Dhal and rice

 

Still skint after Christmas and a never ending January?  I know the feeling.  This, however, is cheap, filling and nutritious.  And has used up stuff from the bottom of the fridge.

Vegetable oil

Onion

Tomatoes

Plum

Red lentils

Turmeric

Chilli flakes

Garam Massala

Water

Spinach

Rice - Brown Basmati today

1.  Sautee chopped onion in oil, gently.

2.  Put rice on to cook - I use a heavy bottomed pan, add cold water to one inch above the surface of the rice, and a pinch of salt.  Bring to the boil, slam the lid on and turn down to the absolute lowest possible.

3.  Add chopped tomato and chopped plum (both optional, use what you have) to the onions.

4.  Add red lentils and water, then add spices, simmer for a while.

5.  Check that its not going too dry, and continue to simmer until lentils are soft.

6.  Add a handful of spinach leaves to wilt through.

7.  Serve, scoff, count spare pennies...

Mackerel paella

 

Tasty and cheap, a portion of oily fish and 5 veggies - what's not to like?  I haven't calculated exact figures, but I think this is about £1 a portion for 2.

Shallot

Olive oil

Garlic

Red pepper

Mushrooms

Spice mix (paella mix or paprika based)

Risotto rice

Veg stock

Tomatoes

Spinach

Tinned mackerel

1.  Sweat chopped shallot (or onion, or leek) in olive oil.

2.  Add chopped pepper and mushrooms and a clove of crushed garlic, sautee for a few minutes.

3.  Add risotto rice (a small handful per person), a little spice mix and stir until all grains of rice are coated.

4.  Add veg stock to cover and simmer gently.  Add more stock if it's going too dry.

5.  Add chopped fresh tomatoes, or a tin of chopped tomatoes, simmer.

6.  When the rice is nearly done - after about 12-15 minutes - taste it - if it's still chalky in the middle it needs a couple more minutes.

7.  Layer a handful of spinach over the top and allow to wilt for a couple of minutes.  The  stir in.

8.  Add a tin of mackerel in tomato sauce, stir in gently - you don't want to break the fish up completely.

9.  Leave to cook on low for a couple of minutes. rest to allow the rest of the liquid to absorb.

10.  Serve, scoff, gloat ... with a good grinding of black pepper.

Smoked mackerel pilau

 

Another - what's in the fridge/cupboard? dinner.  

This was really tasty, really easy to make and really economical.

I happened to have fennel, golden beetroot, courgette and spinach - but you could equally well use celery, carrot, mushrooms, frozen peas etc etc

Olive oil

Spring onions

Garlic

curry spices (whatever you have got)

Fennel

Golden beetroot

Courgette

Basmati rice

Spinach

Smoked mackerel 

1.  Chop and gently fry onion in olive oil, add crushed garlic.

2.  Chop other firm vegetables - fennel, golden beetroot, courgette - and fry gently until nearly soft, for about 15 minutes, add curry powder and cook for another minute.

3.  Add basmati rice, turn over a few times until everything is coated.

4.  Add water/stock to cover the rice with a generous layer of liquid - at least 1 cm above the level of the rice.

5.  Turn heat up and bring to the boil.  As soon as it boils slam on the lid and turn the heat down to the minimum possible.

6.  Leave to sit - do not stir - for 10 minutes.

7.  Add generous handfuls of spinach and the flaked mackerel over the rice - slam lid back on, and leave for another 5ish minutes, for spinach to wilt and fish to heat through.

