Lavender- two ways

We went to a lavender farm in Surrey last Saturday and I cant even begin to explain how incredibly beautiful it was. It started raining just when we got there, and that kinda added to the whole beauty of the place. Set in a typical English countryside, Mayfiled Lavender field is a charming 25 acre lavender field and is in full bloom from mid June and is harvested by August. My obsession with lavender got me interested in the whole thing, and was thrilled to find one right here in London. Took pictures after pictures and I still wasn't satisfied. Ro had to drag me outta that place ultimately. Had a cuppa tea in their lovely lil cafe, grabbed a big bunch of lavender and headed back home smelling of lavender. Here are some pics for you to enjoy.

Come today, and I had to do something with the lavender bunch, soon. Separated the bunch, and I'm thinking of using one for some potpourri and the other for cooking. Haven't decided what to cook with it as yet, but this is what i came up with today.

Lavender sugar

This is a brilliant way to store these lavender babies. It can be then used in cakes, cookies, drinks or just sprinkled on fruit.

Granulated sugar- 1 cup

Dried lavender flower heads- 1/2 tbsp

In a pestle and mortar, finely grind the lavender with about 1/2 tbsp of sugar. 

Transfer to a bowl and stir in the rest of the sugar.

Store in a jar with a tight lid and let it stand for three days, before you use it.

Lime- Lavender cooler (makes about 3 cups)

The lavender tea was so soothing, that I decided to try a cooler this time, and yes, we both loved it thoroughly. 

Lemon juice- 1/4th cup

Lime juice- 1/4 cup

Sugar- 6 to 8 tsp (or to taste)

Lavender flower heads- one hand full

Hot water- 2 1/2 cups

Salt- to taste

Ice cubes- as required

Place the lavender flower heads in a heat resistant bowl and pour the hot water into it. Let it steep for about 10 minutes, then strain out the lavender and discard.

Mix the sugar into the hot lavender water and mix till dissolved. 

Once lightly cool, add the lemon juice and lime juice and mix well. Add some salt for that extra twang.

Pour into a pitcher filled with ice and chill further in the refrigerator, if required.

Otherwise, pour into serving glasses, garnish with a lemon wedge and serve cold.

I also tried using the lavender sugar to make this cooler and it came out beautiful. 

While I was moving the bunch around, some fell on the floor. I got a call after that and so didnt clean it up immediately. The sun played hide and seek for a while in the afternoon, and this kinda caught my attention. I had to click a pic :)

Chunky, chewy oatmeal cookies

I made apple crisps about a week back and it wasn't that much of a hit. Well, for one, I think I bought the wrong oats. And two, both Ro and myself hate oats and making something involving oats wasn't that great an idea. Ro didn't even touch it after I broke off a piece of nicely browned oats and stuffed it into his mouth. I'm now wondering if I should have told him at all it was oats, cos maybe he would have had it if it wasn't for that mental block.

I had loads left over from that episode and just couldn't get myself to throw off the rest. After Shabs posted a status message on FB saying she is going to bake some cookies, there arose an idea to make oatmeal cookies. Checked out loads of recipes, all of which required loads of oats even after halving them and other ingredients which I didn't have at hand. Finally adapted a Martha Stewart recipe which came out beautiful. It had just begun to rain when I put them into the oven and as soon as they were done, I popped quite a few into my mouth while it was still warm. Ro also happily ate a few after he got back home from badminton and he had no clue there were oats in them (evil laugh). 

I halved the recipe and in spite of that I got about 35 medium sized cookies. I am now wondering what to do with so many. I guess I'll just have to get off my anti- social butt and give some to my neighbours...

Plain flour- 1/2 cup

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Baking soda- 1/2 tsp

Porridge/ rolled oats- 1 1/2 cups

Wholemeal flour- 1/4 cup

Dark brown sugar- 1/2 cup

Caster sugar- 1/2 cup

Butter- 1/4 pound

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp

Egg- 1 large

Preheat oven to 175C and line a cookie tray with baking paper. Keep 2 more baking sheets ready.

Mix together the plain flour, baking powder, baking soda, oats and wholemeal flour together in a bowl and keep aside.

