Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry

Ah, curry. Delicious, declicious curry. Britain has had a love affair with this versatile dish for over two hundred years and there doesn't seem to be an end date for this affection with the jalfrezi variety recently overtaking the classic chicken tikka masala as the national favorite. However, much to my chagrin, I think it's fair to say that curry house versions are hardly the world's healthiest dishes with the average calorie bomb reaching astronomical heights. For example, a takeaway (or delivery) version of chicken tikka masala with rice and naan comes in at an amazing 1,300 calories on average. On. Average. Yikes.

So, I thought for a homecooked option, I'd like to try and accomplish two goals. The first was to keep those calories more in check while the second goal was to find a recipe that delivered the same amount of flavor and enjoyment of a takeaway curry in a shorter amount of time. With this vegetarian version, which has only about 300 calories in each portion when divided into four, I think we've cracked it. I've listed the prep time as five minutes but honestly, it definitely took less than that since all you have to do is chop the onion and then peel and chop the sweet potato. The only fiddly part of this recipe is the fact that you need to find cumin seeds and mustard seeds in addition to your curry powder - which was a bit of a mission since neither of the small grocery stores near my house had them. However, wandering to a larger Tesco proved wise and I found them easily so this might be something to keep in mind. The rest of the ingredients were super easy to source and, aside from the sweet potatoes, are primarily found in canned form and therefore might already be in your cupboard.

We served this curry with a bit of wholegrain rice and shared a simple Tesco naan bread between us but I think this would be equally delicious with some paneer thrown in to bulk it up a bit. I think this dish is best thought of as a more robust option to compete with chana masala. I've kept the recipe pretty much the same although I added the frozen peas to give it that nice burst of freshness. I really hope you'll give this a try since it takes less time than a delivery would and you'll have plenty to go around for weekly lunches or dinner the next day. Finally, the original recipe is supposedly for two portions but I didn't change any of the measurements and ended up with definitely enough for four people. If you were serving this alongside another curry or additional dishes, you could easily stretch this to at least six portions.

Original recipe via www.bbcgoodfood.com

Prep Time:   5 min

Cook Time: 25 min

Serves:       4-6

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp medium curry powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

100g red lentils 

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

500 ml vegetable stock

1 can chopped tomatoes (400g)

1 can chickpeas (400g)

1 cup frozen peas

To Serve:

Yogurt

Mango chutney 

Fresh coriander

Rice/Naan bread 

Method:

In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium heat before adding the chopped onion. Leave to soften, stirring frequently. When the onion is translucent and soft, add the spices, lentils, sweet potato, chopped tomato and vegetable stock.

Bring to a boil then cover and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. 

When the sweet potato has softened, add the peas and chickpeas over a low heat. Cover again and leave for five minutes to allow to heat through.

Serve over rice or alongside naan bread with a yogurt, mango chutney and a sprinkle of fresh coriander. 

Spicy Chana Masala

This is one of my favorite dishes in Indian restaurants and something I've been wanting to try at home. After ordering some amchoor powder off Amazon, I thought this was the perfect time to give it a go. This recipe is based on one from Smitten Kitchen, but of course I couldn't resist messing with it.

Ingredients

So many spices!

Ready for the pan

I thought that the amchoor powder added enough of a sour note that I didn't need the lemon juice that she included. However, if you don't have any on hand, you can definitely substitute the juice of half a lemon. I also neglected to notice that she included cumin seeds after they had been toasted and ground. Instead I threw them in whole and it was actually very tasty so I've kept them that way in this recipe.

Nearly ready...

Ready to eat!

I like the fact that this recipe not only makes TONS of food but it also is pretty quick and actually fairly cheap since chickpeas and chopped tomatoes are hardly the world's most expensive ingredients. And when I say this makes tons, I mean it. I've estimated you could get 8 servings from this but I really think it could even be more, especially if you're having it as a side dish. I served this with some store bought paratha, yogurt, chutney, some lemon roasted new potatoes, quick sauteed mushrooms and a sprinkling of fresh coriander. Delicious!

Finished dish

I highly recommend this as a dish that you could make on a Sunday afternoon and enjoy all week!

