Malabar Fish Curry

I wanted to make a fish curry for some time. After the other curries I have done in the last couple of  months, a fish curry it should be. Eating fish was on the top of the list to eat this week anyway.

I went through my cook books and many recipes on line and on YT and Malabar or Kerala fish curry came up often. So many different versions of a recipe does not make it a lot easier to choose one, so I took inspiration from all of them and made my own. The base is mostly identical in all the recipes.
It may not be authentic but it tastes great.

recipe:
1 tsp curcuma powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp chili powder
6 curry leaves dried
heat it up in a dry pan until it smells intense without burning it. Get it out of the pan.

3 tbsp Ghee or clarified butter
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds
3 shallots
5 cloves of garlic
5 cm fresh ginger
use a small kitchen machine or a pestel and mortar and make a paste from shallots, garlic and ginger
Heat up the Ghee and get the seeds in and let them pop. Add the paste and fry for 3 minutes.

add
2 red onions in half rings
3-6  green and yellow chilis
3 tomatoes or 6 small ones diced
1 tbsp tomato paste
250 ml water

bring back to a simmer and add the dry roasted spices.
200 ml coconut milk
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tsp tamarinde paste loosend in a bit of water
1 tbsp palm sugar

300 g wolffish
300 g Nile perch
200 g baby spinach
3 whole coriander with roots and leaves

cut the fish into 5 cm pieces and put them into the sauce, let them cook 5 minutes and then get all the spinach on top, close a lid and let it wilt down. Then stir it into the sauce.

Serve with Basmati rice of Indian bread and fresh coriander.

Vegan Coconut Spelt Semolina Pudding

When ever I am looking forward to a warm and very quick way to have a comforting meal, I turn to semolina or rice puddings. They are easy to make, fill the belly and leave a feeling of comfort. And your sweet tooth  is satisfied.

Yesterday after work I was longing for something comforting on a Friday, that was quick to make and thought about Mom´s standard semolina pudding served with some fresh fruit.

But, while I was looking for my standart wheat semolina I took the spelt semolina out of the cupboard, not a huge difference, but a slightly different colour. I saw the tin of coconut cream/milk sitting there and why not, make a different kind of pudding. I turned it into a vegan dish, which challenged me a bit to get my thoughts together and keep up  with that cooking style. In regular semolina puddings, I use an egg yolk to make it more glossy- but now??  I have a jar of coconut butter and that was my solution.

recipe:
400 ml tin of coconut cream
100 ml water
5 tbsp spelt semolina
1/4 tsp rhubarb angelika salt (or any other)
4 tsp coconut flower suger
1 tbsp coconut butter
1 lime
2 flat peaches
1 tsp agave syrup

Heat up the coconut cream with the water, add salt and sugar and bring to a boil.
With a whisk get in the spelt semolina slowly, without making lumps.
Reduce the heat and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the lime juice and the coconut butter and stir well.
Destone the peaches and toss them in the syrup.

That is a dish I will come back to again!

Tartine with fresh fruits

Fig harvest time started in my front garden this week. When ever I walk by, I can find one or two ones, that turned a lovely colour and start to drop from the tree. That tree is a dwarf, but has enough fruit to take me through two weeks. And second harvest for late fall is showing too, because lots of tiny figs are on the tree for that season.

What to do with  that one? And I bought some small flat peaches and had an apricot left. Make a fruit salad? No, I was to hungry for that and baked fruit combined with warm bread, cheese and ham sounded much better.

recipe:
1 piece of Baguette
1 rec onion
1 spring onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 flat peaches
1 apricot
1 fig
6 slices of smoked Bavarian cheese
2 slices of raw Black Forest ham
1 tsp butter
1 tbsp Sriracha
some fresh green herbs
salt and pepper

Chop the onions and fry them in the olive oil, take them out of the pan.
In the same pan saute halfed fig, peaches and apricot halfs until they get some colour.
In a griddle pan, grill the lengthwise sliced buttered bread until it has some dark lines.
Top with smoked cheese, ham and hot fruits and add the onions on top with a bit of green.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with some sriracha

Lemon Lime Chicken Chili Breast

This is a Sunday dish to serve a family, it is easy to prepare the different components at different times and just bring them together before you get them onto the table.

The potatoes are like German Bratkartoffeln, but prepared in a different way. Jut cut them after they have been peeled and place them onto baking paper, season with salt and pepper and brush them wi
th oil and at 180 C bake them in the oven. Just don´t overlapp them, they have to be placed individually. Maybe you will need to baking sheets and bake them on sheet after the other. You can make that ahead and let them cool down.  Later, when onions and ham are cooked, just place them into the oven to reheat.

