Brilliant Beetroot Biriyani

Beetroot Biriyani

Despite being someone who has never been a huge fan of Indian food, I’m a total convert to this biriyani. Just sitting here writing up this recipe, my mouth is watering and I’m wondering where I could pick up more fresh beetroot on my travels today. I’m sure the family won’t mind eating the same thing again either!Beetroot Biriyani

Cook time is quite long because the beetroot needs to be roasted first, and then rice has to boil, but the hands’ on time is pretty quick, so  you have time to be doing other things in between too. Like prepare the sautéed beet greens to have on the side.Beetroot Biriyani

It’s a great ‘everyone tuck in meal’ and it turned out to be one of those where the pots were scraped clean!

This is a brilliant recipe – quite possibly my favourite beetroot or biriyani recipe – but if you need more beetroot recipes, click here!

Brilliant Beetroot Biriyani
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Dinner, Mains
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 5
Ingredients
  • 500g raw beetroot, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely sliced
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • seeds from 4 cardamom pods
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tbsp garam masala
  • 250g basmati rice
  • 500ml veg stock
  • 100ml plain or Greek yogurt
  • small bunch of coriander or parsley
  • Mango chutney (to serve) (optional)
  • Sautéed beet greens (to serve)
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Drizzle oil over the beetroot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then tip into a roasting dish and cook for 25-30 mins or until tender.
  2. While the beetroot is cooking, heat the remaining oil in a deep frying pan (or a wok) with a lid.
  3. Fry the onion over a medium heat until golden.
  4. Add the ginger and half the garlic, and cook for 1 min.
  5. Stir through the bay, cardamom seeds, turmeric and garam masala, then cook for 2 mins.
  6. Stir in the rice and beetroot.
  7. Pour in the stock and place a fitting lid on the pot
  8. Boil for 20-25 minutes, keeping an eye on to make sure it doesn't dry out or burn to the bottom of the pan.
  9. Put the remaining garlic in a food processor and whizz, then add the yoghurt till it's well blended. Set aside.
  10. Remove rice from heat and stir through.
  11. Season to taste and serve.

 

South African Lamb Bunny Chow

Well, that’s a mouth full, isn’t it? And for those who don’t know, don’t worry – no bunnies are harmed in the making of this South African Lamb Bunny Chow curry. Why it’s called a bunnychow I couldn’t tell you, but since it’s #NationaCurryWeek, I wanted to share a delicious curry recipe with you, made with succulent, tender Welsh lamb.

When I decided I was going to make a bunny chow for my #NationalCurryWeek contribution, I Googled Bunny chow recipes, and one of the first that came to my attention was this one, from my countryman Jeanne from Cooksister, on whose blog you can also read all about the origins and intricacies of this street food dish, while Lavender & Lovage has a different origin story with her chicken bunny recipe here.

Lamb Bunny Chow

One thing I know for sure about curries is that everyone’s tastes differ, even within our own family, so I’ve made a few adaptations, and Thermified the recipe too.

I would definitely recommend that you start this dish off by making your own Garam Masala. I think a fresh batch makes all the difference.  Adjust the curry depending on how hot you like it – I feed two small children, so we don’t make it hot at all. You can even add chillies.

Traditionally you would use a square unsliced bread for the ‘bowl’, but we use whatever bread we have. In the photos we’ve used French bread sticks for smaller meals, and individual giant rolls for bigger meals. I don’t think the bread matters too much, in reality.

If memory serves, you can make a bunny with chicken, lamb, pork or rabbit, as well as beans or root vegetables.

