Indian Kheer, a bit like Rice Pudding!

At first when I went to India, the incessant offerings of sweets and desserts made me feel quite queasy. They love sugar! Heaps and spoons of it, all a bit too much for me. So now I can make my own desserts, I hold back on the sugar and make everything to my taste, plus one spoon to make my husband happy!

Kheer is one of our favourites. So simple and sooo tasty. It's comfort, home food, perfect in the summer straight from the fridge and in the winter straight from the pan!

Ingredients: 

All quantities can be changed to suit your own taste... this will make enough for 4 people.

100g Seviyan (Roasted Vermicelli)

Semiya Payasam (South Indian), Seviyan (Hindi/Urdu), Sev (Gujarati)

Seviyan is made from Semolina, unlike the Italian version which is made from Durum Wheat or the Chinese version made from rice flour (glass noodles)

Kheer can also be made from the following in case you don't have a packet of Seviyan in the store cupboard!: Rice, spaghettini, quinoa, chickpeas, semolina, moong beans, even banana and cornflakes!

50g butter

1/2 tin of Condensed milk

You don't have to use these but they give a nicer flavour...

Flavourings of choice...

I like to use:

5 Cardamom pods (crushed)

A nice scraping of fresh Nutmeg and Cinnamon

And of course a few spoons of brown sugar...

(You could use anything you fancy really, like vanilla pods/essence, raisins, sultanas, almonds, cashews, coconut, saffron, even grated carrots!...)

A pint of Milk

Only roughly use as much or as little as you like, like rice pudding, some people prefer it stodgy, some runny.

Then for a really authentic Indian taste, try to get hold of some Kewra Essence or Kewra Water...

Kewra is an extract distilled from Pandanus flowers. Kewra flowers have a sweet, perfumed odour with a pleasant quality similar to rose flowers, but kewra is more fruity. 

('Tropical Designs' Pandanus Flower)

To me it is such an 'Indian' smell, a whiff of this and I am transported to the streets of Bombay!

Method:

In a thick bottomed saucepan (to avoid burning, husbands take note:) Melt the butter, then add the spices/nuts/fruit and fry a little to bring out the flavours.

Then add the seviyan. If you crunch it up it makes it easier to eat with a spoon! 

Add the condensed milk, milk, kewra (only a drop if essence or a splash if water) and sugar.

Stir it all up and simmer gently for a while. You may need to add some more milk as the kheer cooks. We like it quite runny, because if there is any left over (which is rare!) it gets thicker with time.

You can garnish with Saffron, nuts, sultanas or even gold leaf if you're feeling fancy!

There are a couple of online UK Indian Food stores that seem to have a nice variety of products. One is 'Spices of India' and the other 'The Asian Cookshop'. They both have Kewra and Vermicelli for less than a pound.

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For my little sister Hanna... 'cos she loves Kheer too!

Kerala Style Beef Masala...

A special request from Sharon J at Finding Simplicity... 

(and Anonymous Jane!)

Serves at least 2 plus a bit more...

Ingredients...

500g Beef (stewing type)

2 large Onions (finely chopped)

5 large Cloves Garlic (chopped)

Thumb size Ginger (Chopped)

10 Curry Leaves

1/2 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Garam Masala (See below note)

2 Green Chillies and 1/2 tsp Red Chili powder (if you like it hot)

Tomatoes (half the amount of chopped onions)

1 cup Coconut Milk (optional) or vinegar

2 tbsp Oil 

(You can cook the Beef, Turmeric and a little Salt in water, in a pressure cooker if you have one, for 20 minutes for more tender beef. It reduces the final cooking time and saves energy too! I just use a saucepan with a lid and bring it to the boil for 5 minutes)

Note: I use electric, so when I mention turning off the heat, I leave the pan on the stove as the element cools down. If you use gas you would have to leave the gas on low for a few minutes before turning off the flame to get the same result. (Does that mean electric ovens are more energy efficient? Does anyone have a gas versus electric argument? I'd like to know...)

In a large pan or wok, fry the onions, garlic, ginger, curry leaves and green chili in 2 tbsp of oil (preferably coconut for an authentic South Indian taste, it really makes a big difference)

When the onions are golden,  add the coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric and chili powder.

