Chocolate Cake - Oh yeah!

I've made this a few times and I usually get asked for the recipe for this one. So finally I have managed to get around to writing it up. I found this one in cookbook many years ago. For me it was a revelation. Chocolate cake to me growing up was either my Mam's Sunday sponge with coco powder substituted in for some of the flour or something shop bought. Neither were very satisfactory (sorry Mam). None ever came close to something bought in a little-café-that-cared or the richness of something savoured at the end of a huge restaurant meal. Attempts over the years were disappointing - on a scale with the anticipation of getting chocolate ice-cream only to discover it was some poor relation to that rich chocolate hit you were expecting. Add to this that I have developed a love of really dark bitter chocolate over the years - so the thought of eating anything made from the likes of Cadburys would cloy before it even touches my lips.

So as I said this was a revelation. Another revelation was the availability of decent dark chocolate in the likes of Aldi and Lidl. I had read about how you need "couverture chocolate" which is not so easily available in your local supermarket and can be prohibitively expensive. So walking around Lidl around the same time as I found this recipe and seeing their range of dark eating chocolates meant I could finally pursue my dream of making proper chocolate cake. Maybe the purists out there will tell you its not as good but I have found this cake to be on a par with other chocolate cakes - and the ingredients are readily available and within most peoples' budgets.

300g/10oz dark chocolate, chopped (I think 70% or thereabouts is fine)
250g/8oz butter
5 eggs
4 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup of ground almonds
1/2 cup of self-raising flour

1. Place chocolate and butter in a bain-marie and stir until smooth. Set aside.
2. Place eggs and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Fold in the almond, flour and chocolate mixture.
3. Pour into greased and based lined 23cm/9inch cake tin.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 160'C for 45 minutes.
5. Cool in cake tin.

Serve with whipped cream.

Falafel - First attempt!

And what a success! Okay there are some things that are hard to compete with - like big juicy doner kebabs in fresh naan. But then some dishes don't need to compete - they are just great as standalone dishes and not just pale substitutes. Falafel is one of these. There is a reason they can compete with other middle eastern fare - because they are just that good.


I trawled through internet recipes and many, that came out on top in google searches, had cooked chickpeas as the main ingredient. Any sites that had feedback from users sited problems with the falafel mixture not binding. In the back of my mind I remembered something about soaked uncooked chickpeas being used. I went with these and the results speak for themselves.

Ingredients:

2 cups Chickpeas Soaked & Un-cooked
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 tbsp Coriander seeds*
1 tbsp Cumin seeds*
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp pepper corns*
2 tsp salt
Coriander/Parsley leaves, chopped (optional)
Green Chili, chopped (optional)
1 cup rice flour (or more)
3-4 cups of vegetable oil

*If you don't have whole spices use pre-ground spices.

1. Soak the chickpeas for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
2. In a dry pan lightly toast the coriander seeds until you can smell their aroma.
3. Grind the cumin seeds first, then add the toasted coriander seeds and pepper and when these are well ground add the garlic. To bind them add the salt.
4. Blend the chickpeas and spice mix. To get them to combine add water. You want the consistency to be like grainy houmous and with the blade combining the mixture slowly but not overly wet.
5. Turn out into a bowl and with a wooden spoon begin to mix in the rice flour. If using chili, parsley or coriander, add now
6. Take small balls of mixture and roll in the palm of the hands into smooth balls. (If it is too wet to handle add more rice flour.) Dust each ball lightly in more rice flour.
7. Heat oil and deep fry 3-4 falafels at a time until golden brown. Leave to drain on kitchen paper.

Serve in pittas with salad and sauces.

Sauce suggestions:
Raita
Yogurt and mint
Tahini, garlic and lemon juice

"Meaty" Vegetarian Chickpea and Coconut Curry

This is a bloody good veggie curry - very filling and naturally rich in flavour.

1 tablespoon chopped coconut pieces (fresh or frozen)

2 tablespoon cooking oil or butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 brown cardamom pod (optional)

1 red chilli, dried (or 1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder)

1 fresh tomato chopped or 1/4 carton of pasata

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 inch root ginger, crushed into paste

2 tablespoon grated/dessicated coconut

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder (or cumin seeds) (optional)

1 small potato, peeled and chopped

1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Salt to taste

1. Heat oil in a deep saucepan, maintaining low to medium heat, fry the chopped coconut pieces. When they begin to turn brown remove from heat set aside.

2. Add onion and garlic, on medium heat and fry until onions start becoming golden. Add mustard seeds, cardamom pod, red chilli broken and fry for a couple of minutes.

3. Add chopped tomato or pasata and fry for about 5 minutes.

4. Add garam masala, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder(or seeds), crushed ginger and fry for a 3 minutes. Add the grated coconut, mix well, cover and cook for about 3 minutes.

5. Add 1/2 cup of hot water and stir. Then add the chickpeas, potato, fried coconut and mix. Mash some chickpeas, cover and simmer on medium heat for about 20-30 minutes. Chickpeas should be tender but still whole. Add salt to taste.

6. Remove from heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes or so. Serve with rice

Alternate method to prepare chickpeas.

1. Take 1 cup large dry chickpeas and steep in water overnight. 

2. Cook chickpeas in pressure cooker with 2 tablespoon grated coconut.

3. Add the contents above in step 5.

Rasam - South Indian Pepper Soup

Well its that time of year when cold and flu are on the increase. If you find yourself reaching toward the medical cabinet: wait! Try out this delicious recipe for Rasam, a spicy warming soup from southern India which should kill off all but the stubbornest of colds.

I have made a version that does not involve overly complicated preparation. No it does not stick zealously to the original but you should be able to find most of the ingredients in a store cupboard, besides the green chillies, and it means you don't have to venture out if its cold and you are under the weather.

Ingredients:
2-3 ltr of boiled water
3 medium tomatos, skins removed chopped /500grms pasata, /1 tin chopped tomatoes
1-2 green chillies, roughly chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves sliced
1 tbsp (heaped) corriander powder
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp (level) whole pepper corns, roughly ground
1/2 tsp chilli powder
Gram Powder mixed with water until lump free /or some crushed beans
Tamarind water to taste
1-3 tbsp dessicated coconut  (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in boiling water for half an hour until ingredients are well cooked.

Can be stored in fridge and individual bowls reheated.