Millfields Spice Rack

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An introduction to Ethiopian

This is our friend Selam's introduction to Ethiopian food for us. We were lucky enough to watch and help her whilst she cooked Misr Wat (Red Lentils), Key Wat (Beef Stew), braised cabbage with beef and delicious Shiro from Ethiopia. The two 'wat' recipes below are based on our mental notes from the day! Selam's 'wat's were served on our own attempted injera. There are many conflicting teff-less injera recipes online. So far we've managed to make it to a half-decent standard by using white all-purpose flour. But until the day we raise our standards to "acceptable", we shall spare you our recipe. Courtesy of Charlotte and Rob who hosted the dinner..

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Key Wat (Ethiopian Beef Stew)

Serves 4-6 2 red onions - finely chopped 2 tablespoons of Berbere spice mix 3 tablespoons of tomato paste (or 2 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped) 750g diced beef 5-6 cloves of garlic - finely chopped oil water or stock salt Sweat the onions on medium heat, without the oil, stirring for a couple of minutes. Add the oil (about half a cup) and some salt, and fry the onions until soft for about 10 minutes. Add 2/3 of the garlic and fry for another minute. Stir in the tomato paste (or the chopped tomatoes) and the berbere spice mix. Cook on low to medium heat for about 10 minutes until thick, stirring occasionally, and adding a couple of tablespoonful of water at a time to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan. Add the diced beef and stir until they are coated in the tomato sauce. Cover and cook the beef for about 40 minutes, stirring every now and then, adding a bit of water (or stock) when it starts sticking to the pan. Cook until the meat is tender, then stir in the rest of the garlic. Take off the heat, serve on injera.

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Misr Wat (Ethiopian Red Lentils)

Serves 4-6 2 red onions - finely chopped 2 tablespoons of Berbere spice mix 3 tablespoons of tomato paste (or 2 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped) 2 cups of red lentils 5-6 cloves of garlic - finely chopped oil water or stock salt Sweat the onions on medium heat, without the oil, stirring for a couple of minutes. Add the oil (about half a cup) and some salt, and fry the onions until soft for about 10 minutes. Add 2/3 of the garlic and fry for another minute. Stir in the tomato paste (or the chopped tomatoes) and the berbere spice mix. Cook on low to medium heat for about 10 minutes until thick, stirring occasionally, and adding 1-2 tablespoonful of water at a time to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan. Add the lentils and stir until they are coated in the tomato sauce. Cover and cook the lentils for about 30 minutes, adding small amounts of water (or stock) as they soak up. The lentils should never be covered with water. When the lentils are cooked, stir in the rest of the garlic. Take off the heat, serve on injera.

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Zeytinyağlı Yaprak Sarma (Turkish Stuffed Vine Leaves)

4-5 onions, diced 1/2 cup (~125ml) olive oil 2 tbsp pine nuts 2 cups (~350g) short grain rice, washed 1 tbsp dried mint 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp allspice 2 tsp sugar 2 tbsp black currant juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 cup parsley, chopped 1/2 cup dill, chopped 2 tsp salt 2 tsp black pepper 1/2 cup (~125ml) boiling water 500g vine leaves, pickled if you can't find fresh 1/4 cup (~70ml) olive oil 2 cups (~500ml) boiling water Sauté the onions with the pine nuts and 1/2 cup of olive oil, until the pine nuts turn light brown. Add the rice and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes. Add the mint, the black pepper, cinnamon, allspice, sugar, black currants, lemon juice, parsley and dill, and stir. Add 1/2 cup boiling water and salt. Simmer on low heat until the rice absorbs the water. Take off heat and let cool. Put a spoonful of the cooled mixture in the center of the top part of the leaf, fold the sides inwards and then roll the leaf like a cylinder. As the final step, spread a layer of vine leaves on the bottom of a large and heavy pot (to prevent the stuffed leaves from burning). Lay all your dolmas side by side and tuck very tightly. Add the remaining 1/4 cups of olive oil, juice of half a lemon and 2 cups of boiling water, cover with a plate upside down (so that the dolmas don’t move around in boiling water) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until all the water is absorbed (roughly 45-60 minutes). Transfer to your serving dish and let cool.