Combine both the sugar and butter, in an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, till light and creamy...probably about 5 to 6 minutes on medium speed.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue mixing on medium speed till well combined

Mix the dry ingredients to the butter mix and on low speed, just enough to combine. About 20 seconds or so.

Scoop out a 1/2 tbsp batter into the baking tray and continue till the tray is full. Make sure you place them about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 18 minutes .

Once done, remove from the oven and wait for about 5 minutes before you move it onto a cooling rack.

Place another baking sheet on the tray and continue the process till all the dough has been used up.

Once cool, store them in air tight containers or zip lock bags. It would stay up to weeks.

Notes: The original recipe uses wheat germ instead of wholemeal flour. 

You can add about 3/4 cup of raisins or chocolate or dried apricots to jazz it up a bit. I loved it just plain

 I am sending this to Sharmi's event 'Lets Munch: Light Tea Time Snacks'

Borrowed recipes

I am back after a really hectic, but fun weekend down at the coast. Some of you on FB might have already seen the pics. Well the pics haven't done complete justice to how incredibly beautiful Durdle Door was, but something is better than nothing right? Sandbanks in Poole, on the other hand, was a crowded beach but we still splashed around in the water and did some water sports etc. Came back super tanned and now my face is all red and hurting quite a bit.

On the food front, we ate and drank so much that Ro and myself are now living on sandwiches and salads. Until I get back to proper cooking, I'm leaving you with recipes I borrowed from two incredible food bloggers. They both came out so darn beautiful, and would definitely make its way back into our lives. Enjoy!

Cheesecake Truffles

The moment I saw them on Nags' page, I decided I was making it. It turned out so so good that it got over the exact same day is made em. These cute lil things are delicious and easy to make. Do hop on to her blog and check out the recipe. Thanks Nags for this wonderful recipe. Keep em coming :) 

PS: Like she mentioned, I gobbled down the cheesecake quite a bit, before dipping it in chocolate. It was jus yummeeee

Tiramisu Cake

Tiramisu as it is, is a favourite of mine especially after I got my free standing mixer, since whipping egg whites was initially a problem. Now tiramisu is such a make-in-advance dessert, that its made quite a few appearances while entertaining guests. Tiramisu cake, however, was a lil more tedious than what I expected, but the outcome was brilliant. The icing and layering etc. is not really my cuppa tea, and I did lose my patience quite a number of times, but the effort did pay at the end. The recipe has been adapted from the 'Tuesdays with Dorie' series and can be found here.

Kappa (tapioca/ cassava) and prawn curry

I'm pretty excited about this coming weekend. A bunch of us are heading down to the beautiful Jurassic Coast of Dorset to do some trekking and for some hard core fun. I am thoroughly looking forward to it and hoping like mad that the weather hold good. 

In Chennai, I lived about 10 feet away from the beach and couldn't care less about going there frequently.. Now after being in UK for close to 3 years, I'm so beach deprived and I so badly want some sea and sand. So is the way of life I guess. 

This is a recipe I've had in my drafts for ages and thought i should post it before i completely forgot it existed. As usual its an easy peacy no strain recipe i use when I'm really lazy. Enjoy!

King prawns- 250 gms, deveined and cleaned

Onion- 1 large, roughly chopped

Tomato- 2 medium, chopped

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Garam masala- 1 tsp (optional)

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- a sprig

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the oil and splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves. Saute for one to two minutes.

Add the GGP and cook till the raw smell goes.

In goes the onions and tomato and saute till they are cooked and the oil starts separating

Next add all the powders...chilli, coriander, turmeric and garam masala and mix well with the masala. Cook till the raw smell goes.

Add the prawns and mix it with the masala. Make sure it is well coated.

Reduce the heat to medium, close with a lid and cook till the prawns are done..say about 10 minutes max.

Add salt, check spice and take it off the flame.

Serve hot.

I served it with some kappa. The recipe I've adapted from here. It was really yummy.

