tempting-food

[tempting-food]

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

I'm back!! Its been ages since I've posted a recipe but I have been busy having a baby :) Which also means that my recipes will probably be simpler and quicker from now on! This is a great soup that takes about 30 mins from start to finish and is perfect for this time of year. It also freezes well. It's best to use a mild curry powder that contains turmeric here, both for colour and flavour. I use a madras powder, but use whatever you have to hand. If your powder doesn't contain turmeric, you could add a pinch at the same time. Oh, and from now on I'll also be providing the calorie content of each recipe. For starters, you'll be happy to know that this soup averages around 300kcal per portion

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced

200g carrots (approx 2 carrots), washed and grated

1 tbsp curry powder containing turmeric

6 tbsp red lentils

700ml vegetable stock, made from one stock cube

1 (400ml) can reduced-fat coconut milk

coriander and naan bread, to serve (optional)

Serves 6

300kcal

Directions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the squash and carrots, and cook briefly for 1 min. Then stir in the curry powder and cook for another minute

Tip in the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 15-18 mins until the squash is tender

Using a hand blender or in a food processor, blitz until as smooth as you like. Season and serve scattered with roughly chopped coriander and some naan bread alongside

#healthy #hungry #vegan #soup #vegetarian #Budget #comfort food #lentils #serves: 6

[tempting-food]

Salmon, Bean and Avocado Salad

Full of goodness, and super-tasty too

Ingredients

For the dressing

A couple of handfuls of rocket leaves

1 tbsp chopped parsley

juice of half a lemon

3 cloves of garlic

2 anchovy fillets

1 tbsp chopped shallot

Pinch of salt

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the salad

2 x 400g cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 x 200g tin salmon, any bones and skin removed, flaked

handful of radishes, thinly sliced

2 heads of Little Gem

1 avocado, sliced

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Serves 4

Directions

Place all the dressing ingredients in a food processor and process until finely chopped. With the motor still running, slowly drizzle in oil

Gently combine beans, salmon and radishes in a large bowl. Season to taste. Pour in the dressing and toss to combine

To serve, line 4 plates with Little Gem leaves. Divide the salad evenly among the plates. Top with avocado slices

#healthy #serves: 4 #iron #salmon #avocado #nutritious #lunchbox #lunch

[tempting-food]

Pizza Wheels and Caterpillar Skewers

I made these pizza wheels for my niece Róisín's 4th birthday recently. I thought they'd go down well with kids of any age, but I can't attest to that as the adults commandeered them all. For the sauce, I used some leftover pizza sauce, but you could just as easily use passata, a jar of pasta sauce, or even tomato puree. The caterpillar skewers are less of a recipe, and more of an idea for a fun healthy snack.

Pizza Wheels

Ingredients

2 sheets ready-roll puff pastry, thawed

100g grated Cheddar cheese

100g (~½ cup) tomatoey sauce, see note above

100g finely chopped ham

1 tsp dried oregano

Makes 48 rolls

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200°C

Lay out a sheet of pastry, with the wide edge nearest you

With a palette knife, or spoon, spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the pastry, leaving a 2cm border on the edge furthest from you

Scatter half the ham and cheese evenly over the sauce. Sprinkle a pinch of oregano on top

Starting with the edge nearest you, tightly roll up the pastry. Brush the border edge lightly with water and fold over to seal

Cut the roll into 1cm rounds. Try not to squash them too much, but don't worry if they look a bit flat, they'll puff up in the oven

Place each wheel on a greased tray, leaving room between them for expansion. Repeat with the 2nd pastry roll. You should end up with around 48 wheels

Bake for 15-20 mins or until golden brown. They are best hot out of the oven, but still delicious when cold

Caterpillar Skewers

Ingredients

big bunch of grapes

Wooden skewers

Black and white icing pens, to decorate

Directions

Wash the grapes and dry well

Thread the grapes onto skewers and snip the skewer to size, removing any pointed ends

Dot eyes onto each caterpillar with the icing pens

#party #healthy #kids party #pizza #canapes #serves: a gang

[tempting-food]

My perfect chilli

If you can find Liquid Smoke, just a few drops adds a subtle smokey flavour to the chilli. If not, try substituting smoked paprika for some of the chilli powder. My chilli never turns out the exact same so use the below as a guideline only, and adjust the spice level to suit your taste. Note: If using dried kidney beans, 200g dried = 400g tinned. I cook them in the pressure cooker for around 45 mins (12psi) after soaking in hot water for an hour

