What's cooking in the twenties?

[Ella77]

Jackfruit biryani.

A48B2315-B558-425F-8252-CF394454D22C.jpeg

[Ella77]

I really want to make the black dhal now. I do have the lentils somewhere.

[Pippedydeadeye]

Whatsapper-backers is the best word.

Thanks both! When lockdown ends, I’m going to find out more about the restaurant & visit. The biryani was delivered to a training course I was teaching on.

[emma_p]

It is the chicken berry britannia recipe, she freestyled the potatoes. Apparently it’s traditional in Mauritius (where she’s from). I’m going to have to make it now, she called to talk me through it so she's definitely going to ask me about it

[Pippedydeadeye]

Forced polite recipe use!

[absley]

Can you share the spring salad and dressing recipe, please Emma - sound perfect for my post-dishoom veg kick!

ETA. I made the garlic and ginger pastes but wouldn't bother in future. Just grate/ finely chop whatever amount of each you need for the recipe.

[Ella77]

Ah, good to know, thank you. How did/do you convert the weights- any ideas?

[emma_p]

Here you go abs:

3CD77738-DA93-4634-B73A-04C35EF9E6AB.jpeg

5749B1D0-AC58-40FD-B183-F20691DABEC7.jpeg

[absley]

Thank you, I'll give it a go next week, after I've been to the market that might have tarragon and peas.

[emma_p]

In my quest to use up all the weird fours and grains I made this blueberry cornmeal tart and it was so easy and absolutely delicious:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... bread-tart
The cornmeal/polenta adds a really good bite to the crust. I used frozen blueberries but any berries would do. I want to try a peach version (if we get any?) later in the year.

[emma_p]

I decided to go with my weird salad vibe and bought this book which just arrived. Best title ever!

939DD2E8-4475-463D-AE28-0A0D083651B7.jpeg

[absley]

Bizarre book, emma! Any good so far

Ah, good to know, thank you. How did/do you convert the weights- any ideas?

Sorry Ella, I just saw this. I've just been weighing lumps of ginger or garlic cloves before grating them (or blitzing if I need loads). I aim for something that's roughly right - I don't think it needs to be exact.

My final few things from Dishoom
* phaldari kofte - somehow I think this was a dish where the parts were better than the whole. I loved the saffron stuffing for the kofte but it gets completely overwhelmed by the makhani sauce; and I don't think the makhani sauce shone in the way it did in the chicken ruby recipe. Would be interested to know if anyone else has tried this and what you thought. My lazy alteration was to bake the kofte rather than deep fry them. Next time, regardless of how I cook them I might just have them naked with a yoghurt dressing/ dip ( I think the one below would be lovely).
* murgh malai & chicken tikka - loved both of these chicken dishes, which we cooked on the bbq.
* masala prawns - so delicious.
* malabar paratha - surprisingly not impossible to make despite the complicated pictures I think I'll stick to the naans/ chapatis though, as I found these really heavy

Plus a few from Made in India:
* golden garlic raita - this was brilliant. I read the intro about how garlic that's fried until it's golden brings a smoky flavour to the yoghurt and was sceptical but it really did. Will definitely make this again. I ate leftovers as a garlic dip for crisps, which I also reccomend!
* dill rice - nice for a change
* dal makhani - this was a taste off with the Cinnamon Club recipe and I definitely preferred the latter, which is more similar to the Dishoom recipe (but with loads more butter and cream) The MII version has a more pronounced tomato/garlic/ ginger/onion flavour (you cook these together until they caramelized, whereas the other two omit the onions and just add grated ginger/ garlic and much less tomato paste to the boiling lentils) and not much spicing beyond that.

I'm onto Tex-Mex/ Mexican now.

[emma_p]

Ooh let me know which Mexican recipes you try, Abs. I made a big effort for Cinco de Mayo and bought loads of different dried chillis for salsas. I have about 50 corn tacos in the freezer

Oh and give @saladforpresident a follow on Instagram! I love her and her stories. Loads of really interesting ideas for veggies and salads.

[emma_p]

OMG have to recommend this dip. So easy and quick and AMAZING! https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... -and-chile

[emma_p]

Anyone else bought Yotam Ottolenghi's new book with Ixta Belfrage? I spent a very hour reading it yesterday and have a list of recipes to try

[absley]

I think p_d has it, emma. Is it noticeably different from his (many!) others?

Ooh let me know which Mexican recipes you try, Abs. I made a big effort for Cinco de Mayo and bought loads of different dried chillis for salsas. I have about 50 corn tacos in the freezer

Sorry, I completely missed this. My cookery book club which had chosen "Ama: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen" as the book of the month. I made loads and actually bought the physical book (the design of which I really dislike though) as we've ended up repeating a lot. My favourite thing was realising how easy homemade flour tortillas are, which I now make most weeks for something or other.

My newest book, which I just received so haven't got stuck into yet, is Jikoni. Various recipes are online atm.

[Mountain Goat]

Ooh. Jikoni looks like it could be inspiring. I am feeling turgid. Also I have some space on my cookery book shelves having cleared some non-cookery books out.

Still haven't cooked anything from Dishoom! I am still quite (not entirely by any means) reliant on a fixed veg box, to which I could add extra things, but given that the quantity is enough, I don't need to, if that makes sense, so cooking strictly from recipes is difficult. They are great for inspiration but the type that are really worth following to the letter don't often work with my erratic pantry.

[absley]

What are you regularly getting in the veg box, Goat? I could see if Jikoni has anything suitable for you.

Do you have Six Seasons? I am still loving and using it often; it's built around seasonal veg.

[Mountain Goat]

Oh that's a good idea, I don't - it would be right up my street. Having a look now.

The veg box hasn't been especially repetitive (other than as you'd expect for the season, and too many bloody carrots) - at the moment I have a lot of courgettes, mushrooms, kale, tomatoes....and carrots. I have these planned to be used this week but next week's box is similar (plus the first butternut squash).

[absley]

Having looked, the Jikoni recipes are prob a bit complex for me to randomly pick things out for you, but from Six Seasons maybe some of these will appeal:
- the pumpkin (bns) bolognese is really interesting to make, swapping roasted pumpkin puree for the tomatoes; the roasted squash with yogurt walnuts and spiced green sauce is nothing groundbreaking, but is nice.
- courgette ribbons with tomatoes, peanuts, basil, mint & spicy fish sauce is one I keep meaning to try
- I love this Farro & Roasted Carrot Salad w/ Apricots, Pistachios & Whipped Ricotta and am interested to try this Grated Carrot Salad with Grilled Scallions, Walnuts, and Burrata
- his roasted mushrooms with gremolata is good and I still need to try this pasta with sausage & mushrooms.

For carrots, I am keen to try this carrot raita. Season by Nik Sharma is another book I'd like to look at in a bit more detail.

We had this Ottolenghi hot blistered tomatoes with cold lemony yoghurt last night, plus bread for mopping, and it was wonderful.