1. A few weeks before the festive season began, there would be a small cottage industry set up in our kitchen at home in Kenya. From mithais to barfis and savouries of various kinds, my mum and aunts would be very busy preparing these delicious snacks for Diwali. One of the delicacies that were made with intense passion was kathais and I recall mum mixing the dough very delicately with her hands and then almost kneading it together for a few long minutes until it all came together. Khathais as I know them in Kenya or Nan khathais as they are called in India are purely divine melt in your mouth morsels that are often made for special occasions and especially during Diwali. These mounds of flour, sugar, semolina, gram flour and bound together with clarified butter and are the British equivalent of shortbread cookies and I have to say I prefer Kathais. These would give any cookie producer a run for their money. Hope I don’t sound too biased!  This process at the time mum made them seemed too intense and I shied away from making them in my own kitchen until a couple of years ago, when I finally attempted them at home, quite secretly, lest I failed. With positive results on hand, I felt a lot more confident and then went a step further to make them for my own Festive dessert table. I chose the more contemporary method of preparing the dough and used the electric cake beater to mix the ingredients together and this certainly speeded up the process and now can be made over and over again.

    Ingredients
    1 cup           clarified butter or Ghee
    1 cup          sugar
    1 cup          flour, all purpose
    1 cup          gram Flour (Besan)
    1 cup          semolina (sooji or cream of wheat)
    ½ tsp.           baking Soda
    1tspn           cardamom powder, to taste
    1 tspn         liquid food colouring, red
    1 tspn         liquid food colouring, green

    Directions
           
    •       In a large mixing bowl gently sift together the flour, gram flour and semolina. Add the baking soda, mix well and set aside.
    •       In a separate mixing bowl, either using an electric beater or kitchen machine, beat together the ghee and sugar, until almost white, light and fluffy.
    •       To the fluffy sugar mixture, add the sifted flours, semolina, baking soda and cardamom powder. Continue to beat the mixture until it all comes together. At this point you may notice that the dough is somewhat sloppy. Place the dough in a bowl covered with saran wrap and put it in the refrigerator for an hour to chill and congeal together.
    •       Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
    •       Remove the dough from the refrigerator and you will see that it has come together into semi soft dough and easy enough to handle.



    •       Shape the dough into small 1” balls, almost cupping the dough in one hand as you roll and this will give it a semi cone like shape.
    •        Place them an inch apart on the prepared baking sheets, as they will rise and spread a little during baking.
    •       Once all the dough has been rolled out, take a sharp edged knife and very carefully, mark each ball with a cross, making sure that they are not too deep. Next, dip the edge of the knife in the food colouring and mark each cross, alternating the 2 different colours. The cuts should not be deep at all – mere feint cross markings.



    •       Bake them for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the cookies turn a pale brown. Bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes for a golden brown finish. Keep a close eye at the end of the cooking time because these cookies can burn easily and taste a tad bitter.
    •       If you so desire, decorate the kathais with silver edible dragées.

    •       Cool the cookies on a rack, and as they cool down they will bind better and not be as crumbly. This is a perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of tea or even a cappuccino and espresso and could replace the biscotti for all that it is worth.

    .

    Makes approximately 30 to 36 cookies
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    Labels: cardamom clarified butter eggless festive flour gram flour semolina.sugar sooji
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  2. There is no point living in denial anymore. The summer is long gone and we are now in the midst of cold, damp weather which brings with it the wretched cold and flu bug. We have it in our home and I guess with one person down with it, the entire family is going to be contaminated. It is time to feed the cold and bring some comfort and warmth to our inner being and that is exactly what Thasha was craving. The mother in me wanted to help her get better and her request for a hot barley soup was soon furnished. When cooking at the nth hour, it is okay to cheat a little. I was in no mood to wash too many pots and was able to cook a wholesome one pot vegetable barley soup and topping with some lentils for the protein component of the meal. This really is a very simple medley of vegetables and broth and thick and chunky enough to even eat with a fork.
    Very often I make this soup with pastina( tiny oval shaped pasta), but barley it was today.

