Maninas: Food Matters

This sauce is simply gorgeous. Sweet carrots and onions, white wine and soft liver with a hint of garlic and parsley on a bed of buttery soft mashed potatoes - heaven!

The basis for this delicious sauce is a mixture of onions and grated carrots, cooked until dark golden brown. This is typical for Croatian meat sauces (see also Venison Stew Hunter’s Style). You will also notice that the garlic is not added with the onions, but roughly half way through the cooking or later, so that it does not mellow down, but it imparts a fresh zingy taste to the dish. You may omit the parsley if you must, but I wouldn’t because it really contributes to the overall taste of the dish. Celery leaf is something that is used a lot in Croatian cooking, e.g. in sauces or in soups, but it can be replaced with extra parsley. Any kind of liver can be used. This recipe is my mum’s.

Liver in Onion and White Wine Sauce

SOURCE: Mum’s recipe

PREPARATION TIME: 5 - 10 min

COOKING TIME: 40 min min

CUISINE: Croatian (Dalmatian)

SERVES: 3 - 4

Ingredients

Vegetable/olive oil

2 onions, chopped finely

1 large carrot, grated

500 g liver 

Water

Tomato pure

3 - 4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

a small handful of parsley, chopped finely

a bit of chopped celery leaf

2 bay leaves

2 dl white wine

salt, pepper

Method

1. Fry the onions for a little in some vegetable or olive oil. Add grated carrots. Fry the carrot and onion mixture, stirring occasionally, until it becomes soft, and the onions become slightly browned. Be patient, as this can take a while. Please don’t be tempted to do this quickly, this is important, and it will form the base of the stew, in which the onion acts as a thickening agent.

2. After the onions are done, add the liver. When it’s cooked, add a little water and stir. This will further soften up the onions, so they are almost melted. When the water evaporates, and some more, and repeat the process until you get a mushy saucy mixture.

3. Add a little of tomato pure, garlic and the herbs and some more water to cover the liver. Cook until it becomes soft. Then, add the wine and the bay leaf, and cook until the sauce thickens, or for another 5 - 10 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes, and a side dish of lettuce/salad leaves with a simple vinaigrette of olive oil and red wine vinegar.

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This week Weekend Herb Blogging is hosted by Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska, whose blog I love! So, time to take part in this event again, once again with using parsley, the herb that’s ubiquitous in Croatian cooking!

A lot of countries celebrate 1st May, and so does Britain. Oxford for example has some wonderful traditions linked with this day. Admittedly, some are more sane than others, but please read on, and judge for yourself!

The day starts at sunrise, or to be precise at 6 a.m., when the Magdalen College choir sings a hymn from the top of Magdalen Tower (see http://www.magd.ox.ac.uk/history/cc_hymnus.shtml for the text and a recording of the first few lines). This is the highlight of the day and crowds of people gather under the Tower, and along the High Street, to hear them. If you enjoy choral music, and don’t mind getting up at 5 a.m. too much (auch!), it is an amazing experience not to be missed! There will be another choir singing, just a little later, at 7 am, at St John’s College on St Giles.

After the singing, you can enjoy a leisurely breakfast somewhere in town, as a lot of the pubs and restaurants will be open, some even starting as early as 5 am. The festivities continue all over the city, and include traditional Morris dancing. At Dailyinfo, http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/whatson/, you can find information about where you can have watch Morris dancing and have a champagne breakfast, a full English or even burger and chips (an early morning barbie at the Turf from 6 to 8 am!) if that’s what you fancy!

On the same morning, don’t be surprised to see a lot of people in dinner suits, and ball gowns. Hopefully not both at the same time, but you never know, as the crowds are sometimes pretty raucous! This is because a number of college balls take place the night before, and in the early morning, the merry crowds spill all over the city to partake in the May Morning festivities! In addition, Oxford students have a May Morning ‘custom’ of their own on. You see, it is ‘traditional’ for the students to attempt to jump off Magdalene Bridge on May morning and break their limbs and necks while at it! In 2005, about 50 of them seeked medical assistance after jumping in the shallow water under the bridge! This year, the authorities are stamping down on it and trying to save some crazy people’s limbs and lives, so the bridge will be closed for traffic between 3 and 8.30 a.m!

