All posts by Helle Møller

Retired from a long working life as secretary/assistant in UN and EU institutions. Freelance stress counsellor and proofreader/copyeditor. Now living in Berlin.

Tadka Dhal

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serves 4

300g (101/2oz) dried toor dhal (yellow lentils/yellow split peas), washed in several changes of water
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 black cardamom pods (optional)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cinnamon sticks
4 green cardamom pods
6 cloves
2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 spring onions, finely sliced
2–3 chillies, any colour, deseeded if you don’t like it fiery, some chopped and the rest left whole
2 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp peeled and finely chopped fresh root ginger
6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
good pinch of salt, or to taste
1 tsp sugar, or to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste
lots of chopped fresh coriander, to garnish

Gently boil the lentils in a large saucepan of cold water (around 1 litre /13/4 pints will do) and stir in the turmeric and black cardamom pods (if using) – this will add a subtle smoky flavour.

Allow to cook for around 45 minutes, or until the lentils have softened and started to break down. Skim off any foam that sits on the top and give the lentils a stir every now and again in case they begin to stick on the bottom. If they boil dry, add more water.

Once the lentils have softened, turn down the heat and make the tadka. Gently heat the oil in a frying pan and add the cinnamon sticks, green cardamom pods and cloves. When the cardamoms have turned white and the heads of the cloves have swollen, you are ready to stir in the mustard and cumin seeds. When they are sizzling, stir in the spring onions, chillies, garlic and ginger.

After a minute, stir through the tomatoes and turn off the heat. Pour the tadka into the dhal so that it floats on top. This is the traditional way to serve it, with the scented oil sitting on top, but I prefer to stir it through. Season with salt, sugar and lemon juice.

Finally, stir through plenty of chopped fresh coriander and serve with some rice or fresh bread for the ultimate comfort food.

Balti-Baked Squash with Feta, Tomato & Mint

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IN PROGRESS

  • Yield: Serves 4
  • Time: 10 minutes prep, 1 hour cooking

Baked butternut squash rubbed with balti spices and filled with salty feta, sweet sun-dried tomatoes and fresh mint. No wonder this is a great veggie dish that is filling and packs a lot of flavor. There is no recipe as such for “balti,” as it actually refers to the pot that the dish is cooked in rather than a particular spice mix. However, across the world you can find balti spice blends and they typically contain the spices I have used in this recipe, so I have called this dish a balti in terms of the particular spicing of the dish.

The Indian Family Kitchen
  • 2 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil or light olive oil
  • 1 cup spinach leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1 3/4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves
  • 6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and roughly chopped
  • grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven 400°F. Lay the squash, cut-side up, on a rimmed baking sheet.

Roughly crush the cumin and coriander seeds, peppercorns and red pepper flakes with a pestle and mortar before mixing in the garam masala and oil. Rub all over the squash, especially on the flesh side, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes, or until you can put a knife through the flesh of the squash easily.

In the meantime, make the filling by mixing together the spinach, feta, garlic, mint, sun-dried tomatoes and lemon juice.

When the squash is soft, take out of the oven and scoop out nearly all the flesh, leaving a 1/2-inch border of flesh around the inside of each squash half. Mix the scooped-out squash with the filling and pop it all back into the grooves you have just carved out. Sprinkle over the lemon zest and roast in the oven for a further 10 minutes. Serve with a delicious crisp salad, such as Green Bean Salad with Mint, Roasted Fennel & Garlic.

Paneer and broccoli masala

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I have not made this for a long time, so time for a re-posting and re-cooking.

  • 2 tblsp oil or ghee
  • About 200 g paneer (made of 1 l milk and 1 dl yoghurt) in bite-size cubes
  • 20 fresh curry leaves, if available, otherwise similar dried
  • 2 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 tblsp ginger peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 chilies, or to taste, in whichever way, shape or form available
  • 2 tblsp tomato purée
  • 1 tblsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tine coconut milk
  • 200 g broccoli florets
  • 1 tblsp tamarind paste or to taste
  • Salt
  • Garnish with fresh coriander if available.

Gently brown the paneer on all sides in the oil. Remove from the pan.