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 45 min

Serves: 8

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp oil
2 medium red onions, chopped finely
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 green chili, finely chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp amchoor powder
2 tsp paprkida
1 tsp garam masala
1 can chopped tomatoes
2/3 cup water
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp salt

Method: 

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Allow to heat through and begin to become translucent before adding the chili. After a few minutes, add the spices and saute to allow the spices to heat through and become fragrant. Next, add the remaining ingredients and leave to simmer for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Chili

Lately I've been trying to cut down on my meat consumption in a bid to be a bit healthier for summer. I also like the challenge of having to adjust my existing recipes to work without beef or chicken. In doing so, I've been really impressed with the vegetarian meat substitutes available in the supermarkets around me. I'll definitely be popping back to try some more of them soon!

Vegetarian mince

Celery and Onion

Defrosted mince soaking up the stock

For this chili, I used Quorn's mince. I really think it's a great option because it's so similar to actual beef mince. Sam said if I hadn't told him, he wouldn't have noticed a difference... pretty high compliment! In a bid to make it further resemble normal mince, I popped it in a pan with a little water and a beef stock cube and left it to soak up the stock. Because of that step, I wouldn't say this is technically a vegetarian dish but you could easily skip it or use a vegetarian approved stock cube instead.

Peppers and garlic join the pot

Adding the mince

Everything ready to simmer 

Because I'm using the vegetarian mince, I upped the veggies and spices to help make it tastier. The mince has a slightly softer texture than beef so I topped it with some extra celery to give it a little crunch. I also made a quick pico de gallo and added some olives, green onions and cheese. Delicious! Finally, I'm putting 20 minutes as the cook time but the longer you leave it to simmer, the better!

Finished dish!

Prep TIme: 10 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

300g Quorn mince

1 beef stock cube

100ml water

2 sticks of celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp chilies, chopped

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp paprika 

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 can red kidney beans, drained

Toppings: pico de gallo, sour cream, green onion, olives, and celery. 

Method: 

In a small sauce pan, add 100ml of water and the beef stock cube. When the stock is ready, add the Quorn mince and stir to defrost and allow the stock to coat the mince. 

In a larger pan, saute the celery, onion, garlic and bell pepper in a splash of olive oil. When the vegetables have softened, add the mince and spices and cook over medium heat until the spices are fragrant. Finally, add the tomatoes and beans, and leave to simmer for at least ten minutes. Top with cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, green onions, olives and celery. Enjoy! 

Baked Falafel

Last week, I popped over to Borough Market with my lovely friend Charlotte, who was on a flying visit to the UK. It was amazing to see her after nearly five years! Plus, she was keen to visit sites around London that I might otherwise overlook because I'm so focused on my studies etc. Borough Market is definitely one of those places. It's really close to my house and yet I never go. Part of the reason for that is that the last few times I'd been, it had been crazy crowded. At 5'2, I don't do great in crowds and I really hate being constantly jostled. However, it seems they've undergone a bit of a renovation and it felt MUCH more roomy even though we're heading into the tourist months. While there we grabbed a spot of lunch and my falafel wrap was so delicious I decided to give it a go at home.

Ingredients

Chickpeas going in...

Chickpeas, onions and garlic

I've never made falafel before but it was super easy (if you have a food processor). I also decided to pop them into the oven instead of frying as a nod to trying to eat healthy. They were a bit more crumbly than the ones you'd get in a restaurant and I think that might be due to the lack of frying. Still, they were pretty tasty!

Ready to whirl!

Ready to roll

Ready for the oven!

We served these up with a beetroot salad (ready-made by Tesco haha), pickles, a tomato and olive salad, yogurt and hummus mixed with sriracha. Basically, I wanted to have all the elements of my Borough Market wrap without the bread and I think we succeeded! My broiler was acting up so I skipped the final 5 minutes which meant that my falafel didn't get that nice brown color but they were still delicious and I can't stress how easy this recipe is! I didn't change anything critical in the recipe from Generation Y Foodie, except that I used canned chickpeas because that was what I had on hand and increased the garlic. I also completely forgot to include the flour and noticed zero difference in the final version... oops!

Tasty dinner!

Recipe via www.generationyfoodie.com 

Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 5

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups chickpeas, drained

1/4 cup of water

1 medium onion, quartered

5-7 cloves of garlic, peeled

1/2 cup fresh parsley

Zest and juice of half a lemon

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp flour

1.5 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp baking powder

olive oil cooking spray

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 375F / 190C.