Enjoy the May Morning/Day wherever you are!

The view of Marjan Hill, from Split

The view of Split, from Marjan

One of the chapels and churches on Marjan

Views of the island of Solta

Marjan Rocks

Hermits’ abodes

Taking a closer look  

One of the beaches on Marjan, and people swimming in the sea (in mid September)

Another look at the caves

Leaving

Yeap, this is another one of those spontaneous posts  when I invent a dish, forget to take the photos because I’ve eaten it too quickly, decide it’s worth sharing, and then go and post it! Just like now!

This gorgeous coconuty curry is loosely based on a recipe for Fish in Coconut Milk (Fish Molee) by Camellia Panjabi (50 Great Curries of India). What I loved about this recipe, apart from the fact that is coconut-based, is the emphasis on the wet masalas (onions, chilies, ginger and garlic), with mere hints of whole spices (black pepper, green cardamom, clove). I made it this weekend with fish, and loved it, so I made it again today, changing it quite a bit. Firstly, I used vegetables instead of fish, and cashew nuts to add some protein. Secondly, I used 12 green chilies (instead of 6), but with seeds removed, because I wanted to get the maximum chili flavour as well as the heat. Speaking of which, the heat was quite interesting. Medium hot, but well distributed throughout the curry, because the chilies melted into the curry (you can discard the skins, but I left them in). As a result, the heat was lovely and warm, but not aggressive. Then, I changed the quantities of spices a little by adding 1 more cardamom pod, and one more peppercorn, along with using 18 instead of 6 - 8 curry leaves. I also added a hint of garam masala to the dish, and lemon juice. In the original recipe, the fish was marinated in lemon juice and turmeric, but since I didn’t use the fish, I added the turmeric and lemon juice straight to the dish!

And the verdict? What can I say, we loved it! You try it, and let me know what you think!

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Kerala-style Vegetable and

 Coconut Curry

SOURCE: adapted from the recipe for Fish in Coconut Milk (Fish Molee) by Camellia Panjabi (50 Great Curries of India)

PREPARATION TIME: 5 - 10 min

COOKING TIME: 30 min

CUISINE: Indian - Kerala

SERVES: 2 hungry people

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp ghee, or vegetable oil

1 large or two small yellow onions, sliced 

12 green finger chilies, slit in half, and seeds discarded

6 x 2 cm piece of fresh ginger, chopped or grated 

5 medium cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 -1 tsp turmeric, or more to taste

3 small plum tomatoes from a tin, mashed with a fork

3 black peppercorns

1 clove

3 green cardamom pods, bruised

18 dried curry leaves

150 ml coconut milk

1 sachet of creamed coconut (50 g, I think. You can use only coconut milk though, just add another 100 - 150 ml)

1 - 1 1/2 tsp ground almonds (optional)

a pinch of ground black pepper

freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon or lime (or less, according to taste)

2 medium courgettes

2 small carrots

a handful of cashew nuts

1/2 tsp garam masala

METHOD:

1. Heat the ghee in a medium pan, and when it’s hot enough, add the onions. Fry until they start to brown stirring occasionally, being extra careful so they don’t burn.(I normally chop the garlic, chilies and ginger while the onions are frying.)

2. When the onions are browned, add ginger, chilies and garlic, stir well and fry for a few more minutes, until the garlic starts going golden.

3. Then add the whole spices and curry leaves and stir for 10 s. Then, add the turmeric. Stir once, and add the tomatoes. Keep stirring for 2 - 3 minutes, until a thick paste is created.

4. Now add the coconut and continue cooking on low heat for 10 - 12 minutes. The onions will fall apart, and create a thick coconut paste.