Crisp up the curry leaves in the same pan. Remove them from the pan to use as garnish.

Sizzle the mustard seeds and cumin seeds adding more oil if needed. Stir in turmeric and onion. Allow the onion to soften before stirring in garlic, ginger and chilies, followed by the tomato purée, garam masala and ground coriander after a further minute.

Pour in the coconut milk and tamarind, bring to a simmer, and add the paneer and broccoli. Simmer for five minutes.

Drunken Chicken

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DRUNKEN CHICKEN

INN PROGRESS

1 can (12 oz) beer
1 tbsp peeled, coarsely chopped fresh ginger root
grated zest (peel) of 1 lime, and its juice
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 green onions, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 fresh red chili, coarsely chopped
3 or 4 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp vegetable oil (canola preferred)
sea salt or coarse salt
freshly ground pepper
3-1/4 to 3-1/2-lb (1.75 kg) chicken, cut open and flattened

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1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Pour beer into a deep roasting pan and add ginger, lime zest and coriander seeds.
2. Grind cumin seed and make seasonings rub for the chicken. Using a food processor or mortar and pestle, combine cumin, onions, garlic, chili and rosemary and pulse in food processor or grind with mortar and pestle. Blend in paprika, turmeric, oil, salt and pepper. Mix into a paste and rub all over the chicken.
3. Lay chicken cut-side down on a rack that will fit over the roasting pan of beer. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes (longer if the chicken is larger), until the juices run clear when poked with a fork.
4. Turn oven to broil, or transfer to a grill pan or outdoor grill preheated to medium. Broil or grill until skin is crisp, up to five minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter and let stand for 10 minutes before serving with the lime juice.
serves 4

Birdwatching x 3: 7, 8 and 9 March

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On 7 March a visit to Tierpark, my favourite zoo in the world, and Europe’s biggest landscape zoo.

There was not a whole lot going on, except the herons were busy building nests in the highest treetops, flying to and fro with building material. Such majestic and elegant flyers.

The hightlight was the black woodpecker – one of the rarer types of woodpeker, at least in Berlin – which I spotted towards the end of the afternoon on my way out.

I saw many great spotted woodpeckers. The first photo is of one flashing its characteristic red rump, and the second of a couple of pigeons, even more common, looking as if they were thinking of starting a family.

On Saturday 8 March a birdwatching walk with Volkshochschule Tempelhof-Schöneberg in Lichtenrader Wäldschen, led by ornithologist Enrico Hübner. The special focus was on woodpeckers, since apparently, all five Berlin woodpeckers had been spotted in the area. We saw many “Buntspechte”, a couple of Mittelspechte, one Scwarzspecht, and one Grünspeccht – the latter very high up. We saw and/or heard a total of 29 birds. I got one bad photo of the Grünspecht. The forest was quite dense so even without leaves on the trees, it was difficult to take photos.

On Sunday 9 March Landschaftsfriedhof Gatow and adjoining fields

“Spandau each month on the 9th”: Bezirksgruppe Spandau des NABU Berlin, led by Christine Kuhnert.

Very exciting – a cemetery I did not know existed, and lots of birds to see. I definitely want to go back, perhaps very early in the morning to the fields, and then enter the cemetery when it opens at 7.30.

Here is a not very good photo of a jay (Eichelhäher) and a kestrel/Turmfalke, and one of a raven/Kolkrabe of which we saw quite a few:

And a first for me: Yellowhammer/Goldammer. So beautiful:

The first two is of a chaffinch/Buchfink. I am not sure about the next two:

The long-tailed tit/Schwanzmeise I have seen many times but never managed to get a half-way decent photo. These are the best I have taken so far:

The next bunch probably need no introduction, except the last one which I was told was a Rotmilan.

Buzzard/Mäusebussard (the same on all three photos):

Daytrip to Halbe 6 March

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Thank heavens for gorgeous weather, because getting out into nature and looking for birds to photograph is the only thing that keeps me sane (such as it is ….) these days.

Today I hopped on the RE7 to Halbe to visit the Waldfriedhof and to take a look at the nearby lakes.

