• In a large bowl, add the chicken along with all the other ingredients for the marinade. Mix well, ensuring that every chicken piece is coated. 
• Put in the fridge and leave to marinate for at least 2hrs, but ideally overnight! If you know you want to cook this the next day, marinate it overnight, this also saves time during the main cooking process. The next day, remove the chicken before you start cooking so it can come to room temperature, this ensures that it cooks evenly. The centre will otherwise still be cold, meaning the outside will cook quickly and the centre won’t have cooked.  
  
  

• To make the crispy onions, add around a 1 cm layer of vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Let the oil come to a temperature on medium heat. You can test this by adding one onion slice. If it starts to sizzle the oil is ready. 
• Tip in the onions and fry for 15 minutes until they are golden. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside. Remove all but 1 tbsp of oil from the frying pan. You can keep the remaining oil and use in curries. 

• In this same frying pan that you cooked the onions in and on medium heat, add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and cloves and fry until fragrant. 
• Add the tomatoes and cook until completely soft.
• Tip in your marinated chicken (careful it may splutter) and mix well. Make sure to get all the yoghurt from the bowl! 
• Cook for around 20 minutes on a medium heat until the sauce is reduced. You want the gravy to be thick, you don’t want the rice to become soggy during the steaming process. You will know when the chicken is ready when you see oil floating on top of the yoghurt. 
  

• In the large saucepan you cooked the rice in, add a little ghee (or butter) and water and let melt. This will start the steaming process. 
• Add one third of the rice and spread in an even layer. 
• Add half of the crispy onions, a splash of the rosewater, 1/3 of the saffron water and a few of the coriander leaves
• Next, add half of the chicken and spread in an even layer. 
• Now, add the next layer of rice (also one third). Spread evenly. 
• Add the other half of the crispy onions, another splash rosewater, another 1/3 saffron water and some more coriander leaves. 
• Add the other half of the chicken mixture and spread in an even layer. 
• Add the remaining rice (one-third) and spread evenly. Finish with the remaining 1/3 of the saffron water and a few more coriander leaves. 
• Spread a little butter or ghee around the edges to stop it sticking. 
• Cover with a tea towel and then place the lid on top, this helps the steaming process. If you are using a large tea towel, fold the edges of the tea towel up and tie in a knot on top to stop it potentially burning on the hob. 
• Let steam on a low heat for 30 minutes 

Ladoo (or laddu) is a sphere or round shaped sweet originating from India. Ladoo literally means ‘round’. This recipe is for besan ladoos! Besan is Hindi for gram flour (chickpea flour). The name therefore literally means gram flour ball! There are so many varieties of ladoos, from coconut ladoos to semolina ladoos. The basic recipe involves roasting besan in ghee and then adding sugar & cardamom. They are often served on special occasions and make a delicious after dinner or sweet treat. This recipe makes around 15 ladoos, depending on how small or big you roll them. 

• In a large dry frying pan, add the semolina and besan. Roast on a low-medium heat for around 10 minutes until the besan is fragrant – you’ll get a lovely nutty smell coming from the pan. Important: don’t roast on a high heat, yes it may brown quicker but you’ll get a burnt flavour and the besan won’t taste nice.
  
  
• After 10 minutes, add the ghee and mix well. Keep roasting for another 15 minutes until the ghee is incorporated. The roasting time is around 25 minutes in total. The consistency will go from grainy to smooth and golden brown in colour. 
  
  
• Turn off the heat and add the sugar. Mix well until the sugar has dissolved and allow the mixture to come away from the side of the pan.
  
  
• Add the cardamom and mix well.
  
  
• Let cool until you can handle the mixture.
  
  
• Shape into evenly sized ladoos! 

This simple Konkani vegetable side dish is made from unripe jackfruit, cashews and a few spices! It pairs great with rice and dal, or you can scoop it up with chapatis. This one pan dish comes together in less than 20 minutes and is perfect for a midweek meal. For this recipe, I used tinned jackfruit (in brine) as this is readily available in the supermarkets here. 

After many many attempts I finally perfected traditional fermented idlis made from urad dal and rice! Up until now, I had always been making instant rava idlis (also very tasty!), but I had been longing to make the real deal. Idlis are often served for breakfast in India with sambar and coconut chutney. This is definitely comfort food! 

The batter for dosa (thin crepe made also from urad dal and rice) and idli is essentially the same. However, I have one essential tip: unlike dosa, for idlis you need to soak and grind the rice & dal separately. This is because the rice and dal have different textures and they will soak at different rates. For idlis, you need to have a fluffy batter and you won't get this if you soak and grind the rice and dal together. However, if you are going to make dosas then you can soak and grind everything together!

