When it comes to guilty pleasures, along with paneer, naan is up there on my list. Brushed with the most flavoursome fresh garlic and coriander butter, these are so perfect for pairing with any Indian curry or daal. They’re soft, slightly chewy and a little charred in places – this balance of textures is so characteristic of good naan.

Naan is one of India’s most famous breads, and probably the most well-known in British Asian restaurants. Very rarely do I leave an Indian restaurant without having filled my belly with garlic and coriander naan – lest they just so happen to have garlic, coriander and chilli naan on the menu (in which case, I’ll take two).

Whenever I’m making naan, I love to add kalonji (nigella) seeds – they impart that special flavour you definitely know, but somehow can never put your finger on. They’re aromatic, slightly bitter, but have an incredibly delicious flavour which mellows out when baked into the bread.

Yeast and plain yoghurt help to leaven the naan whilst keeping them moist all the way through. I don’t put eggs in my naan, nor do I understand why some people do. They’re meant to be soft and chewy with little air pockets inside, rather than fluffy pancakes. Plus, instant yeast is so much easier.

Grilling naan at a really high temperature mimics the traditional method of cooking them in a tandoor (clay oven). It also helps to create an irresistible charred flavour and colour on the outside.

Garlic and Coriander Naan
(Makes 4)

Ingredients

310g strong, white bread flour
1 teaspoon dried fast action yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon kalonji (nigella) seeds
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
140ml warm water
2 teaspoons plain yoghurt

For the garlic and coriander butter:

50g salted butter
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped

Method

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, kalonji and 1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander. Make a well in the centre and add the oil, yoghurt and water. Using your hands, bring the dough together. Knead for 5 minutes. If the dough feels sticky, oil your hands and continue kneading.

2. Grease the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave the dough to prove in a warm place for one hour.

3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan and add the finely sliced garlic. Allow to fry until aromatic. Add the chopped coriander and set aside until needed.

4. Knock the air out of the naan dough and divide into four equal portions. Take one piece of dough, roll into a ball and using a rolling pin, roll your naan until it’s around 1cm in thickness. Take one end and pull into a teardrop shape.

5. Place the dough on a piece of aluminium foil and grill for 1 minute on both sides. Remove from the grill and brush with the garlic butter. Alternatively, bake in a very hot oven until golden brown. Wrap in foil to keep warm but try to serve immediately.

I like to serve these with Melt in the Mouth Paneer Kofta, Shahi Paneer Stuffed Okra, Vegetarian Tandoori Kebabs from Scratch or Kashmiri Dum Aloo. However, you could be far more experimental and make one of my favourite quick dinners in the world – naan pizza. I’ll explain later.

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There’s nothing more comforting than meltingly-soft potatoes enveloped in creamy, spicy-sweet sauce – even when it’s dinner for one at the Modha residence.

Nobody likes cooking for one, do they? For me, it’s a tedious task knowing I’m the only one who will get to sample my efforts. I’m a feeder – I come from a long line of feeders who taught one another to feed others until they could eat no more. Like my mum, I’ll make dinner by the bucket load regardless of whether I’m feeding one mouth or ten. It’s most definitely in our blood.

I understand this is the case for lots of Indian girls who are told from a young age that finding the perfect husband involves filling his belly with spicy food, carbs and sugar. Either it’s the way to a heart or the way to heart problems – I forget which one.

That’s not to say I started cooking to find a fella. Hell, I started cooking because I was an eight-year old chubster with a penchant for pasta. It just so happened that the future Mr K.O (yes, I got engaged!) loves eating as much as I do. In fact, Kashmiri Dum Aloo was one of the first dishes we shared together in my favourite Indian restaurant. And anyone who knows how to feed me, the Feeder, is a keeper.

Enough about me, more about the food

This dish should be slow-cooked with a lid on. An old school trick to stop any steam escaping is to seal the lid with a ring of wheat flour dough. This type of cooking is known as dum cooking. Dum simply means ‘warm breath’ to connote the steam inside the pot. Once cooked, the dough seal is broken and the beautiful aromas are released – of course, the bread is eaten along with the curry. However, if you don’t fancy doing that, you can use a cartouche to lock in any moisture. A cartouche is just a round lid made of greaseproof paper that’s placed directly on top of the food in the pot to slow down the reduction of moisture in cooking.

The balance of spices in this dish will depend on your taste and varies from recipe to recipe. My version mainly uses dried red Kashmiri chillies, ground fennel seeds, ground ginger and green and black cardamom. This deep combination of spices is balanced by the use of tomato purée and either single cream or yoghurt. Don’t hold back on seasoning this with plenty of salt and sugar – they truly bring the spices to life.

