Easy, mild lamb curry with fragrant basmati rice

 It has been a long winter, I have found that people hibernate in New Zealand, so you don't entertain or see friends very much. Kiwis are very 'outdoor' people and I don't just mean that in the sporting sense, but also entertaining and eating outside. Its so easy to fire up the barbie and throw a salad together, and enjoy dinner al fresco. However, in the colder months everyone stays indoors  and I think this recipe is perfect for the cold weather, comforting and wholesome, with a little spice to warm you up!

 An easy, mild Lamb curry, this is a superb dish for those in the family that don't or cant eat hot and spicy food. My children don't really like the hot stuff! So this is ideal, they are not great meat eaters either, so this curry is lovely as the meat is quite tender (depending on which method you use to cook it).  I cooked this in a slow cooker but you can use the oven or on the stove top.

700g boneless lamb shoulder (fat removed) roughly diced into bite size pieces
2-3 tbl Oil (your preference)
1.5 Tsp Ground cumin
1.5  Tsp Ground coriander
1 Tsp Tumeric powder
3-4 Cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
Tip -:  If you have an Indian food suppliers that you can get to , they have ready made , fresh garlic paste and garlic & ginger paste that is kept in the fridge, fantastic if you use these ingredients all the time.  If you are using this, add 2 heaped teaspoons.
2-3 medium sized onions, finely sliced
150-200 mls of Chicken or beef stock (depending on how much sauce you want.
1/2 -1tsp chilli flakes (optional)
200mls of fresh cream
Salt & pepper to taste
Fresh coriander to garnish

1. Add oil to a large lidded casserole dish or a heavy based saucepan (if using the stove top) add onions and cook until pale and slightly golden, add the lamb and cook until browned.
2. Add the spices and chilli, and the ginger and garlic.  Add the cream and stock, bring it to the boil and then immediately  on a very low heat, simmer for about 1 hour.
3. If using the oven (preheated to around 150) cook the steps 1 & 2 in a large frying pan or wok and then transfer to a casserole dish, cooking for an hour or until the lamb is tender.
4. My favourite way is using the slow cooker, then you know you are getting beautiful, tender meat that melts in your mouth, again, steps 1 & 2 on the stove top in a large frying pan (hold the cream) which you can add  10-15 min before serving.

For the Basmati rice -; See an earlier blog entry for recipe, add 1/2 tsp of whole cumin when you add the water, and then  chopped coriander to garnish.

 

Enjoy!

 

Till next time

 

Ashia

Indian rice pudding with flaky puris

This is a gorgeous version of rice pudding, I have memories of eating this when I was growing up, we had it mainly at religious festivals, or in the month of Ramadan.
When I crave something sweet that reminds me of home, this is my go to reciepe, it is easy and tastes divine with little hot puris.


Rice pudding (kheeraj)

1Tbl butter/ghee
2 pints milk
2pints water
½ mug rice (Basmati)
1 small tin condensed milk
¼ cup raisons or sultanas
1 small tin nestle cream or fresh cream (optional)

Wash and soak rice for an hour so before you start
Put milk, water and rice in a large saucepan with the butter
Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat, cook until all the liquid has evaporated.
Once cooked take off the heat and blend with a hand blender
Add the tin of condensed milk and return to the heat, giving it a good mix.
Add raisins and then cream if desired.

To make the puris…
1 mug plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tbl oil
Oil to shallow fry

Mix the dry ingredients with the oil
Make a dough using cold water, adding slowly until the dough is soft.
Divide into ? roll into small balls
Roll out in to 10cm diameter rounds
Heat oil in a small deep saucepan and fry the puris in small batches until they are all cooked, put in a plate with some kitchen towel so it soaks up the excess oil.

Serve the Kheeraj and puris together.

 

Enjoy!

 

Till next time

 

Ashia

Spicy, Savoury potato bhajis

These savoury treats are great for any gathering. We tend to make them more during the month of Ramadan ( which is now) to eat as a starter before the main meal. This is tradition, every family has its own way of doing things. But savoury treats are more common in Muslim families during Ramadan. After a day of fasting, you have some delicious treats to look forward to.

I use the same batter mix for both these savoury treats.

Batter -:
8 Tbls of gram flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt,
Water to mix
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, add water slowly and until, the consistency is should be like pancake batter, not too thick, just enough to coat the potato


For the mashed potato bhajis
Boil and mash 2-3 potatoes with 1/2 tsp salt, drain
Add 1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp vinegar
Mash all together and make into small balls.