8.  Stir through, serve, scoff.

Roast vegetables, feta and salad

Feasts for a fiver?  Well, I'll see what I can do.

new potatoes (£1)
cauliflower (£1)
red pepper (55p)
spring onions (55p)
feta (£1.20)
mixed salad leaves (69p)

I had a couple of tomatoes in the fridge, so I chucked them in as well, but they're not necessary.

olive oil - drizzle

Total:  £4.99 + store cupboard

1.  Wash potatoes and toss in olive oil.  Roast at 180.
2.  Chop the cauliflower into florets, and the red pepper and spring onions into bite sized pieces.  Add to the potatoes after 20 minutes, mixing into the oil.  Roast for 40 minutes.
3.  Our salad is from the garden, but mixed leaves, or other salad ingredients would be fine.  Wash and dress with a little olive oil.
4.  Crumble feta onto vegetables, and return to the oven for 5 minutes.
5.  Serve, scoff.

Carrot and pea curry and tarka dhal

Cheap, nutritious and delicious.  Sourced from Todmorden market - The Mediterranean Pantry spices, coconut oil, rice and lentils.  Kevin outside for the vegetables.

Coconut oil
Onion
Garlic
Basmati rice
Fennel seed
Cumin seed
Coriander seed
Mustard seeds
Chilli flakes
Turmeric
Red lentils
Carrots
Potatoes
Peas
Curry leaves
Garam masala

1.  Sautee chopped onion and crushed garlic in coconut oil.
2.  Put rice on to cook - I bring to the boil in a pan covered in 1 inch of water, slam the lid on and turn it right down for 15 minutes.
3.  Boil lentils in water, keep an eye on them, stir occasionally to stop them sticking and add more water if it goes too dry.
4.  Add fennel, cumin, coriander, chilli and turmeric to the softened onion.  Stir in and cook for a couple of minutes.
5.  Add peel diced carrot and potato to the onion spice mixture, stir in.  Add a cup of water, put the lid on a simmer gently for about 15 minutes - check the water level occasionally.  Add a teaspoon of garam masala and stir in.
6.  When the vegetables are nearly done chuck in a handful of frozen peas and put the lid back on for a few minutes.
7.  Make the tarka by heating coconut oil in a small pan - add mustard, cumin, fennel and coriander seeds and a few curry leaves.  Fry for a minute or so, and then pour over the lentils.
8.  Serve, scoff, save!

Smoked mackerel, courgette and green bean pasta

Cheap, quick and healthy - can't beat it.  All ingredients (except frozen peas) available at Tod market.  Mackerel from Paul outside, veg from Kev outside and everything else from The Mediterranean Pantry inside.

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Courgette
Italian seasoning
Green beans
Frozen peas
Pasta (GF, or otherwise)
Smoked mackerel

1.  Gently fry chopped onion in olive oil until soft, then add courgette and garlic and continue to cook until courgette is soft, stirring occasionally.
2.  Cut green beans into bite sized pieces and place in a steamer pan.
3.  Boil the kettle, pour boiling water into a pan, bring back to the boil and add pasta and a pinch of salt.
4.  Steam the beans over the pasta, after 5 minutes add frozen peas.
5.  Break the mackerel into bite sized flakes, discarding the skin.
6.  When the pasta is done, drain and then throw in all the other ingredients and stir.
7.  Serve, scoff

Under 20 minutes and under £1 per portion.

Veggie curry

This was very tasty, and very cheap (about 50p per portion I think), and with the current slightly challenging kitchen set up I really was quite pleased with it.

Olive oil
Leek
Mushrooms
Curry paste
Red lentils
Water
Baby spinach
Microwavable basmati rice
Natural yogurt

1.  Sautee chopped leek in olive oil, add chopped muchrooms.
2.  Stir in a spoonful of curry paste, and briefly fry.
3.  Add a big handful of red lentils, water and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally - take the lid off if it is too wet when the lentils are nearly done, or add more water if it is getting too dry and in danger of sticking.
4.  When the lentils are done turn off the heat and stir in 2 big handfuls of baby spinach, stir in to wilt.
5.  Microwave rice following packet instructions.
6.  Serve, scoff ... add yogurt if you wish.

Butter bean and root vegetable hotpot

Easy, warm, wintery stew ... just what we needed on a cold night.  Cheap too!