Kashmiri Dum Aloo

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

450g new potatoes (I used Jersey Royals), leave the skin on
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp concentrated tomato purée
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
270ml water
1 tbsp grated ginger
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
3 tsp sugar
3 tsp salt
300ml single cream or whisked plain yoghurt
2 tsp honey

Oil to deep fry the potatoes

For the spices:

½ tsp green cardamom seeds, ground
2 tsp fennel seeds, ground, plus 1 extra tsp for adding at the end
4 dried red Kashmiri chillies, ground (don’t bother soaking them)
½ tsp black cardamom seeds, ground
½ tsp cumin seeds, ground
1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Chopped coriander, ground fennel and Kashmiri chilli flakes to garnish

Method

1. Wash and soak the potatoes in cold, salted water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

2. Heat enough oil to deep fry the potatoes in a large wok to around 180°C. Fry the potatoes until golden all over. Don’t worry about cooking them all the way through at this point. Drain on a piece of kitchen paper and set aside.

3. In a large casserole dish, Dutch oven or pan with a tight-fitting lid, gently heat 1 tbsp oil. Add all of the ground spices, concentrated tomato purée, fresh ginger and garlic. Cook on a medium/low heat for around 5 minutes, stirring all the time. If you find it’s sticking, add a little hot water and continue to cook until the water has evaporated away and the spices are aromatic.

4. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, 270ml hot water, salt and sugar. Stir. Add the potatoes and mix again.

5. Make a cartouche or cut a round of greaseproof paper to the size of the inside of your pan. Sit it directly on top of the curry and put a lid on top of the pan.

6. Turn the heat down to the lowest it can go and cook for at least 30 minutes or until the potatoes are meltingly tender.

7. Once the potatoes are cooked, remove the lid and cartouche. Turn the heat off and allow the curry to cool for 10 minutes. Add the honey and cream or yoghurt, stirring quickly and all the time until it’s fully combined. Stir in the extra 1 tsp ground fennel seeds.

8. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander, ground fennel and Kashmiri chilli flakes.

I like to serve this with Saffron Golden Sella Basmati Rice (I'll post a recipe soon!) and either Peshwari Naan or chapattis.

This is great if you’re planning on satisfying and impressing lots of hungry tummies, or in need of comfort when cooking for one (scoff any leftovers the next day).

Love Sanjana

The post Kashmiri Dum Aloo appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Serve with hot phulka rotli and a simple onion and tomato salad. A glass of salted Chaas (buttermilk drink) if you’re feeling fancy.

Why is it that vegetables are always better when you stuff them? This stuffed eggplant recipe is no exception.

My mother’s recipe for Ravaiya

Ask any Gujarati and they’ll rave about their mum or gran’s version. It’s in our nature. And believe us, we’re telling the truth. There is no love greater than the love you feel when you eat these baby aubergines.

You must stuff each one by hand. It’s messy, fun and a labour of love. Their flavour is amplified by the effort and time it takes to prepare them. It’s the taste of a mother’s devotion to her family.

This is my mother’s recipe for Gujarati Ravaiya. I make the same one for my son now. He calls them “oh-ber-jean”.

Childhood memories of this Gujarati curry

To tell you the truth, I used to hate aubergines. I thought they were slimy and seedy. As a child, I wanted nothing more than to hide them under my brother’s mattress for the time he put Cherry Tunes in my hair whilst I was asleep.

When I woke up, my mum had to cut a chunk of my waist-length hair out and I cried.

How to make Gujarati Ravaiya (Stuffed Aubergine Curry)

Traditionally, the aubergines are served as they are, sometimes with a tomato sauce, sometimes without.

My mother has always made these “bharela ravaiya” or “bharela ringan” with a luscious tomato sauce. However, my mother-in-law comes from the Patel community and prefers to serve them without a tomato sauce.

Both ways are delicious in my opinion. Just pass me the rotli.

Gujarati Ravaiya: Tips & FAQ

What kind of aubergines (ringan) should I use for Ravaiya?

Choose firm, small aubergines (ringan/eggplants). They can be any colour and either short and fat or long and thin. My preference are the small, fat purple ones. However, I advise you to choose the best quality you can find.

What stuffing do you put in Gujarati Ravaiya?

Ingredients for the stuffing will differ from recipe to recipe. Indeed, all families have their own unique style and preferences. My recipe for Ravaiya stuffing includes:

• Peanuts
• Toasted chickpea flour (gram flour/besan)
• Ground coriander seeds
• Ground cumin seeds
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Red chilli powder
• Asafoetida
• Fresh coriander
• Tomato ketchup (yes, really! Don’t skip it.)
• Salt
• Sugar
• Oil
• Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Should I add potatoes or not?

Lots of people like to add a few stuffed spuds to their curry. I’m not going to tell you which way is better, or more traditional. If you like potatoes, go ahead and add them. Don’t be shy, get your carb on.

What else can I stuff with this Ravaiya masala?