Heat some oil in a small wok, coat the balls in the batter and fry until golden.

For the sliced potato bhajis, peel and slice 2-3 potatoes lengthways, slicing them quite thin. Using the same batter mix, coat each slice and fry until golden.

Enjoy!

Till next time

Ashia

A Classic Victoria Sponge

This is a gorgeous easy sponge recipe that a friend gave me and it  takes minutes to make. I baked this over the long weekend to take to a friend we were visiting who has just had a new baby.   I am in baking mode at the moment so bear with me, the next few posts will be some quick and easy Indian savoury bites, onion bhajis and the like, so watch this space.

For this very lovely sponge, I used two 20 cm cake tins.

For each sponge -;

1 Cup Plain Flour
3/4 Cups of Castor sugar
3 Eggs
3 Tbl melted butter
2 Tbl milk
2 Tsp baking powder

Raspberry Jam
Fresh whipped cream

1. Place the flour, eggs, sugar, butter and milk into an electric mixing bowel and beat on high for 3-4 min

2. Add the baking powder and beat on a low setting just to combine

3.  P our into  a greased and lined 20 cm tin  and bake in a pre heated oven @ 190 c for  25-30 min or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.

4. leave in the tin for 5 min and then turn out on a wire rack to cool.

When both cakes are cold, spread the jam and then the whipped cream and sandwich together, dust with icing sugar and you are done!

 

Enjoy

 

Till next time

 

Ashia

Taste Magazine

I am so excited about having another food feature published! This time in Taste magazine, the June issue is out now in the shops.

It's so great to see my family recipes in print, my parents are so proud to see them as well, and I am sending a couple of copies home to the UK for them to have.

Wouldn't it be great to get my book published? I have so many family recipes handed down to me that I would include in my book, so that everyone can enjoy them, and I can have them in print for my children to cherish and cook when they get older.

Watch this space, but for now I am thrilled to have been a part of Taste.

Enjoy reading it!

Till next time

Ashia

Celebration Cake

One of my friends asked me if I would bake a cake for her daughter's 18th birthday.  Initially I was a little hesitant as, although I love baking (& cooking) I really hadn't delved into baking and decorating celebration cakes for other people.

She had a design in mind and wanted a vanilla sponge cake.  So I started by baking 3 vanilla sponges, a lovely fool proof sponge that is also the one I used, for my next blog entry of a classic Victoria sponge.

 

The next step was mixing the 3 tones of pink, I did veer slightly away from the picture below, instead of 4 rows of roses I stuck with 3 and the tone of my pink was slightly different . I used a butter cream icing and used 1.5 kg of icing sugar!

I started with  crumb coating the cake with plain icing and then used the darker pink at the bottom and then lighter in the middle and then ending with an even lighter tone on the top of the cake.

 

I must say the result was fabulous, it looked very pretty, and she was thrilled!

 

One gorgeous rosette cake fit for any celebration, this time an 18th birthday.

Enjoy!

Till next time

Ashia

My favourite, spicy scrambled eggs

Its been a busy few weeks, hence the lack of posts.  I have been working away in the background, just finished the writing and photography for the article to be published in June for Taste magazine so look out for that in the shops soon!

With the children back at school this week, I get few minutes of breathing space.... I love  school holidays with my children, but they are all encompassing, and life revolves around them, so writing or doing anything for myself is put on the back burner.

Having just finished writing my blurb for the article, it got me thinking to my days growing up in Malawi. We used to be picked up from school at lunchtime and brought home for a hot tasty lunch, and then dropped off for the afternoon session.

Lunches would be light, but always cooked, and served with roti.  I cant ever remember eating a sandwich for lunch until we moved to the UK!

This is one of those simple lunches we used to have.  Perfect for an easy evening meal during the week.

You will need 1-2 onions finely sliced ( you can also add spring onions)
Butter/ghee or oil
2 eggs per person (in this case 8)
1/2 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp Chilli powder
1/4 Tsp Cumin
1/4 Tsp coriander powder
1/4 Tsp Garam Masala
pepper to taste
Splash  of milk
handful of chopped coriander

Heat oil in a saucepan with a lid, add sliced onions, and cook until soft and  very slightly coloured, meanwhile whisk eggs with all the spices and milk and coriander and add to the onions, keep stirring on a low- medium heat until the eggs start to scramble, put the lid on for 5-7 min until the eggs are cooked, careful not to catch the bottom of the pan.

Serve with hot rotis!

Enjoy!

Till next time

Ashia