Ingredients

1lb beef mince

200g dried kidney beans or 1 x 400g tin

1 onion, diced

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 beef stock cube

½ tbsp ground cumin

¾ tbsp ground coriander

1.5 tsp chilli powder

3 chillies, chopped (substitute with dried and leave whole if you prefer)

1 star anise

small cinnamon stick (about 5cm)

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp liquid smoke (optional, see introduction)

baked potato or rice, grated cheese, sour cream, jalepeños etc to serve

Serves 4-6

Directions

Fry the onion until soft. Add the beef mince and cook until browned and any excess liquid has evaporated

Add all the spices and cook for a minute or two before tipping in the tomatoes

Make approx 400ml beef stock (I usually re-use the tomato tin to get the last of the juices out) and add as much as needed. You might not need it all

Simmer for around an hour. 10 mins from the end, add the drained kidney beans

Before serving stir through the cocoa powder

#hungry #party #spicy #serves: 6 #beef #chilli

[tempting-food]

Salmon Fishcakes

Fishcakes are a useful, and delicious, way of using up leftovers. The quantities can be varied depending on what you have to hand. The ingredients below aren't much more than one portion of leftover dinner, but it makes 10-12 fishcakes. Add a bit of salad and thats a light meal for 5 or 6 people :)

Ingredients

around ten smallish potatoes. I left the skins on as they were new potatoes

1 salmon fillet, cooked

a cupful of cooked (or defrosted) frozen peas

1 egg, beaten

a cupful of breadcrumbs (I used panko)

Makes 10-12 cakes

Directions

Mash the potatoes in a large bowl - it doesn't matter if they still have some lumps in them. Mash the peas in a separate bowl until crushed. Break up the salmon with a fork. Mix the potatoes, peas, salmon and egg together. Season to taste

Shape into 10 or 12 cakes, depending on the size you want and the volume of ingredients you have

Pour the breadcrumbs onto a plate. Dip each cake into the breadcrumbs so that they're evenly coated all over. Set aside

If you're going to freeze them, do so at this stage. They can be cooked from frozen in the oven. Otherwise set them aside in the fridge for an hour (if you have time) to set. They'll be easier to handle when cooking if they have been chilled

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook for approx 5 mins on each side until golden brown

#salmon #fishcakes #leftovers #healthy #party #serves: 6 #fish #budget

[tempting-food]

Liz's Rocky Road

Congratulations to Liz & Ruairí McGowan on their spectacular wedding yesterday! Ruairí has bagged himself not only a stunning bride but also the best Rocky Road maker around.

Here is the pimped-up Slane Castle version of the recipe, as made by Liz and us bridesmaid belles for the special occasion.

Enjoy the honeymoon guys xx

Ingredients

125g soft unsalted butter

300g 70+% dark chocolate, broken into pieces

3 tbsp golden syrup

150g rich tea biscuits

2 Crunchies, roughly chopped

2 packets of Maltesers, whole or halfed

150g marshmallows (not the mini ones as they melt, and without sugar coating)

2 tsp icing sugar, to dust (optional)

Makes 24 pieces

Directions

Heat the butter, chocolate and golden syrup in a heavy-based saucepan over a gentle heat. Remove from the heat

Place the biscuits into a plastic freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin until some have turned to crumbs but there are still pieces of biscuit remaining

Fold the biscuit pieces and crumbs into the melted chocolate mixture in the saucepan, then add the marshmallows

Tip the mixture into a 24cm/9in square baking tin and smooth the top with a wet spatula

Refrigerate for about two hours or overnight

To serve, cut into 24 fingers and dust with icing sugar

#sweet #party #chocolate #rocky road #wedding

[tempting-food]

Mini Egg Cake

Happy Easter everyone :) (This recipe is from uktv.co.uk's Easter collection. The original is here)

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Sponge

butter, for greasing

250g caster sugar

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g self-raising flour

50g cocoa powder

2 tbsp buttermilk

To decorate

250g unsalted butter, softened

500g icing sugar

50g cocoa powder

2 tbsp milk

200g chocolate mini eggs (double that if you want to cover the sides too)

Directions

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease two 18cm sandwich tins and line the bases with greaseproof paper

