Kitchri ja Bhajia / Leftover Kitchri (lentils/rice) Patties

Our kitchen is being renovated. So we have not cooked since last Wednesday - it is going to be 2 weeks of eating out and takeaways.

Ingredients

1 cup letfover kitchri

1 tablespoon chickpea flour

1 tablespoon chopped coriander

2-3 garlic cloves; minced

1 inch stem ginger; grated

1-2 green chilies; minced

1/2 cup water

salt to taste

Oil for frying

1. Mix all the ingredients and make a lemon size ball, then flatten like a burger

2. Fry in hot oil

I served them with cauliflower cheese.

Tandoori Mackerel

Mackerel is a much underrated fish, and it is sustainable and cheap. It is also a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, and vitamin B12. Mackerel is an ideal fish to barbeque as it is meaty and does not fall apart, and is firm and moist when cooked. It has got enough flavour to taste really good in tandoori masala. This recipe works very well for the whole fish, but I could not get any so I have used fillets.

Omega-3 fatty acids are good for your brain and your joints.

Ingredients

4 Mackerel Fillets; washed

3 cloves of garlic; minced

1 ½ inch ginger; grated

2-3 green chillies

½ lemon; juiced

2 tablespoons yougurt

2 level tspn of tandoori masala; available in most Indian or South Asian stores; I used Rajah

Salt to taste

Method

1. Place the fish fillets in a glass dish, add all the ingredients and mix.

2. Marinate for at least 2 hours.

3. Grill or Broil for 5-6 minutes on each side.

I served mine with boiled new potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Cardomom Cake - Ismaili Style

This is an all in one cake. Very easy and quick to prepare.

6 oz sugar,
6 oz soft butter
3 Eggs
6 oz self raising flour
2 1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn roughly ground cardomom seeds
1/4 cup sliced almonds and pistachios
Cup Recipe
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup + 2 Tbs  sugar
3 eggs
1 2/3 cup self raising flour
2 1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn roughly ground cardomom seeds
1/4 cup sliced almonds and pistachios

Method
Pre heat the oven at 180 degree centigrade
Grease and line a 8 inch cake tin
Sieve the baking powder and flour into a bowl
Add the sugar, butter, eggs and cardomom and beat well, pour into the prepared cake tin.
Sprinkle the sliced nuts
Bake in oven for 45 minutes

Garam Masala (Ismaili Recipe)

One of my readers recently asked me for the recipe of garam masala. This recipe has been handed down in our family for generations. I googled garam masala recipes and found 101 different combinations. Some have have cumin , some coriander seeds, dry ginger, some all three!

Garam means hot, but in this case it is nothing to do with temperature, food is divided into hot and cold (Ayurvedic), dependent on the effect the particular food has on you and your health.

Chachi makes about half a cup which last for ages as apparently the secret is to use it very sparingly, about a quarter of a teaspoon per litre. We mainly add it to meat dishes.

• 1 cup cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 cup cardamom pods
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 grated nutmeg

Grind the above in a coffee grinder, used solely for this purpose.

•