I am still cursing myself for not having hauled my camera out of my rucksack before getting off the train, because no sooner was I on terra firma than the most magnificent red kite (Rotmilan) flew by overhead, in perfect lighting. Finding a second chance at photographing a red kite is now my main obsession.

Anyway, the cemetery was overwhelming due to the sheer number of graves, and of course by far the majority of people buried there were terribly young.

Bonus tip: Restaurant Kalimera-am-See.

But first, a photo of a pigeon taken from my home.

Two spontaneous walks 3 and 4 March

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On Wilmersdorf Cemetery and along Fennsee

    I can highly recommend taking up photography as a hobby. I find that especially nature photography, and more speifically bird photography – or attempts thereat, can help forget.

    If you do not have much time to get out into “real” nature, check out your local parks and cemeteries, and you’ll be surprised what you can find, once you start looking. And March is a great month for it – the birds are very active, and there are no leaves on the trees yet.

    So, in gorgeous weather, I decided to set out early on my way to VHS in Prinzregentenstraße.

    And early the next morning, I swung by my local cemetery on my way to my local LPG supermarket.

    By the way, much as I hate pigeons, I have to admit, they can be quite photogenic.

    And I was happy to see a treecreeper there for the first time. Tiny, always on the move, in camouflage colours it is difficult to spot, let along photograph.

    Birdwatching in Britzer Garten on 2 March – despite …..

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    The day started misty and cold, but since I have never been so angry in my life, I decided to stick to my original plan of attending the bi-weekly walk with Bernd Steinbrecher of Freilandlabor Britz. Those walks are always enjoyable so it would in any case be healthier to go out and focus on something else – like staying warm, for example – than to follow my gut instinct and stay at home and continue building up to a stroke or a heart attack :-).

    A good photo of a green woodpecker – finally – might have saved the day but though I saw several, I STILL did not get a decent photo.

    Pub quizzes and quiznights

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    Last updated 04 March PM.

    UNDER DEVELOPMENT, IN PROGRESS, AND WILL BE UPDATED AS NEEDED AND RELEVANT

    “Let’s get quizzical” in Alte Turnhalle on alternate Sundays: The next one is 16 March (sign up here), with Team The Village Idiots NOT attending. The next one I am organising is on 30 March, and on that evening, I already have a full team.

    For others who want to attend in future, I strongly recommend trying to start a team of their own, signing up in meetup to secure a place since the quiz is getting more and more popular and as mentioned above, there were 33 teams last time. Even if people do not have a full team, it is easy to find others to complete a team on the night – just arrive early enough, and tell Steve the quizmaster.

    Steve usually announces dates a month ahead on instagram here.

    —————————–

    Here is how it goes: Let’s get Quizical, advertised on Meetup here, on instagram here, and on Facebook here. I have a whatsapp group which everyone can use to communicate about this and putting teams together. It takes place mid-week at 19.30 in alternate weeks in Bergendorf Sundays at 18.30 in alternate weeks in Alte Turnhalle, Holteistraße 6-9 (important to arrive well in time to be seated and ready to start at 18.30).

    I have never, and probably never will, attend the mid-week quiznights in James June, but am trying to attend all the ones on alternate Sundays in Alte Turnhalle, and I assume the system is the same: reservations are done either individually or in groups, and up to now, walk-ins have been possible, but the quiz is getting popular and the hall fuller and fuller each time. The majority of tables are reserved for teams who register on meetup, and the rest are “mix-tables” where individuals can get together with walk-ins to form a team. A team is maximum six people.

    In both cases, questions are asked in both English and German, the cost of attending is 3 euro per person, and in every other way it follows a classic pub quiz pattern.

    The weekly rant I

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    I see more and more adults – especially men (??????) – with lollipops sticking out of their mouths. Apparently, it is a “coping mechanism”. I am wondering, again, whether Stephen Fry knew how prophetic he would turn out to be when he coined the phrase “the age of infantilism” about eight years ago. Back then, I think he was referring to silly socks and wearing baseball caps, most often back to front and indoors, incessantly. He probably did not in his wildest imagination foresee grown men with lollipops. But that seems to be a sight we now have to live with. (Our coping mechamism: Impulse control).