The Carrot, An Orange Delight

The carrot…not one of my vegetables of choice but now is, as both my boys love them as does our pet house rabbit Alfie!

I’m just about getting myself to eating them raw, like them in a fruit & veg juice mix and now I have made them a little tangy to add them as a side dish to any Indian meal

INGREDIENTS

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
½ tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp cumin powder
½ tsp black mustard seeds
Salt to taste
Fresh lime juice to taste

METHOD

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and mustard seeds. As soon as the seeds start to pop, gently add in the carrots

Sprinkle with the cumin powder, mix well so that all the carrots are coated. Cover and reduce the heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes til slightly soft

Season with salt and fresh lime juice, cover and cook until the carrot is a little more tender.

Serve with your favourite Indian meal

Worded Wednesday

We have just hit the magic 11k number in our group “Sharing Food With Shivaay Delights”

If you are on Facebook, please feel free to join us on our food journey, where we share our love of vegetarian food on an international scale.

Come post your foodie blog posts!  Hope to see you all there…

Much love, D x

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sharingfoodwithshivaaydelights/

Vegetarian Moussaka Style Pasta

Hello friends! Yesterday I fused two gorgeous cuisines together, Greek & Italian! And what a result!! Tasty, Mediterranean and very comforting…my kind of food. Also healthy with the soya mince, and fresh aubergine. Which I have to say is my vegetable of choice at the minute. I keep craving them and I’m sure you’ll all be getting more aubergine recipes soon.

I think the best thing about food blogging/writing is you get to eat the food at the end of it all. Developing, prepping, cooking is enormous fun but to eat the dish is like the cherry on the cake…ummmm reminds me…I have to bake a cake soon for all of you! It’s been a while…

Hope you’re all having a lovely weekend, see you all very soon. Much love, D x

INGREDIENTS

1 large aubergine diced
2 medium onions diced
300g vegetarian soya mince
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tin chopped tomato
300g tomato passata
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
400g penne pasta cooked
Feta cheese optional
Salt & pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, sauté the onion and aubergine together, cover and cook for 5 minutes

2. Add the tin of tomatoes, passata, vegetarian mince, oregano, garlic and seasoning, stir, cover and cook for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally

3. Serve on some penne pasta with a generous crumbling of feta cheese

Taco Beans

Kidney beans are my most favourite beans in the whole world!  I really don’t know why but I’m extremely satisfied after eating them and they are my go to comfort food all year round. 

Usually I use a refried bean mix in my tacos but yesterday evening only kidney beans would do!  I only made a small batch and it was gone in minutes.  Note to myself…Make lots and lots next time round.

INGREDIENTS

1 tin kidney beans drained
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp olive oil
Pinch of chilli flakes
Salt to taste
Tomato puree to taste
1 tsp ground cumin & coriander powder

METHOD

Heat the oil along with the chilli flakes and minced garlic on a low heat. To infuse the oil

Throw in the kidney beans with all the other ingredients. You may want to add a splash of water to help mix everything well

Keeping on a low heat, let the beans cook through. Gently smash the beans a little with your wooden mixing spoon to release more flavour

Combine with salad, tomato salsa, grated cheese in crispy tacos

Source http://kidneystonespictures.com/large/30/Healthy-Kidneys-Pictures-2.jpg

Quinoa with Spinach & Balsamic Glazed Tomatoes

This has to be my most favourite quinoa salad dish to date! Last night we wanted something really light and healthy and this ticked all the boxes. Recently you may be noticing that I have been creating a lot of Mediterranean recipes. I just love the flavours and am probably secretly craving the sun, sea and sand!
A taste of the Med will hopefully keep me going! Until I get there!

