Posts Tagged With: curry

Quarantine Curry – Quick Spicy Tomato Masala with Cauliflower, Mango and Spinach

Posted on April 8, 2020 by leroy watson

Quarantine Curry – Quick Fragrant Tomato Masala with Cauliflower, Potatoes and Spinach – Vegan, Gluten-free

Quarantine cooking. Means simply making the most of what we’ve got!

This was last nights dinner in the BHK,

I can’t think of a much easier, less fuss-free way of preparing a curry.

This was such a hit over on our vegan cooking group, we had to share it. Thanks so much for all the continued support and enthusiasm. Your kind wishes here and on Instagram etc are really inspiring. It sounds like you’re mainly positive about this ‘new normal’ that we’re all finding ourselves in. Most countries around the world are on ‘lockdown’, and most of you are finding time to get cooking at home, which is great. Hang in there!! Let’s eat healthy:)

This is probably not the most enticing of recipe titles, but it’s pretty accurate! What can we do?! Cook with what’s at hand and hopefully this curry does just that, using only ground spices and a few simple ingredients and veg. You can use any veg in fact, the sauce/ masala is the key. Getting it well cooked, nicely spiced, with a nice hit of fruity sweetness to tickle the tastebuds.

We need less than we think to cook delicious food!

We’re loving our walks like never before. Appreciating the awesome mountains where we live. Last nights giant pink moon rising over Mount Snowdon. Spectacular!!

Making the most of what we’ve got

Really, the best way to cook is making the most of what we’ve got. Always. Not just now. So this could be the time we get into some really good kitchen habits. Learning new skills to take humble ingredients and give them a makeover. Make them shine! Good food is not fancy or expensive, it’s cooked with care, with passion and focus.

We very rarely buy anything especially for a recipe, we just cook with what’s local, seasonal and in the cupboard/ spice rack. It’s where I get my inspiration as a cook, a window to get creative and challenge myself. Let’s see these restrictions as a chance to try new things, new flavour combos, new textures and techniques, and always minimising waste.

We love cooking and buying food, partly because it is such a precious resource. I’m lucky, because Jane is a storage expert! An amazing stock rotator and tin stacker!! Never a rubbery carrot wasted in the BHK.

Keep it spicy!

So here we’ve got dried spices, not fresh ginger, onions, chilli or garlic, which is normally where I start most curries. Try to use as fresh spices as you can, but this is quarantine curry, swap and choose as you like. If you’re short of cumin or coriander, sub with a little more curry powder. If you don’t have fenugreek, no probs, just add a little more cumin or curry powder. They’re really the base notes for the flavour and in time, you’ll get your favourite balance, you’re own perfect masala mix.

Keep your spices in airtight containers, out of the way of damp and sunlight. As fresh as you can. Keeping them spicy! If you have whole spices, toasting and grinding your own is the way to go. I realise that’s a bit of a luxury, but you can’t beat those gorgeous flavours.

We’ve been doing lots of chilling, digging and some planting in the garden. But mainly chilling. It looks like all our trees survived the winter up here (which is not a given) and we’ll get a nice little crop of plums, apples, pears and maybe the odd cherry? You never know.

Up on the hill

We’ve had a brilliant weather for the past few weeks and are feeling settled up here on Tiger Hill. We live in a tiny village and people are in their gardens and taking daily walks more than ever, which is really nice to see. Even though we can’t get close, it feels good to just exchange waves and smiles. Bringing the village together. It’s never been truer than now, we’re all in this together!!

Somedays we’re feeling the sheer scale and global suffering relating to this situation, and on others, enjoying the newts and birds in the garden. We’re basing our days around focusing on those we love what makes us feel grounded and inspired. Cooking has always been a place where I can relax, retreat and focus my mind, a release at these times. We will be sharing our wellness tips in a post very soon.

We’re keeping healthy and in a positive frame of mind. This feels like just the beginning of something, so we’re trying to chill, be open minded and ride it out. Good food always helps!

I hope you like these photos, we’ve been taking our walk around the hill at sunset and there’s been many a firework show! Looking out across the Irish Sea towards Ireland. We feel VERY lucky, everyday, to be together up here, with a garage full of lentils.

Sending you all the best of bestest wishes, good health and sensational spiceX

Jane up with the stone circle (now a triangle?!) What a place to stretch your legs!!

Recipe Notes

Chilli! How’d you like it? I’ve gone for mild here, but add another 1/2-1 teas if you’d like to feel the fire.

The same goes for the mango chutney. Many people like a sweeter style curry, it’s one of the tricks in curry houses, making your curries slightly sweeter (and also richer) than at home.

Vegetable wise, you can use any similar quantities of cooked vegetables. Steamed, roasted, pan-fried, however they come. This curry is an ideal home for leftover veg, a good meal for the day after a roast dinner. A banging sauce, pre-made, then add your vegetables and maybe a few more spices and fried garlic or ginger, a little yoghurt/ coconut milk, a sprinkle of fresh coriander…. It’s such an easy way to approach making curry, and the foundation is always a tasty masala sauce. Having a masala sauce ready for action in the fridge is a cooks dream!

Frozen spinach is a great idea. Frozen vegetables and fruits are still filled with nutrition and flavour. We always keep a good stock of frozen fruits for smoothies (they even sell frozen avocado now!) and veg for stews and soups. Fresh is best. Most of the time. But not always. Frozen does have benefits. It’s right there, ready, and like I said, it’s normally picked ripe, so there is even more nutrients than lots of frozen produce.

[caption id="attachment_10271" align="aligncenter" width="470"]

Vegan Cauliflower and Potato Curry – Quick and easy using simple ingredients. Ideal for lockdown:)

Quarantine Curry – Quick Spicy Tomato Masala with Cauliflower, Potatoes and Spinach

Vegan, gluten-free, oil free option

The Bits – For 4

Fragrant Tomato Masala
400g passatta or tinned chopped tomatoes
2 tbs tomato puree
1 tbs mango chutney
300ml vegetable stock

4 teas good quality curry powder
1 1/2 teas garlic powder
1 1/2 teas ground ginger
2 teas ground coriander
2 teas ground cumin
1/2-1 teas chilli powder
1/2 teas ground fenugreek
1 teas sea salt

Vegetables
300g frozen spinach leaves
300g cauliflower florets
400g boiled/ steamed new potatoes (cut in half)
2 tbs cooking oil (I use cold-pressed rapeseed oil)

Do It
In a sauce pan, add all of your masala ingredients, bring to a simmer and pop a lid on. Leave to cook gently for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. That easy!!

In a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan, add the oil on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add your cauliflower and potatoes and cook for 8 minutes. Turning the veggies occasionally, getting some nice caramelised edges.

Add the spinach to the pan and pour the masala sauce over the vegetables, gently stir, careful not to break up the vegetables. Pop a lid on and leave to bubble for a couple of minutes, cooking until your spinach is soft and vibrantly green. Check seasoning, adding salt and chilli as you like.

Ideally, serve with basmati rice, a simple raita, pickles and warm chapati’s. It’s thali time!

If you’d like to make this recipe oil free, simply cook your vegetables without oil! Steamed vegetables is a great option.

Stunning sunsets, exploding sun. Wandering around Tiger Hill, looking over towards Ireland, Snowdonia (our extended back garden;)

Foodie Fact

Jane’s fav. Potatoes! Spuds are full of good stuff. A sprinkling of good protein and fibre with nice minerals, like potassium, and plenty of vitamin C. Leave the skins on and the nutritional value shoots up. This goes for most vegetables.

Don’t miss a post or recipe. Get all the BHK news and vegan cooking

Follow us right here!

Categories: Curries, gluten-free, healthy, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan, Wales | Tags: curry, healthy curry, indian food, quarantine cooking, vegan recipe | 9 Comments

Coconut and Caulilflower Gigglebean Curry with Coriander and Lemon Chutney

Posted on December 10, 2019 by leroy watson

Vegan Coconut and Cauliflower Chickpea Curry – Quick, healthy and delicious!

A one pan, seasonal curry. All vegan and very easy to cook.

It doesn’t get much easier and nutritious than this to make a crowd pleasing curry. This really feels like a bowl of spicy abundance, a staple bowl of sunshine.

This was lunch today as Storm Something-or-Other blows itself up outside. The trees are rocking, the rain’s coming down sideways, even our blackbird has took shelter just outside the kitchen, not fancying getting mixed up in that raging wind. But we loved this one, so I thought I’d quickly share it with you. This is the kind of bowl that will fuel happy bellies in our house all the way through the depths of winter and beyond.

Taking this picture was a little tricky, but the colours are there for you, loads of nourishing ingredients meeting in a vibrant bowl of spicy winter comfort food. The rain is lashing the house, the wind is whipping the world, but we’re cosying up to a curry. Happy days!!

Chutney is generally a bit different in India to the British variety (fruity, sweet and sour, eaten with cheese etc). Chutney can mean many things, a whole variety of pastes and sauce bases. Here, we’re talking a creamy dip, which adds bags of herbs to any plate of Indian food. This chutney is versatile and will accompany many dishes, add a twist to a noodle bowl, stirred into a soup, drizzle over salads or even add to an Asian-style sandwich.

What we’ll do here is make a nice thick spiced tomato sauce, then cream it up with coconut, chickpeas are radiant in so many ways, add seasonal veg, a fresh and zesty chutney, there’s a wholeness to this kind of eating. A mild and satisfying curry with minimal fussin and frettin. Jane is not a fan of chilli, so this is a mellow curry. Light, something non-curry fans (do they exist?!!!) can enjoy.

Enjoy this bowlful of home cooked happiness!

I hope you get to try this recipe out, let us know in the comments. Feel free to say hello or sign up to our newsletter here. There will be lots of new recipes and travel stories. I’m heading to Israel, Spain, Italy and Austria soon. I’ll be doing some cooking and always enjoying the ride!

Plus, I’ll be posting more about our experiences walking the Camino Portuguese from Porto to Santiago de Compostela.

PS – I’m told that Gigglebeans is a nickname for Chickpeas in Germany, and we like it!!

Recipe Notes

Coconut cream is the thick cream on the top of many tins of coconut milk. A fail safe way of getting a good, defined layer of coconut cream is placing the tin into a fridge for a few hours. Flip it over and open. Scoop out the coconut cream. Reserve the rest for adding to soups, cakes or stews.

Use any mix of seasonal vegetables you like here.

This recipe does make a BIG panful!

Taking shelter from the storm – Wintery Vegan Chickpea Curry, full of creamy spiciness, loaded up with nutrition and big flavours, plus some spicy red cabbage ‘kraut

Coconut and Caulilflower Gigglebean Curry with Coriander and Lemon Chutney – Vegan, Gluten-free

The Bits – For 4-6

2 tbs cooking oil (cold-pressed rapeseed we like)

1 tbs cumin seeds

3 large garlic cloves (finely sliced)

3 tbs fresh ginger (finely sliced)

2-3 teas garam masala

2 teas ground turmeric

150ml hot water

1 tin tomatoes (or equivalent fresh tomatoes)

1/2 small/ 400g cauliflower (chopped into chunks)

1 pepper (deseeded, chopped into chunks)

2 tins/480g cooked chickpeas

1 tin coconut milk

1 bok/ pak choi (sliced)

3 tbs fresh coriander (finely sliced)

Sea salt

Do It

In a large saucepan or frying pan, warm your oil on a high heat, add the cumin seeds. Stir, then quickly add the ginger and garlic, continue stirring. Cook for 2 minutes, then stir in your spices, followed by the tomatoes and hot water. Add 1 teas sea salt and stir. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.