South African (Welsh) Lamb Bunny Chow
 
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The amount of curry you use in this will depend on how hot you like it. I feed two small children so we only add just about a teaspoon, but you can add more or less. My dad also adds chillies from his garden.
Author:
Recipe type: Curry
Cuisine: South African, Street Food
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 10g ginger
  • 10g garlic
  • 1 medium onion
  • 15g vegetable oil
  • 5 - 20g curry powder, depending on how hot you like it
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 4 green cardamom pods, seeded
  • 5g ground turmeric
  • 200g water
  • 1x400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 3-4 potatoes (1 per person, basically)
  • 1kg lamb, cubed
  • 15g Garam Masala
  • Salt
  • a small loaf of bread per 2 people
  • Fresh coriander
Instructions
  1. Lightly brown lamb on the hob if you like
  2. Dice the lamb and the potatoes
  3. Add garlic and ginger to the Thermomix® bowl 10 seconds/ speed 5
  4. Add onion 5 seconds/speed 4
  5. Add 15g vegetable oil and sauté 3 mins/90C/speed 2
  6. Add the curry powder, cinnamon, cardamom pods, and turmeric and saute for a further 1 min/90C/speed 2
  7. Add tomato, water and potatoes and cook for 20 mins/Varoma/REVERSE speed 2
  8. Add lamb and garam masala and cook for a further 10 mins/100C/ REVERSE speed 2
  9. While the curry is cooking, cut the bread in half, and scoop out the soft centre
  10. Butter it if you want to - this is contestable, some of our family swear by it, some say it's sacrilege
  11. When the curry is cooked, taste and season if required
  12. Scoop the curry into the hollowed out bread, scatter fresh coriander, and replace the bread on top
  13. Serve while still warm

The Welsh Lamb in this Lamb Bunny Chow was provided to me as part of a promotion to promote Welsh Lamb

Vietnamese Cashew Pineapple Chicken

I love this dish. It just looks summery and fresh and inviting. Serve it with rice, or if you’re sharing, add a hearty meaty dish with it.

Vietnamese Cashew Pineapple Chicken This recipe is originally from The Essential Asian Cookbook*, but adapted for serving two children and using a Thermomix® – but you can use a knife as most of the cooking is done in a wok. I do think all of this could be done in the Thermomix® to some extent. You could saute the cashews and coconut in the bowl, steam the chicken in the Varoma, and then combine all the ingredients at about 90C in the bowl before serving, but if I don’t have to and do have access to the wok, I’d do it that way.

Vietnamese Cashew Pineapple Chicken
 
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A good stand alone, or perfect as part of a shared meal.
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Vietnamese,Asian,
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 30g (2tbs) shredded coconut
  • 80g (1/2 cup) raw cashews
  • 30g (2tbs) oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 chopped red chillies (optional - I do it without)
  • 350g chicken thigh fillets, diced
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 tbs fish sauce (nam plah)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 320g (2 cups) chopped pineapple (fresh is good, but tinned and drained is fine)
  • 3 spring onions
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 150C (300F) and spread the coconut evenly onto a tray. Toast the coconut for 10 minutes until golden. Remove from the tray immediately to prevent burning and set aside.
  2. Increase the heat to 180C (350F) and roast the cashews for 15 minutes until deep golden.
  3. In a wok, pour the oil to heat up.
  4. Drop the onion and garlic (and chillies if using) onto a running Thermomix® at speed 4, about 5 seconds.
  5. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then remove from the pan.
  6. Meanwhile, put the peppers into the Thermomix® and chop speed 4 about 10 seconds or until it's the size you want.
  7. Add the chicken and the peppers to the wok, and cook until the chicken is light brown. Add the onion back in to the wok, then add the fish sauce, sugar and pineapple and heat through for about 2 minutes.
  8. Blitz the spring onion on Turbo to chop.
  9. Toss the cashews through the food in the wok, then serve and scatter the toasted coconut and spring onion over the top.
  10. Serve with rice or Asian vegetables.
Regular Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 150C (300F) and spread the coconut evenly onto a tray. Toast the coconut for 10 minutes until golden. Remove from the tray immediately to prevent burning and set aside.
  2. Increase the heat to 180C (350F) and roast the cashews for 15 minutes until deep golden.
  3. In a wok, pour the oil to heat up.
  4. Chop the onions, garlic and chillies. While you're at it, chop the peppers roughly and spring onions finely. Make sure the chicken is evenly diced.
  5. Add the onion, garlic and chillies if using to the wok.
  6. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then remove from the pan.
  7. Add the chicken and the peppers to the wok, and cook until the chicken is light brown. Add the onion back in to the wok, then add the fish sauce, sugar and pineapple and heat through for about 2 minutes.
  8. Toss the cashews through the food in the wok, then serve and scatter the toasted coconut and spring onion over the top.
  9. Serve with rice or Asian vegetables.
Notes
serves 4
521 calories per serve (doesn't include rice)
Nutrition Information
Calories: 2082

 

Sri Lankan Devilled Pork Recipe

I’m not a fan of spicy food, and put a stack of take away fliers down in front of me and I’ll never go for the Indian or similarly spiced option. That said, whenever I’ve made anything vaguely curry-ish in nature, I’ve really enjoyed it. Strange, isn’t it.