Olive oil
Onion
Tuscan mix
Potatoes
Tomato puree
Swede
Carrots
Parsnip
Mushrooms
Marmite
Grainy mustard
Butter beans (tinned, drained)


1.  Sautee chopped onions is olive oil.
2.  Add a teaspoon of tuscan mix (herbs, garlic and chilli) and continue to fry.
3.  Add diced root vegetables, and chopped mushrooms - I didn't peel the potatoes, but did peel the others before dicing.
4.  Squueze in a spoonful of tomato puree and add some water.  Simmer for 10 minutes.
5.  Add a teaspoon of marmite, and a a big one of mustard.  Simmer with the lid on.
6.  Drain a tin of butter beans and add to the mixture.  Simmer until beans are heated through.
7.  Serve, scoff.

Chick peas on toast

Like beans on toast, but a bit crunchier.  Very filling, very delicious, and probably cheaper than chips.

The sourdough bread is from the very lovely Cragg bakers who are here on the outside Todmorden market on a Saturday - their bread is outstanding.

All other ingredients can be found on the market, inside and outside.  Chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, passata, tomato puree and spices from The Mediterranean Pantry.  Butter from The Crumbly Cheese.

Onions
Olive oil
Garlic
Red pepper
Tomato puree
chilli flakes
mixed herbs
Dijon mustard
Chickpeas (tinned, jarred or soaked overnight and boiled for an hour)
Passata
Water/stock
Sourdough bread
Butter (Olive oil spread to make it vegan)

1.  Sautee chopped oniion and crushed garlic in olive oil.
2.  Add chopped red pepper, fry a little longer, then add tomato puree, a pinch of chilli flakes, a pinch of mixed herbs and a teaspoon of dijon mustard, stir in.
3.  Add drained chick peas and a tinful of water/ veg stock, simmer briefly.
4.  Add passata and simmer gently until it looks like the right consistency for you.  (if it goes too think just add a little water.
5.  Toast bread, butter ...
6.  Serve, scoff, smile

Shepherdless pie

A bit of an old favourite, really, so this is another version of not-cottage pie, there is another one here.  Basically its a lentil and veg casserole under a lovely mashed potato topping.  Delicious.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Onions
Garlic
Celery
Italian seasoning
Mushrooms
Lentils
Tomatoes
Veg stock
Mustard
Butter
Broccoli

1.  Peel and chop potatoes for mashing.
2.  Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, add whatever veg you are using eg. celery and mushrooms today, but often carrots, peppers, courgette, peas etc etc
3.  Add lentils and a lot of water/stock, simmer for a good while.
4.  Add fresh or tinned tomatoes and keep simmering.  Add whatever flavourings you fancy - this time it was an italian seasoning mix and a spoonful of mustard.
5.  Mash the potatoes with butter.
6.  Transfer the lentils to an oven dish, top with potato and bake until it starts going a bit golden.
7 Serve, with veg of your choice - we had steamed broccoli, scoff.

National curry week: Day 4: Dhal and rice, with pepper and courgette curry.

Dead easy, dead cheap and dead good for you.

Brown rice
Red lentils
Onion
Garlic
Vegetable oil
Curry powder
Courgette
Red pepper
Tin tomatoes
Curry leaves
Cardamon pods
Chillies
mustard seeds
cumin seeds

1. Cook the rice.
2.  Put the lentils on to boil for the dhal.
3.  Make the curry - sautee chopped onion and crushed garlic in oil.  Add curry powder.
4.  Chop courgette and pepper and add to the onion, then add a tin of tomatoes - bash them up and add a tin full of water - simmer.
5.  When everything is ready make the tarka - flash fry curry leaves, cardomon pods, chillies and cumin and mustard seeds in hot oil - sizzle onto the dhal.
6.  Serve, scoff.

National curry week: Day 2. Veggie curry with rice

A fairly disappointing start to this year's national curry week - with fish fingers and chips!  Well, it was a very busy day fo getting things fixed - tumble dryer, van (aka the moneypit) ... and domestic sorting.  Day 2 was not particularly inspired - though it was, infact, delicious ... it was basically cauliflower and potato curry, with some extras.