Aubergines not your thing? Use the stuffing masala from this recipe to fill onions, okra, sweet potatoes, chillies, capsicums, Brussel’s sprouts or skin-on bananas (I’m serious).

So in short, you can customise this recipe to suit you. I like to do a version with all of them for special occasions.

Some of my favourite stuffed Gujarati curries include:

• Bharela Marcha (Stuffed Bullet Chillies)
• Karela na Raviya (Stuffed Bitter Melon)
• Bharelu Turiya nu Shaak (Stuffed Ridge Gourd)
• Bharela Kanda nu Shaak (Stuffed Onion)

I hope to share recipes for all of these delicious Gujarati shaaks in time. Keep your eyes (and your onions) peeled!

Recipe for Gujarati Ravaiya (Stuffed Aubergine Curry)

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Gujarati Ravaiya (Stuffed Aubergine Curry)

Ask any Gujarati and they’ll rave about their mum or gran’s Ravaiya (stuffed aubergine curry). It’s in our nature. There is no love greater than the love you feel when you eat these hand-stuffed baby aubergines.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword aubergine, curry, gluten free, peanut, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Equipment

• Steaming basket
• Large pan

Ingredients

• 8-10 baby aubergines

For the peanut stuffing:

• 85 g skinned peanuts coarsely ground
• 2 tbsp gram flour toasted in a dry pan until aromatic and lightly golden
• 1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp ground cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida (check the packaging if preparing for anyone with a gluten allergy/intolerance)
• 4 large cloves garlic crushed
• 2 tsp ginger grated
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• 50 g fresh coriander finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp any cooking oil
• 1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 tbsp any cooking oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp asafoetida
• 200 g chopped tomatoes
• 200 ml water
• 5-6 curry leaves optional
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• Chopped red onion to serve
• Fresh coriander leaves to serve

Instructions

• Combine all of the ingredients for the stuffing except for the oil in a bowl.
• Heat three tablespoons of oil in a small saucepan until hot and shimmering. Slowly and carefully pour the oil onto the peanut mix and stir to combine well. Set aside to cool.
• Trim the tops of the aubergines. I like to leave a little stalk for pretty presentation. Slit the aubergines crosswise from the bottom, almost all the way through, leaving the stalk area uncut. Place the aubergines in a bowl filled with cold water to stop them oxidising inside and to keep them perky.
• Stuff each aubergine with the peanut masala – don’t be afraid to use clean hands to do this; just get right in there. You should have a little bit of the stuffing left over – keep it aside. If you don’t want to use your hands, you can use a butter knife to stuff them.
• Fit a large pan with a steaming basket. Place the aubergines in the basket and fill the pan with plenty of hot water. Ensure the bottom of the steamer doesn’t touch the water. Cover with a lid and cook over a moderate heat for 12-14 minutes, until the aubergines are tender. A fork should poke through without any resistance.
• Meanwhile, to make the sauce, heat one tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan. Add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop. Add the cumin seeds, asafoetida, optional curry leaves and leftover stuffing paste. Cook the mixture out for 2 minutes and then add the tomatoes, water, turmeric, chilli powder, salt and sugar. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring all the time. The mixture should begin to thicken slightly.
• Add the steamed aubergines and cover with the paste. Be careful not to break them. Cook for a further 2 minutes to heat through. Garnish with fresh coriander if you like. Serve with phulka/roti and chopped red onions.

Video

Notes

• Store any leftovers in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.

How to freeze Ravaiya

• These Ravaiya (stuffed aubergines) freeze beautifully. My preference is to freeze the steamed aubergines in a freezer-safe container and then make the sauce when I want to serve the curry. Just place the defrosted Ravaiya in the sauce and heat through until piping hot.
• You can also make the stuffing ahead of time and keep it in the freezer for when you fancy this dish. It’s also great for stuffing other vegetables like potatoes, okra, chillies and onions.

Pin this recipe for later!

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30-Minute Tindora Curry with Corn

Tindora Curry with Corn is a simple, dry-style curry of tindora (ivy gourd) and sweetcorn. It's light, fresh and quick to prepare. Serve this weeknight vegetable dish with roti, phulka, paratha or rice. If you can't find tindora, try it with courgette cut to the same size.

Check out this recipe

Gujarati-Style Okra & Potatoes

Gujarati-Style Okra & Potatoes (Bhinda Bateta nu Shaak) is an everyday comfort food in many Gujarati homes, including mine. It’s usually scooped up with soft, hot rotlis (chapattis), which is our daily bread. This curry is delicately flavoured with cumin seeds, turmeric, garlic and lemon juice for a fresh vegan dish that eats more like a stir fry than the heavy restaurant curries one might be used to.