Lemon- lavender Tea

Against my husbands wishes I went and bought a tiny lavender potted plant and love it to bits. Well I should be spanked for saying that cos most of my love is short lived. We have a total of 6 plants on our balcony of which the basil and parsley are actually struggling to live. The daffodils, blue bells etc etc died after they flowered and id like to think that's how their life cycle works. Our orange plant was such a delight when I picked it up from Borough Market last year. I'd paid quite a bomb for it and promised Ro with all my heart I'd look after it. And now, although its not died on me, I haven't seen an orange grow on it after we plucked the ones that came with it. Ro's constant disturbing question, 'you cant even look after an orange plant, how on earth are you gonna look after a kid.' Grinning from ear to ear wouldn't help, I guess :)

So anyways, purple is my fav colour and I've recently developed this obsession for lavender and have been researching it quite a bit, well more on the level of, where I can go and pick some fresh lavender...lavender farms near London etc. But never on what to do after I did pick some up. So after my lovely lavender baby was perched on the balcony sill, I had to prove to Ro I'd definitely cook with it. I posted a status message on FB asking what to do with lavender..Got a few replies, among which PJ's lavender tea made an impression. Well rather it sounded the easiest:)

Today it was raining cats and dogs and tea was just the thing I wanted. Did some research and figured I could make it without drying the lavender. The tea smelt so darn good and tasted just as I thought it would. Thanks PJ for the suggestion.

Like Joey from F.R.I.E.N.D.S says, 'thats like summer in a bowl,' in my case in a cup..but you get the idea right? 

For one cup tea you would need:

Tea bag- 1 (I used  Whittard traditional English tea bag)

Lavender flowers- 1 tsp (or more if you want a stronger flavour)

Water- 1 large cup

Lemon juice- 1 tsp

Sugar or honey- to taste (optional)

Bring a cup of water to boil and throw in the lavender flowers and the tea bag.

Let it boil for a few seconds and then take it of the flame.

After a minute or so, remove the tea bag, add the lemon juice and sugar/ honey and stir well.

Strain and pour into tea cups.

Another method would be to pour boiling water into a bowl with the lavender and tea bag. Steep for about five minutes.

Add the lemon and sugar and pour into tea cups. 

Serve hot with biscuits.

Notes: I'm definitely gonna try some other variations like basil and lavender, ginger and lavender etc :)

Two for Tuesdays

Well these are two completely unrelated recipes and since they were both stupidly easy, I thought it was pointless separating them into two posts, but had to pen it down for my record.

Asparagus heads wrapped in streaky bacon and grilled

I am completely in love with asparagus. It all started with that asparagus thoran I made and then there was no looking back, Seriously, its just so pretty to photograph and I'm in love with the taste and what all it can do to a simple dish. We had guests over last Sunday and I made a mince meat bake, something like a shepherds pie, but with lots more veggies, garlic bread (thanks to Salisbury's) and then these asparagus heads wrapped in bacon as part of the main course. It was such a hit and the best part... I haven't ever made a dish that is easier than this, but tastes so darn awesome. 

Asparagus heads- 15 to 20

Smoked streaky bacon- 7

Salt and pepper- to season

Preheat oven to 175C and line a baking tray with silver foil or baking paper.

Arrange asparagus heads in sets of three and season with salt and pepper. 

Wrap then up with streaky bacon and place on the baking tray

Grill or bake for 15 minutes, turning it around after about 6 to 7 minutes. 

Drain on paper towels and serve immediately

Foodgawked :)

Notes: The bacon does the whole job of giving it a nice flavour. So there is not much seasoning you need to do. Also watch the salt, cos bacon is really salty.

You can wrap a single long asparagus shoot or do an arrangement of two instead of three.

Beetroot Pachadi (beetroot cooked in a mild coconut and curd gravy)

Yeah I know, what a contrast...well, I'd like to be philosophical and say, 'that's life,' but I'm not that boring, so here's to mallu goodness :)

I hate beetroot and so does Ro..so why did I pick it up, god knows..and that too a whole bunch. So whole of yesterday I spent googling beetroot recipes and was amazed at the number of recipes the www had to offer. I settled for beetroot kichdi and now I have an entire bowl of red stuff staring back at me and I don't know how id finish it and what I'd finish it with. It was pretty alright, taste-wise, but I'm not sure I want to make it a common visitor. Ro is yet to taste it and I can already see him making a face that would make you ask yourself that question, 'remind me again why I married this man!'

Beetroot- 2, medium ones, washed and thinly sliced (I have 3 more left, what do I do with it????)

