150 g chana dal, rinsed and soaked for a couple of hours, then drained
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 medium red onions, finely chopped
Large knob of ginger, finely chopped
2 green chili, deseeded and finely chopped
10-12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tin tomatoes
1 cinnamon stick (ceylon)
1 tsp red chili powder
1,5 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves for garnish
Fry cumin and mustard seeds in the oil or ghee till they crackle, then add the onions and sautee till they become translucent.
Add ginger, garlic and green chilies and sautee for about fifteen seconds.
Add tomatoes and the rest of the spices and sautee, stirring.
Add chana dal and mix well. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add bottle gourd, stir, simmer till the gourd softens, probably about 20 minutes. Taste for salt and sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves before serving.
This week’s food photography assigment is one cocktail, one stew and one soup.
I don’t understand the cocktail craze, at least not the sweet, sticky ones, any more than I have ever understood why grown people drink those awful softdrinks or whatever they are called – coke, fanta etc. – nor, for that matter, why children are allowed to drink them on a daily basis nowadays. All that sugar. Gross. But I’m sure big pharma is happy, especially the insulin manufacturers. Also laughing all the way to the bank is the mind-boggling diet- and weightloss industry. Absurd, in view of the fact that it is just simple maths (number of calories IN vs. number of calories OUT) – even I can figure that one out although I am innumerate (is that what it is called – the equivalent of dyslexic but with numbers?).
And soup – naahh – not in soup cooking mode – but a stew is good timing since I am preparing a venison stew for one of those rare occasions where I am actually having a couple of friends around for a meal.
4 tblsp flour
800 g venison in 2 cm cubes
olive oil
2 onions (I always use red since I find the yellow onions a bit too sweet), peeled and chopped (they do not have to be very finely chopped)
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 sticks celery, trimmed and sliced
1 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed
“Needles” from 2 sprigs rosemary, chopped
50 g butter
6 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
Stock
1 clove garlic , peeled and finely chopped
Mix 2 tblsp of the flour with salt and black pepper well and then mix in the venison, coating thoroughly.
Brown the meat in olive oil for a couple of minutes and add
onion, carrot, celery, juniper, rosemary and butter. Simmer covered for five minutes. Add a sprinkle of water or stock if necessary.
Remove the lid and continue to fry, stirring occasionally. When the onions start to caramelize, add the chopped parsley stems with the remaining flour and stock. Keep the parsley leaves for later.
Simmer the stew till the meat easily breaks apart. If you have been using stock cubes rather than stock, add water if necessary.
Chop and mash the galic, the parsley leaves, a tsp of salt and a good grinding of black pepper to a paste and add to the stew shortly before serving.
I am serving this with a mash of potato and celery (adding some milk, sour cream and butter).
Obviously vegetarian, and also vegan unless you use ghee instead of oil (I did use ghee in this case – nothing else can imitate the caramelly flavour of homemade ghee).
But first a word about the food photography course. I am running out of steam and will not be presenting a final project. What I had in mind is not quite doable, at least not with my current low energy levels – whatever energy I have goes towards taking care of Max and his exercise needs (and of course making sure that I myself eat relatively healthily and generally trying to make sure I don’t get sick).
Also, as described in an earlier post, food photography is not really my kind of thing. I just need to be able to post half-way decent photos of the dishes I cook, and I have learned a lot of useful tricks in the course, and I am still curious to see what the others come up with.
One thing that perhaps, perhaps not, suits everybody except me is that we are all asked what we think of everybody else’s photos. I am actually there to hear what the teacher has to say and not what the other students have to say, and I would imagine they also don’t care what I think. What do we know? If we did, we would not be doing a course.
Anyway, one final thought – I am astonished at the number of sweet stuff I see in the class cook – cookies, muffins, desserts, …. I hope it is just for the course, considering how bad sugar is for you and the negative effects that eating sugar so regularly has on physical, hormonal and mental health.
Equally astonishing has been all the talk of sourdough as if it is a novelty recently revealed. I have been using sourdough all my life, and my parents and their parents before me: https://www.hellemoller.eu/2012/09/12/rye-bread/ (but not for white bread which is not particularly healthy).
Enough about the course.
Today I am cooking a dish that should normally have chana dal in it, but I am using red split lentils since that is what I have available. I do not expect the result to be any different, except the colour.
I was dumb enough to make the dal paste too thin, so the the “balls” ended up more like flattened, very thick pancakes, and some of them fell apart, but I still really like this recipe and will definitely have another go at it in the near future – with chana dal, not that I think that that was the problem.
The lentil balls
400 gram red split lentils
Chili, to taste, in whichever way, shape or form you have available (I am using dried chili flakes here)
20 curry leaves (I used frozen here, so they look a bit soggy – the flavour remains the same, though)
2 tsp fennel seeds (Saunf)
The curry
oconut oil or olive oil or ghee
3 cinnamon sticks
12 cloves (Laung)
12 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
12 black pepper corns
4 bay leaves
4 chilies, deseeded
A small handfull dried curry leaves
2 large red onions, finely chopped
2 large knobs ginger, peeled and finely chopped
15 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
3 tblsp tomato puree (the concentrated variety, from a tube)
3 tins chopped tomatoes
1 heaped tsp teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tsp red chili powder
1 tblsp coriander powder
Salt, to taste
Fresh mint or coriander, for ganish
Rinse the dal and soak it for a couple of hours.
