Bittersweet Bigarades Ramblings

Krazy for kulfi

2010-10-13T20:50:00.001+01:00

First things first,Rest in peace Summer 2010,you were taken from us so early,so quick...but I know I will see you again.

I really miss Summer,as much as I love Autmn,I miss summer!!

The warm sun rays on my back,ice lolly in my hand.

Ah ice lollies!

Isit wrong to crave kulfi this time of year?

Is it wrong to eat kulfi this time of year?

(Just look at it,how can you not crave it? oh how i love thee my dearest kulfi)

well I made some,and then I sat wrapped in a duvet infront of the blu-ray,and I enjoyed my spoonfulls of gorgeously creamy kulfi,yes I did!

And I made some,I made some Kulfi,and I made it good!

Oh so velvety and flavoursome...Mmmmm.

The only dissapointing thing was,it didn't have the traditional shape,but I am pretty sure that the shape doesn't effect the flavour!

This is how i made it:

3 cups Full fat milk
1 cup Double cream
1/4 cup Sugar
1 Dessert spoon Rose water
6 Green Cardamom pods
slithered pistachios (your desired amount for the kulfi,and to garnish)
slithered Almonds (your desired amount for the kulfi,and to garnish)
Rose syrup to decorate

I used little tart cases to freeze my kulfi in,because it is very rich,you do not need loads.
I poured all of the milk,cream and sugar into a thick bottomed pan with the rosewater and cardamoms and slowly reduced the milk by half (It is a very long process,but well worth the wait).

once reduced i alowed the mix too cool,i added in my slithered nuts.
I then added this mix to my ice cream mixture and churned until it was slightly solid,but still very liquidy (if that makes sense at all?)

I then placed this into my moulds and froze it!
best thing about the moulds? they just tear off,brilliant.

Decorate as desired and eat! devour,munch,obliterate...ah you get the point!
for a extra special treat why not decorate with some edible gold leaf?

P.s you do not have to have a ice cream machine,i have just put the mix into a large container and fluffed it up with a fork every now and then,till it is slightly solid then portioned it,this works fine too.

summer sorbet

2010-07-05T16:36:00.006+01:00

Guess what i got for my birthday!?

An ice cream machine!!

And now im on a kinda mission too create ice creams and sorbets..

White wine,blueberry & raspberry sorbet

doesn't sound to bizarre i know but it was awesome!

It had a mulled wine colour,but tasted so refreshing!

To make the sorbet you will need:

1 cup of raspberries
1 cup of Blueberries
1/2 cup of caster sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 white wine

And this is how i made it:

In a pan mix the water and wine & sugar.

to this add the berries and simmer gently until the berries start to burst.

when the berries start to lookmushy take the pan off of the heat.

put a seive over a bowl,and pour the mix into the seive,feed the mix through the seive until you are left with pulp,discard the pulp.

allow the syrup to chill,then place into your ice cream maker and churn to your ice cream makers instructions,or use my "fork method" which you willfind in my lastpost.

remove the sorbet,scoop and enjoy.

p.s:
this is best enjoyed when siting in your garden,with your best sun hat on!

The forbidden fruit....Quince.

2010-06-04T21:31:00.003+01:00

In today's news,readers, I bring you the story of the vicious unprovoked attack on a young foodie.

Yes it is true, I was attacked by a Quince.

Not a beautifully fragrant fruit,but a fiery fiend from the gates of hell.

But i give as good as i get,sticky stitches and florescent orange plasters were retaliated with...Vanilla pods,poaching and the freezer.

In the end, both parties came to a mutual agreement,of vanilla and Quince sorbet to be enjoyed by all.

you heard right,Quince and vanilla Sorbet,Drool all you wish,because it was delicious.

They say no pain,means no gain,and well,its true Folks.

Quinces aren't very British,to my knowledge,but they were in convent garden,shipped from china,so I just had to have some.It's all because I had this Quince jelly once with my crackers and cheese,and it was AMAZING!

So I had to take it one step further.They almost taste like Rose,well i've got bad hay fever,so I am guessing they taste like rose,Somebody is bound to correct me (i hope).

So lets get down to Business .

For this Sorbet you will need,

4 Ripe Quince (you can tell when a quince is ripe because they smell amazing,they dont go soft,or change in colour to my 1 off experience)

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 cup of water

Half a vanilla pod

For the Sorbet syrup you will need:

1 cup of water

1/4 cup of caster sugar

You don't need a ice cream machine for this.
I don't have one any more! so I just used a fork and gave my sorbet a quick stir every now and then.

Peel,core and quarter your Quince.

You have to be quick because the fruit discolours super quick.

In a pan heat the water & sugar,until dissolved.Slit a vanilla pod in half and scrape the seeds,and add the seeds and pod to the water.Add the quince and cover with a lid until soft,

Then the magic happens,when you remove the lid after about

25 minutes,the quince have turned a beautiful reddy/pink!

When the fruit is soft,remove the vanilla pod,and leave to dry.remove the fruit and purée.

this is where I cheated, again, I made half the amount of the sorbet syrup,and used the poaching liquid!

it's all flavour, I say!

Then find a suitable container and allow the mix to chill,when chilled,place in the freezer.every half hour or so, agitate the mix with a fork to break down the ice crystals, to give you a smoother sorbet.

Or,you lucky people with ice cream machines,place in your machine and churn until done .

