Namkeen lassi (salty yoghurt shake) GF EF NF

 Very refreshing in the hot weather.  I used to prefer sweet lassi when I was younger but as my BP dropped dramatically during the heatwave- I not only needed this but enjoyed it.  Salt preferences can vary as I thought it tasted fine with 0.5tsp (cooking) salt per (2.5 glasses) batch but mum preferred 1tsp.

Gluten free

Egg Free

Nut Free

Ingredients:

6-8tbsp plain yoghurt (I used greek here)

2.5 tall glasses water

1 level teaspoon salt (or to taste)

- In a blender (or lassi making pot/madaani) put the yogurt, salt and half a glass of water and blend so that they're properly mixed

- Add the remaining water and blend again until it develops a foamy layer on top, then serve- perfect for a hot summer's day

Kaara (turmeric milk)

My dad found this drink helped to alleviate his back pain.  I should add that what I say should not be taken as medical advice- merely an anecdote regarding the fact that we found this remedy helpful for alleviating pain.

This is not suitable for nut allergy sufferers as we do put crushed nuts into it.  If you're vegan or lactose intolerant, then you could try this remedy using a plant based milk such as almond milk or hemp milk instead.

Ingredients:

1 mug milk

1/2 teaspoon ghee

1/3 teaspoon turmeric

1/3 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/4 teaspoon ginger

a pinch of black pepper

a pinch of cinnamon (optional)

3 strands of saffron (optional)

2 or 3 crushed nuts of your choice (I used walnuts and almonds but you can use pistachio or whatever your prefer)

Method:

- Put the ghee in a pan that's on low to medium heat, then stir all the other ingredients except the milk and honey to lightly toast them for a minute or two

- Add the honey and milk and bring it to the boil and it's ready to serve (or you can strain it before serving if you prefer)

Banana pancakes (GF) (EF) (SF) (NF) (V)

Ramadan mubarak!  I have adverse reactions to eggs and nuts as well as gluten.  So finding such an easy recipe that meets those requirements and happens to taste nice is like striking gold!  It's still subtley sweet even without any sugar which matters to me as I'm prediabetic.  I used butter but if you want the recipe to be vegan, just use coconut oil or other suitable oil for shallow frying.  The banana I used was ripe (though hardly had any brown spots) and about 5-6 inches long to give an idea of proportions- it just shouldn't be a green or under ripe banana.  Extra ingredients can be added to this such as chocolate chips, raisins or maple syrup but I had these plain and consider that to be unnecessary.  This recipe makes roughly 6 scotch size pancakes

Gluten Free

Egg Free

Sugar Free

Nut Free

Vegetarian

2/3 cup besan (gram flour)

1 banana

A little butter for frying

Water

- In a blender, mix the gram flour, banana and enough water to make it into a batter that's the consistency of slightly runny custard (Optional: at this point you can add cinnamon or maple syrup to the batter)

- In a non stick pan on a medium heat, dab a little butter in different parts of the pan, then pour ladles/spoons of batter, I use roughly one third of a teaspoon of butter/ghee per pancake (Optional: at this point you can add currants, raisins, chocolate chips, or other flavours of your choice)

- When the bottom of the pancake is cooked, it stops being runny and doesn't stick so at that point flip it over and cook the other side for a minute

- Repeat the second and third steps until you run out of batter and serve plain for breakfast (maybe even consider it for sehri) with a cup of tea, or alternatively it can be served with maple syrup or nutella

Mango lassi (and blueberry) lollies (GF) (NF) (EF) (V)

Long time no post. Actually my health problems have made it more difficult for me to cook anything so I have to rely more on others to cook and try out new gluten free recipes for me- then I'm reluctant to post about them cos it feels inauthentic to post about something I didn't make myself. This recipe was so easy though, that I did make it myself.

This recipe made about 6 iced lollies and the mangoes have to be those amazing Pakistani mangoes in season as I haven't tasted anything else that quite measures up. It tastes good without the blueberries but with them, they add a nice contrast to the sweetness.  If you don't have stevia, you can use 2 teaspoons of muscavado or icing sugar in this recipe (instead of one teaspoon stated below).  Made these for Eid as the weather has been hot recently and it turned out really well.  I'm sure it's possible to make these look prettier by layering the white yogurt mixture and the turmeric coloured yellow mixture to give it a marbled effect- but I didn't have the energy to do that. (post edited in 2023 to add improvements to original recipe).

