Difficult Dinner Guests

Spicy mash in chillis, deep fried in batter. So bad but so good!

Stuffing the chillis

Ready to eat with some yoghurt dip.

Ingredients:

• 8 long red chillis
• Sunflower oil (or a deep fat fryer)

Spice mix:

• 3 green chillis
• 3 cloves garlic
• Lots of salt

Filling:

• 2 medium potatoes (skin left on)
• 2 good handfulls of fresh coriander
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• Lots of salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened dessicated coconut
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp garam masala

Batter:

• 250g chickpea/ gram flower
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder

Method:

Make the spice mix in a pestle and mortar to make a fine paste.

Boil the potatoes until soft and mash them together with the other filling ingredients and spice mix and set aside.

Put the flour in a bowl with the salt and chilli powder and add 250ml water and mix. The paste should be quite thick else it wont stick on the chillis.

Cut a line in the chillis and put the filling, potato and spice mix goo inside, filling them as much as possible. Coat in the batter (you need a good coating and then deep fry in hot sunflower oil, submerging the whole chilli. Takes about 5 minutes.

Serve hot. Amazing.

Suitable for: gluten-free, wheat-free, lactose-free, sugar-free, vegetarian and vegan diets.

A veggie curry that will even keep meat eaters happy.

Ingredients:

• 6cm ginger – grated
• 3 small green chillis
• 6 cloves of garlic
• Good glug of vegetable/ sunflower oil
• 500g paneer (Indian cheese) chopped into chunks
• 1 medium red onion, chopped fine
• 1 tin chopped or plum tomatoes
• Good sprinkle of salt
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 3 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 good handfulls of fresh coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala

Method:

In a dry pan, fry the cubes of paneer until lightly browned on each side and set aside.

Add a good glug of oil to the pan and fry the chopped chillis and garlic before adding the onion, cooking until it is dark brown. Reduce the heat and add the tomatoes followed by the grated ginger, salt, turmeric, ground coriander, cumin seeds and half the fresh coriander and mix together.

Simmer uncovered for a minute before adding in the paneer. Add about 150ml of boiling water and bring to the boil before covering and simmering on a low heat for 10 minutes.

Stir in the garam masala and remaining coriander and remove from the heat to sit for about 20 minutes (whilst you make the rice).

Reheat quickly just before serving.

Suitable for: wheat-free, gluten-free and vegetarian diets.

Because of the bananas, this recipe works as both a gluten free and vegan bread of wonder. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 75g (3 oz) vegan sunflower spread
• 175g (6 oz) light muscovado sugar (if you prefer, you can add less sugar still)
• Vegan egg replacer – enough for two eggs (available from most health food shops)
• 450g (1 lb) bananas, mashed (this is around 4 large bananas)
• 200g (7 oz) gluten and wheat free flour blend
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 110g (4 oz) chopped mixed nuts or sultanas

Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4.
Grease and line a bread tin
Cream your butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
Mix your egg replacer with water (proper instructions on the packet) and add to the butter/sugar mix bit by bit, beating constantly.
Mix in the flour and bicarbonate of soda.
Mash your bananas with a fork. Note: the bananas are better if the peel is a little bit brown – a good way to use up your old bananas). Stir your bananas and nuts/ sultanas into the mix with a metal spoon.
Put the mixture in a prepared tin and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until risen and firm. When you put a knife in, there may be some mixture that comes on it, but don’t worry – the bread is baked after this time.

To serve – toast slightly and serve with a thin smear of vegan sunflower spread. Delicious.

Suitable for: wheat-free, gluten-free, lactose-free, vegetarian and vegan diets.

Ingredients:

• 200g (7 oz) good quality dark chocolate (broken into pieces) (vegan)
• 50g (2 oz) sunflower spread (vegan)
• 2-3 tsp instant coffee, ground in a pestle and mortar
• Splash of spiced rum
• Pinch of salt
• 15g (1/2 oz) unsalted pistachios, shelled.

Method:

Arrange 18 bun cases (fairy cake cases) on a large baking tray.

Place the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of water (Bain Marie) and make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl.

Heat the chocolate until melted and then whisk in the coffee, butter, rum and salt.