Olive oil
Garlic
Onion
Mustard Seeds
Cumin seeds
Coriander seeds
Chilli flakes
Potatoes
Cauliflower
Tomatoes
Baked beans
Garam masala
Spinach

Basmati rice

1.  Sautee onion and garlic, add spices.
2.  Chop potato into smallish dice, stir in.
3.  Split cauliflower into florets, stir in.  Add water and simmer.  Cook rice.
4.  Add chopped tomato.
5. Chuck in left over baked beans (optional ;p), and 1 tsp garam masala.
6.  Stir and simmer until just about done, add more water and seasoning as needed.
7.  Add shredded spinach.
8.  Serve, scoff ... it actually is very tasty.

Halloumi, with spicy tomato sauce

I don't suppose it qualifies as a recipe really, but some of the simplest things are the tastiest, and we certainly enjoyed this.

Potatoes
Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Tin tomatoes
Chilli flakes
Leeks
Halloumi

1.  Peel potatoes, cut into chunks and boil.
2.  Sautee chopped onion and crushed garlic until soft, add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a pinch of chilli flakes, and cook until saucy ... add a little water to loosen if you need to.
3.  Slice leeks and wash well, boil in water with a dash of olive oil.
4.  Mash potatoes and put in the oven to brown the top a little (optional).
5.  Fry the halloumi in a hot pan, for a couple of minutes each side.
6.  Serve, scoff .... yum

Vegan curry

It's British Nutrition Foundation Healthy Eating week, and World Meat Free Day - we also had leftover roast potatoes (unbelievably!) so, I fashioned together some vegan curry thingies.

Basmati rice
Red lentils
Onions
Garlic
Tikka masala paste
Olive oil
Black mustard seeds
Fennel seeds
Cumin seeds
Coriander seeds
Turmeric
Chilli flakes
Green beans
Mushrooms
Cauliflower
Tinned tomatoes
garam masala
Curry leaves
Cardomon pods
Chillis
Cumin seeds

Start the rice, then the dhal ... then the two curries - then go back to finish the dhal.

Rice

Put rice in a heavy pot, cover with cold water to an inch above the surface of the rice, stir once and bring to the boil.  Slam the lid on and turn right down. Leave for 20 minutes.

Dhal

Boil red lentils until they are gloop.  Just before serving stir in the tarka - hot olive oil, with curry leaves, cardamon pods, chllies and cumin seeds flash fried.

Bombay potatoes

Sautee chopped onion and garlic in olive oil, add a spoon of tikka masala paste and left over potatoes.  Stir around - add half a tin of chopped tomatoes and the same of water and leave to simmer.

Vegetable curry

Sautee chopped onion, crushed garlic and spices.  Add chopped vegetables - beans, mushrooms and cauliflower today ...  add half a tin of tomatoes and the same of water, lid on and simmer until veg are softer ... stir in garam masala to taste, add more tomatoes/water if needed.

Serve, scoff ...

Piri piri roast chicken thighs, aubergine and courgette bake with za-atar, feta and hazelnuts

We've had sunnier June days!

I wanted a cheap, tasty, and summery dinner ... and I had a look in the fridge - courgettes and aubergine which needed using, lots of mediterranean flavours added to give it some sunshine.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Chicken thighs
garlic
piri-piri seasoning
Aubergine
Courgette
Tomato
Oregano
Hazelnuts
Za'atar
Feta
Salad leaves
Avocado oil
Balsamic vinegar
Radishes
Spring onion


