Orange Curry and Orange Ginger Apple Loaf Cake

We woke up early to go to the supermarket to top up on fruit and vegetables, along with other basic essentials. When we got there just before 7am, noticed that had changed the time of opening to 8am. We drove back home empty handed. I must admit, I was a bit anxious. It was my first time leaving the house.  Surprisingly the roads were busy as if we were going into work, which was unusual.  D commented on how busy it was, I stared out of the car window at the windows of the houses we drove past, displaying colourful rainbows. I wasn't sure what this was about, but when I got back home I did a search and learned that pictures of rainbows have started springing up in windows after schools had closed in response to the coronavirus outbreak, and primary schools are encouraging pupils at home to put up paintings to "spread hope". It was genuinely heart warming to see.

No rainbows in my window though...instead in my home was this Orange Cake and Double: Sweet Potato Curry. I say was, as I made it early this week and its all gone. 

Mid March, well before the quarantine  - D picked up a load of oranges to make juice with his manual juice maker, but typically I end up having to find ways of making the most of ingredients he picks up. 

So this egg free Orange Ginger Apple Loaf Cake was one way that I found myself using some of those oranges, but as I went to make the cake I realised that I did not need to use the whole orange - only the zest!  The cake also contains mixed dried fruit, black treacle aka molasses. 

The Double Potato and Pepper Curry with Chickpeas was made to use up what we had in the house. I found the Double Potato Curry a little sweet, so squeezed the juice of half of zested orange into it for liven it up a little.  It definately perked it up a little for my tastebuds. 

The  Orange Ginger Apple Loaf Cake was reminisce of steamed pudding or even closer to malt bread which is dark and squidgy, full of dried fruit. The recipe was adapted fromThe Vegetarian Gourmet: Easy Low Fat Favourites cookbook.  This was nice to eat warm (reheated in the microwave), but by day four it began to feel a bit dense and stodgy so we fed it to the birds, by the following day it was all gone. Nothing at home is going to waste, it rarely did before so I can continue to feel smug in that knowledge. 

Homegrown Chioggia Beetroot Curry

I spotted some beetroot leaves dancing in the breeze at the weekend. I had forgotten that I planted some beetroot, so it was a nice surprise when I pulled them out of the ground to find some healthy bulbs and free from slug holes. 

In my delight I showed D and he said why don't you make a beetroot curry.  It was decided.  I removed the leaves and ordinarily I would have used them to make Beetroot Leaf Kuku or Beetroot Bhajis aka Pakora, but they were not as lush as my red chard last week, so they were destined for the compost bin. I then peeled the beetroot to reveal that they were not traditional deep burgundy beetroot, but chioggia known as candy cane or candy strip beet. 

This is when I realised the beetroot curry would not be as bold coloured, still I went with it as I have made  a beetroot curry with Golden Chioggia Beetroot in the past.

Compared to traditional beetroot which is earthy in flavour this was quite sweet, almost like turnip, in fact looking at the photograph below you would think it was turnip. 

Whilst making the beetroot curry (recipe below) I got distracted by the blue tits and the  green finches, goldfinches and bullfinches on the bird feeder in the garden, then I noticed a  goldfinch was stuck in the greenhouse.  I rushed out to open the greenhouse door, it took me a while to encourage it to fly out as it was flitting from one waning tomato plant to another.  It eventually came out and that is when I  decided to pick up some tomatoes that seemed ruby red and healthy.  

D was not convinced.  He was right, I tasted one and it was a little too far gone - well at least the red chillies were okay.   Anyway, I am sharing this blog post with Dave over at Happy Acres who hosts Harvest Monday every week.

Black Chickpeas and Carrot Curry Perfect for Halloween

I am going to a gig tonight and am looking forward to it.  It hosted at a Miners Institute in the Welsh valleys.  D is taking his camera, so who knows I may be able to share more later in the week, but before I go off gallivanting, I thought I would share this orange and black bowl of food.

Yes, another one, that is perfect for those cooking up a feast for the Halloween weekend. 

The black comes from black chickpeas and orange from carrots or course, for the beady eyed amongst you there are some 'brain like' pieces in the bowl too, this is cauliflower that has turned orange from the turmeric.

The recipe is adapted from my vegan Marrow Curry with Chickpeas, but this one is studded with black chickpeas and in place of the marrow, carrots and cauliflower. Please don't worry too much if you can't find black chickpeas where you are, just substitute it with the traditional variety.

Buttery Marrow and Fenugreek Curry

The first of many homegrown marrows and because the accepted stereotype of South Asian girls is that 'we' all make a mean curry, I thought I would not disappoint. But the truth is, everyone these days claims to make an awesome 'curry'.  I am honestly not one of those people. 

