Aloo Tikki Style Celeriac Cakes - Using Up Sunday Leftovers

Following on from my last post about a Baked Celeriac Sunday roast, here is a quick recipe for using up the leftovers! I had about 1/4 of celeriac left so I combined this with some mashed potato (if you have roast potatoes left these work too) and lots of spices to create an aloo tikki style cake, which made for a simple Monday dinner.

I served the cakes with a tomato and fenugreek sauce, also made from some leftover tomato soup from Saturday evening dinner. I simmered it for about 20 minutes til it reduced before adding in turmeric, chilli, dried fenugreek (also called methi or kasoori methi) and grated ginger.

Apologies in advance for the worse than usual photography, let's give it the excuse that I was hungry and wanted to eat them up...

Spicy Celeriac & Potato Cakes
makes 4, enough for 2 

1/2 onion
1 clove of garlic
150g leftover cooked celeriac, mashed
150g potatoes, this can be leftover roasties too, mashed
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
sunflower or groundnut oil

Fry the onion in a large deep frying pan, until soft with a little bit of colour, for about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and fry for another 1 minute stirring often. Add this to a large bowl with your potato and celeriac, and then add in all the spices, plus salt.

Mix and then form with your hands in to patties. If they aren't feeling substantial enough, pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up.

Heat some groundnut or sunflower oil in your large deep frying pan, and once hot add in your cakes. Fry on a medium high heat for 4 minutes on each side, try not to move them otherwise you won't get crispiness. Flip over and fry on the other side for another 4 minutes.

Serve with your tomato sauce and a side of veggies.

This post is part of Sainsbury's Love your Leftovers Campaign - thank you to Sainsbury's for sending me vouchers to use for this challenge :)

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Vegetarian Sunday Roast - Baked Celeriac & Mushroom Gravy

The thing I miss the most about Mr going veggie is the roast dinners. I love putting lots of herbs and butter on a chicken and roasting it for a while before adding all the necessary trimmings. Poussin is not the same before you ask.

Sainsbury's got in touch to ask if I wanted to take part in their 'Love your Leftovers' campaign, and come up with a dish to use up Sunday Lunch leftovers. Thinking that I wanted to change up our usual sad poussin plus a few baked mushrooms I took up the challenge to think up a robust vegetarian Sunday roast that would also provide leftovers for Monday.

Inspired by the fantastic celeriac Mr had at Morston Hall I decided to bake a whole one, with lots of garlic, sage and butter (olive in the week, butter at the weekend!) and serve it with roast potatoes, green veg and a killer vegetarian gravy (gravy is important).

It really couldn't be simpler to prep, much like a slow roasted piece of pork or lamb, but without the basting. You wrap it in foil, and leave it in the oven for 2 hours, and for the last hour make your spuds and get your gravy on.

Baked Celeriac - serves 2 with leftovers 
adapted from BBC Good Food

1 medium celeriac, approx 500g
3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed with a knife, but with skin on.
large bunch of sage
2 knobs of butter
seasoning

Preheat your oven to 160c fan / 180c electric. Wash your celeriac, and if it comes with any frondy bits (technical term) trim those off. Prick with a knife, around 1cm in to ensure it cooks, and the flavour gets into the celeriac. Place a large piece of foil on to a baking tray and pop your celeriac on and tuck the herbs, garlic cloves and butter around, season and wrap in 3 layers of foil.

Bake for 2 hours, check about 2/3 way through to see if it is cooking through. When you're ready to serve simply cut into wedges, and keep the garlic to serve on the side. Depending on your celeriac, you can eat the skin if it isn't too tough.

Mushroom Gravy, enough for 2
adapted from Food 52

I made this gravy at Christmas, to serve alongside a vegetarian wellington, it's made with dried mushrooms, shallots and a secret ingredient, soy sauce. The soy gives the deep savoury flavour that you'd otherwise get from meat.

2 shallots, finely diced
knob of butter
1 tbsp flour
50g of dried mushrooms
1 stock cube dissolved in 250ml of water.
sage or thyme, small handful chopped.
1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1. Fry your shallots in a small pan with the butter til they are translucent.
2. Soak your mushrooms in a jug, in 75ml of boiling water.
3. Once your onions are soft add in the flour and stir quickly on a medium heat.
4. Drain your mushrooms and add the mushroom stock to your vegetable stock. Pour this into your onion roux and whisk to combine and thicken.
5. Add in the herbs and let the whole thing simmer gently, stirring regularly, til it starts to thicken up.
6. Add in your soy sauce, and check for seasoning.

You can now serve your gravy, or if you want it to be smooth pass through a sieve and warm up again when you're ready to eat.