Check out this recipe

Gujarati Koru Bateta nu Shaak

A tried and true recipe for Koru Bateta nu Shaak (Gujarati-style dry potato curry). This is my mother's exact recipe and the only way we make it at home. She has a few fabulous tips for achieving intense flavours and the perfect dry bhaji-style texture every time. This shaak pairs perfectly with Masala Poori and dahi (plain yoghurt).

Check out this recipe

Love Sanjana

The post Gujarati Ravaiya (Stuffed Aubergine Curry) appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Served in paper cones with fried green chillies for that ‘bhajia on the beach’ feel

I’ve always been a sucker for ordering too many starters in restaurants, especially when it involves Crispy Potato Bhajia (paper-thin potato slices coated in a bespoke spice blend), Hara Bara Kebabs (pea and cauliflower cakes) and Daal Kachori (spiced daal in semolina pastry). I’m told my eyes are bigger than my belly and I’ve never been one to argue with legitimate allegations.

Although I love eating out as much as I love home cooking, there’s always one question lingering on my lips as I attempt to make a choice of which restaurant to spend my Friday evening in  – do they serve decent starters?

In all honesty, I think I can judge an Indian restaurant menu by the starters they have to offer. If the vegetarian appetisers are limited to samosas and onion bhajis (to this day, I still don’t understand onion bhajis – what are they and where did they come from?) I know I’m not going to be dazzled by their selection of mains. This is something I’ve learnt from eating out far more than I can afford to.

With other cuisines, I’m rubbish at menu guessing but I’m often just delighted if the vegetarian options stray from tired goat’s cheese salads or baked aubergine mush. In any case, I’m often at my happiest when there are three gorgeous starters I can get stuck into whilst everyone else enjoys their mains.

An Ode to Bhajia

One of my favourite restaurants to do this at is the revered Maru’s Bhajia House in Wembley, London. With its humble green sign and modest dining area, the café is nothing elaborate but with a shining reputation going back decades, I guarantee you’ll never get a better bhajiyu (vegetables, often potatoes, deep fried in a spicy batter). Their signature bhajia have a closely-guarded recipe, brought to the UK from Nairobi by a family who must have loved seeing people’s smiling faces when they dug into a plate of these beauties. For East African Indians, Crispy Bhajia were the cupcake of their time. To some extent, they probably still are.

Many have tried to create the original version in their own homes – whether they were successful or not is probably kept as much a secret as the Maru’s Bhajia House recipe itself.

Here’s my version of the classic. Share this dish with family and friends; I’ve known many a chap risk stinking out entire London buses to get home and share Crispy Potato Bhajiya with their loved ones. Now that’s what I call dedication.

Crispy Potato Bhajia with Hot and Sour Cucumber Chutney

For the bhajia:

400g unpeeled potatoes, sliced thinly (I used a mandolin)
150g chickpea flour
60g rice flour
1/2 tsp cornflour
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
6-8 green chillies (or to taste), pounded into a paste
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
6 heaped tbsp fresh coriander, chopped very finely
½ tsp carom seeds
2 ½ tsp turmeric
1 ½ tsp sugar

Oil to deep fry

For the cucumber chutney:

200g cucumber
200g fresh tomatoes
140g carrot
1 clove garlic
8-10 tbsp fresh coriander
6 green chillies (or to taste)
Juice of two lemons
200ml water
1 ½ tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt

Method

1. Place the sliced potatoes in a bowl of iced water.

2. Mix all of the other ingredients for the bhajia. A blend of different flours will give the bhajia a beautifully crisp finish.

3. Drain the potatoes but do not dry them. Immediately toss the potatoes in the flour mixture. The mixture should stick to the potatoes. If it seems dry, add just enough cold water to make the flour coat the potato slices. Allow to stand whilst you make the chutney.

4. Blend together all of the ingredients for the chutney until coarsely puréed. Place into serving bowls.

5. In a large wok, heat the oil to around 190°C and slowly place 1/3 of the potato slices into the pan. Allow to become golden all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Serve alongside the chutney immediately for optimal crunch. I like to serve my bhajia in paper cones for that ‘bhajia on the beach’ feel but maybe I’m just being finicky. Sprinkle with rock salt and chilli flakes if your guests are that way inclined.  

Love Sanjana

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I fell in love with paratha at the age of four, when I was the proud owner of various miniature kitchen utensils that looked like they’d been manufactured in toy town. I’d use my hot pink chapatti board and rolling pin to make baby paratha, which my mum would cook and my pa would wolf down with gusto, whilst telling me I was a great chef.

And that was all it took – I had discovered my love of Indian breads. Forget your typical puff of glitter – for this strange little Indian Barbie, childhood was all about that magical cloud of chapatti flour.

