Flour-Free Almond Cookies

by manuel-yoga | May 10, 2020 | vegetarian (ova-lacto)

Flour Free Amond Cookies

These delicate beauties, made with just almonds, butter, eggs and sugar or stevia are deliciously sweet, light and crisp and gluten-free, and contribute a good bit of protein to round off any vegetarian or vegan meal

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The main requirement is that your “flour” must be very finely ground, Ground almonds, for example, are too coarse and you’ll end up with rough looking cookies which haven’t risen properly

The good news is that you can simply grind whole or partially ground nuts and seeds in a coffee grinder for silky smooth results. I’ve used sun-flour seeds, melon seeds (egusi), hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and hazelnuts in any combination. When using whole almonds I leave the skins on. What is this obsession with cakes having to be white?

Some are very precise with measurements when baking. In Spain we accept that things like eggs come in all shapes and sizes, and tend to start with the liquid ingredients, adding dry ingredients in the necessary quantities for the right consistency. For you, dear reader, I’ve given the “correct” weights and measures

The recipe uses eggs and butter. For a vegan version substitute coconut or other oil for butter and add a splash of nut, oat or soy milk in place of egg

Flour-Free Almond Cookies

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Resting Time 30

Total Time 55

Ingredients

100 g butter at room temperature (vegan = coconut oil, vegan butter, etc)
1 egg (vegan = non-dailry mild eg oat)
70 g non-sugar sugar (eg (xylitol) or honey, agave nectar, stevia or other sweetener to taste
220 g almond flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
a few drops of vanilla essence (optional)

Instructions

Method 1

melt the butter
put the dry ingredients into a bowl
add in the melted butter, egg and vanilla essence, if using
mix with a soft spatula making and folding movements until well amalgamated into a soft paste
put into a sandwich bag or wrap in parchment and rest in the refrigerator for at 30 minutes or longer

Method 2

cream the butter and sugar in a bowl
mix in th egg and vanilla essence (if using)
add in all the dry ingredients
mix to a paste
You can proceed right away but the mixture will benefit from resting in the refrigerator r for 20-30 minutes

Make the cookies

shape the cookie dough into a rough circle with your hands and cut into 16 segments
roll each segment into a ball and flatten slightly between your palms. Place on a baking sheet lined with grreased parchment paper
optionally brush your cookies with "milk" or beaten egg
bake at 180 C for 12-15 minutes
let them cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack or a servid dish
enjoy with some really good tea

Notes

If you're making the vegan version be extremely cautious with the amount of liquid replacing the egg - start with just a couple of tablespoons

← Paella A La Mexicana Sweet Potato, Broad Bean & Feta Tortilla →

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Paella A La Mexicana

by manuel-yoga | May 2, 2020 | vegetarian (ova-lacto), vegan (100% plant)

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What Is a Paella?

What makes a rice dish a paella? Paella is a rice dish from the Valencia – Alicante regions of Spain cooked in a wide shallow pan called a paella. The original Valencian recipe starts by sautéing chicken and rabbit … Luckily for vegetarians there are infinite varieties of authentic paellas using any mix of vegetables, including two of my favourites, artichokes and thistles

Here’s a quick guide. If you don’t care about the ins-and-outs of culinary history, authenticity or paella semantics skip to the recipe and come back later for a wee read

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Paella Guide

Arroz (rice) a la paella: the original name of the dish. Paella is made in a paella.

Paella is not yellow. It has saffron which is yellow, but this is used for flavour. Being expensive you might be tempted to omit this queen of spices. That’s fine. But please, please don’t stain your rice with that tartarazine-based paella colouring that Spaniards adore, but is only a food dye with no flavour and zero nutrition. Add turmeric when it’s aroma enhances your particular dish. But not just to make it yellow. Paella isn’t yellow. OK?

Valencian Paellas use paprika as well as saffron. Originally unsmoked from the Murcia region, you’ll find plenty of modern paellas using the smoky La Vera paprika

Alicante paellas use salmorreta: dried sweet peppers (ñoras) are sautéd with garlic, tomato, parsley and salt then blended smooth. Salmorreta will colour your paella a rich rusty red with no hint of yellow.

Paella contains beans. Originally a type of butter-bean local to the region, nowadays you’ll see any mixture of white and green beans including haricot and broad beans. Peas are good too.

When to add the rice? Valencian paellas add the rice before the liquid coating it in oil to keep the grains separate. Alicantine paellas add the rice last. Though there is a difference in the outcome it’s a fine point. What matters is the rice.

