Labneh dip with garlic and za'atar

Recipe adapted from here

 

Labneh- 1 cup (I used Greek yoghurt)

Salt- to taste

Mint leaves- 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Pistachios- 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Olives- 1 tbsp, pitted and finely chopped

Za'atar spice- 1 tbsp

Garlic powder/ granules- 1 tsp

Chilli flakes- 1 tsp

Extra virgin olive oil- 4 tbsp

Pomegranate arils- to sprinkle on top

If using Greek yoghurt, transfer it to a muslin cloth, squeeze out as much water possible and keep it hung for about an hour or so to grain the whey and get really thick curd. 

Add enough salt to the labneh and keep aside.

In a bowl mix together the mint leaves, pistachio, olives, za'atar, garlic powder, chilli flakes and olive oil till well combined.

Spread the labneh on to a flat plate, so its about 1/2 inch thick and spoon the topping over as evenly as possible and letting the oil drip around the sides.

Garnish with pomegranate and some mint leaves if needed and dig into it with oven toasted pita bread or crisps.

Harissa and garlic smashed potatoes

 

Serves 3 as part of side

Charlotte potatoes- 10

Olive oil- 4 tbsp

Harissa paste- 2 tsp

Garlic- 6 pods, peeled and finely chopped

Salt- to taste

Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese- 1/4 cup, finely grated

Chopped parsley- to garnish

Wash and scrub the potatoes and cook them in a pan of boiling water for about 20 minutes or till they are just about fork tender.  

Drain and keep aside.

While the potatoes are boiling, take a small bowl and pour in the olive oil.

Into it add the harissa paste, garlic pods and salt to taste.

Give a thorough mix and keep aside till ready to use.

Preheat oven grill/broiler to 200C and line a baking tray with kitchen foil.

Generously brush the foil with some of the olive oil (without any garlic bits). You can also use an oil spray if that's more convenient.

Place the potatoes on the tray, a few inches apart and using a potato masher, slightly smash them, without going all the way through, and by retaining the shape. If you mash it too much, the potatoes would break.

Douse or brush the smashed potatoes with the harissa paste and garlic olive oil, making sure there are a few garlic pieces on top of each of the potatoes. Be generous here and use up all the oil, as it adds to the flavour and also helps crisp up the potatoes a bit.

Place under the grill for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Take it out, top the grilled potatoes with the cheese and place it back under the grill for another 3 minutes or so, just until the cheese is melted.

Just before serving, sprinkle the chopped parsley, and serve warm.

Notes: We served this as a side to Roast pork and it was great.
You can use melted butter instead of olive oil for an enhanced taste.

Roasted aubergine and yoghurt sauce

 

I am a big Ottoleghi fan and though not much of a vegetarian food fan (only because i really am rubbish at cooking anything vegetable based, and making them taste good), whenever i go to his restaurant I always opt for the salad selection as they are seriously good. It was during one of those visits that i came across this aubergine and yoghurt combination which i absolutely loved and have been making at home ever since. A grilled chicken slice and this aubergine and yoghurt side is like the perfect summer lunch combo.

The yoghurt i used for this recipe is the Natural Yoghurt from Lactofree which is equally creamy and as flavourful as any other yoghurt. You wouldnt realise its Lactose-free and I've used it quite a few ways- as a dip, salad dressing, marinade,and my favourite, baking my French yoghurt cake. Results have been great so far and ive already suggested it to a friend whose daughter is lactose intolerant. Its great that brands like Lactofree are introducing more and more products for those with food intolerances and it makes life so much more nicer, they get to eat yoghurt! 

Recipe is super duper easy, and the use of Za'atar makes it just even more delectable. Just sprinkling some of this glorious Middle Eastern spice on to yoghurt and serving as a side to anything can do the trick. 

Recipe adapted from here, originally from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi (serves 4 as a side)

 

Aubergine/ Egg plant- 2 large

Good quality olive oil- 1/4 cup

Thyme leaves- 1 tsp (I used dried ones)

Za'atar spice- 1 tsp

Salt and pepper- to season

Yoghurt- 1/2 cup

Olive oil- 1 tbsp plus enough to drizzle

Garlic- 1 small clove, finely grated

Za'atar- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Pomegranate seeds- 4 tbsp

Preheat oven to 200C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Slice the aubergines in half, lengthwise, and using a sharp knife make incisions on the cut side, without going through the skin. 