PLEASE NOTE: If using coconut milk, add the coconut cream from a non-shaken coconut milk can at this stage, and after the past is cooked, add the thinner milk that’s left in the can.

5. When the paste is done, add about 3 - 4 dl water to it, depending on how soupy you want it (see the note about serving). Then, add the almonds if using, lemon juice and ground pepper; cook for a few minutes.

6. At this stage, I brought the mixture to boil, added the cashews and the vegetables, and took it off the heat while I cooked the rice. I put the lid on the curry, to capture the flavours! When the rice was nearly done, I reheated the curry, and added the the garam masala to it. This way, the vegetables stayed fairly crunchy.

I made my curry rather soupy, and served it with Thai jasmine rice, which worked really well. The rice is slightly glutinous, so it soaked in the sauce, and it was absolutely gorgeous! I also sprinkled it with fresh coriander. Yum!!!

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Other courgette curries on Maninas:

A simple courgette curry

Other coconut, non-vegetarian curries at Maninas:

Coconut Chicken Masala

Hariyalli Chicken

For other Indian recipes at Maninas, click HERE, or check out the Recipes by origin page.  ___________________________________________________

Have you tried Burekaboy’s falafel yet? No? For god’s sake, what are you waiting for? They’re gorgeous!!! I looove the addition of sesame seeds in these gorgeous golden chickpea flour fritters!

OK, how about Sailu’s Palak Paneer, spinach and paneer (Indian cheese curry)? If not, you should!

And how about her Simple Mutton Curry? It may be simple, but it tastes terrific! Easy to make, big on flavour; in short, a real winner!

While you’re at it, Barbara’s Curried Chicken From the Oven: Masalewali Dum Murghi is also a must! It’s not a pretty curry, especially before it goes in theo oven, but it wows with performance, i.e. taste!

And what do you think? Any dishes you know about that I should try? Please leave the details in the comments section!

More Blog-tasting at Maninas HERE!

Ages ago, I promised some photos from  my travels in Croatia, they’re finally here! Enjoy!

Split, the second largest town in Croatia, is built on the remains of an ancient Roman palace built by the aging emperor Diocletian, who was originally from the area himself, as his retirement home.  The historic centre of Split is included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Diocletian’s Split (Wikipedia Commons)

Come with me; let me take you for a walk around this magical city.

I enter the city centre (built on and around the palace) through The Golden Gate (Zlatna vrata). This is one of the entrances into the Palace.

I turn around. Behind me, the magnificent Grgur Ninski is one of the symbols of Split.

Walking around, I notice beautiful details, like this lovely window…

… in the street. And most of the streets in the palace are like this: glossy stone-paved streets, with narrow, with tall stone buildings.

I take a photo of the people taking a photo, chuckling.

City life.

Interesting pasticcio of buildings and styles on Peristil. First arch: photographer’s studio. The second: goldsmith’s. I love the windows on the left.

Peristyle is the heart of the city today, and it was the heart of the palace in Diocletian’s time. It is a central monumental court, with the entrance into the Emperor’s mausoleum on the left, and  with temples on the right. Underneath it all is the entrance into the Palace basements, still preserved today.

Thank you for walking with me so far. Please come back tomorrow for the rest of the story! In the meantime, let’s walk in silence; scroll down!      

    View of Split from Marjan Hill.

A walk around Marjan will be our next postcard. Stay with me!

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Blogging event Regional Cuisines of India (RCI) was started by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine, to celebrate the rich and diverse cuisines of India, and is hosted by a different blogger each month. I think this event is a fantastic idea, because not only does it encourage us to explore the many varieties of regional Indian food, but the round-ups also provide excellent resources of information and recipes! For this reason, I’ve decided to dedicate a page to it that contains round-ups of past events, and RCIs that are yet to come, so that I can find it and refer to it easily!