Whirl all the ingredients in a food processor until they are evenly chopped and the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. Spray your baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray and roll the falafel mixture into golfball sized mounds. Place the falafel on the baking sheet and spray with the cooking spray. Bake for fifteen minutes. Next, turn on the broiler and leave for five minutes. Enjoy! 

Vegetarian Japchae

Hello! I'm pleased to offer up on of my favorite Korean dishes for today's post: Japchae! While I usually have this with beef when I eat out, at home I rarely buy meat if I'm cooking for myself so this is a vegetarian version. This was so easy to put together that I really can't believe I've never tried it before. The only unusual ingredients are the noodles. Glass noodles are made from sweet potato so aren't your average pasta option. The texture is more chewy and slippery than regular noodles which might not sound delicious but trust me, it is. One tip I would suggest is to cut your noodles if they come folded over like mine as this makes them easier to eat. I snipped the folded end and left them otherwise intact.

Ingredients

Making friends in the pan

I had picked up these noodles the last time I was in the Korean shop and they've been sitting around in my cupboard ever since. So, I thought I'd give this recipe a go even though I didn't have shitake mushrooms, which are traditionally included. Normally you buy the dry mushrooms, soak them for 2 hours or so, wring out the water and slice. I substituted chestnut mushrooms since that's what I had in my fridge already and it was perfectly tasty. Other optional additions could be some spinach (boiled for a minute and rinsed) and bell pepper (thinly sliced). If you'd like to add in the beef, thinly slice a steak and saute with the onions. In the traditional recipes I've been reading, they often cook the ingredients individually and mix just before serving. I was impatient and therefore added all the ingredients into one pan and it still turned out ok... so it's up to you!

Noodles ready for cooking

Noodles after boiling

Finished product! 

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 10 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp sesame oil 

4 chestnut mushrooms, sliced 

1/2 a large carrot, thinly sliced

1/2 a yellow onion, thinly sliced

3 green onions

Handful of glass noodles

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

Sesame seeds 

Method: 

Splash the oils into a large saute pan and heat over medium high. Add the onions into the pan and saute until they start to soften. Next add the mushrooms and carrot, stirring regularly to allow them to cook evenly. When the mushrooms have started to soften, add the green onions and remove from the heat. Drizzle one tablespoon of soy sauce over the vegetables and set aside. Boil water in a medium pot and add the glass noodles. Allow to boil for 4-5 minutes, stirring to make sure all the noodles are submerged. The noodles are ready when they are soft and chewy. When finished, drain the noodles and add to the pan with the vegetables. Place the saute pan over a medium heat, add the remaining soy sauce and sugar and stir to incorporate. When the pan is sizzling again, it's ready! Serve in bowls and sprinkle sesame seeds over the top. Enjoy! 

Vegetarian Samosas

Hello lovely readers! Apologies once again for the long delay in posting - things have been a bit busy on the PhD front, which now also includes a soul crushing search for a part time job that has so far been unsuccessful. Sigh! However, I did have a great time at the recent launch of our Science, Medicine and Society network (the organization for which I've been working with a few other postgrads to gather ethnographic fieldwork at community groups around London). We had a great launch and we were able to present our findings so far in a special session. All in all, it was a great event and I even had my first experience live tweeting something (@caitiescapers). I'll be using twitter to announce new recipes in the works and when posts will be going up so make sure to follow me (still learning the lingo...). Now that I'm finally back to my more normal routine, I thought it was time for a new recipe!

Step one: lay out one sheet of filo dough

Step two: brush with melted butter 

Step three: fold by thirds until you have a three layer strip

I've been wanting to try out samosas for a while since they're probably my favorite Indian dish but I wasn't sure if I wanted to take on what seemed to be a pretty involved process. However, after having a look online at different options, I decided to try it out with filo dough as a first attempt because it was the most readily available in my local supermarket in Rome. I thought this led to a pretty tasty result and I'll definitely be making these again. I'd like to experiment with making them smaller to suit party food so that might be a future post on this blog! (You know how much I love party nibbles!). Huge thank you to Laure for the photos of the rolling method and to Anna for being patient enough to stay and chat to us throughout the process! Finally, next time I make them, I'll include the coriander sauce that's a traditional accompaniment and I'll be sure to post that recipe. 

