A little over a year has passed since we started out on this venture, a wonderful journey . Over this year we have learnt and shared a lot along the way about the world of blogging. Over this time we have spoken to many people  with regards to the blog and what we are trying to achieve, and the one thing that keeps on coming back is, are there any recipes for single people or students? So we got thinking and decided to add a section where there will be a list of store cupboard ingredients and some simple meal ideas on how to prepare in advance so that you can have a wide variety of world cuisines.

Like me, the majority of us who start off on our careers, university is the first steps to looking after our own health and well being. Along the way we have many cooking disasters and find new tastes.

As I have grown have grown up, my eating & cooking habits have changed a great deal. However one thing that has remained is a need to ensure the food is healthy or tweaked to have, say, wholemeal flour instead of plain flour. As I have become a mother I am more aware of this need to ensure a healthy balanced diet which is good for the mind  & body. There are so many things which are inter-related and connected. We forget what an important part food plays in our life, to keep us fit, healthy & well. So with all of that in mind I am adding another dimension to our blog, please feel free to send me your recipes to try out and add to this or any other section of our blog. Our main aim is to share our passion and love for good vegetarian food for all to enjoy

In recent years there have been many studies looking at how food improves our intelligence and well being. I myself borrowed a book from the library on this very subject, because I want to give my son the best possible start in life. Also being vegetarian I wanted him to have all the necessary nutrients and vitamins needed to grow and develop in life. Actually it does not matter how old we are – all age groups should try and maintain a well balanced diet, one which incorporates all the food groups in every meal. It is vital that, from children to when we become young adults (students), we take the responsibility of  looking after our own well being and food is a very important part of it.

Now that I think about it and look back, when I was away at university, I just cringe at the thought of what I used to eat  as my dinners (a packet of jaffa cakes) and my cooking disasters !!! I remember one time I really fancied having an Indian snack called pawa bateta (flattened rice & potatoes), so I made the correct portion for 1 person but then added the spices for 5 people. That is how I learnt to cook for the family, so … we live & learn. So bearing that in mind and a conversation I had with my cousin, thanks to her ground work, I thought of adding a basic store cupboard list as well to help students, single or couples along the way to make a multitude of cuisines, from these standard ingredients. For example, I use kidney beans for my traditional curry, Mexican, soup, salad, Italian, and Jambalaya rice, so the one ingredient can be used to make 6 different types of meals. So the correct store cupboard ingredients are not only good value for money, but at the same time the ingredients should provide meals filled with vitamins and foods which nourish physically and mentally. Below is a list of what I feel would be good to have from which as mentioned you can make many different vegetarian meals.

Below is a list of some sites that are good to use as a resource for some quick ideas or good recipes to try out. Feel free to forward links if I have missed out on any sites that you would recommend.

Chef in You

Student Cook

Beyond Baked Beans

BBC Student Survival Kit

Student Recipes

I came up with this recipe as I really wanted to incorporate some dried fruit with a normal / traditional barfi. I also wanted to try and make a healthy sweet, using natural sugars from the fruit and very little ghee. Traditionally Indian sweets are full of calories because of the amount of sugar and ghee that are used, so I wanted to create some thing which used the bare minimum of these ingredients. The other criteria I was trying to fulfil is to make a simple, easy and quick recipe. I chose apricots because of their taste and texture, not to mention the health benefits. Dried apricots are an excellent source of iron, vitamin A, high in fibre, potassium and low in fat. Apart from perhaps warding of cancer, heart disease and protecting eyesight, apricots also help increase the immune system as it is a good source of iron, which is essential for the renewal of red blood cells. These cells oxygenate the body, helping to stop feeling lethargic and tired. This is essential especially as the cold weather is setting in and days are starting to get shorter, we need to have feel good foods:)

Having decided on the fruit I started thinking about how to encase it and what other  ingredients, if any, to add. So I visualised the colour of the fruit and what other colours would go with it and what shape to give it etc. I just wanted to use the ingredients I had at home at the time. So I added some chocolate chips (which I now feel can be left out) and thought I would coat it with the barfi mixture with added flavour of cocoa. The triangle shape came about because this summer one of my husband’s aunties had given a gadget to make shaped mithai, which I wanted to use so that is why the shape is a triangular. The gadget is essential a V shaped long metal strip with a less than 90 degree bend along its length. Although the final shape I ended up making was by pressing roll of the mixture by hand into a triangle shape, so the strip of metal did not help in making the final shape. Everyone who has tried this sweet/mithai has loved and enjoyed it, so I am glad I thought out of the box and experimented with this sweet for diwali.

