Delicious New Chef Page and Biography,Mughlai

Delicious New Chef Page and
Biography
I’ve decided that this weekend is going to be a BBQ fest. Some
of you may have read about my exploration of alternative
vegetarian BBQ recipes last Summer, during which we dined on
Coriander and Lime Paneer Kebabs, Matoki or Green Banana
Burgers, Tarragon-Laced Khoya Kofta and Vegetable Medley and
Chilled Sunshine Berry Soup.
As many of you Facebook and Twitter friends may already know,
I’ve been doing some work with Food Network UK and hope to
continue working with them to create new recipe content. Fear
not, my beloved blog will still be running at the same time.
I wanted to let you all know I know have a chef page,
biography and recipe collection up on the site, on which you
can find out more about the girl behind the blog (that’s if
you’re not already sick of me talking about myself from the
past few posts – I apologise!) Things will be back to normal
soon.
You can find my chef page by clicking the my image in the
right-hand sidebar (do you know how many shots it took to get
me looking somewhat presentable?! You have full permission to
point and laugh) or by following this link.
Huge thanks for your patience and support in all of
this – you guys are my #1!
Mughlai Banquet Menu
Saffron and Lemon Shrikhand Doughnuts – a recipe for my new
Food Network UK chef page – they’re perfect for finishing off
a grandiose banquet.
After a good few weeks of cooking deliciously rich and
decadent dinners (it’s been hell having to eat them all by
myself, I tell you), I’m finally ready to compile a menu of
the best Mughlai-inspired dishes from KO Rasoi.
The aim of the game was to put together something truly
majestic – something which will leave your guests speechless
(partly because their mouths will be preoccupied devouring the
meal).
Mughlai cuisine is one of my new favourites, with its use of
only the most aromatic spices, flowers and nuts. Indeed, it’s
no wonder it was reserved for only kings and queens of the
Mughal Empire.
Shahi Paneer Stuffed Okra
By now you must know how I love contrasting flavours and
textures, and if you do too, you need to try this. Juicy okra
stuffed with homemade paneer which has been spiked with golden
sultanas and heady fennel.
The individual okra are then drenched in a sweet and tangy
sauce laced with cardamom and made creamy with ground cashews.
Melt in the Mouth Paneer Kofta
The softest melt in the mouth kofta coated with the silkiest,
delicate spicy-sweet sauce made with a honey, fennel,
cardamom, tomato, almond and cashew nut sauce.
Creamy Pistachio and Cauliflower Curry
I’ve laced this with whole black peppercorns which soften in
the simmered sauce and give the overall dish a very deep,
gentle heat. The delicate flavour of sweet pistachios is in
fact, a beautiful match for tender, textured cauliflower. It
also stains the white cauliflower with the lightest hue of
green imaginable.
Mughlai Apricot Biryani
With this biryani recipe, juicy apricots and pineapples are
layered up with fluffy rice, spicy potatoes, sweet onions,
aromatic saffron and kewra water (screwpine extract).
Peshwari Naan
Sultanas and coconut are very traditional ingredients in
Peshwari Naan, which can be stuffed with a sweet filling and
cooked in a super hot tandoor (clay oven). You can be sure
that a good naan will be soft, slightly chewy, a little
charred in places and finally, drenched in butter.
Classic Shrikhand
I’m adding this to the banquet menu not because it’s an
authentic Mughlai dish, but because it’s rich, opulent and
incredibly well-suited to this particular style of cooking.
Persian Chocolate Truffle Tart
The delicate flavour of white chocolate, with honey and
rosewater is the basis of the tart, whilst the saffron adds a
luxurious perfumed flavour.
Rose and Pistachio Baklava
Sweet rose rice and traditional spiced nuts are enveloped in
thin, crisp filo pastry layers, then drenched in sugar syrup
and left to absorb until chewy and divine.
Cinnamon and Orange Blossom Kataifi
Not sickly sweet, but slightly sweet, nutty and deliciously
crunchy. The kind of sweet that has a delicate spice and
fruitiness, so much so that when you take a bite it sings
through your veins.
Qawah
A spiced espresso-style after dinner beverage which can
accompany desserts and pastries like the ones pictured above
Spiced Milk
Spiced milk is the new hot chocolate – this is all you need to
know.
Gather the troops, drag them into the kitchen (regardless of
whether they’re kicking and screaming) and create a Mughlaiinspired banquet.
I’m assuming my invitation is already in the post.
Eggless Saffron and
Shrikhand Doughnuts
Lemon
Just a speedy note before I round up all of the dishes from
our Mughlai season this weekend (for your eating pleasure).