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Dandelion and Mallow Harira

Serves 4 2 large onion, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 4 celery sticks, finely chopped a pinch of saffron 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp ground ginger 2 whole cloves, ground 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg 1 large bunch fresh coriander, stalks and leaves separated, chopped 110g small green/brown lentils 120g of chickpeas, soaked for a few hours 500g small-medium tomatoes, quartered 2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley 150-200g mallow and dandelion leaves mixed, roughly chopped 3 tbsp plain flour, mixed with 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil a squeeze of fresh lemon salt and pepper Boil the chickpeas with the onion, garlic, celery, saffron, spices, some salt and pepper and the coriander stalks in water or stock to twice their volume. Check every now and then to make sure the water level doesn't fall too low... If it does, add a bit more water. After an hour add the lentils and continue to boil for another half hour. Then add the tomatoes and parsley, cook for 10 minutes. Add the mallow and dandelion and simmer for a further 5 mins. Finally, add the flour mixed with the oil and stir briskly. Garnish with the coriander leaves and lemon juice. Continue to cook for another few minutes, making sure the pulses are tender. Serve!

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An introduction to Curry (for Catalans :) )

Here's our introduction to a simple Indian meal with Sagh Alu (Spinach and Potatoes), Lemon Rice and Carrot and Anardana (Pomegranate) Raita.

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Sagh Alu

serves 4 2-3kg spinach 6 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) 750g potatoes 3 large onions, sliced thin 2 clove garlic, crushed 2 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp paprika 2 green pimento (small mild chili), minced 2 cardamom, crushed 2 inch ginger, cut in julienne strips 2 tsp salt Wash the spinach. Steam with the lid on in a splash of salted water until tender, about 12 minutes - open the lid to stir it occasionally. Peel and cut potatoes in halves or quarters. Drain spinach well and chop fine. Reserve. Prepare the aromatics. In a heavy-based saucepan melt the ghee, then layer up the ingredients as follows: ginger first to crisp it, then onions, potatoes, pimento, garlic, ground coriander, paprika and cardamom. Leave without stirring for 1 minute. Stir lightly and leave for another minute. Then stir and fry until all the potatoes are well browned, this might take 15-20mins. Raise the heat very high, add the cooked spinach, a pinch more of salt, and moisten with 1/2 pint of water. Stir over very high heat; close lid, and steam over low heat till potatoes are tender. Stir and dry off any remaining moisture, leaving the spinach and potatoes well buttered.

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Lemon Rice

serves 4 1 cup basmati rice juice of 2 lemons 1/4tsp turmeric 3 tbsp peanuts (whole with brown skin) 2 green chillies, chopped fine 1inch ginger, grated salt to taste chopped coriander leaf for garnish tempering 2tsp coconut oil or ghee 1tsp mustard seeds 1tsp cumin seeds 1tsp black gram (urd) dhal 1tsp Bengal gram (chana) dhal 1 dried red chili 1/2tsp asafoetida a few curry leaves Cook the rice the way you like and set aside. Heat the oil or ghee and add the mustard sees until they splutter. Then turn the heat down low and add the dhals. Stir until they colour a medium dark brown. Raise the heat a litte then add the other tempering ingredients, stir for a minute. Add the chillis, ginger and peanuts and stir for 2mins. Add the rice, turmeric and salt and mix until the rice is well coloured and the whole dish is dry. Take off the heat and add the lemon juice, stir and add the coriander for garnish.

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Carrot and Anardana Raitha

1 tsp cumin seeds Cleaned and washed seeds from 1 small pomegranate 500g live yogurt 3 tbsp chopped mint leaves salt chilli pepper grated carrot Combine ingredients in a bowl, add water to the yogurt to get the desired consistency - not too watery, not too thick. Garnish with a few spare mint leaves and pomegranate seeds.

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