Green chillies- 3, thinly sliced

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Water- 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Salt- to taste

Shredded coconut- 1/4 cup

Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp

Curd- 4 tbsp

Oil- 1 tsp

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Fenugreek powder- a pinch (optional)

Curry leaves- a sprig

Dry red chillies- 2 or 3 (optional)

Cook the beetroot with the green chillies, turmeric powder, salt and water till done. Drain the water, if any and keep aside to cool. I took about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, grind together the coconut and cumin powder to a paste.

Add the curd to this, mix well and keep aside.

In the same blender, puree the cooked beetroot (I am not sure this step is compulsory, but I didn't want bite size beetroot slices to get in the way) and add to the curd- coconut mix. 

Do a tadka with the oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek powder and red chillies and pour over the  kichdi. Give it a good stir and serve with rice.

I think you can put this mix back on the stove the warm it up a bit, but I didn't bother doing that.

Now you know why I don't make that many mallu dishes, I suck at it!

I still don't know the difference between a pachadi and kichdi..someone please enlighten me.

Edited to add: I changed the heading from Kichdi to Pachadi cos I think I got it mixed up and a lot of you wrote to me saying its more like a pachadi...Also I think I have mixed up the two pachadi-kichdi procedures together...like i said..i suck at making mallu dishes ;)

Roasted Spatchcocked Poussin with veggies

Fancy eh? Yeah thats what I thought too when I saw this lil bird at Sainsbury's, only to realize its nothing but a small chicken, something like a Cornish game hen. And spatchcocked is just a way the bird has been cut to suit grilling, baking needs. Anyways, I decided to work with it and was pretty apprehensive since I've never really had the guts to cook a full chicken ever! Even eating a full bird, was never my kinda thing because most of the time the masalas don't catch onto the flesh and if its a big bird like turkey, whatever you do its still bloody tasteless. Sunday roasts, this side of the world are a common thing and I decided to do the same, except I did so on a Saturday :)

The bird (yeah I know, sounds like I'm referring to a chick) was cleaned and had some pepper seasoning on it, but I was sure it would be bland and so jazzed it up a bit. The end result was something I'm very proud of. My first time with a bird (again, sorry to sound so kinky) and it was awesome. Since it was tiny, the seasoning caught on well and the veggies accompanying the roast was even better. I would definitely pick up more of this tiny lil bird for future cooking.

Spatchcocked poussin- 450 gms, skin on (trust me its an advantage when you roast it)

To marinate:

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice- a splash

Salt and pepper- to taste.

New potatoes- 8 to 10, quartered

Baby carrots- 12 to 15, washed

Asparagus- 8 to 10 heads

Chicken stock- 2 cups (i dissolved two Maggi chicken stock cubes in hot water)

Dried thyme- 1 tsp

Salt and pepper- if required

Olive oil- to drizzle

Mix all the ingredients in the 'to marinate' section together and generously rub onto the poussin. Keep aside till your veggies are half cooked.

In another heavy bottomed vessel, pour the chicken stock, the quartered potatoes, carrots and asparagus. 

Throw in the dried thyme salt (stock might be salty, so add after doing a taste check) and pepper (if needed) and bring to a boil.

After the veggies are half cooked, turn off the fire and keep aside.

In a roasting pan, place the poussin and snugly fit in all the pre cooked veggies around it. 

Drizzle some olive oil on to the bird and the veggies or spread it around with a basting brush.

Pour some of the stock over the bird and place on the middle shelf of an oven preheated at 190C for 45 to 50 minutes.

After about 15 minutes, take the pan out and pour some more stock on the bird and veggies and turn the veggies around a bit, if you can. This is to keep the bird moist. Continue doing so every 15 minutes.

At the end of the cooking time, cut a slice from the thigh or so and see if its cooked, the juices should run clear.

Carve the bird- since its small, each half can be easily gorged on by a person- pour a ladle full of stock over the meat and serve with some garlic bread.

Notes: Like I mentioned before there was already some pepper seasoning on the poussin which didn't really give out too much flavour and since we didn't want a spicy' too Indian' marinade, we went easy on the masalas. Go ahead and add as much chilli and cumin and coriander powder as per your liking.

You can throw in whatever veggies you want..parsnips, sweet potatoes, swede etc etc.

Left over (if any) can be shredded and used in a sandwich :)