The smoked aubergine makes a relatively boring & difficult to cook vegetable scrummy! Cooked like this, it is eaten mostly in Northern India. For a summer twist instead of using the oven, wrap the aubergines in foil & leave them on the bbq for about 45 minutes.
Spicy Aubergine Ingredients
3 large aubergines
1 garlic clove chopped fine
A one inch knob of fresh ginger chopped fine
1/2 onion chopped fine
3 tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 tbsp of sunflower oil
1/2 teaspoon of tumeric
2 fresh green chillis split down the middle (seeds & all – depending on how hot you like it!)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon garam masala
Seasoning to taste
Fresh coriander leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the aubergines (whole) in a baking tray & roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Then throw in the tomatoes (whole) & roast everything for another 30 minutes. About 10 minutes before the aubergines & tomatoes have finished, place the oil in a pan & heat. Throw in the cumin seeds & let them pop for about 20 seconds. Add the garlic & ginger & let it sweat for about 30 seconds until they go slightly brown. Add the onions & cook them for about 5 minutes until they go golden brown.
While the onions are cooking scrape all the auberinge pulp out of the skin & place in a bowl. Do the same with the tomatoes. Add the tumeric & garam masala to the onions & then add the aubergine & tomato pulp, chillis & lemon juice. Season well & let everything cook together for about 6-7 minutes. Take off the heat, sprinke with fresh corriander leaves & serve.
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This is one of the simplest and nicest dishes found in South India. Pachadi is a simple dish whos base ingrediant is yogurt. The recipe below can be varied by substituting the beetroot for apple or pineapple.
Pachadi Ingredients
3 boiled beetroots
1 tsp Ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 medium Onion
1 tsp Mustard seeds
Curry leaves (about 7-10 leaves roughly torn
2-3 split Green chillies(split) or 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 large pot of Natural unset Yogurt (Curd)
1-2 tblp Vegetable/Sunflower Oil
Salt to taste
Preparation
Finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger (or even easier blend it in a food mixer) until you get a course paste.
Separately grate your beetroot using a cheese grater (again you can cheat by pulsing in a food blender).
Method
Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Once the mustard seeds start popping add the onion paste and reduce the heat slightly. Saute for a couple of minutes to soften the onion paste slightly (you are not looking to colour the onions, just take the edge off them).
Add the turmeric followed by the beetroot mixture. Add a splash of water to help the beetroot cook. Simmer for 2-3 minutes to let the flavours gel together. Add more water if required to prevent the mixture drying out completely.
Next add the garam masala, chilli and salt.
Once the beetroot has softened turn down the heat very low (or even take off the heat completely to avoid splitting the yogurt). Stir in the yogurt slowly until you get a deep pink colour (not maroon!). Serve and enjoy!
Pachadi is best served with lemon rice and roti/chapati.
To make lemon rice simply take your cooked basmati rice and put to one side. In a pan fry off some mustard seeds and curry leaves (as above) then add 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder to the pan. Next add your cooked basmati rice and stir so that the rice picks up the yellow colour from the turmeric. Add the lemon juice to taste (roughly 1/2 lemon per serving) stir through and serve.
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Apple cider with spiced rum is a truly great winter recipe guaranteed to warm you up on a cold winters night. Traditionally served in the West Country of the United Kingdom spiced cider is now enjoyed all over the world. Even if you do not like cider or rum on their own, the chances are you’ll enjoy this recipe.
Ingredients
1 litre of apple cider
1/2 a litre of orange juice
juice from one lemon
2 tablespoons of sugar
3 cinamon sticks
2 oranges sliced
2 tablespoons of whole cloves
5 shots of spiced rum (shop bought)
Method
Mix all of the ingredients in a saucepan and slowly bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer on a very low heat for 15 minutes. When you serve add a slice of fresh orange to each glass for some extra freshness.
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