I have made a vegan Marrow Curry with Chickpeas in this past, but this one is rich and buttery, that even my mother would approve. 

I love fenugreek and when I saw it being sold at the market, I could not resist its distinct fragrant.  I am pleased I picked it up as it enhanced the plainness of the marrow curry. 

I am sharing this with The Veg Hog  who is hosting #EatYourGreens Vegetarian and Vegan Blog challenge this month, please do join in there is plenty of time.   For those of you who have not participated before, please Follow this link on how to join in.   

Vegan Plum, Chickpea and 'Lamb' Curry

I made a Plum and Chickpea Curry last year but did not get round to sharing it at the time, so with it being the Plum season in the UK I thought I would make it again and share my vegetarian vegan version of 'Lamb' and Plum Curry.  

This 'Lamb' and Plum Curry is a real recipe adapted from Camellia Panjabi 50 Great Curries of India.   I used vegan soy pieces* that I picked up from a Polish shop, they were not that great, but for the vegetarians the Quorn fillets will also work.  If you don't want to use the mock meat substitute, then just double up on the chickpeas.  

Bakers Dozen: Vegetarian Vegan Meat Free Fruit Curry Recipes

This Meat Free Fruit Curry blog post came about after conversing with my vegetarian blogger friend Johanna who blogs over at Green Gourmet Giraffe.  Johanna had recenlty made a variation of Peach and Chickpeas Curry inspired by Jack Monroe, I commented that I too had made a variation of Jack Monro'e Peach and Chickpea Curry a few years back.  

It was  in making that Peach fruit curry that both inspired and gave me the confidence last year to make a vegan Plum Chickpea Curry with the plums that were literally falling from the garden tree. 

This blog engagement with Green Gourmet Giraffe got me thinking and swiftly decide to share 13 Vegetarian and/ or Vegan Meat Free Fruit Curry Recipes and try and inspire some of you to try some of these unusual combinations, after all if we can have vegetables in desserts, puddings and cake - then I guess, why not a savoury sweet fruit curry.

Yes, I am being a little self-referential, but it is my blog space and start of with my own variation of of a Pakistani recipe Watermelon and Black Beans Curry  with Paneer or Tofu. 

Hispanic Papaya Curry from The Hispanic Kitchen.  If your interested I also made a Mauritius version of Green Papaya Curry with Soya Chunks. 

Orange 'Chicken' and Spicy Fruit Curry from Mouthwatering Vegan Recipes

Ms Marmite Lover South African Bunny Chow with Peach Curry and Sultanas with crusty bread.  

Ms Marmite Lover also has a  recipe for Sri Lankan Pineapple, Cashew and Coconut Curry on her website.

Pineapple, Ginger and Tofu Curry from A2K A Seasonal Veg Table

Sri Lankan Spicy Green Apple Curry from The Flavour Blender

You will find a lot of chicken curry recipes made with pear, but you may be interested to note that Food 52 have a recipe for Pear, Butternuts Squash Curry Soup (no photograph)

Strawberry and Puy Lentil Curry from A2K _ A Seasonal Veg Table

Mango Coconut Curry aka Ambya Sasam from Enjoy Indian Food.

Kerala Jackfruit Curry from Sanjeev Kapoor

You will also find a recipe for Spinach Curry with Fresh Apricots from Azelia's Kitchen (no photograph) 

To end, as I begun with the awesome Jack Monroe, she even has a Banana Chickpea and Tea Curry. but it is very possible that this Banana Curry recipe is inspired by the Queen of Vegetarian cuisine in the UK Rose Elliot as she has a Banana Curry with Cashew recipe in The New Complete Vegetarian Collection (2010) check out the recipe here.

Do you have any Vegetarian Vegan Meat Free Fruit Curry Recipes to share?!

Fresh India Sweet Potato Vindaloo

This Sweet Potato Vindaloo is the second recipe I cooked from the cookbook Fresh India: Quick, easy and Delicious Vegetarian Recipes For Every Day by Meera Sodha which I was gifted at Christmas.   

When I think of Vindaloo, I wrongly and stereotypically think of old classic Bollywood movies with Catholic Indian characters called De Sueza or D'Silva living near a beach or a fishing village in or near Goa, India.  Vindaloo came to India via the Portuguese and was known as carne de vinho d'alhos (meat marinated in wine and garlic). I don't ever recall any of the movie characters ever making or eating a variation of vindaloo, but I sort of romanticised it in my mind growing up and tried to make sense of the popularity of the burning hot Vindaloo in the UK.  I still don't understand it, but what I do know is that I miss those old fashion Bollywood movies.  I find Bollywood movies to be just a long pop video and am very selective of those I watch.  those I watch are often recommended by family and close friends.  

