Nut Pate'

Ingredients

• Soak a half cup of sunflower seeds for a couple of hours or overnight.
• 1/2 cup of walnut (do not soak)
• 1/4 cup of fine minced purple onion
• 1/4 cup of fine shredded carrot
• 1/4 cup celery
• pinch of garlic powder
• Eden Shake (from Whole Foods - Japanese food section)
• pinch of sea salt or noma shoyu
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or more
• Sprinkle of paprika, creole seasoning, basil, cayenne, oregano

Method

Take soaked nuts and walnuts and add them to a food processor. Add spices, noma shoyu or salt and lemon juice. Process on high until you have a nut mixture that has the consistency of pate (or tuna salad look). Place the nut base in a big mixing bowl with enough room to add additional ingredients. Next, take your onion, carrot, and celery and chop them finely. You can use your food processor or use a knife for more larger chopped veggies. The raw onion can be strong so you may want to chop them finely or use less. Add your chopped veggies to the nut base. With your clean hands knead the veggies into the nut base.

Mint and Pistachio Pesto

Ingredients

• 2 cups Fresh Mint Leaves
• 1 tb sp Oil
• 1 tb sp Garlic crushed
• 1/4 cup Pistachios chopped
• 2 Green chilies(or you can use ground black pepper also)
• 2 tb sp Lemon juice
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Toast the pistachios till they turn in to a nice color for a few min. over a medium heat. Let them cool then put all ingredients in to a blender except oil and grind till mixture become pureed.

2. Then add oil and grind till pesto become smooth and creamy.

3. Enjoy this delicious pesto with any boiled vegetables or with pasta and also as a dipping for deep fried snack like Falafel.

Spicy Pear Chutney

Ingredients

• 70 ml olive oil for cooking
• 5 cm fresh ginger root (peeled)
• 4 large cloves garlic (peeled)
• 5 large Conference pears (unpeeled, but seeds & stem removed, cut into quarters)
• zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
• zest of 1 unwaxed orange
• 50 g sultanas
• 150 g dried apricots
• 50 g dried cranberries
• 1 large sprig rosemary (leaves only)
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (more or less to taste)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp coarse-ground pepper
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• 160 ml cider vinegar

Method

Heat olive oil in a heavy-based pan. Crush the garlic and grate the ginger finely, then add to the hot oil. Cook over a low heat until just starting to brown. Chop the pears further to about 1 cm dice and add to the pan. Finely grate the citrus zest (or use a zester), chop the apricots roughly and add them and all remaining ingredients to the pan.Cook for about 30 minutes at low heat, stirring constantly.

Fill into sterilised jars, close the lid firmly, then stand on their heads to cool.

Keeps in the fridge for about a month at the very least.

Garlic Pesto

Ingredients

• 15gr wild garlic leaves
• 5gr fresh basil leaves
• 15gr parmesan, chopped into small cubes,
• 15gr pine nuts
• 70ml olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Roughly chop, or rip, the garlic and basil leaves.

Put the cheese and nuts in a mixer for a few seconds until both are chopped.

Add the leaves and blitz until all the ingredients are combined.

Add the olive oil and the salt and pepper and blitz for a few seconds.

Using a spatula, transfer the pesto into a jar and top up with more oil so that mixture is covered.

Peanut Chutney

Ingredients

• 100 gm fried groundnuts
• 2 large onions-chopped
• 3 chillies-chopped
• 1/2 kernel grated coconut
• little tamarind (5 gm)
• salt

Method
Fry all the above ingredients in oil.

Put them in mixie and grind until the contents become a paste.
Add a little water to achieve consistency of your choice.

Add salt and chillies to taste.
Remove contents from mixie and season them with hot oil, mustard and onions.

Hummus

Ingredients

• 1/2 orange bell pepper or red Bell Pepper
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds soaked in 1/4 cup water.
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 and 1/2 cups chick peas, soaked in water overnight or use Canned Chick peas
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 green chili
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves (Optional)
• salt to taste

Method

1.If using fresh chickpeas, cook them till tender.

2.Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise, remove seeds and the membranes.

3.Place one pepper half, skin sides upon a baking sheet lined with aluminium Foil.

4.Flatten the Bell pepper with hand and drizzle some oil on it.

5.Broil for 10 minutes or until blackened.

6.Cool for a while and then peel the skin.

7.Grind the bell pepper with remaining ingredients in a food processor till smooth

8.Adjust Seasoning.

9.Serve with Falafel or use as a dip or have with bread.

Spinach Chutney

Ingredient

• 9 oz package pre-washed spinach leaves
• 1 tbsp chana dal
• 1 tbsp urad dal
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 6-7 methi seeds
• 1 tsp jeera
• 4-5 dried red chilis (add more or less to your taste)
• 1-2 Indian green chilis
• 3 cloves garlic
• berry sized tamarind, soaked in very little hot water
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

For Tampering

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves, chopped in half

Method

Put 1 tsp of the oil in the big skillet/vessel on medium heat, add the slit green chilis, 3 cloves of garlic and the spinach leaves. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes until the spinach is completely wilted and reduced in volume. Take the spinach out and leave aside to cool.
In the same pan, without washing it, add the chana dal and the urad dal, fry until golden brown, set aside to cool. Add the coriander seeds, methi seeds, jeera and dry roast them until the aroma of the spices fills your kitchen. Remove keep aside to cool. Dry roast the red chilis. Remove, set aside to cool. Put all the above dry roasted ingredients and put them in a blender/food processor, grind it to a fine powder. Add the wilted spinach leaves in the blender with the ground spices, add salt, the tamarind juice (extract from the tamarind soaked) and grind it until the spinach is smooth. Check for salt, add more if needed. Remove to a serving dish.

For the tempering/tadka

Add the 1 tsp of oil in a small skillet on medium heat, add the mustard seeds, garlic clove, curry leaves and fry until the mustard seeds pop or the garlic turns light brown. Add the tempering to the chutney.

Chilli Pickle

Ingredients:

• 200 gm Green chillies, chopped
• 1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)
• 2- 3 tbsp of mustard, fennel and fenugreek seeds powder
• 3/4 cup curd
• 1/2 tsp tumeric powder
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp sugar
• juice of 1/2 lime

Method:

Roast about equal amounts of mustard seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds together till they are light brown in color. Cool them and grind it into fine powder. Heat the oil in the pan. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds. When they start to crackle. Add green chillies and let it cook.Then add the tumeric powder, mustard, fennel, and fenugreek seeds powder, salt to taste, sugar and curd. Mix well and let it cook till the liquid evaporates completely. Then add lime juice to it and store it in a container in the refrigerator and use it when needed. Ready to serve as a side dish.

Onion Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
• 2 tbsp fenugreek (methi)
• 1 tbsp channa dal
• 2" long tamarind piece
• pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• salt to taste

Method:

Take oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they start to crackle add fenugreek (methi), channa dal, pinch of asafoetida (hing) and tamarind piece. Fry for sometime. Add onions, fry till they are translucent. Then add tomatoes and fry for sometime. Turn off the heat and allow them to cool. Grind to a smooth paste. Fry the paste by adding little bit of oil and mustard seeds when they crackle add the paste and fry it for few minutes. Serve it with dosa, idly or rice.