Thanks to Sainsbury's for sending me vouchers for our Sunday Roast challenge! Coming up next, how to use the leftovers - Celeriac & Potato Cakes, Aloo Tikki style. 

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Indian Supperclub - a 3 course feast - date announced!

I've announced a date for my supperclub, and booking is open! It's been a long time in the planning and I'm so pleased to be able to bring you a taste of authentic Gujarati cuisine.

If you've not eaten for a while I suggest you get a snack as this post will make you hungry.

My first supperclub is on Saturday 22nd February in a beautiful spot just outside Cambridge, I'll be cooking a very traditional Gujarati meal - crisp samosas spiced with cumin and chilli to start, a range of veggie curries with rotli (chapati), rice and accompaniments finishing with a sweet tooth's dream of a dessert. The menu...

Mela Supperclub, 22nd February
foodmela.co.uk

Welcome Drink: Nimbu Pani (sweet lime drink)

Starter: Pea & Potato Samosas with green chilli chutney

Mains: Chana Masala, Toor Daal, Venghan Bateta (Potato & Aubergine)
Rotli, Rice, Kadhi (spiced yoghurt sauce), Raita and Pickle

Dessert: Gulab Jambu (doughnut like dumplings in cardamom syrup) 

with Jack's Mango Sorbet & Cumin Gelato

~ 
Masala Chai & Cardamom Shortbread

Places are limited, I've still a few spots left - email me deepa@foodmela.co.uk to book a place.
£32 pp and you can BYOB, there will also be plenty of nimbu pani to go around plus water and juice.

Read more here, and get a little sneak peek into my new blog: www.foodmela.co.uk 

See you there, come with an empty stomach! :)

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Mushroom Lasagne

Vegetarians tend to get a raw deal when it comes to lasagne - either rubbery soy mince in a lacklustre sauce or underdone vegetables that tend to not belong in a lasagne. Or sometimes people seem to think vegetarians want to eat healthy lasagne, which is just wrong. I've made veggie lasagnes and despite being quite able to get flavour into soy or being able to cook vegetables, they just haven't had the comfort of a meat lasagne.

You can always trust Deb at the Smitten Kitchen to make things right - I always have faith in her vegetarian mains as she used to be a vegetarian herself. This mushroom lasagne recipe of hers will make for one very happy vegetarian, and one happy meat-eater who misses making a big pan of lasagne. It is cheesey, substantial and feels like a proper lasagne.

I splurged on some 'posh' mushrooms for this one, because I wanted it to be fantastic, so I used chanterelles, oyster mushrooms and chesnut mushrooms. However, if you don't want to spend all that much on mushrooms, chesnut mushrooms are just as good, and better than ordinary button mushrooms. Another thing to note, if you are cooking for vegetarians, Parmesan isn't vegetarian (animal rennet is used) but Sainsbury's and Tesco do a very good vegetarian 'Italian Hard Cheese' which tastes nearly the same.

I bought some fantastic fresh egg lasagne sheets from Natoora via Ocado, they are as good as making your own, and the pack makes one lasagne plus enough sheets to cut into strips for tagliatelle.

Find the recipe on Deb's blog here.

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Samosas from Scratch

I love samosas - they are the best Indian snack food but sadly, as popular as they are, they are rarely good. A good samosa should be crispy on the inside and soft and delicately spiced in the middle. The crispy pastry is made from rotli/chapati dough (not filo) with added salt and lemon juice - the dough discs are half cooked before being filled, folded and fried. The traditional Gujarati filling is a potato and pea with garlic, ginger, onion, chilli and turmeric. Coriander seed and cumin is also added.The other common filling you'll find (in meat eating areas) is minced lamb - flavoured in the same way and sometimes with clove and cinnamon.

Allow yourself a few hours in the kitchen, samosas have several steps to them and they are perfect if you want to spend a Sunday afternoon in the kitchen. Each step is quite straightforward - as long as you take your time you'll be ok.

Pea & Potato Samosas - makes 15 samosas, easily doubled

Step 1 - Pastry dough

150g chapati flour or plain flour
optional 2 teaspoons of fine semolina (my addition for crispier samosas)
4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
boiling water - approx 125ml

Rub together the flour, semolina and oil, til it is all combined. Add in the salt and lemon juice and mix with a fork. Add in half of the water and stir with a fork, add the other half and mix again with the fork. As it starts to come together get in with your hands and knead into a soft but not sticky dough.

Divide into balls, approximately the size of a lime and then roll each out in to a circle. You want the pastry to be fairly thin, about 2mm. Save a couple of small pieces of pastry, to test the temperature of the oil later (or you can use a cube of bread or potato).

