Salmon in a Spicy Coconut Sauce

So Pyarali helped me with the cooking on Saturday. We had salmon with brocholi spears and peas in coconut sauce and basmati rice. Alas Pyarali only ate mani! (chapati). On Sunday he only ate puri, 2 puris for breakfast, 3 for lunch and 3 for supper! His parents tried hard, but Chachi's puris won the day.


Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp Thai green curry paste (available from most Asian Grocery Stores)
4 spring onions; finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic; minced
1 inch ginger; grated
1lb skinned salmon fillet; cubed
6 oz of large cooked prawns3-4 small new potatoes; scrubed and cut in halves
handfull of Brocholi spears; cut into small pieces
1 cup green peas (frozen is fine)
2 green chillies; chopped fine
6-8 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces
1 400ml tin of coconut milk OR creamed coconut
1 tspn Thai fish sauce

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the onions, fry until transparent.
2. Add the green curry paste, garlic and ginger cook for about a minute, reduce the heat slightly and add the potatoes.
3. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce and bring to a simmer, cooking for 15-20 minutes until thickened slightly.
4. Add the salmon and the vegetables and cook for a further 12 minutes, add the prawns, cook for 1 minute.

5. Serve with lots of boiled or steamed rice.

Split Mung Dal and Spinach Shaak

1 cup split mung beans; washed and soaked for about 2 hours
1 onion; chopped finely
3 tomatoes; blanched, peeled and chopped
2 cups spinach; washed and chopped roughly
2 cloves garlic; minced
1 inch ginger; grated
2 green chillis; minced
1/2 tspn tumeric powder
2 tspns coriander/cumin powder
Salt to taste



Methods
1 Fry the onions until golden brown, add the tomatoes, garlic, ginger and chillis, cook for about 5-8 minutes until it is blended together.
2. Add the tumeric, coriander and cumin powders, stir and cook for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the split mung beans (add a tblspn of water if neccesary), and cook for about 20 minutes


4. Add the spinch, stir and cook for a furhter 5 minutes
Serve with chapatis.

Sesame Soya Bean and Potato Shaak

Gem came for lunch yesterday, and I rustled up some of this. It was delicious.


Ingredients
2 cups green soya beans (frozen)
1 cup green garlic; chopped
1 cup rocket (argula)
1 large potato (cut into 1 inch cubes
2-3 tomatoes; blanched and minced
2 inch piece of ginger; grated
2 green chilis (I used one red chilli)
1/2 tspn whole cumin
1 tspn whole mustard seeds
2 tablespns sesame seeds
1 tablespn oil
1/2 tspn tumeric powder
2 tspn cumin/coriander powder


Method
Heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin, mutard and sesame seeds, as soon as they pop, add the tomatoes, fry for a few minutes. Add the tumeric, cumin and coriander powders. Cook for a few minutes.
Add the rocket, stir and cook for a few minutes, add the potatoes mix and add the soya beans.
Mix thoroughly, lower the heat, cover and let it cook for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
Serve with chapatis.

Winter Ratatouille

Sunday Lunch. I adapted the recipe from Jan/Feb issue of Waitrose Seasons magazine. They suggest that it be served with rice, but we had it by itself. Very filling and healthy.

Ingredients
1 swede; peeled and cubed
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 parsnips; peeled and cubed
2 carrots; peeled and cubed
1 sweet potato; peeled and cubed
8 shallots; peeled and halved
1 garlic bulb; peeled
1 lb of cherry tomatoes
800ml of tomato juice or passata
3 to 4 sprigs of sage, chopped
salt and black pepper
2 tblspn olive oil


Instructions
Heat the oven to 200°C. Place the vegetables, garlic cloves, salt pepper and the sage in a very large, deep oiled roasting dish.


Add the oil and mix, roast for 30 minutes until the vegetables are brown.
Remove from the oven, add the cherry tomatoes and passata, then cover the dish with a foil. Lower the oven temperature to 190°C, and cook for a further 1–1½ hours, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft.

seville orange marmalada

Step by Step - Seville Orange Marmalade

With their refreshing, sharp flavour, Seville orange make great marmalada. a bright, sparkling preserve. The season for Seville oranges is short, usually lasting only a few weeks in January. So it is worth making a batch of marmalade now to enjoy the flavour throughout the year. Cut the peel as thickly or thinly as you prefer, according to taste. This task should not be rushed and is one of the pleasures of making marmalade.


Ingredients for 3kg marmalade
1kg Seville oranges1 lemon 2kg Sugar
Step 1
Wash the oranges and lemon thoroughly, then dry them in a clean tea towel. Pour 2 litres cold water into a large, wide pan . Squeeze the oranges and lemon and add the juice to the water. Reserve the pips and orange rind, but discard the squeezed lemon.
Step 2
Cut the oranges in half again and, using a metal spoon, scrape the pith and pips into the centre of a large square of muslin. Tie the muslin with kitchen string to form a bag. Add to the pan and tie the ends of the string to the pan handle to make it easier to remove later.
Step 3
Cut the orange peel into strips - chunky for coarse cut and thinner for a fine shred. It is easier and quicker if you place 2 pieces on top of each other and slice with a sharp knife. Add to the pan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, until the peel is very soft and the liquid reduced by about half. Remove and discard the bag with the pips and pith, squeezing as much juice as possible back into the pan with the back of a wooden spoon.
Step 4
Add the sugar and stir over a low heat until it has dissolved. Increase the heat and boil rapidly until it reachessetting point. This usually takes about 15 minutes. To test, remove the pan from the heat and spoon a little marmalade onto a chilled saucer. Allow to cool for a few seconds, then push with a finger. If the surface wrinkles it is ready. If not, boil for a further 5 minutes and test again. Leave the marmalade to settle for 15 minutes, then skim off any scam from the surface with a slotted spoon. Stir the mixture and pour into warm, clean jars, using a jug. Cover.

Prepare the jars
At the end of step 3, prepare the jars. Preheat the oven to 160°C, gas mark 3. Ensure the jars are clean and free from cracks and chips. Place the jars on their sides in the oven for 10 minutes, then turn the oven off leaving the jars inside until the marmalade is ready to pot.sowhsi