This recipe is fantastic. Honestly, the richness of flavours is out of this world. Specially since it’s not a spice combination I’m accustomed to. And I don’t even like strong tomato flavours. But this, I enjoy! Sri Lankan Mild Devilled Pork“Devilled” is the generally given adjective for when something is highly spiced – which I’ve come to realise doesn’t have to mean hot. Traditionally this recipe would have some chilies added to it. If you like chilies, go wild. I don’t like hot food, and I’m feeding a five and a three year old too, so we don’t add chilies.

I find food like this so hard to photograph. I look at this picture and see a symphony of flavour, but without having eaten it, it probably looks a bit weird. Sorry about that. It’s fantastically flavorsome though. Take my word for it!

 

Sri Lankan Mild Devilled Pork Serve this with Baharat Spiced Meatballs with yoghurt and garlic butter to cut the spices a little. It makes a nice shared meal.

 

Sri Lankan Devilled Pork
 
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A forgiving recipe that lets you adjust the seasoning and flavours to your preference. Sri Lankan curry is a blend of coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cassia bark, fenugreek seeds, cloves, cardamon, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, kashmiri chilli & turmeric - buy one ready made or mix your own before starting this recipe.
Author:
Recipe type: Meat
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Marinade
  • 1 tbs cider vinegar
  • 1 tbs soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • 500g pork
  • 1 large onion
  • 320g (can) tomatoes
  • 4 - 6 garlic cloves
  • 3 tsp Sri Lankan Curry Powder
  • Lemon rind
Instructions
Thermomix® Instructions
  1. Cut Pork into 1' chunks
  2. Place marinade ingredients in the Thermomix® bowl, and mix, speed 5/10 seconds. Add chopped meat and mix speed 1/15 seconds
  3. Set aside to marinate for at least 45 minutes
  4. (Don't worry about cleaning the bowl)
  5. In the Thermomix®, drop the onion over running blades (speed 4).
  6. Heat a pan to medium heat. and add the marinated pork with the marinade. Cook until the juices have reduced to a thick gravy. Add the tomatoes, onion and garlic. Also add salt & Sri Lankan Curry Powder to taste.
  7. Stir to prevent burning, till all the liquid is gone.
  8. In the meantime, fill the Thermomix® with water, and cook rice per the usual method. You can add your choice of Asian vegetables to the Varoma at this point too.
  9. Sprinkle with grated lemon rind
  10. Serve the rice with soy sauce and Sri Lankan Devilled Pork.
Regular Instructions
  1. Cut Pork into 1' chunks
  2. Place marinade ingredients in a bowl, and mix together.. Add chopped meat and stir till it's all covered.
  3. Set aside to marinate for at least 45 minutes
  4. Slice the onion finely.
  5. Heat a pan to medium heat, and add the marinated pork with the marinade. Cook until the juices have reduced to a thick gravy. Add the tomatoes, onion and garlic. Also add salt & Sri Lankan Curry Powder to taste.
  6. Stir to prevent burning, till all the liquid is gone.
  7. In the meantime cook rice per your usual method.
  8. Sprinkle with grated lemon rind
  9. Serve the rice with soy sauce and Sri Lankan Devilled Pork.

Baharat Spiced Meatballs With Yoghurt And Garlic Butter Sauce

I was given a selection of mixed pices recently, and I’ll be honest and confess that I’d never heard of most of them. The first one I wanted to try and cook with was Baharat. If you Google Baharat you’ll find a number of versions based on area, but this one was from a company called Spice Kitchen and according to their website it’s a blend of  cloves, black pepper, cumin seeds, nutmeg, paprika, cardamon & cinnamon.

Garlic Butter3

I spent a whole afternoon perusing Pinterest and the rest of the web trying to learn the best use of this spice, and when I finally sat down to meatballs in a yoghurt and garlic butter sauce at dinner time, I was thrilled with the result. I didn’t find this a spicy dish at all, and the dressing was perfect with plain, fluffy white rice. We also had another dish at the table which was a lot more spicy, and this sauce provided beautiful relief for the tongue.