Heat a non stick frying pan, or tava, til it is very hot, then turn down to a medium heat.
You can roll out all your pastry circles and lay them out and cook one after another, or roll as you cook - it depends if you can keep an eye on both!

Cook the circles for 30 seconds minute on each side, just enough to lightly colour them. You want the dough to be half cooked, so they are easy to fill and also to fry later. Stack up on a plate as you cook them. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel as you make the filling.

Step 2 - Pea & Potato

3 medium potatoes, diced
100g frozen peas, defrosted
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced or finely chopped
1/4 green chilli, chopped finely
1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
oil
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon of coriander seed, crushed
1/4 teaspoon of tumeric
pinch of salt

Fry the onion til translucent, then add the garlic and ginger and fry for 30 seconds. Add the potato and stir well - then add in the chilli and the spices along with a pinch of salt. Fry for a few minutes on a medium-high heat, stirring all the time. Then add a splash of water, and cover. Reduce heat to medium/low and cook with the cover on for about 4 minutes. Remove the cover, stir, simmer for a few minutes if you need to reduce the water a little. Switch off the heat, stir in the peas, and leave to cool.

Step 3 - Folding and Filling

Flour and cold water for glue.
Teaspoon
Large plate for your finished samosas

Make a glue by combining about 2 tablespoons of flour with half that amount of water, adjust til you get a thick but spreadable glue.

How to Fold a Samosa:

Dab glue on to the straight sides of the samosa wrapper, fill with potato filling and then glue the top closed. Check for gaps and dab some glue on to the point and squeeze closed.

At this stage, if you'd like to save the samosas for another time, you can freeze them on a baking tray - once frozen put into a freezer bag. Defrost fully before you come to fry them.

Step 4 - Frying

300ml vegetable oil
medium large saucepan

Add vegetable oil to a medium saucepan and heat on a high heat for a few minutes, then turn down to medium. Test the temperature by adding a small piece of pastry to the oil, if it bubbles and rises to the surface within 10 - 15 seconds the oil is done.

Add about 4-5 samosas to the pan and fry for around 4-5 minutes til deep golden colour. Turn them every minute or so to ensure they cook evenly. Too high heat will cause the pastry to burn and not cook through, a medium high heat will ensure they stay crisp but not oily and cook throughout. Once done, remove and drain on kitchen paper.

Baked Version: I also tried baking some, which turned out nicely, not as flaky but still crispy and crunchy - and of course a little healthier. Brush with oil and bake on a tray in a medium oven for 20 minutes, turning half way through. 

I really hope you make these, you won't be disappointed! I've got 10 of them stashed away in the freezer, a smart move as the first batch disappeared in minutes.

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Roasted Aubergine - simple veggie dinner

A quick and simple one here. This is currently our favourite veggie dinner - it is super easy to make, healthy and filling. And you can change up the toppings and sides to make it different each time.

I work to about 1.5 aubergines per person. Cut them lengthways and add to a baking dish with good quality olive oil, crushed garlic, plenty of seasoning (aubergines are spongy and therefore need plenty of help) and chilli flakes. Roast for around 25 minutes at a medium high heat. Then remove from the oven and wrap in foil, leave for a few minutes, this helps them to wilt a little and become silkier and even softer.

I have some top tips for this recipe, and aubergines in general:

1. Always always use room temperature aubergines, otherwise they will stay rubbery and won't breakdown
2. Line your baking dish with foil or greaseproof paper. Aubergines are sticky little things and roasted aubergine will weld itself to your favourite dish and be impossible to wash off. 
3. Wrapping the aubergines as soon as they come out of the oven will allow them to rest and collapse, giving you lovely soft aubergine flesh to eat.

Toppings wise for these we have had several things include:

• Salsa verde & feta cheese
• Pesto & parmesan/vegetarian Parmesan
• Tomato (pasta) sauce and mozzarella (parmagiana style)
• Yoghurt & tahini sauce and crisped chickpeas, Smitten Kitchen Style (in the cookbook)

We usually serve it with a side salad, quinoa or cous cous also works well. Also, you should definitely do this on the barbecue whilst it is still sunny!

Now go and buy some aubergines and get baking :)

Other veggie friendly Aubergine recipes:
Sea Spiced Aubergine
Aubergine & Tomato Pasta

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Barbecued Paneer with chipotle marinade

This is barely a recipe, because it is so very easy, but more of an idea really. Paneer is great on the barbecue, and just because it is an Indian cheese doesn't mean you have to put Indian flavours with it - chiptotle works a treat. I prefer using paneer to halloumi, it is less melty and won't stick to your barbecue grill.