    I then started building and layering the soup with some healthy choices and remembered I had some Haleem mix in the pantry. This is a blend of lentils, husked  and polished wheat berries and some pearl barley. 

    I then bulked it up with some frozen diced vegatbles for soup, some finely chopped blanched kale, and tomatoes.


    Subtle hints of oregano, thyme , finely chopped shallots add some body to the soup.



    Ingredients

    1 tbsp          oil, avocado
    1/3 cup        shallots, finely chopped
    1 tspn          garlic, fresh, finely minced
    1 tspn          ginger, fresh, finely minced (optional)
    325g            frozen vegetables for soup
    11/2 cups     green beans, fresh, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
    11/4 cup      haleem mix
    1/4 cup        pearl barley
    2                  tomatoes, fresh, finely diced
    3/4 cup        tomatoes, strained
    1 tspn          thyme, dried, rubbed
    1 tspn          oregano, dried, rubbed
    1 tspn          salt, to taste
    1/2 tspn        cayenne or chilli pepper flakes, to taste
    4 cups          vegetable broth
    2 cups          water, boiled, more as necessary for desired thickness, plus more.
    2 cups          kale, finely chopped, blanched and drained

    How to build the soup

    • In a large pot, heat the oil on medium high and add the shallots, stirring until all the tiny pieces are coated with the oil. Cook these until just translucent (about 1-2 minutes)
    • Add the garlic, ginger, frozen vegetables and green beans,stirring to mix well. Lower the heat to medium and cook the vegetables for 4 minutes. 
    • To this mix add all the other ingredients except for the kale.
    • Stir well to blend all the flavours. Cover the pot and continue to cook the soup, stirring occassionally.
    • Once the barley and lentils are cooked through, which takes approximately 15-20 minutes, check the consistency of the soup. The barley and lentils bulk up nad thicken the soup. At this point add more boiled water if necessary, and adjust the salt and chillies.
    • A minute prior to serving, mix in the kale and  serve hot with bread if desired. 
    • As the soup sits and cools down, it may thicken a little more. When reheating you can add a little more boiled water to the soup to get the desired consistency.


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    Labels: green beans kale lentils oregano pearl barley shallots thyme tomatoeas vegetables
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  3. With an abundance of red chillies that were harvested from the garden, I had my work cut out for me for the next few days. I went searching for recipes that I could use and magically create some jellies and relishes with these fiery red, finger long chillies.

    I stumbled upon this recipe from Bernardin and as habit has it I tweaked the recipe just slightly . Instead of the Bernardin brand of pectin, I used good old certo and infused the jelly with some rosemary as the mixture began to boil. A word of caution. Please do not handle this alone as the last few steps are critical and 4 hands are better than 2.  I learnt my leasson today and some jars look better than others. the good looking jars of course being the ones with the red and orange specks finely and evenly mixed in throughout the jelly . As I write this post, the jars are cooling down and the lids are popping their little tune as each one cools down and the mixture settles down snugly and ready to be devoured on baked brie or as a relish with grilled meats.
    http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/recipe_page/51.php?pid=111#.VBG2BkvKarw.email

    Ingredients

    1/3 cup (75 ml) finely sliced dried apricots
    3/4 cup (175 ml) white vinegar
    1/4 cup (50 ml) finely diced red onion
    1/4 cup (50 ml) finely diced sweet red pepper
    1/4 cup (50 ml) finely diced habanero peppers including seeds
    OR 1/4 cup (50 ml) diced, combined jalapeno and Scotch bonnet peppers
    3 cups (750 ml) granulated sugar
    1 sprig fresh rosemary
    1 pouch (85 ml) BERNARDIN® Liquid Pectin

     Method

    • Place 3 clean 250 ml mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside. Heat SNAP LID® sealing discs in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and sealing discs hot until ready to use.

    • With scissors or knife, cut apricots into 1/8 inch (0.3 cm) slices. Measure into a large deep stainless steel saucepan with vinegar; let stand 4 hours.

