Curry

Rich and creamy,
not oily nor greasy,
simple to make,
quite quick and easy.
A space where spices
sing together
a song from back home.
One base, one paste,
3 different curries,
For vegans, Raw vegans
and fish lovers in a hurry.

Base Paste:

Cardamom seeds    1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds           2 teaspoons
Coriander seeds      4 teaspoons
Cloves                    1 teaspoon
Cinnamon               2 sticks

Cashews                1 cup
Coconut                 3 tablespoons
(dessicated)

Fresh coriander     2 cups
Fresh mint             1/2 cup
Curry leaves          1/2 cup
Grated ginger        1 tablespoon
Tamarind pulp       2 tablespoons
Fresh red chili       1 piece

Sea Salt                 2 teaspoons

Grind the whole spices together. Keep aside

Process the rest of the ingredients together.
Add water if necessary, just till all is combined
well enough to form a paste.
Now add the ground spices to the paste and process.
Taste, add more salt, or add red chili powder if
you like it hot.

* You can dry roast the whole spices
separately before grinding them,
but this is a matter of choice.
Both work very well, it is a question of taste,
like whether you prefer your bread toasted or not!
I am happy with either.

This paste will form the base of all 3 curries.
It rendered 10 heaped tablespoons.
You can use only what is required for the curry
you choose to make.
Freeze the rest in ice cube trays
for using it again to make another curry, another day.

RAW VEGAN CURRY

Raw Vegan Curry:

Add 2 heaped tablespoons of the Base Paste

to 2 cups of Coconut Milk and mix well together.

Add more sea salt to taste if desired.

Pour this sauce over raw vegetables of choice

and dehydrate for 4 to 6 hours.

I used broccoli florets, mixed bean sprouts

sweet red peppers and zucchini.

Serve with parsnip rice or raw crackers.

Garnish with grated carrots, lemon slices

and fresh coriander.

VEGETARIAN/VEGAN CURRY

Vegetarian/Vegan Curry:

2 tablespoons - Base Paste
1/2 can - Coconut Milk
1 cup - diced fresh Tofu
1 cup - steamed green beans
1/2 cup - sliced sweet red peppers (capsicum)

Lemon juice and fresh coriander (cilantro) to garnish.

Gently heat the coconut milk in a deep pan.
Add the base paste and mix it well into the milk.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the beans, peppers and tofu and continue
to simmer gently for another 5 minutes.
Add sea salt to taste as desired.

FISH CURRY IN A HURRY

Fish Curry:

1 can - Coconut Milk

6 tablespoons - Base Paste

4 fillets - Salmon (Use any other fish, as per liking)

1/2 cup - sliced sweet red pepper (capsicum)

Cut the fish fillets into medium size pieces.

Gently heat the coconut milk in a deep wide pan.

Add the Base paste and mix well.

Simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the fish and the pepper and continue

to simmer on low heat till the fish is cooked.

Squeeze lemon juice and garnish with fresh coriander.

Notes:

The cashews and the coconut

make this a rich and creamy curry sauce,

so there is no need for any OIL at all!!!

Raw Food is not heated beyond
40C to 46C or 104F to 115F, thus it
retains all its nutrients and enzymes.
I use an Excaliber dehydrator.
The sauce becomes thicker, the color darker,the taste intense, the spices stronger.

We ate the Vegetarian curry with rotis
made with a mixture of 3 flours -
sorghum (jowar ka atta)
amaranth (rajgiri ka atta)
millet ( bajra or nachni)

The fish curry was served with saffron rice.
Trevor had two huge helpings,
he does love his fish - an Irish man after all ;-)

Keep it Simple. Be Creative.

Taste and Play. Find your own Way.

Green

If you have bananas, spinach and dates,

what do you think you'll make?

I'll do a healthy breakfast,

that will keep me going till noon,

a year ago I found just the thing,

believe me, it is a boon!!!!

Very nutritious, and really yummy,

even your kids will say,

please may we have some more, Mummy.

we need our greens for the day!!! ;-)

 

 

Breakfast:

Put 2 chopped bananas into your blender,
add 2 big handfuls of fresh spinach leaves,
along with 2 or 3 chopped soft dates.
Add 2 cups of chilled water.
Blend it all together till it becomes
homogeneous.


You can add more, or less water,
make a thick creamy smoothie
or a lighter thinner shake.
Pour into a tall glass and serve with a smile.

 

Notes:

The ratio for beginners is -

60% fruit and 40% greens.

I do more greens than fruit now.

You can use only 1 banana and
add some other fruits instead.
Bananas give the creamiest texture.
Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries,
and mangoes are my all time favorites too.
Vary also the greens, use romaine lettuce,
Swiss chard, kale, parsley, celery etc......
I will be posting other tried and tested recipes
of smoothies, shakes and elixirs regularly on here.
Put the fruit first at the bottom of the blender
then add the greens above.
Green smoothies are very easy to digest,
as when blended, the fruit and greens divide
into small particles, retain all their
precious nutrients and are easily assimilated.
They are a complete food, high in fiber
and very quick and easy to make.
You won't even taste the spinach at all,
only the bananas and the dates.
I love GREEN SMOOTHIES  :-)

Keep it Simple. Be Creative.

Taste and Play. Find your own Way

Divine

 

I look at fresh figs in my fridge
and wonder what to make,
Do I use them with goats cheese
or do I bake a cake?
Trevor came along and said,
that would do me fine,
Saatchi said, do mini muffins,
they are cute, light, divine.....

Cake and Muffins

1 cup whole spelt flour
1 cup oat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

3 eggs
1/2 cup light olive oil
1/4 cup honey

1 cup grated zucchini/courgette
1 cup  chopped soft dates
1 cup chopped fresh figs
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven at 180 C.