Golden Triangles

As mentioned above you can leave the chocolate chips if you don’t want to add it or do not have it. You may want to reduce the cocoa content to taste, as it is a little on the high side. I feel you can also make the same mithai with other fruit and/or nut centres, perhaps cranberries.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 1 hr    Cooking time: 30 mins plus overnight setting time    Makes: 55 – 60

1 lb of milk powder

8 oz sugar

6 – 8 heaped tbsps cocoa powder

3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

10 serving spoons milk

400 g dried apricots finely hopped or diced

100 g chocolate chips / drops

Method

1) Chop the apricots into small pieces, I used scissors to make it easy. In a bowl mix the apricot pieces and the chocolate chip together, keep aside.

2) To make the barfi mixture, in a large bowl mix the milk powder, cocoa powder, so that all the mixture is brown. Then add the ghee and milk , and mix this to a crumble consistency.

3) Put the sugar in a pan and add just enough cold water to cover the sugar and heat up.  Let the mixture boil so that the whole surface is covered with bubbles. Let the sugar and water mix for a minute or so after the entire area in covered with bubbles, remove from the heat and add it to the milk powder mixture and mix it thoroughly.  It should become a soft dough.

4) In a Swiss roll tray or on the work top, place some cling film and spread a thin layer of the barfi mixture evenly.  I press it down with the back of a bowl or any other flat utensil. In the middle place a few tablespoons of the apricot mixture all along the length of the barfi layer.

5) With the help of the cling film bring the two sides together over the apricot mixture, making sure to cover the entire surface. Wrap the cling film tightly over the mixture. On a flat surface with both hands press the mixture to create a rough triangle shape, keep on turning the sides until you have a smooth and even triangle shape like a bar of Toblerone chocolate. By pressing gently on the flat work surface you are creating the shape and also ensuring that there is no gap between the  apricot and barfi layers (it should be packed in not hollow, you will be able to feel it as you create the shape). Once the desired shape has been created place on a baking tray and place in the fridge over night to set into shape.

6) The following day or after a few hours cut into pieces with a thickness of about 1/2 cm. To store the barfi place it in an airtight container and refrigerate enjoy .

We made Weetabix Barfi for my son’s Diwali & Eid party at school. Making food should be fun, especially when doing it with children. I love recipes where my son can enjoy making it and at the same time he is learning all the time yet he thinks it is fun, because for a change I am letting him play with food We worked together as a team and he really enjoyed crushing the weetabix and biscuits, then mixing all the dry ingredients together. Learning about texture, size and how to measure ingredients together, are just a few of the things we talked about as we were making this easy sweet dish.

I have adopted this recipe to our taste from ‘The Ultimate Collection – A Vegetarian Cookbook’. The taste is a cross between a cereal bar and an Indian sweet.  I wanted to try this recipe as it seemed like an interesting mix of ingredients and felt kind of healthy because of the use of Weetabix, hence we made it as one of our Diwali sweets this year. In case you don’t know, Weetabix is a popular breakfast cereal – more info at Wikipedia here. It also goes by the name of Weet-bix.