An excellent vegan dish also, just leave out the feta and use an alternative if you wish. The balsamic vinegar helps mingle all the flavours and really brings out the sweetness in the juicy cherry tomatoes. I need to go buy some more quinoa today to make some more. Have a stunning day! Much love D x

INGREDIENTS

150g baby spinach
12 asparagus spears chopped
16 cherry tomatoes halved
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove minced
½ tsp salt or to taste
½ tsp dried oregano
Dash of Balsamic vinegar
1½ cup pre cooked quinoa
Feta cheese (optional)

METHOD

• Heat up the oil in a deep pan with the garlic on a medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the asparagus and cherry tomatoes

• Season with the salt and oregano. Stir fry so that everything is coated in oil. Lower the heat and cook for 5-8 minutes until the asparagus is tender

• Splash in a little Balsamic vinegar and mix well. Place the fresh spinach on top of the cooked asparagus and tomatoes and turn off the heat

• This way the spinach will wilt a little but largely remain soft and fresh. Leave to sit for 10 minutes

• Place the quinoa in a large mixing bowl, mix in the asparagus, tomatoes and spinach. Making sure you get all the juices and dressing in

• Combine well and serve warm with some crumbled feta cheese

Simple Bombay Potato Curry

It is easy to forget that one of the main reasons I started this food blog was to and is still to record lots of recipes, that I have learnt, that I have developed. This particular dry potato curry is a speciality of my Mum and Dad’s. It is one that I grew up on, with moong lentil daal and rice plus fluffy chapatis.

Today I am treating my family to this ultra healthy meal and deliciousness!…I couldn’t let you all, my friends here on Shivaay Delights miss out either. The potato curry has the simplest of ingredients and results in an extremely tasty soft velvety melt in your mouth potato treat. Do give it a whirl and let me know how you like it.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday, much love, D x

INGREDIENTS

4 medium red potatoes, peeled and cubed 2cm pieces
2 tbsp sunflower oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
A pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp salt or to taste
¾ tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander & cumin powder
Fresh coriander to garnish

METHOD

Heat the oil on a medium heat along with the asafoetida, cumin and mustard seeds.  Once the seeds start to pop add the potatoes. 

Sprinkle all the seasoning and spices, toss the potatoes so that all is covered in the oil and spices

Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook the curry for 10 minutes, check mix again and cook for another 10 minutes.  Keep an eye on it and when the potatoes are tender when sliced your curry is done.  Garnish with some fresh coriander and serve with naan bread

It’s all about the chocolate topping!

That gooey chocolate topping on a cake or traybake really makes the moist sponge that you’ve prepared sing! You can choose any sponge recipe but one of my favourites is a chocolate sponge recipe by Mary Berry. The chocolate topping recipe is mine which is one I have used time and time again and is delicious even though I say so myself. I sprinkled a generous amount of white metallic sweet pearls on my traybake, to give contrast and make it look pretty! I was in a very girly mood over the weekend! Enjoy, much love D x

INGREDIENTS

For the sponge

50g  cocoa powder
6 tbsp boiling water
100g baking spread or soft butter
275g caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs
125ml  milk
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

For the chocolate ganache topping

200g plain chocolate
180ml double cream light

METHOD

~ Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (160C fan).

~ Put the cocoa in a large bowl, add the boiling water and mix until smooth. Add the baking spread or butter and beat into the cocoa until smooth, then add the remaining cake ingredients and mix until combined – this can be done in a mixer or by hand.

~ Pour into the tin, spread evenly and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until well risen, just firm to the touch and shrinking away from the sides of the tray. Leave to cool completely in the tray

~ For the chocolate ganache topping ~ heat the chocolate and cream in a saucepan over a low flame until the chocolate melts

~ Remove the pan from the heat and whisk the mixture until smooth, glossy and thickened. Set aside to cool for 1-2 hours, or until thick enough to spread over the cake

~ Pour the chocolate fans ganache over the top of the chocolate sponge base

~ Using a palette knife, evenly spread the ganache and set aside in the fridge to set

~ Once set, carefully slice the traybake into 16 equal squares. They are now ready to be served

Sneaky Mums & Their Recipes!

So it’s official! I am like my mum and we are exactly the same!! Both of us were very cheeky and sneaky today in getting our children to eat goodness as they are unwell. One big child, being me and my little ‘un. My mum made me an extremely spiced ginger tomato soup to help my cold and I made chapati flat bread with broccoli and cauliflower to get vegetables into my youngest!