Sift the spelt and oat flours, and then add
nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
Set aside.

In a bowl whisk the eggs, oil and honey together,
make the batter light.
Add the flours spoon by spoon and mix,
until just smooth and homogeneous.

Add the zucchini, then the figs, dates
and walnuts, mix until just combined.

Then divide the batter between the molds
and bake until the blade of a sharp knife
inserted in the middle comes out dry.

I made an 8" round cake, 6 muffins
and 8 mini muffins.

Mini muffins - 10 minutes
Muffins - 15 minutes
Cake - 25 minutes

Notes

I used silicone molds for both
the cake and the muffins.
Extra virgin olive oil gives a strong flavor,
so use a lighter olive oil.
The figs and dates sweeten the cake,
so I used less honey, you can add more if desired.
You can use half measures and make just a cake,
or only muffins, or even a loaf.
No white flour, no butter, no sugar.
Very less fat and a vegetable in the mix
does make this quite a healthy treat.
It turned out fluffy, light and moist,
We gave half of it to some friends,
the rest got over quite quickly :-)

Keep it Simple. Be Creative.

Taste and Play. Find your own Way.

 

Fresh

 

  

Macaroni, fettucine, canneloni,

Tortellini, linguini, ravioli.

Pasta is dear to my heart,

and so hard to refuse.

In chilly London days, it makes

a great alternative to soup.

Sometimes I go hunting for it in health food stores,

but one day, I'll show you how to make your own......

For now, when summer is still around

even if it is almost ready to go,

let's make pasta like you've never seen before? ;-)

Summer Tagliatelli: 
Raw cucumber pasta......


1 cucumber
half a red pepper
3 tablespoons of yogurt
2 teaspoons of olive oil
fresh grated coconut

sea salt, lime, herbs, spices, parsley.

Chop a red pepper into tiny cubes, keep aside.
Take 3 tablespoons of yogurt and whisk it
with a teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.

Take a cucumber and peel the skin away,
using a flat peeler. Then continue peeling, making strips
and turning the cucumber around,
till you hit the seeds, then stop.
Add sea salt to taste and drain for 2 minutes.
Gently tap the tagliatelli strips with kitchen paper,
to get rid of excess moisture.

Add the red pepper cubes and coconut
to the cucumber, mix gently.
Arrange it on a plate with your hand.
Squeeze some lime juice over it and
scoop the yogurt into the center.
Sprinkle some herbs or spices of choice.
Drizzle some olive oil and add a sprig of fresh parsley.

Viola, its ready to eat.
Fresh and light, what a delight :-)

 

Notes:

No cooking involved, how easy is that?? :-)
I use English cucumbers for longer strips.
The seedy soggy center is sometimes used to make cuke lemonade.
I used goats milk yogurt.
I found a lovely spice blend the other day at Marks and Spencers,
it has paprika, sweet red peppers and thyme.
If you want to make it spicy and different,
use roasted cumin powder, chili flakes and fresh coriander instead.
If you don;t have fresh grated coconut, use some chopped nuts and seeds.
You can use a deep wide ring like I did, to get a round shape to this dish.
Just looks nice this way :-)

Keep it Simple. Be Creative.

Taste and Play. Find your own Way.

Chocolate

Smooth and silky, dark and glamorous,

passion, depth, intensity.

Melting, teasing, oozing, comforting.

From brownies to bars, fondants to gateaus,

souffles, cupcakes and cookies.......

White Flour, sugar, eggs, butter,

batter and base of almost all chocolate treats.

Then mixing, whipping, pouring, baking.
How about if we do no cooking and

try something different, quick and healthy?

Cream:

1 medium size Avocado
1 medium size Banana
2 tablespoons Agave
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons Cacao powder 
a pinch of Sea Salt

Blend it all in a blender, or process in a food processor.
Add more agave, vanilla, cacao to suit your tastes.
Make it real smooth,
call it chocolate cream or mousse.
Chill for best results. Serve :-)

Three small portions for three of us, just enough.....

Not for Trevor, a crazy chocolate lover ;-)

Avocados yes, bananas no, so here we go!!!!

Filling:

2 Avocados
1/4 cup Agave
2 tablespoons Cacao powder
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
a pinch of Sea Salt

Blend or process. Make it sensual and glossy,
taste, adjust, then wait.....

Base:

1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup fine dessicated coconut
2 teaspoons Agave
pinch of salt

Mix all till it holds together.

Options:

1) Chocolate Tart - This is what I made.......

Use a ring or cutter. Press the base mixture at the bottom.
Make a thin layer.
Scoop the filling on top and pack it in.
Make the surface even.
Set in the freezer for 3 hours.
Unmold with care. Top with fruit of choice.
Oh well, for us it was banana slice.

2) Soft Crumble - This is what I've made, many times before.

Scoop filling into ramequins or teacups.
Layer nut mixture on top.
Chill for 2 hours.

Even better. Make mini chocolate ice cream pops.
Fill an ice tray with the filling and freeze overnight. 

I used a chocolate mold. and lollipop sticks.

This was fun and really YUMMMMM :-))))))

 

Notes :

I used half and half. Cacao powder and carob.

Cacao - Van Heuten or Green and Black organic.

Use a tablespoon or two of water to blend, if needed.

I used agave, but you can use any other sweetener.

Replace almonds with any other nuts you prefer. 

Do not use peanuts.

I used almond flour and coconut flour.

My Indian grocer at Wembley stocks it all.

Avocados, among other things have great mono-saturated fats,

protein, beta-carotene and Vitamin A.

  

Keep it Simple. Be Creative. 

Taste and Play. Find your own Way.