Vindaloo is traditionally made with pork.  I like spiced food but not ridiculously hot either, so the appeal to make a vegetarian or vegan version of it never occurred to me.  There re a few Sweet Potato Vindaloo recipes around, as well as a popular variation of Two Potato Vindaloo by Ottolenghi, but I am trusting Meera Sodha's Sweet Potato Vindaloo version as the flavours may be more authentic.  

Meera Sodha's Cauliflower Korma

For a person of South Asian heritage who is not that bad in the kitchen, I still have quite a few South Asian Indian cookbooks on my shelf as cuisine from the Indian sub continent is wide, vast and diverse, just like its people.  

Most of the Indian cookbooks I have come from Madhur Jaffrey, Reza Mahammad, but I also have some by Dala Tarla and lesser known cooks in this part of the UK Viji Varadarajan.  I also have all the cookbooks by the beautiful Vicki Bhogul who has just made a comeback with the republication of Cooking Like Mummiji.  A couple of years back I was super excited by the publication of Prashad cookbook. However I only have a handful of Gujrati Indian Vegetarian Cookbooks.  The one I flick through quite often is Hansa's Indian Vegetarian Cookbook (2001) by Hansa Daghi who combines her Gujarit home cooking with touches of her East African upbringing.  

However, its my newest cookbook that I want to put in the spotlight.  My husband got me Fresh India: Quick, easy and Delicious Vegetarian Recipes For Every Day by Meera Sodha for Christmas.   This Cauliflower Korma with Blackened Raisins (Gobhi Korma) was the first recipe that I bookmarked from the cookbook.  

I have to say Meera Sodha's Cauliflower Korma as you may know it, its very different. There is no coconut or coconut milk in the recipe , but there are nuts not what we often see cashew nuts but ground almonds that act as both thickener and give it that rich creaminess.   It made for a change and I like change.

Green Coconut Soup with Fennel

Yes this is really just another Green curry.

This Green vegetable Coconut Soup was made in the same vain as my korma soup, way too much coconut that it drowned the vegetables, but it was proper lush I tell you.  

I think D enjoyed it more so because of the fresh fennel, peeking out from the sides like angel wings. 

We used to grow it a lot of fennel when we had an allotment and eat it quite a bit.  But its been a while.  I picked it up with plans to make something else, then ended up throwing it into this Green Vegetable Coconut Soup and I am so glad it did.  It made for a wonderful change.  Thick, the consistency of Pea Veloute and colour just as vibrant - green and gold.

I am sharing this Red Cabbage Purple Potato Salad with Soups, Salads and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen and with Eat Your Greens hosted by my co-host The Veg Hog.

vegan Sri Lankan Style Jackfruit Curry - Polos Ambula

This  is a very inauthentic take on a Sri Lankan Jackfruit Curry known as Polos Ambula.  

I say inauthentic for two reasons.  One I have adapted it to my vegetarian palette.  There is only one ingredient that makes it unsuitable and that is umbalakada (maldive fish powder) so it was easy to omit that and replace with vegan fish sauce alternative, tamari or even a dash of seaweed powder and therefore also accidentally vegan.  Two, I was unable to get my hold of some of the ingredients required to make this recipe as close to the original such as goraka (a sour - acidic fruity spice) and rampe (pandan).  The others such as karapincha (curry leaves), fresh and the dried variety, sera (lemongrass) and thunapaha (curry powder) can be found in most towns and cities in the UK. I also have to admit, I had to look these up the translation for most of these ingredients as I was unfamiliar with them and landed on very interesting blog referenced below.

Vegan Mofo prompt today Cook Something different'.  Yesterday I showcased a Cashew 'Cheese' which was new to me. Today I share a Sri Lankan dish called JackFruit Curry - Polos Ambula.  In my 8 years of food blogging, I have made Sri Lankan cuisine before, but not often enough. 

Aubergine, Black Bean Pepper Pot
Beetroot Coconut Curry 
Carrot and Cabbage Curry
Chilli coconut and Runner Beans Pie 
Chilli Coconut Relish Bulgar Wheat Salad

I have been wanting to make this Sri Lankan Jackfruit Curry for a long while. First delay was getting my hands on Jackfruit and then when I looked at the recipe closely, it demands a long list of spices that I was unfamiliar with as mentioned above.   Undeterred I decided to give this a go.  I am hoping to make it again and track down the ingredients to make Polos Ambula again and a little more properly, but here is it at first attempt.  I found myself automatically shredding the Jackfruit - vegetarian pulled 'pork' style, which it was not necessary as this dish is supposed to be served in chunks, so I will do that next time 

I finished it off by bathing it in some coconut milk, I use only half a can as I did not want it to drown.  I found the chilli a little harsh, perhaps this dish like many spicy dishes is better a day later.  If you put the pot in the oven and cook it slowly it will darken in colour too.

