Daal

 

The Indian lady who showed me how to make Daal didn't use onions and garlic as it was against her religion, but I use quite a lot of them.

Vegetables I always use:

Onion, garlic, coriander and tomato (fresh or tinned).

Other things I sometimes use if I have them in the fridge:

Celery, carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato, cauliflower, etc.

Cumin seeds and turmeric or premixed mild curry powder (approx 1tbs per 1 litre of daal)

The beans I use are Red lentils and Mung Dhall.  Mung Dhall is what makes my Daal its unique texture.  For 2 cups of lentils, 1 cup of mung dhall.

I cook the beans separately in plenty of water skimming foams off throughout the cooking process.

If using cumin seeds, heat the oil till quite hot.  Drop a few cumin seeds and if they instantly froth, the oil is hot enough.  Fry for a few seconds before adding the vegetables.

Add cooked beans to the vegetables including the cooking water.  

Simmer until everything is nice and tender.

Gulasch

My German mother in law gave me this recipe.  I have modified it over the years.

2 onions chopped

2 carrots 

2 sticks of celery chopped

3-6 garlic cloves

1kg beef (chuck or gravy)

1-2 red capsicum

1tsp thyme

4tbs smoked paprika (or more if you like)

1tsp cumin

2 tomatoes chopped (or a tin)

2tbs tomato paste

1tbs marmalade (for sweetness and zest)

salt to taste

2tbs balsamic vinegar (or more if it needs more acidity)

enough water to cover the ingredients

I brown the meat first, set aside and cook onion, carrots and celery for good 10 minutes in olive oil.

I add rest of the ingredients in one go and simmer for 2 hours or however long it takes in a pressure cooker.

Raspberry-misu

I made this dessert for my friends last night and posted the picture on Chat10Looks3 facebook page where many chatters asked for the recipe. I didn't measure anything, so you will just have to follow my process and the amounts are my rough guesses.

1. Throw half a packet of frozen raspberries (approx 250g) into a pan with 150ml of water and 70g of sugar. Heat until bubbling and squash the fruit in the process and put it through a sieve into a shallow container with a flat bottom. 
2. Quickly coat the sponge biscuits one by one as you place them into the glass bowl. I did the sides first then some on the bottom. I used about 24 biscuits. Some are hidden in the middle. 
3. Soak 3 gelatine leaves (half size ones) Return the pulpy seeds back into the saucepan, added some hot water, mixed it up and sieved it back in with the remaining syrup. Mix the gelatine leaves in. If the syrup is not hot enogh to dissolve, heat it gently until all the gelatine is dissolved. Put the jelly into a container and refrigerate. 
4. Beat 4 egg yolks with 40g of sugar over a simmering saucepan until pale and fluffy. I added some brandy. This is optional. 
5. Make sugar syrup with 60g of sugar to make Italian meringue with 4 egg whites. 
6. Mix a tab of mascarpone in a bowl and mix with the egg yolk mixture. Then mix with the meringue. 
7. Pour the mascarpone mix into the glass bowl pushing the extra biscuits in the middle. 
8. Cut the jelly into cubes and scatter with fresh berries and chopped pistachio. 

Persian Love Cake

Persian Love Cake is probably the plainest looking cake I bake, but is a favourite of many friends and family.
This cake has a tart like base and a moist cake on top.
It is also gluten free.


3 cups Almond meal
1 cup Brown sugar
1 tbs cornflour
120g butter
2 eggs
150~200ml greek yogurt
1 tsp cardamon powder
2 tsp rosewater
slivered pistachios

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Line a 20cm cake tin.

In a large bowl, combine almond, sugar, cardamon powder and cornflour.
Put cubed butter pieces into the bowl.
With tips of your fingers, squash butter into the mix until most of the butter pieces are invisible and it looking like damp sand.  You can do this in a food processor, but I find this process therapeutic and enjoyable.

Scoop half of the above into the cake tin.
Squash the mixture down into the base with the edges slightly raised.
This part will become like a tart base.

Put eggs and rosewater into the bowl with the remaining almond mixture.
Add half the yogurt and mix in well.
You want the mixture to look wet enough, but not too runny.
Adjust the texture of the batter with the remainder of yogurt.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin.
Sprinkle some slivered pistachios over the top and bake for 20~40 minutes.

The length of baking time will depend on the oven.

It is done when the top is golden.

Vanilla Kipfel

For the last 10 years or so, I have been baking vanilla kipfel in December.  These biscuits are very buttery and almondy.  They crumble and melt in your mouth.

Plain flour 180g
Almond powder 90G
Icing sugar 50g
Salted Butter 150g

Set the oven temperature to 150 degrees celsius.

Process all the ingredients in a food processor for 30 seconds or so.
The dough is not dough like.  It resembles damp sand.

Take about a golf ball size powdery dough in your hand and hold it until the butter melts enough so you can shape the dough into a crescent.  Repeat till all the dough is used up.

Bake for 15~18 minutes.

When they come out of the oven, shift plenty of icing sugar over them.

Fudge Brownies marbled with Peanut Butter

Of all the sweets I bake, I am asked for the recipe for my nutty fudge brownies the most.

Instead of mixing nuts (usually macadamia) in, I marbled this batch with peanut butter in attempt to use up the unloved jar in the pantry.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Melt 100g butter and 200g dark chocolate together.
Mix in 1 cup of brown sugar followed by two eggs.
Add 1/3 cup of sour cream.
Fold in 1/4 cup of cocoa and 1/4 cup of flour.  (it can be wheat flour, GF flour, or almond meal)
Fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.

Line a brownies tin with baking paper and pour in the batter.
Dot the surface with as much peanut butter as you like.
Using a knife, draw lines through the peanut butter for marbled effect.

Baking time really depends on your oven.
20 to 30 minutes or until the batter doesn't wobble when you shake the tin.

I can usually tell by the smell and the way it looks.

Enjoy.

Chat 10 Looks 3's Crack

I made Crack for my book club on the weekend and several people asked for the recipe.  This post is dedicated to my beloved book club members.

I joined a Facebook group called Chat 10 Look 3 a couple of months ago when a recommendation popped up on my Facebook feed.  It had a picture of Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb.  It caught my attention straight away as I had watched their "When I get a minute" on ABC iview a while ago and absolutely loved it.  It also said "If you liked Helen Garner and Yotam Ottolenghi, this was a group for you."
As it happens, I was reading Helen Garner's "Everywhere I look" at the time and have been a fan of Yotam for a couple of years.  I thought, I obviously qualify to join this group.

So, I joined and immediately realised that I have found "my people".
There are over 26,000 members and they are constantly posting their book recommendations and showing off what they have baked.

These were also post after posts of Crack.  It seemed making Crack was a kind of initiation to become a true Chatter.  So, I downloaded the recipe and have baked it.  I loved it so much, I have made it may be about 5 times since.

Recipe (slightly altered by me)

One packet of Salada (there are two packets in a box)
200g butter (salted)
1 cup brown sugar
200g dark chocolate
nuts, dried cranberries, freeze dried raspberries, salt flakes

Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Place single layer of salada crackers on the tray.
Heat butter and brown sugar in a saucepan.  Let it boil and whisk until emulsified.
Pour over the crackers and smooth all over with a spatula.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes taking care not to burn the caramel.

Whilst the caramel is still hot, sprinkle chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate all over the caramel and leave to melt for a couple of minutes.  Use a spatula to smooth the chocolate all over.
Sprinkle nutes and dried fruit of your choice and a good pinch of salt flakes.