Indian breads, without a doubt, are perceived as the fiddliest things to make at home, especially if you’ve never done them before. Aloo Paratha are made by stuffing mashed, spiced potatoes and onions into chapatti dough and rolling so that the dough envelopes the layer of filling inside. Then they’re lightly sizzled in ghee, butter or oil until golden all over. Once cooked, the filling will remain enclosed in the crisp bread until broken open and then the soft, aromatic filling is revealed in all its glory. In my opinion, they’re one of North India’s finest creations.

These spicy potato breads make for a satisfying meal at any time of the day, although they’re more commonly eaten for breakfast. People all over India enjoy their stuffed paratha with a mug of steaming chai, a dollop of plain yogurt and a spicy chutney or curry. In other words, the pairing possibilities are endless.

So next time, before you reach for the dry, unsatisfying, supermarket naans, think about making these super-simple, Punjabi-style paratha. As the famous Gujarati saying goes, ‘Khakhra ni khiskoli sakar no swaad su jaane?’ (‘A squirrel who eats dried chapattis would not know the taste of sugar.’)

The scoop on paratha

Paratha are popular all over the Indian subcontinent; they come in many variations and have lots of different names. Here are a few popular ones:

Plain paratha: Made using chapatti flour, these unstuffed (but not always unflavoured), flaky flatbreads are made by spreading rolled dough with ghee, folding over and rolling again. The process is similar to making homemade puff pastry.

Stuffed paratha: One of the most loved of all, this variety covers all paratha with fillings, including Aloo Paratha. We’ll take a look at some of the most popular flavours later.

Parotta or barotta: The South Indian equivalent and the most fun to eat by far. These are made in a similar fashion to plain paratha but have a multitude of ‘twisted’ layers which can be pulled apart to reveal yet more buttery layers.

Roti canai: A popular Malaysian street food of Indian influence. Unlike the dough of its unleavened Indian cousin, the Malay version is made using eggs and is allowed to proof before being cooked. The result is a light, crispy flatbread with a fluffy middle.

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There is a word in Indian cooking that used to send a chill down my spine every time it was uttered – biryani.

I was never suspicious of the biryani because it’s difficult to cook, but because it’s typically served as a main course. As a little girl, rice had always been a side dish for me – something to go with the daal or to soak up a sauce.

It didn’t matter if the rice was bland because there were other dishes on the table to perk it up. But when I discovered the world of biryani, there was a shift in balance – the rice had become the star of the show and everything it was cooked with had to taste good. If it didn’t, the whole dinner went to pot.

But now I’m a fully-fledged member of the biryani lovers club, I’m here to offer a lesson in how easy preparing it can really be, provided you know the basics.

Spice notes

Spice mixtures for biryanis tend to vary depending on the region in which they’re being prepared and the main ingredients going in. Some essentials include but are not limited to: Cinnamon, cloves, cumin, coriander seeds, black and green cardamom, bay leaves, mace and saffron.

Used sparingly, these spices infuse the rice and vegetables with the most wonderful aromas imaginable. Earthy, rich, spicy and perfumed, a true biryani should release all of these notes as soon as the lid has been lifted and the rush of steam escapes from within.

What I love about the finished dish are the flavours and smells of Southern Asia, the Middle East and Northern Africa all coming together in one harmonious orchestra of edible goodness – it’s a tour of the East in a single bite.

The rice should always be basmati – an aromatic long-grain variety used to prepare almost every Indian rice dish. It’s even used in spiced rice puddings, unlike its western counterpart which favours short grain.

At home, cooking biryani has become somewhat of a ritualistic affair reserved only for special occasions and buttering up certain people. Every component needs to be prepared in advance: The vegetables and rice should be semi-cooked, the spicy sauce made and the nuts toasted.

Sound like a chore? Never forget that if you take your time and give your biryani some love, it will love you back tenfold.

Biri-what-ni?

Thousands of years ago, the Mughals introduced the Indian subcontinent to the science of cooking rice and vegetables (or meat) together. A beautiful Iranian dish quickly became something every Indian dadima (grandmother) excelled at, and every dadaji (grandfather) dreamt of being hand fed by his doting wife each evening.

Today, I’m stepping into dadima’s slippers and in true grandma style, passing my recipe on to you.

Now let’s talk about the one of the biryani’s most noteworthy ingredients, saffron.

Saffron school

-Use saffron sparingly. By weight, it’s the most expensive spice in the world and nobody can argue over prices when each crocus contains three single strands of pure saffron, handpicked by ever-patient and light-fingered saffron collectors.

-Beware of copycats. For years, saffron fakes have been abundant and it isn’t easy to tell whether you’ve been conned out of your pounds when they look so convincing.

-Always buy from a reputable spice dealer or stockist.

-To get the most out of your saffron, place it in a bowl and microwave it on high for 10-15 seconds to lightly toast it and dry it out (be VERY careful and keep a watchful eye on it). Gently rub it through your fingers when you add it to your dish and it will release heaps of extra flavour and colour. Magic.

