Spinach, mushroom and cashew curry

Well I’m feeling mighty pleased with myself today having come up with what I feel is a tasty combination. I hope you like it too. The cashews only work if they are crunchy so add those at the last-minute.

Ingredients:

• 50-60 g whole cashew nuts lightly dry roasted until golden in a frying pan. Allow to cool completely (kaju)
• 2 tbs ground nut oil (tel)
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds and a few fenugreek seeds (rai, methi)
• 1 stick cinnamon (tuj)
• 1 small onion diced finely (dhungri)
• 2 cloves garlic minced (lasun)
• 5 small new potatoes cut into 1/2 cm cubes (bateta / aloo)
• 250g chestnut mushrooms – wipe clean and slice thickly
• 1/2 tsp salt – or to taste (nimak)
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (lal murcha)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric (hurder)
• 1/2 tsp cumin coriander powder (dhana jeeru)
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 400g fresh baby spinach (palak)

Cooking:

• Heat the oil in a large heavy bottom pan over a medium heat
• Add the cinnamon and mustard/fenugreek seeds.
• Once the seeds start to splutter add the onion and cook until they start to brown
• Add the chili and garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes
• Throw in the mushroom, potato and spices and soy sauce. Stir well and cook until the potato starts to soften (about 5 minutes)
• Add the spinach and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Do not add any water as both spinach and mushroom have plenty
• When it is cooked, turn off the heat and add in the cashew nuts.
• Serve immediately with freshly cooked basmati rice.

Mushroom quiche

Nothing more vegie than quiche except perhaps nut loaf which I’ve never had, never going to, end of.  I love quiche in summer eaten cold with a salad, or straight out of the oven in autumn/winter with lots of oven roasted potato wedges or salad. Today I am rather pleased with myself as I made my little one two mini quiches, and a large seasoned one for hubby and myself. She felt very special having her own but funny little girl that she is, she ate the filling and left the crust.

I cheated. There I said it. My guilty secret is out – I used shop bought pastry but it was an all butter version and supposedly easier than making it myself. But what c**p – I had to let it defrost in the fridge for 24 hours, then leave it out for an hour before cooking. I could have just made my own pastry but I was busy, busy, busy (read that as lazy, lazy, lazy). This recipe is based on the mega delicious Louise Pickford’s Chickpea and Spinach Flan found in Vegetarian Cooking. Again, I normally blind bake the pastry to make it crispy but today I thought Nooooo, I shall Delia it and bung it in the oven, pricked over, brushed over with egg wash. It was fun, every now and again when the pastry rose, I opened the oven and pricked it to let more air out. It was fine. It worked.

Ingredients:

• 500g shortcrust pastry
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 small onion diced finely
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 150g organic chestnut mushrooms
• 4 free range or organic medium eggs
• 75g mature cheddar
• 1/2 pint full fat milk
• Butter to line pastry dishes

Cooking:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (fan oven)
• Grease the fluted pie dishes with butter and set aside
• Roll out the pastry and put into the flan dish (or dishes if your being a clever clogs like me)
• Cut off excess. And then gently push the pastry into the grooves. It’s going to shrink so let a little over the edge.
• Cover with egg wash ( break an egg, mix it up, take a pastry brush and brush a thin layer over the pastry)
• Bung in the oven and cook until it is crispy and golden. If it dares to start rising, just prick a few times more. Most therapeutic.
• Whilst the pastry cooks, prepare the filling.
• Heat oil in a pan and add onions, garlic and turmeric. Fry for about 5 minutes til the onions start to brown. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for about 3 minutes until some of the moisture from the mushrooms starts to ooze out.
• While onions/mushrooms cook, mix the eggs and milk together. Season wth salt and pepper to taste.
• Now the fun part. Spread onion mushroom mixture on the golden pastry cases. Then layer with cheese (leave a tablespoon or two for later). Final step, pour on the milk mixture. I had a tiny bit left over, guess it depends on the size of the dish(es).
• Bake until the quiche is firm. As a final flourish, add a little bit of cheese on to create a thin crust.
• Serve with chips, salad, potato salad or / and coleslaw.

Mushroom, cauliflower and potato shak (khumbi, phool khobi and bateta nu shak)

What do you do if your supermarket delivers a cauliflower that looks promising but when your remove the leaves, turns out to have a dolly sized head? Well, first I vow not to get my caulis delivered anymore (stupid store shoppers), and then put my thinking cap on, peer into the fridge and come up with a new recipe that worked out remarkably well. I hope you enjoy it too.