 

Gluten Free 

Nut Free 

Egg Free 

Vegetarian 

1 ripe Pakistani mango, peeled and chopped into small pieces 

20 blueberries (optional)

6-7 dessert spoons plain greek or natural yogurt (not set) 

1 level teaspoon muscavado or icing sugar 

100ml double cream 

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

A pinch of saffron 

4 drops stevia 

- Add turmeric and saffron to the cream, then heat in a pan or microwave and then set aside to cool 

- In a blender, pour in the saffron cream, add stevia and half of the mango and blend

- Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl and add the saffron cream mixture 

- Pour the mixture into lolly moulds, ensuring that there's enough mango and blueberries in each one and enough yogurt mixture to fill them, then add the tops and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight 

- Once the lollies are frozen and ready to serve, you may have to run the lolly mould under a hot tap so that it's easier to remove the lolly from the mould and then it's ready to serve

Tomato soup with garlic bread (GF) (NF) (V)

Ramadan Mubarak. This is such a simple recipe and it led me to realise how much sugar is added to tinned soups which is so unnecessary. Maybe you'd think of buying a ready made baguette from the supermarket as "cheating" but admit it, most of you probably get ready made frozen garlic bread from the supermarket anyway... and yes, I have noticed that the freezer section does sell ready made gluten free garlic bread, but admittedly I think the manufacturer was a bit stingy when it came to how much garlic and butter to put in, so I prefer to make it like this. I saw a soup recipe a lot like this one on TV, but this recipe is how I prefer my garlic bread more along these lines.

Whatever baguette you buy, check the label to ensure it conforms to your dietary requirements in case you're looking for something egg free or to suit other allergies or intolerances. If you want the recipe to be dairy free; the soup itself is vegan so just look for a dairy free baguette and grind the garlic into some olive or rapeseed oil instead of butter. This recipe is based on the baguette being roughly 12 inches long.


Gluten Free
Nut Free
Vegetarian

400g tin san Marzano tomatoes
1 finely chopped shallot
a handful of roughly chopped basil
1 ready made gluten free baguette
60g butter (preferably left at room temperature for an hour)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
a little salt and ground black pepper to taste

- Preheat the oven to 180 celcius or gas mark 5

- In a food processor or with a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, mix in the butter, oregano, salt and up to half of the olive oil and mix together

- With a knife, every 2-3cm make cut marks into the baguette that go 3/4 deep (ie cut most of the way through but not all the way through), then stuff each of those cut gaps with the garlic butter mixture, then place on a baking tray and bake for about 10-15 minutes by which time the butter should melt and the baguette should be golden brown

- Meanwhile put the remaining olive oil in a pan on medium heat, then add the shallot; you want to cook the shallot for about a minute till it is softened, but not changing colour as we don't want it to turn brown

- Add the tinned tomatoes and most of the basil (reserve one sprig for serving at the end) and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then blitz the soup using a blender or stick blender (if using a blender, you have to remove the middle part of the lid and cover it with a tea-towel for this bit), add salt and black pepper to taste and stir

- Serve the soup in a soup bowl with the remaining sprig of basil on top (optional: you can also drizzle a little olive or basil infused oil over the soup at this point) and serve the garlic bread on the side

Cheat's tiramisu (GF) (V)

This is hardly even a recipe as it's so easy to make, but it looks quite impressive. The key is to serve it in small glass dishes, ideally glass espresso cups. I don't have an espresso maker at home so I cheat by using instant coffee, but if you do have espresso to hand, ideally this should be made with it. There are two types of amaretti available in the shops: one is crunchy like a biscuit and the other is soft almost like a cake. I make this using the soft amaretti but you can use the crunchy biscuits if you prefer. Depending on how sweet you want the tiramisu to be, you can mix a little sugar or two drops of stevia into the coffee to offset its bitterness. This recipe serves two small portions.