    •  Remove the leaves from the rosemary sprig and pack them into an infuser. (I used a tea infuser). Individually, cut onion and seeded peppers into 1/8 inch (0.3 cm) slices; cut slices into 1/4 inch (0.3 cm) dice. Measure each ingredient; add to apricots. Stir in sugar.

    • Over high heat, bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add liquid pectin squeezing entire contents from pouch. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and quickly skim off foam, if necessary.

    • Quickly pour hot jelly into a hot jar, dividing solids equally among jars and filling to within 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) of top of jar (headspace). Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining jelly.

    • When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 10 minutes.

    • When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.

    • After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.

    Makes 3 x 250 ml jars.

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    Labels: canning dried apricots onion peppers red chillies rosemary sugar vinegar
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  4. I was going through my blog posts and to my surprise, I haven't posted anything since July! I seemed to have either slacked off or was having to much fun in the backyard, enjoying the patio, the garden and most of all the planting of my succulent pots. Not to say that I didn't do any cooking but on the contrary, a little more than one would think by taking advantage of fresh produce ftom the Farmers' markets, BBQ season and above all the weather.
    It is now time to buckle down and get back to a constructive work mode with my brain buzzing with ideas, recipes and new products to cook and create.
    I always enjoy cooking and what makes me happiest and most satisfied is when I can cook for family, friends or company. But today I wanted to cook for me and fulfill my craving. A simple craving which was partly sparked by an over abundance of produce in the refrigerator. I was craving mushy rice with stir fried mushrooms, greens and peppers with a hint of coconut. I had some grilled pork tenderloin in the freezer which would add to the protein component of the meal and dinner would be served in no time.

    Ingredients
    1 cup            rice, jasmine scented
    6+6 cups      water
    1tbsp            salt
    2 cups          broccoli, trimmed into tiny florets
    1 cup           snow peas, trimmed
    2 cups          bok choy, finely chopped
    2 tbsps         coconut oil
    2 cups          onions, finely diced
    1 tbsp           garlic, fresh minced
    2 tspns         ginger, fresh minced
    1 cup            celery, finely diced
    3 cups          mushrooms, sliced
    2 tbsps         hoisin sauce
    1 tbsp          sriracha sauce
    2 tbsps         soy sauce, light
    1/2 cup        coconut milk
    1                  pepper, red, finely diced
    Method
    • Preheat oven to 375°F
    • In a pot boil the rice in 6 cups of water. Drain, once cooked to a tender softness in a sieve and run some cold water through the cooked rice and set aside.
    • In the same pot, boil the remaining 6 cups of water with the salt and once the water is boiling, blanch the greens for 2 minutes at the most and immediately remove the greens with a slotted spoon into a cold bath to stop the cooking process and keep them bright. Drain and set aside.
    • In a separate pan or wok, heat up the coconut oil on medium high heat. Once melted, add the onions along with the garlic and ginger. Sautè for 2-3 minutes until the onions are just slightly translucent and the garlic is cooked through.
    • Add the celery, mix and stir rapidly cooking it to a crisp. 
    • Next stir in the mushrooms,  the hoisin sauce, soy sauce and sriracha. Mix well and cook the mushrooms through until some of the moisture has evaporated but just enough to create a fine sauce for the vegetable mixture.
    • Stir in the coconut milk to mix well and then the peppers. 
    • In a rectangular baking dish, spread the rice and the mushroom mixture over top. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the rice is heated through and has soaked in the flavours from the vegetables.
    • Remove the dish from the oven and with a fork mix the green into the mushroom mix.
    • Serve immediately and enjoy.
    • Alternatively you can also add some grilled slices of pork tenderloin if you wish.