Now add your cauliflower and pepper to the mix, stir and cook for 5 minutes.

Pour in you coconut milk and chickpeas, bring to boil again and cook for 5 minutes, more. Check that the cauliflower is cooked, nibble a bit.

Stir in the bok choi and fresh coriander. Cook for 2 minutes and check seasoning, adding a little more salt if your tastebuds agree.

Serve in a shallow bowl, drizzled with the coriander and lemon chutney. We added some more freshly chopped coriander and desiccated coconut, along with warm paranthas. Your favourite rice is also delicious, chopped chillies for spiciness.

All of your favourite curry accompaniments apply too.

Coconut and Lemon Chutney

The Bits – For One Small Bowlful

35g desiccated coconut

60g fresh coriander (with stems)

4 teas lemon juice

4 tbs coconut cream (from the top of a tin of coconut milk)

100ml water

1/2 teas sea salt

Do It

Place all into a decent blender. Blitz on high. Scrape down the sides and blitz again. Do this until a creamy chutney is formed. Taste and add salt as needed.

Foodie Fact

Chickpeas are a staple for most of us, so versatile; hummus, stews/ curries, makes an awesome flour (gram), roast them, add them to a cake mix, they know no limitations!!

Maybe you’re not so aware of how amazing gigglebeans are for our dear old bodies. They’re a good source of protein and fibre, a great start, this means that they’re filling. They are low GI and are a good source of vitamins and minerals; there’s iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium.

What’s not to love!!

Categories: Chutney, Curries, gluten-free, healthy, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan, Wales | Tags: curry, indian food | 5 Comments

Easy Vegan Indian Bowl – Roasted Vegetable and Coconut Curry, Black Kale Daal and Coconut Rice

Posted on October 2, 2019 by leroy watson

Beach House Kitchen Bowl!

Better than takeaway! Wayyyy better!! Made with only fresh vegetables and spices, this Indian feast is delicious, rich and healthy too. I’ve stripped down the preparation and ingredients, so this need not be a weekend treat. It’s very mid-weekable! Three recipes, served with our favourite condiments and we’re feasting vegan style!

I’m addicted to spice! Can’t live without it for long. When I travel around Italy or France, I’m always packing garam masala. We really fancied a thali today, something colourful, filled with fragrant aromas, dishes to enliven the taste buds. Plus, it’s my day off, what better way to celebrate! We were missing India (see some of our India travels here) and felt like a light and seasonal curry. Lots of it….this is our Beach House Kitchen Thali Bowl!*

Curry in the BHK front garden, where the herb garden has gone a little feral.

It happens at this time of year. The trees are all turning golden and crimson and I begin to ponder dark nights and BIG storms (we live on a mountain side). I love the drama and peace of winter, but I need colours, spice and variety to get me through. I like to get some rainbows cooking in the kitchen when the skies are grey.

We eat curries every week, sometimes even for breakfast (AM curry recipe here). I love giving local, seasonal veggies an Indian twist. I’ve used simple spices and ingredients here, like I said, this is a staple recipe, something I’d like you to find easy to cook. Add and subtract vegetables as you like, whatever is good or in your veg basket/ fridge.

Travelling India, especially in the South, is a moveable vegan’s feast. So many, coconut based options and up North, just ask to hold the ghee and you have a whole host of tantalising options, from street foods to wedding banquets, you’re gonna eat well in India as a plant-based wanderer.

Easy Vegan Curry Feast – 3 quick recipes

The essence of a good curry is fresh spices and a vibrant sauce (or gravy as they sometimes call it in India). Got to be flavourful, it’s the base for soulful and spicy things to happen in your kitchen. You’re creating something very special.

Here we make a simple tomato sauce, that can be used in a whole host of curries. We mix in coconut cream, but it can be served as it is with vegetables. We don’t blend it here, but that will make for a nice smooth sauce.

A portal to Pondicherry…..India we miss you (thanks for the spice!)

This was our lunch, so we ate it out in the garden. I love the autumn up here in Snowdonia, the sunsets are regularly spectacular and there is plenty of sunshine with a nip in the air. Ideal for walking in the mountains and along the beaches. I’ll post some pictures soon.

We’ve been preparing for winter by refining our fermentation skills, Jane is on kombucha, I’m all over sourdough and sauerkraut etc. Packing loads of colours and flavours into big jars and fermenting, it really is magic. You can see some of our Radish Bombs here, with a nice hit of lime and spices. Perfect on most things! We are always inspired by our friend Janice from Nourished by Nature, see Spicy Radish Bomb recipe here. A shining light!

These curry recipes will keep you going this autumn, straight through winter, filled with spicy, rainbow bowls.

Roasted Vegetable and Coconut Curry, all the trimmings…

Recipe Notes

The curry and daal will freeze well. Make double if you fancy, portion it up into seperate containers and you’re well ahead.

The vegetables can be played with here. No squash, carrots or pumpkin is fine. No kale, use savoy cabbage or spinach. No peppers, try courgettes or aubergines. You get the idea! Mix and match. Play. Enjoy!!

I’m not shy with oil here. It adds richness, but using less will not adversely affect these dishes at all. Stirring coconut oil into these dishes at the last minute is a nice way to finish things.

I roast and grind my own spices before cooking, especially the cumin and coriander. You can’t beat the flavour. Here’s a post about roasting and grinding your precious spices.

This is a mild, lightly spiced curry. If you like spices add more! If you like chillies, go crazy!!

Timing is everything right!

Stage one – Start with your rice, then daal, then roast your vegetables and get the sauce cooking.

Stage two – Leave a lid on the rice (keep it warm), finish off the daal with the fried spices and garlic, add your roasted vegetables to your sauce.

There will be a lot going on here, you’ll need four pans and an oven working in harmony, but that’s the buzz and excitement of cooking like this, pots bubbling away, all action. Once you’ve made these recipes a couple of times, you won’t even need the recipes. You’ll be free-styling and expressing yourselves like true curry champions!!

Do let us know if you like this recipe, or even better, if you try it out.

We love to hear from you below in the comments. Say “hello!”

I’ve also just started posting over on Instagram.

Easy Vegan Indian Feast – Roasted Vegetable and Coconut Curry, Black Kale Daal and Coconut Rice

The Bits – For 4 big eaters or 6

Coconut Rice

250ml brown basmati rice

500ml vegetable stock

1 1/2 teas cumin seeds

2/3 teas nigella/ kalongi seeds

1/2 teas mustard seeds

1/2 stick cinnamon

5 green cardamom pods (cracked)

4 tbs dessiccated coconut

1 tbs cold pressed oil/ coconut oil

1/2 teas sea salt

Black Kale Daal

250g red lentils

850ml vegetable stock

1/2 teas turmeric

125g black kale/ cavolo nero (finely sliced)

1/2 tbs cold pressed oil/ coconut oil

3 cloves garlic

2 heaped tbs chopped ginger

1 1/2 teas cumin seeds

1 teas mustard seeds

1/2-1 teas sea salt

Roasted Vegetable and Coconut Curry

2 peppers (chopped)

500g/ 1/2 large butternut squash

1 large onion

1/2-1 tbs cold pressed oil/ coconut oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Spicy Tomato Sauce

1 large onion (chopped)

5 tomatoes (chopped)

5 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

2 tbs ginger (finely chopped)

1-2 red chillies (sliced)

150g/ 2 handfuls white cabbage (sliced)

2 teas garam masala

2 teas ground cumin

1 1/2 teas ground turmeric

1 1/2 teas ground coriander

1-2 tbs cold pressed oil/ coconut oil

1 teas sea salt and black pepper

Easy to be vegan!

Do It

Rice

Wash and drain your rice several times. Add the oil to a small saucepan, heat on medium, add the seeds, stir for a 30 seconds, add the coconut, cinnamon and cardamon, stir and cook for a few minutes, until the coconut is golden and fragrant. Add the rice and stock. Stir again and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a slow simmer and pop a lid on. Leave to cook for 25-30 minutes. It will depend on your rice.

Daal

Wash and drain your lentils well. Add them to a medium sauce pan. Cover with the stock, add the turmeric and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a low simmer, pop a lid on and leave to cook for 25 minutes. Stirring a few times. Once the lentils are cooked, in a small frying pan, add the oil and heat on medium. Fry the seeds, ginger and garlic together until the garlic is golden. Add this mix to the lentils, along with the kale, season with salt and thin out the daal with hot water from a kettle if needed.

Curry

Preheat oven to 200oc. Toss you squash, peppers and onion on a baking tray with oil, salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, turning once. Get some nice colour onto the vegetables, some caramelised edges are very welcome.

While that’s happening, in a large frying pan on high heat, add your oil and cook the onions for 7 minutes, until golden. Add the garlic, chilli, ginger and spices, fry a minute, stirring. Now add the tomatoes and salt. Lower the heat and cover with a lid. Leave to cook for 8 minutes. Take the lid off, add the coconut milk and cabbage, leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and ensure the cabbage is cooked through.

Your roasted vegetables will now be ready, scrape them gently into the pan and combine well with the sauce.

You’re good to go! On a preferably warm plate/ shallow bowl, add the rice, daal and curry.

Serve topped with sliced chillies, your favourite pickles, crispy onions, radish bombs and we had coconut yoghurt.

Vegan curries all the way! Healthy and delicious, always possible!!

Foodie Fact

Every part of this curry sparkles with nutritional wonders. Because we’re only using fresh vegetables, whole grains and spices, it really is a bowl of healthy happy. Eating a balanced vegan diet, based around fresh fruit and veg is the healthiest way we can fuel ourselves, tasty too! This bowl is filled with a huge range of vitamins, minerals, iron, protein, anti-oxidants, pro-biotic goodness, good energy, good fats, good vibes! This bowl is good for your heart, your mind, your skin, your tastebuds!!

You could even add some steamed broccoli or kale for an ultimate healthy happy bowl.

*PS – A thali is a traditional plate, with loads of compartments for treats. We don’t have one. I’d like one, but I’m trying to minimise my kitchen equipment. It’s amazing what you can do with a few spoons and a pan. No gimmicks. No gadgetry. I’m getting back to the roots of cooking. Except my blender. I draw the old school line there. How do you hand-make a smoothie?

Categories: Autumn, Curries, gluten-free, healthy, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: curry, easy vegan curry, healthy recipes, india, indian food, vegan food | 2 Comments

Simple Black Bean & Pumpkin Curry

Posted on November 2, 2017 by leroy watson

We had this for breakfast! Might not be everyones bowl of morning happiness but Jane and I love curry for brekkie, a pleasant habit we picked up at train stations and little bus stops in India. We wanted the all-time classic ‘Chana Masala’, but we didn’t have chickpeas!? What’s going on there?!! I feel like I have failed our household. Still, it lead to this creation which I was so pleased with, I felt the urge to share and write and celebrate the beauty of a simple curry.

SPICY WAKE UP CALL

We were getting tired of the smoothies and bowls of nuts and fruits and things routine, we wanted some SPICE in our early, sleepy eyed life! When the grey tickles us, as it can at this time of year, we need to put some rainbow flavours and magic into our food. Spices are magic dust right?! Does any food have as much pizazz and down right tastiness as a deep and potent curry? It can enliven the senses. The sheer complexity of flavours mingling and merging, having a massive party all over your taste buds? This curry doesn’t have to be eaten for brekkie, but do let us know if you try. Ditch the fry up this Sunday AM and get spicy!!

