Strawberry Labneh Yin-Yang

Its the contrasting texture and temperature that got me naming this Yin and Yang - slightly warm and jammy tart berries with chilled thick labneh. Strawberries are tossed with Anardana (ground dried pomegranate seeds, typically found in South Asian specialty store), sugar and fresh Orange Juice (fruit juice helps in cutting down the added sugar) then roasted for a short while. Once cooled it’s mixed with Grand Marnier (use vanilla extract or orange juice to keep it alcohol free), then served alongside chilled sweetened labneh that’s scented with vanilla & citrus zest. Finished with a good dose of fresh mint. It’s a play of tart on tart flavors - I strongly feel that it works just like eating tea Madeleines with tea.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Roasted Berries

1 lb Strawberries, tops removed, hulled & halved

2 tbsp Coconut Sugar or Dark/Light Brown Sugar

1 tbsp Granulated Sugar

1-1.5 tbsp Anardana - substitute with Sumac or 1/2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

50 ml Orange Juice , reserve the zest

2 tsp Grand Marnier (substitute with Triple Sec)

Scented Labneh

275g Labneh (strained Greek Yoghurt) or you can use Icelandic Skyr (to keep it vegan feel free to use your go to Vegan Greek yogurt)

2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or extract (make sure to use a good quality pure extract)

2 tsp Orange Zest (Reserved from the juiced orange used in the roasted strawberries)

1 tbsp Granulated Sugar

Garnish

3-4 sprigs of Mint, torn or roughly chopped

Directions

🍓Pre-heat oven to 400F, combine all ingredients for roasted berries except Grand Marnier in a high-sided baking dish. Give it a good mix and bake for 16-17 mins. Keep it aside to cool completely

🍓 Meanwhile, whisk scented labneh ingredients until well combined. Divide and smear generous portions in one side of each serving bowls. Refrigerate until ready to serve

🍓 Once the roasted strawberries are completely cooled, add liquer and mix until well combined. Bring out the labneh bowls from fridge, spoon strawberries on opposite side of the bowl. Drizzle the berry syrup, garnish with chopped fresh mint and enjoy!

Crispy Taro Cake Bowl

Whether it was the influence of several friends and colleagues being Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Taiwanese or just my very deep-rooted love for the flavors from East Asia - we celebrate Lunar New Year every year. Other than making Nian Gao (the New Year cake) from scratch we do try to make most of the traditional dishes such as dumplings, hand-pulled noodles, pickled veggies, turnip and taro cakes. Along with some non-traditional ones such as Baozi or Gua Bao, Steamed Eggs, Rice Paper Rolls, Wontons, etc. The spirit of eating a lot of food with friends and family being intact!

For this year’s celebrations, I made this salad with leftover Taro Cake pieces and was a massive hit at the party! I made the cakes from scratch but you can find them in specialty stores such as H-mart or Park to Shop. If not then, substitute with Tteok or Tofu for similar textural delight or else go with boiled baby potatoes or cauliflower florets. Add some chopped up omelette or boiled eggs for extra richness. Gong Xi Fa Chai!

Ingredients (serves 2 as Main)

Vegetable Base
2 Persian Cucumbers, de-seeded and cut into 2” chunks. Salted and drained after 10 mins
2 Baby Carrots, thinly sliced into batons
1 Celery, cleaned & thinly sliced (optional)
1/2 Jalapeño, thinly sliced
1 small garlic, crushed
1 tsp Chili Oil (Homemade or Lao Gan Ma)
1 tsp light Soy Sauce (substitute with Tamari or Coco Aminos based on your dietary preferences)
1/2 tsp Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp Doubanjiang or Fermented Broad Bean Paste(optional but highly recommended)

Sauce
2 tbsp Neutral Oil
4 Scallions, finely chopped (Handful greens Reserved)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder

1 tsp Brown Sugar or Agave or Maple Syrup
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce (substitute with Tamari or Coco Aminos based on your dietary preferences)
2 tsp Black Vinegar (substitute with equal parts of Balsamic and any White Vinegar)

10-12 pieces of rectangular Taro Cakes, cooked (substitute with 100-120g sliced rice cakes/Tteok or soft tofu)

12g Cilantro, roughly chopped (substitute with basil)
1 tsp Black Roasted Sesame Seeds
1 tsp White Roasted Sesame Seeds

Directions
🧧 In a large bowl, combine all vegetable base ingredients and mix thoroughly. Keep it aside for 15-30 mins or while you prep rest.

