Month: December 2019

KCC’s Nutty Festive Fare

22 December 2019

Seasoned greetings from Knidos Cookery Club – we’d just like to take this opportunity to thank all our readers, old and new, in 2019 and wish you a great holiday season and all the best for the New Year.

With the winter solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year all upon us, we’d like to share this nutty lentil bake recipe with you. It makes a great centrepiece for a festive feast.

We served it with roast potatoes, charred cauliflower and smashed pumpkin and then poured a rich pomegranate sauce over everything.

Ingredients (for 6 servings)

  • 150 g green lentils
  • One carrot
  • One medium-sized onion
  • One stick of celery
  • 75 g walnuts
  • 75 g coarse bulgur
  • Two tablespoons tomato paste
  • Two teaspoons cumin seeds
  • One teaspoon coriander seeds
  • One teaspoon chilli powder
  • Half a teaspoon cloves
  • 50 ml olive oil
  • 250 ml vegetable stock
  • 25 g chickpea flour
  • Pomegranate seeds

Method

  • Cook the lentils in the vegetable stock until most of the liquid has been soaked up. The lentils should still be firm, not mushy. Stir in the bulgur and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
  • Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan and add the spices. Cook for a few minutes and then add the chopped onions, grated carrot and thin slices of celery and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
  • Combine the vegetable mix with the lentils. Stir in the tomaro paste. Toast the chopped walnuts for 5 minutes then add to the lentil mix. Finally add the chickpea flour to thicken the mix.
  • Pack the mix into a greased baking dish and cook for 30 minutes in an oven pre-heated to 180 c. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and then cut the loaf into 6 slices and serve.
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Battered Halloumi = Pakora Paradise

5 December 2019

Over the last few days, we’ve been experimenting with perfecting a batter to make pakora – a deep-fried snack from the Indian sub-continent. After testing a few recipes we’ve hit on a formula that can be used to coat a variety of vegetables from cauliflowers to carrots, parsnips to peas, and also cheese!

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Halloumi pakora with potato wedges and peas

While on a recent visit to the UK, we came across battered halloumi on many menus – the squeaky cheese from Cyprus that stays firm when cooked. We’ve discovered that it makes a perfect partner for our pakora batter when deep-fried.  We recommend you try it with this spicy Yemini sauce, zhug.

But you’ll need to be quick, as halloumi has been a victim of its own success. Severe global shortages of this versatile cheese are predicted as demand far outstrips supply. Luckily for us here in Kazakhstan, a local producer has started making a version of this cheese. We’re pleased to report that it tastes pretty good, so for now the crisis has been averted in our winter base.

Ingredients (makes enough batter for a  sliced up 250 g block of halloumi)

  • 100 g chickpea flour (also known as gram flour or besan)
  • One small onion
  • 1 cm knob of ginger
  • One garlic clove
  • One teaspoon red chilli flakes
  • One tablespoon of fresh coriander
  • 50-100 ml cold water

Method  

  • Mix all the ingredients together with a fork or a whisk, adding water until you get a smooth consistency that is neither too runny not too thick with no lumps. Cover the batter with clingfilm and let it stand for an hour or so before using.
  • Heat a litre of cooking oil, we used sunflower oil but any will do, in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat until it reaches 180 c. To test the temperature, dip a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil – if the oil starts to bubble vigorously,  then it is at the right temperature.
  • Slice a 250 g block of halloumi into eight pieces. Coat the halloumi slices in the pakora batter and drop into the oil. When the pakora rise to the surface and are a golden-brown colour, remove with a slotted metal spoon and drain on kitchen towel.
  • Serve hot with potato wedges or roast potatoes and minted peas. The pakora goes well with a coriander and coconut chutney – this site has a good recipe for this sauce, or with our zhug sauce.