3 tips for the perfect biryani

– Biryanis are traditionally cooked in clay pots – not only are these hard to come by, they’re also high maintenance. Without having to invest in one of these, I find that you can get similar results by cooking your biryani in a Dutch oven.

– Every biryani should be slow-cooked with a lid on. An old school trick to stop any steam escaping is to seal the lid with a ring of wheat flour dough. This type of cooking is known as dum cooking. Dum simply means ‘warm breath’ to connote the steam inside the pot. Once cooked, the dough seal is broken and the beautiful aromas are released – of course, the bread is eaten along with the biryani.

– Many people cook their biryanis on the stove, but I prefer to bake mine for the simple reason that the bottom of the dish tends not to burn as quickly as it would if it was placed on direct heat. If you prefer to use the stove top method, place your pan inside another, slightly larger pan filled halfway up with water (essentially a bain marie) to promote even cooking.

Controversially, I sauté my potatoes, onions and paneer separately, in a combination of ghee (clarified butter) and sunflower oil for added flavour before adding them to the biryani. I hear you heckling me for my flippant use of ghee but when you’re pouring yogurt and double cream into your sauce, you may as well go the whole hog and make an amazing biryani for a special occasion. I’ve never been one to skimp on the good stuff.

Classic Vegetable Biryani
(Serves 6)

Ingredients (all of these are available in supermarkets)

For the sauce:
400g passata
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
5 green cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground
2 black cardamom pods, ground (optional)
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 ½ tbsp sugar
½-1 tsp red chilli powder
Pinch of ground mace (optional)
4 inch stick cinnamon, broken in half
1 bay leaf
3 cloves
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp ginger, minced
2 tbsp concentrated tomato puree
1 ¼ tsp salt
100ml double cream
3 tbsp plain yoghurt

For the rest of the biryani:

255g basmati rice
Pinch saffron
1 medium onion, sliced finely
½ aubergine, sliced into half moons
115g baby potatoes, quartered
100g paneer, cubed into 2cm pieces
5 French beans, trimmed and sliced
100g frozen peas
60g cauliflower florets, broken
10 cashews, toasted in a dry pan
2 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted in a dry pan
1 ½ tbsp desiccated coconut, toasted in a dry pan
1 tbsp golden sultanas
1 tbsp dried apricots, chopped into small pieces
2 tsp salt

Ghee and sunflower oil to fry

Method

1. Wash the rice in cold, running water to remove as much starch as possible. Allow to soak in a pan whilst you make the sauce.

2. Whisk together the passata, ground coriander, cardamom, cumin, chilli powder, mace, sugar, and salt. Heat the ghee in a large saucepan and add the cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf tomato puree, ginger and garlic. Sauté for a few moments, and then add the passata mixture. Stir and cover with a lid. Allow to simmer on a very low heat for 40-45 minutes, stirring often.

3. Heat the ghee and sunflower oil to shallow fry the vegetables one by one. Start with the onions, remove from the pan when golden, then in the same oil, shallow fry the aubergines (until 40% cooked), then the potatoes (until 80% cooked), and then paneer until golden all over. Set aside.

4. Boil the rice in plenty of hot water and 2 tsp salt until 60% cooked. Drain and set aside. Note: You could boil the rice in two batches, adding a little bit of food colour to one. This is a little frivolous and totally optional.

5. Place the saffron in a bowl and microwave in 5 second bursts, checking after each one until the saffron becomes lightly toasted and brittle. Add three tablespoons of hot water to the saffron and allow to steep.

6. Combine the dried fruits and nuts. Preheat the oven to 190°C.

7. Remove the sauce from the heat and quickly whisk in the cream and yoghurt. Add in all of the cauliflower, potatoes, peas, French beans and paneer. Mix thoroughly. You’re now ready to layer up your biryani.

8. Rub some ghee into your dish/dishes (I used mini Dutch ovens)

9. Layer in some onions, aubergines, rice, saffron water, fruits and nuts, vegetables in sauce, repeating until all ingredients are used up.

10. Make a dough using 200g flour, 3 tbsp oil and hot water to bind. Roll into a rope and place onto the edge of your dish. Lightly press down the lid. Alternatively, you can place a piece of foil over the rice and cover with a lid.

‘Dum’ cooking

11. Bake the biryani for 30-35 minutes. The aim of the game is for the rice and vegetables finish cooking at the same time.

12. Break the bread seal and remove the lid when you’re ready to serve. For those final touches, garnish with plain yogurt and fresh coriander.

This biryani is best served with cucumber raita and Peshwari Naan.

Cooking biryani is an art which some chefs spend years trying to fine tune. When they get it right, people flock to their restaurants, hotels and homes, travelling from hundreds and thousands of miles away, just to sample a taste. And that’s when you know your biryani is really good.

