Aubergine, Sweet Potato & Chickpea Balti - A Low Fat Balti Hit

So my obsession with sweet potatoes is clearly continuing. I've been trying to maintain a healthy diet lately with the run up to Christmas well and truly here.However last Monday to Friday was a real dieters struggle was a series of dull boring low calorie dinners, and left me longing for the weekend to hurry up for my treats.

This week I decided I couldn't face another week of roast veggies and quinoa for 5 days on the trot. I don't think I can actually face roast veggies and quinoa again for a very long time. I wanted to make a meal I could look forward to, so I set about making this delicious, sweet and spicy vegetable Balti curry. It's gorgeous.
The perfect amount of fiery heat and the long slow stew of the vegetables lent a sweet and delicate flavour to the dish. The addition of spinach was because, 'why not'! It's super healthy, and packed with iron. I had half a tin of chickpeas leftover so decided to bung them into the mix too. They are a great source of protein and help you stay fuller for longer, or so I'm told. I must say they did the trick as I was completely stuffed at the end of my meal and didn't long for the chili con carne I had made the rest of the family.

I have enough for tomorrows dinner also and I'm looking forward to it already. Of course leftover can also be frozen if you are unable to take the same dinner two days in a row. I myself get like that sometimes, but I suppose it depends what the offering is. In this case, I'm certainly not dreading it. I can't wait.

Serves 4ish

Ingredients

• 1 aubergine, cubed
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 1/2 can chick peas
• 500g of passata 
• 1 tbsp balti paste
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 1 ginger piece, diced
• 1 large handful of baby spinach leaves, washed
• 1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp of coconut oil
• 2 tbsp of low fat natural Greek yogurt

To Serve
1 Small portion of brown rice per person

Method

1. Get a heavy based saucepan on a medium heat and add the sliced onions, garlic, ginger and oil.
2. Fry them for a minute or so, then add the balti paste.
3. Fried off the paste for another minute or so and add the aubergines & sweet potatoes.
4. Add the passata and stir well to combine.
5. Partially cover and simmer on a low heat for 40 minutes.
6. Add the chickpeas and one table spoon of yogurt and stir well
7. Simmer for another few minutes.
8. Season well with salt and pepper and add the spinach leaves. Turn the heat off immediately and gently stir the spinach leaves through until wilted. The add the parsley.
9. To serve, top each portion of curry with the second table spoon of yogurt and serve with a small portion of brown rice. (Mine is flecked with a small bit of black quinoa)

My Bombay Potatoes - Simple ingredients, Awesome Flavours

The humble spud is getting yet another make over here. Where would I be without my potatoes! I simply adore them and quiet frankly could inhale them; mashed, chips, boil, cubed, any which way I love them. Being Irish, this comes as no surprise, but there are many other countries who champion the potato also.


Take Spain for example, Patatas Bravas or papa bravas are my one most beloved foods EVER! Then of course you have your french fries and your roasties from the likes of Europe and America, and Italy are doing their own thing with potatoes in the form of Gnocchi, as per my most recent Gnocchi recipe.

But surprisingly potatoes feature heavily in Indian cooking. A large proportion of Indians are vegetarians and potatoes are quiet often used in curries. This is a recipe for a 'dry' Indian Potato dish, a side dish I always order in Indian restaurants,the delectable Bombay Potatoes. A spicy potato dish using some great fragrant spices and tomatoes. It packs a real punch in the flavour department and is super healthy. There are so many different versions, but here is mine:

Ingredients

• 2 large rooster potatoes, peeled & cubed
• 1 onion, half diced, half sliced
• 1 thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and diced
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and diced
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• 1 tsp of coriander seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp of turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (I use mild)
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 4 tbsp of oil (I use Irish Rapeseed oil)
• 2 tomatoes, sliced into wedges
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Method

• Put a large pan of salted water on the boil and par-boil the potato cubes.
• Meanwhile, blend roughly the diced onion, the ginger, the garlic, the cumin, the coriander, the mustard seeds, turmeric, chili powder and garam masala.
• When the potatoes are cooked, after approx 6 minutes, drain and allow to steam for a couple of minutes.
• Get a large deep frying pan on a medium heat and add the oil. Then cook out the blended spice mixture for a few minutes. 
• Then add the potato cubes and the tomato wedges, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if the dish looks like it's too dry and 'catching'
• Before serving, scatter with coriander leaves.

This is the perfect side dish to any roasts, or in Indian it is simply enjoyed with some naan bread and pilau rice.