Please read this very interesting  and insightful blog post by Renuka of Fenugreek who gives more insight into Sri Lankan cooking and its ingredients and a wonderfully written blog post on how Sri Lankan people do things in threes.

Courgette and Runner Bean Curry and a Cat in the Garden

I made this Courgette, Runner Bean and Cherry Tomato Curry  last month with the last harvest from my garden of courgettes, runner beans and cherry tomatoes. 

My blog already boasts lots of original vegetarian and vegan Welsh recipes and fusion dishes too, so I am interpreting 'close to home' which is Vegan Mofo prompt today as things that I have grown from seed.   Now how close to home is that?! From garden plot to plate.  

Runner beans, courgettes from the garden plot and cherry tomatoes from the greenhouse.

I have to admit some of the runner beans were a bit on the stringy side, but mostly succulent and tender with bite.  The real star of the dish were the cherry tomatoes, that I stirred into the curry in the last 10 minutes for them just to soften and burst. It was a relatively dry curry and could work well stuffed either in a roti, chappati or even a tortilla wrap.  

Now all I have in the garden are herbs, some cherry tomatoes hanging on for dear life in the greenhouse with some salad leaves.  And Rainbow Swiss Chard.

I dug the garden a week or so back clear and ready for the following year, but a scraggy yet gorgeous log fire burnt coloured cat has recently made our garden plot their lavatory.  Any suggestions as to how to deter this furry beastie, other than resorting to London Zoo solution of Lion Pee pellets; and please don't suggest getting a male to urinate in the garden, it just is not goon to happen. Its funny and makes me giggle, but it also as you can understand be frustrating as well.  I can't sit out in the garden with a water pistol or a watering hose in my hand either, ain't going to happen.   So please I welcome any of your tried and trialed methods.

Thrifty Household had a similar problem many years back, her blog post does not offer a solution but it did make me laugh - Keeping Cats out of the Garden.

Vegan Beetroot and Soy 'Lamb' Curry

Another long working week and I am so glad its Friday.

Let the weekend begin.  

I made this vegan Beetroot and Soy Lambless Curry last week with one of the beetroots that was bestowed upon me by a friend of a friend who has an allotment.  I made Beetroot Chutney with one of it and the other, I made this Pakistani Beetroot Curry.

I've had beetroot in a curry before, 
Sri Lankan Beetroot Curry
and Red Onion, Red Cabbage and Beetroot Curry

In some South Asians home cooking beetroot with lamb known as Chukhandar Gosht  is quite popular, I have to admit it was not smoothing I grew up eating, but when I saw the recipe a few years back on blogosphere, I bookmarked to make a vegetarian version of it with faux meat.  Well here it is, the 'lamb' is replaced with vegamigo Soy Schnetzel which I used for my Ethiopian Tibs recipe.  I have found Soy Schnetzel so much nicer than supermarket brand faux soy pieces.

vegan Strawberry, Tomato and Puy Lentil Curry

Yes, we have had Rhubarb Curry, 

Watermelon Curry, 

Peach Curry, 

and now we have Strawberry Curry.  

Strawberries in a savoury dish?!  Its actually not as terrible as you may think.  Imagine a strawberry a bit like a cherry tomato.  Its not always sweet, sometimes sharp too or sometimes both.

This is a very red curry from the tomato base, red pepper and of course the strawberries.  I made this curry a few weeks back when strawberries from my garden were abundant.  

Iranian Style Quorn 'Chicken' Stew with Aubergines and Courgettes

The past few weeks or so, I have made a few Persian inspired dishes inspired mostly by Iranian  food bloggers, rather than from the spate of mainstream Middle Eastern cookbooks published recently in the UK.  It started as a means to find inspirational ways of using my spices such as Advieh, Baharat, Sumac, Za'atar and ingredients such as Maftoul and Freekeh, but like any curious cook I have been lured and enticed by other recipes.  

When I saw an Iranian style Koresh tweeted by The Persian Fusion,  I just knew I had to make a vegetarian variation of it.  Something about it had me salivating.  

Koresht/Khoresht/Ghalyeh are stews or curries in Persian cooking.  They should not be compared to South Asian curries popular in the Western world.  Persian stews and curries are  quite mild.  

