Indian Recipes | Finding Feasts

Pumpkin & Cauliflower in Sweet Tamarind Masala

Pumpkin & Cauliflower in Sweet Tamarind Masala is a simple side dish that is full of flavour and tangy sweetness.

With both my mum and sister having ‘big’ birthday’s – 65 and 40 respectively, we all headed up to the family cabins on the Hawkesbury River for a weekend celebration. Six adults, four kids, two dogs and a cat.Friday was beautiful, and we only just made it in time for the sunset… always breathtaking as the colours cross the water, so a great start to the weekend. Dinner that night was mum’s special Moroccan styled Lamb and Pumpkin Soup with delicious sourdough breads and Pepe Saya Cultured Butter. Simple, clean, well developed flavours – you can never get her soup recipe though as she adds leftover ingredients to the soup through the week so it turns into something quite different from where it started, but always amazing. Anyway, that was the last of the beautiful weather, well actually, Seb and hubby got up for some early morning fishing. The weather was peaceful, Seb caught the first fish – a bream – everything was lovely, and then it all changed. The sun came up and brought with it the massive winds. The temperature dropped the winds were blowing a gale, and the skies were grey. There were fleeting moments of blue sky and sun (still windy as all hell) and the cousins would go back on the wharf for some more fishing. Continue reading “Pumpkin & Cauliflower in Sweet Tamarind Masala” →

Blondie2 Comments

Roti Canai using Pizza Dough, a step by step

This is insanely good Roti Canai using my ‘Best Ever Pizza Dough’ recipe – That’s right, pizza dough for roti!

I knew this dough was good but I am truly surprised at how adaptable it really is. I generally have a portion of this dough in the fridge at any given moment – Seb loves a pizza, but it was only when I went to use it after it had been there for a few days that I realised just how supple it had become…

While the Finding Feasts gal’s were taking a short break with the families in Kangaroo Valley, I chose to try my hand at roti. The dough was amazingly supple and had an incredible stretch but the end result wasn’t too great. But I will never forget the feel and texture of that dough.

When I came across this similar texture in the pizza dough my first thought was the roti dough, which is why we are now here!

What makes this just so amazing is that you have a dough that has so many uses. You don’t feel like you are making an effort for a dish that you will only make once or twice, you will be able to make it whenever you want knowing that some of it can go to making pizza bases or flat bread.

I made two styles of this, one is the circular one and the other is a rectangular one. The rectangular shaped one can also have a filling of your choice,

Roti is alot of fun to make and if you are so inclined you could use the proper technique of flipping – that will be my next challenge!

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Cauliflower in a Coconut Curry

Cauliflower in a Coconut Curry…Years ago I was given an Indian cookbook by my sister, 1000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra. It’s by no means a beautiful coffee table cookbook – there isn’t one photo in it, but a tome to 1000 Indian recipes. I have so many bookmarks in it and I’m slowly getting through them, but this one gets cooked the most. Cauliflower in a Coconut Curry is traditionally done with the whole head of cauliflower kept in tact. It certainly is a show stopper when done this way, but for an easy family meal, cutting it into smaller florets makes it a lot easier to manage.

It’s not strict to the recipe, only because I was missing a couple of ingredients (I replaced the 1/2 cup of yogurt and 1 cup of water with 400g of coconut milk and omitted the coriander and nutmeg) Both are equally amazing but have to admit that this version is OUTSTANDING! It will all depend on whether you feel like a tangy, yogurt base or a creamy coconut base.

Make a Indian flat bread such as a Paratha to help sop up all the delicious curry sauce.

Good eating…. Blondie 🙂

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Zucchini Koftas in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Zucchini Koftas in Creamy Tomato Sauce is an insanely moresih kofta recipe – it really is hard to stop eating these deep fried zucchini balls. The recipe does call for the zucchini koftas to warm in the sauce but when I do it again I will serve the sauce on the side (or underneath) the kofta balls so I keep the texture of the balls, which soften when sitting in the sauce.

This meal is also kid friendly – there is chilli in it so just remove or reduce it if they aren’t a fan of heat, but they will most certainly love the zucchini balls.

TIP: since the koftas really need to be eaten immediately (they go a little soggy otherwise, but still tasty) turn the leftovers into sausage rolls – these are absolutely stunning! Mix the balls and remaining sauce together with some paneer or ricotta and roll up in puff pastry. This way you get the texture and the flavour just in a different form.

My household is still going strong with our 3-4 days worth of vegetarian days a week and it’s been really exciting coming up with recipes to excite and engage… this one is no exception as it has the naughtiness of deep fried food and the lushness of the creamy tomato curry sauce. I have also included a recipe for Paneer Parathas, which are an Indian stuffed bread, just perfect for dunking into the sauce.

Happy dunking!

Blondie 🙂

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