Category Archives: tastes

pic, rec, savoury, Sonstiges, vegans

mango chutney

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the mango chutney was definitive a highlight of our dinner. i never made chutney before (actually i barely ever tasted it), and so i was at first a bit sceptical how it would turn out. a combination between several internet recipes and again jaffrey’s book yielded this:

Ingredients:

  • 1 green mango (about 500g)
  • 100-150ml water
  • 185 ml vinegar
  • 180g brown sugar
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/4 tsp cardamom
  • 4cm ginger
  • 30g chopped raisins
  • half of a fresh red chili and chili pepper flakes (to taste)
  • 1.5 tsp salt

peel the mango, remove the core and cut in small cubes. dice ginger and garlic. cook these three together in water until the mango is tender. add vinegar, sugar, chilis, cardamom, salt and cook until a little thick (this took quite a while – i think more than one hour). if you want to preserve it, pour into sterilized jars while still hot.

and how did we get the lava in the jar?

pic, savoury

indian dinner

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for the indian dinner on friday we had

  • mango chutney, coriander chutney and papadum as starters
  • rice and paratha (from madhur jaffrey’s book “indisch kochen“)
  • zucchini kootu
  • once again the bombay curry
  • channa raita (this is raita with chickpeas and garam masala)
  • and what i made the paneer for: methi-palak paneer – unfortunately without methi leaves. and i guess the addition of ground fennugreek seeds to the dry masala is no substitute at all.

my spice rack is now stacked with many new items. so far i did not even know that there is such a thing as curry leaves! i also used tamarind for the first time.

i don’t have pictures from the final dishes, as i didn’t want to bother our guests with extensive photo shooting. i’ll post recipes later.

and of course, such a feast comes at a price.

pic, rec, savoury, Sonstiges, vegetarians

paneer

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i’m planning for another indian dinner and so i made paneer today. it’s very easy, just bring milk to boil, add lemon juice and stir until the milk curdles. strain on musselin cloth and rinse with cold water. press into a solid form and you’re done. (if you need more detailed instructions – there are plenty around on the net…)

Ingredients:

  • 1.5l milk (3.8% fat)
  • 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice

i think i could have done with a bit less lemon juice, but i was impatient while waiting for the milk to curdle.  now the cheese is in the fridge and i’m curious how it will turn out.

in the lower right corner you can see whey – this is what’s left after straining the paneer.

pic, rec, savoury, vegetarians, Vorspeisen und Snacks

spinach pancake for st.patrick’s

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st.patrick’s is generally not observed in germany, but i thought it would be nice to eat something green tonight. these spinach pancakes (adapted from this recipe) were made like this: prepare 250g spinach, fresh (should be blanched an chopped) or frozen (should be unthawed and cooked for a few minutes).  in a bowl, mix 200g flour, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp baking powder,  1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg. in another bowl pour 250ml buttermilk and beat in two eggs. add 2 tsp melted butter. stir this mixture into the dry ingredients, then stir in the spinach. adjust consistency with a bit more buttermilk if needed. cook pancakes in a buttered pan, 2-4 minutes each side. pancakes that are done should be placed in the oven at 175°. mix a cup of sour cream with 1tbsp lemon juice and serve with the pancakes. we had also carrot salad with it.

i’ll leave you with the two other greens i found in the kitchen and a selection of st.patrick’s day greeting cards.

pic, savoury, vegetarians

panini al rosmarino e formaggio

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i tried these rosemary buns from the silver spoon today, but they were not really satisfying. the dough was quite stringy and dry, even though i added some more milk to it than it was written in the recipe. a few minutes before the end of the baking time the buns are filled with a mixture of heavy cream and cheese. but i think also the dough-cheese ratio could be improved… so i’ll skip posting the recipe.

pic, rec, Süßspeisen, sweet, vegans

coconut milk rice with mango

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i love rice pudding, but i don’t like stirring all the time to prevent the rice from sticking at the bottom of the pan, as it is often the case when you make the rice pudding with milk. here is a stick-free version:

Ingredients:

  • 1 mango
  • 1 tsp runny honey
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • lemon thyme
  • 200g short-grain rice
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 15-20g vanilla sugar (to taste)
  • one can (400ml) coconut milk

peal and cut the mango, marinate it in honey, lemon juice and a little bit of lemon thyme. cook rice and salt in water for 10 minutes.  strain the rice, put it back into the pot. add cinnamon stick, vanilla sugar and coconut milk. cook over low heat for another 10-15 minutes (stirring only occasionally), until the rice reaches your desired consistency/creaminess – i like it if the grain is still a bit firm inside, as in risotto.

we eat this as a quick lunch, or as dessert, it can also add to any brunch buffet. actually, you can eat it at any time of the day. and by the way, can you spot our table decoration?