Weetabix Barfi

I tweaked the recipe by reducing the amount of dessicated coconut and using chocolate flavoured Marie biscuits as opposed to the plain ones. When we made a second batch I also added some orange essence and dried orange zest, and it tasted good, so you can experiment with different flavours.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 30 to 40 mins      Setting time: overnight    Makes: 75 1” square pieces

220g Weetabix roughly crushed (this is 12 biscuits)

125g Marie biscuits roughly crushed

80g mixed nuts (I used almonds, pistachios & cashew) coarsely ground

50g dessicated coconut

2 tsp ground cinnamon powder

397g condensed milk (one can)

125g butter

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

Method

1) Crush the Weetabix and Marie biscuits in a large bowl (we did it by hand). Grind the mixed nuts in a food processor and add to the bowl with the other two ingredients. To this add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well and keep aside.

2) Melt butter and ghee at low heat in a heavy bottom pan. Grease the thali or baking tray to be used and keep aside. Once the butter and ghee has melted add the condensed milk and mix switching off the heat. Once combined, pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.

3) Spread and press the mixture into the greased tray. I used the back of a small flat bottomed bowl to do this after initially using my hand to spread it evenly in the tray. Leave overnight to set fully and cut into pieces, store in an air tight container in the fridge. It keeps well for about a month (if it lasts long enough and not eaten), enjoy

I came across this sweet dish about 4 to 5 years back. The name was very unusual for a sweet dish -  Kesar means saffron and Mani in Sanskrit means gem. The taste was a combination of a few traditional sweets, a crunchy yet melt in the mouth texture all at the same time. Ever since then I wanted to try and make it at home, but I had no-one to teach me or tell me all the specific ingredients.

As I have mentioned before, I recently got a couple of recipe books from Kenya, ‘ The Ultimate Collection – A Vegetarian Cookbook’ and ‘Exotic Flavours – Cuisine With Class’. I looked at the recipe given for Kesar Mani from each book and then decided to try it out. The ingredients from both books were similar, so I combined their ingredients and had a go. The first attempt needed a little extra sweetness and some more spice I felt. So I tweaked the recipes slightly and came up with the version below.

I had made this dish over the summer for one of my husband’s friends for his wedding, but I thought it would be good to post it on Radiance Recipes now when people would make or like to try out new sweets for Diwali. This is a good sweet to indulge in for those special occasions.

Kesar Mani

The key to the success of this recipe is preparation. Make sure that you have all the ingredients ready and measured before you start the recipe. One of the recipe books did not add the thin vermicelli, I guess if you don’t like it or do not have it then you can leave it out. You can use rose petals and crushed vermicelli for decoration as well as the flaked almonds and pistachios.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 45 mins    Cooking time (plus overnight setting time): 1 hr    Makes: 1 kg (40 pieces)

150 g gram flour (chickpea flour)

150 g milk powder

100 g thin vermicelli roasted

120 g fine dessicated coconut

200 g almonds coarsely ground

100 g each pistachios and cashew nuts coarsely ground

150 g gund (gum arabica ) crushed

400 g icing sugar

380 g ghee (clarified butter)

4 tsp taj (cinnamon) powder

2 tsp elaichi (cardamom) powder

1 g kesar (saffron) lightly crushed (keep some aside for decoration)

Flaked almonds & pistachios & saffron for decoration

Method

1) Measure all the ingredients and keep aside. Grind the nuts coarsely and keep aside. Dry roast the roughly broken vermicelli  to a golden colour, cool and keep aside. Grease the thalis or baking trays that you are going to use to set the kesar mani and keep aside.

2) In a large heavy bottom pan on a medium heat, place little more then half of the ghee. To this add the gram flour and roast until it becomes a light pink or golden brown, making sure to stir continuously. You can add a little more ghee if you feel it is to dry (too much will just make the flour bubble up rather then roasting properly). When the aroma from the flour is released add the gund a little at a time waiting for it to pop before you add more.

3) Switch off the heat and add the crushed nuts, milk powder, dessicated coconut, a large pinch of kesar, spices and remaining ghee, mix well until all the ingredients have blended. When a little more cooler add the icing sugar and roasted vermicelli combine all the ingredients until well blended. The texture will be a little like coarse wet sand and will hold its shape if made into a ball.

