Pulses

Tarka,Tadka, Chaunk, Dhungar: Tempering Spices & Making Dal

November 15, 2011

I’ve recently made 2 posts on spices and now would like to mention one of my favourite ways of spicing lentils; tarka. Tarka, tadka or chaunk and also known by other names if you look on wiki here, is a very good way of spicing food, not just legumes. I first noticed it years ago [...]

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Some Spicing Tips

November 9, 2011

I’ve written the post on Don’t Dry Roast Spices here, and wanted to do a quick one on a couple of tips. A week or so ago I was asked by Carl if I had any tips for a Goan curry he was making, to which I answered no, but I said I do have [...]

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Lentil Curry, Spinach Curry with Fresh Apricots

August 21, 2011

I have to make a note of these curries I quickly made last night otherwise they will be forgotten never to be made again which according to my oldest daughter is a habit of mine. When I make it again I will take better photos and post those. It was one of those full days, [...]

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Quick Creamy Curry

January 29, 2011

I make a curry every week usually on a Friday or Saturday night and most of the time just for Bikerboy and I, but if the older girls are around with their friends then I’ll make a big pot of this curry, it’s quick to put together and easily adjustable to suit mild tastebuds. When [...]

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Lentil, Shiitake and Chestnut Soup

October 30, 2010

I’ve been thinking about this soup combination since last winter but failed to try it until now. It’s the sort of soup you can make a meal out of, perfect to warm your belly after a good long walk on a cold sunny day like today. The first time I made it last week it [...]

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Difference in Quality: Can of Beans

October 1, 2010

I’m always amazed on the difference in quality of tinned products, and to prove my point here’s three examples from two local supermarkets. The phrase “you get what you pay for” is true sometimes, other times I’ve paid good money for produce both non-organic and organic and quite frankly I’ve ended up with a poor [...]

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Red Pepper Hummus / Humous

May 14, 2010

Do you know the reason I ended up making this? Because it’s one of my favourite flavours of hummus I buy in the supermarket…I know…strange to be inspired by the supermarket …but hey I’m never one to turn down a good idea. Bikerboy says if he sees me eating hummus is because I’m on a [...]

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Creamy Leeks, Flageolet Beans with Tarragon

March 7, 2010

We’re a skip and hop away from Easter and for me that’s not far from the whole season changing with regards to food. As soon as I start seeing daffodils or any narcissus I want to say goodbye to the winter, start thinking about spring recipes and lighter meals but the thing is we’re not [...]

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Refried Beans

January 28, 2010

Following on from the last post Poor Man’s Feijoada, beans with pork, make refried beans. Soften an onion in oil or lard add your beans adding a little of that saved water from cooking the beans and when they’re very hot mash them until they have the desired texture.

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Poor Man’s Feijoada – Beans cooked with Pork

January 28, 2010

Feijoada pronouncing the ‘j’ like you would in ‘Jack’ and not the Spanish way of an ‘s’ sound, if you type into the search engine you’ll have lots of pages on examples of Brazilian feijoda with black beans, fresh and salted pork, fresh and dried beef, cured sausages, blood sausages, quite an extensive list of [...]

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Broad Bean & Lentil Salad

December 5, 2009

This post first appeared in my old blog 11th June 09. These were the first broad beans I’ve encountered this year and off I went with two packs thinking how best to cook them whilst fighting with my trolley around the supermarket. You do not receive a lot of change from your broad bean pods [...]

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