Now please,just take a moment to absorb the awesomeness of my ASDA own brand ice cream scoop.

I bought a Chrome look scoop for £5 odd.

Which turned out to be as useful as a chocolate fire guard,thank your very much tesco's...NOT!

Spicy summer courgettes

2010-05-28T20:27:00.034+01:00

Britain is getting warmer,and the markets are getting fuller,my pockets are getting emptier,and my kitchen fridge is crammed full of food!

I bought some courgettes the other day,Locally grown organic ones,they smelled lovely!

Some fresh coriander and a helping hand from my dry store,We had a mouth party going on!

It's times like this i wish scratch and sniff went cyber!

It doesn't look much, I know,But the flavours are absolutely mouth watering!

The warm flavours of the cumin and coriander seed,then the cool refreshing coriander herb on top

compliments the Courgette and potatoes perfectly.

Now im going to shut up,And give you the recipe

This is enough to serve about 8 people!

You will need:

5 large courgettes

2 medium potatoes

2 medium onions chopped

4 green chilli's chopped

8 cloves of garlic chopped

A thumb size piece of ginger chopped

250g chopped tinned tomatoes

tspn tumeric

tspn hing

tspn garam masala

tspn cumin seeds

tbsp veg oil

salt to taste

Corriander to garnish

Slice your gorgeously delicious Courgettes,peel and slice your potatoes to about the same size and

set aside.

In a large pan,heat your oil,Add your cumin seeds and cook until

the seeds turn a darker brown. Add your onions and ginger and sweat,then add your chilli's

and garlic and cook until golden brown.Add your hing and turmeric then

Add your tomatoes and heat through.

Add your potatoes and cook for 5 minutes,then add your courgettes and stir,

Add salt,to taste and then cover with a lid until the potatoes are cooked.

sprinkle with Garam masala &freshly chopped coriander.

plate up with fresh chappati's,a cooling yoghurt dip,kick back,relax and enjoy :)

Getting Berry British!

2010-05-22T14:15:00.002+01:00

First,my apologies,for my late postings!
Ive been ill,and then we've had a bereavement in our family and I lost my way on the path of blogging andddd the list goes on.

So with highs of 16,Summer is arriving I would say.The Gorgeous blossoms,the fresh cut grass,and the showers of rain,grace us! Oh,it is amazing!Well,its still spring but I aint complaining,Our local market is crammed full of these locally grown British berries!
They're so sweet and bursting with flavour!
i cant wait to see how great they are in a few months time,but i got carried away and bought some already :D

What does one do with berries?
Make cheese cake.
Of course.

I have a confession!
I have been cooking about 5 years now,and I have never made a baked cheesecake!
This was my first attempt & it was Jolly marvellous!!
(thanks to recipegirl's website!)

In other news folks,Waitrose,Have PINEBERRIES!
I've been reading about these on blogs for months now,and I'm scared.
I've read they're GM then I've read they're not! either way, I'm steering away! :(

Back to my cheese cake.
Mmm? Yes.

500g Crushed ginger nuts (crush until crumbs!)
125g butter, melted
3 large eggs
500g cream cheese
1 tbspn Caster sugar
2 Tbs cornflour
2 Tbs Vanilla essence
Rasberries,blueberries & any other fruit you desire.

Another tip from the recipegirl website,is to line your greased 8 inch cake tin with kitchen foil. This makes it easier to remove the cheesecake.

Mix your crushed Gingernuts with the melted butter,and pour the mix into your tin.

even it our and make sure it is tightly packed.

place a few berries on top.

Mix together your cream cheese,vanilla extract,sugar,cornflour and

eggs ,and pour this mix over the berries and base.

you can put berries on top too,if your a berry berry person.

Send this beauty to the oven to bake slowly,at 180°c until firm to the touch,

(it will be pretty soft but it shouldn't be wet)

this should take about 45 minutes

Remove and allow to cool fully,before cutting into squares and devouring

This is the last i saw of these beauties!

It was almost a dream!

p.s these are also great as dessert! you can brûlée them :D delicious right?

Eggsellent Recycling Recipe

2010-04-04T17:57:00.000+01:00

Easter egg wrappers litter our dining room,whilst the smell of the delicious content,haunts those cravings we all have!

Whether it be the Dark Decadence of a Greens & Blacks Easter egg,Or your Bog standard Milky buttons one,We all adore them!

(Apart from my dad)

But there comes a point in everybody's life,where chocolate eggs just get BORING!

So what do you do?

Leave them sitting there for your next pig out?

Give them to the neighbours?

Well, me?

I melted mine and made Easter nests...With the help of my lovely 2 ft something assistant.

Lets call it,Recycling.

I take a egg i got bored of,melt it,& Create Cuteness. ( Along with mess)

yes indeed...

So here I share with you,Mine& Mr 2 ft somethings
Easter Nest Recipe,
Well its not really a recipe but hey,Try it out sometime :)

You will need:

One Medium Easter Egg (Or your desired amount of cooking chocolate)

4 nests of Shredded Wheat

First Take le Egg,And break up into pieces,Zap in the microwave to melt

Meanwhile Break up your shredded wheat

Add your chocolate to the shredded wheat and mix until fully combined

Spoon into Cupcake cases,decorate with a mini egg

& a cute chick (It Is Compulsory),Enjoy.

poor Chicken licken :(

The quest to fufil the request

2010-04-01T22:20:00.002+01:00

Whilst reading my emails,i came across a request!
For a Pizza,with my cultural twist!