1.  Chop potatoes into big chucks and roast in olive oil.
2.  Cut 4 fat garlic cloves into chunky peices and put into oven dish.  Add chicken thighs, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with piri-piri spices. Bake for 40 minutes or so.
3.  Cut aubergine and courgette into slices about 4mm thick, griddle in a hot pan with olive oil.  Slice tomatoes to about the same thickness.  Layer them - auberine, courgette, tomato in an oven dish.
4.  Roast hazelnuts briefly in the griddle pan when you have done the veg - roughly chop and sprinkle over the vegetables.
5.  In the same griddle pan briefly fry crushed garlic and chopped oregano is olive oil - drizzle this over the vegetables and sprinkle the dish with za-atar.  Bake for 20ish minutes.
6.  Put together a simple salad - salad leaves, thinly sliced radish and spring onion - dress with avocado oil and balsamic vinegar.
7.  Tear some feta onto the vegetable bake.
8.  Serve, scoff

The veg dodger dodged the veg and the salad, the vegetarian didn't have the chicken - I had the lot.  Happy days.

Smoked mackerel biryani, roast beetroot with hard boiled egg

This dinner was made in stages, but is incredibly easy.  The beetroot was actually roasted yesterday, bunged in the oven while I was roasting potatoes.  The ricey bit - I'm calling it biryani because I used a biryani spice mix, and it uses raw rice, rather than kedgeree which uses cooked rice) takes a few minutes (about 8) to start, and then you just leave it gently cooking itself until 5 minutes before serving.  Eggs - simply put on to boil in cold water, done 3 minutes after the water starts to boil.



Roast beetroot

Beetroot
Garlic
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Smoked Mackerel biryani

Onion
garlic
Olive oil
Biryani spice
Basmati rice
Vegetable stock
Frozen peas
Smoked mackerel

Boiled eggs

Eggs!

1.   Wash beetroot, put, unpeeled, in a roasting dish with lots of garlic - just bash a few cloves and stick them in.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and cover tightly with foil.  Roast until beetroot is soft ... about an hour.
2.  Cool beetroot.  When cold - peel - I always wear gloves as otherwise you end up looking like an extra from the Texas chainsaw massacre - this time I had run out of gloves so improvised with 2 plastic bags on my hands ... clumsy, but it worked.  Chop into chunks and drizzle with balsamic.  Store in the fridge.
3.  Sweat off chopped onion and crushed garlic in olive oil, in a heavy bottomed pan with a tight fitting lid.
4.  Add a teaspoon, or so, of biryani spice mix (or curry mix of your choice).  Stir in.  Add basmati rice, stir until every grain has a thin layer of oil.  Add stock to 1 inch about the rice, bring to the boil.
5.  As soon as the rice boils stick the lid on it, and turn it RIGHT down.  Leave for 15 minutes.
6.  Boil the eggs.  (From cold, bring to the boil, simmer for 3 minutes, put under running cold water to cool quickly ... peel)
7.  Stir frozen peas into the rice, add flaked smoked mackerel - stir gently, slam the lid back on for 5 minutes.
8.  Serve, scoff

Roast gammon, cheesy leeks

Cheapest Sunday roast out there? Gammon joint I would think ... not only that, it's really tasty.

Gammon joint
Leftover cider (optional)
Onions
Red pepper
Garlic
Black eyed beans
Chilli
Mustard
BBQ sauce
Tomatoes
New potatoes
Leeks
Milk (soya for us)
Cornflour
Grated cheese

1.  Roast the gammon joint - 2 hours for this one - initially covered in foil, which was removed for the last 30 minutes.  I splashed some left over cider in the bottom of the pan to keep it moist - but you can use water.  I would have made a sauce with the pan juices - but we had cheesey sauce, so I didn't bother in the end.
2.  Nothing to do for an hour.
3.  Start the beans - sautee chopped onion, pepper and garlic until soft.
4.  Add drained tinned beans and a tin full of water, add chilli, mustard, BBQ sauce etc to taste and simmer.  After a few minutes add some chopped tomatoes and stir them in.  Don't add salt yet as it could make the skin on the beans tough.
5.  Boil the potatoes, and steam the chopped washed leek over them.
6.  Make the cheese sauce - you could go all bechamelly, but I just boil the milk, add slaked cornflour (cornflour mixed with a little cold liquid) and whisk it in.  Continue to simmer as it thickens, then add grated cheese.
7.  As the elements of the dinner are ready you can transfer them to oven dishes and pop them in under the gammon.
8.  You should really leave the gammon to rest for 20+ minutes  - but it's much less critical than for other joints.
9.  Serve, scoff