Step four: place a spoonful of filling at the end of the strip

Step five: fold over to make a triangle

Step six: continue folding in a triangle shape

Step seven: finish with more melted butter on the last section and seal

Recipe via www.bbc.co.uk/food

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 60 min

Serves: 18

Ingredients: 

Vegetable oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

60g onion, chopped

1 tsp ginger, finely chopped

60g frozen peas

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp garam masala 

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Salt

600g potatoes

4 tbsp fresh coriander leaves

2 packets of ready made filo pastry 

5 tbsp butter, melted. 

Method: 

Peel and chop the potatoes into large wedges. Add to a pot of water and boil until the potatoes are soft. Drain and set aside.

In a large pan, add the vegetable oil and the mustard seeds and leave over medium heat until the seeds start to pop. When ready, add the onion and ginger and saute until they have softened and the ginger is fragrant. Add the ground coriander, cumin, chili powder, garam masala and the juice of half a lemon. Leave to saute for a minute or so before adding the frozen peas and the potatoes. Mix well and saute for a further few minutes to ensure the spices are well mixed and coating all the ingredients. Sprinkle in the fresh coriander leaves and set aside to cool.

On a large chopping board, lay out one sheet of filo dough (be sure to cover the remaining sheets with a lightly damp towel so they don't dry out). Brush with melted butter and fold into thirds. In the corner of the resulting three layer strip, place a spoonful of the filling and fold over to make a triangle shape. Add a bit more butter to the strip and continue folding, maintaining the triangle shape and ensuring the filling is securely wrapped. On the final fold, add more butter and press lightly to make certain the edges are secure. Place samosa on a baking paper lined tray and continue with the remaining pastry and filling.

When ready, pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F. Brush the tops of the samosas with a bit more butter and bake for 30 minutes, flipping half way through. Serve with your favorite pickle or chutney and enjoy! Next time I make them, I'll include the coriander sauce that's a traditional accompaniment and I'll be sure to post that recipe. 

Couscous Vegetarian "Bibimbap"

Ok, first things first, this is not bibimbap. It is "bibimbap". The difference being that this is in absolutely no way authentic Korean cuisine. In real bibimbap, the starch is rice and there are several distinct toppings, which are kept separate until the diner mixes them all together. These often include: beef, cucumber, carrot, and other vegetables. My version is probably unidentifiable to Korean cooking fans but it was still delicious and allowed me to use up all my leftovers without getting hopelessly bored of them. I had couscous on hand so I went ahead and used that. And actually, I think I might prefer it to the rice since it left me feeling less stodgy and made the dish so much lighter. The real key to this dish is the Korean chili paste. I've raved about it before but it really changes this dish and makes it distinct from a stir-fry or just couscous and vegetables (both of which are tasty dishes in their own right!). It adds a little heat and totally changes the flavor of the dish. Be careful though: a little goes a long way! Also, I bought it a few months ago and it's still going strong in the fridge so the investment (it's cheap but might be a bit of a pain to find) is definitely worth it.

Leftover veggies getting a Korean style makeover

Frying my egg

Couscous ready for toppings

Veggie layer goes on

Next: Fried egg and chopped raw bell pepper

Finally a fairly unattractive blob of sauce

Prep Time: 3 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of cooked couscous
1/2 - 1 cup of leftover grilled/roasted veggies
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp oil or butter
1 egg
1 tbsp red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp Korean chili paste
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp vinegar

Method:

Measure the couscous into a bowl. Boil water in a kettle or on the stove and pour over the couscous until the water level is about a centimeter above the grains. Cover the bowl with a plate and allow to steam for fifteen minutes until all the water is absorbed. Meanwhile, over medium heat, add the leftover vegetables to a pan and allow to reheat. Add the sesame seeds and sesame oil after a few minutes and toss to coat. Allow to saute a further few minutes until hot. In another pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and add the egg. Fry until it reaches your preferred consistency. Add the vegetables to the couscous and top with the fried egg and the bell pepper pieces. Finally, mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl and add to the couscous mix. With a spoon, mix the ingredients in your bowl to evenly distribute the egg and the chili sauce mix. Enjoy!