fancy garam masala. No fancy business. It’s good old fashioned food like my late Nana and Grandmother would have made.
This daal cooks super quickly. If I pre-soak the lentils it takes 15-20 minutes. If I don’t it takes about 25 minutes. If I know I’m making daal I do tend to soak them before hand. Its not essential. Whilst the daal is cooking I tend to cook the rice (basmati folks; rules are rules in my house).
So what is Tarka Daal. Well Tarka just means tempering. In this case we use oil, garli and chilies. For some other recipes you may find mustard seeds, curry leaves, ginger, tomatoes and other wonderful ingredients too. But this is a simple, filling and amazing recipe that literally is a few ingredients.
Daal is the hindi/urdu for lentils.
It’s really that simple….the recipe is Tempered Split Red Lentils.
Tarka daal freezes well and if you really are one of those people that like to cook once a week you could freeze portions of daal with rice to have a ready meal on hand.
There’s method to my madness (How I calculate the volume of liquid for my daal)
I ‘measure’ by volume (e.g. place the lentils in a glass) and then double the amount of liquid. It’s that simple. So if I cook say one large mug of lentils I add 2 large mugs of water. And this gives me a thick daal. I do like thick daals and also eat it like a soup (minus the rice). Low in carb, highly filling and so good. I find the fragrance warm and earthy so I feel you could easily take a mug of this to work and ‘not offend’ the less adventurous people.
If you do decide to consume the daal as a soup consider a good squeeze of lemon as a garnish.
To make 4 big bowls of Tarka Daal you will need:
1 glass red lentils (approximately 250 grams) washed
2 glasses water (approximately 500-550 ml)
Cooking salt-to your on taste
1 level TBSP Chili Powder
1 TSP Turmeric (haldi)-for a more earthy taste use more. For a less earthy taste reduce the amount. I love the golden colour it gives and Turmeric is a wonder spice.
OPTIONAL: 1-2 dried red chilies (I like a hot daal)
3 TSBP oil (I’ve successfully used Rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, vegetable oil and olive oil).
4 cloves of garlic sliced thinly (I would use more but if I am going to serve the daal to someone I generally have a rule of 1 clove to 1 bowl. But if you love garlic and are eating alone you can go up to 6 cloves for the recipe).
3 green chilies slit (or prick them well all over so they don’t explode
1) Wash the lentils until the water runs clear. You can use the water to water your plants.
2) Place the lentils in a large pot and add the salt and spices followed by the water.
3) Place on a medium heat and bring to the boil. I usually leave a wooden spoon in my pot as I believe it stops the pan from boiling over. Once the lentils come up to the boil reduce the heat and remove the foam that you can now see floating on top of the lentils. You don’t want that to be a part of the lentils.
4) Add the coriander, stir and simmer. I stir a few times throughout simmering and find it takes about 15 minutes post boil for lentils to become tender. Now if you are happy with the consistency turn the heat off. If you want it more runnier add a bit more boiling water (you don’t want to bring down the lentils tempreture). If you want it a bit more thicker leave the heat on and allow it to simmer a bit more.
5) Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and chilies and reduce the heat to avoid burning anything. Stir well (and turn the chilies over). You only want the garlic to be golden NOT burnt so once the garlic is turning golden kill the heat.
6) Pour the tempering over the lentils. Job done.
7) Serve the daal as is, or with rice, roti….or however takes your fancy.
Enjoy.
Additional notes:
you can ‘flavour’ the daal with vegetable stock if you wish to serve it as a soup.
Tarka Daal can be frozen….why not freeze up portions with rice for a quick freezer meal?
Green Lentil Spaghetti Bolognese with hidden vegetables
I have to admit that when I find/create a recipe I love and the family are happy to have seconds of I not only write it down but I schedule to blog it so it’s out in the blog world forever.
I first came across green lentils when I was looking at a robust lentil to add to my salads. As a daal fan I thought I knew most lentils. Turns out I didn’t.
I am making 2019 a year of big changes and adding more non-meat protein meals to our monthly planners is a big deal for me. The reduction in fat in my humble opinion is vital for my children’s future. They need to understand healthy can meat yummy food.