As a salad, cucumber goes great with it. Just grate the cucumber with the skin on a mandoline into very thin slices, get some salt on them and let them sit for 20 minutes, then drain most of the water.
Lots of fresh herbs and a great dressing make a refreshing salad.

Courgette Parsnip Potato Fritters

Served with an Avocado Dill dip. These ingredients go well together and it is simple o prepare.
You can use a box grater or use an electric grater, both works fine.
That is a real summer dish, leftover fritters can be eaten as a packed lunch the next day.

recipe for 12 fritters:
1 medium courgette
1 spring onion
3 small parsnips
4 medium potatoes
1 egg
3 tbsp corn starch
salt and pepper
piment d`Espelette or chili flakes
herbes de Provence
veg oil for the pan

dip:
1 avocado
1/2 lime
1/4 bunch of fresh dill
salt and pepper

Grate the veggies and give them a good squeeze to get some of the moisture out.
Add the egg and the corn starch and season well.

A heaped tbsp mixture into a bit of hot oil in a pan and fry them until they get a brown color, flip them and cook until done. Put on some kitchen paper to drain some of the oil.

Destone the avocado, chop the dill and squeeze the lime and season.


 

Lemon Lime Sesame Muffins

I had a couple of lemons and limes sitting around and wanted to do some baking on a cloudy and muggy sunday morning. The best things ever are muffins, quick and easy made and good to share with many people.

I found some different recipes on google and read one from "Kitchn", that gave me the idea. Sesame and lemon sounded good, but I went for a less sweet, a bit tangy and on the healthier side muffin.

recipe:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup  coconut flower sugar
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 extra large egg
2 lemons zested
1 lime zested
1/2 cup double cream
3/4 cup milk
1/2 lime juiced

syrup:
lemon and lime juice
3 tsp Xylit sugar
12 half dried raspberries
12  half dried blueberries

Preheat the oven 175 C
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan
In a big bowl combine the dry ingredients
In a small bowl combine the wet ingredients and pour them into the bigger bowl. Mix up well, but don´t overmix.

Use a 12 muffin tin and place paper cups in, fill up and press a raspberry and a blueberry on top.
Bake for 20 minutes

In a small pan heat the juice with the Xylit sugar and cool down.
Use a toothpick and prick some holes in the fresh baked muffins and pour some syrup over them.

Make your own vegan veg stock

When you buy ready made veg stock, you get less veg but mostly salt and fats and yeast extracts. I wanted to make some myself for a long time. I bought a fruit and veg dryer a couple of days ago, the moment it arrived, I cleaned it and started to load up the trays. I bought the basic soup veg and run some of it over a mandoline and chopped some button mushrooms.



5 trays of mushroom slices and veg slices did take all around 9 hours to dry completely. I stored them in a big jar and started the next round with courgette and roots like beets and swede. 9 hours later they were done too. The last round went to chili, garlic, mixed herbs and tomatoes. The longest time took the tomatoes, even that I took out the wet middle bit.

It is possible to dry all the veggies in the oven too. Then put everything into a blender and make fine crumbs out of all veggies and herbs.

recipe:
6 button mushrooms
1 leek
2 parsnips
2 carrots
250 g celeriac
1 red beet
1 spring beet
2 spring onions
1/2 swede
6 cocktail tomatoes
1medium courgette
3 stalks lovage
5 stalks thyme
2 stalks rosemary
1/2 red chili
4  garlic cloves
2 tsp dried garlic
2 tsp dried onion
3 tbsp salt
2 tbsp pepper

Mix with salt and pepper, dried onions and garlic and then fill it into a dark container and store in the dry cupboard. Use 2 tsp in a mug of hot water, then you can add a bit of olive oil and you have a broth.

Orange Onion and Artichoke Salad

I have this salad stored for a long time in my recipe box. I ate it a couple of times in Miami, Florida. It is summer dish and quick to prepare. Juicy oranges and red onions go wonderful together. The artichokes are out of a jar stored in oil. Fresh herbs are the final touch.

recipe for one:
2 oranges
1 medium red onion
30 g artichokes in oil
1/2 fresh garlic clove
1 tsp mint leaves
1/2 lime
1 tsp agave syrup
olive oil
salt and pepper

Peel the oranges so that the white is gone, peel the onion and slice it into fine rings.
Use some boiling water and put the onions into a sieve and pour the water over them, drain.
Get some artichokes out of a jar.
Snip some mint leave and make the dressing.
Lime juice, agave syrup, olive oil and salt and pepper.

