Lamb Moussaka

2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Sea salt to taste
Pinch of black pepper
400g lamb mince, washed and drained
1 tsp. Cumin powder
1 tsp. Coriander powder
1 tsp. Kashmiri red chilli powder (optional)
1 chicken stock cube
400g passata
Chopped coriander (optional, you can use any herb to your preference)

Aubergine slices:

2 aubergines, cut into 0.5cm slices lengthways
Sunflower oil for frying

White sauce:

I cheated by getting a packet mix (Couldn't find any 'V' friendly ready made ones)
300ml milk

To finish:

A handful of mixed cheese
A handful of medium mature cheddar

In a non stick wok, put in your oil and fry your minced garlic for a few seconds, then add your chopped onions and fry until golden and soft. Add sea salt and black pepper and stir well.

Add your washed lamb mince, and brown on a high heat. Once browned, add in your cumin, coriander and optional chilli powder. Stir well, then add your chicken stock cube, and about 300ml of water. Lower the heat and allow to cook down.

Add your passata after water has reduced and stir well again. I added some leftover chopped coriander i had, but you can add any fresh or dried herb of your choice. Stir well, and allow to cook down on a low heat for about 15-20 minutes.

In a seperate frying pan, put in your oil and fry your aubergine slices in a single layer. Check when it is going golden brown, then turn over. Once both sides are well cooked, drain oil on a kitchen towel. Do this for all your slices and put to one side.

In a small saucepan, put 300ml milk and add the cheese sauce mix to it. Put it on boil for about 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly until sauce thickens. Put to one side. By this time your mince should also be cooked. Turn off heat and get ready to assemble.

In a small roasting dish, put a layer of mince, then a layer of aubergines. Then put a layer of white sauce and sprinkle a little cheese on top. Then repeat again with mince, aubergines, white sauce and cheese. Cheese should be your topmost layer.

Heat your oven to 200°C, and put in the moussaka for 20 minutes, until golden and crispy on top. Allow to cool, then serve with potatoes and a salad.

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ♡

Masala mutton chops

I love chops cooked in any shape or form, but i mainly love them when they have that charred, smoky flavour to them. I have no space in my garden for a barbecue and until recently i have not been able to cook them in my oven either. So due to having a working oven(s) now, i thought i would spontaneously cook some chops! (I say spontaneous, but the marination was 48 hours long! Lol!)

I thiught i would also use this as an experiment to find out how mutton chops would cook without any preboiling and obviously if this had failed then next time i would have preboiled the meat then marinated for 24 hours. You can still do this to ensure that your chops will be soft!

For this, i used:

1 kg mutton chops (about 12 pieces)
1 tsp. Garlic powder (you can use fresh)
1 tsp. Ginger powder (you can use fresh)
1 tsp. Onion powder (optional)
2 tbsp. Lemon juice
1 tsp. Dried methi leaves
1 tsp. Turmeric powder
2 tsp. Bolsts Hot curry powder
2 tsp. Kashmiri red chilli powder
2 tsp. Coriander powder
2 tsp. Cumin powder
1.5 tsp. Garam Masala powder
1 tsp. Paprika
4 tbsp. Sunflower oil
Sea salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
8 whole green chillies
2 onions, thickly sliced

Chopped coriander

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a big bowl, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 48 hours.

Take out of the fridge an hour before you bake, and put into a baking tray in a single layer.

Put into an oven at 200°C for 1 hour, turning regularly. Take out of the oven and rest for 15 minutes, before serving.

You can also cover the chops with foil, and slow cook them at a lower heat for 2-3 hours for very soft chops.

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ♡

Bhunafied chicken drumsticks

This was a quick dish i cooked yesterday in literally 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

8 chicken drumsticks, scored
Pinch of turmeric
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp. Sunflower oil
1 bay leaf cut in half
1 cinnamon stick
3 green cardamoms
2 cloves
2 peppercorns
1 tbsp. Minced ginger and garlic
1 small onion, very finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 tsp. Turmeric powder
2 tsp. Rajah Hot Madras curry powder
1 tsp. Chilli powder
1 tsp. Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp. Garam masala
1.5 tsp. Cumin powder to finish
Coriander to garnish

I got the drumsticks and scored them. I added pinch of salt and turmeric and mixed well then left to one side.

In a pan, take the oil, then add the bay leaf,  cinnamon stick, cardamoms, cloves and peppercorns. Then add the minced ginger and garlic and fry until brown. Add finely chopped onion, cook on a very high heat and allow to go golden brown.

Carefully watch and keep stirring so the onions don't burn. Add salt to taste, then the turmeric, curry powder, chilli powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, garam masala and mix well. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly and adding a little water if spices are burning, then add your chicken drumsticks in a single layer across the bottom of the pan.

Allow to cook on a high heat for about 2-3 minutes to create a char on the chicken then turn over and do the same to the other side, leaving for about 2-3 minutes. Put the heat down to low, cover and cook. Don't add any water as chicken will release the water, but if spices are burning, only add the tiniest amount to deglaze the pan.

Cook for about 15 minutes checking regularly, then take lid off and add 1 and 1/2 tsp of cumin powder. Gently stir or shake the pan, add a tiny amount of water and cook for a further 5 - 7 minutes. Garnish with coriander.

Serve with a daal or another saucy dish as this is quite dry.

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ♡