sam's notebook

bhalla papdi chaat :: lentil dumplings with fried pastry, yoghurt & pomegranate seeds

 

Grant and I tried bhalla papdi chaat for the first time when we visited London earlier this year. The combination of textures and flavours (pomegranate, tamarind, mint, coriander, yogurt) was just amazing. We talk about it often!

Today a recipe for bhalla papdi chaat popped up on the Guardian website and I think it's a sign that I need to try it at home. It will be quite interesting to see how that goes since the lentil dumplings and the papdi both require deep frying - I have a completely unfounded and irrational fear of deep frying and have never ever deep fried anything. For this recipe though, I am willing to give it a go!

Wish me luck!

 

Image © Karen Thomas/New Holland Publishing

oh my

 

Chocolate cake perfection by Katie Quinn Davies. Katie's blog is one of my favourites. Have you seen it? If not, I highly recommend a visit!

 

Image © Katie Quinn Davies.

 

frittata of rice, baby zucchini and feta

I hope to try this recipe tonight. Which is quite apt really, since it's from the fabulous food blog Sunday Suppers. If you haven't already, get on over there and take a look at the delicious recipes and mouth-watering photos!

Food styling and photography by Karen Mordechai.


Update: The frittata was delicious, although I did forget to buy cream (I used sour cream instead) and my cooked rice was far too gluggy. Looking forward to trying it again, with perfect rice and the right ingredients!

A word of warning - this was the first time I had made a dish where the frying pan was transferred to the oven, and when I was serving the frittata not long after it had come out of the 205°C/400°F oven, I absentmindedly grabbed the handle. Ouch. My advice would be to wrap a dish towel around the handle as soon as you remove it from the oven.

coincidence

Tonight I was catching up on some long-neglected favourite reads, and found this image of Black Linguine with Kalamata Olive Pesto over at The Jewels of New York.

It reminds me of yesterday's Liberty print!
 

Image from The Jewels of New York.

 

apple gallete with cinnamon walnut ice cream

Lovely blog The Jewels of New York found via housemartin via Saipua.

The apple galette with cinnamon walnut ice cream looks wonderful.

 Image from The Jewels of New York.

 

banana muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup rolled oats
1 egg white
1 egg
2 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup raisins or currants

Method

Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare a muffin tin with paper liners, cooking spray or a very light coating of oil.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whirl the oats in a blender until they reach the consistency of cornmeal; you should have about 3/4 cup of processed oats. Stir them into the dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat the egg white for 3 minutes until foamy and increased in volume but not stiff. tir in the egg, oil, mashed bananas, yogurt and raisins or currants. Folf the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean and dry. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, loosen each muffin by running a knife around the edge, and then tip out onto a rack to cool completely.

Photo copyright mav | port2port, recipe from Moosewood.