Fried Upma with Ricotta

Upma is a delicious breakfast dish and snack from South India, made from rava. Rava (also called Rawa, Sooji, Suji or Upma grain) is a semolina product that is cooked with spices and sometimes finely chopped vegetables for a stunningly delicious dish.

#Ottolenghi, in his book #PlentyMore takes his version of Upma and allows it to set before pan frying wedges. It is a delicious way to use Upma and a great use of left-overs. Rather than use his recipe, I cook Upma in a more traditional South Indian way, using his method to pan fry it, then serve it with either seasoned yoghurt or ricotta.

Rava, like semolina, is a granulated wheat flour that has a grainy texture to it. There are two types available, a fine-grained version and a coarser-grained one that is better for making Upma. In general, sooji will have a finer grain than rava.

I cook Upma until it is thick and holds shape. One variation has a looser consistency but if making the fried upma, it is best to cook it until quite thick.

As an aside and just for your information if you are interested: There are many different types of rava, perhaps thousands of regional variations. Some of the variations are because different wheats are used. Eg Bansi Rava, also known as samba wheat, is a very fine powdered flour unlike the more coarsely granulated Rava. It is made from a variety of wheat called samba godumai that has a long body and slightly sharp edges on both sides.

Another famous Rava is Bombay Rava which has a very coarse texture that is a little bigger than regular Rava. It is made from whole wheat grains of mottai godumai wheat.

There is another type, chamba rava, which is a by-product of wheat flour. Semolina, on the other hand, is always made from Duram wheat.

Matki and Gotu Kola Salad with Coconut

Gotu Kola aka Pennywort is a bit of a super food with amazing properties - also some side effects so do your research before using. Occasionally I can find bunches at the local Asia grocery – a joy because it is used across Sri Lanka and India. In Sri Lanka a sambal is made, but this dish is a step further, a salad with a base of Moth Beans (Matki).

It is very easy to make and matki takes under 30 mins to cook, so you can make the salad in the morning while you are pottering around getting ready for work, and then it is ready to have with dinner when you get home.

Recently I found a gotu kola plant and now have it growing at home - it does well in a dampish, partly shaded environment.

I have also made this dish with nasturtium leaves, parsley or coriander in place of the gotu kola. Other ingredients include onion, green chilli, lemon zest, grated coconut, and lime juice.

I have numerous Pumpkin Soups that I love, including this one. I first made it when I was on a Clean-out-the-pantry drive during the Covid lockdowns (I was trying to minimise shopping trips).

Its a very versatile soup. Use any lentils. Toor dal, channa dal, chickpeas and split peas are all good candidates. Or small split fava beans. Brown lentils, puy lentils, beluga lentils, whole red lentils (masoor dal), horsegram, matki beans – all are good.

Here I used some end-of-the-packet beluga. It makes for a dark soup – if this is difficult for you, just add plenty of chopped herbs as a garnish.

Some lentil types will break down and make a thick broth for the soup, others are more likely to hold their shape and add texture. Either will work well.

Cook the lentils first. Tinned lentils (or beans) are all Ok too.

Start with onions, celery, carrot. Add chopped tomatoes, tinned tomatoes or some tomato puree. Chunks of butternut or other fav pumpkin/squash. Herbs. Spices (I use turmeric, cumin and chilli powder (or chillies). When simmering, add your lentils.

Cook until done to your satisfaction.

You can add anything else you fancy along the way,

Top with herbs and/or crispy fried onions.

Amaranth Leaves are the leaves of the varieties of edible amaranth plants. They are very easy to grow, and come up year after year, so keen gardeners are never without this vegetable in their gardens. The leaves can vary from green to red, and you will often see bunches in Asian green groceries.

The leaves and the grain are exceptionally high in protein as well as amino acids, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, and zinc - a vegetarian's dream plant.

I cook them in Indian dishes, as the leaves are quite common in India so there is a great variety of recipes. Amaranth varieties are used in Asian cooking too. Known as Chinese Sinach or Een choi, it is often sold as whole plants with roots.