Gluten Free
Vegetarian

4-5 dessert spoons mascarpone
3 amaretti biscuits
2-3 teaspoons grated dark chocolate (or mini chocolate chips)
a few tablespoons of cold prepared coffee (preferably espresso)

- In a glass espresso cup, place one amaretti biscuit, then break a second amaretti in half and place it on top of it (repeat each of these steps with a 2nd cup to make the 2nd portion)

- Pour 2-3 dessert spoons of coffee over the amaretti in order to moisten and just about cover it

- Spoon roughly 2 teaspoons of mascarpone over the amaretti to form a layer over it (I spoon the mascarpone as it is, but you can whip the mascarpone beforehand with a little milk or single cream to make it less dense and easier to spoon over), then sprinkle some of the dark chocolate over it (this adds texture and colour)

- Spoon another 2-3 teaspoons of mascarpone (this should fill the cup) and then smooth the top a little with the back of the spoon

- To serve, either sprinkle a little cocoa powder on top or a little more grated chocolate, then place the espresso cup with a teaspoon in a saucer and serve

Potato wedges (GF) (DF) (EF) (NF) (Vegan)

If you're someone who likes to have a burger/steak/chicken/gf fish fingers with chips, then I suggest that it's worth giving wedges a try instead of chips. Some people even make wedges with sweet potatoes like this and say it's good though I've never tried that myself. As I'm not vegetarian or vegan, I like to have these with gluten free fish fingers or else with sour cream and chive dip. These are very moreish.



Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Egg Free
Nut Free
Vegan

2 large baking potatoes, washed
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 level teaspoon black pepper
1/3 teaspoon garam masala

- Preheat your oven to gas mark 8/230C/450F

- Cut the potatoes lengthways into wedges

- Bring a kettle of water to the boil, then pour the water into a pan that is on the stove (on a high heat setting), then carefully put all the potato wedges in the pan and leave them to boil for about 12 minutes

- In a bowl, mix together the olive oil, salt, black pepper and garam masala

- Drain the water out of the pan, then spread the potato wedges onto a baking sheet and brush the masala oil on to all the potatoes and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes

- Take the tray of wedges out of the oven, turn the wedges over, brush the remaining masala oil over the wedges, then leave in the oven to bake for a further 20 minutes (if you're not vegetarian and want to eat the wedges with fish fingers or a burger etc, then now would be the time to put those on the baking sheet so that everything cooks evenly and is ready at the same time)

- Serve the wedges alongside a pot of sour cream and chive dip (if you're not vegan) and beware of the fact that these are addictive

Potato gratin dauphinoise (GF) (EF) (NF) (V)

When I saw Michel Roux Junior make this on TV, I thought it looked way too easy and too good to be true, but it turns out that it really is quite simple to make. I've looked up a few recipes and made some changes, because most recipes set the gas mark very low and I personally feel the potatoes taste a bit "al dente" when they do that. I prefer my potatoes to taste more fully cooked than that.

I'd never tried Dijon mustard in my life until a few weeks ago. Then I experimented with this recipe by making two dishes; one with mustard and one without and I preferred the taste of the one with mustard so have added it to the recipe. The original TV recipe also mentioned something about putting foil over the dish in the oven for some of the cooking time but I don't bother. Other recipes have also said it's best served as a side dish with meat so if you were to make it as a side dish, this recipe would serve two people.

According to the recipe on TV, they say you shouldn't wash the potatoes. My advice is that if you have muddy potatoes, then wash and pat dry the outside but once the potatoes are sliced, don't wash them. This is very moreish!



Gluten Free
Egg Free
Nut Free
Vegetarian

1 large baking potato
1 small pot double cream
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 level teaspoon sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
1/2 clove garlic

- Preheat an oven to gas mark 5

- Using a food processor fine slicer blade (or a mandolin or your own knife skills), cut the potato into fine slices that are 1-2mm thick

- Halve a clove of garlic then rub the cut side all over the bottom of the oven dish

- Layer the potatoes in an oven dish, then over each layer of potatoes, sprinkle a pinch of salt and black pepper, then place another layer of potatoes, salt and pepper, then make another layer until the dish contains 4-5 layers of potato slices

- Pour enough cream to cover all but the top layer of potatoes, then smear the mustard over the top layer and place the dish in the oven on the middle shelf for 25 mins

- Turn the oven up to gas mark 6 and leave to bake for a further 25 mins after which, turn the oven up to gas mark 7 and bake for a further 15-20mins

- Take the dish out of the oven and leave to stand for at least 4 minutes before serving (or eat it straight away if you don't mind the risk of burning your mouth cos' it's so irresistible)

Griddled lamb and veg (GF) (DF) (EF)

This is one of my favourite gluten free meals. Whilst the griddled lamb is the star of the show, I feel the dish is incomplete without the rice and veg (and it's even better with the aubergine dip as well). This dish is nut free but as the dip contains sesame paste and even though that isn't a nut, I don't know if it would be suitable for nut allergy sufferers.