As someone who didn’t grow up with a lot of spices, and who can’t really handle much more heat that black pepper – or a light wasabi – and who’d never choose to eat at an Indian restaurant, for example, I’d never have considered experimenting with these spice until a few years ago, and sitting eating this meal, I savoured every mouthful Baharat Meatballs2

I think my favourite thing about this dish is that it’s not just one flavour all the way through. Each mouthful is different, with hints of mint, crunchy pine nuts yoghurt and the Baharat meatballs coming through in different bites. Hmm… sitting here writing this, I’m salivating – I’m going to have to buy some more lamb mince!Baharat Spiced Meatballs With Yoghurt and Garlic Butter

Baharat Meatballs With Yoghurt & Garlic Butter Sauce
 
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This is a delicious recipe that can be used as a single main, or one of many sharing dishes. The yoghurty dish also offsets other spicy dishes on the table, while this isn't spicy of itself.
Author:
Recipe type: Varoma, Main, Sharing
Cuisine: Arabian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the meatballs
  • 400g ground lamb
  • salt and pepper for seasoning
  • 1 small onion, halved
  • 15g Baharat Spice (adjust seasoning to taste)
For the dressing
  • 100g (100ml) plain yoghurt (try this recipe)
  • 25g butter
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
For the topping
  • 1 tsp Mint (fresh or dried)
  • 50g pine nuts
  • Oil for frying
  • Rice to Serve
Instructions
In the Thermomix®
  1. Switch the Thermomix® on Speed 4 and drop the onion halves on athe blades for a few seconds.
  2. Open the lid and add the minced lamb, salt and pepper and Baharat Spices. Mix Speed 4/10 seconds.
  3. Oil the Varoma
  4. Form small egg-yolk sized meatballs and place them in the Varoma. (You can also do these the 'normal' way on the stove if you prefer them being browned)
  5. Fill the bowl to the 1 litre mark and put the Varoma in place. Cook on Varoma temp, speed 4 for 20 - 25 minutes.
  6. (If you're having rice with this dish, add it after about 10 minutes. Add the rice in the internal steamer for the remaining 15 minutes.)
  7. Meanwhile, on the stove, heat the pine nuts till they start releasing their aroma. Toast them lightly but watch that they don't burn - mine in the pictures are a little burned!
  8. Next melt the butter and add the garlic, and finally warm the yoghurt. DO NOT let it boil or split, just warm it.
  9. Move the meatballs into a serving dish.
  10. Pour the yoghurt over them, then drizzle the garlic butter, top with pine nuts and mint.
  11. Serve with rice.
Traditional Cooking
  1. Chop the onions finely, and add the spices, salt and pepper and mince with the onions in a bowl. Mix well till all combined.
  2. Form small egg-yolk sized meatballs and place them in a hot pan. Cook for about 15 minutes, turning ocassionally to get it browned on all sides and cooked through.
  3. In the meantime, cook your rice according to manufacturer instructions.
  4. On a baking tray, or on another plate on the stove, toast the pine nuts but watch that they don't burn.
  5. Next melt the butter and add the garlic, and finally warm the yoghurt. DO NOT let it boil or split, just warm it.
  6. Move the meatballs into a serving dish.
  7. Pour the yoghurt over them, then drizzle the garlic butter, top with pine nuts and mint.
  8. Serve with rice.

The inspiration for this recipe came from this original

South African Thermomix® Vetkoek

I love Vetkoek, it reminds me of growing up, of my dad coming home on a Friday with a bag of ready made dough from the shop, chopping it up and making vetkoek, which he’d put into a big cream-coloured bowl and we’d all crowd round eating warm fresh vetkoek filled with cheese, mince, syrup or apricot jam. Sometimes we have it with a chicken mayonnaise filling, and sometimes I’d simply have it on it’s own.Vetkoek

 

While you can try to compare a vetkoek with a doughnut, it doesn’t taste like a doughnut, it’s more savoury, but still a little sweet. Actually, there’s nothing I can think of to compare the flavour to – it’s it’s own thing.

Your choice of fillings is endless – pretty much anything goes, but for us the favourites are cheese, mince, chicken, syrup, and apricot jam, as I said above.