This month, we are exploring the cuisine of West Bengal, and our host is Sandeepa from Bong Mom’s Cookbook.

Food is very important to Bengalis. Traditional feasts are carefully structured rituals consisting of numerous dishes, carefully and laboriously prepared, with different structures and  tastes playing an important part of the meal. Such feasts are always finished off with a sweat, usually based on milk and cream, for which Bengal is famous all over India. Fish (both freshwater and sea fish) and rice are the main staples of this coastal region nurtured by the Ganges river, and a delicate mixture of sweet and spicy flavours is characteristic of Bengali dishes. Mustard oil is the preferred cooking medium, and mustard seeds and greens are also used. Mustard is indeed one of the 5 ingredients in Panch Phoron, a typically Bengali mix of equal amounts of 5 spices: fennel (saunf), nigella seeds (kalonji), black mustard seeds, cumin seeds (jeera) and fenugreek seeds (methi). Coconuts and ginger are also widely used in Bengali cooking, and a touch of garam masala is often added to the food to enhance its flavours. Other characteristic ingredients include red lentils (massoor dal), moong dal (moong lentils), poppy seed paste (posto), mustard paste and mangoes.

To find out more about Bengali cuisine, please check out this interesting and informative article, as well as the Wikipedia entry on Bengali cuisine, which describes the courses in a typical Bengali meal. For a wealth of mouth-watering Bengali recipes, do check out these two fantastic blogs: Quick Indian Cooking & Bong Mom’s Cookbook! 

West Bengal - Wikipedia Commons

As my entry, I’ve chosen this gorgeous Bengali dal. I really wanted to make this recipe from Sangeeta’s blog, but then felt a little silly submitting her her own recipe, so I’ve chosen this one, which is similar, and yet different. This recipe features red lentils, or masoor dal, which seems to be a favourite Bengali dal, judging from the recipes I found featuring this pretty little lentil. Another important characteristics is the use of Panch Phoron. The recipe has three basic steps: the lentils are cooked with turmeric and green chili, and then seasoned with onion, tomato and ginger paste; this is then seasoned with dried chilies, panch phoron and garlic tadka.

Bengali Red Dal

SOURCE: adapted from this recipe from Rumela’s web

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: 30 - 40 min

CUISINE: Indian - Bengali

SERVES: 3 - 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup red lentils
3 1/2 cup water
3 green finger chilies (but see note)
1/2 tsp turmeric, or more to taste
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
4 tbsp ghee, butter or vegetable oil
1 cup minced onions (1 medium to large onion)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
1 tsp panch phoron mix
4 dried small red chilies
3 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

Method

1. Rinse lentils well, add water, chilies, turmeric and salt. Bring carefully to boil and cook over low to medium heat, partially covered, for 25 minutes. Cover and cook another 10 minutes. Adjust salt.

You will see the lentils go through various stages during cooking. They will first disintegrate and look like little pieces of peel. At this point, they will still taste slightly raw, and have a particular taste that I associate with raw pulses. After some time, they will disintegrate further into a velvety mush, with an addictive and comforting flavour. I find this irresistible!

2. While lentils are cooking, heat the oil or ghee in a pan. The oil is hot engouh when it starts sizzling when you insert the wooden spoon. Then add the onions and cook until they are golden brown, stirring constantly.

3. Add ginger and stir for 5 seconds. It will stick a little, but don’t worry. You’ll get it off when you add the tomatoes.  Add the tomatoes and continue cooking until the tomatoes decompose into a delicious and fragrant mush, and the oil or ghee starts oozing from the mixture.  Stir so that tomato mixture doesn’t stick. Turn heat to low if necessary.

4. Scrape out the tomato mixture into the lentils and stir it in. Stir in the sugar if using it. Let lentils sit while you make the spiced oil.

5. Do a quick rinse of the frying pan, without soap, and dry thoroughly, or use another smaller pan if you wish. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of ghee or oil and heat over medium high heat. I recommend using ghee at this stage, for superior flavour.