Extremely Versatile Quinoa Stuffed Beef Tomatoes

Healthy doesn't have to be boring, and these tasty stuffed tomatoes are extremely healthy and super fun. The recipe is here is extremely versatile, you can replace the quinoa with cous cous, bulgar wheat, rice, or even orzo. You can also inter change the vegetables also, customizing your stuffed tomatoes to your own person taste. You may even go so far as to stuff some peppers instead of using tomatoes altogether. So every single element of this dish can be replaced. Even the cheddar cheese can be replaced with either, feta, goats cheese and even haloumi. So there you have it, the most inter-changeable recipe I have ever written!!!!

These tomatoes are the perfect lunch time dish. I chose quinoa over cous cous and all the other grains, because it is a high protein ingredient with a low GI; meaning this should keep you fuller for longer. The tomatoes are not however just for lunch, these would be the perfect accompaniment to a main course fish dish at a dinner party. You could even have them prepped ahead, and just bang them in the oven for 15 minutes before serving the main. They look very impressive, yet secretly easy peasy to make. Here's how:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of quinoa 
• 1 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• 3 mushrooms, cubed
• 1/2 courgette, cubed
• 1 small can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 of a red onion, diced
• 6 mint leaves, shredded
• 1/2 tsp of cumin powder
• Salt & pepper to season
• 2 tbsp of grated cheddar
• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 2 beef tomatoes

Method

1. Add the quinoa to pan on a medium heat, add the water and cook for 12 minutes.
2. Drain the quinoa and set aside.
3. Add a wok to a medium heat, add the onion, tomato paste and cumin powder. Cook out for 5 minutes.
4. Then add the mushrooms, courgettes and chickpeas, and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the quinoa and the seasoning and mix really well, heating everything through.
6. Finally add the mint and mix through.
7. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. 
8. Slice the top off the tomatoes, and cut out a hollow hole in the tomato.
9. Spoon the quinoa mixture into the tomato and sprinkle each tomato with 1 tbsp of cheese.
10. Place the tomatoes in an oven proof dish, replace the lid on the tomato, and add half a cup of water to the dish. (This prevents the tomato from sticking to the dish and keeps the finished product moist)
11. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. 
12. Serve with a simple green salad.

(Tip: Other ingredients which would work well are chopped almonds, sultanas, corriander, apricots, grated carrot, grated cucumber. The list is endless. Feel free to experiment)

Indian Sweet Potato Cubes with Garlic Curry Mayo - An Indian Take on a Spanish Classic

These potato cubes are gorgeous and can be eaten as a main meal or would be a fabulous side dish. They are a variation of my Quick Patatas Bravas recipe from Spain. By using sweet potato we are making this dish super healthy, and by boiling and baking the potatoes, we are continuing with our health trend. It's only when I add mayonnaise into the mix that the calorie content increases, so for the health concious, you can omit the curry mayo, however it's every bit as important in this dish I think. Use low fat mayonnaise if you want to be good.

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 tbsp of ground cumin
• 1 tbsp of oil, a flavorless oil
• Ground black pepper

Garlic Curry Mayonnaise

• 1 tsp of mild curry powder
• 5-7 tbsp of mayonnaise
• Juice of 1/4 of a lemon
• Ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp of garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp of coriander paste

Method

1. Add the cubed potatoes to a saucepan of cold water and put on a medium heat. Bring the water to the boil and cook for 4 minutes.
2. Drain the potatoes and allow the steam to escape for a few minutes. This helps the potatoes dry out a bit.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
4. Add the potatoes to a bowl and pour in the olive oil and sprinkle over the cumin. Stir to ensure all the cubes are coated. 
5. Lay the cubes in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
6. Grind over the black pepper and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the cubes are crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle.
7. Meanwhile to make my garlic curry mayonnaise, simply combine the mayonnaise, garlic puree, curry powder and pepper. Mix well. Add the juice of the lemon and stir to combine completely.
8. To Serve, scattered the potatoes in a platter and place the mayonnaise in a little bowl, alternatively you could pour the mayo over the sweet potato, bravas style.

Tomato & Mushoom Mhung Dhal

This low fat, high protein meal is Indian inspired. The Mhung Dhal is a type of lentil used for curries in India. I do not know how to use it authentically, but here’s a low fat tasty method of cooking it, Serena-Style, high on spicy flavour and low on calories. It truly is a life saver when caught in the ‘same food cycle’ when trying to diet mid-week. You just simply get sick of the same ole dinners day-in, day-out.

This Dhal will literally put the spice back into the mid-week diet. I’ve made double to have for lunch the following day. In India they normally have their dhal with rice, but I’m going to try to keep those proteins high by having this Dhal with some grilled spicy chicken breast.  I know that some goes against a lot of the Indian vegetarian cooking rules, but I do not claim to be cooking an authentic indian meal, simply using inspiration from the healthier parts of the Indian cuisine to make low fat dieting more interesting for me. I’ve sourced the mhung dhal from the health food store, but this recipe can easily be used using yellow spilt peas or red lentils.

