Hard-boiled Eggs 12-14
Good Quality Mayonnaise 3-4 tbsps
Salt & Pepper to taste
Water Chestnuts (chopped up) 3-4
Chopped Chives
Golden Breadcrumbs with a generous pinch of Hurry Curry Spice Blend – 2 tbsp

Shell the eggs.
Cut in half – lengthwise.
Scoop out the yolks and mash with the Mayonnaise, salt & pepper, chopped water chestnuts and chopped chives.
(We love the home-made mayo at home – when I get around to making it! Otherwise, our preferred shop-bought jars come from Culley’s.)
(If you want to / could be bothered to) Scoop the mashed, spiced yolks into a piping bag and swirl into the hollowed out eggs. Otherwise spoon them in.
Garnish with some more chopped chives and the spiced breadcrumbs for extra oomph.

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Kalpana. x

SPICY TOMATO (AND MIXED VEG) SOUP

*Asstd Diced Tomatoes – 4 cups (ish)
Seasonal Diced veges – pumpkin, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes – 2 cups
Chopped Onion 1 medium
Garlic Cloves 6
Bay leaf 1
Basil 1 tbsp**
Crushed Fennel Seeds 1 tsp
Anything Mix Spice Blend 2 tsp
Brown Sugar 1/2 tsp
Salt 1 tsp
Freshly cracked pepper (to taste)
Olive Oil / a generous slug
Water 1 ltr
To serve – torn basil leaves / fresh cream
METHOD
– In a heavy bottomed stock pot or pan, heat the olive oil along with the bay leaf.
– When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and garlic.
– Once the onions turn translucent, add the sugar and let caramelise.
– Stir occasionally (if you stir too often, the onions don’t sit on the hot surface long enough to caramelise and will actually take longer to cook!)
– Add the tomatoes, basil (if using dried), fennel along with salt & pepper and the Anything Mix. Stir in well.
– Cook together about 5 minutes till the tomatoes turn a rich red colour.
– Add the assortment of diced veg and mix till coated in the spicy tomato sauce.
– Add water, cover and bring to the boil. Start with about half the water and add as much to bring to your preferred consistency, while ensuring the veggies are cooked.
**If you’re using fresh basil leaves, add now.
– Fish the bay leaf out and using a stick blender, blitz to your preferred consistency.
– We love this with a drizzle of fresh cream and a sprinkling of some more Anything Mix on top.

Serve with some crusty bread.

This also makes a great base sauce for pasta or pots of chilli, or even a pizza sauce!

(You could always use stock in place of water. Just cut down on the salt.)

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I’ve loved having a teeny wee veggie patch this year. (I’m extremely proud of our butternut!) The cucumber, however, didn’t quite survive the prolific growth of it’s neighbour – the zucchini!

The lovely lovely Donna emailed me this recipe for her pickled cucumbers that she swears by. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. 🙂
While we didn’t quite get to use our own cucumbers, the local produce is just as good!

6 medium cucumbers
3 medium onions
3 green & red peppers (you can also use orange)
1/2 cup of salt
3 & 1/4 cups of white vinegar
2 cups of white sugar
2 teaspoons of Hurry Curry (I use a little more for colour and flavour)
1 tsp of celery seeds
1 tsp of mustard seeds
Water to cover

Wash & slice cucumbers thinly
Peel & slice onions
Slice peppers approximately 1/4 inch
Put all veges into a large plastic or glass bowl
Sprinkle with salt and add water to cover
Leave to stand for 5 hours
Drain all veges well
Combine vinegar, sugar, Hurry Curry, celery & mustard seeds into a large saucepan
Stir over heat until the sugar has dissolved
Bring to the boil
Add the well drained veges
Bring back to the boil

Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal.

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CUCUMBER & MINT RAITA
Plain, unsweetened yoghurt 2 cups
Grated Cucumber 1 cup
Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp
(About 1/2 lemon)
Mint leaves – small handful
(Chopped fine. Leave a small sprig to use as garnish)
Salt 1/4 tsp
Pepper – a pinch

Squeeze the juice out of the grated cucumber (makes a nice, cooling tonic to apply to your face!)
Mix all the ingredients well.
Top with the sprig of the mint and leave to chill in the fridge till ready to serve.