My preferred method of cooking is a two step process.
Starting the meal off on the stove.
Transferring it to a Slow Cooker.
Green lentils are small, earthy bursts of flavour that make a great alternative to meat because they pack a punch in the flavour department.
This recipe is economical and is started off on the stove and transferred to the Slow Cooker. But it can be cooked completely on the stove. However I love the carefree nature of my Slow Cooker.
My youngest ate bowls of this sauce without pasta; that’s how much she loved it.
So the actual recipe (serves 6).
NOTES:
Herbs used are dried.
Keep an eye on liquid levels especially if you are cooking on the stove. I like a semi wet sauce so some clings to the pasta and there isn’t much on the plate. You can adjust the stock/water amounts to make the sauce fit your needs.
250 grams green lentils (I bought mine in Tesco-they have the best range ever).
1 carton passata
225 ml water (or stock of your choice. Note that stock cubes contain salt so you need to adjust accordingly)
2.5-3 TBSP rapeseed oil
2 medium onions-diced
6 gloves of garlic-crushed
3 medium carrots-peeled and grated (coarsely)
2 red bell peppers-cored and grated (coarsely)
Handful of mushrooms-chopped finely
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
Salt-to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Optional: chili flakes
To serve:
Pasta
Vegetarian Italian style hard cheese
Garlic Bread
1) Wash the lentils. Soak them in boiling water for a minimum of 1 hour. I placed them in a bowl and cling filmed it. It worked a treat. You could also place the lentils in a thermos and it would have the same affect.
2) Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onions, black pepper, chili (if using) and herbs. Fry until softened. Add the garlic and fry for 20-30 seconds.
3) Add the carrots and peppers. Fry for 3 minutes. If the mixture starts to stick add a TBSP of stock or water.
4) Add the mushrooms and fry for a further minute.
5) Drain the lentils and add to the pan. Fry for a couple of minutes (I fried them for about 3 minutes).
6) Add the passata and stir well. Add the water (or stock). Lower the heat.
7) Taste the salt levels and add more if required.
8) Now transfer the mixture to your Slow Cooker and cook for 3.5 hours on High. I generally check the sauce and stir after 1.5 hours. I also add more stock if I want a more ‘sauce’.
9) If you are continuing to cook on the stove lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender. This can take a while. I would check regularly and stir well and keep an eye on liquid levels as you will need to add more as the amount I have added is more suited to evaporation during Slow Cooking.
10) Once cooked serve.
This dish freezes well.
You can add this to a Pasta Bake, Jacket potatoes or add a bit more stock and serve as a soup.
You could add olives and sun dried tomatoes for an extra hit of flavour.
Easy-o Tex Mex inspired Spicy Rice (aka my version of Burrito rice).
Note: the image of the Burrito is to show you where else you will find my Rice recipe featuring. The Burrito Recipe will be posted on 10th of June 2019.
I love a good old fat Burrito filled with beans, rice, protein, salsa, cheese….all wrapped in a golden corn tortilla wrap. Certain fast food places make awesome ones but the fat content (and salt) can sometimes leave you feeling well…guilty.
I started making Burritos at home so I could control things better (in others words what was going in them). And the one thing I know my girls love is the spicy rice…so to make life easier for me I created a quick and easy recipe using basmati rice that has been cooked and cooled. This makes this recipe ideal for using up leftover rice or frozen rice too.
For this recipe I don’t have ‘weighed’ out ingredients. Such is the nature of using leftovers.
NOTE: I have added sweetcorn to my rice to add a bit of extra goodness. This is optional.
This recipe makes two bowls of the rice which is enough for 4-6 Burritos (depending on how big/curvy your Burritos are).
INGREDIENTS:
2 bowls (I use bowls called cereal bowls….) of cooked cooled rice
200 ml passata (or half a standard carton if that makes life easier)
1/2 a 400 gram chopped tomato tin.