This is going to include all of the royal-inspired recipes
plus more, so stick around for some really yummy dishes so you
can create a banquet fit for kings and queens.
Yesterday, a KO Rasoi recipe for Saffron and Lemon Shrikhand
Doughnuts was featured in the Food Network UK Month of
Doughnuts calendar in support of National Doughnut Week
(7th-14th May). In addition to this, the recipe also went out
in their fabulous food newsletter which you can sign up to
here: Sign up to the Food Network UK newsletter in order to
get my new Food Network UK recipes delivered to your inbox
fresh from the kitchen.
I thought I would join in the fun and go dough-nuts too – and
so my recipe for Saffron and Lemon Shrikhand Doughnuts was
born. Please visit the site to take a peek at how I created
this recipe and as always, have a go yourself. They’re super
easy eggless doughnuts flavoured with saffron and lemon,
rolled in sugar and crushed pistachios (and a little edible
glitter if you’re feeling glam, then piped with creamy
pistachio and cardamom shrikhand (spiced sweet Indian yogurt).
I’d love you forever if you also took a second to have a look
at my new chef page. It contains some extra info about myself,
KO Rasoi and my bespoke recipes for Food Network UK (whether
or not you’re interested in that kind of thing is another
matter entirely!)
Have a ball going dough-nuts too!
Peshwari Naan
The final recipe required to create the most divine Mughlai
banquet is this recipe for Peshwari Naan; a soft and fruity
coconut-flavoured bread to mop up a variety of sumptuous
sauces.
Naan is one of India’s most famous breads, and probably the
most well-known Indian bread in British restaurants. Whether
it’s flavoured with chilli, garlic and coriander or sultanas
and coconut, you can be sure that a good naan will be soft,
slightly chewy, a little charred in places and finally,
drenched in butter.
Can I share one of my pet peeves with you? The term ‘naan
bread’. Want to know why?
Naan means ‘bread’, so saying ‘naan bread’ is about as useful
as saying, ‘bread bread’. My point being that by simply saying
‘naan’, the bread part is implied. You wouldn’t say ‘kuchen
cake’ would you?
Sultanas and coconut are very traditional ingredients in
Peshwari Naan, which can be stuffed with a sweet filling and
cooked in a super hot tandoor (clay oven). Simply stick them
to the side of the oven walls and watch them puff and bubble
up.
Unfortunately my repertoire is not yet bad ass enough to carry
off an entire tandoor (the big boy power tool of the Indian
kitchen), so I used a domestic grill. Having said this, my
birthday is coming up… and you know what that means.
Nuts are also common ingredients in recipes for Peshwari Naan
– I skipped these in fear of being all ‘nutted out’ at my
Mughlai banquet. Feel free to add almonds or pistachios if you
prefer. I also mixed my sultanas and coconut into the dough as
opposed to stuffing them inside the naan in order to really
simplify the method.
This recipe for quick and easy Peshwari Naan is my favourite
accompaniment to Melt in the Mouth Paneer Kofta, Shahi Paneer
Stuffed Okra and Creamy Pistachio and Cauliflower Curry. Hang
in there for an entire Mughlai-inspired menu coming up in the
next post.
Peshwari Naan
(makes 8-10)
Ingredients
475g bread flour, plus more for rolling
270ml milk
130ml oil
7g instant yeast
50g sultanas
30g coconut powder
30g desiccated coconut, plus more for sprinkling
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp rosewater
1 tsp sugar
Butter to serve
Method
1. Heat the milk to 32°C and whisk in the yeast and sugar.
Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
2. Mix together all of the other ingredients except the oil.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the
oil. Mix in the milk and yeast mixture and bind to a dough.
The dough will appear sticky at first but continue kneading
for 5-8 minutes, adding another tbsp oil if necessary. When
smooth and elastic, place the dough in a large, greased bowl
and cover with a damp tea towel. Allow to rise in a warm place
for 1 hour.
3. Knock the risen dough back and knead for 2 minutes. Divide
into 8-10 pieces.
4. Flour a clean, smooth surface and roll the dough to around
½ cm thickness and pull into a teardrop shape. Sprinkle one
side with more coconut and gently roll a rolling pin over to
press the coconut into the surface.
5. Place the naan, coconut side down on a piece of foil and
grill until golden. Flip and cook the coconut side for a
further minute until the coconut is lightly toasted. Butter
and serve.
Omit the sultanas, coconut and rose for a recipe for plain
naan, or substitute these ingredients to make garlic and
coriander naan, chilli naan or cheese naan. They’re simply
divine with any Indian curry.