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SUMMER CORN & AVOCADO SALAD

Sweet Corn 4 cobs
Avocado 2
Red Onion 1 small
Mint small bunch
Lemons 2
Salt
Chilli chopped fine (de-seed if you don’t like the heat)

This is the kind of salad you throw everything in together and give it a good mix … Just eyeball levels or ingredients and adjust things to taste. Just use a nice big bowl so that you can mix everything in.

Shuck the corn and seperate the kernels.
Dice the avocado put into the same bowl.
Discarding any thick stalks, chop the mint fine.
Chop the red onion as fine as you can.
If you can handle the heat, chop the chilli. If you would like the flavour but not the heat, slice the chilli in half, discard the seeds and chop the skin.
Mix the corn, avocado, mint, red onion and chilli till the avocado coats everything.
Add in as much salt as you would like (about 1 tsp of a nice coarse sea salt usually does it for me!)
Squeeze a couple of lemons on to the salad and mix it all up again.

I love this as a side to our steak and chops, as well as a great addition to a classic ol’ potato salad. It reminds me of street food flavours from India and sometimes I load a spoonful on corn chips and top up with plain yoghurt for extra crunch!

Yummmmo!

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Aaloo Chaat is a childhood favourite – The street vendors would have a stash of boiled potatoes, peeled and chopped on hand to spice up. Satisfyingly delish!

We use new season spuds, boiled with a dash of salt, with their skins left on.
Plain, unsweetened yoghurt drizzled with some tamarind paste, topped with pickled onions, lots of fresh coriander and crushed corn chips make this quick, easy and satisfying as a snack or a meal accompaniment. (Not the prettiest plate, but man does it pack a punch for flavour!)

AALOO CHAAT

New, baby spuds 250 gms
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Anything Mix Spice Blend 1 tbsp
Plain, unsweetened yoghurt 1/2 cup
Tamarind paste (if handy) 1/2 tsp
Fresh coriander (leaves & stalks) – chopped fine – a generous handful
Pickled Red Onions
Crushed Corn Chips – a big handful

– Boil the potatoes with a generous dash of salt till cooked.
– Drain & leave aside.
– Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet.
– Add the Anything Mix Spice Blend and bloom till the spices are fragrant (about 20 seconds).
– Put the potatoes in and mix well, smashing some of the potatoes to get a rustic feel, as well as ensuring that all the potatoes are well coated with the spices.
– Transfer to the serving bowl.
– Layer with the yoghurt on the top.
– Drizzle the tamarind paste.
– Put the pickled onions on the top.
– Take a couple of pinches of the Anything Mix Spice Blend and sprinkle some.
– Top with the chopped coriander.
– Add the crushed corn chips on the top for added crunch.

Stir through before serving.

The post “Aaloo Chaat” (Spiced potatoes – Indian street style) appeared first on Mixed Roots.

BAINGAN BHARTA (Smokey Smashed Eggplant)

Round eggplant 1
Red Onion (finely chopped) 1/2
Tomato (finely chopped) 1 large
Coriander (chopped up, stalks & all) generous handful Salt 1/4 tsp (or to taste)
Fresh chilli (chopped. De-seed if you cant handle the heat) 1
Oil 1 tbsp

Coriander to garnish

– Pierce the eggplant with a fork in a few places.
– Spray some oil / rub lovingly with oiled hands.
– Place on a gas burner or a bbq flame (not on the plates or grills) to burn the skin off.
– Keep turning over to ensure that you burn the skin off so it peels easily.
– Leave to cool on a plate.
– Peel the burnt skin and discard.
– Mash the eggplant with a fork, making sure there are no lumpy bits.
– Heat a pan with oil till hot.
– Add the chopped onions and heat till transparent pink, taking care not to burn them.
– Add tomatoes to the onions and smash together till well incorporated. You don’t want to burn / caramelise the mixture, so this shouldn’t be done on a very hot pan or for too long.
– Add the coriander and chilli, along with salt and mix well.
– Add the eggplant mash and stir till well incorporated.
– Serve garnished with more chopped coriander and yummy paranthas doused in ghee or butter. (nomnomnom)

This becomes a staple in our household over the summer season.
It’s very quick and easy, coming together in about 15 minutes.
Also, as it has no spice in it, it’s a lovely neutral flavour and we love it on pizza, as a dip with crackers …

The post Baingan Bharta (Smoky, Smashed Eggplant) appeared first on Mixed Roots.

I am loving the warmer, longer days… An extrovert’s dream – more time to spend with the people we love (and those we want to get to know better!). Try our Spicy Chickpea & Spuds for a quick, easy and satisfying side to your evening BBQ’s and soirees.