When shopping for some very important meringue nests, to make Eton Mess during the Wimbledon match (We're having a very stereotypical English summers day here...), I spotted Wahaca sauces were on offer in Waitrose, £1 a bottle.

picture from Wahaca

I cut up the paneer in to four chunky pieces and then coated them in the sauce, about 1/4 of the bottle. It only sat for about 10 minutes before going on the barbecue, but this was fine. If you brush over the marinade during cooking it will boost the flavours. We barbecued the paneer for about 3-4 minutes on each side til crispy and charred. Folded up in a flatbread with some salad, it was perfect vegetarian barbecue food.

You could make your own marinade - maybe with some ketchup, oil, balsamic and chipotle in adobo. But when you are pressed for time (the Wimbledon final was an hour away) the Wahaca sauces are great - really smoky with a nice heat and richness from cocoa. I'm going back to buy the other two sauces in the range!

On a related note, I contributed to a Local Secrets article by fellow Cambridge blogger, Heidi Sladen - read more about my barbecue tips for veggies here. It's not all about dry soya burgers and vegetarian sausages!

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Slow Roasted Tomatoes

A quick one from me, a ridiculously simple and awesome way of turning some watery supermarket tomatoes into sweet, intensely flavoured ones. Rachel at Gastronomic Girls posted this a couple of weeks ago and I was drawn to the simplicity of it, and because I had some tomatoes getting lonely in my fridge.

You simply coat halved tomatoes in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic (which I actually didn't bother with), sugar and seasoning and then roast on a tray for around 3 hours until they are 'semi dried' - still juicy but packed with flavour.

Rachel used hers to make pesto and tomato tarts for cocktail nibbles. We had them alongside some roasted aubergine and feta, and then the next day on a pizza.

You must give it a go, you don't need anything special and you can pretty much leave them alone for the whole three hours. I bet they'd be great stirred into pasta or with a cooked breakfast.

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Meal Planning Monday

I've seen a few blogs posting up Meal Planning Monday posts, and I've just thought about ours for the week, so if you're stuck for inspiration, here's what we are eating:

Monday - Pesto Pasta
Standard post-Zumba dinner of pasta + sauce. Will be adding some sage as my plant in the garden is over growing.

Tuesday - Ottolenghi's Barley Risotto
Spotted this whilst flicking through Jerusalem looking for something that didn't require too much shopping for expensive ingredients. It's a tomato-ey risotto with barley instead of rice, finished with marinated feta.

Wednesday - Veg Box Day - Falafel, Houmous, Carrot Salad, Wraps
Getting some carrots in our veg box so will make up a grated carrot salad with the other veggies plus a light chilli dressing. Every attempt I have made at making falafel has been a disaster so it will be shop bought all the way. I like to make wraps when I have the time, they are much better, but this is a weekday so will be good old Warburtons Square Wraps, which are great.

Thursday - Cauliflower Butter Chicken
Spotted this recipe on Pinterest, its a healthier version of butter chicken, but with cauliflower and coconut instead of cream and chicken. Very interested to see how this turns out.

Friday - Creamy mushroom stroganoff
I've got some nice egg noodles which go really well with stroganoff, and mushrooms are coming in the veg box. Will add some more of that overgrowing sage too!

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Cheddar Risotto

Nigella has the best ideas. I persevere with her television persona and fondness for alliteration because her recipes are generally great and she has a real knack to for knowing how to find a guilty pleasure in food. This cheddar risotto is a prime example - all the comfort of macaroni cheese and the cosiness of a risotto (see I'm talking like her already...).

As Nigella says, the Italians may not necessarily agree with this recipe, but sharp cheddar and creamy risotto works so well - if parmesan, mozzarella or blue cheese can work then so should cheddar.

It's a cinch to put together, and a lot less work than macaroni cheese but with the same feeling. I didn't alter the method of Nigella's recipe, only the quantity - 300 grams of risotto rice was far too much to serve 2 as a main, 150 grams saw us fine.

I used a very strong crumbly cheddar, Tesco Finest's Wookey Hole cheddar was ideal, a cheap cheddar will result in a claggy oily risotto. 

Nigella's recipe is here.

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Bhel Puri

Hands down, bhel puri is my favourite savoury thing to eat. Closely followed by pani puri and then from a completely different culture - macaroni and cheese.

Bhel Puri is a type of Chaat - which is simply savoury snacks sold at the roadside all over India, but many associate them with cities like Mumbai and Delhi. I love the origin of the word chaat.

From Wikipedia "The word derives from Hindi cāṭ चाट (tasting, a delicacy), from cāṭnā चाटना (to lick), from Prakrit caṭṭei चट्टेइ (to devour with relish, eat noisily)."