• In a bowl or sievel, rinse the rice to remove any excess starch. Next, rinse the poha and add to the rice. Cover with water and let the poha and rice soak for 6 hours. 
  
  
• In a separate bowl, rinse the dal and methi seeds to remove any excess starch. Cover with water and soak the dal and methi seeds for 6 hours as well. 
  
  
• After soaking, drain the urad dal & methi seeds, reserving the water. In a high speed grinder, grind the dal and methi seeds with a little of the reserved water. Grind until the batter is smooth and fluffy, adding a little water if needed. You don't want the batter to be very thin - this won't give the fluffy batter required for good idlis. 
  
  
• Next, do the same with the rice. Drain the rice, reserving the water and grind in batches to make a smooth batter. 
  
  
• Add both the batters together in bowl and mix with your hands to help kick-start the fermentation process. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave in warm place to ferment for 12 hours (see some tips below for fermenting if you live in a cold climate like me - mine usually takes 12 hours). 
  
  
• After the fermentation process, the batter will have a pleasant sour smell and have bubbled up / doubled in size. If after 12 hours the batter hasn't doubled and doesn't have the sour smell - it will need some more time. Use your instincts here! You can also test if the batter is ready by placing a teaspoon in a bowlful of water - it will float if it is ready! 
  
  
• When you are ready to steam your idlis, grease the idli moulds and place a ladleful of batter in each mould. 
  
  
• Steam for 15 minutes. A skewer or knife should come out clean if you place them in the cooked idli (just like a cake). 
  
  
• Remove the idlis when hot and serve with sambar and coconut chutney! 

Some tips for fermenting

• Place in a an airing cupboard / boiler cupboard is a great place. 
  
  
• If you have a sunny spot in your house, that will also do.
  
  
• Adding in a pinch of baking powder or sugar is another way to encourage the fermentation process. 
  
  
• Also putting it in the oven with the light on for a few hours will help with fermentation. 

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Deliciously creamy homemade yoghurt - one of my oldest fermented food products out there! Making yoghurt is a little bit like a chicken and egg situation - you need yoghurt to make yoghurt - but once you’ve got into making it you won’t look back. It’s so easy to do and you’ll not be using excess plastic or wasting anything. Yoghurt is something that is made in India all the time - Yogesh’s mum makes it every day! I can’t say I’m quite that committed! 

Ingredients 
1 litre full fat milk will give the best results!
100ml yoghurt (with live cultures) or 1 sachet freeze dried yoghurt bacteria 

Method 

• In a saucepan, heat up the milk to a gentle boil, stirring frequently. I use a Indian patila/tope which I can also use for incubating (this means I don't get multiple utensils dirty). 
  
  
• When hot, turn of the heat and let the milk cool down until warm (the ideal temperature for incubating yoghurt is around 40 degrees). This is vital - if you add your yoghurt or freeze dried yoghurt bacteria to hot milk you will kill them. Initially, I used a thermometer to ensure the correct temperature, but after doing it a couple of times, I now have a feel for it and don't need it. 
  
  
  
• When the yoghurt is warm, stir in the yoghurt or freeze dried yoghurt starter. 
  
  
  
• Now you need to incubate the yoghurt. If you live in a warm climate - then you can just leave it on your counter (like in India). However, I cannot do that here in the Netherlands and I don't have a yoghurt maker (I think its a bit of an unnecessary purchase..). If you live in a cool climate you can do the following: 
  
  
  
1. Leave the yoghurt in the oven. You can heat the oven to around 50 degrees, then turn it off and leave the light on. Place the yoghurt in the oven for 6 hours or so until set. 
   
   
   
2. If you have a slow cooker: turn on the slow cooker to the "warm" setting and place a little water in the bottom. Let the slow cooker warm up. When the water is warm, turn off the slow cooker and place the yoghurt container in the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker with a towels and leave overnight. This is the method I prefer - I don't have to burn a lot of electricity by leaving the oven on, and it means I can just start the yoghurt in the evening, put it to bed and then in the morning I have delicious yoghurt waiting for me! 
   
   
   
• When the yoghurt has set, transfer to the fridge to chill! Always remember to save around 100ml of yoghurt from this batch for your next one. 

Bean sprouts are incredibly healthy and they are so easy to make! You can use them in a variety of recipes, from salads to something like a mixed sprout curry. I have a recipe for a sprout curry coming up soon, given by Yogesh's mum. Bean sprouts are a type of vegetable which are made by sprouting either whole mung beans (green gram) or moth beans. They are left to germinate in either a muslin cloth or container. Sprouting beans at home is so much healthier than buying bean sprouts from the supermarket or outside. Quite often preservatives are put into packaged bean sprouts and they can have a bitter or sour taste. Also they usually always come in plastic packaging. 