My mind went into over load!
But i had to pick one idea,one i haven't tried before!

So i made a Palak paneer (kinda) Pizza!
i was going to use a naan bread but i wanted to put my twist on it,and still keep the Italian side!

So off i went into my kitchen,to create a pizza!
well it smelt delicious and tasted even better!

For the Base:
500g Strong bread flour
10g Yeast
1 tspn Caster Sugar
650ml Luke warm water
Pinch salt
Large pinch cumin
4 green chillies chopped small

Mix the flour,chillies,cumin and salt together,
Mix the yeast,sugar and water together.
Add the yeast mix slowly to the flour,you can either do this in a machine,using a dough hook (like the lazy me!) or make a well on your work surface and gradually incorporate the liquid into the flour.
When the ingredients have combined,Knead the dough until thoroughly mixed,and cover with a damp cloth for about 40 minutes,until the dough doubles in size!

When the mix has doubled re knead it,this is called knocking back.

( I went on a coffee break at this point ...This is an ideal job for eager little brothers with little hands and lots of energy!!)

this mix is enough for 2 medium pizzas.

For the Sauce:

Large pinch of Cumin
2 cloves of garlic
250g tomatoes

brown off the cumin & garlic in a little oil then add the tomatoes and reduce the liquid by half.
Season.

For the Topping:

this is done to your liking!
I used some paneer which i diced pretty small
Some baby spinach
Red onions
Baby Tomatoes
Red Leicester cheese
A generous sprinkling of fenugreek
A generous sprinkling of garam masla.
A Generous sprinkle of fresh cilantro!

I cooked this complete pizza @ 200Degrees for 15 minutes.

Well Mr Greenscales I hope this answered your query.

And

And

Andddd

Guess what!

ITS MY BLOGS 1st BIRTHDAY :D

Well Mr blog,It has been a great year,weve had our moments

heres to the future! *clinks glass*

Anyways, i will celebrate later,

Bed time now :D

Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be...Wearing food!

2010-03-25T14:33:00.002Z

To the lovely lady who writes KO Rasoi.

You may not know me,or my food.

But we know you...

This is my Entry for the "Wear your food" Competition.

I try not to enter competitions like this,because;

I don't think my food is worthy
When I lose... I have to think of someone else with the prize i wanted :(

But,I cant resist!!

I do love my Bracelets! & well this one...this one is worth losing for...

At least I will be able to sit in a rocker chair when i am 90 odd,and tell random children that i fought for something I really wanted!!

So now i am sitting at my pc,demolishing some Gingernut biscuits (my favourite,yaknow!)

Thinking about how i should write this post!

There isn't much to write...About 20 minutes ago, my kitchen was a war ground,as i worked on my Weapon of Super cute bracelet obtain-ation!

Icing sugar was a flying!

Food blenders was a Buzzing!

And i was ... Thinking....

As i mixed random ingredients from our larder...i wondered what i would create...

What i would call it...

And...Would it be edible?

Well folks,What do i tell thee?

i feel a bit like the guy who invented Frankenstein,Okay i don't but...you know i feel i have accomplished!

I created this "Cheesecake".

Its a Ginger nut biscuit and almond base.

topped with blitzed peaches!

Then Lashings of Cream cheese,Whipping cream and Archers are piled on top.

Then i poured melted chocolate over the top!

& topped with CUTENESS!!

So He may not be a REAL Cheesecake...But He will be one day...Just you wait and see!

( If you tilt your head to the left,squint and hop on one leg! you can see the simmilarity!! i even included the fork :$)

I couldn't wait to write this post,I haven't got a clue why!

So i wrote it a few days ago,and scheduled it... in case i forgot!!!

i made it as neat as i could but me and cling-film,we don't get on!

I tried to make this vegetarian friendly :D

But im sure you can eat those cute little candy eggs right?

I also used a eastery theme,killing two birds with one stone.*Teehee*

Need to get back on track and get some savoury recipes on here!

Gulab jamun

2010-03-23T21:21:00.001Z

Say "Hello Beautiful!"

Hello.

Well erm,where do i start...

I am DISGUSTED.

Were having theme evenings at college this week.
Interesting right?

No,Not really...i assure you.

Basically theres 3 groups in my year.
& we all have different theme nights!!

This week is the indian theme.

Ours is Spanish and the other groups is chinese.

We had some "Chefs" From a local "Indian Restaurant",come in to HELP (Destroy).
i felt emotional pain whilst i stood and watched these evil men,in tall white hats slaughter,what means most to me...Food from the mother land :(

I swear on my beloved Saag...they were evil!!

i was on the sweet section,quite disgusted really.

There was no REAL Indian dessert :(
No Gujrela! No Rasmalai, No Falooda and nooo kulfi :(

So i did what any sane indian would do...Make Gulab Jamun.

When Trouble is on the horizon make gulab jamun.

i think that this is going to be my new theory for life.
*sigh*

To Make The Jammin Jamuns!

You will need:

280g Milk powder

1 Egg

1/2 tspn Semolina

2tspn Bakling powder

Water (To bind the mix into a firm dough)

Also:

580ml Water

500g Sugar

A couple of drops of Rose Water/Kewra extract or orange blossom water

4 green cardamom pods,crushed.

Grated coconut to garnish.

These are deep fried!

Pretty easy these...i wouldn't make them if they weren't !