1 400 gram tin of red kidney beans rinsed and drained
OPTIONAL: 100 grams Sweetcorn-cooked
4 cloves of crushed garlic or 1 TBSP of garlic paste
2 TBSP coriander leaves chopped finely
Salt-to taste
1 medium onion diced finely
1 TBSP rapeseed oil
1/2 TSP chili powder
1 TSP cumin powder
1 TSP coriander powder
Juice of 1 lime
1) Heat the oil in a large pot on a medium heat.
2) Add the onion and fry until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and fry for about 1 minute. Stir well because burnt garlic tastes very bitter.
3) Now add the spices and beans and fry. You’ll smell a wave of spice which is good. Fry for about a minute. If the mixture starts to burn move onto step 4.
4) Add the tomato tins and passata and stir well. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2/3 minutes.
5) Add the majority of the coriander (keep some back if you wish to use it as a garnish). Now add the rice and stir through to encorporate all the ingredients.
6) Turn the heat off. Add the lime juice and your rice is ready to go.
Can be enjoyed as a side at your next Tex Mex night or in a rice bowl or well in a Burrito.
Ramadan is the most blessed months a Muslim can experience. Its a time for contemplation. A time to reflect and change the direction of life. Its a time to give back to charity. It’s a time to get closer to our faith.
Sadly for many sisters its a time where they find themselves chained to the kitchen when they should be reaping the rewards of this awesome month.
For a lot of families food plays a huge part in Ramadan. There’s Sahoor and Iftaars to plan, prepare and cook. Then there’s hosting Iftaars for nearest and dearest (which FYI I haven’t done in a decade). That’s a large chunk of time on a daily basis. By the time you’ve cooked and cleaned up energy levels are at a low and the idea of staying up to repent or pray is near impossible (because half hearted recitation is also a no-no; you want to focus and give it your best).
A couple of years ago I started to batch cook food used in Ramadan and froze it in suitable sized portions. This helped me no end. There was no last minute mad panic in the kitchen. Things ran smoothly; very smoothly.
I then came to the realisation that my issue of balancing the time spent preparing and cooking food with the actual important duties of Ramadan were a problem for a lot of sisters. And if you are reading this and nodding along I have an idea that may help you a lot….
Ladies I present to you the idea of setting up a Ramadan Cookery Circle.
For this idea to work you will need a group of ladies in a similar position to you.
How this works:
Basically you come together with a group of ladies and cook a few recipes in bulk. You then swap portions of the food with others in the circle for food they’ve cooked. And voila; you have instantly increased the amount of food you have for your Ramadan freezer.
Sounds pretty easy doesn’t it? I’ll still talk you through it.
STEP 1:
Gather your friends that will be having the same issue as you during Ramadan together.
STEP 2:
List all the food that you guys know you will be cooking in Ramadan. These foods need to be suitable for freezing.
STEP 3:
List all special dietary requirements including how hot people like spicy foods!
Share recipes (if required) with the group.
STEP 4:
Delegate the recipes out to the group. Agree on how much of each recipe needs to be made.
STEP 5:
Decide when you want the food to be cooked by and where and how the food will be delegated. Will you guys meet up a few days before Ramadan to swap food?
STEP 6:
Take the food home and freeze.
Now that doesn’t seem to be that scary does it?
The idea behind this is you save time by bulk cooking your delegated recipes and then you swap some with the others.
So if there’s 5 of you and you each of you cooked 2 recipes in bulk you are walking away with 10 dishes for your freezer (including what you cook yourself).
Don’t you think that’s awesome?
And the more of you there is there’s potential for less work and more dishes.
In my experience the following are awesome for freezing:
Samosas and rolls
Burrito rolls (great for Breakfasts)
Kebabs/Koftas
Pulaw and Biryani bases
Chutneys
Curry sauces
Meatballs (so pasta sauces, koftas etc).
What else should consider?
How much freezer space you have.
How much time will you need to prepare and cook your dishes in bulk.
Is everyone happy with their delegated dishes.
Do you want to swap dishes or do you want to pay for the ingriedents instead?
The idea of the circle is to cut your time in the kitchen and essentially share cookery skills and invest more time into Ramadan doing things that will be fulfilling.
With Ramadan on it’s way why not share this post with your ladies and see whose willing to sign up to your circle?