Using an electric whisk or a stand mixer, beat the caster sugar and butter together for five minutes, until pale and creamy. Slowly add the beaten eggs, adding a little of the flour as you go along, until all the eggs are incorporated. Add the rest of the flour, the cocoa powder and vanilla and stir well to combine. Stir in the buttermilk and then divide the cake mixture into the two prepared tins. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Once cooked, take the sponges out of the oven. Leave to cool in the tins and then turn the sponges out onto a wire rack to cool completely

For the buttercream: Using a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy and slowly add the icing sugar. Add the cocoa powder and milk and mix until smooth. Using a palette knife spread some of the buttercream over one of the cakes and place the other cake on top to form two layers. Spread the rest of the icing over the top and sides, evenly

To decorate the cake, starting on the top of the cake, arrange the Mini eggs, working from the outside edge into the centre, and then around the sides of the cake until it is completely covered

#party #sweet #cake #easter #chocolate

[tempting-food]

Sourdough

This recipe takes at least a week to make, including the starter. But it's simple and kind of exciting watching the various stages of the yeast developing. Its important to use mineral water here as the chlorine, and other chemicals, in tap water may kill the yeast. It doesn't have to be Evian or anything, Tesco Value will do. Once you look after your starter well, you'll have it for life! Store what you don't use here in a plastic container in the fridge. Kept in the fridge it will need feeding once a week. To feed, discard (or ideally use) half of it. Top up with a cup each of flour and water. Take it out of the fridge a couple of days before you want to use, and leave it uncovered at room temperature, to bring it back up to it's full strength This recipe was adapted from Leiths Techniques Bible

Ingredients

For the starter

225g wholemeal flour

225ml warm mineral water

225g wholemeal flour

1 teaspoon honey

150ml warm mineral water

For the loaf

170g starter

55ml warm mineral water

1 tablespoon honey

170g strong plain flour

55g wholemeal flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

Makes 1 loaf

Directions

For the starter

Place the wholemeal flour in a bowl and stir in the water. Leave to stand uncovered for 3 days at room temperature. It should thicken and begin to form small bubbles as the yeast develops

On the third day, stir in the remaining flour, honey and water. Let stand for a further 3 days. If it does not bubble, or the mixture smells off, start again. Remove 170g of starter to make the bread. Feed the remaining starter with 100g of flour and 100ml mineral water and place in the refrigerator

For the loaf

Place 170g of the starter in a large bowl and stir in the water and honey. Sift together the flours and add enough flour to make a soft dough

Knead for 10 mins by hand, or 5 by machine with a dough hook. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm and let stand at room temperature until doubled in size. This will take 12-24 hours

Knock back and knead the dough again for 1 minute. Return to the oiled bowl, cover again with the clingfilm, and let rise until again doubled in bulk. This will take 3-8 hours

Sprinkle the salk over the dough and knead for 1 minute. Cover the dough with clingfilm and let it rest for 10 minutes. If you have a proving basket, great, but presumably most people don't. I lined a big sieve with a floured teatowel instead. The idea is to help the dough settle into a nice round shape, and dry it out a bit. Live it in your improvised basket for 3 hours

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 225°C. Place a pizza stone or flat tray in the middle of the oven to heat

When the dough has proved, remove the stone from the oven and sprinkle liberally with flour. Carefully turn the dough onto the stone and slash with a serrated knife into a X's and O's pattern

Place the dough in the hottest part of the oven, and place a overproof container of water at the bottom to generate steam. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the loaf is well browned, and sounds hollow when tapped on the underside. Let cool for 1 hour before slicing

#sourdough #bread #healthy #hungry

[tempting-food]

Hummus

Perfect Hummus courtesy of Felicity Cloake (again!). To be honest, I've probably only cooked dried chickpeas a couple of times before. But I got myself a new pressure cooker recently so 40 mins is way more realistic than the 4 hours mentioned in the original recipe. Definitely the best hummus I've made so far - I'm sure its delicious with tinned chickpeas also if you're short on time Also pictured below (on the right) is my Artichoke & Lemon dip

Ingredients

200g dried chickpeas

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

6 tbsp tahini

Juice of 1 lemon

3 cloves garlic, crushed

Big pinch of cumin

Salt, to taste

Olive oil and paprika, to top

Directions

Put the chickpeas in a bowl and cover with twice the volume of cold water. Stir in 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda and leave to soak for 24 hours (apparently the bicarb helps to soften the chickpeas)