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    Labels: bokchoy broccoli garic ginger hoisin jasmine rice mushrooms pork tenderloin snowpeas soy sauce sriracha
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  6. In India corn is considered a snack very often sold by street vendors. It is not uncommon to see makeshift coal anghitis on street corners, vendors roasting corn on the cob which is then smeared with a lemon juice and spice mixture. Cooking corn as a curry is a more common fare in Kenya, where the corn is cooked in several different ways. Smaller pieces are cooked in a curried sauce or the kernels are cooked into a drier flavoured recipe. This is my all time favorite dish and a favorite amongst a lot of my friends and family.  A recipe passed down from my mother to me, and now to you.  The cashews not only add the crunch to the dish but also provide a rich base for the gravy which has an interesting flavour to it. Sweet, somewhat tangy with a hint of spice.

    Ingredients
    2lb.              frozen corn kernels
    6 tbsp.         oil
    1/2 tsp.        mustard seeds
    1 tsp.           cumin seeds
    6                  curry leaves
    2                  red dried whole chillies or fresh green chilies
    3/4 cup        tomatoes, strained
    1 1/2 tsp.     salt or to taste
    1 tsp.           red chilli powder or to taste
    1/2 tsp.        coriander powder
    4 tbsp.         lemon juice
    2  tbsp.        sugar to taste
    1 cup           roasted cashews, coarsely chopped in a grinder
    1 cup           boiled water
                        Coriander,fresh,chopped for garnish

    Directions
    •   Heat the oil.
    •   Temper the oil with the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. As the mustard seeds begin to pop add the curry leaves and the whole chilies.
    •   Saute for a couple of minutes and add the corn. Stir well and cook uncovered for 5 minutes on medium heat.
    •   Add the tomatoes, salt, chili powder and coriander powder. Mix all these ingredients, cover and cook for a further 15 minutes on medium low heat,stirring occasionally.
    •   Uncover, add the lemon juice, sugar and cashews. Stir well and and add the water. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes until the water comes to a full rolling boil. The consistency of the gravy should be on the thicker side.  Adjust the lemon juice and sugar keeping in mind that it should have a sweet / sour flavour.
    •   Garnish with chopped fresh coriander.
    •   Serve as an accompaniment to a meat dish or Coconut Jhinga.


    Serves 8-10 people

    Suggestions      
    • The corn can be stuffed into bite size pita shells and also served as an appetizer.
    • Corn Korma can also be prepared as part of an Indian High Tea Menu
    • Corn on the cob cut into 2 inch pieces, boiled in salted water can also be added to the kernel mix and cooked together.


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    Labels: cashews corn kernels corn on the cob cumin seeds. tomatoes lemon. coriander
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  7. This morning was time to enjoy the garden and all the fresh blooms we had missed in the last few days whilst away for a family wedding. It is also time to curtail the food binges from the wedding festivities. 

    I needed to have something wholesome but it was way past breakfast time and just a tad early for lunch. In wanting to keep away from eggs and getting into cooking something , I opted for a quick fix . I love my grains in any form and so I picked oats. Since I was craving something savoury at that time, I switched up the breakfast porridge . 
    To my regular half cup of simply natural, only oats, I added almost a cup of water and a healthy pinch of salt. 
    Next, I cooked it in the micro on the auto oats setting and  I'd say it took about 4 minutes. To this I added 2 tablespoons of marinara tomato sauce, some grated cheese and a pinch of oregano and a teaspoon of basil chiffonade. Mixed it together and cooked it for another 1 and a half minutes until the cheese had melted. I topped it with some hot pepperoncini peppers for the added zest. Some grilled chicken pieces and chopped baby spinach would have completed the dish but I has neither in the fridge.
    Satisfying and wholesome and who said oats are only for breakfast. I would say it was very similar to the rice congee at Chinese dim sum  which I love too with some shredded chicken, some green onions and chilli oil.

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    Labels: cheese grains healthy marinara sauce Oats
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  8. There is something special to be said about this particular salad made with orzo, a flat rice shaped grain. Orzo made from semolina can be used in soups or in salads and even as a grain for pilaf. One could almost call this salad a Greek pilaf or a lighter version of the dense Italian risotto or even the Indian vegetable pullao or Arabic pilaf. We certainly have very many similar dishes across the Globe that may be cooked differently but with very similar end results. For those who want to spice this dish up a little, add some finely chopped seeded red chilli peppers or some pepperincino peppers or even a dash of Tabasco will give it a little bite.