South African Thermomix® Vetkoek
 
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Author:
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 210g water (room temp)
  • 280g unbleached bread flour
  • 1 (5g) teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon (3g) sugar
  • 1.5 teaspoons (7g) fast-rising active dry yeast (I use this one)
  • oil, for deep-frying
Instructions
  1. Pour water into the Thermomix® bowl.
  2. Add dry ingredients finishing with the yeast.
  3. Mix 10 seconds/ speed 6
  4. Then 3:30 minutes/ kneading setting
  5. Remove and set aside to rise
  6. When doubled in size (about 90 minutes) divide into 10 balls on lightly floured surface. Flatten slightly in the palm of your hand.
  7. Let rise for ½ hour. (Use this time to prepare your filling)
  8. Warm oil in deep pot– oil should be about 2 inches deep – on medium heat. Drop a thumbnail sized bit of dough into the pan. If it sizzles it's hot enough, and once the tiny bit of dough has risen to the top, remove it and start cooking your vetkoek.
  9. Add the dough balls one at a time, depending on the size of your pot, about 5 or 6 at a time. They will swell up so don't overfill the pot.
  10. Fry vetkoek for about 5 minutes a side, but keep an eye on it. If they blacken too quickly, they'll still be raw inside, and your oil is too hot. If the oil is not hot enough, the vetkoek will absorb lots of oil and be gross.
  11. They should be the color of doughnuts when ready. Golden delicious.
  12. Drain on kitchen towels or in a colander.
  13. As soon as you can bear to touch them, slice open and fill.
  14. Enjoy.

 

Thermomix® Bobotie

In a home with children there are so many fun and celebratory dates in March, (St David’s Day, 1st, Dr Seuss birthday, 2nd, World Book Day, 5th, St Patrick’s Day, 17th) and I think it’s a great thing, because as Mothering Sunday (15th, this year) etches nearer, my heart grows heavier, and as the 1st of April approaches, I feel downright sad, thinking of my mother’s birthday.South African Bobotie Recipe

One of the things that I think about when I think about my mom is life as I knew it, growing up as a child in South Africa, so this month I’m paying homage to my mom, and to my history, and taking the time to convert some of the nation’s favourite recipes from her old and tattered recipe book to Thermomix® recipes too.

There are a lot of Bobotie recipes online, and despite BBC Good Food’s instructions, it’s NOT pronounced bo-boor-tie, but bo-boo-tie. No R, please. The double ‘o’ is like the o’s in moor.

But yes, there are a hundred adaptations available online. This one is what I consider the original though. It’s from Magdaleen van Wyk’s The Complete South African Cookbook  published in 1980. It’s a very mild bobotie, and while it’s absolutely delicious as is – and even better reheated the next day – we double the spices (flavour, not heat).

South African Bobotie Recipe

Bobotie
 
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Bobotie freezes really well. Make it up to the end of step 5, then freeze. To prepare, thaw, and add the eggs, milk and bay leaves before baking.
Author:
Recipe type: TM31, Main Meal
Cuisine: South African
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1 slice white bread
  • 1 onion
  • 90g blanched almonds
  • 65g seedless raisins
  • 1 tbs apricot jam (we adjust to 2)
  • 1 tbs fruit chutney (we adjust to 2)
  • 1kg minced beef
  • 25g lemon juice
  • 2 tsp curry powder (we adjust to 3)
  • 1 tsp turmeric (we adjust to 2)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 125g milk (plus about 60g)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C
  2. Soak the bread in half (125ml) the milk. Add the onion to the Thermomix® bowl and chop speed 5/10 seconds
  3. Add whole almonds and chop speed 5/ 10 seconds (adjust if using crushed or sliced almonds)
  4. Add raisins, half the mince, jam, chutney, lemon juice, curry powder, turmeric and salt.
  5. Squeeze the milk out the bread and add bread to bowl
  6. Mix REVERSE BLADES/speed 3/ 45 seconds.
  7. In a large frying pan, I use a wok, melt the butter and add the meat mixture AND THE REST OF THE MEAT to it, and brown lightly, (don't overcook) before turning it out into a casserole dish.
  8. Break the eggs into the Thermomix® and pour the bread milk in, and top up to 125g. Mix speed 5/10 seconds, then pour over the meat. Garnish with the bay leaves.
  9. Bake for about 50 minutes or until golden brown.