Drain, rinse well and cook in a pressure cooker for approx 40 minutes (@12psi). Release pressure slowly and allow to cool in the water (Alternatively simmer for 1-4 hours until very tender)

Once cool, drain well reserving the cooking liquid. Set aside a few whole chickpeas as a garnish. Mix the tahini with half the lemon juice and the crushed garlic – it should tighten up – then stir in enough cooled cooking liquid to make a loose paste. Add this, and the chickpeas, to a food processor and whizz to make a purée

Add the cumin and a generous pinch of salt, then gradually tip in enough cooking water to give a soft paste – it should just hold its shape, but not be claggy. (You'll need approx 6 tbsp). Taste, and add more lemon juice, garlic or salt according to taste

Tip into a bowl, and when ready to serve, drizzle with olive oil, garnish with the reserved chickpeas and sprinkle with a pinch of paprika

#party #healthy #dips #hummus #vegetarian #serves: 4 #chickpeas

[tempting-food]

Artichoke & Lemon Dip

For the hens :)

(Also pictured in the background is hummus. That recipe is here if you're planning a party)

Ingredients

280g jar marinated artichokes, drained and oil reserved

1 garlic clove, crushed

50g pine nuts, toasted

zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 tbsp parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)

20g parsley

Directions

In a food processor, blitz together the artichokes, 3 tbsp of the reserved oil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan, parsley, lemon zest and half the lemon juice

Season with salt & pepper. Taste and add more lemon juice or oil if needed

Garnish with a little lemon rind and parsley leaves

#party #dips #artichoke #healthy #vegetarian #serves: 4

[tempting-food]

Ham Croquetas

These are a bit time-consuming to make but aren't complicated at all. They are also amazingly good, well worth the effort! If you make a big batch they can be frozen before deep-frying. Simply wrap them individually in cling-film and cook from frozen when needed The original recipe can be found here on the Guardian website

Ingredients

100g cured Spanish ham, very finely diced

2 tbsp olive oil

60g unsalted butter

½ small leek, white part only - finely diced

60g plain flour

500ml whole milk, hot

Nutmeg, to grate

2 free-range eggs, beaten

150g panko breadcrumbs

25g manchego or other hard cheese, finely grated

1 litre olive oil, to fry

Makes 15 croquetas

Directions

Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. When the butter melts add the leek and and fry gently for a minute. Then add 70g ham and cook until the leek has softened, and the ham fat has begun to melt

Turn the heat down, gradually stir in the flour and cook gently, stirring regularly, until it loses its raw flavour – this should take about 8–10 minutes

Gradually stir in the hot milk, beating it in well, until you have a smooth paste. Cook for another 15 minutes until it has the consistency of smooth mashed potato, then fold through the rest of the ham and season to taste with a grating of nutmeg and some black pepper (you won't need any salt). Put the béchamel in a bowl and allow to cool, then cover, pressing the clingfilm on to the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours

Put the beaten eggs into a bowl, and the breadcrumbs and cheese into another. With floured hands, roll spoonfuls of the mixture into cylinders and dip these into the egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs until well coated

Heat the olive oil in a large pan to 180C, or until it begins to shimmer. Prepare a plate lined with kitchen roll. Fry the croquetas in batches for a couple of minutes until golden all over, then lift out with a slotted spoon and serve at once

#tapas #party #croquetas #jamon #serves: 6

[tempting-food]

Christmas Trimmings

Just a couple of days left to go now, so time to prep a few things in advance. I made the stuffing and veg today and they will happily keep in the fridge till needed on Christmas Day. This is my mum's stuffing recipe, with a few minor adjustments over the years. It's always one of the most popular things on the table when served at Christmas, or even with a roast chicken during the year. The recipe makes *loads* of stuffing so you'll have plenty of leftovers to go in your turkey sandwiches on Stephens Day. I "quality controlled" it by roasting a few stuffing balls for dinner, but its even better cooked inside the turkey. Happy Christmas everyone :)

Madden Family Stuffing

Ingredients

450g (1lb) sausage meat

800g breadcrumbs

2 onions, finely chopped

200g bacon lardons or diced unsmoked streaky rashers

100g cashew nuts

½ tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp worchestershire sauce

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp fresh chopped sage leaves

large knob of butter

~100ml freshly boiled water

Serves 8-10

Directions

In a large dry frying pan, lightly toast the cashew nuts. Roughly chop and add to a big bowl