When the oil separates from the spices its time to add the tomatoes and the beef. 

Give it a good stir to mix all the fried spices, onions and beef evenly. Add 1/2 cup of water if needed, cover with a lid or large plate, then turn down the heat to simmer for 1 hour or more until reduced by half. Finally, when beef is tender add the coconut milk if desired OR a dash of vinegar (DO NOT MIX BOTH)

Garnish with homegrown :) Coriander and serve with rice, chapattis (or parathas for a yummy leftovers breakfast)

(For Perfect Rice, see 'Note on Rice...' in this post)

Note on Garam Masala...

We use packets of masala (literally means 'mix') They come pre-mixed for chicken, meat, fish, chick peas, tandoori and a million other things. You can buy them in any Indian store and recently some of the larger supermarkets have an Asian aisle. We use 'Everest' or 'Eastern' brands. Choose one that says 'meat masala', or 'mutton masala' (mutton is a generic word for beef)

If you want to make your own Garam Masala, the ingredients are listed on the Everest website but they don't give quantities. This blog has a nice recipe to make your own.

Note on Coconut Oil...This one is 95p from Tesco... but I encourage you to shop locally and buy it at your nearest Indian shop.  It usually comes in a jar that looks like mayo and it's thick like lard. You'll sometimes find it in the beauty section, as it's also great for your hair! Just make sure it's 100% pure Coconut Oil.

This site has some great info on the benefits of Coconut oil.

Note on Turmeric... It stains everything, therefore I do not hold any responsibility for yellow wooden spoons and yellow splashed walls!

Urad Dal Puris with Potato Bhaji...

I have had a lovely comment left for me on 'Little Yellow Flower' from Zlamushka... So this is my entry into her blogs August 'Tried and Tasted'. "This month is a celebration of health, positive spirit and hopes - KUDOS to you, Jai & Bee :-)"

ZLAMUSHKA'S SPICY KITCHEN'S

Tried and Tasted - Jugalbandi

Urad Dal Puris with Potato Bhaji

taken from Jugalbandi's post

The original recipe and method can be found in the post Potatoes… and Puris

 There are also some great tips from Jai and Bee on how to grow potatoes in a cardboard box!

I used only two, quite large chillies and thank God I did!

It was a little spicier than I like it, so next time I'd use only one. 

I was supposed to stick to the original recipe to stay true to the final dish, but we don't have any asafoetida or kalonji (nigella seeds) so these ingredients were left out. Thus staying as true as possible without compromising my frugal journey to empty cupboards..

I had a jar of black dal in a jar in the cupboard. Now me being, well me, had not labeled the type of dal it was. At a good guess it was very likely to be Urad Dal :) It wasn't of the shelled variety so there is a little more roughage in my puris to help you get a bit more fibre in your diet!

Take note of the 360*F temperature as it really does make the puris puff up like a dream. Wait a few seconds before you drop the next one in, to give time for the oil to heat up again.

The final verdict... really good, mouthwatering (especially with the amount of chili I added!)

A perfect lunch...

Quick Meal Planning Update...

Continued from "A Good Indian wife..."

If you've read my last post, you would know that Wednesday was not such a good day for us! 

So bearing in mind my morning, the afternoon was a little better. A couple of friends who live close by had just spoken to C at work and dropped by to see me. I wasn't really prepared for a visit, not dressed, house a mess, but I put the kettle on and we had a good old natter (they both don't have any problem with talking a lot!)

A is Indian, from Delhi but spent a good few years in Goa, running a successful restaurant and S is half Punjabi and half Scottish and grew up in Leicester. So it's really nice to have them to talk about our situation ,because they understand where we are coming from. Most people just think we are crazy hippies and haven't got a clue why we would want to live in the middle of nowhere in India.

They helped me fix up the window in the car with hardboard, plastic and lots of tape, swept out the glass and tidied up the path (a difficult job with a toddler on a busy road) and after 3 hours and a lot of cups to wash up, they left me to do a quick blitz with the hoover before preparing dinner.

Wednesday... Aloo Gobi with Homemade Chapattis

Well the homemade chappattis were out of the window, not literally! So I put on some rice. I'll attempt them this week :)

Note on Rice...