#Apples, the fruit of Winter. While we think of them as dessert fruit, they also make amazing salads and savoury baked dishes - salads, pickles, chutneys, as well as jams, breakfast dishes, juices and desserts.

They can be eaten raw, poached and roasted. As well as salads, they make amazing soups when incorporated with veggies. Dr Ben, a Korean doctor and blogger, uses apples and pears in his kimchis for sweetening.

to the apple!

I am a fan of artichoke hearts, and use them particularly in Summer salads. Although they can be roasted, sauteed, gratineed, used to top pizza and turned into a dip, our uses are primarily in salads.

Pea Eggplants (also called Turkey Berry and Sundakkai) are very common across S.E. Asia and India. They are used fresh in S.E. Asia and more commonly used dried (Sundakkai Vathal) in South India. They are very delicious and incredibly nutritious. Fresh pea eggplants can be found in Asia groceries and the dried ones in Indian groceries.

#Tamarind is one of my favourite flavours, and it is a regret that we don’t often get fresh tamarind pods here. There is a difference between using fresh young but ripe tamarind and the dried blocks of older tamarind that we use. Some recipes are great with the younger tamarind, some pair better with the older and/or dried tamarind.

Occasionally we can pick up raw tamarind, and I love to make a sweet-sour molasses/syrup with it to capture the wonderful mouth puckering green taste.

Here I roasted Brussels Sprouts with my tamarind molasses.

You can make your own from raw or ripe tamarind pods. But in some parts of the world it is easy to purchase a tamarind syrup – this can be used as well if the sweetness doesn’t override the tartness. It needs a balance of sweet and tart.

Fennel is a vegetable that feels like it should be a Summer vegetable but it is definitely at its best in Winter. It is delicious raw, in salads or nibbled while you potter in the kitchen.

But it is also very good when cooked. It loses its strong aniseed taste and becomes creamy and delicious. Baked, grilled, pan fried, simmered into soups or blended into purees. It really is an underutilised vegetable in Australia.

19 février 2014 - Il y a 11 ans jour pour jour, j’ai atterri de nouveau à Kyiv pour couvrir les derniers jours de la révolution ukrainienne. J’ai retrouvé la Sotnia que je suivais un mois plus tôt et j’ai passé la soirée sur les dernières barricades au milieu de la place.

Et puis ma carte mémoire de travail a lâché. Depuis, impossible de la monter pour la lire. Il me fallait donc trouver une boîte qui puisse extraire la puce mémoire et la lire et voir si les photos étaient toujours là, sans que ça me coûte un rein ou l’âme de mon premier né.

J’ai fini par trouver, et j’ai fini par envoyer la carte et oui, elles étaient bien là.
Je pensais en avoir perdu 300 ; près du double ont été retrouvées. Je les avais quasi toutes oubliées.

Les roses dans les cocktails molotov, les visages harassés, Ihor et Sasha, la main sur le cœur, l’infirmerie et Ihor le Sotnik, blessé, son pistolet dans un holster...

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This is a perfect evening salad, reminiscent of a cheese and greens plate – so much so that you will find yourself wanting to eat it with crackers! It is simple and quick, yet utterly delicious.

I don’t often buy bags of mixed lettuce leaves but sometimes it is the easiest and cheapest way to bring a salad together. Here I use mesclun, but any mix will work. If you have some watercress leaves, radicchio or Belgian Endive, add some of those too.

Top with toasted nuts or seeds. Walnuts are great – I sometimes keep a bowl of two of unshelled walnuts in the kitchen just to add to dishes as needed. But other nuts will work easily as well – pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts, for example. Or sunflower seeds, pepitas or other seeds.

Then drizzle with just a little walnut or hazelnut oil with even less lemon juice. Select your cheese and add. Voila! A salad.

Looking for a nice cuppa chai? Try this. Make it as sweet as you like. White sugar is ok if you don't have the others.