Combine the water,sugar,rose water and cardamom in a pan and heat until the sugar melts. take off of the heat.

Mix all the other ingredients into a firm dough and make little balls out of them. I scaled all of mine to 12g.
i managed to get 30 balls out of this mix.Then deep fry the balls.until golden brown. Drain and add to the sugar mix and allow to cool. Remove..coat in coconut..Enjoy!

Our Mixed plate of "~~Indian~~" desserts... Interesting.

ps: you can omit the egg :)

When cute became edible!!

2010-03-22T08:56:00.001Z

I would have posted this Saturday night after our ahem extremely intense shopping trip but I was absolutely shattered!

You would be too if you managed to enter almost every shop and buy something within 4 hours on green street!

Anyway! back to the point,i didn't manage to take step by step pictures as we were pressed for time!! i just chucked it together with the help of my amazing mommykins!
We made this for a friend,well her 4 year old daughter!

(In the making)

i forgot to take a picture of the finished product! so i had to send my camera round to their house ! *doh*

(@ the friends house!)

Its a kinda pointless post but....

It had little bits of glitter on! SO CUTE :$

St Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T07:00:00.001Z

Happy Lá Fhéile Pádraig, Paddys and coleens!

And for the rest of us...happy St Patricks day!

I don't know much about it,and wikepedia doesn't seem to be much help!
(okay there's too much to read)
but the pubs round here love it!!

So I thought I would dedicate my cupcake batch to them!
(It's the thought that counts!!)

The Irish accent...Funny thing...But you know what's funnier than that?
I went to France a few years back..and there were a few Irish pubs around.
I had to go in and get some change for my euros! (pubs are the only thing that seem to be open at 8am in France!!!) anyways back to the funny bit!
They were talking French with an Irish accent!
Well i found it totally hilarious,personally.

I didn't have much to hand,so I made do with what I had!!
(& borrowed)
Green gel colouring,Butter icing...Gold coins

Gold coins...okay let me explain.
Irish folk have this thing about leprechauns...hiding pots of gold at the end of the rainbow!
Cute huh?Yeah I always thought I would find the end of the rainbow...standing at my window looking over at the bridge,imagining a 2 ft man dressed in Garden green clothes with a luminous orange beard and a gold buckled belt!Sitting infront of a huge black cauldron filled with jewels and coins and smoking a pipe..humming the "Hi ho " song!!

(whata cute video!...And at the end..is it me or does the woman eat the kiss with the foil on!!)
oh how i miss being a child... (not that i have grown up much at all!!)
& reading that back now.. I realise how stereotypical i sound :(
im sorry leprechauns! im sure you don't all sit and guard gold pots!!

Anyways i said borrowed right?
I borrowed this little leprechaun figurine type thing,from my mom's friends! Theyre an Irish family..no leprechauns though!

Let me just show you the picture so you can Admire him!! :D
(check out the bottle of Guinness)

(please dont ask me what has happened to his eye!!)

Anyways folks!

Im going to tidy up my kitchen..One has a slight habit of making a erm...

Mess!!

Ahem,This is also one of my entries for KO Rasoi's
"Wear your food" Competition!
i went back to read the post,after reading Sanjana's comment.
& i am going to tell a white lie...
i was inspired by this...

But worry not Sanjana...i will return with a worthy recipe

Truly dedicated to obtaining this Bracelet.

Mango & Mint Chutney

2010-03-12T22:41:00.001Z

I thought i would take the regular approach and actually name my post after my "dish",

its a really simple dish,and well...It just YUM!

It's a great accompaniment to any Indian meal and guess what...NO COOKING!!

Im going to be a super sneak and use it as marinade for some fish im going to make on Sunday for mothers day!

Just because I can :D

This just smells like a fruity Thai green curry paste minus the garlicky smell!

This dish has a sweet,sour,spicy,cooling effect/taste in your mouth,its amazing to get so much in one mouthful!

For this Beauty you will need;

20g Fresh Mint

20g Fresh Corriander/Cilantro (you may use the stems)

280g Green Mango

100g White Onion

25g Ginger

40g Jaggery Gur

3 Birdseye Chillies

1 Tspn Anardana

1 Tablespoon Tamrind Puree

All you do is peel & dice your ginger & Mango,Then blend all of these together in a food grinder until it turns to a paste! amazing right?

This will keep in the fridge in a jar with a lid for at least 2 weeks!

Tip: Do not add salt to the entire mix,only add salt to what you are going to use otherwise the chutney will go to liquidy.

Anyways let me tell you about some of the ingredients i used,

everyone babbles on about this and that but what is this? and what is that?

What do you really know?

Green Mango: Well what is there to know about a mango, that is green?

Well green mangoes are actually unripe mangoes. They have a extremely tart taste and smell very mangoey and almost citrusy.They are very firm, they're flesh is similar to an apple at this stage,very crunchy.

Jaggery Gur: Raw sugar,From Sugar canes!Smells divine and has a almost bitter taste! It comes in solid form and is golden.has the texture of soft brown sugar when in your mouth..it just melts! (A personal fave of mine! only time we really it this is at Diwali or Lohri :( Not enough!)

Tamarind: Is almost like a date really! but its sweet and sour! and very tangy and fruity.

Goes great into marinades.

Anardana: Anardana means pomegranate seed basically and that's what it is.

These are dried to give a tangy taste!