You can also buy (or make yourself) chaat masala which is made up of amchoor (dried mango) powder, black salt, coriander, ginger, salt, pepper, asafoedita and chilli powder. This is used in all kinds of chaat to easily season, plus it tastes great! Add it to your next chickpea curry.

Bhel puri offers everything - it is a Gujarati snack made popular in Mumbai by migrants to the city-  it's crispy, crunchy, soft, sweet, savoury, spicy and sharp. The base is a mixture of puffed rice (mamra) and fried chickpea noodles (sev) which is then topped with chopped onion, sometimes tomato, boiled spicy potato (often with chaat masala), mint chilli coriander chutney and tamarind chutney. You mix it all together and eat it up immediately whilst it is still crunchy. Fancier versions I've had, at Dishoom for example, also contain pomegranate or diced mango.

As I've said, it is traditionally a snack, but if you love it like I do, it's more than ok to eat three portions and call it dinner. You'll find sev, mamra and tamarind in most Indian grocers and also very large branches of the main supermarkets. If not The Asian Cookshop has everything you'll need, and their delivery charges aren't too dear.

Tamarind can be bought in a large scary looking block, which needs to be soaked and then passed through a sieve, it is a bit of work but you can freeze the resulting paste and take out as needed. You can also buy jars of tamarind paste in most supermarkets, but it often has added ingredients.

Bhel Puri Serves 2 generously for dinner, 4 for a snack 

 200g sev
200g mamra puffed rice
 ½ onion, diced finely then soaked in water
 2 medium sized potatoes diced and boiled
¼ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp chaat masala salt (boil til soft, drain, cool and then add seasoning and spices) 
2 tomatoes, diced

 Green Chutney 
15 mint leaves
large bunch of coriander
¼ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp cumin ½ cm ginger salt
¼ green chilli (or more to your taste!)
4 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
scant 1 tsp sugar 

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor - you want a thin sauce, a bit like salsa.

Tamarind Chutney 
1 tablespoon of tamarind paste
1 ¼ tsp caster sugar
pinch of garam masala
5 tablespoons of water
pinch of salt

Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and simmer over a medium high heat til boiling. Turn down and then simmer gently for 5-10 minutes til it thickens to just a little thinner than ketchup.

To Serve
When serving put all your separate ingredients in to bowls and then let diners make their own bhel puri by piling up ingredients and chutneys to taste in a bowl.


I'll be serving bhel puri plus plenty of other yummy things at my upcoming Gujarati Supperclub in Cambridge in August, dates to be announced soon - sign up to the mailing list here. 

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Braised Fennel with Saffron and Tomato

It's really hard not to complain about the weather. Go on Twitter for any length of time and you'll find that out.

Warming and nutritious dinners should be part of every Brit's repertoire to cope with our so called summer. You can take advantage of the fresh vegetables that come with the warmer months but work them into something that will warm you from the inside when you've been caught in the rain without a coat on.

This braised fennel recipe is taken from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy cookbook, and I found it over on A Sweet Spoonful's blog. The book sounds excellent, being as I cook a lot of vegetarian food it's nice to see a book dedicated to preparing vegetables, turning them into dishes that will rival anything with meat. I've just ordered it!

Chunks of fennel are slowly braised in a rich and sweet tomato sauce flavoured with herbs and saffron with garlic and capers for extra punch. We had it with some fresh wholemeal bread. It was really satisfying, warming and felt very nutritious. The only sub I made was to use a tin of plum tomatoes instead of tomato puree, as I wanted more sauce to dunk my bread in.

Braised Fennel with Saffron & Tomato
Serves 2

1 large fennel bulb
olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
1 teaspoon of fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme or small handful of fresh, chopped
pinch of saffron strands
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced
1 tin of plum tomatoes, pureed
1 tablespoon of capers
200ml vegetable stock
reserved fennel fronds, to garnsih


1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on a medium heat in a large wide saucepan and then add the onions once the oil is hot. Fry for 2 minutes and then add in the fennel seeds, thyme and saffron. Continue to fry on a lower heat for 5 minutes or so til the saffron releases it's colour.

2. Slice your fennel bulb along the length in to large chunks, making sure to keep the core intact so it doesn't fall apart during cooking. Add to the pin and fry til golden.

3. Then add in the garlic, tomatoes, capers, salt and stock.

4. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes til the fennel is tender, season to taste. Serve in bowls with the fennel fronds to garnish.

Serve with fresh bread, or as Sweet Spoonful suggests with some quinoa and crumbled cheese.