Pound the pistachios in a pestle and mortar until slightly crumbly.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the bun cases, sprinkle with the pistachios and leave to set in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Suitable for: wheat-free, gluten-free, lactose-free, vegetarian, vegan diets.

I made these two cakes for a coffee and cake morning to raise money for Macmillan. Lemon is good to add to gluten-free cakes as it is both zingy and adds moisture. Enjoy.

#1 – Lemon Drizzle Cake (in the tin)
#2 – Lemon Sponge (on the plate)

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 220g butter
• 220g caster sugar (I use non-bleached caster sugar)
• 4 medium free-range eggs
• Grated zest of 1 large lemon
• 220g gluten and wheat free self-raising flour blend
• 1 tsp baking powder

For the drizzle

• Juice of 2 lemons
• 80g caster sugar (I use non-bleached caster sugar)

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 Degrees C / Gas Mark 4.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and caster sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one by one and beat in.

Sift in the flour  and baking powder and beat well. Then add the grated lemon and mix in.

Butter a loaf tin and spoon the mixture in. Place in the oven for around 50 minutes (until a skewer comes out clean).

Mix together the juice of 2 lemons and the caster sugar in a jug and get a toothpick ready.

Once the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and leave it in the tin. Immediately, prick the top of the cake all over and pour the lemon/sugar mixture over until it seeps in.

Serve once the top has glazed nicely.

Suitable for: wheat-free, gluten-free and vegetarian diets.

Lemon Sponge Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 150g butter
• 100g caster sugar (unbleached)
• 50g light muscovado sugar (no reason, I just ran out of caster sugar!)
• 2 drops vanilla extract
• 2 medium free-range eggs
• 1tsp baking powder
• 150g self-raising gluten and wheat-free flour blend
• 3 tbsp milk
• Zest of 1/2 lemon

For the lemon butter cream

• 270g icing sugar
• 80g butter
• Juice of 1/2 lemon and a bit of grated zest

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 Degrees C / Gas Mark 4.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one by one before beating in the flour, baking powder and milk. Mix in the lemon zest.

Split between two round cake tins and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool the cakes on a wire rack once cooked.

In a bowl mix together the icing sugar, butter and lemony stuff to make a butter cream.

One the cake is chilled, spread the butter cream on the top of one and put the other one on top. Top the cake however you fancy

Suitable for: wheat-free, gluten-free and vegetarian diets.

This delicious falafel recipe gets some extra flavour from the smoked paprika. Serve with the tahini dip detailed at the bottom. Serves 6 as a main.

Ingredients

• 2 x 400g cans of chick peas (or use dried if you want to do things more cheaply). Make sure the chick peas are well cooked and quite soft.
• 4 tbsp gram flour or corn flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 small onion (chopped into small pieces)
• 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
• Handful of fresh coriander (chopped)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 3 – 4 tbsps of vegetable oil

Method

Mix together all of the falafel ingredients apart from the oil and mash them with a potato masher. You might want to give it a head start with a hand blender but the mixture will be too dry to do it all like this.

With floured hands roll the mixture into small rounds and flatten them. The mixture should be so that you can do this without it falling apart or sticking to you too much.

Put 3 – 4 tbsp of vegetable oil into a non stick frying pan and let it get really hot.

Once the oil is hot put the falafel rounds into the pan. Leave for a couple of minutes then turn over until they are golden brown on both sides. If they are slightly burnt it doesn’t matter – they’ll still taste great!

Remove the falafel rounds to a side plate and repeat until all of the falafel are cooked.

Healthy tip: if you want to make this recipe healthier then experiment with how much oil you need. Falafel is traditionally deep fried but I think you can get away with not very much oil in a non-stick frying pan.

Tahini sauce

• 4 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Add water until the mixture is white in colour and quite runny – you might want to make more of this to have some left over for dipping.

Suitable for: wheat-free, gluten-free, lactose-free, sugar-free, low-fat, vegetarian and vegan diets.

(Pictures soon)

Ingredients:
Dough:
2 cups wheat and gluten-free flour
¾ cup of water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Tomato sauce:
1 large onion
3 cloves onion
4 large tomatoes
1tsp tomato ketchup
Salt and Pepper

Topping:
(You can choose whatever topping you like, of course!)
Cheese (cheddar)
Spinach

Method:
Start off by making your dough, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl (add more water if necessary). The mixture should be soft rather than sticky. Knead your dough for about 5 minutes, roll into a ball, cover in cling film (saran wrap) and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Whilst your dough is chilling, make your tomato sauce. Put a small amount of olive oil in a pan and fry your onions until golden. Add in the garlic, followed by the tomatoes, chopped small. Add in a tsp of tomato ketchup and then season with salt and pepper. Place a lid on top and allow the mixture to simmer and become slightly mushy.