1 cup of rice is enough for 2 adults. Add 2 cups of cold water and bring to the boil with a lid on. Boil vigorously for 2 minutes and then turn off the heat. Don't take the lid off. Rice will be ready in about 10 minutes but you can leave it there for hours and it will be perfect. Michael puts a paper towel under the lid to keep in the steam, I guess us eco-conscious could use a clean t-towel, but I don't because my lid fits quite snug.

Potatoes (quartered and par boiled if waxy like the British pots)

Cauliflower

Onion
Tomato
Garlic
Ginger
Chillies
Ghee (or oil)
Garam Masala
Cumin (seed or powder)
Coriander (seed or powder)
Turmeric
Salt and black pepper

Preparation

In a large wok or pan, heat the ghee and add the onions to fry on medium heat. Add the Garlic and ginger, then add the spices, then the cauliflower and potatoes. Cook over a moderate heat for 10 minutes adding water if needed, then turn off the heat and cover.

(Note to self: Don't walk away and lie down on the sofa thinking 'what a stressful day, I deserve a rest'... this adds an altogether new ingredient to your lovingly prepared dinner... smoky barbeque flavouring! It also wastes the valuable electricity you have been working so hard to save...and your extra portion for lunch!)

Thursday... Chicken Bolognaise 

I was a bit dubious about using chicken instead of beef, but wow, I'm impressed with this one and so was my husband and he's hard to please when it comes to food. The sage and chili worked wonders on my palette.

Onions

Garlic

2 chopped chillies

Chicken mince

Tomato puree

Chopped tinned (or fresh) tomatoes

1 Beef and 1 Chicken Oxo

Lots of sage

Prepare as you would Bolognaise. Fry onions and garlic, then meat, then throw the rest in and cook for 10 minutes, then cover and leave on the heat. Serve with pasta and grated cheese.

Friday... I was lazy and we ate Kheema from the freezer.

Saturday... we had a vegetable and four lentil casserole.

A Good Indian Wife...

I've done it at last... 

Me the ever disorganised, procrastinateur and not to mention 'The Queen of bargains, reduced value shopaholics daughter', has finally got round to doing a very simplified version of a weekly menu plan. Now bearing in mind I very rarely know what day it is or where I might be living at the end of a week, for me this is a miracle.

The last (and only) time I planned a weekly menu was when my whole family were moving out of our 13 year family home. So my job as the official 'Obliterator' was to supervise the dwindling down of supplies.

I did extremely well under so much pressure, considering my families likes and dislikes. Michael has to have HOT, tabasco or mitmita, Hanna is a picky teenager and eats only raw fruit and vegetables it seems and gallons of smoothies, my husband doesn't eat much and certainly "doesn't look for vegetables", my Mum has to find something wrong with every meal and then there's me... I eat anything (twice as much when I'm pregnant) and Grandpa who eats like a bird.

My usual plan of action is at about 6 o clock say to my husband "what shall we have for dinner", the answer "I don't know Bo, you know, whatever" inevitably comes. I look in the fridge, moan a bit, sit down for half an hour and then think I'd better get up and be a good wife and cook dinner.  Meat is always defrosted in the microwave as I never remember to take it out early. 

Now things have to change... C's shift has changed from 6am-2pm to 2pm-10pm, so now he can't buy the cheap sandwiches and samosas they sell at lunchtime. He won't eat a big meal in the day so it's my job to send him to work with a tiffin he can heat up in the microwave and have a proper meal when he returns from work at night.

So bearing in mind my one success story from the past, I sat down and scribbled some things down on a scrap of paper.

We had some pork fillet in the freezer, half price from when my mum took us shopping a few weeks back, so I took that out to defrost.  

My list...

