virgin cookery
- Thread starter _angel_
- Start date
Finally reworked the wrong-textured carrot cake. It now has a good texture & appearance, and the flavour is good, but might be a bit delicate for some (note to self - add more cardamom next time?).
Indian flavour carrot cake redux
(fusion of Maddhur Jaffrey's carrot cake with an Indian flavour & Stork's foundation recipe for everyday cakes)
Line an 8" cake tin, and preheat oven to gas mk 4 or 360F
In a large bowl, rub in 4oz butter/marge + 8 oz self-raising flour + pinch of salt. Stir in 1/4 tspn ground cardamom.
Grate enough raw carrot to make 12 floz in a clear jug without pressing it down hard. Keep this separate from the flour & fat. Add 4oz brown sugar +3 tbspns each of raisins, chopped pistachios and chopped almonds. Leave to sit for appox 20 mins.
In a small bowl, lightly beat 2 eggs + 3 tbspns milk or 1 egg + 4 tbspns milk
As soon as the oven reaches the temperature, quickly mix the carrot fruit, nuts, sugar, eggs & milk into the flour + fat. Don't spend too long on this, just make sure all the flour is wet and there are no huge clumps of any ingredient.
Transfer to the lined tin, quickly smooth the top, and place in the oven (middle shelf if poss) ASAP.
Bake for approx 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, leave in the tin for approx 10 minutes after removing from the oven
Indian flavour carrot cake redux
(fusion of Maddhur Jaffrey's carrot cake with an Indian flavour & Stork's foundation recipe for everyday cakes)
Line an 8" cake tin, and preheat oven to gas mk 4 or 360F
In a large bowl, rub in 4oz butter/marge + 8 oz self-raising flour + pinch of salt. Stir in 1/4 tspn ground cardamom.
Grate enough raw carrot to make 12 floz in a clear jug without pressing it down hard. Keep this separate from the flour & fat. Add 4oz brown sugar +3 tbspns each of raisins, chopped pistachios and chopped almonds. Leave to sit for appox 20 mins.
In a small bowl, lightly beat 2 eggs + 3 tbspns milk or 1 egg + 4 tbspns milk
As soon as the oven reaches the temperature, quickly mix the carrot fruit, nuts, sugar, eggs & milk into the flour + fat. Don't spend too long on this, just make sure all the flour is wet and there are no huge clumps of any ingredient.
Transfer to the lined tin, quickly smooth the top, and place in the oven (middle shelf if poss) ASAP.
Bake for approx 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, leave in the tin for approx 10 minutes after removing from the oven
Ms T
Honey-coloured ramparts
Just made vinegared aubergines with spring onion and chilli. I've never made it before, and used a "virgin" ingredient - Chinese black vinegar. It was dead simple. I'm waiting for it to cool down because it's best at room temperature apparently. I'll let you know if it's nice or not!
Korma is always a fuck-up.
Mrs Miggins
Eternal
I spent the best part of 5 hours this weekend making a chicken biryani and it turned out rubbish 
The chicken layer was bloody delicious but when layered up with rice and baked for an hour, all the flavour seemed to disappear and it was dry and nothing like as nice as it's early promise. Biggest cooking disappointmend in ages that was. There seemed to be way too much rice for the meat as well.
Gonna fry the leftovers in loads of butter tonight as a consolation prize
The chicken layer was bloody delicious but when layered up with rice and baked for an hour, all the flavour seemed to disappear and it was dry and nothing like as nice as it's early promise. Biggest cooking disappointmend in ages that was. There seemed to be way too much rice for the meat as well.
Gonna fry the leftovers in loads of butter tonight as a consolation prize
Mrs Miggins
Eternal
I made this last night and am eating the first bowl for lunch - and it wins the prize for best soup I have EVER made! I think a touch of chilli wouldn't go amiss though...