Kuchen und Plätzchen, pic, rec, sweet, vegetarians

apple pie coffee cake

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“i don’t have any eggs, but i want to bake cake!” – in such cases it is a good idea to check for cakes at vegan yum yum. i ended up with the apple pie coffee cake, modified it a bit here and there (added almonds and actually de-veganized it by using dairy products instead of soy milk …) and here is my version:

Ingredients:

apple filling

  • 800g apples
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 100ml orange juice + 3 tbsp
  • 2 tsp corn starch

batter

  • 200g flour
  • 60g ground almonds
  • 130g sugar
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 50ml plain yoghurt
  • 70ml heavy cream
  • 60ml milk
  • 100ml sun flower oil

for sprinkling

  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

to prepare the  filling, peel, core and chop the apples. sprinkle with sugar and set aside for a few minutes. in a large pan melt butter and slowly cook the apples in it for about 10 minutes. lid should be covered. then add orange juice (i guess apple juice would be better, but i didn’t have any at hand) and boil for about 2 minutes. mix corn starch with 2-3 tbsp cold orange juice, stir in and boil again for 1-2 minutes. the filling should thicken now and can be set aside.

for the batter mix in a large bowl flour, ground almonds, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt. in another bowl mix plain yoghurt, heavy cream and milk (at whatever ratio of this ingredients your fridge allows, of course you may also want to switch to the vegan original by using soy milk) and sun flower oil. pour over the flour mix and stir a few times. spread a bit more than half of the batter in a greased sprinform tin (mine is 26cm in diameter), spread apple filling on top of it, then spoon remaining batter on top of the cake, the apple filling should still be visible though.

mix sugar and cinammon and sprinkle on the cake, bake at 175° for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 160° and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce to 150° and bake for another ten minutes.  (this was how it worked for me, but check for instructions on baking time also the original recipe.)

the cake just vanished during one afternoon coffee… and of course it is always a good idea to visit vegan yum yum, also without lacking any ingredients.

Kuchen und Plätzchen, pic, rec, sweet, vegetarians

yeast pastry with apple, almonds and pistachios

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these swirls/rolls are made like this: in a large bowl mix 300g flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 35g sugar. make a well in the middle. crumble 20g fresh yeast into the well, sprinkle a knife tip of sugar on it and disolve the yeast in 150ml lukewarm milk. let it stand for a few minutes, until the yeast-milk-mix becomes bubbly. add  70g cold butter, cut in smaller chunks. knead well until the dough comes together nicely. cover with a dish towel and let it rise on a warm place for at least 30 minutes.  meanwhile prepare the filling: chop 30g of pistachios, grate one large apple. mix together with 3tbsp ground almonds, 2tbsp sugar and 3tbsp creme fraiche. when the dough is risen, knead again for a few minutes and then roll it out to a rectangle (approximately 25 x 45 cm). brush with 3tbsp of melted butter. then spread the filling on it. roll it up and cut in slices (about 3cm wide). put the rolls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, cover again with a towel and let them rise for another 30 minutes. brush with 1tbsp melted butter mixed with 1 tbsp milk (which i used) or 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp milk. bake at 180° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. i like these rolls especially because they are very fluffy, and the filling is moist and not to sweet.

BreadBakingDay #28 - last day of submission April 1, 2010this is a sumbission to bread baking day, an event created by zorra and hosted this month at tangerine’s kitchen.

pic, rec, Süßspeisen, sweet, vegetarians

coconut custard with pineapple

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we had some coconut milk left from yesterdays bombay curry, and with one sachet of vanilla custard powder, 20g sugar and some milk it became our dessert today. just fill up the coconut milk (we had about 250ml) with milk until you have 0.5l liquid*, and prepare the custard according to manufacturers instructions, probably with a bit less sugar. i also added a knife tip of cardamom. let it chill in the fridge and serve with pineapple.

*referring to german custard package sizes