The veggie was totally happy with cheesy leeks, beans and potatoes.  The veg dodger had 2 helpings of cheesy leeks ... and ... polished off ALL of the gammon in midnight feastings - thus rendering my hopes for budget busting sandwiches for work completely dashed.

Rice, dhal and tomato chokka

Simple, cheap, filling and very tasty.  The tomato chokka is really garlicky and it gives the dinner an enormous boost.

Brown rice
Red lentils
Olive oil
Tomatoes
Chilli flakes
Garlic (a lot)
Fennel seeds
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
coriander seeds

This dinner is really a minimum effort, maximum return event.  It takes about 5 minutes to gather things, then you just let it cook away for about 40 minutes, checking the water level on the lentils until you make the tarka just before serving.

1.  Start the rice - I do it in a heavy casserole - 1 inch filled over the level of the rice with water - bring to the boil and shove into a medium oven.
2.  For the tomatoes - put then in an oven dish, stab them a bit so that they can burst, add a good pinch of salted, quite a lot of crushed garlic, a pinch of chilli flakes and a slug of olive oil, bake.  Squish and mix together when they come out of the oven.
3.  Dhal - boil lentils in plenty of water - add more when it looks like they're going dry - once - then carry on simmering until they turn into a nice thick gloop.
4.  Now you don't have t do much, except keep an eye on the lentils and give them a stir now and again until you're just about to serve (about 30 minutes).
5.  Tarka - in a small frying pan heat a spoonful of olive oil, add spices and sizzle - then chuck on top of the dhal.
6.  Serve, scoff.

Spiced, leftover potato cakes with aubergine and tomato curry sauce

Left over mash is not a frequent occurrence our house - but all sorts of other leftovers are ... in this case leftover dhal (not this exact recipe, it's not been leftover since 2012!) - so I thought I'd make some fresh mash, and chuck together these potato cakes - with an aubergine curry sauce.

Potatoes
Butter
Spinach
Dhal

Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Fennel seed
Cumin seed
Mustard seed
Chili
Aubergine
Tin tomatoes

1.  Peel and boil the potatoes for mash.
2.  Sautee chopped onion and garlic and the spices in olive oil until soft, then add finely diced aubergine.
3.  When the potatoes are done, mash them with a little butter, then put the spinach on top to wilt - put the lid on the pan to keep the heat in.
4.  Finish the sauce by adding a tin of tomatoes and simmering.
5.  Mix the wilted spinach and left over dhal into the potato - shape into "cakes" and fry for a few minutes on each side - finish in the oven if necessary.

Seafood and asparagus risotto

It's not a very good picture, but it was a very tasty standby dinner.

Onion
Olive oil
Risotto rice
White wine
Asparagus
Stock
Pack of frozen seafood (from frozen)
Frozen prawns (defrosted)

1.  Finely chop onion and sautee in olive oil until soft.
2.  Add risotto rice, and turn in the oil until every grain has a light coating fo oil.
3.  Splash in half a glass of dry white wine.
4.  Add the chopped stems of the asparagus - keep the tips until the last 5 minutes.
5.  Add stock, stir and simmer, add seafood mix from frozen.  Keep adding stock, a bit at a time and cooking out until rice is nearly done.
6.  Make sure that prawns are defrosted, and add them.
6.  Now add the asparagus spears, and a little stock.  Cook for a further few minutes.
7.  After a final stir, let the mixture sit, so that the rice can soak up the moisture, so that it doesn't seep out to a watery puddle in the bowl.
8.  Serve, scoff ... have seconds.