Which rice? Paella is dry. Bomba rice from the Valencian Albuferra is the classic, being highly absorbent, but there are many other types which connoisseurs can distinguish in taste and texture. Any medium grain highly absorbent rice which holds its shape is good.

Socorrat:, the crunchy caramelized crust at the bottom of the pan is an essential of authentic paella. it requires two things: a shallow paella pan and not stirring the rice after adding the liquid. This applies to all paellas. Finally:.

A dash of lemon? There was a big hoo-ha a while back in Spanish Master-Chef. Like onions in tortilla (or, dare I mention Brexit?) the country was split down the middle on the subject. Admittedly lemon with rabbit and chicken isn’t to everyone’s taste. But vegetables love a bit of lemon. You can go a step further and pound garlic with black pepper in a mortar and pestle then add lemon juice and smother your paella all over with the resultant majado

Finally, here’s a recipe that adheres to principles while remaining free of all dogma: a long-grain rice paella with a smoked chipotle chilli – oregano salmorreta topped with avocado and a shallot-lime majado in the Alicante style, A La Mexicana

Paella A La Mexicana

This is a Spanish paella in the Alicante style using Mexican ingredients

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican, spanish

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

long grain rice - such as Basmati use one handful per person plus one for the pot
salt to taste

Salmorreta

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic whole or halved
1-2 chipotle chillies dry or in adobo sauce
4 fresh tomatoes unpeeled and quartered

other condiments

1 tsp dry oregano
1 pinch saffron (optional) saffron strands benefit from soaking in a little hot water; powdered saffron can go straight onto the rice

vegetables

2 carrots cubed
1 stick celery very finely chopped
2 medium sweet peppers (capsimums) your favourite colour
1 tea-cup beans any, but pinto are very Mexican
1 handful green beans sliced
2 avocados sliced - allow 1/2 an avocado per serving

dressing

8-10 whole black pepper corns pounded
1 lime jiuced
2-3 small shallots finely sliced
1 bunch fresh coriander leaf chopped

Instructions

Marinate The Shallots

Immerse the finely sliced shallots in lime juice with a pinch of salt. Cover and set aside

Prepare The Salmorreta

Gently fry the onion, garlic, oregano and chipotle chillies with a good pinch of salt in a tablespoon of oil to just soften and lightly brown. Add the tomatoes (no need to peel) and oregano and fry for another minute or two
Put the the mixture into a blender goblet with a little water or vegetable stock and liquidize to smooth

Prepare The Rice - Vegetable Base

In a wide, shallow pan sauté the carrots, celery, green beans and peppers in a tablespoon of olive oil to lightly brown and soften
Add a cup of water or vegetable stock and cook, covered, until the vegetables are soft but still firm
Add the rice, cooked beans, tomato-chile salmorreta, saffron if you're using it, and water or more vegetable stock to cover rice by a good inch. Season with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook on a low flame without stirring or uncovering for 15 minutes
Test the rice - it should have no crunch in the centre. If it does give it another 5 minutes. Finally turn off the heat and allow the dish to rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes

Finish Off The "Majado" Dressing & Other Toppings

Pound a small clove of garlic with 5-8 peppercorns in a mortar and pestle. Add marinated shallots with all the lime juice
Slice the avocados length-ways and arrange over the now rested rice
Sprinkle over the lime dressing and chopped fresh coriander and garnish with lime wedges. Serve with a fresh crisp salad

Keyword paella, rice, spicy

← Spiced Smoked Aubergine Curry – Begun Bharta Flour-Free Almond Cookies →

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Spiced Smoked Aubergine Curry – Begun Bharta

by manuel-yoga | Apr 27, 2020 | vegetarian (ova-lacto), vegan (100% plant), veggie posts

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Smoked Aubergine Bharta

The versatile aubergine or eggplant takes pride of place in our kitchen. And having shared one aubergine recipe this excellent vegetable surely deserves a bit more attention before we get side-tracked

Large plump aubergines are roasted over a naked flame, sweated and scooped from the charred skin. The pulp is then seasoned with long-sautéed onions, garlic, chilli, coriander. a little turmeric and salt

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Deeply smoky and creamy began bharta is great warm with flat-breads, a yoghurt cooler and a fresh crunchy salad. Eaten at room temperature it makes a delicious spread for a slice of good crusty bread

This recipe was given to us by our dear friends Shams and Alan on a visit to us in Spain a couple of years back. Cooking curry throughout was the condition for Shams even contemplating a visit. I ate “curry” for breakfast, lunch and dinner while in India, and getting the chance to re-live the experience back in Spain was a pleasure not to be missed

Shams retired from her day job as head pharmacist for Redbridge trust in south-east England to devote herself to cooking.