I’ve been to India many times, it has become my second home. I love living a life of contrasts, living on a hill in middle of nowhere, slightly mossy, Wales, straight to the honking depths of down town Delhi, thats my kind of contrast. Mix things up. Keep things vibrant and interesting. For me, India is the country with everything going on within its borders, travel there is rich. I know I go on about the food all the time, but, it is incredible. Consistently. Mind boggling in variety. Like I’ve died and gone to a Dhaba.

HIDDEN TREASURES (AND PICKLES)

If you’re looking for the best spices and Indian/ Pakistani/ Bangladeshi/ Nepalese etc ingredients, I recommend a regular visit to your local Asian shop/ supermarket. It’s where all the best ingredients will be hiding and normally for very reasonable prices. I find them a perfect location for spice worship. Eastern cooking treasure troves, designed for real food lovers to disappear into for days, reappearing with carfull’s of fantastic ingredients, pickles and inspiration.

I say, take the afternoon off and have a good luck around, ask for help and guidance. For me they’re like a flavour library for a cook, sifting through the ingredients and always finding something new and interesting to take home and play with in the kitchen.

The curry powder we used here was recommended to us by an Indian man in one of my favourite Asian supermarkets in Newcastle. He wasn’t wrong, its brilliant, fiery and fragrant. Curry powder has a bit of a bad name, but its just the same as any spice mix like bharat, ras el hanout etc. If you buy a decent one, it works well. Of course, making your own is the holy grail of any spice enthusiast. But having the time and means to do that can be a challenge. This is a quick dish, so lets keep it simple.

This is no traditional curry, but its not far off. I’ve made this curry super easy for you, I’d love you to cook and enjoy it! With only two spice mixes, garam masala and curry powder, which most of you will have knocking about in your cupboards and a quick cooking time.

If you don’t have the spice mixes, just try making your own up using things like turmeric, cumin and coriander for the curry mix, adding a little cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom for the garam masala. Could be a very nice experiment! I add red lentils to thicken the sauce up and make things hearty and substantial. I used pumpkin, because its their ultra orange time of year, but use any vegetables you like here and a nice idea is stirring some greens in just before serving, a couple of handfuls of spinach leaves is cool.

In Nirvana, this is breakfast!

Recipe Notes

I like the curry quite thin, more a thick daal than a chunky curry. Better for dipping warm chappatis into! The lentils will just keep sucking up the water, so just keep some warm water handy when cooking, preferably a recently boiled kettle (easier) and top up the water as you fancy.

Mash it up!! Your garlic and ginger and chilli as best you can, blending them or whacking them in a pestle and mortar is best. Releasing all their vibrant potential.

Leaving the curry to cool slighty, let it sit for 10 minutes with a lid on, will help the flavours to mix and mingle, get deep and meaningful.

I’ve gone easy on the chillies because Jane is anti-chilli, but you go wild if you like!

The lemon and coriander to finish are extras, but the lemon especially, will add a lovely citrus twist to the generally sweet curry, it also seems to re-vitalise the spices a little, bring the flavours to some kind of glorious crescendo!!!! Swadishtx

The chickpea chapatis in the photos are made by whisking some gram flour, water and salt together, until a double cream texture forms, and frying in a little oil. Simple, gluten-free, healthy, tasty…….

—————–

Simple Black Bean & Pumpkin Curry
The Bits – For 2

1 small onion (sliced)
1/2 tbs cooking oil

3 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)
1 inch ginger – roughly 1 heaped tbs (finely grated)
1/2-1 green chilli (finely diced)

250g black beans
75g red lentil – 1 big handful (washed)

200g squash/ pumpkin – 2 handfuls (diced)
300ml hot water
2 tomatoes (chopped and mashed)
1 heaped tbs tomato puree
1 teas salt
1 1/2 tbs curry powder

1 heaped tbs garam masala

Roughly 2 teas lemon juice

Handful chopped coriander (optional one for the coriander lovers out there)

Do It

In a large sauce pan, fry the onions until they are texture like sun (golden brown), then stir in your garlic, ginger and chilli, stir and fry for a minute and then add the lentils, beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, curry powder, squash, water and stir together. Bring to a boil.

Cook on a fast simmer for 10 minutes with a lid on, stirring occasionally to stop the lentils sticking to the bottom. Add your garam masala and cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in a little more water if its getting too thick.

Once the squash is nice and soft, stir in the lemon juice, check seasoning and serve. If you like coriander, sprinkle some chopped coriander over the dish. I like it with warm chapatis or chickpea chapatis, dip them in and enjoy! I also served it with some green mango pickle. One of my favs.

Foodie Fact

Pumpkin is full, full of good things. Especially this time of year when they’re bang on seasonal and hopefully quite local. Very orange, means goodness. Lots of vitamin A, one cup contains 200% of your daily need. You’ll be seeing in the dark in no time. It’s got loads of fibre and pumpkin is also said to keep our skin shining. Bananas are famous potassium sources, but pumpkin actually has considerably higher levels of potassium than bananas. Vitamin C, also in the mix somewhere, they’re just one of the best things we can eat at this time of year and throughout winter. Superstars!!

PS – Please don’t throw away the seeds, clean them off and roast them for a while in an oven. You will not regret the slightly time consuming picking orange gloop off them.

Categories: Autumn, Curries, Dinner, gluten-free, healthy, Nutrition, Organic, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: curry, india, recipe | 3 Comments

Quick Carrot and Ginger Pickle plus Five Health Benefits of Ginger

Posted on February 27, 2016 by leroy watson

Quick and easy - Carrot and Ginger Pickle

This is the perfect accompaniment to your Saturday night curry feast! Curry makes any weekend extra special.

I like shop bought pickles, it’s generally what you eat in restaurants in India. Although the very best pickles I’ve ever eaten have been home made (no surprises there then!) Mango, lime and mixed pickles are my favs but I had a few nice carrots in the kitchen, so I thought I’d give this a go. The spice combination and method can be used for most firm, sweet veggies, pumpkin or squash for example also work very well. This is very much a milder pickle don’t expect that eye-popping and taste bud tickling saltiness. Its mellow like a mango pickle with spicy bells on with a nice sweet and sour chilli-ness.

The drawback of most shop bought pickles is the salt. In India I have noticed pickles are used sparingly, a couple of teaspoons per meal. In Britain, I think we can overdo it sometimes and all that salt is just not cool. The lovely thing about taking a wholefood approach, making an effort to cook much of your food at home, is that you know whats going into your dishes. We can moderate the sugar and salt levels here accordingly.

FIVE HEALTH BENEFITS OF GINGER
Really ginger is more like a medicine than a food! It is just so good for us. Some people get a little freaked out when I start talking about the health properties of food, but I can’t help myself!! I love to know that the food I enjoy is actually doing me some good, not just tasting amazing, but filling me with nutrition and vitality. Healthy food is not the worthy, boring grey slop of old, its the bright and very tasty future for us all!

Anti-oxidant – Ginger contains a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory called gingerol. It is one of the natural oils in ginger which gives it such a powerful aroma. Ginger may also help to prevent cancer and helps to fight infections.
Helps Nausea – Many people use ginger to treat nausea like morning sickness and sea sickness.
Lowers Cholesterol – Ginger has been shown in many studies to reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol and has even been shown to lower blood sugar levels.
Helps the brain – Studies show that ginger can help to prevent age-related damage to the brain and improve brain function in elderly people.
Can help to treat chronic indigestion and pre-menstrual aches – Food containing ginger leave the stomach quicker, beneficial for people who suffer from indigestion. It may also help reduce pre-menstrual pains if taken at the start of the menstrual cycle. It has shown to be as effective as taking drugs like Ibuprofen.

Ginger is most certainly one of those foods worthy of the ‘superfood’ name!

Back to pickle. Enjoy this tangy, spicy pickle with flat breads and of course, a curry or two for company. It also goes down well in sandwiches and I even like it on toast in the morning. Remember, I also eat chillies for breakfast on occasion. I understand that it’s a slightly more intense affair than strawberry jam.

The Bits – Makes 1 jar or serves 4-6

450g carrot (peeled and cut thin half moons – slice anyway you like really as long as its thin)

1 onion (finely sliced)

3 tbs ginger (finely sliced or grated)

3 tbsp oil

½ tsp fenugreek seeds

1 1/2 teas cumin seeds

1 teas coriander seeds (the smaller ones are best)

5 whole dried red chillies (cut in half length ways – more if you love chilli)

1 ½ tsp turmeric

2 tsp salt

5 tbsp unrefined sugar

1/2 lemon (juice)

Do It

If you are jarring the pickle and looking to preserve it for a while, sterilise the jars by either boil the jar and lid in a pan of water or bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Add the oil to a large saucepan on medium heat and when hot pop in the fenugreek, cumin seeds and dried chillies. Fry until they pop, a minute or less, then add the carrot, onion and ginger, fry for five minutes.

Add the salt and turmeric, stir and lower heat, cover the pan and leave to cook until the carrot is soft, 20 minutes. Add the sugar and lemon juice stir, warm through for a minute and then leave to cool.

This pickle can be enjoyed once cooled or preserved for later tasty times. It will keep nicely in a sealed container for three days.

Serve

With your favourite curry or like I said, good on toast!

Foodie Fact

See above – we’ve got ginger covered.

We've been loving the winter sunshine down on the beach.

Categories: Chutney, gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, photography, Recipes, Side Dish, Superfoods, Vegan, Wales | Tags: curry, health, india, pickle, recipe | 2 Comments

Aviyal – Keralan Coconut & Vegetable Curry with Watermelon & Pineapple Salad

Posted on July 29, 2015 by leroy watson

Aviyal – Keralan Coconut and Vegetable Curry with Pineapple and Watermelon Salad

A simple, light summer curry with all the joys and sparkling nutrition of coconut and seasonal vegetables. This is a recipe straight outta Peace & Parsnips and was recently featured online here in Reveal Magazine. Recipes like this are a wonderful reminder for me of special times spent travelling and cooking in India. Kerala is surely one of the most beautiful corners of the planet and its food is surprisingly vegan friendly, diverse and really healthy.

This is a recipe I learnt from my friend Narendra on the patio of a wooden hut in a yoga retreat, rural Tamil Nadu. Although this is (probably) a traditional Keralan style curry, they love it in neighbouring Tamil Nadu also. I had been eating it regularly in India and was so pleased when Narendra took the time to sit down with me and finally get a recipe on paper. He taught me his families traditional recipe, from the ancient temple town of Madurai, and it was pleasing simple. Like many Indian family staples, the difference is in the freshness of the ingredients; the vegetables and the spices. Most Indian households will have what I call a ‘Sabji’ (Vegetable) man. Just like a milk man in the UK, he wanders the streets in the mornings selling his wares from a cart, shouting up to the windows of house wives what’s good , freshest and of course, on special offer! Fresh vegetables are everywhere in India and veg markets are frequent and always interesting to wander around and pick up some funky looking spice or odd looking root (maybe a mooli or two?).

The beaches of North Kerala are stunning! Kannur

Although this is a simple recipe, cooked most days in Keralan homes, it adapts well to the changing seasons in most countries. Any variety of vegetables can be used in its preparation and Aviyal lends itself perfectly to British/ European veg. In fact, Narendra’s grandmother used to call things like carrots ‘British veg’ as they we only grown and popularised in the time of the Raj, when much of Indian cooking as we know it was altered and influenced by British tastes.