 

Ingredients

·         100g of mhung dhal lentils or yellow/red lentils

·         1 tbsp of grapeseed oil

·         1 clove of garlic, chopped

·         1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

·         1 onion, sliced

·         1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped

·         1 tsp of ground cumin

·         1 tsp of ground coriander

·         1 tsp of turmeric

·         Salt and pepper

·         300ml chicken/vegetable stock

·         8 mushrooms, sliced

·         1 red pepper, sliced

·         4 tomatoes, quartered

·         3 tbsp of chopped coriander

Method

1.       Get a saucepan of stock on the boil and add the lentils and cook according to packet instructions (average 15 minutes)

2.       In a frying pan, add the oil, garlic, ginger, chilli and onion.

3.       Add the spices and fry for a few minutes.

4.       Add the mushrooms, pepper and tomatoes and fry well, then put to the side until the lentils are cooked.

5.       Drain the lentils well, add them to the frying pan and put back on the heat.

6.       Mix in well and add salt and pepper.

7.       Use a potato masher to crush a bit of the lentils, and then stir in the chopped herbs.

8.       Serve with basmati rice, or (a grilled chicken breast like me!).

(Saag Aloo [Potato & spinach] is another Indian meal in need of a low fat makeover, that would be an ideal accompaniement to the above Dhal!)

Low Fat Homemade Chicken Tikka Balti

Curries get a bad rep, especially Indian curries which have long be viewed as meals full of  fattening ingredients such as cream, yogurt, oil and ghee (buckets of butter). But take all those ingredients out of the equation and you have meals that are loaded with immune boosting, healing spices which have umpteen health benefits.

If like myself you have come down with a post holiday flu, there is nothing better than a chicken curry loaded with garlic, ginger, chilli and spices to clear the head and help recovery along the way.

Ever the health conscious, I daren't dream of ordering out for a curry from our local Indian Takeaway. I should keep my New Years Resolution for a week at least!! I'm also for the most part not a fan of sauces from a jar, as they tend to be very high in salt and fat content. When you are making the curry yourself, you are in control of the fat, salt and heat of the dish.

I'd never made an Indian style curry before from scratch, siding with Thai and Indonesian previously. But after making this curry and realising how low fat it is and how tasty it can be, I've certainly changed my mind.

Having researched balti sauce recipes a little, I came to realise that every single recipe is different. Just as well as I just used what I had in my store cupboard and I must say it worked a treat. I baked the chicken marinated in a tikka spice blend and yogurt and lemon, and then added to the balti sauce. The flavour was unbelievable and the chicken was extremely succulent. You could even just have chickn tikka without the balti for a lower fat version.

So I urge you to put that phone down, step away from the take-away menu and take the time to try this low fat curry, you won't be disappointed.  Serve this without all the normal accompaniments, such as naan bread and riata and your waist line will thank me too.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Baked Chicken Tikka

• 4 Chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 tbsp of tikka spice blend
• 1 125g carton of fat free natural yogurt
• Juice of a lemon

Balti Paste

• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• 1 tsp of coriander seeds
• 2 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 peeled thumb size piece of ginger
• 1/2 green chilli, deseeded and diced
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 tsp of tomato paste
• 1/2 onion
• 1 tsp of cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• 1 tsp of garam masala
• 2 tbsp of chopped fresh coriander

Balti Sauce

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 6-7 mushrooms
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 tsp of caster sugar
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 3 tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 can of reduced fat coconut milk
• 40g of ground almonds
• 1/2 can chopped tomatoes
• chopped fresh coriander, to garnish

To serve - basmalti rice

Method

1. Combine the tikka spice blend and the yogurt and the lemon juice and marinate the chicken (preferably overnight, but minimum an hour)
2. Preheat oven to 190 degrees 
3. Put the chicken on foil lined tray and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, turning once half way through.
4. To make the curry paste, first toast the cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant in a dry pan, then grind them together with a pestle and mortar.
5. In a food processor, add the remaining paste ingredients along with the ground cumin and coriander and blitz until smooth.
6. Get a wok on a moderate heat and fry off the curry paste. Add the mushrooms, carrot and onion and saute for a couple of minutes.
7. Pour in half a can of light coconut milk and half a can of chopped tomatoes laong with the quarters of fresh tomatoes.
8. Sprinkle in the caster sugar and ground almonds and stir.
9. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
10. Add the frozen peas and the chicken tikka and stir through the sauce. Add all the ingredients to mingle in the heat for 3-4 minutes.
11. Scatter the curry with fresh coriander and serve with rice.