Liquid Gold Chocolate Fondants

2010-03-09T20:56:00.001Z

Guess who’s back, back again...Bigarades back, and well, I’ve bought you a recipe!

No diets were hurt in the making of these I swear!

Okay mine was...calorie overload...I actually felt emotional pain.

I spent half an hour this morning at 6 am, in the gym, burning off those calories my Punjabi parents have forced upon me...okay I lied they didn’t force them upon me but hey who can resist double servings of Saag! (Obviously not me)

Where was I?

Oh yes, in the gym “giving it large” on the fitness freak front.

Those of you who know me, know how much fitness means to me :D (HAAAAAA)

So I stroll into college on this beautiful march day, and find out were cooking chocolate fondants...yes those molten chocolate cakes, the really nice gooey ones, yessss....those ones that could push Mr Motivator over the edge!!

So we had like a free lesson right, we love those at our college.

So we made stuff, like you do *rollseyes*

Oeufs de neige (poached meringue, to my understanding)

Sable biscuit & Balsamic strawberry stacks

Chocolate Fondants (wink wink)

Mango & Passion fruit Bavarois

Eventful day may I just add!

We used to make chocolate fondant where I used to work!

Amazed me it did!

A cake, with chocolate melting in the middle...Dreamalicious baby!

So when we did it at college today my mind went into OVERLOAD!

So I thought hey “hey heyyyy”,why don’t I share this sinful food with the readers!

So folks, enough of my chronic rambling, I present you with;

Chocolate fondants.

You will need,

2 Egg yolks

4 Whole eggs

80gf Caster sugar

130g Butter

130g Dark chocolate (the bitterererer the bettererer ;) )

30g Plain flour

14g Cocoa powder

You will also need to preheat your oven to 180Deg

I used tin pudding basins,and got 6 large servings from this mix :)

In a bowl whisk together your:

Yolks,Whole eggs,Cocoa powder,Flour & sugar

Put zee mix to one side,Then in a small sauce pan melt your butter,to your melted butter add your chocolate.melt it slowly,its best to take it off of the heat at this stage,other wise it starts to go a bit crazy and wants to burn

Add this gorge! Buttery chocolatey mix to the egg mix.

Now Mix well and leave to cool for about an hour.
(these freeze REAL well!! and are best cooked form frozen in my humble opinion! iv frozen some for mothers day! BONUS!!)

Grease your moulds,fill them with the mix,about 2/3 up the side.

Bake for 9 minutes! (yes that's all it takes to get deliciousness!!)

Dinner party at mine?

SHIMPLES!

Well you can bake that again!

2010-02-18T18:54:00.001Z

The snow is falling,jack frost is doing his rounds on the world!your curled up on your sofa at home or,a good read in your hand,a mug of steamy mocha in the other...& then...some gorgeous crunchy biscotti!

What a perfect Snugglathon!

I remember the first biscotti i ever had,it wasn't traditional (to my knowledge) but it was beautiful!
It was cherry & almond! almond flavoured biscotti studded with red & green glacé cherries,as a child,this was as amazing as a nice new car! i wouldn't mind either of those two items at this moment in time,one can only wish!

So once again my inquisitive side got the better of me!
Ive made biscotti before,many times,And the thing i loved most was how you could adapt the flavours to your Mood!i mean hey, we all feel like lemons now and then *sigh*

Lemon & Orange Now that was delicious!

But when bored at home ( yes i was actually at home! giving my college work a break!) i created this amazing new flavour! sounds sad i know! but the passion of creativity was burning through me! (or maybe it was the hot tray i grabbed )
But anyway! back to this new flavour!!

Dark Choc chip,Cardamom & Pistachio!
It really didn't need the chocolate,but i had my 5 year old brother helping me as it was half term,
and he insisted chocolate was a must!

Biscotti is double baked,hence my title!
so you cook the dough as a whole,then slice it and bake the fingers again!
then you air it,til it is dry and crunchy! and enjoy it until your so full,you feel like your going to explode!

Here is my recipe i used!
Due to technical difficulties,(we all have them no and then!)
I have no step by step pictures :(

You will need to preheat your oven to 180c.

140g caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 tspn Baking powder

A small pinch of salt

250g Plain flour

1 tspn cardamom powder

65g shelled unsalted & peeled pistachios

30g dark choc chips

in a bowl mix all of your Dry ingredients apart from your pistachios and chocolate chips!

beat your eggs and add them to your dry mix!

then add your pistachios and chocolate to the dough.

Dont panic!
the dough is meant to be quite wet.

mould your dough into a log shape(you may want to wet your hands before you do this it might help)

Onto a silpat mat or a tray lined with grease proof. Then send it off into the oven,leave it to bake for about 10/15 minutes,until the dough starts to look quite dry.

remove from the oven,and diagonally slice your preferred size of fingers out of the dough.

then place the fingers back into the oven,and cook for another ten minutes,remove form the oven and allow to thoroughly cool.

Kick back,relax and enjoy :)

P.s
The competition i babbled on about!
went great! we got first place!
Were off to hotelympia 2010 in march :D
but i will post back asap :D
especially now im jobless!

2010

2009-12-31T10:43:00.000Z

Well today is the last day of the year,so i have been bought up to believe.

I have had no luck with my car hunting,people want ridiculous amounts for cars would be embarrased to advertise.
& i am now officially fed up and not car hunting ...kinda.