The ladies at Varnam Homestay, Wayanand, Kerala - Lunch prep in full swing

The women Varnam Homestay, Wayanand, Kerala – Lunch prep in full swing

I was lucky to cook in a beautiful kitchen near Wayanad National Park, Northern Kerala with some amazing ladies. Here I learnt some proper Keralan classics and top tips that you can only learn by actually getting your hands on the pots and pans. I loved the way that they used very roasted coconut to add depth and flavour to sauces, especially when used with piles of freshly grated ginger. I also loved cooking with a wide range of local produce, all of their dishes contained only ingredients from their own land. Spices and all! They even grew their own coffee and we were inundated each day with fresh exotic fruits, many of which I’d never seen before. Mangoes grew above the hammocks in the garden, guavas, green figs, coconuts, plantains……you can imagine, it was a bit like eden/ nirvana!

Cooking at Varnam Homestay, Kerala

Aviyal is such a healthy, light dish, nothing like the rich and fiery curries of the much of North India. Coconut is king in the south, making travelling around South India a foodie paradise for vegans. Its up there with places like Thailand or parts of the Med for traditional vegan dishes. Anywhere that the vegetable or coconut thrives, you find brilliant vegan dishes. Vegan food is so creative and evolving all the time, but it is nice to find dishes on my travels that reflect a cultures heritage and history. We’ve always eaten and enjoyed vegan dishes, we just don’t necessarily give them that name (which, for whatever reason, can put some people off).

Indian spices, down at the market

The Bits – For 4
For the curry
•2-3 fresh green chillies
•2 big handfuls of freshly grated or desiccated coconut
•2tsp cumin seeds
•220ml coconut milk or unsweetened soya yogurt
•2 large carrots, scrubbed
•2 large potatoes, scrubbed
•1 large courgette
•6 fat asparagus spears
•2 green plantains, peeled
•200ml water
•1tsp ground turmeric
•1tsp of sea salt
•1 big handful of mangetout or green beans
•2tbsp coconut oil
•2tsp mustard seeds
•3tbsp curry leaves
For the pineapple & watermelon salad
•A small pineapple
•One third of a small watermelon (don’t bother deseeding)
•1 large cucumber
•1 small handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
•A pinch of sea salt
•A large pinch of chaat masala mix or black salt (optional)

Do It
In a pestle and mortar or a food processor, blend together the chillies, coconut and cumin seeds (if you’re using desiccated coconut, add 2tbsp of the coconut milk to make a thick paste). This is best done in advance and can be left overnight in the fridge to develop zing.

Cut the carrots, potatoes, courgette, asparagus and plantains into 2.5cm pieces. Heat the water in a large pan and add the turmeric, salt, carrots and potatoes. Bring to a steady boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and pop a lid on the pan. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the courgettes and plantains and cook for 10 minutes more, keeping the lid on.

Add the coconut paste to the curry with the coconut milk or yogurt and stir carefully to combine. Cook uncovered for 8-10 mins on a gentle simmer. Check that the carrots and potatoes are tender, then add the asparagus and mangetout and remove the pan from the heat. Cover, set aside for a few minutes.

Jane and I in the Yoga Retreat, Tamil Nadu

Serve

Really simply, with steamed rice. Keralans love their rice! A crunchy salad is great as a side, exotic fruits work well here with Aviyal. This is how they served it in the Yoga Ashram (where the food was excellent).

Foodie Fact

Coconuts are wonderfully healthy, containing high levels of Lauric Acid which is anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-bacteria. They also have the highest level of electrolytes known to man, making them perfect when exercising or when dehydrated. In some parts of the world it is even used intravenously for the purpose of re-hydration. Coconut can boost our metabolism and make our skin shine.

A Keralan sunset, Kannur

Categories: Curries, Healthy Eating, Peace and Parsnips, Recipes, Salads, Summer, Travel | Tags: Aviyal, curry, india, kerala, recipe, vegan, yoga | 2 Comments

Vegan Baingan Bharta (Minced Aubergine Curry)

Posted on May 30, 2015 by leroy watson

This curry is perfect for a Saturday curry festival. I love BB, its surely one of my favourite Indian dishes and is always a delight. This is one of those recipes that I will surely be cooking for the rest of my days. When we look at Indian recipes, they can look a bit long, but most of the ingredients are spices and when you break it down, this is a very straightforward recipe and packed with gorgeous smoky flavours.

Baingan Bharta is eaten all over India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Its like an Indian version of Babaganoush (or is Babaganoush a Mediterranean version of BB?). There are many variations, they use plenty of mustard oil in West Bengal of course and it is eaten in many parts of the sub-continent at weddings. Brinjals (Aubergine) in India normally come in quite a small size, but its alot easier and convenient in Europe to use the larger varieties of aubs for this dish, more delightful aubergine flesh and less skin to deal with. You can imagine that traditionally, a warm flatbread is the best accompaniment to this dish.

IS IT A DIP?

Some would call BB a dip, but I cannot get to grips with the word dip. Especially for something so majestically tasty as BB or Babaganoush. I always think of a supermarket bought ’90’s style dip medley’ (those four shades of dodgy dips that come in plastic trays) and these dishes are light years away from that kind of fare. BB has serious heritage and is a feast in puree form.

Because aubergine breaks down so much when cooked, this seems like one (only one I may add) of the finest ways of treating an aubergine. In Turkey they do amazing things to aubergines and its known as the ‘Sultan’ of vegetables. In Wales we’ll call it the ‘Tribe Leader’ of vegetables! I made a version of Babaganoush a couple of days ago and will post it somewhere soon. You can never have too much aubergine on one blog! Impossible!!

COOKING TIPS

I like to caramelise the aubergine in the pan, making it stick to the bottom a little. A crust will form, this is fine and adds to the richness and depth to the sauce. Just make sure that it doesn’t burn too much! As with so many recipes, the pan scrapings are the best bits for making sauces/ gravy, basically concentrated flavours.

Traditionally Baingan Bharta is made a little like Babaganoush in that the aubergines are cooked over open flames. Unfortunately, in the Beach House Kitchen we have an electric hob. No open flames, so this technique is a decent option and more straightforward. It also means that you get the benefits of all the goodness found in aubergine skins.

If you are getting a BBQ going this summer, I cannot recommend smoking a load of aubergines highly enough. The flavour is wonderful and you can always freeze any excess aubs. This gives you the base ingredient to make either of these delicious vegan dishes. I mentioned on twitter recently that there is nothing as decadent as a well roasted aubergine and a few of you commented that you can probably think of a few things slightly more decadent. This is probably true! But aubergines to me are a sensational veg, especially for a vegan. They have so many qualities, a wonderful vegetal creaminess and when mixed with something rich like olive oil or tahini, for example, I’ve got one foot in Nirvana.

G.M. CROPS IN INDIA

Genetically Modified (G.M.) crops are becoming a huge problem in India as large multi-national agriculture businesses, with a myriad affiliates and branches, try to introduce GM crops to India. There are many people fighting against this unnatural invasion, one of the main spokesperson in Vandana Shiva. In 2011 to protest against the introduction of GM Brinjal (Aubergine) into India, the Meridien Hotel and Greenpeace volunteers in Delhi cooked a world record 342 kilograms of organic aubergine and presented a portion of the dish to the president at the time, Manmohan Singh. A very tasty protest!

A RADIANT DAY ON THE HILL

Its a lovely day up here on Tiger Hill and Jane is facilitating a Woman’s Workshop, so I am home alone. Jane has been working really hard on her new website this week, Womans Wheel. It looks beautiful! I’m off for a walk up ‘Myndd Mawr‘ (Big Mountain, also called Elephant mountain because it looks like a massive sleeping Elephant or ‘Yr Eliffat’) and will then plant Percy, our new Snowdon Pear Tree in the garden. We’ve picked a nice sunny spot for him. I’m also making tofu today and am seeking a nice firm tofu texture. I’m going for a different salt to coagulate the beans and hopefully this will help. Homemade tofu is really easy and cost effective, I’ll post the recipe soon. Anyone got any top tips for homemade tofu?

Jane at the base of Snowdon with Mynydd Mawr in the background

JO POTT SUPPER CLUB

We had a delicious meal at Jo Pott’s last night. Each month Jo puts on a fantastic five course menu, served in a very cosy and stylish attic space above her cafe in the Kiffin area of Bangor. Last night, the theme was South Asia and we enjoyed all kinds of traditional delicacies with a twist. I loved the Aduki, rice and ginger balls and I think Jane was quite taken with the Watermelon and Vodka crush (which I ate half of because Jane was driving). The Lentil Cakes in Citrus Broth was also really interesting. Jo’s food is always creative and looks beautiful. Jo does this every month and the fact that Jane and I could sit down to a 5 course vegan meal in a beautiful space was a real treat. Nice one Jo!

The Bits – For 2

2 large aubergines (cut into chunky batons)

4 medium tomatoes (roughly diced)

4 cloves garlic

3 cm fresh ginger (finely chopped)

1 medium onion (finely sliced)

Spices

1 teas mustard seeds

2 1/2 teas ground cumin seeds (1 teas ground)

3 teas coriander seeds (1 ½ teas ground)

1 teas turmeric

2 teas sweet paprika

1 chilli (finely diced or 1/3 teas chilli powder)

1/2 teas asafoetida

1 -2 teas sea salt

3 tbs oil

125ml water

Garnish

Fresh coriander (or sprouted lentils as we used)

Do It

On a medium heat, add your coriander seeds to a pan, toast for two minutes and then add your cumin seeds and toast for one more minute, until fragrant and slightly brown. Bash up well in pestle and mortar. Use ground spices if you’re in a hurry.

In the same pan, add 2 tbs of cooking oil on a medium high heat and fry the aubergines. Stir/ toss them regularly and add 1 teas salt. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until nicely soft and well caramelised. They will stick to the bottom a bit, but this is perfect. That crust equals deep flavour. Set the aubs aside and cover with a plate.

Now put the pan back on the heat and add your tomatoes to the remaining oil on a high heat, stir them well and try to scrape up the aubergine crust to combine with the tomatoes. Fry for around 5 minutes. Set aside and cover.

Wipe out the pan and add 1 tbs of oil and on a medium heat, fry your mustard seeds for 30 seconds, they will pop a little, then add your onions and lower heat slightly. Cook the onions until they are becoming golden, 8 minutes, then add your garlic, chilli and ginger, cook for three minutes, then your spices hit the pan, stir them well, not allowing the spices to stick to the bottom, add 1 tbs of water if this happens. Saute for two minutes and then add your tomatoes, aubergine and 125 ml water and cover cook on a fast simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Serve

We love it with fresh, homemade super simple chapattis (recipe here). They are really easy once you get into a flow. We also love Baingan Bharta with pulao and pickles, or with daal, why not go the whole shebang and get a Indian feast together, Beetroot Raita and all. It is Saturday night almost after all!

Foodie Fact

Aubergine is just one of those veggies that has it all, good lucks, charisma, tastiness, and dashing nutritional properties. I love all veggies and when I learn about their nutritional benefits to body and mind, I get even more excited.

Aubergine has loads of dietary fibre, which is amazing for the digestive system and is one of the most important factors in detoxifying our body. Vitamins are important, fibre equally so.

Aub is a nightshade, like tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. Called ‘eggplant’ in many parts of the world, I think the coolest type of aubergine is surely the ‘graffiti’ aubergine, with its purple, speckled skin.

Aubergine is a good source of B1 and B6, potassium, copper and magnesium.