This curry is by no means a classic recipe, its simply a low fat tasty curry I made with what I had available to me. As I said above there are endless recipes for Tikka Balti, and this just happens to be one I love myself, thats low fat, fresh and, if I say so myself....well tasty!!!!

Virtually Fat Free Aubergine, Potato & Chickpea Curry

This one post dish couldn’t be simpler, and its virtually fat free. A lot of the ingredients are interchangeable also. It’s a bit of what you fancy, coupled to what’s lying around in the kitchen.

This is one of my lower fat, low-fat dishes. It’s unbelievably good for you, and you’d never think it was, given that its sooo tasty. When people are dieting, sometimes its automatically assumed that curries are out of the question. But this recipe is proof you can get all the flavour for none of the calories.

The use of different spices in the dish give off a wonderful fragrant aroma, immediately transporting the senses to faraway lands, which is always good. (esp. on cold wintery nights)

Serves 4

Ingredients

·         1 aubergine, cubed

·         1 onion cut into thin slices

·         1 clove of garlic, sliced thinly

·         2 carrots, chopped

·         2 potatoes, peeled and quartered

·         5 tomatoes quartered

·         1 tbsp of tomato paste

·         250 mls of good quality vegetable stock

·         1 tin of chickpeas drained

·         1 tbsp of cumin seeds

·         ½ tbsp of garam masala

·         ½ tbsp of turmeric

·         ½ tbsp of ground coriander

·         ½ tsp of ground ginger

·         2 cloves

·         ½ tsp of cayenne pepper

·         1 tbsp of grapeseed oil

·         2 tbsp of chopped coriander

Method

1.       In a  wok or wide pan on a medium heat, add the sliced onions, garlic and spices and fry in a little oil for 5 minutes.

2.       Add the aubergine ,potatoes and carrots and fry for a further 3-4 minutes.

3.       Add the tomato paste and tomatoes, continuously stirring.

4.       Add enough stock to cover the vegetables and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Stirring from time to time. Top up with stock as needed.

5.       The dish is ready when the sauce has reduced to a thicker consistency and the potatoes are cooked through.

6.       Add the drained can of chickpeas and warm them through.

7.       Scatter with freshly chopped coriander.

8.       You may serve this with naan bread and/or rice, for a full-on feast. But I think the carbs from the potatoes and the protein from the chickpeas are quite filling themselves for a mid week supper.

This is a fantastic quick and easy mid week supper, and it keeps well, so if you have any left you can heat it up in the office the next day for lunch. But also if you are having friends for a dinner party and you have a vegetarian coming for dinner, then this pot can be made in advance and reheated with rice for your veggie diner.

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Scallops on Curry Dhal, with a Minty Yogurt Dressing

Scallops certainly aren’t an everyday buy for me, but on those special occasions, I like to splash out. They are one of Alan’s favourite seafoods, so when I feel he deserves a treat, I’ll always put scallops on the menu. For something so delicate scallops can really take strong flavours. I often serve them with a spicy Thai sauce, or Clonakilty black pudding, but I think its time for something new. So after my successful maiden attempt of yellow split peas the other day, I’m thinking that they would be very nice with a seared scallop on top. Well it would be my sneaky way of getting Alan to try the split peas………

Serves 2 (starter)

Ingredients

 For the Scallops

• 6 fresh scallops, washed, dried, coral removed
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

For the Curry Dhal

• 1 cup of yellow split pea lentils (cooked according to packet instructions)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp of chopped coriander
• ½ diced red chilli
• 1 tsp of turmeric
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 diced red onion

For the Minty Yogurt Dressing 

• 3 tbsp natural yogurt
• Juice & zest of half a lemon
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp finely chopped mint leaves

Method

1. Cook the split peas in boiling water for 45 mins
2. Drain them and set aside
3. In a dry pan, add the cumin seeds and coriander seeds and heat for 3 mins
4. Transfer to a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder
5. Add oil to the pan, and sauté the onions, garlic, chilli with the ground spices and curry powder and tumeric
6. Add the lentils back to the pan and warm through, add water so the mixture isn’t too dry.
7. Add chopped coriander. Set aside until required. This mixture can easily be reheated in the pan, adding water to keep the mixture wet.
8. Wash and dry the scallops, and season with salt, pepper and oil.
9. To make the yogurt dressing, combine yogurt, finely chopped mint, 1 tsp of honey, salt, pepper and half the juice of a  lemon. Refrigerate until required.
10. To cook the scallops, put a dry pan on a high heat.
11. Add the scallops to the pan in a clockwise direction.
12. Turn after 90 seconds, and sear on other side for 60 seconds
13. To plate up, put the dhal mixture in the centre of a plate, top with the scallops and drizzle over the yogurt dressing.