Add a little oil to the pan and fry the bacon until starting to brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the bowl

Using the same pan, gently sweat the onion until soft. Scrape the pan into the bowl, making sure to get any crispy bacon bits

Mix all the other ingredients together in the bowl. Its easiest to just get stuck in and use your hands

Add a little hot water, as needed, to ensure mixture isn't too dry

Spiced Red Cabbage

Ingredients

1 large red cabbage (about 1kg)

25g butter

2 red onions, finely chopped

finely grated zest and juice 1 orange

1 cinnamon stick

150ml port

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp brown sugar

Serves 10-12

Directions

Peel off the outer leaves of the cabbage, then cut into quarters and slice out the core. Thinly slice using a sharp knife or food processor attachment

Heat the butter in a large saucepan, then tip in the onions and gently fry until softened. Add the orange zest to the pan along with the cinnamon stick, then cook for 1 min more. Add the shredded cabbage, then pour over the port, balsamic vinegar, sugar, orange juice and 150ml water. Bring up to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and cook for 45 mins-1 hr until the cabbage is softened

Swede with Sage

Ingredients

1 large turnip/swede (around 1kg)

100g butter

approx 24 sage leaves, thinly sliced

Serves 8

Directions

Peel and dice the swede into approx 1cm cubes

Melt the butter in a large pan and add the swede. Season with salt and pepper and add half the sage. Cook gently for 45-60 minutes until soft. Stir through the remaining sage and serve

#christmas #side dish #vegetarian #stuffing #party #hungry #serves: a gang

[tempting-food]

Biryani

Who doesn't like biryani?? The perfect party-food when everyone has had their fill of turkey! I have used goat on the bone here. But you could just as easily substitute lamb pieces or even chicken. If it's off the bone, 1kg should be more than enough. Thanks to Uday for the recipe! Its taken me about 6 months to get around to making it, but it was worth the wait :-)

Ingredients

2kg goat on the bone (or 1kg lamb pieces)

500g basmati rice, soaked for 30 mins

500g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 cup natural yoghurt

2 onions, sliced into rings

6 hot green chillies, finely chopped

4 tsp ginger & garlic paste (or equivalent)

1 tsp chilli powder

8 small green cardamom

4 large black cardamom

10 cloves

10 black peppercorns

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds

1 cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

5-10 prunes

1 bunch coriander leaves

½ bunch mint

2 tsp saffron

1-2 lemons

2-3 tomatoes, sliced

salt, to taste

Directions

To prepare the spice mix, dry fry the cumin seeds until aromatic. Crush both types of cardamom pod and remove the seeds. In a spice grinder, or pestle and mortar, grind the cardamom and cumin seeds to a powder. Mix with the garlic, ginger, salt, chilli powder, cloves and chopped chillies. Add a little oil to form a paste

Fry the onion rings in oil until lightly brown

Add the spice mix, tomatoes, cinnamon and bay leaves and fry for a few minutes

Add the meat and stir until nicely browned all over. Add a little water if it feels too dry

Stir through the yoghurt and prunes and continue cooking for 5 minutes

Add enough water to cover the meat, reduce the heat and simmer slowly for 2-3 hours, until the meat is tender

The dish can be prepared in advance until this stage. If doing so, cool and refrigerate overnight. Reheat before continuing with the next step

Preheat the oven to 200°C

Drain the rice. Fry it in a little butter before stirring through the saffron and simmer until slightly under-cooked

Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon. If on the bone, it should fall off quite easily at this stage. Pull it off and discard the bones. Reduce the liquid until about 500ml remains

Add the meat and potato back in and simmer until the potato is almost cooked

Once everything is ready, take the biggest casserole dish you have and build up the layers as follows

Rice

Meat mixure

Chopped mint, coriander, tomato slices and a good squeeze of lemon

Repeat until the dish is full, with the top layer being layer 3. Finish with a few thin lemon slices

Bake for 30-45 mins until crispy on top, but still moist inside

Allow to sit for 10 mins before serving

#biryani #goat #indian #party #hungry #spicy #serves: 10

[tempting-food]

Amazing purple spuds and baby root veg fresh from my dad's garden!

[tempting-food]

Roasted Radishes! A revelation! I never even thought to roast them before

#radish #vegetarian

[tempting-food]

Vegetarian "Sausage" Rolls

I haven't yet worked out the calorie difference between regular and veggie 'sausage' rolls ... probably because I don't actually want to know how many calories in either... But they do feel healthier and are certainly lower in fat and higher in fiber.