But anyways,readers,that read this blog,wishing u a very happy and prosperous foodie 2010.
eat well :D
drink better :D
Sleep it all off and enjoy :)
Most of all,a hugeourmous thankyou!! for helping me :D and making my blog what it is :D

Bigarade.x

Easy Peasy Vegeterian friendly starter or snack

2009-12-26T11:53:00.001Z

okay so today is boxing day and ive actually got a day off work!!

been so busy,snowed under by massess of beautiful snow,in and out of work like theres no tomorrow but now,i have time,and im here.

Dedicated little girl arent i.

i was meant to be doing a give away but i mislaid my prize in my loft some place whilst tidying decorations. im one of those people who tidies to the extent i can no longer find anything.

So here i sit with a tube of benedicts chocolate,The bitter orange with a hint of chilli,Delicious they are DELICIOUS!

So ive opened all my presents in a excitement fuelled frenzy,ive got cook books :D a filofax a few bags ,clothes vouchers, money...

and i come bearing a recipe for you,

its a bit festive,and late i know!

but ive been so busy.

Its a Cranberry and stilton pate.

It's lovely!!

You will need,

100g Stilton (or another blue cheese)

15 g fresh cranberries

100g cream cheese

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Good pinch coarse cracked black pepper

This is so simple!

All you do,is line a mould with cling film.

cook your cranberry in a bit of water,only about a table spoon,until soft.

mix all your ingredients togeether and fill the mould

Chill and serve! i finished mine with a cranberry butter!!

you dont even have to put it into a mould! you could put it into little bowls or make little quenneles :D

Thai salmon cakes

2009-12-06T21:22:00.001Z

mmmm.I love fish & sea food and one of my favourite fish dishes are Thai salmon fish cakes!
Theyre so simple and absolutley delicious.
They can be served with whatever you wish.
My fave way to serve them is with a nice salad matchstick potatoes and yummy yellow or red sweet chilli sauce.
*drools over her keyboard*

So i thought i would share this recipe with you.
As it is nearly christmas lol.

you will need,

60g Salmon
5g Root Ginger
1 Clove of Garlic
2 tspn Nam Pla (fish sauce)
1 tbspn of chopped corriander
1 chilli
1 stick of lemon grass (prepared by removing the skin and tip)
squeeze of halfa lime
enough vegetable oil to shallow fry.
Wedge of lime to serve.

I scaled these cakes to 6g each,i got 10 portions out of this mix.
*dratz! forgot to add slat nto my ingredients list,Salt to taste peoples!*
These can easily be made smaller for little bites at a xmas party maybe.

you know i told you this is simple,it really is.

gather ones ingredients,like so.

Thennn,grind them all up,i just stuck mine in my veg chopper because i quite like little chunky bits(no im not being lazy this time,i generally like texture lol)

I added my corriander right towards the end,looks greener!

Like so.

I then did the same with my salmon,pulsed it a few times until it was kinda minced

but still chunky because other wise it willgo to sloppy and you wont be able to work with it.

Make your cakes and fry on a medium heat,you dotn want to obliterate the yummy salmon.

(also some recipes say coat your salmon cakes in cornflour,you can do this but i prefer miner au naturale,il save the cornflour for something else 8-) maybe some turkish delight mmm)

Mmmmm

sorry incase you didnt read it b4, MMMMMMM.

GAME

2009-12-03T10:50:00.002Z

Between September and February the British menus are spewing brilliance,with seasonal dishes using locally caught game.
My family eat a lot of game,we've had a game keeper in the family for donkies years,so I don’t think I appreciate it as much as people who don’t eat it as much as me.
But it’s a beautiful thing!
Im extremely lucky,not only because of our game keeper,but because I live somewhere,where local,sustainable produce is available readily,for those who are willing to use it.
& nothing can beat game,it is in its own league of excellence,whether it be Duck or venison,Hare or rabbit,or maybe pigeon or pheasant.
Game has a very low fat content,probably because it is wild & able to run around happily.
It’s easy to cook,but can be expensive when bought oven ready,I think.
Your thinking,”shutttttttup”,sorry.
I was rambling but this rambling has meaning!
the other day ) at college we had a guy visit us from a local farmers market ( I hope that’s right)
And basically he bought us game to play with.
Ok,not play but he came to enlighten our minds.
We learnt about catching game,hanging it and then plucking and drawing the guts out of it.
Sounds awful doesn’t it, im sorry vegeterian readers,if you are a vegeterian or animal lover,id stop reading now,personally.

This is a Duck we plucked,
Im not all that heartless,I felt really bad 
It as sooo cute and fluffy.
But duck is tasty,so its all a really big mess!But I suppose it’s the same for other meat too!
But I don’t know why I actually enjoyed this,i love the whole catch it kill it eat it scenario.
Its like history and science and culinary delight all in one realm.
See there I go rambling again.
Buut seriously guys,next time your eating out,and you see game don’t give it a miss.
Try it,love it.obviously not you,vegetarian readers.

I may post a game recipe.

The end.

Colcannon potatoes

2009-12-02T15:21:00.001Z

Colcannon potatoes are irish mashed potatoes,Theyre laced with leeks and scallions and cabbage,& just general yummyness,the kind of yummyness you appreciate when your frozen and starving.

Theyre great on their own or with a casserole.Lovely with sausages and gravy,we all love gravy now don’t we!

This served 6 rather large portions!!