Do you have a signature biryani recipe? Now I’ve shared mine, I’d love to read your best tips and tricks.

The post Classic Vegetable Biryani appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Just a speedy note before I round up all of the dishes from our Mughlai season this weekend (for your eating pleasure). This is going to include all of the royal-inspired recipes plus more, so stick around for some really yummy dishes so you can create a banquet fit for kings and queens.

Yesterday, a KO Rasoi recipe for Saffron and Lemon Shrikhand Doughnuts was featured in the Food Network UK Month of Doughnuts calendar in support of National Doughnut Week (7th-14th May). In addition to this, the recipe also went out in their fabulous food newsletter which you can sign up to here: Sign up to the Food Network UK newsletter in order to get my new Food Network UK recipes delivered to your inbox fresh from the kitchen.

I thought I would join in the fun and go dough-nuts too – and so my recipe for Lemon and Saffron Shrikhand Doughnuts was born. Please visit the site to take a peek at how I created this recipe and as always, have a go yourself. They’re super easy eggless doughnuts flavoured with saffron and lemon, rolled in sugar and crushed pistachios (and a little edible glitter if you’re feeling glam, then piped with creamy pistachio and cardamom shrikhand (spiced sweet Indian yogurt).

I’d love you forever if you also took a second to have a look at my new chef page. It contains some extra info about myself, KO Rasoi and my bespoke recipes for Food Network UK (whether or not you’re interested in that kind of thing is another matter entirely!)

Have a ball going dough-nuts too!

The post Eggless Saffron and Lemon Shrikhand Doughnuts appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Guess what I did this weekend? I made my first wedding cake! 300 cupcakes consisting of both Red Velvet and Lemon. Finished with a swirl of vanilla buttercream and the cutest handmade Indian elephants and peacock feathers. The display was crowned with a vanilla buttercream cake and a giant peacock feather. Thankfully, there were no real disasters and I think everyone enjoyed the bite-sized cakes. Plus, I don’t have the skill to pull off a traditional tiered wedding cake… yet!

I’ll be posting up images from the event tomorrow so keep your eyes peeled for a whole load of cupcakes and lots of diabetic, drooling Modhas.

Some of you will know that it’s Italy Month at Food Network UK and all throughout July they’re featuring delicious pasta recipes. This week, my Spicy Spinach Lasagne made the featured spot in the newsletter. And just between me and you, KO Rasoi reader – Lasagne Indian-style is so much better! I layered up a very basic spicy spinach puree in the same way I would make Saag (my favourite – pass the Makki Ki Roti please!) and made a basic white sauce.

Layering up the dish with green spinach lasagne give this a double-spinach hit. Plus, whenever I make lasagne, it has to be spinach pasta… I wouldn’t have it any other way.

You can find the recipe here: Spicy Spinach Lasagne recipe.

Next time I try this, I’d be inclined to add freshly blended mustard leaves for a deeper, more intense flavour and heat. What do you think?

 

I’ll be back tomorrow to share the wedding cake images! In the meantime, you can find more vegetarian summer recipes here.

The post Spicy Spinach Lasagne appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

If you love Pau Bhaji with heaps of creamy butter as much as I do, I hope you’ll love my article for FN UK’s blog in honour of all things street food.

You discover what happened when I cooked up some Pau Bhaji in their test kitchen and my experience eating Pau Bhaji on the street in one of my most favourite Indian food cities, Leicester. 

I was sitting on a burning wall devouring £3.50 worth of hot, spicy Pau Bhaji. It was heavily spiced but not with chillies – the intense heat came from a medley of ground cinnamon, cloves, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and fennel seeds. The bread was hot, buttery and perfect for scooping up the delicious bhaji.

Now, I’ve tasted great Pau Bhajis in the past and I’ve also made good Pau Bhajis, but the truth is that I much prefer it when someone else makes the effort to sizzle some up for me.

Any takers?

Read the article here.

Get the recipe here.

FYI, my mouth is already watering thinking about the next post which I will tell you involves potatoes and a simple blend of spices. See you this weekend!

The post Butter Pau Bhaji appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Was it you who said egg-free quiches were as impossible to make as licking your own elbow? Well if it was, you couldn’t have been more wrong.

You can stop trying to lick your elbow now. It’s never going to happen and plus, you look ridiculous.

I wanted to create a quiche with strong flavours that cut through the creaminess of the dish while also making a small slice go a long way. This was imperative because if I didn’t, I’d have ended up squirming on the floor with a protruding belly and crumbs all over my face having eaten it all. And I promised myself that would never happen again.

Sweet potatoes added just that – a strong velvety sweetness, caramelised onions gave the quiche some colour, texture and flavour, and the sharp, salty feta cheese cut through the rich filling. Perfecto.

