Vegetarian Curry - Eggplant with Yoghurt (Baigan Dahi) Thanks Beck!

2 medium eggplants
3 tablespoons ghee
2 medium onions (chopped)
3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garam masala
sugar
1 cup yoghurt

cook eggplants (slice to 1cm slices, spray with olive oil, and cook on tray in oven) slice up (or pull apart – mush it up with or without the skin – up to you)
- in a medium saucepan, heat ghee, fry onions, garlic, ginger until onion is soft and golden. Add coriander, cumin, turmeric, chilli powder and fry, stirring for another minute. Stir in salt and add the eggplant. Stir and cook for a few minutes then sprinkle with Garam Masala, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and or sugar to taste. Add yoghurt and mix before serving.

Wendy One-tree’s Lamb Curry (slow cooked) via Beck

1 leg of lamb
Onions (2 or 3)
½ a knob of garlic Process these together
1 tablespoon ginger
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon garam masala
3 tablespoons coriander
1 tablespoon cumin
Chilli powder & fresh chillies to your taste (i use 2 of those long skinny green chillies)
Salt to taste
1 can coconut milk + another can of water

To prepare the lamb, you cut as much of the meat as possible off the leg of lamb, dice up the lamb meat. You will use all the meat AND put the whole leg (bone and all) into the pot for cooking.

Fry onions, garlic, ginger and chillies then add tomato paste and spices and fry for 5 minutes

Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low heat for an hour or more (up to you)

I like to make a vegetarian curry (found on this blog) to go with it. It is a lot spicier so it’s good if you have a range of people who like different spicy heat levels.

Beef with Mandarin

Oh my goodness - I've been sick and resting (sleeping) a lot. I found my folder (it's a photocopy of the book) and it says Chinese and Asian Step-By-Step. I always thought it was a ww book but maybe not. I will check next time I go to mum's she has the original :-)

Here is the recipe - and it is with mandarins (the fruit) I like the mandarin flavour and add a bit of juice as well.

Preparation time: 25 mins
Cooking time: 5 mins
Serves 4

350g rib eye, (finely sliced)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon peanut oil
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 teaspoons dried mandarin or tangerine rind (explanation below recipe)
2 teaspoons soy sauce (extra)
1 1/2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornflour
1/3 cup beef stock

Place meat in a bowl

1. mix soy, sherry, ginger and sesame oil together, stir through meat to coat. Let stand 15 minutes Heat the oil in a wok or heavy-based frying pan, swirling gently to coat base and side. Add beef and stir-fry over high heat for 2 minutes until meat changes colour.

2. add the pepper, rind, extra soy and sugar. Stir-fry briefly.

3. dissolve the cornflour in a little of the stock, add remaining stock.
Add cornflour mixture to the wok. Stir until the sauce boils and thickens

Serve with rice or steamed breads.

DRIED MANDARIN/TANGERINE PEEL
Commonly used as a seasoning in slow cooked dishes, dried mandarin and tangerine peel are easily prepared at home and can be stored in an air tight jar in a cool place for months. Make up a good quantity when the fruits are in season.

Use a vegetable peeler to slice the peel thinly; cut the strips into small pieces and carefully scrape off any remaining pith or flesh. Place the pieces in a single layer on a baking tray and place in a preheated moderate oven (180 deg) for 15 minutes or until the peel has dried. Three mandarins produce about a third of a cup of peel.

Beck's marshmallows

1 1/2 tablespoons gelatine
100 ml cold water
Pinch salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
140ml hot water
Colouring (optional)
Flavouring (optional)
Coconut

1. Place gelatine, cold water, and salt in a mixing bowl
2. Place sugar and hot water in a saucepan and bring to boiling point
3. Pour over gelatine and stir until gelatine has dissolved
4. Beat until thick and white
5. add colour and flavour if you want (I added some vanilla extract and some cochineal colour)
6. Pour into a buttered tray
7. stand until set
8. cut into squares and toss in coconut

Beck's Once a year (or eat in a day) chocolate cake

500g dark chocolate

2 tablespoons golden syrup

125g unsalted butter

4 eggs

1 tablespoon castor sugar

1 tablespoon plain flour



Preheat oven to 220 degrees

Grease and line a 20cm springform tin

Melt chocolate, syrup and butter, set aside and cool slightly

In a separate bowl, mix eggs and sugar with beater on high until very thick, creamy and pale

Gently fold in sifted flour, then chocolate mixture until combined

Pour into cake pan and bake on middle shelf of oven for 10 – 12 minute

Remove, run knife around side of the cake and remove collar (sides) and transfer to fridge for 1 hour.

ENJOY (serve with unsweetened cream or plain vanilla icecream)

Spinach Cob Dip by Beck

1 packet Frozen Spinach - cook and squeeze out extra moisture. Cool
1 small container Sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 packet dried spring vegetable soup
1 finely chopped onion
1 cob loaf

Mix all together in a bowl and leave for about three hours. It will not be thick to begin with but vegetable soup will swell and thicken it.

We always buy extra bread rolls to break up and heat until crispy in the oven as well (heat up cob loaf too (before putting in the dip)

This one tastes even better the next day after being in the fridge. :-)

Beck

Beck's Wheat free date scones

Okay, I just used the Scone recipe from the NM red cookbook recipe 1439I used Ogran brand self raising flour (250g) (I added about 1/2 cup of plain (ogran) flour (They sell the flour at woolies in the natural foods section) because when I put the milk in, it was too wet and gluggy)1/2 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon butter1 cup soy milk (or dairy if you want - you may have to add extra flour because it doesn't mix with the milk in the same way)I added about 1/2 a cup of roughly chopped datesThis time I put in the sugar, it says a tablespoon but it was very sweet and I think the dates are sweet enough, I won't add sugar next time. will brush with egg yolk next time to make them a bit browner on top Then I just did the rest like normal sconesbaked in 220 deg. oven for about 10-15 mins They tasted delicious which is the most important thing