6. When it is hot, add panch phoron mix and heat until the mustard seeds begin to pop, which will take about 15 - 20 seconds. Mind the splattering! Then, add red chilies and fry for another 15 seconds, until they turn a little darker. Turn off heat and add the crushed garlic and let sizzle for about 30 seconds. Stir this mixture into the lentil/tomato mixture and cover the pan quickly to capture the aromas. Leave for a few minutes, and serve with rice. Adjust salt.

Notes

We didn’t think it was hot enough. Next time, I’ll add either more green chilies, or more dried red chilies at the end. I’ll also try it with or without sugar.

At one point, I thought I used too much turmeric, but I actually liked it the way it was. Red lentils, turmeric and ginger are a fantastic combination!

Verdict

This dal was absolutely gorgeous! We simply loved it! The husband almost liked the pan clean! Yeap, we shall be making this again!

The flavours were fantastic, and came in different layers, corresponding to the three cooking stages (lentils, tomato mixture, tadka). As well as tasting great, it had this amazing orange hue that I really loved, and the house was perfumed by the beautiful aroma of panch phoron.

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1. Mallika

2. Ivy

3. Marie

4. Linda

5. VegeYum Ganga

(who is sending the book to her daughter in London)

CONGRATULATIONS, Ladies!!!

May I now ask you to e-mail me with your full names and addresses, so I can pass them on to Dorling Kindersley, Marcus’ publisher, who will then post the books to you? Thanks!

I’d also like to say a big Thank You to everyone who took part in this competition. All the entries were fabulous! It was great to see what your favourite ingredients are, learn more about them, and discover new ways of cooking with them! I’ve also discovered some new (to me) great blogs that I’ll be visiting in the future! Once again, THANK YOU!

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The round up for the One Perfect Ingredient event is here! The ingredients are listed alphabetically, so please scroll down to check them all! 

It’s getting very late and I’m tired, so I haven’t had a chance to organise the draw for 5 lucky winners of Marcus Wareing’s fantastic cookbook. I’m sorry to keep you waiting, but this will be published tomorrow!

Enjoy the round-up!

Many thanks to everyone who took part in this event!  

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ASPARAGUS

My entry for this event features asparagus, and includes three delicious recipes on how to cook this gorgeous vegetable: Boiled Asparagus with Eggs, Istrian Frittata and Asparagus and Feta Frittata.

BANANAS

Pixie from You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto has a bit of a history with bananas: she is notorious for having leftover bananas around and feeling obligated to bake something rather than throwing them out. This time, she shares the perfect recipe for her perfect ingredient - bananas! Please check out this gorgeous Chocolate banana bread!

BELL PEPPERS

Deeba is Passionate About Baking, and about - bell peppers! Why? Because they “pair well with vegetarian & non-vegetarian fare, add colour to presentation & come with the added bonus of vitamin C and vitamin A (through its concentration of carotenoids such as beta-carotene), two very powerful antioxidants.” And her passion certainly shows through these 3 delicious recipes: ‘Roasted Bell Pepper Coulis, ‘Spring Salad with Bell Peppers & Cherry Tomatoes’ and ‘Grilled Pepper Slices’ & ‘Bell Pepper Dip with garlic & basil’.

BIRD’S EYE CHILIES

Thip from Bonbini! adores bird’s eye chilies. I must admit, those fiery little devils have me in thrall, too! Thip showcases three amazing Thai recipes, her personal favourites, and three techniques of cooking with bird’s eye chilies: ‘Spicy Holy Basil Chicken or Pad Gapao Gai in Thai (sauteing technique)’, ‘Spicy Papaya Salad or Som Tum in Thai (seasoning technique) & ‘Spicy, sweet and sour soup or Tom Yum in Thai (simmering technique)’.

CHOCOLATE

Just look at this photo! Double Chocolate Raspberry Tart. Do I need to say anything at all about this, when the photo speaks for itself more eloquently than I’d ever be able to? Ladies and Gentlemen, Nicisme from Cherrapeno is responsible for this sinful delight!