Roll your dough out into a pizza-circle-like shape and place a thin layer of the tomato paste on. The pizza needs to be cooked for 20 minutes in a 180 Degree / Gas Mark 4 oven.

Anything else you do to your pizza is up to you! For my pizza, I added cheese before baking and then some chopped spinach and a slight drizzle of olive oil half way through (so as not to overbake).

This mixture makes 2 pizzas. Serve with salad, chips or just on its own!

Suitable for: gluten-free, wheat-free, sugar-free, low-fat and vegetarian diets (without the cheese it is also suitable for vegan and lactose-free diets).

Although gluten free, this cake is really lovely and moist because of the golden syrup. Yum.

Ingredients:

• 5 oz butter , softened, plus extra for greasing (use vegetable spread for a vegan, lactose free alternative)
• 300g wheat-free and gluten-free self-raising flour (Available from most large supermarkets in their free-from section)
• 2 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg and dried ginger mixed together
• 6cm fresh ginger, sliced
• 100g dark muscovado sugar
• 250g golden syrup
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 eggs (use egg-replacer for a vegan alternative – available from most health food shops)
• icing sugar, and lemon juice to drizzle over the top.

Method:
Heat oven to 180 Degrees C / gas mark 4 and boil a small amount of water in a kettle. Butter and line a deep cake tin (I use a square tin).

Sift the flour and spices into a bowl and add the fresh ginger. In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a hand mixer and then beat in the golden syrup.

Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 200ml of boiling water and gradually pour into the butter/sugar/syrup mix. Add in the flour bit by bit making sure it is mixed in, followed by the eggs and mix briefly.

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 60 minutess, until a knife comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Mix your icing sugar with the juice of half a lemon and drizzle over the cake.

Suitable for: wheat-free, gluten-free, vegetarian (use egg-replacer and vegetable spread to make suitable for vegan and lactose-free diets).

Ingredients:

• Boneless fish such as bekti fish, king fish (it should be like steak like fish)
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 medium onion (chopped fine)
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 3 small tomatoes (chopped)
• fish masala (consists of powdered cumin, chili, garam masala, coriander, various other spices)
• salt/ pepper/ tsp sugar

Method:

Fry the fish in sunflower oil, then you put it on an un-oiled skillet to brown it and set aside.

Using the same oil used to fry fish, fry onions until softened and add the garlic and ginger paste. Let it fry on a medium heat for a few minutes before adding the fish masala, about 1 tsp. Leave it to marinate and fry.

Add in the chopped tomatoes and cook until they start to soften. Add in a tsp of sugar and the can of tomato paste. Add the fish, some salt and pepper and then cook until the sauce thickens.

Eat with rice or roti! Tastes delicious with cauliflower curry.

Suitable for: gluten-free, wheat-free, lactose-free, and low-fat diets.

A simple version of Thanksgiving dinner made in Nepal so with limited access to an oven!

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (including skin)
• Olive oil
• 10 cloves garlic
• 2 large lemons
• 200g carrots
• 200g potatoes
• 200g parsnips
• 4 tbsp Nepali honey
• Salt and pepper

Method:

Stuff the chicken with the garlic cloves (whole) and slices of 1 lemon. Rub the skin with olive oil and crushed garlic and the juice of 1 lemon.

Chop and par-boil the carrots, potatoes and parsnips in salted water. Add to the same tray and cover with oil and drizzle with Nepali honey, salt and pepper.

Put in the oven for 1 hour (depends on oven etc.) and cook until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are nicely crisped.

Serve with mashed potatoes (to make – cook potatoes and mash with butter, milk and cheese) and gravy (to make – fry onion and garlic in a little oil. Add in chicken stock (check it is wheat and gluten free), 1 tbsp rice flour and water and whisk until a nice texture).

Suitable for: gluten-free, wheat-free, lactose-free (without mashed potatoes) diets.