Category Archives: Uncategorized

Red Curry Bolognese

Gluten Free, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

This time we’ll take a short break from Indian cooking and visit some other Asian cuisines – the Thai cuisine. One of the best things in Thai cuisine are the hot and fragrant curry paste with which you can super quickly make a hearty and satisfying meal. It’s possible and actually pretty easy to make those pastes at home but the store bought ones are really great so no need to make the effort. Today you can easily find in the “Asian” section of any market store the yellow, green and red curry pastes.

But wait a minute.. isn’t curry an Indian thing?! Apparently no, there is an Indian curry and Thai curry on those or two completely different things. The Thai curry is a paste based on fresh chili, lemon grass, ginger (or galnagal), garlic, shallots and sometimes also shrimp paste. To all of this goodness you add some cumin seeds, coriander and turmeric. The traditional preparation is done in a mortar and pestle. The Indian curry is the name of a mix of dry spices which are roasted in a pan and grounded to a dry powder. There are infinite versions for Indian curry mixtures while most of them are based on some ratio of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric, fenugreek seeds and dried red chili.

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Lazy chocolate truffles

Sweet, Uncategorized, Vegan, , , , , ,

Making sweet dishes isn’t that simple in our home. Although I love all types of sweet things, mainly the chocolaty ones, my partner is extra picky when it comes to sweets. I usually go back to the same old cookies that were tried successfully or to the cheese cake that somehow passed the impossibly high bar. But sometimes I do want to explore and try new sweet things so usually they’ll be small and easy, so it will make sense to make them just for myself.

I firstly encountered the following recipe in some comment in Facebook but since I’ve seen it all over the net in various blogs and pages (here for example). It is practically based on two ingredients – chocolate and some fatty ingredient like tahinni, peanut butter or even almond butter. It might even work with other “butters” made from nuts or with coconut oil. This simple combination of two ingredients magically creates impressive and tasty truffles with just 5 minutes work.

There are infinite variations to this recipe, you can keep it simple and not add anything or add any type of spice you like and/or any type of nuts, whole or chopped. It can be coated with coconut shavings or cocoa powder if you want the sophisticated look. Details and some more ideas below.

The truffles are stored in the freezer, a fact that allows you to prepare a large amount in advance and eat whenever you feel like it or serve for surprise guests.

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Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

Sweet, Uncategorized, , , ,

Best combination with chocolate? more chocolate! Those terrific cookies are made of mainly chocolate and will fulfill the cravings of any chocolate junkie out there. The recipe is based on the recipe of “The Cookie Fairy“, which is based on a recipe created by Roni Venezia. The following recipe include some alterations and adjustments I made for my family’s taste. The end result is very chocolaty, sweet and addicting.

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Baked chickpeas snack

Gluten Free, Indian, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Who doesn’t like beer? Dark and cold beer is definitely one of my favorites, especially when served with some crunchy and spicy snack. Baked chickpeas are the ultimate party snack, they require minimal prep time using simple ingredients you always have in your pantry and they tend to get lots of praise from surprise guests.

I make those chickpeas in two different versions, both based on cooked chickpeas mixed with olive oil and spices. The first version is pretty simple and consist of everyday spices that you can find in almost every kitchen. The second versions is the Indian version which is a bit more sophisticated. They are both great and pretty similar to one another, the Indian version is hotter and has a hint of Garam Masala.

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Chicken Soup

Gluten Free, Grandma Recipes, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Inevitably, the flu season finally reached us. I always find it amazing that when you have no appetite whatsoever and all you do is lay dead on the couch nurturing a huge pile of used tissues, the only food you can actually eat is the Jewish grandma secret medicine – a.k.a chicken soup. I got this recipe from my partner’s mother, after he once got sick and miserable and asked for a chicken soup “just like his mother’s”.

This is a very basic recipe without any special additions. Handling a whole chicken might be a challenging experience to some (even if you’re not a vegetarian/vegan) but once you pass this obstacle there is hardly any work left.

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Japanese curry

Can be made vegan, Gluten Free, Uncategorized, , ,

This post is more of a recommendation than a recipe. Japanese Curry (karē raisu) is one of the most loved and common dishes in Japan. For some reason this dish didn’t become as famous as Sushi in the west but in Japan it is just as common. Surprisingly, Karē raisu is a new dish in the Japanese cuisine as it has arrived to Japan with the British at the end of the 19th century. The Japanese really liked the idea of a curry, changed the spices and adjusted it to their taste and packed everything in neat little cubes that can be kept forever in the pantry. With those brownish cubes you can easily make THE signature dish of tasty, fast and comforting home cooking.

There are lots of brands for Japanese Curry, I like S&B Golden Curry the best. You can find it in any Asian supermarket in the US or in Europe as well as in various eastern countries such as Thailand, Taiwan, Korea and obviously Japan. You can also buy this online.

S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix, Medium Hot

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