SPICY CHICKPEAS & SPUDS WITH PICKLED ONIONS
Serves 4 as a side
Prep time: 10 mins / Cooking Time: 30 mins
Cooking Difficulty: Easy

Chickpeas 1 can
Baby Potatoes (our favourite kind is Agria) 250 gms
Neutral Oil 2 tbsp
Mixed Roots Anything Spice Blend 1 tsp
Pickled Onions
Sweetened Greek Yoghurt 1/2 cup
Coriander – Small handful
Lime / Lemon Slices

Boil the baby potatoes, skins on, in salted water. Drain and keep aside.
Dice the cooked potatoes into bite sized pieces, if too big.
Pickle the onions and set aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the oil on a medium heat.
Add the Mixed Roots Anything Spice Blend and fry till fragrant (about 10-15 seconds).
Drain the chickpeas. Add into the pan, along with the potatoes.
Mix till well coated with the spices.
Transfer into a big serving bowl.
Add the chopped coriander and mix well.
Squeeze some lime / lemon through.
Top with some pickled onions and spoon dollops of the Greek yoghurt.
(Feel free to add some micro-greens for additional crunch and bite.)

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FOR THE KOFTAS
Paneer or firm tofu (grated) 250 gms
Kumara (diced) 1 cup
Pumpkin (diced) 1 cup
Mushrooms (grated) 1 cup
Onion (finely chopped) 1 small
Fresh Coriander (chopped) a handful
“Nice Spice” Spice Blend 1 heaped tsp
Cruched Ginger & Garlic 1 tsp
Egg (optional)*
Oil to pan fry the balls

*The egg is optional though it really does help with holding the shape of the balls.

THE CURRY
Onion (finely chopped) 1 large
Crushed Tomatoes can
Raw cashews 100gms
Boiling hot water**
“Hurry Curry” Spice Blend 1 heaped tsp
Dried Fenugreek leaves 1 tsp
Fresh coriander (chopped fine) 1 large handful – reserve some for garnish at the end.
Oil for cooking.
Additional water – 1/2 – 1 cup

**Put the raw cashews in a measuring jug and pour boiling hot water to make a cupful. Leave soaking till the water cools. Blitz to a fine paste to cook with.

MAKING THE KOFTAS
-Pre-heat an oven to 200 degrees to roast the kumara & pumpkin.
-Splash some neutral oil, a sprinkle of salt, and roast till caramelised and cooked through.
– Pull out, cool and mash coarsely with a fork.

– Mix all the ingredients – the mashed roasted veg, grated mushrooms, grated paneer, chopped onions, crushed ginger & garlic, coriander, Nice Spice Spice Blend and the egg.
– Using wet hands, mix it all well.
– Form even sized balls and put aside on a plate till you’re ready to cook them. (Using wet hands ensures the mixture doesn’t stick to your hands.)

– Heat about an inch of a neutral oil in a really heavy skillet.
– Cook the balls in batches till evenly browned.

Drain on paper towels and keep aside till you put them in the curry.

COOKING THE CURRY.
– Heat a splash of oil in a heavy bottomed skillet (you can use the same skillet you used for frying the koftas.)
– When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook till they’re transparent.
– Add Hurry Curry Spice Blend and bloom the spices (about 15/20 seconds). When spices are fragrant, add the chopped tomatoes and about half the chopped coriander.
– Cook on a medium heat till the tomatoes are caramelised. When the tomatoes turn a deep terracotta colour and start “shedding oil” on the edges of the paste, add the blended cashew paste.
– Mix well and bring to a rolling boil. If the sauce seems too thick, add about 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil. (Add more if you think it needs it, but bring to a boil before adding the koftas.)
– When the sauce is to your desired consistency, add the dried fenugreek leaves and stir well.
– Taste and season with more salt if you need any.
– Gently, drop the cooked koftas in and shake the pan to coat the koftas with the sauce. Use a spoon to ladle sauce on all the koftas.

Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with rotis and rice (and pickled onions, of course!)

*If you don’t have dried fenugreek leaves, add about 1/4 tsp of dried fenugreek powder along with the onions when you start cooking the sauce. Or just leave it out. It really does add a depth of flavour, but you can’t miss what you’ve never had! 😉

I must also confess that I have tried to make this without cooking the koftas before putting them in the sauce. Having an egg in there makes it MUCH easier for them to hold their shape. It still tastes pretty good, though!

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