4) Split the mixture into the greased thalis or baking trays about an inch deep and press down with the back of a small bowl or your hands. Once the mixture is packed in and smooth sprinkle with the decoration and lightly press down again. Cover and leave to set over night in a cool dry place. The next morning cut into 1 inch squares. You will have to gently wiggle the pieces before lifting them clear of the thali. Store in air tight containers in the fridge. It will keep for a few weeks, if they’re not eaten by then

In my world everything is interconnected – food, creative arts, emotions, relationships, nature and our daily surroundings. Food and our emotions are always interconnected – we turn to different foods when we are happy and at the other end of the spectrum when we are low we turn to comfort foods to help pick ourselves up. Part of what we eat is visual.  We eat with our eyes first and then the taste comes in. So when we marry creativity with food, it becomes a visual treat and gives you a wow moment.

As I love all forms of creativity and have a background in textile design I am always looking for inspiration from my surroundings or other sources. As a result I get regular emails from ‘The Inspiration Room’ a blog that sends me creative ideas and how they are used in the world of advertising. Recently I got a mail from them that made me think wow so I thought I would share it with you. It was an advertising campaign for the Sydney International Food Festival that showed food in the form of flags. I was amazed at the amount of thought put into making sure that the type of foods used to create the flags were what was considered the cuisine of that country. The main article is here. I would love to be at such a festival and enjoy all the wonderful tastes and smells of the great food that we have in this world.

In recent years there are a few buzz words associated with all the lovely fruits & vegetables available, that are used to tell us why we should eat them. The key phrases are super food, rich in antioxidants, & packed full of vitamins and so on. I feel that all food is good for us, consumed in the correct quantities and eaten on a regular basis. There has been much research that has been conducted on strawberries and the results suggest that it is rich in vitamin C, is filled with antioxidants that help fight cancer and heart disease, rich in folic acid and are also good at helping reduce tartar as well as maintaining healthy skin. With or without the title of super food, strawberries are a great tasting food which gives us an uplifting effect and can satisfy any sweet tooth.

This recipe for Strawberry Cupcakes was requested from my dear son for some months now. He asked my younger sister to make a strawberry chocolate cake, so she attempted it earlier this year. She adapted her normal recipe for eggless chocolate cake and added strawberry jam and syrup. This experiment did not quite work as the cake sank! I then had a go with the yoghurt cake recipe and added strawberry syrup and cocoa. It smelt great but the taste was not there. Then at a recent food festival, I had tried some strawberry cake/bread which was vegan. They had used a lot of chopped fresh fruit to get taste and texture. Then I also saw a few recipes which inspired me, there was this Blueberry coffee cake & Eggless Vanilla Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins.

From all of that research and experimenting, I made the following recipe which was a good first attempt. The cup cakes were moist and had the correct balance of fruit and sugar. My husband said they were more like muffins than cupcakes, but all the same tasted great. I was glad that I took up the challenge and ventured into creating this recipe.

Strawberry Cupcakes

I guess this recipe can be used for any other fresh fruit cake you wish to make, like mango, blueberries etc. You can reduce the amount of sugar needed depending on how sweet the fruit is.

Ingredients

Preparation time : 45 mins        Cooking time: 15 to 20 mins          Makes: 12 big cupcakes or 24 small

2 cups self raising flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp each of baking powder & bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp of vanilla essence

2 tbsp of butter

3 tbsp natural yoghurt

1/4 cup of strawberry juice

1 cup of chopped strawberry

Method

1) Wash and chop the strawberries, keep aside. Pre- heat the oven to 180 ‘C and place the cases for the cupcakes in a tray.

2) Make the juice of the strawberries by whisking the chopped strawberries in to a pulpy juice to the quantity required. In a large bowl mix together the sugar & butter to create a breadcrumb like consistency. Now to this add the yoghurt, vanilla essence and strawberry juice.

3) To the wet mixture add all the dry ingredients, mix well and then fold in the chopped strawberries. If you are happy with the consistency (not too runny and not too thick) then fill the cases with the mixture coming up to about 3/4 full. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake until golden brown and when a tooth pick is inserted it comes out clean. You are ready to serve with some coffee or with fresh cream or even some ice cream.

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