Gooey, fruity & nutty chocolate chip cookies!

It’s a miserable day outside so I decided to get baking. What better way to deal with the cold than to make cookies and have them with tea (or coffee) sitting in front of the fire – and this is the result – Enjoy!

Preparation: 10 minutes                    

Cooking: 15-20 minutes

Oven: 190 C (fan 170 C)                 

Equipment: 2 x greased & lined trays

Makes 12 large cookies

Ingredients

75g chopped hazelnuts

75g sultanas

100g white chocolate chips

180g plain flour

110g dark brown sugar

120g butter (soft)

1 level teaspoon baking powder

1 level teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

Method

• Put all the ingredients - apart from the nuts, sultanas & chocolate chips - in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer or a wooden spoon (I used my hands – great fun if you want to get children into baking).
• Once mixed add the rest of the ingredients and mix to combine all the items. Don’t over mix or the dough will become too wet.
• Divide the mixture into 12 balls and place on the 2 trays with ample space in between for the cookies to spread. I put 6 cookies on each tray.
• Put in the oven and after 10 minutes turn the trays around to get an even bake - check after 15 minutes and if they look golden and crisp the cookies are done. It is important to keep an eye after 15 minutes or the cookies may burn at the edges.
• Once cooked, leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before removing carefully using a spatula. Let the cookies cool down completely before putting them in a sealed container where it will keep for 3 days unless devoured by cookie monsters!

Notes

1. You can use any combination of nuts, fruits and chocolate chips so feel free to add or remove as you like.
2. Make smaller sized cookies by making teaspoon sized balls but make sure you check the cookies after 10 minutes as cooking times will reduce. You should be able to get up to 30 small cookies.

Zingy & spicy curry sauce

Preparation: 10 minutes                     

Cooking: 20 – 25 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 medium sized onions peeled and ground (use a chopper)

2 whole garlic peel and grind with the onion

2 large aubergines thick sliced lengthways (if using)

2 tablespoon oil

3 or 4 teaspoon grounded cumin

2 to 3 teaspoons red chilli powder

Juice of 2 large lemons

4 tablespoons coconut milk

3 teaspoon tomato paste

Salt to taste

Method

• Put oil in the pan and heat slightly, add the ground onion & garlic mixture, sauté till light brown.
• Add the cumin, chilli and stir till mixed well. Add a little salt to start with as you can always add more according to taste. Stir the mixture in medium heat for about 3 minutes.
• Add quarter of the lemon juice, coconut milk and tomato paste, cooking for a couple of minutes. Finally add rest of the lemon juice, put the lid on and cook in low heat for about 8 minutes or until the oil comes up.
• Add the aubergines and simmer in low heat for 15 minutes. Do not add water as the aubergine will release enough liquid to add to the curry sauce. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and green chillies right at the end.

Note

You can add meat or other vegetables if you don’t like aubergines. Cooking times will vary depending on the meat and vegetable used.

Karhi

I have finally found some time to put up a couple of curry sauces (of course nicked from my mother!). This one is quite different to most curry sauces you may have tried.

Preparation: 5 minutes                       

Cooking: 10-15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup of yogurt

2 ½ heaped tablespoons gram flour

1 medium sized onion finely chopped

½ teaspoon chilli powder - you can put more or less according to taste

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoons cumin powder

4 curry leaves

salt to taste

1 litre water

Bunch of coriander roughly chopped

Method

• In a bowl, mix the gram flour with 2 tablespoons water (add a bit more if needed) until it is a thick paste like consistency. Add yogurt and the rest of the water – mix well. Strain the mixture through a sieve (to remove any lumps) into a medium sized pan.
• Add the onion, chilli, turmeric, cumin & salt to taste. Add more according to taste if needed.
• When you get the first boil let it cook on high heat for few minutes, then cook on low heat for up to 10 minutes, stirring all the time.
• Finally add the curry leaves then let it cook on a low heat until it thickens stirring from time to time. The thickness of the karhi is according to your taste. 
• You can make plain pakoras and add to the karhi or you can eat it without the pakora with rice.
• Add coriander once heat has been turned off so the flavours can infuse.

Note:

Plain pakoras are very easy to make. Just take 2 cups of gram flour, add ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon garam masala and enough water to make a very thick batter. Put tablespoon sized portions in very hot oil until the pakoras become brown and float on top. Drain on kitchen paper then add to the hot karhi. Add garnish on top before serving.

I have been busy!

Apologies for the long absence - I will be back with more recipes in the next few days. Some nice curries straight from my mother's kitchen!

See you soon. Naila

Tomato soup

I love tomato soup as it has the depth and warmth to stand up to any chilly day and with so many variations I can make it spicy, smoky, zesty or just plain and simple - with lots of varieties of tomatoes! This recipe is one I have "borrowed" from my mother in law and it is delicious, but nowhere near as good as hers!

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 30 minutes
Serves up to 4 people (or 2 hungry souls)

Ingredients
2 tins peeled whole tomatoes
1 large onion chopped
4 rashers bacon chopped
1 vegetable stock cube in 1/2 pint hot water
bunch of basil leaves
salt & pepper to taste

Method

• First sweat the chopped bacon in a deep medium sized pan, add the onions and cook till they lose colour. At this point increase heat and let the mix sizzle and catch a little bit.
• Add tinned tomatoes in juice, stir for a minute on high heat then reduce temperature to low. Add the stock and let the mix bubble away gently.
• After 20 minutes or so remove from heat and blend with a hand blender till the soup has a smooth texture. Add pepper and taste as you may not need to add extra salt due to the bacon used.
• If the soup is too thick just add some more hot water or stock to get it to a consistency of your choice.
• Add the basil leaves and leave to simmer on very low heat for another 5 minutes.
• The soup can be served with a swirl of cream or some herb & garlic croutons.

Note:

You can omit the bacon if making a vegetarian version but add seasoning at the end of cooking. You can even leave out the cream, croutons or basil and just eat with crusty bread for the most satisfying flavour of tomatoes.

I have used tinned tomatoes which work as well as fresh ones. To add some more texture to the soup, add 2 medium carrots at the start with the onions.

To give the soup extra heat, add 1/2 teaspoon paprika & 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder at the start of the cooking process. Chilli flakes can be added at the end once the soup is ready.