Maccaroni and Peas

This dish I made a long time ago. I love Maccaroni pasta but I buy it seldom. It is a vegetarian dish and extremly tasty. But you have to like peas! And no mint in sight.

recipe:
250 g maccaroni
200 g defrosted peas
1 tbsp butter
1 red onion
3 cloves of garlic
175 ml veg stock
120 ml creme fraiche
50 g medium old Gouda
salt
pepper
herbes d`Provence
chili powder

Peel and chop garlic and onion and in some butter saute that until soft. Add the peas and cook them for 3 minutes. Pour in the veg stock and season. Cook the maccaroni until al dente.

Get some peas out and put cream in and blitz it up.
Serve it with some more creme fraiche and fresh grated Gouda.

Caraway Seed Breads - Kümmelstangerl

This is a typical Bavarian kind of bread, that is served often as a second breakfast or Brotzeit. Usually with a strong cheese and smoked cured ham and sausages. A tall glass of beer goes great with it.

We served it with 2 different kinds of cheese and the Bavarian Weisswurst. This sausage is made from veal meat and lots of herbs, it is white in color with green specks in, so it looks kind of weird and many foreigners don`t trust the Bavarians enough to eat it. In the old times, this sausage was served only until before noon. There is a note saying " The sausage should not hear the church bells of noon" . Nowadays with our refridgerations it is no problem to eat this sausage when ever we want it.

The sausage was sliced and breaded and then fried in a pan in shallow oil. It is served with the typical sweet mustard, that is a must to eat with the sausage.

recipe for the bread:
250 g bread flour T 550
75 g  rye flour
25 g buckwheat flour
150 g semolina duro
100 g greek jogurt
12 g salt
12 g veg oil
10 g fresh yeast
7 g caraway seeds- half of it ground
2 tsp Bavarian bread seasoning  or coriander, fennel and anis ground
330 ml water

caraway seeds and coarse salt for the topping

The dough should be made the evening before baking so it has time to rise in the fridge. Divide the dough into 5 balls and make some long breads. Let them rest 30 minutes and then brush with some water and sprinkle caraway seeds and salt on top.

Heat the oven 230 C and bake 20-25 minutes, spritz with water after 15 minutes. When the bottom sounds hollow, they are done.

Pannacotta with Gentian and Mountain herbs

Gentian is a Schnaps that is produced in the Alpes, in Bavaria and Austria. Gentian is a blue flower that blossoms on steep mountain sides in the alpine climate. The roots are collected and made into a sharp clear spirit.

This dessert is getting a kick out of the Schnaps and the herbs give a fine taste to the otherwise just sweet and creamy dish.
Top it with some fresh fruit and a bit of complimentary herb and you have a dish to impress, which can be made a day before and so is easy to serve when you have guests.

recipe:
200 ml double cream
200 ml whole milk
30 ml Gentian Schnaps
40 g sugar
4 gelatine leaves
1 stalk rosemary, mint and thyme
fresh fuits and complimentary herbs
grated milk chocolate

Bring the double cream with the herbs to a boil, cover and set in the fridge for 5 hours. Pour through a sieve and add the milk and sugar and bring back to a boil, add 15 ml Gentian.
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water and squeeze the water out and dissolve it in the cream. When it has cooled down, add the rest of the Gentian and put it in the fridge to set.
Before you serve it, cut up some fresh fruits and herbs - apricot and rosemary , strawberry and mint or whatever you can lay your hands on. Grate some chocolate over it too.

Cepelinai - Lithuanian meat filled dumplings

I travelled through the Baltics 4 years ago and was intrigued by their kitchen. A bit on the heavy and earthy side, but so delicious. Call it comfort food.

The dumplings are served at many Tourist restaurants as a special and they are very good. Filling and great for rainy and colder days. But since our summer here is on hold in the moment and 20 C is not so hot, I decided to cook them today.

recipe:
1,2 kg floury potatoes cooked
50 g corn starch
200-250 g flour
1 egg
1 tsp salt

You can make the potato dough the evening before. It should be cold, when you make the cepelinai.

250 g pork sausage meat
5 spring onions
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
125 g smoked bacon
2 tbsp parsley

Fry the bacon and later get the chopped onions in. That is the dressing later for the dumplings.
Take some dough and flatten it in your hand, press in some sausage meat and close the dough around it. Make sure, it has no holes.