Monday - minted lamb burgers with salad and chapattis

Tuesday - pork, pepper and pea stir fry with cous cous

Wednesday - alloo gobi (potato and cauliflower curry) with chapattis

Thursday - spaghetti bolognaise

Friday - leftover stew (anything I can find plus lentils and herbs)

lamb mince

chapattis

mint

yoghurt

pepper

onions

tomatoes 

cucumber

potatoes

cauliflower

cheese

beef mince

I haven't been to the supermarket for about three weeks now so the fridge is bare and all supplies are down to a minimum. I decided to walk to the local indian shops and buy my meat from the Halal butcher and the rest from the local Londis (mini market)

Once in the butchers looking for beef mince, I saw chicken mince and thought I'd try chicken bolognaise instead, so for 1kg of lamb mince and 1/2 kg of chicken mince I paid £5.85. Now I'm sure that's a lot less than Tescos charge. The men had a little laugh at me when I took out my supermarket carrier bags to be reused, so I told them I was out to save the world! Giggles all round and a little discount for making them laugh!

In the grocery shop I picked up everything on the list plus a nice punnet of juicy big strawberries. The cheese had 50% extra free! Total £10.80...

Now I don't keep track of how much everything is per kilo so I couldn't tell you if I saved or not, but I can say that if I had driven to Tescos (petrol and pollution) I would have picked up a lot more than was on my list, I would have had a lot more packaging to throw away (I don't use plastic bags for veg but when I'm forced to buy 'value' ranges they always come pre-packed) and I would have come away with a twisted feeling of guilt in my stomach.

So Mondays meal...

was a joy to cook, feeling on top of the world of menu plans, I chopped the mint (a very large bunch) and used half in the burger mix with red onion, chilli and garlic, blitzed in the chopper, added spices, an egg and a dash of oil and fried the patties on a griddle pan (covering with foil and turning off the heat when both sides were done to save energy)

The other half off mint I chopped and stored in a jar with sugar and balsamic, in the fridge. A teaspoon of this I mixed into the extremely thick and creamy greek yoghurt I bought for the dressing.

Served with a salad of home grown baby leaf lettuce, rocket and parsley with tomato and cucumber and chapattis (I only bought one pack of 8 chapattis forgetting about lunch the next day, so tonight I'll be making from scratch for the first time) 

Tuesdays meal... 

Threw all the ingredients into a wok with soy sauce, sweet chili sauce garlic and ginger stir fried on a high heat til meat fully cooked and then turned off the heat and left with a plate over the top.

One of the things I have been trying to do since starting this journey is measure and weigh in cups, things like cous cous, rice, porridge and pasta, so we don't get left with a plateful extra at the end of each meal and so we don't waste water or energy cooking it.

1 cup of cous cous feeds 2 adults. In a bowl add 1 and a half cups of boiling water and a squeeze of lemon and cover for 10 minutes with a plate. Perfectly cooked cous cous, not soggy not dry!

Oh I love it when things are so simple!

You may be wondering what's for dinner on Saturday and Sunday? Give me a chance... I'm not that organised!

Grow Your Own

 Jugalbandi's

"Grow Your Own Food Event" 

hosted by Andrea's recipes

This events round up can be found here

and my recipe is there...

Mushroom, Courgette and Baby Corn Sabji @ Indian Earth

Emma used her courgettes (zucchini) in a delicious stir fry. She says - “I decided to ‘harvest’ a couple of courgettes and put them to good use in a vegetable bhaji. The recipe is ‘off the top of our heads’, but the idea came from a Punjabi Dhaba in Bombay, where they make the best ever sabji.”

Lemon Balm Iced Tea

Before I set out with the scissors to snip my rather sad looking Lemon Balm leaves, I thought I'd Google Lemon Balm Iced Tea first to see if there was anyone out there who had thought of it...  I'm also waiting for the ice to set because I'd forgotten I'd used it all yesterday to keep the beers cool!

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Lemon Balm Iced Tea Traditional Recipe...

Well back in the good old Victorian days, when women had nothing better to do with themselves, apart from hold tea parties, lemon balm tea seems to have been on the tea party menu.  Thanks 'Victorian Rituals' for this recipe.

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Lemon Balm Uses...

Brenda from 'The Garden Path' has some wonderful ideas on how to use Lemon Balm...

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Lemon Balm Ice Cream...

Wow... this looks absolutely gorgeous.

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Lemon Balm Lemonade...

Another refreshing alternative from 'Glass Slipper Baking'

And last but not least, I know someone who's gonna love this!

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Lemon Balm Mojitos...