Place on the baking tray and generously brush in the olive oil.

Sprinkle the thyme leaves, za'atar spice, salt and pepper and chuck into the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes or till the flesh is soft, roasted and completely cooked.

While the aubergines are in the oven, get the yoghurt sauce ready.

Just whisk together the yoghurt, olive oil, za'atar and salt in a bowl and keep refrigerated till ready to use.

Take the aubergines out of the oven, transfer to a serving plate and scoop generous amounts of yoghurt on top of them. 

Finish off with the pomegranate seeds and serve as a side to cous cous or grilled meat or fish.

With thanks to Lactofree for the yoghurt.

Baba ghanoush (Moutabel)

Let me say this over and over again. The best part about blogging are the friends you make in the process. Friends who have now become such an essential part of your life, that even if you stop blogging, they wont just disappear. I have been lucky enough to meet some of the UK-based food bloggers and most of us try and catch up once in a while.

Last week, Suchi of Kitchen Karma invited Manjiri (Slice off me) and me over to her place and we had such a blast. She'd made a Mediterranean spread for lunch and everything tasted fab. The baba ganoush she'd made from scratch was the winner for me, closely followed by the Moroccan braised chicken. Got the recipe links from her the next day and made myself a Mediterranean feast for dinner :)

I am a big fan of Mediterranean food. In fact, a breakfast staple for us is hummus and toast. But I've never really tried making any of this at home, simply because I thought I'd never get the taste spot on. Suchi totally inspired me to give it a go at home and I'm surprised at how a few common ingredients prepared in a different way bring about awesome flavours. Talking of which, I recently got myself a citrus juicer from this really cool online store called Red Candy. Yes, all these years I was painstakingly squeezing limes and lemons and oranges, till the gorgeous red coloured beauty made an appearance. I love it to bits and its made my life so much easier. Previously I used to waste a lot of the juice, but now (like for example in Mediterranean cooking, a lot of lemon juice is used), I squeeze the heck out of the fruit and it gives me immense pleasure :)

The really cool thing about the store is that it is dedicated to the colour red. Be it home furnishing, interior accessories, kitchen stuff or gifts, red is the colour you'll get them in. They have some really innovative products and designs and some of them make really cool gifts. I got myself the citrus juicer, the pretty red and white tea towel and a nice churn jug. Hint: you know where to go for your Valentines day gifts right??? :)

Back to the recipe...To be honest, I had no idea baba ganoush and moutabel were the same thing. Its one of those dishes we religiously order at our favourite restaurant on Edgware Road, and till now thought it was a complicated recipe with speciality ingredients. Well, I couldn't be more wrong. The only ingredient I actually had to buy was the Tahini paste, which is now easily available in all the grocery stores. If it wasn't for my flat glass hob I would have charred the aubergine on fire and would have taken only half the time. Not complaining! It was yum and Ro is so thrilled I made food from his second favourite cuisine in the world (first being Chinese, no kidding!).

Recipe adapted from here 

Aubergines- 3 large, cut in half lengthwise

Garlic- 4 cloves (read notes)

Lemon juice- from one small lemon

Tahini paste- 3 tbsp 

Olive oil- 3 tbsp

Pepper- two grinds (around 1/4 tsp)

Salt- to taste

Chilli powder- to sprinkle (optional)

Preheat the grill/ broiler and line a baking tray with silver foil.

Pierce the aubergine halves with a fork, rub them with about a tsp of olive oil all over and place them, cut side down, on the baking tray.

Place the tray on the top most rack (closest to the broiler) and cook for about 30 minutes or till the aubergines are charred nicely on the outside. Keep checking half way through to avoid burning.

Once done, remove them carefully from the tray and chuck into a zip lock bag and zip it up. Keep aside for about 15 minutes, so that the aubergines can steam in their skins.

Scoop out the flesh from the charred skin (it comes off easily) and place in a bowl. 

Add the garlic, lemon juice, tahini, 2 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper and pulse using an immersion blender or just whisk vigorously using a fork till they all come together.

Transfer the goodness into a serving bowl, swirl the remaining olive oil on top, sprinkle the chilli powder and serve with pita bread, vegetable sticks, bread or even tortilla crisps.