Categories: Curries, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, photography, Recipes, Vegan, Wales | Tags: curry, food, GM crops, india, snowdonia, vegetarian | Leave a comment

Creamy Peanut and Sweet Potato Curry

Posted on May 24, 2015 by leroy watson

Creamy Peanut Curry with Sweet Potatoes (Vegan)

This is not a fussy thing! Not a gram (or lentil) of stress, just lots of spicy and sweet creaminess……the perfect dish to end Vegetarian Week. Twitter takes up a lot of time! I’ve been tweeting like a nutter this morning but its great to come back to the BHK. Blog-ville!

Here is last nights dinner which worked out a treat. Creamy and sweet with a hint of nuttiness and plenty of spice this is pure plant and packed with things to make you shine and go MMmmmmmmm……. This is a chunky curry, all made in the one pan for ease of preparation. We like to keep things whole food and don’t think this means loads or extra prep or time over the hob. There is no separate masala sauce making here, we just dive straight in and get maximum flavour and richness from the soya milk and peanut butter.

Jane and I celebrated my birthday on the beach and in the garden yesterday. A little belated as I’ve been busy promoting ‘Peace and Parsnips’ down in London and working at the Trig. We quaffed a nice bottle of Sancerre and watched the sun slowly set from a rug near our stone circle (quite a cool feature of our garden!) Pretty idyllic behaviour! Our garden is looking wild and verdant at the minute, alive with the hum of big busy bumble bees. You have to wait ages for a sunset at this time of year, we gave up at 9:30pm and retreated into the Beach House. I mention in the recipe that we like our veggies with a little crunch and must say that the pictures of the curry were taken alot later in the evening when the curry had sat and carried on cooking. They were well cooked by that stage (a bottle of wine can have a bizarre effect on cooking).

The Beach House Garden - Waiting for sunset

NATURAL HEALING

Later we watched an interesting documentary ‘Sacred Science‘ about natural plant healing, straight from the shamans of the Amazon. There is so much healing potential in the plant world, most of which we are unaware of. This documentary opened our eyes to the potency of the natural world to heal even serious or terminal illness; cancer, parkinsons, diabetes etc. The Amazon is tragically disappearing for a number of reasons, one of the main ones being deforestation for the growing of soya beans to fatten cattle for humans to consume. Cutting out meat and dairy will have a hugely positive effect on the Amazon, safeguarding the plants that will one day, no doubt, be used more widely to cure illnesses that presently can only be treated with powerful chemical drugs with many side effects.

A WORD ON WELSH WEATHER

(Always an interesting conversation in North Wales. We had hail stones the other day like ping pong balls. It sounded like the world was being pummelled with marbles!) Its been chilly up here in North Wales and the plants are taking it slowly this year. Basically, not growing. We are about to put our crop of seedlings out into the veg patch, but if things don’t get alot drier and sunnier, we fear stunted beetroots and shy cabbages. Come on SUN! Trigonos (is our local organic/ biodynamic veggie farm) is growing a load of veggies this year and hopefully soon we’ll have some local seasonal veggies to play with. At the minute we are turning to things like sweet potato regularly, primarily because they are one of the most nutritious (see ‘Foodie Fact’ below) and delicious things that could ever pass your hungry lips.

ULTIMATE SPINACH!

Jane makes me a mix CD for my birthday every year, last year we had the magnificence of ‘Wild Honeypie’ which contained alot of tracks from the awesome snowboarding movie ‘Valhalla‘. This years offering is ‘Hazy Daze’ and I’ve popped a couple of the tunes at the bottom of this post. To give you an idea of what we’re grooving to when peeling our radiant orange spuds. Its fair to say that ‘Ultimate Spinach’ are our new favourite band for so many reasons.

So, a simple curry which we hope you make with big smiles and eat with loved ones and laughterXXXXxx

Jane getting out little birthday picnic ready

The Bits – For 4

850g sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped into 2 inch chunks)

1 large onion (sliced)

1 large pepper (deseeded and cut into 2 inch chunks)

1 large courgette

2 large tomatoes (roughly diced)

1 chilli (finely diced) or 1/2 teas chilli flakes

2 inches ginger (roughly grated)

250ml soya milk

2-3 tbs smooth peanut butter

1 tbs vegetable oil

1 teas sea salt

Spices

2 teas cumin seeds

1 1/2 teas mustard seeds

1 teas fenugreek seeds

1 teas ground turmeric

2 teas ground coriander

1/2 teas ground cardamom or 4 cardamom pods

Do It

In a large frying pan, warm the vegetable oil and add the spice seeds (only). Leave them to fry and pop for 30 seconds and then add the onion. Stir well and add 1 tbs of water if the pan is getting too hot. This helps to prevent the spices from sticking and potentially burning. Fry and stir for 5 minutes, when the onions are golden, add the ginger, chilli and sweet potatoes and cook for another 3 minutes. Making sure you stir regularly.

Now add the ground spices to the pan, stir well and add the tomatoes with 2 tbs water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Now add the soya milk, courgettes and pepper, turn the heat up a little and bring the curry to a boil. Lower the heat and cover and cook for roughly 5-7 minutes, until the courgettes are soft with some crunch still. If you plan on serving the curry later, cook only for a few minutes, the veggies will cook through when you come to re-heating the curry.

Just before serving, stir in the peanut butter. If you really like peanuts, go for 3 tbs, 2 tbs will give a light, nuttiness.

Serve

Would be lovely with some freshly chopped coriander, brown rice and all your favourite curry accompaniments. A spiced chutney of some sort will be magnificent! To add even more nutrition by adding a few handfuls of spinach to the finished curry and stirring them in.

Creamy Peanut Curry with Sweet Potato (Vegan)

Foodie Fact

Sweet potato is one of our favourite ingredients. Its such a treat in so many ways, just roasted in its jacket is something sublime. Sweet potato (also called Yam) is grown all over the world, there are actually over 200 varieties. The insides of these potatoes can be purple, cream, yellow, pink, white…. They are originally from Central and South America, one of the oldest foods known to man, nowadays the worlds largest producer is China. Sweet potato is one of the finest sources of beta-carotene, raising our Vitamin A levels. Eating sweet potatoes with a little fat, i.e. the vegetable oil in this recipe, helps the body absorb the beta-carotene. These vivid tubers also contain lots of Vitamin C and Manganese.

Categories: Curries, Healthy Eating, Music, Nutrition, photography, Recipes | Tags: curry, india, peanut, sweet potato, twitter, vegan, vegetarian, wales | 3 Comments

Sweet Potato and Spinach Thoran (Keralan Stir Fry)

Posted on April 2, 2015 by leroy watson

Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Thoran

Do not be put off by the long list of ingredients, this is Indian cooking in a flash! Thoran is like a South Indian stir fry, very quick to get together and whip up. Its one of those dishes that easily slots into the ‘staples’ category of your recipe repertoire. Small efforts are rewarded with massive and delightful flavours. Definitely our way of doing things.

The ingredients for this have been adapted to Wales, a subtle change from steaming, tropical Kerala. I’ve still gone for some non-native ingredients, pepper and sweet potato, but swede and parsnips just don’t seem to fit the bill (although I did use them for a soup – coming soon……)

Thoran is what the Indians would call a ‘dry’ side dish, normally served with a saucy curry (like Sambar) and rice, some coconut chutney would finish things off like a tropical Keralan dream. Thoran is cooked especially well in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and this part of the world is a vegans heaven. There are very few dishes which are reliant on ghee (clarified butter) that dominates the cooking of North India. In the south its all about the coconut and sometimes, if you’re lucky, the odd cashew. The food is lighter and seems fresher, without the reliance on uber rich, spicy sauces (which I might add are extremely delicious).

Thoran is an essential part of a Sadya, which is basically a very elaborate South Indian Thali, normally served on a banana leaf (if you’re in the right joint) at festival times. Sadya showcases the depth and diversity of Indian cuisine, the way for centuries it has been designed and modified to tantalise all of the tastebuds and senses. Sadya will have dry curries, saucy curries, fluffy rice, crispy papads (poppadoms), sour chutneys, creamy/ herb based chutneys, smokey chutneys, banana chips, spicy pickles and normally a tamarind based soup (Rasam) to aid digestion of all of this. In fact, a full on Sadhya served at a big festival can consist of around 28 dishes (some even go up to 60!) I would have to say that to get the most flavour from your Keralan food, it has to be eaten with (well washed) hands. Roll up your sleeves and dive in. A Sadya sounds like an elaborate feast but its actually quite a normal meal, inexpensive and versions of it are served in modest restaurants all over Kerala. I think we normally paid around one pound for an all you can eat Sadya. Yes ONE POUND for all that deliciousness! Welcome to India! The dishes all come out in a specific order and a nice gentleman will come over and just keep spooning things onto your welcoming leaf. It is quite a complicated process, but when you’re the recipient, you just scoop away and smile.

Trying to help, learning loads…..

I have just got back from the Mother land and while I was there stayed in some amazing homestays. I spent the first six weeks travelling from Delhi to Kerala with my Dad (see out blog ‘The Jalebi Express‘) and then we met Jane in Delhi and Jane and I travelled the Himalayas and spent time with the Tibetans up in Mcleod Ganj. Homestays are not normal in India, they vary greatly, some are just like hotels although many hotels in India can soon become something like a homestay. If you hang around for a while, you are bound to get to know all the people that work there. More so than in other countries. Even in the heart of Delhi, I now know all the people who work in my favourite hotels, restaurants, shops and chai stands.

Whilst travelling around the spectacular North of Kerala we stayed at Varnam Homestay, just outside Wayanad National Park. There, I had the pleasure of cooking with Beena (our host) and her amazing team of lady helpers. Wayanad is tucked away in the northern tip of Kerala and is a stunning area, the flora and fauna are dense and spectacular; wild elephants and tigers roam the land and the people are gentle and very hospitable. The way of life hardly wavers above a gentle amble. Beena and Varghese our gracious hosts were amazing and could not have made Dad and I more welcome. When I mentioned my passion for food and cooking they immediately roped me in to helping out with the next days lunch and dinner prep. I learnt so much and was amazed to see their chopping skills. You pull a plastic sheath over your index finger and use it as a mid-air chopping board. The knives are sharp and occasionally you end up cutting through the flimsy guard. Once the blood is stemmed, you carry on with a new colourful finger guard. This of course never happens to the ladies.

The Varnam ladies get busy

We prepared many dishes, but the Plantain Thoran was one of the highlights, cooked over a wood flame stove with minimal fuss. We also made a Keralan classic sauce, with highly roasted coconut and ginger as a base. A very unique flavour and something I will be cooking very soon (I forgot the name, it may be called Inchi Curry – see here for a recipe). Once i find a good supply of coconuts up here, our kitchen is heading towards Kerala again.

Varnam Homestay was set in some impressive farmland and forests. The little huts are raised on stilts to ensure the farmers have somewhere to go when a tiger wanders by

Varnam Homestay is set in some impressive farmland and forests. The little huts are raised on stilts to ensure the farmers have somewhere to go when a tiger wanders by

Varnam Homestay is set in acres of its own land and we were served only ingredients that grew on their land, that included the rice, coffee, all the sensational fruits and vegetables and even milk (they had a few cows roaming behind the kitchen). The family were so friendly and warm, Dad and I stayed an extra two days, mainly exploring the locals hills and testing out the hammocks for comfort and durability. They all seemed to work well. We also saw a tigers footprint, which looked fresh, but I am no expert. It sounds like I’m belittling the whole experience but the food was a highlight and to be served only homegrown, was a rare and highly tasty treat. Another wonderful aspect was the other guests, not something you can say in every hotel. They were such a good bunch from all around the world, we ate together on a large table and during the delicious meals, very quickly became friends. I think eating is the best way to meet new people, we all relax over a good curry!