She’s ubiquitous at festivals, weddings and other events and also runs a private restaurant and cooking school where she teaches Pakistani and Indian cooking.

She and husband Alan also do takeaways. They were vegan when last we met just a few weeks ago in London, but were still cooking chicken for their patrons. Are they still? Check them out at Sham’s kitchen

Smoked Began Bharta

A creamy flame smoked aubergine dish with onions, chilli and coriander. Simple but deep

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Resting time 45

Total Time 1 30

Cuisine Indian, Pakistani

Ingredients

3 large aubergines
4 large onions
3 cloves garlic minced or crushed
2 tsp ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 bunch fresh coriander roughly chopped
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil I'm afraid I use extra virgin olive oil with everything - but you might prefer a more neutral tasting oil such as rapeseed / canola

Instructions

Prepare the aubergines: You can do this in various ways

Place the aubergines directly over a gas flame - my personal wont
Place over charcoal or a wood fire - for the best taste
Put into a very hot oven -
Turn the aubergines as necessary to get them evenly charred.
Place flame-roasted aubergines in a sandwich bag wrapped in a tea towel, letting them steam until cooked through. 45 minutes minutes is about right for me. The longer you leave them the smokier they'll taste. But be warned, they can taste too smoky and rather bitter if you leave them over-long
Simply rest oven-roasted aubergines until they are cool enough to handle
Peel away the skin, leaving bits of charred skin here and there and finely chop or mash the flesh with a fork. Set aside

Transform the onions: this stage is crucial to the flavour of the dish

While the aubergines are cooling gently sauté the onions in a a couple of tablespoons of any neutral-tasting oil. After 15 minutes add the garlic and a large pinch of salt. Continue cooking for further 10-15 minutes, splashing in a little water as necessary to stop them from burning. This step is crucial to the flavour of the dish. Don't lose patience. The final rich sweetness of the onions will blow your socks off. It really is worth it
You're on the home run: stir in the powdered spices and salt and sauté for a minute or two, stirring continuously
Add in the chopped aubergines, season with salt and warm through. Sprinkle on some chopped fresh coriander and serve

Keyword aubergine, curry, spice, vegan

← Authentic South Indian Dosa At Home: Master The Recipe for The Perfect Batter Paella A La Mexicana →

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Authentic South Indian Dosa At Home: Master The Recipe for The Perfect Batter

by manuel-yoga | May 8, 2019 | vegetarian (ova-lacto), vegan (100% plant), veggie posts

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When in London the first thing we do is plan an outing to Sagar, our favourite south Indian eatery, for our fix of the that crispy, light and savoury Indian delight: the Dosa

A flat, crisp pancake resembling a crepe, traditional dosa combines rice with washed black lentils in a batter which is then lacto-fermented to make the resultant pancake not just more digestible, but also bursting with health promoting friendly bacteria

Dosa are traditional to South Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil cuisines but are popular all over India – and beyond. They are a staple in South Indian restaurants in the West. Plain or filled they’re served with coconut chutney and sambar, a hot and sour South Indian vegetable dish flavoured with tamarind and curry leaves.

Dosa are made from a variety of grains and pulses, often fermented as in our urid dal – rice recipe below, sometimes not as in rava dosa made from cream of wheat. There are chickpea flour (besan) dosa, mung bean dosa, red lentil dosa … the list could be endless

We’ll explore some of these later. Now, we start with the basic recipe for rice and washed black lentil (urid dal) dosa

Key Ingredients For The Perfect Dosa Batter

Dosa can be made with a great variety of pulses and grain, sometimes singly, often in combination. The classic white dosa uses a mixture of rice and lentils as follows

1. Rice: Though parboiled and idli rice are widelt recommended for dosa, I can’t get away from Basmati being – well, the best rice in the world. Experimenting aside, why compromise?

2. Urad Dal: Also known as black gram, urad is an essential ingredient. Dosa batter is made from wahsed urad dal which, far being black, is actually creamy white. The lentil makes for a creamy texture and helps with fermentation.