Notes: The original recipe called for only 2 cloves of garlic, but i had 4 peeled ones lying around and used that. Bad idea, as it was very garlicky. Id stick to two the next time.

I don't like chunky pieces of aubergine in my dip, so I blended it to a smooth consistency. Feel free to leave some of the texture in your dip by just mashing it with a fork.

You can also char the aubergines in the oven. Follow the above prep. methods but instead of grilling just bake them in an oven preheated at 200C for about 40 minutes.

With thanks to Red Candy for sending me the red props to review :)

Nigella's saffron scented chicken pilaf

I am obsessed with trying out new rice recipes. Maybe its because we have rice only over the weekend, that too just for lunch, and instead of the boring plain rice I'm always looking for a variety of ways I can play around with rice. I keep getting updates from nigella.com and this recipe was updated on one of the days. I realized I had everything in hand and so made it.

I must say that it tasted good, except I may not actually add the chicken henceforth. It would be perfect on its own, with maybe a side of chicken curry or something. I love the fact that the procedure is easy and of course Nigella just makes it a tad more exotic. I watched her video for this recipe and the first few minutes I was completely distracted by her home and kitchen. Then the next few minutes I was trying to understand why she uses so many adjectives to describe food. Seriously this is how she describes the pilaf on her website:

"The cinnamon and lemony yoghurt marinade gives the chicken a soft, perfumed tenderness; the saffron in the rice, itself studded with nuts and the musky breath of cardamom (??????), is almost lit up with gold. "

Are we describing a hunk out of Mills & Boon or just some random Pilaf??? So while I was serving the rice, I started talking like Nigella (sans the fairy lights in the background) and telling Ro, "here's a touch of the Arabian nights in sunny Greenwich ...mmm beautiful isn't it?" Ro was annoyed and said I'd soon look like a "fat" version of Nigella if I didn't stop making rich carb-high food like this. That was uncalled for, but anyways, I enjoyed making this rice and eating it too :)

Recipe adapted from here

Skinless, boneless chicken thighs/ breasts- 250 gms, cleaned and sliced into small cubes

Yoghurt- 100 gms

Cinnamon powder- a little less than a 1/4 tsp

Pepper- to taste

Salt- to taste

Lemon juice- 1 tsp

Basmati rice- 250 gms (approx. 1 1/3rd cups)

Chicken stock- 500 ml (approx. 2 cups) I dissolved a cube of instant chicken bouillon in boiling water.

Saffron threads- 1/4 tsp

Cardamon pods- 2, bruised

Oil- 2 tbsp

Lemon zest- of half a lemon

Lemon juice- of half a lemon

Coriander leaves- to garnish

Marinate the chicken pieces with yoghurt, cinnamon powder, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Toss well and keep aside for at least an hour or overnight. Whichever is convenient.

Soak the saffron threads in the chicken stock.

In a large pan, heat the oil and add the rice.

On medium heat, sauté till the rice turns lightly translucent/ glossy.

Add the chicken stock with the saffron followed by lemon zest, lime juice, some salt and crushed cardamom pods. Give a good stir and cover with a tight fitting lid.

Turn the heat to very low and cook for about 15 minutes, or till you have noticed that the rice is cooked, and all the water has been absorbed.

While that's taken care of, remove the chicken from the marinade and shallow fry it in a pan with little oil or like I did, grill it on high in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Once the rice is cooked, remove from the fire and fluff it with a fork.

Transfer the rice into a serving dish, arrange the fried/ grilled chicken pieces on top and garnish with some chopped coriander leaves.

I served this with some chilled cucumber raita, baby tomato salad and some glorious white wine.

Notes: Now the original recipe calls for roasted pine nuts, cashew nuts and almond flakes. I didn't go there because for one, I don't really like the whole idea of biting into the nuts in rice and two, didn't want to add to the calories and three and most importantly, I was too lazy to dry roast it :)

Coriander leaves can be substituted with parsley leaves. I didn't have any fresh leaves and dried ones would have been bleh!

The chicken stock is salty, so watch before you add more.

The cinnamon taste in the chicken is quite obvious, so reduce or omit if you are not a big fan

Double the recipe to serve about 4 to 5 people.