I’m quite pleased with myself for making my own pastry. I know shortcrust is the easiest pastry to make but lazy is the best way to describe me. There’s no excuse for it. All my pastry endeavours have ended up as crummy disasters. I’m hasty, hot-headed and fiery tempered as opposed to a cool-handed pastry whiz-kid.

This had to change.

I took my time, made sure everything was cold (ice water, frozen and grated butter and cold hands) and things weren’t looking too shabby if I say so myself.

Then I burned myself… twice.

Have I told you about my war wounded arm? My right arm is covered in several burn marks from hurriedly fetching things to and fro the oven and grill. Each one carries its own story and in a way, I’m quite proud of the ugly little guys.

Shall we get back to the quiche?

Eggs are to quiche as gelatine to jelly; they help it set so you can slice it. A set custard if you will. In place of eggs I used cornflour (a tip I picked up from revered chef Kurma Dasa and his fabulous book Great Vegetarian Dishes). However, I also added some self raising flour, mature cheddar cheese and baking powder. The flour and baking powder helped my quiche puff up, lighten up and set in place as it would if I added eggs. I also added plenty of cheese to make it very savoury and golden brown on top.

A small wedge of this quiche served warm or cold with a green salad (dressed in something sharp) will make you forget about how much cheese, cream and butter actually went into the dish. I’ve forgotten already.

I’d always make this quiche a day ahead as it needs at least 8 hours to cool and set before you slice it. When it comes out of the oven it should still be a bit wobbly in the middle, and then when it chills it will begin to set.

Eggless Quiche with Sweet Potatoes, Caramelised Onions and Feta
(cuts into 8-10 slices)

For the cumin pastry crust:

280g plain flour
140g butter, frozen and grated on a cheese grater
1 ½ tsp toasted cumin seeds
½ tsp salt
8-9 tbsp iced water

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, cumin seeds, butter and salt. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Add the iced water and bring the mixtures together to form a firm dough. Cover in cling film (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, grease a fluted tart case (with a removable bottom) with oil.

5. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to 5mm in thickness and around 5-6cm larger than your tart case (I used a 10 inch wide, 2 inch deep case).

6. Lift the pastry up with your rolling pin and drape it over your tart case so there is an overhang of pastry on the sides. Gently push the pastry into the sides of the case, taking care not to stretch or tear it. Prick some small holes

7. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. Place a large piece of greaseproof paper in your pastry case and fill with baking beans. I used rice which worked just as well.

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove the greaseproof paper and baking beans/rice. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes to turn golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For the quiche filling:
240g red onions, sliced
140g sweet potato, cubed
200g feta cheese, cubed
4 tbsp self raising flour
1 ½ tbsp cornflour
400ml milk
300ml double cream
100g cream cheese
80g mature cheddar cheese
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp butter
Olive oil

Method

1. To caramelise the onions, heat the butter in a pan with 1 tsp of olive oil. Add the slice onions and 3 tbsp of sugar. Cook on a medium heat for around 20 minutes, stirring all the time. Try not to break them up too much, though. Add the dried organo and set aside.

2. Wash the sweet potato cubes, place in a bowl with 2 tbsp of water and microwave on high power for 3 minutes. Refresh under cold water and drain. Set aside.

3. In a large pan, heat 4 tbsp olive oil and add the cornflour and self raising flour. Cook until slightly pink, grab a whisk and slowly add the milk, whisking all the time. Add 150ml double cream, the cheddar cheese, cream cheese and 50g of the feta. Keep whisking for 5 minutes until you’re left with a smooth sauce. I sieved mine at this point to make sure there were no lumps at all.

4. Add the remaining 150ml double cream and allow to cool. This will thicken on standing so when you return to it after cooling, you will need to adjust the consistency to its previous state by using some hot water and whisking.

5. Fold in the onions, potatoes and feta and pile the mixture into the cooled pastry case. Fill a baking tray with hot water and place it in the bottom of the oven (this will keep the environment moist so your quiche won’t dry out).

6. Place your quiche on a baking tray and put it on the rack above. Bake for 45 minutes at 180°C until almost golden.

7. Turn the oven off but leave the quiche inside. Open the oven door for a few minutes to let some heat escape so your quiche doesn’t burn.

8. After two hours your quiche should have cooled. Remove it from the oven, cover in cling film and refrigerate for 7-8 hours. Once you remove it, trim the excess pastry and then it should be ready to devour.

I know this sounds terribly long and complicated, and it sort of is (for me, anyway). I’m not gonna lie.

But take one bite of this lush, creamy eggless quiche and you’ll know why it took so much of your love and effort.

Also, feel free to experiment with flavours. You could add anything from green peas, cherry tomatoes and spinach to a variety of other cheeses. Just remember to send me a piece in the post.

The post Eggless Quiche with Sweet Potatoes, Caramelised Onions and Feta appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.