Sarahs Kitchen Travels

Tag: gluten free

  • Nepalese, Stir fried spinach and spring onion

    Serves 4 as a side dish 2 as a main
    Stir fried spinach with dill

    No meal in Nepal is complete without ‘sag’ spinach, in fact there are many different types of spinach. we have been serving a version of this recipe in Yak Yeti Yak for over 20 years and it’s still one of out most popular dishes.

    Ingredients

    • 400 grams | fresh spinach, washed, dried and torn in half
    • 20 grams | 1 oz fresh dill, finely chopped
    • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
    • ½ teaspoon crushed chilli (optional)
    • ½ teaspoon Panch Puran (optional)
    • 1 medium onion, finely sliced
    • 1 teaspoon finely grated garlic
    • 25 grams | 1 oz fresh ginger, finely sliced and cut into thin matchsticks
    • 1 large tomato, roughly chopped
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon Yak Yeti Yak or garam masala
    • 1 bunch spring onions, cleaned, roots removed and cut into 2 cm (1 inch) pieces

    Method

    Heat the oil in a wok or high sided frying pan until it’s medium, add the chilli and panch puran, fry the seeds until they start to pop then add the onion and salt. You will need to keep stirring to prevent the onion from burning at the edges. Once the onion is starting to turn translucent add the masala, garlic, and ginger then fry until the spices start to stick to the base of the pan, add a tablespoon or 2 of water, just enough to lift the spices off the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato and fry stirring occasionally until the tomato softens but still holds its shape add the spring onions and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, tip the spinach, watercress and dill into the pan, keep frying and turning, until the spinach is completely wilted. Check for salt and serve immediately

  • Strawberry Lassi

    Makes approximately 450 ml | 1 pint
    creamy, irresistible strawberry and cointreau lassi

    Lassi, the go to cooling summer drink, just visit Indrachowk in Kathmandu and check out the queues at the lassi wallah stalls. Until recently lassi wasn’t that well known in the UK.  It was the exotic drink parents would get for kids in the restaurant and first choice whenever I wanted cool mum points from my kids friends.  Then one day for no apparent reason, other than why not?, I started putting alcohol in my lassi and have never looked back.

    Ingredients

    • 5 medium ripe strawberries
    • 2 tablespoons Cointreau, Adult optional extra
    • 120 ml | ½ cup milk
    • 120 ml | ½ cup plain unsweetened live yoghurt
    • 3 to 4 ice cubes
    • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar or to taste

    Method

    Place all the ingredients in a liquidiser and blitz for 2 to 3 minutes, check the sweetness and add more sugar if you prefer. Strain into a glass and serve.

    For a thicker Lassie use 240 ml | 1 cup of yoghurt and omit the milk

  • Nepalese 5 bean curry

    Serves 4 to 6
    Nepalese 5 bean curry

    No-one tells you that summer monsoon rains are really cold. After a good Kathmandu night out I felt we could do with making some hearty bean soup and totally misjudged the quantity of beans to soak. Next morning I woke to beans spilling out all over the kitchen and a mildly annoyed mother-in-law. Embarrassed and with a slight air of panic, I cooked all the beans and made a curry leaving everyone to believe that’s what I intended all along.

    Ingredients

    • 100 grams | 3 ½ oz dried kidney beans
    • 100 grams | 3 ½ oz dried yellow peas
    • 100 grams | 3 ½ oz dried black eye peas
    • 100 grams | 3 ½ oz dried chickpeas
    • 100 grams | 3 ½ oz dried green peas
    • Water as needed
    • 60 ml | ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 1 small onion, peeled and finely sliced
    • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
    • 1 inch piece fresh ginger (approx.10 grams), finely sliced then cut into very fine matchsticks
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 2 dried red chillies preferably Kashmiri
    • 1 teaspoon Yak Yeti Yak or garam masala
    • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
    • 1 medium tomato, finely chopped

    To finish

    • 60 ml l ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
    • 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

    Method

    Place all the beans and peas in a large bowl and cover them with 2 inches of water. Soak the beans overnight or for up to 24 hours when you’re ready to cook the beans, throw away the soaking water and rinse them well. To cook the beans, place them in a heavy pan with a well fitted lid, add enough water to cover the beans by 1 inch and set the pan on a high heat until they come to the boil. Boil the beans vigorously for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes reduce the heat to a slow boil until the beans are soft, set them aside in a bowl, keep the cooking liquor.  Wash and dry the pan ready for the next step.

    Make sure the pan is completely dry then, heat the oil to medium hot, add the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, and salt cook until the onion starts to turn translucent. Add the chopped tomato and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato has softened and the oil starts to pool and separate from the tomato. Add the masala and turmeric stir and cook for about 1 minute before adding the beans, add in enough cooking water to cover the beans and the salt stir well and place a lid on the pan, simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Squash a few beans against the side of the pan to thicken the gravy and continue to let the curry simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes.

    While the beans are simmering heat the oil in a small frying pan until it’s very hot add the cumin seeds, as soon as they start to pop add the sliced garlic and allow the mixture to fry until the garlic turns golden brown. Quickly pour the sizzling garlic mixture to the beans, it will fizz ferociously, stir well and check for seasoning. Set a curry aside for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

    If you prefer to use tinned beans. Use one tin each of five different beans, empty all the beans from the tins discard juice and rinse them thoroughly before using them.