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Aubergine & Tomato Pasta

I've been making this aubergine pasta forever, and I was pretty sure I'd blogged about it already, but apparently I haven't (not going mad, honest). It's originally Aubergine & Anchovy pasta, a recipe from Kitchen 22, former Cambridge resident who has now defected to Oxford (horror!). I forgive her though, because she gives us nice things like this pasta dish.

I don't have a huge amount of success when it comes to aubergines, but things have recently got better due to me realising that fridge-cold aubergines never cook properly - going rubbery during cooking - but room temperature aubergines will cook down like all the recipe books say they should. So there you are, Top Tip - never cook aubergines straight from the fridge. 

This pasta sauce is very simple and has lots of great flavours for relatively little effort. You roast the aubergine for a while, then scoop out the flesh and add it to garlic, tomatoes and oregano. The original recipe has anchovy too, but as Mr is veggie I leave this out (would be unkind otherwise...) and it tastes great all the same. I have taken to replacing them with some capers, for saltiness. I also tweaked and added in passata instead of tomato puree. I'm a tweaker, what can I say.

Aubergine & Tomato Pasta
adapted from Kitchen 22
Serves 2 with a little extra for lunch the next day (yay)

300g spaghetti or linguine
1 aubergine - room temperature!
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced
150g of passata or whizzed up plum tomatoes
1 tsp of capers, chopped
dried oregano
parmesan or veggie alternative
parsley to serve

Heat the oven to 200c / gas mark 5. Place the aubergine on a tray covered in foil (I've found they stick to trays so easily!), pierce the skin and roast for 30 minutes, turning once half way through.

When it is collapsing and the insides soft, remove from the oven. Leave to cool before scooping out the flesh.

Heat some oil in a large saucepan and fry your garlic then add capers, oregano, passata and season (you may not need salt because of the capers) Chop the aubergine roughly and stir in. Simmer whilst you cook the pasta.

When the pasta is cooked add a small amount of cheese to the sauce and stir in. Then stir in the pasta.
Serve with more cheese on top or some parsley.

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Gujarati Kadhi - Yoghurt 'Sauce'

It is very hard to describe what kadhi exactly it, it is basically a yoghurt and gram flour based sauce/soup/gravy for rice. You can also add it to dry curry dishes, like potato. I blogged Kitchri a little while ago, a soothing lentil rice dish gently spiced with turmeric and garlic - kadhi is the best companion for kitchri. You can also have kadhi with plain boiled basmati rice.

Kitri and Kadhi is wonderful when you are sick, it is simple, soothing and comforting - I think it has medicinal qualities similar to chicken soup! I got it together to make this on a weekend when we were both ill with a horrible cold virus thing that caught as at the end of a long winter, it is very easy to make and gentle on a tummy that has been punished by too many Hall's Soothers and Paracetmol pills.

Gujarati Kadhi
makes 4 portions, keeps well in the fridge for a few days

250ml natural yoghurt
2 tablespoons of gram flour / chickpea flour
about 1cm of grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp sugar
750ml cold water
salt
coriander

for tempering:
1-2 dried red chillies - depending on how hot you want it
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
vegetable or sunflower oil


1. Whisk together the yoghurt, chickpeas, ginger, water in a bowl.
2. Heat the oil and add all the tempering ingredients once the oil is hot.  When the mustard seeds begin to pop add in the yoghurt mixture and then water and salt.
3. Bring to the boil, be careful it doesn't bubble over the top. Then let simmer gently for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally to stop any lumps.
4. Taste and season again if you need to, and then add the fresh coriander.

Serve with kitchri or plain basmati rice.
The traditional way to serve it is in a small cup and let each person add the kadhi to their rice as they eat. I sometimes like to drown my rice in it, but at other times add a little to make it drier, it all depends!

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Chilli Paneer

'This is the best thing you've ever made,' was the comment from the Mr about this chilli paneer, so despite the really quite terrible photograph I took hastily (because I wanted to hurry up and eat), I have decided that I really ought to blog this recipe. I haven't received a review like that in a long time.

Chilli Paneer is one of those things I've eaten quite a bit of but never really known what goes into it or how it is made - only recently did I realise it was Indo-Chinese-ish as it has soy sauce in it. The Indian part is made up of the paneer cheese and the rest are ingredients used in both countries (garlic, ginger, chilli, onion).

It differs from the Indian style muttar paneer which has more tomato in it along with the traditional spices - garam masala, turmeric, cumin, coriander. This version is a lot simpler and the soy sauce gives it a rich flavour without too much faffing about with lots of ingredients. In India we had 'Manchurian Paneer' which is another Indo-Chinese dish, it was deep fried crispy paneer in a rich dark sauce - I think with five spice and soy - with lots of spring onion and ginger, something I want to recreate, although I think without the deep frying.