Sprouting at home gives tender and delicious beans which have a delicate flavour (almost like peas). They are easy to digest and contain high levels of fibre. All in all, they are a great addition to your diet!

One of my lunches this week was this delicious matki usal. Matki or moth beans are a brown legume and they are very tasty - even better when you sprout them! I posted a recipe for matki upkari (a Konkani recipe using sprouted moth beans which I make from time-to-time). Matki upkari is made with tomatoes, onions, and spices like cumin, coriander, chilli and turmeric. This matki usal is ever so slightly different as it doesn't contain any tomatoes. 

So - this dry (no gravy) Maharashtrian dish is made from moth bean sprouts, coconut, onions and curry leaves. Simple spices like cumin seeds and mustard seeds flavour the dish, and I also tend to add some tamarind and jaggery as well for that extra depth of flavour. Healthy, easy and quick to make and ready within 20 minutes - this is my kind of food and the type of food I enjoy cooking the most. So delicious with rice and dal or on its own with chapatis!

Tepache is a delicious fermented drink from Mexico which makes use of all the parts of a pineapple you normally wouldn't eat! You leave the pineapple core, peels and rinds to ferment for 2-3 days in water, brown sugar and flavoured with cinnanom. The wild yeast and bacteria get to work eating the sugar and the result is a delicious carbonated drink (full of gut friendly bacteria) which is perfect for those hot summer days! 

Ingredients 
The peels, cores and rinds of 1 large pineapple (discard the crown!)
1 large stick of cinnamon broken into a few pieces 
100g natural cane sugar or brown sugar. This may seem like a lot of sugar - but the final drink is not that sweet as the wild bacteria/yeast will eat most of it
1 litre water 

Method 

• In a saucepan, combine the sugar, water and cinnamon. Stir until the sugar dissolves. 
  
  
• Add the pineapple peels, rinds and core. Mix well and then cover the saucepan with a tea towel or light fitting lid. Leave to ferment for 3 days until it becomes bubbly and foamy. (See picture below!). You don't want to leave it for a longer as it will then turn to vinegar - and you don't want that! 
  
  
• After three days, strain and then bottle the tepache into flip top bottles. Leave to carbonate for 2-3 days. Pineapple produces a lot of a carbon dioxide so you may need to burp your bottles. This means opening the bottles just enough to release some the excess carbon dioxide. This will prevent the tepache from becoming explosive! Do this every other day or so. 
  
  
• When carbonated, chill in the fridge to slow the fermentation process. 
  
  
• Serve cold on a hot summer's day!

Make this delicious twice-baked Italian biscuits and enjoy them alongside a cup of tea or coffee! The lemon, pistachio and white chocolate all come together beautifully in this recipe. I made these recently and gave some away to friends who we hadn't seen in a long time. I gave them in a nice jar with fabric ribbon and voila! The perfect homemade gift without excess plastic and waste.  

Ingredients 
350g plain flour (all purpose flour) 
275g granulated sugar 
1/2 tsp baking powder 
Pinch salt 
100g chopped pistachios save a few for sprinkling on top 
Zest of two lemons 
3 eggs 
75ml oil (veg, olive, coconut all work) 
50ml limoncello 

Melted white chocolate for dipping. I used a bain marie to melt the chocolate (bowl over a saucepan of boiling water). 

Method 

• Preheat your oven to 180 degrees / 160 degrees fan. Line two large baking trays with baking paper or a reusable baking mat (I have a silicone one). 
  
  
• In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, limoncello and zest until well combined. Set aside. 
  
  
• In a larger mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients - the flour, sugar, baking powder, pistachios (saving a few for sprinkling at the end) and salt. Mix well. 
  
  
• Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine until you have a rough dough. The dough may be a little sticky but that's okay. 
  
  
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead briefly until smooth (only a few minutes - longer and then the biscotti may be chewy. You don't want to build up lots of gluten). 
  
  
• Divide the dough in half and then shape each half into large rectangular slabs (around 20cm long, 1.5 cm high and 5-10 cm wide. Carefully transfer these slabs to your prepared baking trays. 
  
  
• Bake for around 25-30 minutes. They will turn golden around the edges, but the centre will still be soft. 
  
  
• Remove and leave to cool until you can handle them (15 minutes or thereabouts). 
  
  
• Carefully transfer the slabs to a sturdy chopping board. Slice the slabs diagonally with a serrated knife into around 2cm slices. 
  
  
• Add each biscotti slice back to the baking trays cut side down. Bake for a further 10 minutes on one side, and then flip the slices, baking them for 10 minutes on the other side. They will brown further and become crunchy all the way through. 
  
  
• When baked, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before dipping in chocolate and garnishing with the reserved chopped pistachios!