    Ingredients
    5 cups        water
    3 tspns       salt
    2 cups        orzo, uncooked
    11/2 cups   garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed, patted dry
    1/2 tspn      salt
    1/2 tspn      black pepper, fresh ground
                        Oil for spraying
    1lb               asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces and spears kept whole
    1cup           bell pepper, yellow or red, finel chopped
    11/2 cups   grape tomatoes, halved
    1 cup          green onion, finely chopped (optional)
    1 cup          feta cheese crumbled
    1/2 cup       basil, fresh, finely chopped
    1/4 cup       mint, fresh, finely chopped
    1/4 cup       parsley, flat leaf, finely chopped
    1tspn          salt, to taste
    3/4 tspn      black pepper, fresh ground
    1                  lemon, zested and juiced
    1 tspn          honey
    1/4 cup       vinegar, red wine
    1/2 cup       olive oil, extra virgin
    1/2 cup       pinenuts, lightly roasted
    2 tbspns     balsamic glaze, optional
    2 sprigs      parsley, left whole for garnish      


    Directions
           
    •       Lightly roast the pine nuts and set aside
    •       Pre heat the oven at 350°
    •       Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the garbanzo beans in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, and spray lightly to coat all the beans. Place the tray in the oven and roast the garbanzo beans, stirring occassionally until they are a toasty  brown and crisp. Takes about 7-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
    •       Meanwhile, n a deep heavy bottomed pot, put the water and 3 teaspoons of salt to boil on medium high heat.
    •       As the water begins to boil add the orzo and cook for 12 minutes.
    •       At this point, add the chopped asparagus stalks to the orzo and boil together for another 2-3 minutes until the stalks are tender but crisp. Then add the asparagus spears and cook for anoth 2 minutes until just tender. The orzo should be al dente. (The orzo takes about 15 -17 minutes to cook)
    •       Take the pan off the heat, drain the orzo and the asparagus and run them under cold water to stop any further cooking. Set aside to drain completely.
    •       Place the cooked orzo and asparagus in a mixing bowl, add the garbanzo beans and all the other ingredients from the chopped bell peppers to the olive and toss to mix well. Adjust for seasonings.
    •       Place the mixed orzo salad in a serving dish drizzle the balsamic glaze across the salad and garnish with the pinenuts and parsley sprigs.
    •       Serve at room temperature as an accompaniment to any grilled meats or fish or as a full meal with some cooked chopped chicken or grilled shrimp tossed into the salad along with some arugula and spinach.
    .


    Serves 6-8 people.



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  10. Today was one of those lazy cooking days and dinner had to be organized. With leftovers to be finished, I thought it would be an easy feat but then again a boring one. I have been craving some basic wholesome fried rice with vegetables. With some basic necessities always on hand in the pantry and refrigerator I was in luck.
    I had about 4-5 cups of pre-cooked rice as the base.
    For the flavouring I pulled out some soy sauce, oyster sauce, sriracha hot sauce, fresh minced ginger, garlic and green chillies, and coconut oil.
    In addition to the sauces, I finely diced half a red onion, 2 stalks of celery, and half a red peppers and 2 tablespoons of fresh coriander.. A cup and a half of sliced mushrooms, and same amounts of edamame beans (frozen) and a handful of baby kale, spinach and chard would balance the colours and add enough nutrients to the rice.
    In a wok, I heated a tablespoon of coconut oil.
    To this, I added the onions, garlic, ginger, green chillie pastes.
    Once the onions were translucent and just a light amber colour, I added the mushrooms and celery and sauteed them together for 2-3 minutes and then added the coriander, greens and the edamame, Once the edamame were cooked to just a fork tender, all the sauces were stirred in along with the rice. Once heated through, I finished off the rice with some red peppers, stirring for a minute or so to mix them with all the other ingredients in the wok.

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    Labels: chard fresh coriander fresh peppers garlic ginger kale oyster sauce rice soy sauce spinach. edamame sriracha
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