This is very easy to put together and you'll probably have most of the ingredients already. Serve with basmati rice or naan, pitta, roti or other flat bread. Most of the recipes I came across also contained bell pepper, I'm not a huge fan of these and I didn't have any, so I didn't put any in. If you like them add one diced pepper in with the onion.

Chilli Paneer
Adapted from various recipes including Simply Tadka and BBC Good Food.
Serves 2-3

200g block of paneer, diced into about 1 inch pieces
cornflour
sunflower or mild olive oil
2 red onions, finely sliced
1 bell pepper, diced (optional)
2 cloves of garlic
about 1tsp of grated ginger
1/2 tsp - 1 tsp chilli flakes - depending on your chilli tolerance
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
boiling water

1. Dice up your paneer and then toss it in some seasoned cornflour. In a large saucepan shallow fry the pieces in a small amount of oil til golden brown on all sides, do this in batches if you don't have room. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.

2. Add the onions and pepper if using and fry in the oil til quite soft, add a pinch of salt to stop them burning and to realise the juices, it should take about 5 minutes for them to soften. Whilst they are frying mix the tomato puree and dark soy sauce, then add boiling water til it is the consistency of single cream.

3. Add in the ginger, garlic and chilli flakes to the saucepan and fry for a minute. Lower the heat and add the tomato soy sauce mix and then the paneer. Stir to combine everything and keep on a medium heat to simmer gently.

4. The sauce will start to thicken now, because of the cornflour in the paneer, add more water if the sauce starts to reduce too much. Simmer for about 10 minutes on a medium heat, stirring and checking the sauce. Season to taste, add more chilli flakes or soy if necessary and serve.

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Easy Paprika Chickpeas

A little lunch idea for you which is ridiculously easy, healthy and cheap to make! It is in a similar vein to my recipe for Spiced Chickpeas and Peppers but I've altered it so all you need to do is chuck in some flavourings with some freshly boiled chickpeas.

I used dried chickpeas which I soaked and boiled with stock for 40 minutes before draining and adding the dressing. But because these are meant to be easy I'd recommend using tinned. All you need to do for tinned chickpeas is boil them for about 5 minutes. Having the chickpeas warm when you add the dressing really helps them to soak it up a bit more.

For the dressing - dresses 1 400g tin of chickpeas

1 tablespoons of good quality olive oil
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1 heaped teaspoon of smoked paprika
pinch of cumin seeds
salt and pepper to taste
handful of parsley, chopped.
half a chilli, finely chopped.

Add all this to your bowl/pan of freshly cooked chickpeas, stir, cool, store in the fridge and then put into your tub for lunch. I put some fresh spinach on top of mine, the whole thing gets a quick 1 minute zap in the microwave to wilt the spinach and lunch is done! I have mine with a dollop of houmous.

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Vegetarian Pho

First of all, Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a lovely Christmas.

 I've never had Pho before, but I've read lots about it and it seems to be one of those dishes which is amazing and also comes with strict rules about what should be in it. I'd never come across Vegetarian Pho before until I saw it on Miss Igs' blog recently.

Whilst I don't believe detox works, after all the indulgences of Christmas and New Year this is perfect to cut through all the roast dinners, cheese boards and tins of chocolate consumed in such a small amount of time.

This recipe appeals to my organised / neat freak nature as you assemble all the ingredients in to little bowls ready to put together when the broth is done. Some chopped coriander, sliced spring onions, diced chillies, steamed pak choi and thin strips of fried smoked tofu. You can make all this up before serving or lay them out on the table and let everyone garnish as they eat.

Click here for the full recipe on Miss Igs' blog (and lots of other lovely recipes from a fellow Cambridge food blogger).
As mentioned I had shallow fried smoked sesame tofu (lovely, full of flavour) and some steamed pak choi with my Pho. I've got lots of broth leftover too, which I am going to stash in the freezer for a day when I am struck down with a rotten cold.

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Spiced Chickpeas with Peppers

This is a dish based on a lovely chickpea salad I had for lunch, and inspired by it and the desire to make it better it became a very nice weeknight dinner. I used dry chickpeas, soaked overnight and whilst I was at work, soft fried peppers, lots of homegrown chilli, garlic and spices. I siimmered for a while and then topped with feta cheese and piled onto warm flatbreads.

I used dry chickpeas here because they do taste nicer, I find they are less floury, but you can substitute canned. I didn't make the flatbreads, but instead use the new Warburtons square wraps, they are based on the idea of tortilla wraps but are thicker and less like chewing on plastic than the normal 'mexican' style ones you find in supermarkets. I'm going to use these for square tacos soon!