Several of my taste testers even preferred them to their porky counterparts when I brought both into work this morning which was a surprising bonus!

A bit of extra heat might work too here. I usually add 1 tbsp of tabasco to my standard sausage roll recipe. Sounds like a lot but it adds a very subtle spice to the end product

Ingredients

3 eggs

250g quark (or cottage cheese if you're not strictly vegetarian)

100g walnuts

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

50g (~1 cup) breadcrumbs

100g porridge oats

½ vegetable stock cube

40g grated parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)

handful fresh parsley, or whatever herbs need using up

3 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted (approx 900g. That's 2 blocks if you cant find sheets)

Makes approx 30 bite-size rolls

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200°C

Pulse the walnuts, eggs, quark, onion, herbs and soy sauce together in a food processor until just mixed. Don't over-process or the eggs may scramble

Mix the breadcrumbs, oats, crumbled stock cube and parmesan. Stir in the blended mixture

Its up to you how big/small/thick/thin you want your sausage rolls but I usually take a sheet of pastry and roll it a little thinner, maybe 20% thinner. Then I quarter it width-ways before starting. Whichever way you cut your pastry, spoon a layer of the mixture down the middle of it, fold over one side, and seal the 2nd side with a little milk or egg

Cut each roll into individual pieces. Snip a couple of air holes in each with a scissors, brush with beaten egg and place on a greased baking tray

Bake for approx 15 mins until golden brown

Alternatively freeze them uncooked. They taste just as good directly from the freezer. Just brush with egg and pop in a hot oven for approx 30 mins

#vegetarian #sausage rolls #party #hungry #healthy

[tempting-food]

Onion Bhaji & Aloo Bonda

Thanks a million to Vimi and Rekha for the recipes, they went down a treat when I made them last weekend! I never knew how easy it was to make bhajis! I must experiment with other veg another time. I have to admit though, I left out the fresh coriander when making both recipes. It's one of those things that some people, including myself, aren't that keen on. I've left it in the ingredients list though, for those who do like coriander

I also deviated from Rekhas recipe and made what we christened "Paddy Bonda" - adding some chopped black pudding to the original recipe (thanks Greg for the suggestion). Definitely not authentic Indian, but it was delicious!! The last photo below is of the experiment

Vimi's Onion Bhaji

Ingredients

3 onions, finely sliced

1 cup besan/gram flour

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

3 sprigs fresh coriander, finely chopped

½ tsp chilli powder

pinch asafoetida

2 sprigs of curry leaves, finely chopped

pinch garam masala

salt, to taste

Makes about a dozen

Directions

Mix all the ingredients, except the onion. Season well. Add a little water at a time and stir to form a smooth, lump-free, batter. The consistency should be thick but flowing

Fill a wok or saucepan with oil on a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions to the batter and mix together

Take handfuls of the battered onions and drop into the oil. Flip every few seconds until golden brown. Remove and drain on kitchen paper

Tips

If you add the onions too early, they will "bleed" and water down the batter. So make sure to add them at the last minute, when you have the oil on and you're ready to cook

If the oil is too hot, the bhajis will cook too quick on the outside, but remain raw on the inside. So keep an eye on them and reduce the temperature a little if needed

Rekha's Aloo Bonda

Note that the pic above is of the "Paddy Bonda". The first pic at the top of this post is of the authentic Aloo Bonda

Ingredients

1 pinch ajwain seeds

¼ tsp baking soda

2 tbsp cashew nuts, chopped

1 pinch chilli powder

1 bunch coriander, finely chopped

1 slice of ginger, finely chopped

2 green chillies, chopped

1 tsp cumin

5 curry leaves

2 cups besan/gram flour

1 pinch mustard powder

½ small onion, finely chopped

4 potatoes, boiled and mashed

salt, to taste

Makes 10-12

Directions

Heat a little oil in a pan, and fry the onion, nuts and spices for a few minutes. Mix with the mashed potato and season well. Form into walnut sized balls

To make the batter add a little water at a time to the gram flour. Stir to form a thick, smooth, batter. The consistency should be thick but flowing

Dip each ball into the batter and fry until golden brown

#aloo bonda #bhaji #onion bhaji #indian #party #hungry #spicy