Varnam’s Plantain Thoran

Indian food is mind boggling at times and can be complex, but that’s why I like Thoran, its cheap and quick. The other wonderful thing about a dish like Thoran is it is there to use up any seasonal produce. In Kerala for example plantains are a regular ingredient, as well as bitter gourd, yucca, yardlong beans, giant arums, red cheera and several different types of flowers. Even banana flowers make a mean Thoran. In Britain, you can opt for potato, green beans, carrots, I’d even go for asparagus.

Thoran is quick to cook and so easy to get together

The Bits – For 4 (as a side dish)
2 tbs coconut oil
400g sweet potato – or 1 big one (peeled)
1 onion (peeled)
1 large red pepper (deseeded)
(all finely diced)
4 large handfuls spinach leaves
1 teas mustard seeds
1 teas cumin seeds
1 handful curry leaves
2 dried chillies (cut down the middle lengthways)
2 tbs grated ginger
1 tbs turmeric
75ml water

Finish with……
1 massive handful grated fresh coconut (or desiccated coconut will do)
1 large chilli (finely sliced)
1 handful fresh coriander (finely chopped)

Do It

Thoran cooks quickly, so best have all your ingredients to hand and prepared. Stay with the pan for most of the cooking time, stirring gently with a non-metal spoon or spatula. I love this kind of cooking, its exciting!

In a large, heavy frying pan, preferably with a chunky bottom, warm your coco oil on high heat. Add the dried chillies, mustard seeds, when the seeds pop a little add the curry leaves. Fry for a minute and then add your sweet potato, onion and peppers, stir. After a couple of minutes, add the ginger and turmeric and a little water if things begin to stick to the bottom. Fry for a couple of minutes and then scatter the spinach on top and cover the pan with a lid. Lower the heat a touch, leave to cook for five minutes.

Check that the sweet potato is softened, then stir in the grated coconut, fresh coriander and chillies. Reserving a little of these for a final flourish.

Serve

Spoon into a preferably warm and striking serving dish and sprinkle on your ‘final flourish’ ingredients. Munch with relish and dream of swaying palms and endless rivers of mango juice. Check out those vibrant flavours!!

Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Thoran

Foodie Fact

Sweet potato is packed with beta-carotenes. In fact it is one of natures best sources of Vitamin A. They also boast plenty of vitamin C. Although SP’s are a starchy root veg, they actually help to maintain and regulated our blood sugar levels, mainly due to their high levels of dietary fibre.

One of the local residents, who was friendlier than he looked

Categories: Curries, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Travel | Tags: cooking, curry, easy, food, india, kerala, nutrition, travel, vegan, vegetarian | 1 Comment

We’re Back! and India Holiday Snaps

Posted on June 4, 2014 by leroy watson

Under the Big Tree – Sivananda Ashram Madurai, 3/14

We’re back! In two pieces; older, wiser and hairier!

North Wales is shining; bee buzzing, flowers swaying, sheep baaaaaa-ing. This is definitetly the home of the B.H.K. Writing the blog from distant shores just seems a little strange, the creative culinary juices just aren’t flowing as deeply as when we’re hanging out up here with the heather.

This blog is such a big part of our life in Wales, so we’re back and ready to get stuck into good mountain living, with some gorgeous nibbles along the way……

There seems far too much water under the bridge to begin to catch up on the last 6 months. I decided to post a few travel pics to get us warmed up and reacquainted again.

I have been busy (even when travelling!) working on another food-related project which I am superbly excited about. More to follow on this soon. (Hopefully that is a decent enough excuse for not posting any news or recipes for a ridiculous length of time.)

Back in the lovely little Beach House, the fire is roaring (in June) and we are both full tilt and ready to get the garden blooming and the hob fully loaded with plenty of wonderful fruit and veggie action and no doubt some pictures of Buster the cat (who came back on our first morning back in the house, it seems we are linked with the little grey furball!).

Jane getting to grips with an onion – Udaipur, 2/14

Very brief catch up of our antics :
– We have been distant for the last 6 months, in Spain and India, spending time in the Himalayas and on a variety of beaches; cooked vegan food on farms, ate papaya straight from the tree, visited many huge desert forts and palaces, lived in huts and buses, hung out with warm tribal folk, learned to count to 10 in Hindi, practiced yoga by the Ganges, woke at 4am to sing songs, realised that there is more to life than chapatis (but not much!), ate our body weight several times over with the complete rainbow spectrum of all things curries, watched endangered rhinos play whilst sitting on a juvenile elephant, celebrated a Gods birthday……….too much. much, much to tell. Here are a few pics (most food related) that tell a better story:

It’s Thali time!!!! (South Indian style), Madurai, 3/14

Tawang Lake, way up in the Himalayas, Arunachal Pradesh, 4/14

Cooking up a monsoon, Rishikesh, 1/14

Survival Travel Breakfast (Papaya and Chia Seeds)

Jane, first day, first Bindi, Delhi. 1/14

Vadas – some of South India’s finest

A little taster, a canape of sorts, a wee bite into our last 6 months wandering the world. We have a massive book full of new recipes to cook and hopefully post. Its looking like a busy summer!

Love and Peace to all of you out there…..XXXXX

It’s great to be back, Lee and Janexxxxx

Categories: photography, Travel | Tags: cooking, curry, food, himalayas, india, photography, thali, travel, vegetarian | 3 Comments

Kala Chana Masala with Beetroot and Bok Choi

Posted on April 3, 2014 by leroy watson

Jane on ‘The Rock’ – Karuna Farm, Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu

Finally, we post something!!!! We have loads of half finished bits typed hurriedly in internet cafes, but have yet had the time and drive to actually finish one off!

We’ve been in Indian now for three months and things have been thick with experience and too many foodie experiences to recollect. Expect many Indian themed post soon, packed full of delicious and authentic recipes…….

Kodai Kanal, Tamil Nadu 21st March 2014

Kodai is a little ex-British Hill Station (somewhere where the Raj used to go and cool off during the summer months). Lots of little Anglo Indian stone cottages with lawns and chimneys, tea rooms and a beautiful lake. We are staying on a farm, on a steep slope, with spectacular views over the plains towards Madurai. It thick jungle, full nature and absolutely beautiful and best of all, we have a small kitchen to play in!!!!!

A random little post here, but we are half way up a hill in the middle of nowhere (Southern India). This recipe came together on our first night in Karuna Farm, in the green and verdant Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. We have been sweating and meditating, sweating and yoga-ing, sweating and chanting our way through the early part of March in the Sivananda Ashram, outside Madurai. The temperatures soared, so it is magical to be up here in the mountains where the night air is crisp and the sunrises come on like an intergalactic firework show.

This is a spectacular little farm and we are witnessing many positive projects in motion. They are building earth ships, from recyclable car tyres and starting a permaculture project to supply the on-farm restaurant with some proper local produce.

On Sunday, Jane and I ventured up to Kodai Kanala (the main town). We walked through little villages, with many smiles greeting us, for 2 hours and then managed to catch a little rickety van the rest of the way to town (we’re quite remote here!).

Kodai is an old British hill station, with many rock built chalets and a large dollop of Christianity. It is now a popular retreat for Indian honeymooners and surprisingly few gringos on the streets.

Haggling at Kodai Market

Sunday is market day and we spent most of it wandering around and ogling the local produce. Non of it organic, but all of it vibrant and full of potential. Our accommodation, a nice little cottage in a banana plantation, actually has a kitchen! The first time we’ve been able to cook, apart from random cooking classes and making spicy tea with the chai wallas. I was so chuffed to be having a bash at the pots and pans again. We filled our backpacks with veggies and fruits and have not looked back since.

Internet in India is tough and I must apologise for the lack of BHK activity in recent times. We have heads full of recipes and new ways of conjuring up tasty nibbles. We can’t wait to share them with you all from HQ (North Wales, which seems like a million and one miles away).

WHAT IS KALA CHANA?

Kala Chana (also Desi Chana or Bengal Gram) are brown chickpeas, unprocessed and packed with fibre. ‘Kala’ actually means black in Hindi and Urdu. They have more of a robust texture than your average chicker. This type of chana has been enjoyed all over the world for millenia, from ancient Rome, Persia and Greece, to Africa and Latin America. It has been used in British cooking since the middle ages.

Chana is so versatile to a veggie cook, we can boil them, sprout them, roast them in the oven, make them into magic puree’s (like hummus) or even make desserts with them.

We love this rough chana, especially in a dish with full flavoured veggies like cabbage and beetroot. A lovely old lady was selling these bok chois, we couldn’t resist them. I have never seen them cooked in India, but you wouldn’t expect us to be traditional now would you??!!

This is a highly spiced dish, similar to chana masala in many ways. The spices are warming including cinnamon and cloves, making it very much north Indian fare. In the South we have been eating mainly coconuts and white rice, the staple down here. Generally lightly spiced bu heavy on the dried chilli.

This dish, served with a massive salad, made a wonderful change and we actually cooked it ourselves! I have to say our bellies have not felt this good in the 2 month India adventure.

Jane washing up sporting socks and sandals, our new look

Grating the veggies for the sauce (called a masala over here) gives the overall dish a smoother texture and helps to thicken things up. Of course, grating things unlocks the flavours of the veggies and means you don’t need to cook them for so long to get maximum flavour.

I will be volunteering on an organic farm and cooking in a vegan kitchen soon, settling down a little. I imagine they will have internet and should catch up a little with the backlog of recipes and posts that have accumulated on my little computer gadget. There are some crackers!
Namaste and Much Love,

Lee and JaneXXXXXXX

The Bits – For 2
2 tbs coconut oil (or cooking oil)
1 large beetroot (scrubbed and diced)
6 large leaves bok choi (plus their fleshly stumps, chopped)
1 large carrot (scrubbed and grated)
1 small potato (scrubbed and diced)
1 big handful cabbage (grated)

Masala
1 onion (peeled and grated)
4-5 cloves garlic (peeled and grated)
1 ½ inch ginger (peeled and grated)
3 tomatoes (grated, skins discarded)
2 teas garam masala (or spice mix of your choice)
6 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tea cumin seeds
1 teas black mustard seeds
2 tbs curry leaves
½ teas chilli powder
½ teas sea salt
½ teas black pepper

¾ cup chana daal (soaked overnight)

Brown Chana Masala with Beetroot and Bok Choi

Do It
Drain your chickpeas and rinse. Place in a small saucepan and cover with 3 inches of water, bring to a boil and simmer with a lid on for 1 hour (or until nicely tender).

Whilst they’re cooking, get your masala ready. In a frying pan, warm 1 tbs of oil, add the cumin seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick fry for a 30 seconds then add the onions. Fry all on a med high heat for 5 minutes, until golden.

Add the garlic, ginger and beetroot, fry for 3 minutes, then add the carrots and cabbage. Stir well and warm through. Cook for 5 minutes and add the garam masala, chilli powder and tomato. Bring to a boil and cover. After 10 minutes cooking on a steady simmer, add 100ml water and stir, then recover. Cooking for another 10 minutes. The sauce should be nice and thick.

Now add the masala to the chickpea pan, there should be some liquid left in the pan. Stir in and thin out the sauce with more water if needed. Check seasoning, adding salt and pepper. Be heavy on the pepper, chana masala loves pepper!

In a small frying pan, warm 1 tbs oil and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves on medium heat. Let the splutter for 30 seconds and remove pan from the heat.