Beetroot, lime and coconut soup – for 2-3
6 medium-sized beetroot (about 400g)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 stalk of lemongrass, white part only, thinly sliced
2 kaffir lime leaves, spines discarded and thinly sliced
¼ of a dried lime, seeds discarded OPTIONAL, OF COURSE
250ml of vegetable stock or water
1 small tin (about 200ml or less) of coconut milk
Sea salt and pepper
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Tamari to taste
Thick, plain yoghurt
Chives, snipped into short lengths, to serve
Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Lightly scrub the beetroots and trim all but 2 cm (1 inch) of the stalks. Wrap them, unpeeled and whiskery tails in tact, in a decent-sized sheet of baking paper, then wrap this parcel tightly with aluminium foil. Bake in the oven for 1 ½ hours, or until tender all the way through. This can be done hours, even days ahead.
When cool enough to handle, trim and discard the stalks and tails, then peel – the skins should come away easily when rubbed with your thumb. Cut into large chunks and set aside.
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, lemongrass, lime leaves and crumble in the dried lime. Cook over a low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beetroot chunks and the stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Whiz in a blender. Add the coconut milk and puree until smooth. Rinse out the saucepan, return the pureed soup to it and gently reheat. Taste for salt and pepper. Add a little tamari to taste for a deeper flavour and squeeze in the lime juice. Serve with a spoonful of yoghurt and sprinkle the lime zest and chives over the top.
Beetroot, lime and coconut soup – for 2-3
6 medium-sized beetroot (about 400g)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 stalk of lemongrass, white part only, thinly sliced
2 kaffir lime leaves, spines discarded and thinly sliced
¼ of a dried lime, seeds discarded OPTIONAL, OF COURSE
250ml of vegetable stock or water
1 small tin (about 200ml or less) of coconut milk
Sea salt and pepper
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Tamari to taste
Thick, plain yoghurt
Chives, snipped into short lengths, to serve
Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Lightly scrub the beetroots and trim all but 2 cm (1 inch) of the stalks. Wrap them, unpeeled and whiskery tails in tact, in a decent-sized sheet of baking paper, then wrap this parcel tightly with aluminium foil. Bake in the oven for 1 ½ hours, or until tender all the way through. This can be done hours, even days ahead.
When cool enough to handle, trim and discard the stalks and tails, then peel – the skins should come away easily when rubbed with your thumb. Cut into large chunks and set aside.
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, lemongrass, lime leaves and crumble in the dried lime. Cook over a low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beetroot chunks and the stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Whiz in a blender. Add the coconut milk and puree until smooth. Rinse out the saucepan, return the pureed soup to it and gently reheat. Taste for salt and pepper. Add a little tamari to taste for a deeper flavour and squeeze in the lime juice. Serve with a spoonful of yoghurt and sprinkle the lime zest and chives over the top.
_angel_
.
What on earth's that?
Everyone is more sophisticated than me.
This thread also needs *pictures*
My sag aloo can't have been too bad, my son is mopping up the leftovers without complaint.
He is a human dustbin.
Herbsman.
Nah Lotion, Pet, Nor Powder.
I find that saag aloo needs quite a lot of salt and more spice than usual. The spinach seems to soak it all up and neutralise it.
_angel_
.
It was definitely lacking in the salt and spice department. That link doesn't work for me.
_angel_
.
newme
Giant in Pastyland now
Got it wrong lol it was Nepalese water dumplings, momo's.
http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/momo_cha_nepali_meat_dumplings
Not the best picture but
_angel_
.
Hahaha! Found a different recipe for mushroom korma and voila!
It was actually quite straightforward compared to the rogan josh and bhuna!
psycherelic
I'm not an old hippy!
Pretty much everything I make is virgin, in that I'm always changing and evolving things I make depending on what I've got, what I think will work and what I forget to put in or use to substitute for something I don't have.
But the last time I tries something completely new was making sushi and it actually turned out ok, which surprised me! Took me hours though
But the last time I tries something completely new was making sushi and it actually turned out ok, which surprised me! Took me hours though
