Welcome to My Kitchen

I started cooking 20 years ago, and every day has been a new experience. You might not believe it but i was a person who could not fry an egg...but 20 years on..i feel i can take on any challenge.

I'm constantly trying out new recipes and looking for innovative ways to improvise my dishes and make it more easier. The easier the cooking gets and the less time it takes the more time for me to relax with my loved one.
But easy and quick does not mean compromise on taste or the way a dish is presented. I take great pride in decorating my dishes as i am a firm believer of ' The first impression counts'.

I decided to start this blog to help others like me discover that cooking a feast does not require slogging for hours in the kitchen all it requires is the right ingredients, tools and a creative mind and voila! you will have your family and guests begging for second helpings....

My inspiration for cooking has always been my husband...he loves his food..and like the saying goes 'A way to a man's heart is through his stomach'..i can confidently say it's true and it works wonders for a happy relationship...but he is also my best critic and competition.

I've got two little girls both who love to eat, and my eldest always enjoys helping me in the kitchen. I will try to post more kid friendly recipes that can be fun to eat and make together.

Hope you enjoy this blog and find it useful...please do feel free to leave any feedback or comments...remember there's always room for improvement!!!

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Vegetable Moussaka

A classic Greek dish easy to prepare in less than an hour.



Ingredients:

2 aubergines, sliced into thin rounds
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 flakes of garlic, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely sliced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tomatoes cut into rings/discs
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tin of Puy lentils / green lentils
1 tin of chickpeas
8 tbsp freshly chopped parsely
1 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 dried red chilli
salt and freshly ground pepper for seasoning

For the sauce

1/2 cup milk
50g butter
50g grated cheese
2 tbsp sifted flour
1 tsp nutmeg powder
salt and freshly ground pepper for seasoning

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C

2. Toss the aubergine slices with little olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Place in an oven proof dish and cook in the oven for 15 mins. Once cooked keep aside to cool.

3. In a pressure cooked, heat little olive oil, add the bay leaf, garlic, red chilli and onion. Saute until onions are translucent.

4. Add the tinned tomatoes, turmeric powder (you can add chilli powder for some spice if required), Stir well. Season with salt.

5. Add the chickpea, lentils and peppers , stir until coated with the sauce.Add the cinnamon stick and tomato puree. If you feel it is too dry you can add little water but make sure consistency is thick and not runny.Place the lid of the pressure cooker, and cook only for one whistle. ( I cooked it in a pressure cooker because I wanted the chickpeas to become soft)

6. To make the sauce, in a saucepan heat the milk & butter. Add in the nutmeg, salt & pepper. Once the mixture is boiling, add the flour, one tablespoon at a time. Stir constantly to make sure there are no lumps. Add grated cheese. Once it becomes a smooth paste , take off the heat.

7. In a oven proof dish, place a layer of aubergine, then add the cooked filling. Top with little sauce, sliced tomato rings and fresh parsley. Continue the process to make alternate layers of aubergine and filling. Make sure the top layer is aubergine.Sprinkle cheese. Cover & cook in the oven for 30 mins. For the last 5 mins, remove the cover to brown the top layer.



Tips:

I added a little worcester sauce to the vegetable filling while it cooked for extra flavour.

You can make this dish with Lamb mince too.



No comments:

Post a Comment