Once the chickpeas are warm through, stir in the seasoned oil and serve.

No lights in our cabin, but candles are better anyway.

Serve
In these parts we’d be having rice and rice (with a side helping of rice!) but tonight, in our own little cottage, we’re having one of Jane’s bonza raw salads; with grated beetroot, kohlrabi, peanuts, beetroot leaves, carrot, coriander and lots more market fresh bits (when Jane does a salad, the entire veg basket is used!)

Sunrise outside the kitchen window

Foodie Fact
Kala Chana is very high in dietary fibre, one big bowlful of this curry with give women almost half of their daily intake of fibre (men a little less than that). These brown garbanzos are also high in protein and rich in minerals like iron, copper and manganese.

Kala Chana is one of the earliest cultivated legumes, remains have been discovered dating back 7500 years! India is by far the biggest producer of chana in the world, Australia is the second, which I find surprising.

Categories: Curries, Dinner, Recipes, Travel, Vegan | Tags: brown chickpeas, curry, food, healthy eating, kala chana, photography, travel, vegan, vegetarian | 6 Comments

Corn & Coconut Korm

Posted on April 21, 2013 by leroy watson

Creamy, rich and super tasty Korma without all that ghee and cream business.

One of Jane’s creations here that will eclipse any former notion you have of what a korma should taste like, in a very good way. The influence for this came from the brilliant ‘Shoshoni Cookbook’ that we are loving at the minute. Our cookbook library has recently been vastly extended, we now own four, this being our favourite. We have made several Beach House touches to the dish and we are certain that the wonderful folk at the Shoshoni Yoga Retreat will not mind.

Usually, food served in Yoga retreats is rather amazing and very healthy, normally adhereing to the ayurvedic methods of food preparation. Most food made are what is called sattvic in nature, meaning that they do not stimulate the body or mind and posses only good energy, are clean and pure and enhance the power of the body and mind. The cooks in Yoga centres and the like have alot of responsibility, normally dealing with many special dietary requirements, this normally makes them very well versed in all things nutrition and always cooking to a tight budget, getting the maximum flavour and texture from the produce available. I have only had amazing food in yoga retreats, always with the added bonus of it being nourishing to the body and mind. Jane cooked this dish to recreate that positive atmosphere in the Beach House and it worked a treat.

I ate quite a few sweet curries in India, especially in the Gujarat region, but they are normally not my favourites, Jane toned that side of things down here but you may like it sweeter. Jane has a pronounced sweet tooth and found it sweet enough, so make of that what you will.

Due to having such a corker of a night we forgot to take pictures of the food so these are actually of the leftovers. We ate the dish with roast garlic flatbreads and cumin raita, but here I’ve served the Korma on a bed of spinach, a lot lighter and healthier for a Monday evening bite.

The Bits – Enough for 6

1 onion (cut in large slices)

3 small sweet potatoes (cut into chunks)

2 potatoes (boiled and cut into chunks)

1 medium carrot (thinly sliced)

3 cups sweet corn kernels

Masala

1 green peppers (cut in half and seeded)

3 large tomatoes (chopped)

2 tbs grated ginger

2 teas ground cumin

1/3 teas ground cardamom

1 teas ground coriander

1 teas turmeric

2/3 cup grated coconut (desiccated will do here)

1/2 cup almond milk

1 tbs brown rice syrup or other sweetener

1 1/2 teas sea salt

Do It

Begin to fry off your vegetables, making them nice and caramelised.

Start with the sweet potato in a frying pan on medium heat, a little oil, then fry and stir for 3 minutes, then add your onions and peppers. Use your largest pan, so that the vegetables are not tightly packed in. Once all have a nice colour and are softened, set aside, should take around 10-15 minutes.

Make your masala, place onions, tomatoes and peppers in a blender with your spices and blitz until smooth.

In a large saucepan, warm and simmer your masala for 5 minutes, then add potatoes, carrot, corn, coconut and sweetener. Season to taste and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Stir in the almond milk.

Serve

With your favourite curry condiments, a nice savoury raita would go down a treat here. We had ours with garlic flat breads (recipe to follow soon hopefully!)

We Love It!

A really surprising dish that is easy to get together and has a delicious, satisfying flavour; all that roasted vegetables and a potent masala makes for flavour fireworks!

Foodie Fact

Sweet corn is a gluten free cereal and for its sweetness, relatively low in carbs. Corn is a great source of dietary fibre, but should be avoided by diabetics as it has a high glycemic index.

Categories: Curries, Recipes | Tags: curry, dairy free, gluten-free, korma, recipe, sattvic, shoshoni yoga retreat, sweet corn, vegetarian, yoga | 8 Comments

Punjabi Rajma Chawal – Red Kidney Bean Curry

Posted on March 17, 2013 by leroy watson

Kitchen in a Punjabi Dhaba – http://alexbecherer.tumblr.com

A simple bean curry and very much a nutritious staple in India homes and especially the legendary roadside Punjabi Dhabas. This red kidney bean curry has a fantastic full flavour and is easy and cheap to get together (it’s also a super healthy bite).

Punjabi food is renowned as one of India’s finest. Very rich and packed with spice. Punjab is a state located in the North West of India, bordering Pakistan and is home to many Sikhs. The Golden Temple in Amritsar is rightly regarded as one of the most awesome religious monuments. The Punjab is a very arable region, meaning a great diversity of produce.

Punjabi dhabas are famous for their cheap, fresh and super tasty food. They are basically an eatery, that have spread around India and the world. Wherever there are Punjabis, there are Dhabas! In a Punjabi Dhaba the food is always quick and plentiful with a constant stream of fresh rotis from the tandoor oven and top ups of all curries, relishes and rice dishes. Its a great way to eat, a real food experience and you always leave with a full belly.

These Dhabas started to feed truck drivers originally and the range of dishes are quite standard from Chandigarh to Chiswick. Dal Makhani is one of my favourites; a dark, rich lentil stew. It will be here on the BHK soon (I can’t believe its taken this long!)

Chilling at the Golden Temple at sunset

For years I was disillusioned with kidney beans; I didn’t like the name or the way they were served (normally in an insipid tomato stew, aka the dreaded British style chilli con carne). I was ten years old at that time and have come a long way round since. This is one of the finest way to serve a kidney bean, the rich and spicy tomato sauce compliment the earthy bean well.

In India it can be difficult to get beans, but the rajma (kidney bean in Hindi) is easily found and consistently tasty with mounds of chawal (rice). I cannot go long without a bean hit after all.

This is something that I have been whipping up after work recently and although the list on ingredients looks a little extensive, its actually a stroll once you get into the groove. Instead of all the individual spices, use something like a Garam Masala mix or even a good quality curry powder.

We normally stir some soya yoghurt in just before serving to give that extra touch of richness. The finer you chop or grate your vegetables the greater release of flavour. The just disappear into the sauce. Grating garlic, ginger, onions and even tomatoes is a great way of making an intense fresh sauce, much, much better than anything you can buy in a tin.

The Bits

2 tbs cooking oil (unrefined)

1 onion (grated/ finely chopped)

4 cloves garlic

2 inch cube of ginger (both grated/ crushed)

4 tomatoes (chopped finely/ grated)

1 teas fennel seeds

1 teas cumin powder

1/2 teas turmeric

1 teas coriander powder

1/4 – 1/2 teas chilli powder

sea salt (to taste)

For the beans

2 cups dried red kidney beans (tins can be used, but not as good)

4 cloves

3 cardamom pods

1 stick cinnamon (or 1 teas cinnamon powder)

1 bay leaf

Topping

1 handful torn coriander leaves

1 tbsp soya yoghurt (stirred in – optional)

Gorgeous spicy tomato sauce get down reducing

Do It

Beans – Soak your beans for 12 hours in cold water. Rinse well and cover with 2 inches of water and bring to the boil, add your spices and allow to boil, then lower heat and pop a lid on. Leave to simmer for 1 hour, until they are nice and tender. If the beans are falling apart slightly, no problem, this will help to thicken the sauce. You can of course use tinned beans if you’re in a hurry.

Sauce – In a frying pan, add your oil and on a medium heat cook your onions until golden, then add your ginger, fennel seeds and garlic, give it another three minutes, now its time for your tomatoes and spices, stir well and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook until tomatoes are nicely softened, 6-8 minutes is fine.

Get your beans into the mix (we used our flash new slotted spoon here. Hoorah!) add all the beans and 250ml of the cooking stock (more can be added if sauce is a little thick). Heat through, a gentle bubble, for 10 minutes more and you’re ready to get Dhaba’d!

Punjabi Rajma Chawal

Serve

Stir in your soya yoghurt and pour over fluffy rice and a chapatti (if you are very lucky and have time, make your own!). Coriander leaves scatter very well here.

We Love It!

Simple and full of the spices and aromas that make India cooking so tantalising and satisfying. Heres to all those Dhabas out there! Dishing up brilliant food for pennies and keeping the truck drivers of India rotund and smiling. Much better than a Little Chef I can tell you!

Foodie Fact

Red kidney beans and beans in general are full of fibre (in fact they are the best source of fibre) that benefits not only the digestive system but also lowers cholesterol. These beans are a virtually fat free source of protein,

We get alot of our foodie fact information from the comprehensive site W H Foods. Whats in a kumquat? W H know these things.

Tunes

The thing I love about cooking all this Indian food in the Beach House Kitchen is the opportunity to share my favourite Indian artists. Here’s the master Ali Akbar Khan and another mesmeric raja:

Categories: Curries, Recipes | Tags: chawal, curry, dhaba, food, healthy, india, music, photography, punjabi, rajma, recipe, red kidney bean, vegetarian | 11 Comments

Rambo Tomato and Roast Fennel Curry

Posted on February 11, 2013 by leroy watson

Rambo Tomato and Roast Fennel Curry

With tomatoes literally (almost!) falling from vines before our eyes, this is a curry that is local spice bonanza. For many years I’ve been hunched over a bubbling pot of fragrant curry masala: a spoonful here, a spoonful there; ever seeking perfection in blends of spices and sometimes herbs. This is not it, but its mighty close.

Some of my spices are straight from India, brought back on the plane in my backpack. The pack itself stunk like a Mumbai spice shop, fortunately I flew Egypt Air, Egyptians are no strangers to aromatic spices themselves. During the flight, I got vague sniffs of cumin and turmeric, I knew where they were coming from and I smiled, safe in the knowledge that I was smuggling curried gold dust.

People seem put off by curries, the list of ingredients itself can be daunting. It’s actually fairly straightforward, if you are a little organised (which for curries I am). Once you learn the basics of curry making, especially with a healthy tomato base like here, you are off into a world of pungent kitchen happiness.

These tomatoes are curiously named ‘Rambo’. I have no idea why and when I asked the tomato man at the market he simply said “Because they are from around here.” with suitable gruffness and disdain. They are a macho lot in these parts after all!

A little snap taken on a rambla walk near our casa.

There are many spices here, not an everyday curry, but one fit for a feast and fine friends. The main difference between Indian food in restaurants and at home is that Indian chefs are not afraid to be wild and free with the spices. They also normally add lashing of ghee (clarified butter) to make it sparkle and tantalise. This tomato curry is perfect for the calorie conscious curry muncher, full of flavour and superbly healthy. This surely is some kind of elixir! After some Indian meals in restaurants I feel quite heavy and lethargic (with a smile on my face however), you don’t get that treatment here.

Please try and buy good spices and keep them out of sunlight and in a sealable container. It is well worth it, a little effort could produce a curry that blows your mind.

