Garbanzos!

My friend was very proud of this little plant and sent me the photograph.  It is a 'Chickpea' plant complete with cute little pods.  I did not know you can grow these in the UK.  I love the fat little pods.  I also love chickpeas.  I buy the dried variety as this works out more economical than the canned and use my 'Slowpot' / 'crockpot' to prepare them in bulk.  When they are tender I then put them in to little bags in the freezer, so they are ready to drop in to soups, curries, stews, and salads.  I will also have to have a go at 'falafels'.  I love the Blog 'Alia's Creative Life' and really enjoyed the photographs that accompanied this recipe here Masala Garbanzos.  Garbanzos are good on 'Healthy Eating Plans'!  Inspired by Alia's recipe, I tweaked it a little to make 'Aloo Chana Chaat' in my trusty old 'Slowpot'.  I think this is a great healthy, tasty and thrifty recipe.


Aloo Chana Chaat

Garbanzos, (Chick Peas) 2 Cups (You can use them straight from the can or just boil Chickpeas)
Onions, 3, finely sliced
Tomato, 3, finely chopped
2tsp Garam Masala
2 red chilies finely chopped
six cloves of garlic finely chopped
Boiled Potato, 3 Medium, Peeled and Cubed
Coriander Leaves/Cilantro, 2 Tsp, Chopped
Oil
Salt

Method:
1) Heat some oil in a sauce pan or a wok.( I used that spray oil honest Guv!)
2) Saute the onion it becomes tender.  Put it into a slowpot on the hot setting.
3) Add the Garlic, chilies, Garam Masala, Chopped tomatoes and Potatoes.
4) Add the Garbanzos (Boiled Chickpeas) and stir well.
5) Cook on hot for 3 hours then turn it low until ready to eat.   Garnish with Coriander Leaves!
6) Serve Hot, with Tamarind Sauce or Chutney.


I also had a block of dried 'Tamarind' at the back of the cupboard.  I have never used Tamarind at all.  The same friend with the 'Chickpea' plant said her Hubby bought a block too and wondered what you do with 200g of the stuff.  I 'googled' and found a recipe for a sauce, the sauce apparently keeps really well.  Again I tweaked the recipe to suit my store cupboard.  


Tamarind Sauce
200g of Dried Tamarind
500ml of hot water
1tsp of chilli powder
2tsp Garam Masala
1tsp Salt
75g of sugar
1 large dessert spoon of Black Treacle


Put all the ingredients together and soak for 30 minutes.   Using a liquidizer or hand blender whizz until smooth.  Now for the labour intensive bit...rub the mixture through a sieve.   Bottle and store in the fridge.  This makes a delicious tangy sauce to add to curries or to eat as an condiment.  

Aloo Chana Chaat served with Homemade Tamarind Sauce

Slowpot/Crockpot 'Carrot Cake' Recipe

I love my slowpot, I use it several times a week, particularly on the days I work so we can come home and dish up.  They are economical to use on fuel consumption and low maintenance.  I tend to chuck all the ingredients in and run....   I like to use it to make curries and casseroles, bolognese, sticky ribs, sausages, chilli, stuffed peppers, soups, pot roasts and stews.  Today for Sunday Lunch it is cooking a Gammon Joint.  I also use it for beef joints and whole chickens.  I have made preserves in there, jams, apple sauce and chutneys and I use it to stew fresh fruit.  More recently I discovered, to my delight it can make yogurt and I was over the moon when I discovered it could bake cakes.  If you haven't already got a slowpot I would really recommend them, if you have got one and it is neglected, get to know it better.  They are brilliant for busy families.  I also used mine a lot when I lived on my own as a student, you can freeze portions to use at your convenience using economical ingredients such as cheaper cuts of meat that become tender with the long slow cooking process and beans, grains and pulses.  Today's Gammon 'leftovers' will turn into 'Split Pea and ham soup'.   There are loads of recipe ideas on the internet, with forums and blogs for people who love their 'Crockpots'.  Here is a link to the recipe I used for Carrot Cake;

Link to Original Slowpot Carrot Cake Recipe

I adapted it (as usual).  My recipe:

Ingredients
6oz/ 150g self raising flour
4oz/100g sugar
3 eggs
125 mls water
175 mls vegetable oil
1 tsp Ground Mixed Spice
2 large grated carrots

Method
Preheat the slow pot on medium.  Plonk everything altogether in a mixing bowl and stir well.

Well butter the sides and bottom of the slowpot.  Put the cake mixture in the slowpot for approximately 20 minutes.  Then turn it on low and leave for approximately 2 - 3hrs.  I occasionally wiped the condensation from the lid of the pot.  When the cake was firm I turned the pot off, removed the lid and covered with a cloth to cool.  I loosened the edge of the cake and turned it out on to a chopping board.  It came out of the pot without any problems.  

Frosting
100g cream cheese
50g caster sugar
The zest of one lemon.
Mix the frosting ingredients together and spread on top of the cold cake.

June 1st - A taste of things to come

A lovely juicy raspberry!  I have had three already, but as I love my chickens so much I donated them to the girls, one each, they gratefully gobbled them up!  We like these in the summer with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or a big pile of squirty cream.

This blackcurrant bush moved house with me about seven years ago, it crops heavily every year and the blackcurrants make delicious jam or jelly.  They are very sour until they are perfectly ripe.  I know when they are ripe because the Blackbird raids the bush so I pick 95% of them in one day and freeze them.  I have given up on strawberries for the time being as 'something' likes them more than we do and they all get eaten.  I love summer fruits.  Hooray for June and Summer sunshine.

I have been enjoying a weeks holiday, tidying the house, ironing, tidying the house and ironing!  In between I have been cooking and hooking!  I should have some crochet to show you tomorrow.  Also I am experimenting with the slow pot and I am rather excited to see the results in the morning.  I am attempting to make Yogurt in the slow pot for the first time.

Now anyone who knows me will tell you, I rarely do things by halves. We like yogurt.  We really do, but if this works, I will have made enough for the street!  It reminds me of Peanuts when 'Lucy' and Charlie Brown have a 'Lemonade Stand'.  I may be selling yogurt tomorrow, or donating it to The Salvation Army.  If it works I will tell you how it is done.  I could be having a raspberry with yogurt for breakfast in the morning!