In the meantime, heat oil or ghee and add black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, green chili, curry leaves, ginger, garlic and onions, and sautée.
When the onions turn golden, add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and salt.
Add the tinned tomatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for a couple of minutes. Add water if needed and simmer on a very low heat.
Back to the dal: Grind the lentils with fennel seeds, curry leaves and chili, and water as needed, for a thick batter which can be spooned into balls.
Fry them in oil or ghee until browned and crisp.
Drop them into the curry and simmer for five to ten minutes before serving.
Could be any kind of beans, or just serve with rice or a mash. White cabbage could substitute red cabbage, and spices such as cinnamon, coriander and cumin seeds could substitute the spices listed below. Experiment.
1 kilo wild boar neck, cubed
2 red onions, chopped
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
Knob of ginger, finely chopped
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
5 black cardamon, slightly crushed
5 star anise
3 Indian bay leaves
1 tblsp turmeric
A good splash of dry red wine
150 g dark chocolate (80%)
Red cabbage, thinly sliced.
Chickpeas, drained and cooked.
And finally, this would not be my recipe if I did not add some chili, in some shape or form as available, but this is of course optional.
Sauté onions, garlic and ginger in the olive oil in a large casserole dish until golden. Add the spices and cook till fragrant, about a minute.
Increase the heat to high and add the wild boar, brown on all sides (5 minutes). Add the red wine and cook until the liquid has almost evaporated and you can no longer smell the alcohol. Add a dl of the chickpea cooking water and bring to the boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Lower the heat to a simmer. Add the red cabbage and continue simmering until the wild boar is tender and the sauce has thickened – about an hour.
Add the chocolate and as many chickpeas as you like, and cook for a further 20 minutes.
Chili, to taste, in whichever way, shape or form you prefer/have available
1 heaped tblsp tomato concentrate
3 tblsp yoghurt (I like goat, but that is just me)
2 tsp nigella seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tin tomatoes
200 g split peas (chana dhal), soaked for a couple of hours or longer) drained but with the water preserved
2 medium aubergines, cut into roughly 3 cm chunks
1 tblsp garam masala
Salt and pepper
Coriander for garnish
Roast the cumin and coriander seeds, grind when cooled a bit.
Sauté the onions till soft, add the ginger and garlic and sauté for another couple of minutes.
Add the cumin and coriander powder and chili, stir.
Add the tomato concentrate, stir.
Add the yoghurt, stir. Sauté thoroughly.
Add the turmeric and nigella seeds, stir.
Add the tinned tomatoes and the split peas. Add the water as needed. there should be enough liquid to keep the mixture from catching on the bottom of the pan, and should result in a thick sauce.
Simmer for 20 minutes or until the split peas are cooked.
Meanwhile, brown the aubergine pieces in a separate pan.
Add them to the tomato/pea mixture and mix well.
Simmer till the aubergine softens stirring occasionally – five to ten minutes.
Check the seasoning and garnish with fresh coriander.
Approx. 500 g fish filets, from salmon or a firm white fish, or a mixture, in 1,5 cm dice.
A bag of frozen shrimp, thawed and drained
2 medium red onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large or two small chard, trimmed and sliced
1 packet of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Some chopped chili, to taste
2 Indian bay leaves, and a bit of salt and pepper
1 cauliflower
300 g chickpea (gram) flour
2 tblsp coriander seeds, roasted and ground
About 1 dl milk, any kind of milk, I used oat milk, but I actually think water would work just as well
3 tblsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a food processor, mix cauliflower, gram flour, ground coriander, liquid, olive oil and salt and pepper to a thick, fairly smooth paste, with just a bit of structure from the cauliflower.
Place the fish in one layer in a fairly deep baking plate. The one on the photo is 26x26x7 cm.
Then distribute the shrimp on top and sprinkle with a bit of salt and a healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper.
Sizzle, but do not brown, the bay leaves, onions and garlic, in olive oil or ghee, and add the chard, until it starts to wilt. Mix in the spinach. Season with a bit of salt and a lot of pepper.
Spread this mixture evenly over the fish/shrimp, and finally “seal” with the cauliflower/gram flour mash.
600 g cooked chickpeas, with some of the cooking liquid preserved
1 tin tomatoes
125 g dates (after stones removed), chopped
2 tblsp olive oil
3 red onions, peeled and sliced
1 whole head of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tblsp ginger, finely grated
2 tblsp tomato concentrate
1 bunch coriander, separated into stalks and leaves
1 tblsp cumin, roasted and ground
1 tblsp coriander, roasted and ground
1 heaped tsp ground turmeric
Chili in whichever way, shape or form you have available.
1 cinnamon stick
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, organic or at least unwaxed
5ü g flaked almonds, toasted
Heat the oil and sauté onions, garlic, and ginger.
Add ground coriander and cumin. Sauté.
Add tomato concentrate. Sauté.
Add chickpeas, tomatoes, dates, coriander stalks, spices and lemon zest and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for about half an hour or more, adding water if the sauce becomes too thick.
Add lemon juice and almonds, stir, check for seasoning, and garnish with coriander leaves to serve.