Clove, Cinnamon and Cardamom Chai (CCC Chai)

Simmer 1 tspn cloves, 8cm cinnamon sticks and 1 tspn cardamom pods in 0.5 cup water with 2 cups milk for several minutes. Add 1 tspn black tea and 2 – 3 tspn jaggery or brown sugar and continue to simmer for another 3 or 4 minutes. Strain and serve.

Squeeze the peg to make the Dipper bird dip! The spring in the peg returns it to its upright position.
www.robives.com/project/peg-dipper/
#clothespin #clothespeg #automata #dipper #bird #maker #fromTheArchives

The Pea is there through all the seasons – in its pod in Spring and Summer, frozen year round. It grows up with us, from pea mashes to buttery steamed peas, from to risotto to fritters, and salads to soups. They can seem predictable and are often overlooked. But peas are incredibly versatile. Freshly podded peas are fantastic if they are eaten as soon as possible after picking; the rest of the time frozen will more than do. Peas are the ultimate vegetable, reliable, versatile and almost as good frozen as fresh.

These beautiful Pea, Za’atar and Feta Fritters are from #Simple by #Ottolenghi, and they are actually quite simple to make. A pea puree is mixed with za’atar, mint and feta, formed into fritters and fried. They can be served simply with a salad and lemon wedges, or with a yoghurt or cream based sauce for dipping.

#FromTheKitchen #FromTheArchives @Food #Vegetarian

Coriander Coconut Gram Chutney

This is a simple but totally delicious Indian chutney. Not only is it good for Indian meals and snacks like dosa, it is excellent for dunking chips into and spreading on your salad sandwiches.

There are three varieties of Indian chutneys: fresh chutneys, cooked chutneys, and dry chutneys.

Fresh South Indian chutneys are smooth purees made from uncooked ingredients, perhaps seasoned with a tadka of mustard seeds, dal, and curry leaves. They are best freshly made, but they stay good for a couple of days if refrigerated. Made from raw ingredients this type of chutney is unlike most other Indian dishes which have at least some degree of cooking.

Chutneys add zing to a meal and are an essential part of a South Indian meal. They can be prepared with a limitless variety of ingredients. This one is a variation on a standard Coconut-Coriander Chutney, but tamarind has been used as the souring agent and some fried gram is added for flavour and thickness. We haven’t added a tadka but could have.

In fact, Coconut Chutney can be made either without herb additions, or, like in this case, coriander can be added. Alternatively, mint leaves, garlic, tomatoes, onions, almonds, carrots, beetroot, green mangos, peanuts, capsicums, and greens are great addition choices.

Recipe is from Chatpate Chutneys
by Sudha Chandrakant.

You can find recipes for coconut coriander chutney all over the internet. This is a good one: https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/coriander-coconut-chutney/ She uses lime juice as the souring agent and adds a tadka.

Besides being over-the-top flavoursome, rasam serves to deliver a range of health-giving spices to the body. It is especially true of this one - the spices it contains are all potent ayurvedic spices. It is like taking a daily or weekly dose of nutrients via a tangy, spicy liquid. What can be better – healthy AND flavoursome.

I am not a great dessert maker, in fact is it quite rare that I do more than peel some fruit for dessert, but this one...OMG!!!! And so xmasy!

Frozen Berries with White Chocolate Cream

We first made this dish in the extreme weather of Summer in Australia – there were temperatures of 47C in Adelaide and catastrophic fires across Australia. It was aso a change from consuming copious amounts of icecream and fruit lassi.

This dish really is beautiful – sweet, chocolaty with overtones of the bitters used to dress the fruit. It was my new favourite #Ottolenghi dish.

It is a dish from the Dessert section of Ottolenghi’s #PlentyMore. For this recipe, I bought a bag of mixed frozen berries, and used primarily the berries other than the strawberries. It was delicious and a cost effective way of making this dish in Australia. He suggests using a lot of red and black currents, but they are hard to get and expensive here. I added some lemon juice to them to balance sweetness.

(The recipe is also here: https://www.hellomagazine.com/cuisine/20150219127730/bitter-frozen-berries-with-white-chocolate-cream/)