Paneer, a non-aged fresh cheese made in India, is a common ingredient in Indian vegetarian cooking. Made by pressing fresh cottage cheese into a block, it’s often made at home but also readily available at the supermarket. As it has little flavour of its own, it’s a hugely versatile ingredient, and works in both savoury ... Read more »
This recipe for Tibetan Rice, from Taste Tibet: Family Recipes from the Himalayas by Julie Kleeman and Yeshi Jampa, is a speciality of Yeshi’s older father, a dish he makes for lunch every Tibetan New Year. Unlike barley – which grows well in the high mountain climate of the Tibetan plateau – rice must be ... Read more »
This herb-laden, golde -baked rice dish hails from Persia and comes to us via Peckham thanks to Sally Butcher’s Veggiestan cookbook , now republished in a special 10th anniversary edition. The crisp, saffron-tinted surface of the rice, known as tahdik, is enormously prized by Persians and definitely the star of the show. The generous volumes ... Read more »
Nasi goreng (which translates to fried rice in Indonesian and Malay) is one of my all time favourites, a real comfort dish of fried rice with a mix of meat, vegetables and seasonings. This chicken nasi goreng recipe from Lara Lee’s Indonesian cookbook, Coconut & Sambal, combines rice, chicken and green beans with aromatic garlic, ... Read more »
Did you know that magnolia flowers are edible? Not only edible, but also delicious, with a mild ginger flavour. They can be eaten fresh and raw in a salad, but they also work well pickled. Pickled magnolia blossoms remind me of Japanese gari – the thinly sliced and pickled ginger often served with sushi. How ... Read more »
I love biryani! I mean the real deal, with beautifully spiced meat between layers of fragrant basmati rice… NOT stir-fried rice with a few bits of meat thrown in, served with a side of sloppy vegetable curry, that is sold as biryani by so many curry houses across the UK. *rolls eyes* Incidentally, if you’re ... Read more »
The Place of Onions, in old Lille. After last night’s rainstorm the intense sticky heat has broken and today is cool, breezy, fresh… I love it! A drop of… [more]
We went to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void this morning, an amazing VR experience where we got to be Rebel Alliance members going undercover as… [more]