From 'Gardenopolis'  

I love it when you stumble across a nice blog when you're out there Googling... in the name of research!

This looks like a great way to disguise your midsummer party by using the excuse of 'Experiments in Homesteading'!  And look Nikki, there's even a few raspberries floating on top!

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So here is my recipe..

Lemon Balm Leaves (half chopped, half for garnish)

Mint Leaves (a few chopped and a few for garnish)

Frozen Raspberries

Brown Sugar

Lots of Ice

Boiling Water

Chop the leaves using a bit of Brown Sugar on the chopping board to bring out the flavour of the Lemon Balm.

In a large jug, pour boiling water over the chopped leaves (add sugar to taste)

Leave to cool in the fridge.

Top up with as many ice cubes as you like.

Throw in a handful of Frozen Raspberries (and a shot of vodka if you like!)

Garnish with leaves.

Sit in the garden, without a care in the world.

Slowly sip your glass of refreshing Iced tea.

Contemplate your next exciting 'Experiment in Homesteading'

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Talking of beer... there was a full bottle of flat beer leftover from lunch yesterday and the resourceful, recycle, reuse mind started to tick. Now these are the uses for flat beer that I've heard of; 

* Beer Batter, but we don't have any fish and I'm not into Tempura Veg.

* Beer bread, a possibility.

* Beer Shampoo, might give this one a go, it's the least time consuming.

* Beer Polish, supposed to be great on furniture, may leave your living room smelling like a pub!

* Beer Washing up liquid, I just discovered this myself!  When pouring the remaining beer into one bottle, it overflowed so I quickly moved it over the dish I had used to roast the Lamb.  When I went back to the pan to wash it up, the grease had gone!  A quick rinse under the tap and it was spotlessly clean.  

Little Yellow Flower

We're not quite at the fully home grown meal stage yet... well far from it really!  

But with inspiration from Jugalbandi and Andrea's Recipes 'Grow Your Own Event' I decided to 'harvest' a couple of courgettes and put them to good use in a vegetable bhaji.  I chopped and

 my husband cooked and teamwork made this wonderful supper for the two of us!

So here it is.  The recipe is 'off the top of our heads', but 

the idea came from a Punjabi Dhaba in Bombay, where they make the best ever sabji.

Quantities subject to how much you like each vegetable in order of preference!

'Sabji'

Ingredients

Mushrooms

Baby Corn

Courgette (Homegrown!)

Peas

Onion

Tomato

Garlic

Ginger

Chillies

Ghee (or oil)

Garam Masala

Cumin (seed or powder)

Coriander (seed or powder)

Turmeric

Salt and black pepper

Preparation

In a large wok or pan, heat the ghee and add the onions to fry on medium heat. Add the spices then the vegetables in cooking order. Cook over a moderate heat for 20 minutes. Stir

 occasionally. The vegetables should not be over cooked and should retain its crispness when bitten. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with salt and serve with rice, chapatis or parathas . (Method adapted from Wikipedia 'sabji' entry)

Banana and Blueberry Loaf Cake

I've been baking this cake for the last 2 days!

It's such a simple recipe, takes about 5 minutes to make, but I didn't realise I had no eggs in the fridge.  I have been too busy rushing around to even get to the corner shop where I have found the cheapest free range eggs, only 99p for half a dozen.  I have found cheaper, 85p, but they come in a plastic egg carton and it's further to walk too! Anyway enough about eggs...

On to the cake...

This has to be the best cake recipe in the world, no mess, no mixing, no sieving (although sometimes I do though I can't see any difference) It takes 5 minutes to prepare, an hour to cook and approximately 5 minutes before several sticky fingers have devoured the lot!

I got the recipe from Elise, and never looked back.

I've used bananas, bananas and blueberries (todays flavour), pear and lime (yummy, very moist, use a touch more flour), I did try honeydew melon, but it wasn't so good, a bit tasteless.  Next on the list is raspberries!

Oh and if you make it with banana, then a generous spread of Nutella or other chocolate spread is truly scrumptious! 

The recipe...

INGREDIENTS

(A cup is 250ml)

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose (plain) flour

METHOD
No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack (if you can wait that long!). Remove from pan and slice to serve.

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