The preparation of the veg looks like a faff but trust me, it took less than 5 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs ground nut oil
• 1/2 tbs ghee (optional)
• 1 large dried bayleaf
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 180 g onion diced finely
• 1 tbs grated ginger
• 1 green chili chopped finely
• 6 peppercorns
• 200g cauliflower(this was my silly doll’s head. If you have a full head, use it all)
• 200 g mini new potatoes (if you don’t have mini don’t worry but do not substitute with non new potatoes)
• 200g mini portabella mushrooms (about 9 mini mushrooms or 3 large flat mushrooms)
• 1 tsp chili powder (lal murcha)
• 1.5 tsp salt (nimak)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric (hurder)
• 1 tsp cumic / coriander seed powder (dhana jeeru)
• Lemon juice to taste
• 2 firm red tomatoes cut into quarters
• Coriander to garnish

Preparation:

• Cauliflower: cut this in small florets and then blanch. To blanch you boil your kettle, fill a large pan with the boiled water and let the cauliflower sit in it for 5 minutes. This slightly softens the veg. With a spoon carefully lift the cauliflower from the hot water and put aside. Don’t ditch the water as you need for the next step
• Potatoes: Scrub your new potatoes, if they are large cut them into 1/2 inch pieces and put them into the hot water to par boil – that is they are still firm but a knife should be able to slip in easily.

• Mushrooms: wipe the dirt off and slice thinly. I wanted to remove some of the moisture so I decided to sweat the mushrooms. Pour a tsp of oil into a frying pan and then throw in the mushrooms. Keep stirring and you will see lots of water/steam start to emerge. Pour this water out and set mushrooms aside.

Cooking:

• In a large pan, heat the oil and ghee
• Add cumin seeds and bayleaf. When the seeds start to sizzle and brown slightly, add the onions and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring frequently
• Add the ginger, chilies and peppercorn then cook for 1 minute
• Throw in the cauliflower and new potatoes. Stir for 2 minutes
• Add the mushrooms and spices. Combine all very well and then turn heat down to low, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. Stir every few minutes to stop it sticking to the bottom
• When the cauliflower and potatoes have softened so that you can easily slip a fork in add lemon juice to taste and the quartered tomatoes.
• Cook for a further one minute ONLY. Turn off and let it cool slightly.
• Garnish with the chopped coriander and serve with plain basmati rice

Cheese stuffed mushrooms

I like the earthy taste of mushrooms and these cheese stuffed mushrooms are very easy to do. They can be eaten as a light lunch, starter or accompaniment to steak (I gasp in horror being a Hindu vegetarian but hubby suggested this!)

Ingredients

• 4 large Portobello mushrooms – wipe clean and remove stalks. Chop up the mushroom stalks into small dice.
• 1 small onion dice very finely
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tbs oil
• 2 blocks of frozen spinach – cook as per instructions on packet
• 1 large slice of day old bread
• 100g soft cheese. Take this out in advance and let it soften
• Sprig of fresh parsley chopped finely
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 15g butter for brushing

Cooking:

• Pre-heat oven to 185 degree centigrade (I have a fan oven. If you don’t then probably 200 degree is about right)
• In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium flame
• Add onions and garlic. Cook until onions are starting to caramelise
• Add the mushroom stalks and cook until they are reduced. Stir frequently to stop the mixture sticking to the pan
• Take the mixture off the heat and allow to cool on a plate
• Once the spinach is cooked according to the packet instructions, add it to the oil from the onions/mushroom and gently cook until the water evaporates. Allow to cool
• Put bread into a blender and whizz to tiny breadcrumbs
• In a bowl combine the spinach, mushroom/onion mix, breadcrumbs, soft cheese and parsley. Season to taste
• Brush the rounded part of each mushroom with melted butter and place on a baking tray gills side up. Then divide the mushroom mixture equally among the flat mushrooms. Place on a flat baking tray with some distance between each as they can sometimes flatten and spread.
• Heat in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes. The mixture should be browned on the top but the mushrooms should be firm
• Serve with a salad and new potatoes or with a beef steak – if you aren’t a veggie and really must

Mushroom pilau

This recipe is suitable for young children as it has very little spice in it.

1 cup basmati rice
1tbs groundnut oil
1tsp cumin seeds.
1 large clove garlic crushed
1/2 inch ginger grated
1 medium onion chopped into small pieces
1 stick cinnamon
10/15 closed cap mushrooms
1/4tsp tumeric
1/4tsp salt
3 cups water

• Wash the basmati rice until water comes out clean. Soak rice in cold water for half an hour
  Warm the oil in a pan over medium heat
• Add the cumin seeds and wait for them to sizzle then throw in the garlic and ginger. Let it cook for 1 min.
• Add cinnamon stick.
• Add onions and cook until they start to go brown at edges
• Add rice and make sure it is fully coated with onion/oil mix
• Add salt and tumeric and stir well
• Add mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes continually stirring so rice does not stick to the pan.
• Add the water. Bring to the boil and then simmer until water is absorbed. Check the rice is fully cooked, if not then add a bit more water and simmer.