This recipe is a guideline based on how I like the dish: meat well done served with asparagus, red onion and courgette slices. The beauty of this dish is that you can swap out and switch some of the ingredients to your taste for example if you prefer, you can use griddled red peppers, parboiled new potatoes or halloumi cheese. In fact, this dish can be made using other griddled meat such as chicken or fish, though if you were to make it with either of those, I'd suggest using a different marinade.

I know there are a lot of ingredients and the dish sounds complex but the marinade takes minutes to make, then you leave it aside for hours and then at the end you just griddle the meat and whichever veg you choose (I prefer to brush a little olive oil over the veg but some chefs don't bother). Anything else such as the rice or dip are just icing on the cake... and if you have one of those big griddles that covers two rings of the stove then that would halve the cooking time and make this even easier to prepare. Bear in mind that Allspice is different from "Mixed spice". This recipe roughly should serve 4 people and if you're not on a dairy free diet, then you can use ghee instead of sunflower oil when making the rice. I don't have exact amounts for making the aubergine dip but you can choose to adjust ingredients to taste.



Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Egg Free

For the lamb

1lb or 500g lamb chops
1 tsp allspice powder
2 tsps ground coriander
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 level tsp salt
1/2 tsp caster or granulated sugar
juice of 1 lime

For the vegetables

a small bunch of asparagus
1 large courgette
2 red onions
a little olive oil

For the fried rice

1 builders' mug basmati rice
1/2 a large chopped onion
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 tsp Allspice powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsps sunflower oil

For the Aubergine dip

1 aubergine
2 tbsps tahini
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
a little olive oil
a few coriander leaves

- To marinade the lamb: mix the sugar and spices, squeeze lime juice on to the meat, then toss together with the sugar spice mix. Leave to marinade for 3-36 hours.

- Meanwhile, to make the aubergine dip: Roast the aubergine in the oven at gas mark 9 until soft and deflated, then (when cool enough to handle) peel off the skin and throw the flesh into a food processor along with the remaining ingredients (except coriander). Blitz till smooth, then sprinkle coriander over the top and serve. This dip goes well with barbequed meat or jacket potatoes.

- To make the fried rice: soak the rice in a bowl of water for 20 minutes, then wash the rice, drain out the water and set aside. In a stainless steel pan, fry the onion in the oil until it slightly browns, then add the spices and fry on a medium heat for another minute, then add 2 builders' mugs full of water and put the pan on full heat. When the water boils, add the rice and when the water evaporates to the point that little holes start to appear in the rice, then put a lid on the pan, turn the gas down to minimum heat and allow the rice to steam for 7 minutes, then turn the gas off and leave it to sit for a further 5 minutes (whilst the rice is steaming/sitting, that's a good time to focus attention on griddling the meat and veg).

- To griddle the meat and vegetables: Slice the onions into thick rings and as for the courgette, chop 1cm off both ends, then cut into 2-3mm thick slices lengthways, then brush olive oil over them. I cook the lamb by griddling it on one side for 3 minutes, then flipping it over and cooking the other side for 3 minutes, then flipping it over again and cooking it for a further 2 minutes. Meanwhile I use the rest of the griddle to cook the vegetables until they get light brown stripe marks on both sides.

- To serve: In a white plate, I put; 2 lamb chops, 3-4 asparagus spears, a few slices of red onion, 1/4 of the slices of a large courgette, a bowl (or 2 ramekins) of rice and a tablespoon of aubergine dip. Alternatively, if making this for the family or guests, you can serve all the meat and vegetables grouped together on a large platter, with the rice and dip in separate bowls.

Chickory and pear salad (GF) (V) (EF)

For those of you who don't live in the UK, 'Chickory' is also known as 'Endive' or 'Witlof'. I tried it for the first time some days ago. It has a really nice crunch to it that you'd expect from iceberg lettuce, but it has a slightly bitter taste so having it with pears adds a really nice sweet contrast that works well with it. I've seen a similar recipe on TV where they use roquefort, but I dislike blue cheese so I used goats cheese instead. They also put mustard in the dressing but I didn't have any so left it out.

This dish should be served as soon as it's made; it doesn't keep well if you leave it to sit for a while. I recommend using a firm but sweet pear. I've given rough estimates of ingredients, but it's really worth tweaking it to your own taste. If you're about to eat something a bit rich such as quiche, then this would be a good side dish to serve with it.