GRENADA CHOCOLATE

I’m not sure that my ticky-ticker can stand this much chocolate at once:  Warm: Grenada chocolate in a Choc-o-Latte,  Cool: Grenada chocolate in a mousse & Frozen: Grenada chocolate in Stracciatella ice cream. Not that I’d refuse if offered some… Sigh… Anyhow, back to reality: Alexandra from Addicted Sweet Tooth uses a special type of chocolate, Grenada chocolate. In her own words, Grenada chocolate ‘has these subtle notes of herbs that I really like. The label mentions flowers too, but I would tend to say “fruity” instead.

HAZELNUTS

Linda from make life sweater!  is a creative and accomplished baker, and hazelnuts are one of her new favourite ingredients. She makes these simple but gorgeous Hazelnut Cookies to show off their wonderful flavour! 

LAMB

Sylvie from A Pot of Tea and a Biscuit adores lamb! She loves ‘it in all kinds of different ways, slow cooked in curries or stews, minced in burgers or kofta and as a wonderful roast, seasoned with garlic, rosemary and lemon. It’s just so versatile, full of flavour and really not difficult to get right at all.’ This time she makes Youvetsi, a delectable Greek stew with lamb, tomato and orzo.

SALMON

Over at Student Homemaker, Ashley says that her perfect ingredient is salmon: ‘the taste of the fish is fantastic, and the texture adorable. Then there’s that fantastic orange-raw pink-cooked colour! I believe it to be the best fish to eat. And my favourite way to cook salmon is my Seed Crusted Salmon‘.

SPINACH

I love Wendy’s (A Wee Bit of Cooking) introduction to spinach: “Beloved by Popeye, despised by young children”. In any case, spinach is most definitely one of Wendy’s most treasured ingredients and one she always has at home.  Spinach is very good for us and very versatile.  High in vitamins A, K, C and B, spinach features almost daily in her cooking. This colourful dish of Bulgar with Spinach is currently her favourite way of cooking it!

TOMATOES

Tomatoes, either in tinned or fresh form, definitely deserve some recognition! Marie from A Year From Oak Cottage wows with this delicious recipe for Winter and Summer Tomato Soup. Marie’s “motto has always been . . . if you have a tin of tomatoes in . . . you always have a meal ready and waiting. They’re so very versatile. Mixed with some garlic and herbs you have a delicious sauce to be poured over pasta. Drain and add a cheese sauce along with some cooked macaroni, and you have the most moreish macaroni and cheese that you could ever want to eat.”

Vegeyum from A Life (Time) of Cooking makes this comforting Rustic Tomato Soup with Feta. She enjoys cooking with tomatoes, and uses them in salads, sandwiches, pastas and vegetable hot pots. Check out her blog for more delicious ideas!  

WHIPPED CREAM

Ivy from Kopiaste, to Greek Hospitality says her perfect ingredient is whipped cream. She  always has whipping cream at home as she use it in many foods, including ice creams, many sauces, soups, and some custard bases as well as for decorating cakes. This time, she used it to cleverly turn a batch of ruined cookies into a beautiful and creative dessert. Please check out Ivy’s Pecan cookies dessert!

YOGHURT

Mallika from Quick Indian Cooking has 4 very good reasons why yogurt is her favourite ingredient: “1. it is a low-fat substitute for cream; 2. because it thickens curries without the need for dubious additions; 3. it softens and tenderises meats; AND has heaps of health benefits!”  What more could you wish for? Apart from a fabulous recipe for Zafrani gosht, a simple, tender saffron goat meat curry. This is certainly inspiration enough to use this fantastic ingredient!

That’s all for tonight!

Come back tomorrow to check out the winners of the competition!  

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… that I’ll try and post the round up and announce the winners for the One Perfect Ingredient Competition this weekend!