Use a very big pot mit salted water and simmer the dumplings for 18 minutes.

Salmon with Banana and Freekeh

I stumbled over the combination of fish and bananas on the Portuguese Island of Madeira. First I was a bit surprised to see it on a lot of different kinds of baked or grilled fish, but the sweetness of baked bananas goes wonderful with the light flavour of fish.
I would not recommend it on Sardines or Herring, haven´t seen this combinations on the island.

Maybe it is the influence of Brazil and the tropical fruits that grow on Madeira year round. I served this dish with Freekeh, Grünkern in German, bought from a shop that sells organic and producer friendly goods. It was grown in Palestina. But rice will go good with the dish as well. Iceberg lettuce with fresh coriander and dill and blueberries as a side.

recipe:
250 g salmon
2 small bananas
2 spring onions
a bunch of dill
salt and pepper
1 tbsp sesame oil
50 g Freekeh
250 ml veg stock
1/4 iceberg lettuce

a small bunch of fresh coriander
50 g blueberries
1 tbsp creme fraiche
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp raspberry vinegar
1/2 tsp celery seed
salt and pepper
1 tsp agave syrup

Start with the freekeh, it takes the longest. Heat up the stock, add the freekeh and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it sit 30 minutes, loosen it with a fork.
Season the fish with salt and pepper and oil it. Use a cast iron griddle pan.
Peel the bananas and slice them in half, half the spring onions.
After half the cooking time of the Freekeh, get the pan rolling and everything inside. Remember to turn the banana so it can get soft on both sides. Turn the fish from the skin side after a longer period for a short grill on the top.
Prepare the salad and chop all the herbs, set some dill aside for the salmon.
Wash the blueberries and make the dressing.

Broccoli Apple Peanut Salad

This is a unique combination and many call it a Fitness salad. I found this recipe at work, I went out on my lunch break for a quick salad and was surprised. I took a pen and a piece of paper and studied what I had on my plate and took notes.
Here is a fresh and tasty kind of salad

recipe:
1 broccoli
1 red apple
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1/2 cucumber
125 g roasted peanuts

dressing:
3 tbsp  pistacchio oil
1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
a pinch of cayenne pepper
salt

In salted boiling water just toss in the broccoli florets and fish them out 2 minutes later and place them into ice water, so that they stay green, chop them.
Chop the bell peppers and get the wet  bit out of the cucumber and chop it.
Wash the apple and take the core out and chop it.

When everything is chopped separately put it all on a board and run a huge knife through the whole salad a couple of times.
When you use unroasted peanuts, toss them in a pan otherwise use ready roasted ones.

Make the dressing, it should have a bit of a kick to it.

German Apple Cinnamon Pancake

This is inspired by an other recipe from SortedFood. But actually it is in a way my Mom made them as long as can remember, but she only use the hob and not the oven.
My take on the recipe reminded me of my childhood.
It is basically a German heavy pancake with cooked apples and cinnamon.

recipe:
250 ml milk
2 eggs
125 g flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
30 ml sparkling water
1 tsp caster sugar
1 apple
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp apple jelly
double cream

Make the batter first, just add milk and eggs, salt and 1 tsp of sugar  to a blender. Follow with flour and baking powder and add some salt.  Give it a good mix and let it sit for 30 min, then add the sparkling water.
Preheat the oven 180 C grill.
Core and peel the apple and use a wide oven proof pan and melt the butter. Cut the apple into rings and saute them with some cinnamon. When they are done, sprinkle some brown sugar on top and caramelize them.
Add the batter and cook the pancake on the stove until the one side is getting color.
Stick the pan under the grill and let the top batter get done.
Brush some apple jelly on top and whip the cream and serve with some more cinnamon.

Mango Lime Sorbet

We are having a hot weekend - finally. But the forcast for the next week shows, it is not going to stay that way. But ice cream on a hot day is a wonderful thing.

I bought some jucy mangos and limes and a sorbet will be the best that can come out of it.
An other foodie on SortedFood has posted this recipe and I changed it a little (no sugar or water added).

I saw it and thought immediatly that I would like to make that. It turned out so good and it was a fast way to get nice ice cream.

recipe:
2 large very ripe mangos- about 3 cups puree
2 limes
5- 6 tbsp golden syrup
1/4 cup apple juice
1 pinch of Cayenne pepper to take off some sweetness

Peel the mangos and throw the flesh into a blender, add the lime juice and the apple juice and give it a good blitz. Taste it and add the syrup and some cayenne pepper.

Put it into an ice cream maker and churn the sorbet.