I substituted the chicken breasts with Quorn 'chicken' fillets and adjusted the spices to taste and the tomato sauce accordingly.  It was important to make the tomato sauce thicker to carry the texture of  Quorn fillets which can be quite dry and tough to penetrate with flavours.  In fact, I think its better to make this dish a day in advance, as the Quorn fillets became succulent by absorbing  and taking on some of the flavours from the sauce and natural ochre colour from the turmeric. Disclaimer*: I have been using Quorn products well before starting this blog, therefore this is not sponsored #Quornivore blog post, I have not been given this product free or paid by Quorn in any way.  

As recommended we ate this vegetarian Iranian stew with rice.  I liked how both the courgettes and aubergines - both rather bland vegetable in my opinion melted wonderfully in the dish, giving the dish more substance and texture.  I would be more than happy to make this again.  

Thank you Persian Fusion.

Dirty White Coconut Cauliflower Curry

If you like mild curries, then this Coconut Cauliflower Curry is for you.  

I would describe its between a Thai Green Curry and Indian style Curry, but without the hot warming heat spice of either.  There are spices in this, mostly garama masala (and optional green chilli), but honestly its tame compared to most curries. 

So why do I describe it as dirty?!  

I don't know why, but I was expecting it to remain beautifully creamy white from both the coconut milk and natural colour of the cauliflower, but I overlooked the grainy colouring of the garam masala which made the final dish look dirty.  I then decided to throw in some chard from the garden too - what the heck!

Looking for other White Vegetable recipes - click here to see the White Vegetable Palette for inspiration. 

Vegan Japanese Katsu Curry Sauce

Cup of Tea anybody?!

Fusion food never fails to surprise me.  When I lived in Glasgow I was charmed by the Scots, in particular the Glaswegian Scots love for 'Irn Bru, Curry Sauce and Chips', but at the same time I was baffled at their liking for 'Cheese on Chips' almost a Scottish take on the Canadian-French melty cheesy gravy Poutine.  

Well here is another fusion dish from around the world - Japanese Curry known as Katsu. 

According to the Japan Centre, Katsu curry sauce was introduced to Japan by the British over 100 years ago.  Katsu is a  a thick curry sauce served with crispy panko crumbed chicken or pork cutlets known as Tonkatsu.   Katsu is the traditional Japanese breaded cutlet - whereas my version is more of a Japanese curry sauce.  Its very much like an Indian curry, but thickened towards the end with a roux, similar to the way I do Paprika Mushroom sauce for my pies.  I noted many of the Japanese recipes used blocks or cubes of curry sauce roux.  

Red Curry - Red Onion, Red Cabbage and Red Beet Root

This was supper yesterday evening.  I had the day off from work and had ideas of going into the the big city of Cardiff or further afield Bristol and treat myself to some luxury items: shoes, a dress, a raincoat ... but no  - I decided to stay at home and do some cooking.

This Red Curry made can almost be described as a dry curry.  One that can be eaten with naan bread or chappati aka roti, but if you want it to be more liquid, you can stir in a can of Coconut milk, then I would suggest eating it with some Basmati rice as its a little more sloppy, but rich and tasty none-the-less, The addition of coconut milk will also make it more of a Pink Dish - in which case I may have called it Pink Curry with a nod towards LGBT History Month which is presently being acknowledged and celebrated in the UK, but no this is definitely a shade of mahogony wine red, not pink! 

I've made an spectacular Sri Lankan Beetroot Curry in the past and this is not that different really.  Though this one is to keep up with the red vegetables theme, is made with red onions, red cabbage, red beetroot and even red chillies.  

A final word on the photograph, yes - I know the colours are a bit in your face, but I'm playing around a little - just humour me, I know its not great, the Red Curry on the other hand was enjoyable, but different. 

Turnip Swede and Kale Curry For St Andrews Day

I picked up a Swede -Turnip (Neep) last week thinking ahead of St Andrews Day.  I wanted to honour my friends and my time in Scotland. I also wanted to get my hands on some vegetarian haggis, as I didn't have the inclination this time round to make some vegan haggis from scratch, but as our visit to the city this weekend was cut short by the weather - we had neither home-made or shop bought haggis. 

So with St Andrews Day here, I have to admit I wasn't overly energetic or  experimental as I had done so in the past, so resorted to making a vegan Neep Curry. 

And although nothing like his recipe, I was actually inspired by Denis Cotter to make a Turnip Swede Curry from his book Wild Garlic, Gooseberries and Me. Denis Cotters recipe is made with leeks, double cream and yogurt. 

Happy St Andrews Day to Scottish friends in Scotland and those who have migrated to other parts of the world!