10g butter
Drizzle of veg oil ( just to stop the butter burning)
25g Leeks
10g Scallions
20g Shredded Savoy Cabbage
Mash
100g Potatoes
20g Butter
Cream or milk (your choice but creamy mash is lovley mash!)
Plenty of seasoning ( I used cracked black pepper & sea salt)

(My gorgeous orange knife!! <3 )

Blanch your savoy & set aside.

Peel & boil your potatoes,set aside.

Right,its best to use a wok,but I used a frying pan that was a little to small ( there goes my lazyness,getting the better of me again!).Add you 1 lot of your butter,& your oil.Alow to get hot, then add your blanched cabbage,after about a minute add your leeks and scallions.

Give it a good old mix.

Keep it going until you start to notice some parts going brown,Its all flavour I say!

When you feel happy with the look of your mix,set it aside.

Mash your potatoes,Give them a good old mash,Season,add your cream and butter!

Then mix in your cabbage mix.

Et voile.

Potatoes of the colcannon variety.

Kebabs!

2009-11-27T13:08:00.001Z

(donner kebab ^)

They're yummy in the summer, grilled/bbq'd and in a pitta with loadsa mint and cucumber raita or a nice garlic mayo! loads of fresh lettuce and onions!
They can be either lamb,beef or pork!
You can freeze them with ease!

Right,Here is my recipe to simple recipe to kebabs.

4 lb Pork mince ( you can use beef or lamb but i used pork because it was easier to get hold of!)
8 cloves of garlic (minced)
3 Chillies (mine are pretty damn hot)
30g fresh root ginger (minced)
10g bread crumbs
1 whole egg
1 tbsp cumin powder
2 tsp whole cumin
2 tsp Garam masala
2 tbsp Chopped coriander
Salt to taste

In a Bowl mix all of your ingredients!(how easy is that!!) By the way,i minced my ginger,garlic and chillies all in my vegetable chopper :D

Roll them into any shapes and sizes you wish,they make great burgers!i made theminto these sausagey shapes because they hold theyre shape bettter when cooking.i weighed these out at 5g each. i got 50 peices out of this mix!

Crazy Cress

2009-11-19T17:00:00.001Z

Willy Wonkas factory never failed to amaze me,until today!
We had a visit from The cress people.
Cress people,yes.

They say little things please litttle minds,but these little things will baffle and amaze Mr Einstein himself!
We had cress that tasted like mud! flowers that made your mouth tingle! & flowers that looked to good to eat! All in one room!

& GUESS WHAT!!
Non of it was GM!

I was so amazed i had to pretend i wasnt,i didnt want to look like the weak link in my class or anything!

Also Thankyou Anncoo For this lubly award :D

A Cyber Gift From Me On To You

2009-11-14T14:59:00.000Z

Awards :D

i thought i would join the bandwagon of award givers!

My first ever Award.made by me!

& i feel for this month these bloggers deserve it ;

Collabrative Curry

Peaslovecarrots

KO Rasoi

Chacko's Kitchen

Just because some of their resent posts have made me drool!!

Going green

2009-11-11T17:56:00.001Z

So today at college we were talking about dietary requirements,Veganism, cooking for diabetics and celiacs and stuff. My friend being as self centered as she is, couldn’t understand how or why people would want to be a vegetarian let alone vegan!

Im not exactly a huge fan of meat, but I do love my fish, but I feel I could do without it.

But here I am now...Vegetarian for a week.

This doesn't bother me, because I love vegetables! I love my pulses and beans too and if anything I see this as an opportunity to get more intact with my roots.

We are from the Indian part of Punjab you see!(well my family is)

Where foods like; Rajma,Rongi and saag are everyday foods! (Just to name a few of my favorites!)

As a student chef im always trying to new recipes and ideas, and I already find it hard to work with food, well taste it because I do not eat beef or halal.

Obviously Halal being cheaper for some unknown reason, we use allot more of it; I have no problem cooking it, its just eating it.

I struggle here because if I don’t taste it how do I know if I’ve cooked it right?!

But still enough of all this, im going to post you one of my favourite recipes!

Dhal Makhani!

150g whole urad daal
2 tablespoon Red kidney bean
1 1/2 litres of warm water
2 medium onions finely chopped
3 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoon turmeric powder
125g chopped tin tomatoes
25g Ginger piece
3 green chilies minced ( mine are really strong so adjust this to your chillies!)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
10 floz Double cream
2 tablespoons yogurt
2 teaspoons of tandoori powder
3 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoon Garam masala
Salt to your taste

Normally this dhal is cooked for about 3 hours! but i would say this takes just over a hour and a half..

Make sure the red kidney beans have been soaked the night before,just too speed things up a bit.(you can also soak your urad by the way)

The dhal should be cooked until soft,kidney beans contain toxins which can kill you!(eeek!) So please make sure you cook them properly,otherwise you wont be making my yummy dhal again,will you!!

To soak the beans just put them in a bowl and cover with boiling water and leave over night!The longer the better.

Anyway,enough of this morbidness!

Right!

In a largeish pan,heat your oil and heat your butter.

Temper your jeera.

Then add your onions and ginger,& cook until translucent.

Add your garlic and your chillies and cook until brown.

Add your Tumeric & tandoori powder,cook out for about a minute.

Then add your Urad dhal,and your tomatoes & cook out futher,until you feel the dhal starting to stick.

Add your water and you kidney beans and place a lid on your pan!