This makes one large panful, enough for at least six hungry curry fiends.

The Bits

6 lovely large and ripe red tomatoes (chop – see below), 1 large onion (sliced), 1 stick of celery (thinly sliced), 8-10 cloves of garlic (finely chopped), 1 bulb of fennel (sliced), 1 large red pepper, 2 inch sq of fresh ginger (finely chopped), 2 teas fennel seeds, 1 teas yellow mustard seeds, 2 star anise, 2 teas ground coriander, 1 teas turmeric, 2 teas curry powder (a good one), 1 teas cumin, 8 fresh green cardamoms, ½ teas chilli powder (or as incendiary as you prefer).

Do It

Prepare all of your spices, this is quickly cooked and you don’t want to be fumbling around with packets and lids which normally leads me towards turmeric leaks and general chaos. Pop all ground spices into into a dry bowl, and the anise and cardamom into another.

Chop two tomatoes finely, forming something resembling pulp. The rest can be cut into large segments, roughly 8 to a normal sized tomato.

In a hot pan with a good glug of oil, roast off your fennel and peppers until both have colour and a little softness to them. Set aside and cover.

In the same pan on high heat, add more oil (1 tbs) and fry off your onions until soft (5mins) then add your fennel seeds and yellow mustard seeds, give a minute and constantly stir. Then the celery, garlic and ginger, stir in and give another minute and keep it all moving. Then for the spices (being careful not to burn them, add water if needed), add your spices and stir well for couple of minutes, then the cardamom and star anise can be added and the well chopped tomatoes added. Stir well and get all the flavour incorporated from the pan base (that’s the good stuff!)

Cover tightly and lower heat, leave to simmer and infuse for 10 minutes. Stir in your roasted fennel, peppers and tomato segments. Cover again and cook for a further 15 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft.

Try not to stir this curry much at this stage, you want the tomatoes retain their shape and texture.

Rambo Tomato and Roast Fennel Curry

Serve

Finish with a splash of olive oil stirred in (gives it shine and a little richness) then blob on some yoghurt and brown rice, topped all fresh coriander leaves. The serving style that we like to call ‘A La Beach House’.

We Love It!

One of our favourite homemade curry delights that we’d love you to try. We made it for a recent curry night and there were many mmmmmmm’s.

Foodie Fact

Fennel is of the same family as parsley, cumin, carraway and dill. Fennel could we be native to Spain and is a highly sought after veg in these parts. Fennel contains many essential oil compounds, anti-oxidants and a good amount of dietary fibre. Although the seeds are the real stars of the fennel plant, packed full of many, many good things.

Categories: Curries, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: calories, curry, fennel, food, healthy, masala, recipes, tomato, vegan, vegetarian | 5 Comments

Rainbow Kale and Tofu Sabzi (Beach House Basics)

Posted on October 10, 2012 by leroy watson

Rainbow Kale and Tofu Sabzi

“Simple is best.”

Sage advice and I managed to stick with it this time. This Sabzi is quick, super healthy and a staple at the BHK. All it takes is a little tofu, a scattering of seasonal veggies and a few sprinkles of fine spices.

Sabzi (pronounced ‘sabji’ or ‘chi’, my Hindi is not great) is a simple vegetable curry in India that is the cornerstone of most Indian meals. Sabzi, rice, chappatis, maybe some pickle and dahi (yoghurt), that is a hearty, balanced feast that can be enjoyed everywhere across India. It fuelled me daily and around 1 billion other folk on the sub continent for that matter.

Travelling in India is such a treat for all the senses, especially the belly sense. The smell of toasting chappatis and a bubbling sabzi is a truly magical thing. My best eating experiences in India were sat on the floor, on mats in communal canteens, eating by hand from a metal thali plate or banana leaf, steaming curries and daals served straight out of buckets.

This is a quick and easy Sabzi that I made a little heartier and healthier with the addition of the tofu, a substitute of sorts for paneer. Make sure you get the firm tofu, it comes in many different textures and the firmer the better for cooking. Silken tofu has a lower fat content and will just dissolve (but does make amazing tofu ice cream!)

Sabzi in India is prepared with what is growing locally and seasonally, the only way you can eat in most parts of the world, what you eat is where you are and for that reason, one of the wonderful things about travelling the world. Our choice of veggies here reflects this with some gorgeous local organic tomatoes (plucked from the farms poly-tunnel). The kale was yanked (lovingly) out of the Beach House garden, it’s actually doing quite well now winter is here!? I have alot to learn with plants! We are loving the cavolo nero cabbage that is available at the moment, it’s very dark green which can only be a good thing. It has a really full texture and strong flavour making it perfect for stews, soups and even smoothies.

Oops! I’ve managed to delete the rest of the photos from the camera but the dish is such a winner, I thought I’d share it anyway.

Serves four hungry sorts.

The Bits

1/2 block of firm tofu (chopped into cubes), 10 stems of kale (sliced), 6 stems of cabbage (like cavolo nero, long leafed is best, sliced), 1 stem celery (chopped), 1 courgette (cubed), 1 onion (chopped), 2 carrots (cubed), 4 tomatoes, 1 inch cube ginger (finely sliced), 4 cloves garlic (crushed), 2 teas turmeric, 1 teas gram masala, 1 teas chilli powder, 1/2 handful of methi leaves (curry leaves), 1/2 cup water, sea salt.

Do It

Add onion to the pan on a medium heat, get them nice and glassy, then add your ginger, spices and garlic, fry for a further 3 minutes. Add your courgette, tofu and carrot and fry for 3 minutes, then the methi leaves and the tomatoes and cook this mixture down a little (5 more minutes will do). The pan should be nice and hot, toss the kale and cabbage in along with the water, it should steam up nicely, put on a low the heat and pop a lid on the pan and leave to gently cook for 10 mins. Check seasoning and serve piping hot. This will keep very well overnight and may even be better for a good rest the next day.

Serve

With basmati rice (we used wholegrain) and some dahi (yoghurt), mango pickle if you have can. If you have time and the skills, make some fresh chapattis. This type of sabzi would normally be served out of a thali plate, a metal plate with compartments.

We Love It!

Eating Sabzi in Wales is a little like riding an elephant down Caernarfon high street, slightly incongruous yet very satisfying.

Foodie Fact

Tofu was discovered thousands of years ago in Japan, it is basically curdled soya bean milk. It boasts many health giving properties from a plant based food. Tofu is a brilliant source of protein and calcium. Soy protein can lower your chances of getting a dodgy ticker and has also been shown to help during menopause. Tofu is virtually fat free and contains many anti-oxidants and omega 3 fats.

In the absence of tofu photos, here I am with a cool car.

Categories: Curries, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: curry, food, healthy, india, nutrition, quick, rainbow kale, recipe, sabzi, tofu, vegetarian | 16 Comments

Raw Vegetable & Coconut Curry

Posted on July 5, 2012 by leroy watson

One bright day in June (the bright day in June), our picnic spot, above Beddgelert

So the raw food lifestyle is continuing in the Beach House, this is a good sign. We have been feeling good and loving experimenting with raw foods, so we are rolling on raw well into July.

Our aim is to eat a lot of raw food, but soon start cooking again. I cook alot at work, but its not the food that excites me, it seems a strange idea getting the pots and pans out again at home. The oven, instead of the food processor. I’m sure it will happen gradually and at the right time. I still haven’t drank a coffee or any wine, again, it just seems like a strange thing to get back into now. Those of you who have been on a raw diet will know how I feel.

It has been an atrocious June for weather, we’ve had a fire on most nights and the rain and wind has lashed down on our poor little seedlings. Even with this wintery weather, Jane and I have been perfectly happy with salads and cold food. I think a full raw food diet (ps – when I say diet here, its not like a weight loss diet, just what we are eating) in winter is a possibility, whereas before I would have not considered it. No hot soups!

One spoonful of this curry and we both exclaimed “This is the best yet!” Which is always a nice thing to hear about something. This coconut curry has a lovely sweetness, the smooth richness of the creamed coconut and the gentle warming hint of garam masala.

We have not been eating a great deal of spice of late, the raw diet it not overtly anything really (bar amazingly healthy food). This dish added so much needed spice back to our lives.

I think this curry is a real winner this summertime. Raw food is, of course, perfect for a sunny day (which are rare in these parts, but hopefully on their way). Summer is the ideal time to dabble with raw food and this Coco Curry would make an interesting salad to serve as a side dish at a barbecue or take for a picnic to a beauty spot. It keeps well and is nice and quick to get together.

If you’re not a raw one, this will go very nicely with something like a cold rice salad. You can even heat it up! The flavours will still be amazing. It can be thinned down for a lovely soup (just add a little stock or water) and used as it is for a dipping and spreading.

The original inspiration comes from the brilliant British raw food book “Eat Smart, Eat Raw’ by Kate Hill, but I have dabbled with the recipe to bring it more into line with our taste. That means more spice, more garlic, more ginger……..we like a big and bold flavour in the BHK.

Cauliflower can be used as a substitute for rice in the raw food world. You just need to chop it up very finely, or stick it in a food processor, and it resembles rice but without the stodge factor.

The serving here is enough for four strapping individuals. Jane and I saved some for lunch the next day.

The salad base, as you can see, we like ours chunky!

The Bits

Sauce

1/2 tin of organic coconut milk

1 avocado

4 dates (pitted)

4 tomatoes

1 carrot

1 medium onion

2 tbsp tamari (or soya sauce)

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tbsp turmeric

1/2 red chilli

1 inch cube ginger

2 cloves garlic

150ml water

Salad/ Filling

3 tbsp raisins

2 handfuls green lentil/ mung bean sprouts

1/2 handful of chopped coriander (with a little saved for topping)

2 handfuls of spinach

2 sticks celery (finely chopped)

1 carrots (finely chopped)

1/2 cauliflower (finely chopped)

1 handful of mangetout

1/2 butternut squash (chopped into little cubes)

The Coco curry pre-mix

Do It

Salad – We use a food processor, because it is so easy. You lose the individuality of hand chopping, but it saves alot of time, especially when you’re eating raw foods and most of your days could be spent peeling and chopping veggies. Most of these contraptions have a chopping and grating blade as standard that can come in very handy. However on this occasion we hand chopped, just to be awkward!

So, put carrots, celery and cauliflower in food processor. Chop up your butternut squash and avocado into small chunks and mix all of these with the other ingredients in nice big bowl.

Sauce – Chop all vegetables into manageable chunks for your food processor. Ginger, garlic and chilli should be finely chopped. Put it all into the food processor and give it a whirl. Make sure you hold the lid down firmly to begin with, if its a small one like ours, it tends to jump around a little.

Indo Coco Curry (Raw)

Serve

Sprinkle on left over coriander, raisins and grated coconut (dessicated coconut is fine). We ran out of coriander and forgot the coconut! It would look grand though, you’ll just have to use your imagination.

We rarely have time for presentation touches as we are such scoffers! In the bowl, quick pic then get stuck in! Tends to be the order of eating affairs in the Beach House.

You could try it with some cauliflower rice (see above), it makes for an interesting change.

Foodie Fact

You may have heard that coconut is full of fat, well it is, but they are great fats! Avocado, nuts, seeds etc do contain a high proportion of fats, but they do not harm your body like the fats in processed foods or donuts!

The fat in coconut does not raise your cholesterol levels like saturated fats in animal products. It is actually the most health-giving oil available, you can buy coconut oil for cooking. The make up of the fats is similar to mothers milk, the lauric acid (a fatty acid in mother’s milk) has antibacterial qualities.