3. Fenugreek Seeds: Adding a pinch of fenugreek of whole or ground seed to your dosa batter will enhance the flavor, and reputedly also aids in the fermentation process. I haven’t checked the science, but I definitely include it for the taste

4. The fourth ingredient, lactic acid is produced naturally as you rest your batter in a warm place to soak up the fifth ingredient …

5. Your friendly lacto-bacilli (bacteria) from the air

Preparing The Dosa Batter

1. Soaking the rice and lentils: Rinse the rice and lentils thoroughly and soak them in plenty of water in separate bowls for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight. Soaking helps in softening the grains and initiates the fermentation process.

2. Grinding the batter: Once the rice and lentils are soaked, drain the water and transfer them to a blender. Add a pinch of fenugreek if you like, plus the least amount of water to be able to grind the mixture until it forms a smooth, thick, creamy batter.

3. Fermentation: Transfer the batter to a large bowl and cover it with a clean cloth or lid. Allow the batter to ferment for 8-12 hours or overnight, depending on the weather conditions. Fermentation is a crucial step as it helps in developing the characteristic tangy flavor of dosas and makes them light and fluffy

4. Seasoning the batter: Once the batter has fermented, add salt to taste and mix well. The batter is now ready to be used for making dosas. You can store the leftover batter in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.

Tips for Fermenting the Dosa Batter

Fermentation plays a vital role in the taste and texture of dosas. Here are some tips to ensure successful fermentation:

1. Temperature control: The ideal temperature for fermenting dosa batter is around 80-90°F (27-32°C). If the weather is cold, you may be forced to keep one room nice and toasty for the sake of the fermentation process. Here in Spain, bread and other ferments are placed “a flor de fuego”: by the fire’s bloom. Simply light a good fire and be careful not to place your batter too near it!

2. Consistency of the batter: The batter should be slightly thick and not too watery. A thick batter will aid in the fermentation process and result in soft and fluffy dosas.

3. Additives for fermentation: Fenugreek seeds (methi) are traditionally added to the soaked rice and lentils before grinding. Fenugreek seeds appear to act as a natural fermenting agent and help in achieving a good rise. As I said, I haven’t troubled to check the science, as I add fenugreek purely because I like the slightly bitter taste

Classic Rice & Lentil Dosa

This is a fermented batter made from two parts rice to one part urid dal (washed black lentils). These are easily available from Asian stores in major towns

The fresh batter is first used for making idly, soft fluffy steamed dumplings eaten with sambhar and coconut chutney for breakfast all over India. By the following day the batter can start to look a bit tired and is then turned to dosa

Since idly requires a special idly steamer we cut straight to the dosa - for now. Here it is

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Prep Time 20

per dosa 4

Total Time 25

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, lunch, Snack, supper

Cuisine Indian sub-continent, Sri Lankan, street-food

Ingredients

1 tea-cup urid dal (washed balck lentil)
2 tea-cups basmati rice
1 tbsp oil
1 pinch salt (optional)

Instructions

The Batter

rinse the rice and lentils and leave to soak in seperate bowls for 8 hours or overnight
the following day add the rice and lentils to an electric blender in batches with enough water to create a batter the consistency of thick cream
stir in the oil, cover and leave in the sun or a warm place all day until the batter has fermented and smells yeasty

Season the skillet

add a drop of oil to the skillet and coat the entire surface using some paper towel. Now heat the skillet to smoking point until most of the oil has burnt off. Allow the skillet to cool: drop a bit water onto the skillet or run the back of the skillet under a cold tap untill it stops sizzling
re-warm the skillet until a drop of water just starts to sizzle. If the pan is too hot you won't be able to spread your dosa

Make Dosa - thin and crispy

drop a large spoonfull of batter onto your skillet, then with the back of the spoon spread the batter from the middle outward in a circular, spiralling motion
turn the heat up a little and wait for a golden brown colour to start showing throught to the upper uncooked side. The dosa should now come easily away from the skillet with the help of a spatula. If it doesn't leave it to cook a little longer
Dosa are cooked on one side only: remove from the skillet, fold in half and serve it to your guests right away with some coconut chutney
Place the back of the skillet under a cold tap to cool before making your next dosa

Make Dosa - light and fluffy

Drop spoonfuls of batter onto a warm skillet and allow it to spread naturally. Bubbles will form on top giving the dosa a spongy appearance
These dosa are smaller than the above and you can make several at a time if you have a large enough pan
The dosa is cooked when no more bubbles appear, the top has fully solidified and the base is golden and comes away from the skillet easily
Serve as above