Leave for about half an hour and keep checking to make sure your dhal has plenty of water in it.

when you notice the water has reduced a bit,and the urad has started to fill out/split,test your dhal. Remove a kidney bean and urad dhal and squash it,there should be no hard bits in it.

If at this stage the shal is soft,add your yogurt & cream and salt and reduced to a desired consistency!

PS.
I will add pictures soon! and i am sorry about the state of this but the blogger editor is playing up and just making a bigger mess out of my mess :( !! HELP!!

P.P.S.
ive just returned from asda! i went to go get double cream so i can take pics of this for you people to see!
and the double cream split in the carpark and covered me! and im sticky and i probably smell like mouldyness and OH the shame :( SEE WHAT I DO FOR YOU!

squish squash

2009-11-09T20:06:00.001Z

Firstly,My apologies if this is a little messy & the pictures are worse than usual! Ive been busy at work :( and now im eating saag and ARRRGH i cant let anything come between me and saag!!

Oh my Gourd enough of that already! * teehee *
Don't you just love them,Pumpkins,Squashes! Call them what you wish!

Whether they be sweet or savoury, theyre well worth eating,and when better to eat them,than this time of year.
We needed something quick and simple to eat & Whats better than a spicy,hearty,Butternut squash and potato curry!

You will need:

230g Butternut squash (peeled & diced into bite size pieces)
170g Potato ( Peeled & diced into bite size pieces)
80g Chopped onion
200g chopped tomatoes ( i used tinned)
25g chopped Garlic
20g Chopped ginger ( you can mince or grate the ginger and garlic if you wish)
2 tablespoons of veg oil
2 curry leaves ( i crushed :$ )
2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
2 teaspoon whole cumin
1 small pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
2 teaspoon Tumeric
3 Chillies ( i used birdseye and they were pretty hot you can tweak this to suit your taste)
1 teaspoon of paprika
Salt to your taste
1/4 pint of water

Method:

In a pan temper your Cumin,Black Peppercorns & Curry leaves.

(Until the cumin goes a little darker (NOT BLACK)

Add your Onions and Ginger and cook until the onions are translucent and starting to go brown.

Then add the ginger and chopped chillies.

Cook until goldenbrown Then add your;

Hing,tumeric,paprika.

Cook Mix in all the spices,Then add your potatoes and cook

out for a further 5 minutes.

Add your squash,And cook until you can feel the curry just starting to stick to the pan,

Add your water and placer a lid on top,and cook on a low heat until the potatoes & squash are soft.

When soft take off the heat,sprinkle with plenty of freshly chopped cilantro!

Et Voile;

Dhokla, haa un tamene prem karu chhu

2009-11-04T17:38:00.001Z

Check out my gujrati che! :D
Have you ever been to Southall?
Where Indian sweet shops plague shopping parades?
Names like Ambala and Jalebi junction.
Not only do they taunt you,they lure you into purchasing some of they're uber delish foods!

Weve all been there,if not in Southall,Some other place!

Ever been in to one of these shops and thought,"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" ?
Probably not,But sometimes i go in and i think "do i really want something sweet?"
So i buy some freshly made bombay mix,Maybe some patra and Dhoklaa! Okay i admit i do nick some mixed mithai somebody in my family bought!

So Dhokla,Oh The Guji people of the world,i know you don't know me,but thankyou for this one,really,thanks.

Usually you get a choice of a Mint or red chilli chutney,or if your lucky some tamrind chutney! Mmm
Dhokla has a really unusual taste and texture and just keeps you coming back for more!
& guess what lovely people!

I GOT YOU A RECIPE!! :D
( Ideal as finger food at a party! Oh i also found you some music just because it was what i was listening to whilst making it!)

*Jumps around with excitement for a while*

Just to add,This recipe is steamed! If like me you don't have a steamer,Just use a large pan with a tight fitting lid!! I also used a 8 inch square cake tin as my Dhokla mould...(Gosh i am useless!)
Alsoooooo,There is many different variations of this recipe,some call for semolina some call for Eno and all sorts,this is a way i found worked!

RECIPE

280g Besan (Gram flour/Chickpea flour)
240ml Yoghurt
600ml Warm water

2 chopped green chillies
1 inch chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon powdered tmeric
Salt (to your taste)
1 teaspoon Baking soda

2 tablespoon oil
Juice of 1 lemon

To decorate these beauties;

2 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 dried Curry leaves

3 tablespoons of Freshly chopped corriander
A generous sprinkling of grated coconut

Sift your Besan into a bowl
Add your water & yoghurt and Salt

Whisk until it is of dropping consistency and has no lumps
Leave it to ferment for about 2 hours, ( The longer you leave it the better,so i am told)
Blitz your ginger and chillies into a paste (using a food grinder)
Grease your make shift dhokla pan
Mix the lemon juice,half the oil and all the bicarb soda in a little bowl and add to the fermented besan mix

Pour your batter into the tin and add into your steamer
Steam for about 12 minutes! ( Or until it springs back when poked)

When the dhokla is done,cool and cut into desired shapes,sizes and pieces!

In a pan temper your curry leaves and mustard seeds,when you hear the seeds pop pour this mix over the dhokla!

Garnish with split green chillies and chopped corriander,oh and the coconut!

Enjoyyyyyyyy!!

I got this recipe out of a book from India i have at home but had to mess around with it!
So Now it is mineeee!! ALLLL MINEEEE BWHAHAHAHA!! *ahem