Tag: #halalfood

Meat Free Mondays…
Stylemesisteradmin
July 29, 2019

Easy Lobia Masala

As part of my Meat Free Mondays I am featuring Curries. Why? Because I love cooking Curries.

One of my favourite lentils/daals is the classic Black Eye Pea aka Lobia. I love the earthiness of it. It’s a robust bean and is versatile. You can mash it up for burgers and nuggets, cook it in a curry or add it to salads.

I usually pre-boil the peas and freeze them. I find this the most economical way. However if you don’t have freezer space yet have a Slow Cooker you can utilise that and pre-cook the peas the night before. It’s not much work but it keeps costs low.

This is a rather spicy dish. Feel free to adjust the spices to your own taste buds.

I do serve my daals/pulses with plain boiled rice or naans. You can select what works for you.

To serve four you will need:

225 grams pre-cooked Lobia aka black eye peas (or raw lentils, washed and soaked in BOILING water for 1 hour prior to cooking).

ALTERNATIVE: 2 x 400 grams (Approx) cooked Black eye peas. Rinse and drained. If you take this option you need to reduce the cooking time by a few minutes (so around 5 minutes) rather than a full 10 minutes. This is to stop turning it to mush.

1 heaped TBSP garlic paste (or 4 cloves of fresh garlic; crushed)

4 TBSP pre-fried onions soaked in water and drained (or 1 medium onion; peeled and finely sliced)

2 TBSP oil

3 green chilies-sliced in half

150 ML of passata (or half a tin of tomatoes; chopped)

750 ML (0.75 litre) water

1 small piece of ginger-sliced (you could use half a TSP of ginger powder if you wish. I generally fish out the ginger before serving)

4 TBSP fresh coriander (including stalks) finely chopped

Cooking salt-to your taste

1 heap TSP turmeric

1 TSP amchoor aka mango powder. If you can’t find any you can use the juice of two limes. Amchoor is a souring agent.

Please note: the measurements given are in line with what I like. Please feel free to adjust according to your own needs. I avoid telling people how much salt to add as it really is down to your own daily consumption and needs.

1) Pre-heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 30 seconds. If the onions stick stir and add a little water if needed (I TBSP at a time). If you are using fresh onions fry until lightly golden.

2) Add the garlic and ginger. Fry for 1 minutes stirring well.

3) Now add the salt, turmeric and chili powder. Stir well. Fry for around 1 minute to cook the spices through. Add a TBSP of water is the mixture sticks.

4) Add the green chilies and stir in. Fry for 1 minute.

5) Add the passata. Stir well for around 5 minutes. This step creates the masala for the Lobia.

6) Add the lobia and coriander and stir to cover the lentils in the sauce. It will look dry but don’t worry. Now add the water and bring to the boil.

7) Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender. Now if you used pre-cooked lentils it takes around 15 minutes for this to happen. But it can take longer or less time depending on your lentils and how much you cooked them in the first place.
If you are using non-pre cooked lentils I find it takes over 3.5 hours to become tender and I don’t have the patience for this! What you can do is if you have a Slow Cooker you could transfer the daal at this point to the cooker and let it simmer away. I’ve done this a few times and find it works well. But ask me to keep an eye on lentils for hours on a stove and I will literally cry.

Remove the ginger pieces (if you used slices).

8) Garnish as you wish or serve as is. Lobia Masala is ready to eat.

My easy, tasty and good Baked Chicken Meatballs
Alliyah Dawud
June 14, 2019

Baked Chicken Meatballs…like are they a thing?

Quick, easy, healthier than a lot out there…ladies and the odd gent I present to you Chicken ‘Meatballs’.

Give me a Kofta Curry and I’m happy. Give me some Kefta Kebabs and Naans and I’m also happy. Give me a meatball sub with some extra hot sauce and I’m happy….I love a good meatball.

As you know we are constantly being encouraged to focus on healthier recipes. Focus on reducing fats, salts and sugars in our diets. We are also encouraged (and quite rightly so) to get our children eating healthier from a young age so it’s a habit and lifestyle rather than a chore.

Recently I got playing in the kitchen and with Chicken mince being around £2.69 per KG at my local Butchers I decided I would make some ‘meatballs’.

Cheaper meat, leaner too. And if I play my cards right I can bake them off in the oven and reduce the fat too.

And believe it or not I’ve created a meatball the girls actually adore. And I’m happy because a simple bit of prep work means I can create, bake and freeze a few meals in next to no time…

To make these awesome meatballs (enough for 3-4 or more depending on the age of those you are feeding) servings you will need:

  • 500 grams chicken mince
  • About 16 olives chopped
  • Zest of 1 lemon finely chopped
  • 1 tsp salt (or to your taste)
  • 1/2 TSP dried thyme (leveled spoon not heaped)
  • 1/2 TSP dried oregano (leveled spoon not heaped)
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 2 heaped TBSP breadcrumbs
  • OPTIONAL flavourings:
  • 2 sun dried tomatoes finely chopped
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of crumbled feta (if you do decide to add feta reduce the salt intake).
  • Chili Flakes-if you want some need.
  • To bake:
  • Spray oil ( 1 Cal spray works, as do other varieties)
  • Baking trays (1 large pan will be enough or two smaller ones)
  • Kitchen Tongues
  • Greaseproof paper

1) Line the baking trays to keep cleaning to a minimum. Preheat to oven to 170 (160 on a fan assisted oven).
2) Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and with your hands mulch it all together. Yes it’s a messy job but dammit it will create awesomeness in the form of springy healthy meatballs!
3) Once you’ve mixed all the ingredients together take a tablespoon amount of meat mixture and form into a meatball using wet hands. Place on the greaseproof sheet. Leave a gap between the meatballs.
4) Repeat the process until you’ve used all the mixture.
5) Spray each meatball once with the oil.
6) Now bake for 10 minutes.
7) Remove from the oven and carefully turn the meatballs over using the tongues. Spray the other side of the meatballs with oil. Place back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven off.
8) Allow to meatballs to ‘rest’ for 2/4 minutes and then serve. I add my meatballs to a simple sauce which I have featured before here:

To make this recipe extra healthy you can serve the meatballs with wholemeal spaghetti.

NOTES: If your meatballs release any liquids do not panic. This is a normal part of the cooking process. The amount you find really does depend on many factors so don’t worry yourself too much on the science. Think of the flavour.

Mini meatballs make great canapes.

Making meatballs can be fun and messy for younger children.

Meatballs can be cooked, cooled and frozen successfully for up to 3 months without losing texture etc.