Spiced Chickpeas with Peppers

100g of dry chickpeas, soaked overnight and boiled for 10-20 minutes til tender
Or 1 can of chickpeas.

2 bell peppers sliced into thin strips
1 teaspoon of honey
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar

1 large clove of garlic
1 large green chilli (red chilli if you like it hot!)
1 heaped teaspoon of ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
Squirt of tomato ketchup
Salt and pepper

Boil your chickpeas whilst you do the peppers, if you are using dried chickpeas.
Cut your peppers into thin strips and fry on a high heat for a few minutes with some seasoning. Add in a little honey and the red wine vinegar and then pop the lid on and reduce the heat. This will soften the peppers. Simmer gently for 10-15minutes.

Fry the garlic and chilli in olive oil for a minute or so, then drain your chickpeas (either after boiling or from your can) and throw them in. Add in the spices, tomato ketchup (yes it seems a bit strange but it gives the dish a sauce and tomato-ey flavour) and season. Stir in your softened peppers. Simmer for 5 minutes to let everything flavour the chickpeas and peppers, add a splash of water in it if looks a bit dry.

Pile into bowls and serve with some oven warmed flatbreads and feta cheese on top.
A sprinkle of chopped coriander wouldn't hurt either.

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Cooking from the River Cottage Veg Book

Never before have I made so many recipes from a recipe book before. I think I am like a lot of people, I buy cookbooks promising to try all the recipes, I look at the pretty pictures, feel my stomach grumble, make one or two and then resign it to the shelf. Google is a lot quicker if I need to find a recipe in a hurry so my books get neglected.

I've loved the recipes from this book, and we've been watching the TV programmes too. Mr. Giraffe became a vegetarian nearly a year ago so I'm really glad to find a book full of many recipes that are inventive and veggie.

Our favourite by far is the broad bean and pea bruschetta - we use frozen peas when there are no broad beans in season - topped with crumbly goats cheese or feta. A small portion makes for a lovely side to a plate of pasta too.

We've also made the polenta chips, the mushroom stoup (make lots of this, it tastes better the next day), beetroot soup, aubergine parmigiana (Sainsburys basics 'italian hard cheese' is veggie and also tastes pretty good) and the beetroot tarte tatin.

Next on the list is the rest of the book - but more specifically the cauliflower pakoras, chickpea ketchup curry (for a day when we are feeling lazy!) and the beetroot and chocolate ice cream.

I cannot recommend this book enough, whether you are veggie or not, it is huge so you'll find something you'll like. And I agree with Hugh that we all need to eat less meat, not no meat but a lot less than we eat now.

I've also forgiven Hugh for cutting his hair, this book has made up for him having run of the mill short hair.

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Sort of Sea Spiced Aubergine

Whilst it might seem a cliche, since Mr. Giraffe became vegetarian we've been eating a lot more aubergine, a lot of people describe it as being meaty - although I don't really see that - but it is very substantial which means it is easy to make it the centre of a meal.
This is my 'sort of' sea spiced aubergine, it is probably not very authentic but it has all the right mix of flavours - deep savoury, chilli burn and a little sweetness. This always takes me longer to make than I think, due to the fact that aubergines take SO LONG to roast. After they are roasted the dish comes together pretty quickly though.

Sea Spiced Aubergine - serves 2

2 medium sized aubergines
olive oil
2 fresh chillies

For the sauce
2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons of  Tamari (or just add in another tablespoon of dark soy sauce)
2 teaspoons of chili bean paste (or any good chilli sauce, or sambal oelek)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 teaspoons of honey
juice of 1/2 a lime

Heat the oven to 180 degrees c / gas mark 4.
Line a baking dish with foil and wrap your aubergines and chillies up in the foil, drizzle with sunflower or a mild olive oil before you seal. Roast in the oven for about an hour to an hour and a half, about half way through remove the chilis and turn the aubergines. Slice the chillies in to small pieces. If you don't want too much heat you can use 1 chilli, or leave the seeds out.

For the sauce mix all the ingredients together in a bowl with the roasted chillies.

When the aubergines are ready, remove from the dish and let them cool so they aren't going to burn your hands off when you slice them. They should be very very soft and collapsed slightly.
Cut your aubergine into rough chunks, about 2 inches.
Heat up a large frying pan or a wok, add in some sunflower oil and then your aubergines. Fry for a minute and then pour in your sauce, followed by a little hot water if it is a bit dry. Simmer for 5-10 minutes on a medium to low heat.

Serve with egg fried rice or fine egg noodles.

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