It worked, the soup was so refreshing and allowed me to breathe again properly after days of being blocked up. Whilst my little one munched away on the green chapati not knowing that he was eating lots and lots of vegetable goodness! Worked out for both parties!….

INGREDIENTS

1 small broccoli in florets
1 small cauliflower in florets
1 clove garlic minced
½ tsp grated ginger
1 tbsp soft cream cheese
2-3 tbsp sunflower oil
200g chapati flour
1 level tsp salt
1 level tsp garam masala
1 heaped tsp cumin & coriander powder
Flour for rolling
Butter for spreading

METHOD

Boil the cauliflower and broccoli until tender.  In a food processor put the boiled florets with everything except for the flour

Whizz into a thick paste, will look a bit like a pesto, gradually add the flour to form a soft dough

Heat a non stick frying pan on a medium heat

Take about a tablespoon and a half of dough, roll into a ball, dust in some flour and gently roll out into a flat round approximately 6 to 7 cm

Place into the frying pan, wait for a minute or so until it bobbles, turn over and cook until both sides have a few brown spots. Make sure the flatbread is cooked all the way round

Serve with a little melted butter

I’m taking some over to Angie’s Fiesta Friday Party!

Caramel Pear Upside Down Cake Flan

Good Morning! I thought it was time for another new cake recipe from Shivaay Delights! I wanted to treat ourselves as we have been really good with our new healthy found diet. I still used a low fat butter spread which was lovely in this!
So apart from the sugar that I also reduced, the recipe is not extremely fattening!

I love upside down cakes and prefer making the caramel topping in the oven! Saves on washing lol! And the whole house is set off with the brown sugary sweet aroma, followed by the scent of juicy pears being permeated by this buttery caramel!

I wanted to achieve not a sponge cake risen base but more a sponge flan base. By beating the eggs and butter together really achieved this. A very velvety texture on the tongue with sweetness and a little sharpness from the pear provides us with a great combination! My little one thought that the caramel topping was chocolate and it went down even faster! Lol!

Have a wonderful day! Enjoy…what are you cooking today?
Much love D x

INGREDIENTS

For the caramel and topping
3 heaped tbsp dark muscavado sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3-4 small pears, peeled, cored & thinly sliced

For the cake base
200g self raising flour
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
40g light brown sugar
40g caster sugar
2 large eggs
100g butter/low fat butter spread

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180°c/350°f. Put the unsalted butter and 3 tablespoons of muscavado sugar in a greased cake tin

• Place in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the sugar has started to melt into the butter. You may need to add a tablespoon of water to the caramel and stir

• Carefully arrange the thin pear slices onto the caramel and set aside

• Whilst the caramel is cooking in the oven. Beat together the butter and eggs together until combined

• Throw in all the dry ingredients plus the milk and vanilla extract, mix well. The batter should be of a drop like consistency, if not then add a little more milk

• Pour in the batter over the pear and caramel, with a spatula level out

• Place in the oven for 35-45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when poked into the cake

• Leave the cake to rest in the tin for 10 minutes. Slowly invert cake out onto a large dish

Serve warm with a little vanilla ice cream

Warm Garam Masala Garden Peas

Here in the UK we love our peas, as a side dish and an accompaniment to many of our favourite meals. We also love curry! So why not mix things up?

Take the simple versatile garden pea and spice it up! This will enhance not only the meal but will add an Indian twist to any classic dish! The usual and most favoured herb is mint but here we are using the famous coriander and lifting the sweetness with spices and lime.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of frozen garden peas
½ tbsp sunflower oil
¼ tsp mustard seeds
⅓ tsp salt or to taste
½ tsp garam masala or more to taste
½ tsp coriander & cumin powder
Handful of chopped coriander
Squeeze of fresh lime juice

METHOD

• Heat the oil in a small saucepan, add the mustard seeds. Once they start to sizzle, carefully mix in the peas

• Let them defrost a little, throw in the salt, coriander and cumin powder. Combine well. Cook on a low heat for 7-10 minutes

• Stir in the coriander and add the lime juice, mix and let the coriander leaves wilt a little.

• Take off the heat and serve with the meal of your choice. Also ideal to mush up and give to toddlers to introduce them to different spices and flavours