Gluten Free
Vegetarian
Egg Free

1 head of Chickory (endive)
1 pear (preferably a firm forelle pear)
An apricot size chunk of soft goats cheese
A few crushed walnut halves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
A pinch of salt and black pepper

- Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, cider vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl to make a dressing

- Core and cut the pear into slices, then toss the pear slices in the dressing

- Cut the bottom end of the Chickory, separate the leaves, then rinse and dry them

- Arrange the Chickory leaves on a plate, then in each chickory leaf, place a slice of pear, half a crushed walnut and crumble a few small pieces of goats cheese over it and serve immediately

Roasted Autumn Veg (GF) (V) (EF)

The recipe is just for the roasted butternut squash and other vegetables but as you can see from the picture I've taken, my dad decided to roast some chicken legs in the oven at the same time. I don't know what marinade he used so for now I'll just give the roasted veg recipe here. It all tasted really good; the saltiness of the halloumi complimented the sweetness of the butternut squash and it all just went well together. I can't take the credit for this recipe. I found the lovely recipe on the following link:

http://www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/r/roasted_autumn_vegetables_with_halloumi_cheese.html

What's really awesome about this recipe is that not only it tasted great as a roast yesterday but also today, I chopped bits of the roast veg (everything except the roast chicken and halloumi) into some chicken quinoa (chicken curry cooked in garlic infused oil mixed with quinoa) and that combination tasted great too.



Gluten Free
Vegetarian
Egg Free

Cheat's chocolate mousse (GF) (NF) (V)

Belated Eid Mubarak! This little dessert helped bring a little festive vibe into the house. This is a cheat's recipe which for us meant buying the vanilla custard ready made from the supermarket. Of course if you have certain food sensitivities then make sure the custard you get is suitable for your requirements. A typical custard is made using eggs, milk and/or cream with sugar so I think it would be unrealistic to find an egg free or dairy free version of this recipe. Some people like to add other flavours to this recipe such as orange zest and a little juice to give it that chocolate orange taste. If you don't have a nut allergy, then garnishing with crushed nuts just before serving would add a nice texture.

As this is a halal blog, I'm particularly happy that this recipe works because Cadburys keep advertising their 'pots of joy' on TV and when I checked the ingredients list, the pots contained pork gelatine (the same is true of Cadburys chocolate mousse which also lists pork gelatine as an ingredient)- so no joy pots for us then... but it doesn't matter, because this recipe is quite nice so you can make your own mousse anyway.



Gluten Free
Nut Free
Vegetarian

100g dark chocolate (leave aside 5g chocolate shavings for garnish)
300ml double cream
200ml vanilla custard
2 teaspoons icing sugar

- Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then leave to cool slightly

- In a separate bowl, whip the double cream till you get soft peaks

- Stir icing sugar into the ready made vanilla custard, then stir into the melted chocolate till combined

- Fold in the cream until it's all mixed in, then spoon into espresso cups or ramekins

- Top the mousse with shaved bits of dark chocolate, then leave to cool in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before serving

Mango lolly (GF) (DF) (EF) (NF) (Vegan)

Salam and Ramadan Mubarak,

This year's Ramadan definitely seems hotter than last year, so I decided to try and make juice lollies again and alhamdullilah I'm so glad I did! This is just the thing for iftar when the weather gets too hot (especially for kids). My mum tried making this with mango and orange juice but it didn't taste as good as it wasn't sweet enough.

- Just pour a carton of Rubicon mango drink into lolly moulds and place in the freezer overnight (you may have to pour hot water over the mould before serving as sometimes that makes it easier to remove the lolly from it).

Hassleback potatoes (GF) (DF) (EF) (NF) (Vegan)

This is one of my favourite potato dishes. If you're not vegetarian, then I'd suggest eating these with roast chicken legs because they take roughly the same time to cook in the oven. I'd use roughly 9 new potatoes per person (depending on size, or only 4-5 if other veg will be served) if I were to serve this as part of a main course or else this can be made with larger white potatoes as well.



Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Egg Free
Nut Free
Vegan

9 new potatoes
3 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
a pinch of black pepper

- Preheat an oven to gas mark 8

- On one side of each potato, make cuts that run down 3/4 of the potato and are spaced 2-3mm apart, then rinse the potatoes and put them in a pan of cold water

- Bring to the boil, then take the pan off the stove 13-15mins after placing it on there as this allows enough time for the bottom (uncut part) of the potatoes to become slightly tender without being mushy

- Drain the potatoes, then scatter them on a roasting tray (cut side up)

- In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients, then brush over the top of all of the potatoes

- Place in the oven for 23 mins, then take out of the oven, brush on the remaining oil, turn the oven down to gas mark 7 and roast for a further 20 mins, by which time it should become crispy on top and ready to serve

NB: If you intend to roast this with marinated chicken legs, then the oven should be set at gas mark 7 throughout and the tray should be on the top shelf.

Butternut squash soup (GF) (DF) (EF) (NF)

I know the picture is unimpressive to look at, but I'm not a food stylist and this tastes really nice. The recipe does require the use of stock and whilst some people might cut corners and use a stock cube, I prefer to use homemade chicken stock so have included the recipe for that as well. If you want to make this a vegetarian or vegan soup, then use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.If the soup turns out to be too thin, I add a little pea protein powder as this helps thicken it but without spoiling the flavour.

I was going to say this may be the wrong time of year to post the recipe as it's a real winter (or autumn) warmer but then again, we've had so much snow throughout March, maybe this will turn out to be the right time of year for it after all lol!



Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Egg Free
Nut Free

For the chicken stock:

A portion (half a pound) of boney pieces (necks, wings) of chicken, raw
1 small (or half a medium) onion, peeled and chopped in 4 chunks
1 carrot, chopped into 4 chunks
1 garlic clove, peeled
A little fresh parsley
3 peppercorns
Half a teaspoon salt


For the squash soup:

1 medium butternut squash
2 tbsp olive oil
2 potatoes
1 onion
1l vegetable or chicken stock
salt and pepper


- Place all the stock ingredients in a pan with about one and a half litres of cold water, bring to the boil, then skim the scummy layer off the top for a few mins, then turn the heat down to low to allow it to simmer for 2 hours

- Skim it, then leave it to cool for 30 mins, then skim it again from the top, then pass everything through a sieve and use the stock to cook with (or else refrigerate/freeze the stock if it’s being saved for another occasion)

- For the butternut squash soup, chop the butternut squash, onion and potatoes into cubes.

- Warm a large pot and add in olive oil. Add in onions and cook till soft.

- Add in potatoes and squash. Cook for a minute or so.

- Add in stock and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or until potatoes and squash are soft.

- Using a blender or food processor, blend the soup until smooth. If too thick, add a bit of water.

- Season with salt and pepper.

Juice lolly (GF) (DF) (EF) (NF) Vegan

Ramadan mubarak and what a hot ramadan it has been mashAllah. This is far too easy to call a 'recipe'. All I did was pour purple grape juice into a lolly mould and within a day, I've got myself this cool and refreshing lolly:D I'd recommend that you use a juice that's very sweet because it tastes less sweet once it's frozen, but apparently some TV chefs say that you shouldn't use pineapple juice as it doesn't freeze properly.

This was made just by filling lolly moulds with purple grape juice but I intend to try this at some point with mango juice as well. Time to experiment and have fun!

Banana fritters (GF) (DF) (EF) (NF) (Vegan)

Yes I know it sounds strange to put bananas in a savoury recipe like this but I was inspired by a recipe for plantain fritters on this blog (thanks Priya) which looked too nice to not try:

http://priyaeasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/spicy-plantain-fritters.html

I haven't even tried making these with plantains yet but used green unripe bananas instead and it turned out fine... and it's so easy to make! We didn't even have rice flour in the house- my dad just put some basmati rice in the grinder instead and that was good enough. It's a nice little snack and as it's shallow fried, doesn't require as much oil as pakoras. I have these as a snack with a cup of tea.

Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Egg Free
Nut Free
Vegan

1 unripe green banana
1 tablespoon rice flour
a pinch of mild chilli powder
a pinch of garam masala (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
a little oil for shallow frying (I use sunflower oil)

- In a bowl mix together the rice flour, salt and spices

- Chop the green bananas into roughly 7mm thick rounds, then dust the banana pieces in the spicy rice flour to lightly coat them

- Heat a little oil in a frying pan and lightly fry the banana pieces on both sides until it turns golden brown (if the oil gets absorbed quickly then add another two teaspoons of oil when the banana pieces are turned over so that they don't get too dry on one side)

- Serve warm as a snack on its own or with a little tamarind sauce

Spinach salad (GF) (DF) (EF) (V)

Yes, SPINACH! Believe it or not, baby spinach tastes so much better raw than it does cooked- at least that's been my experience anyway.

Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Egg Free
Vegetarian (Vegan)

1-2 handfuls baby spinach
1/3 of a cucumber
1 carrot or 3 baby carrots, peeled
1/3 red pepper
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 level teaspoon freshly finely grated ginger pulp

- Wash the spinach, cucumber, carrot and red pepper in a colander, then shake thoroughly to dry

- Cut the cucumber, carrot and red pepper into julienne strips and toss into a bowl with all the other ingredients

- Leave for 10 minutes for the flavours to mingle, then serve.

Lemon cheesecake (V)

I can't believe I've had this blog for so long and haven't even told you about my cheat's recipe for wheat free lemon cheesecake- maybe cos' the measurements are all approximate and I don't have them to hand (2023 edit: I've tested this recipe and amended it to include more accurate measurements). There are a few important tips to remember when making this: one is to use the lemon juice and the yellow zest (preferably from an unwaxed lemon), but take off the zest carefully so as to not get any bits of the white pith as that tastes bitter. Another tip is that I use 'nairns stem ginger oat cakes' for the base as these are wheat free (don't know if they're egg free or nut free though so check the label if unsure).  2023 Edit: I've also made these using M&S 5 gluten free stem ginger biscuits and that worked really well in this recipe

These can be made a couple of hours in advance before serving and kept in the fridge. I'd recommend making these by using a small round mould/ring instead of a medium or large one, because the mascarpone is a bit rich and heavy in a large portion. It's fairly easy when you get the hang of it and look how gorgeous it is:

Vegetarian

5 oat biscuits (I use nairns stem ginger oat cakes)
20-30g butter (soften by leaving it out of the fridge for an hour or two)
250g tub mascarpone
juice and zest of 1 small (or half a large) lemon
icing sugar to taste (6 teaspoons was just right for the batch I made)

You will also need at least one metal ring mould or metal round pastry cutter ring 5-7cm diameter would be fine


- Place the biscuits in a bag and crush them by bashing them with a rolling pin, then pour the crushed biscuit crumbs into a bowl

- Stir in the butter so that it combines and clumps up

- Place the metal rings on a serving platter and put 2-3 teaspoons of the biscuit mixture inside the ring, then press down at the bottom using the back of the spoon to make a biscuit base layer

- In a separate bowl, put in the mascarpone (drain off any watery stuff from the mascarpone tub before adding it to the bowl), then gradually stir in some lemon zest, lemon juice and icing sugar a bit at a time so that the consistency is still fairly firm and the taste is just right (if it's too sour add more icing sugar and if too sweet then add more lemon)

- Spoon the mascarpone mixture into the metal ring until the ring is full, then with a palette knife, smooth over the top

- Place the platter in the fridge for at least 2 hours, then remove the metal rings by either picking them up with a hot cloth, or by blasting the sides for a few seconds with a blow torch- this prevents the cheesecake from sticking to the rings so that the rings come off easily and it's ready to serve

Chicken Pittas (GF) (NF) (EF)

This is yum yum yum yum yum and sooo easy! In fact, I've been meaning to post this recipe for a long time but always gobbled these up quickly- so it was months before I actually had a plate of these and had the sense to pause for a moment and actually take a photo before eating it up... and it only takes minutes to make! These measurements are approximate.

(serves 1)

Gluten Free
Nut Free
Egg Free

12 x 1inch pieces boneless chicken
2 gluten free pittas
2-3 tablespoons smooth plain yogurt
1/4 cucumber, chopped (removing seeds is optional)
1/5 beetroot, peeled and chopped
1-2 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil
half a level teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
5-10 slices of onion
Salt and Pepper to taste


- In a bowl, stir together the yogurt, cucumber, beetroot, salt and pepper, then set aside

- In a hot frying pan, heat the garlic oil and stir fry the chicken for 4 minutes

- Add the Chinese five spice powder and onion slices, and stir fry for a further 2 or so minutes on medium heat

- Warm up the pittas in a grill or toaster, then halve them and fill them up with the chicken pieces, onion slices, yogurt mixture and serve

NB: An optional extra to add to the recipe which I haven't tried yet (but want to try next time) is to add strips of red/mixed bell pepper to the onion slices so that they are lightly stir fried and add another colour and taste to the meal as well.