🧧 In a non stick skillet - add oil, scallions, garlic and spices. Turn on heat on the lowest setting/flame. Fry the aromatics until they begin to color and become very aromatic (about 4-5 mins on low flame). Fish out the fried aromatics into a small bowl and increase the heat to medium.

🧧 Now gently fry the cooked Taro cakes or any of the substitutes until golden and crisp on both sides. Be patient for this step as it will take about 15-20 mins of attentive frying - but when you achieve that crisp exterior and jelly like soft n chewy interior it will be all worth it! If using rice cakes, then it will be much faster but keep an eye as it’s easy to over cook and make it rubbery. If using tofu, then gently coat with some cornstarch (about 1 tbsp). Adjust the timing if using Potatoes or Cauliflower. Once fried, transfer the Taro cakes to a paper towel lined plate to get off any excess oil

🧧 Now add rest of the sauce ingredients to the bowl with fried aromatics. Give it a good mix and transfer into the large bowl with vegetables. Transfer the crisp Taro cakes into the large bowl, add fresh cilantro, give everything a gentle mix and let the flavors meld for 15 mins

🧧 Divide into serving bowls, finish with roasted sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Sambar Coconut Crêpes with Fixings

First things first - even if you think you are familiar with Indian cuisine and more or less understand the flavors, I can assure you that you are not there yet! As someone who spent 26 formative years in the sub-continent and have been exposed to a fair bit of several regional cooking, I know that I can barely scratch the surface of the rich and complex food the country offers. It’s quite encouraging to see, several up-and-coming Indian origin chefs and social media influencers are now focusing a lot more on branching out beyond Butter Chicken, Garlic Naan, Dal Makhni and Gulab Jamun. Now, I finally feel quite optimistic that we are at the cusp of the beginning of a new and exciting phase for Indian Food representation, yay!

So here I am, sharing a bit of nostalgia and food from my home state - Orissa (Odisha now!) where one of the most popular dishes is called Pitha - a family of breads, dumplings and pancakes mostly made of rice flour and usually steamed or fried. This particular dish is inspired by a specific variety called “Chitau Pitha” (quite similar to the “Neer Dosa” from Mangalore) - which traditionally has ground soaked rice, freshly grated coconut and a bit of ghee in the batter and served during breakfast either with a cauliflower potato stir fry or a sweet coconut relish. While growing up, I would ONLY eat these as roll-ups smothered with the fiery Gunpowder Spice blend supplied by our neighbor Auntie and stuffed with Green Beans…well I was an infamously picky eater with weird food habits! Thankfully most of them are corrected now. To celebrate that memory, I made these tender and fragrant savory crêpes filled with fresh herbs, jammy tomatoes, fried beans and pickled elements. I would highly encourage to scout for two specialty ingredients used here - Sambar Powder and Gunpowder/Milaga Podi in your local Indian Grocery Store, if unavailable then you can totally look on Amazon or make your own (tap the links shared in the recipe). These crêpes are quite versatile actually, feel free to use your favorite sauces, fried stuff… think taco fixings?! I hope you all like it as much as I do.

Ingredients (makes 8-10)
Batter
150g Rice Flour
20g Gluten Free Plain Flour (substitute with plain flour)
1 tsp Ground Turmeric
1 tbsp Sambar Powder (to make your own just Google and pick any of the top results)
1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
1 Can or 400g Coconut Cream (NOT same as Coconut Milk)
120g Water
1 large Egg OR 50g Aquafaba (reserved liquid from canned garbanzo or cannellini beans)

Green Beans
2 tsp Neutral Oil
1 Large Shallot, thinly sliced
2” Ginger, peeled and grated
2 tsp Mustard Seeds
10g Chives, finely chopped
300g Green Beans, de-stringed and sliced into thin 2.5-3” long pieces
1/4-1/2 tsp Salt (adjust to your taste)
1-1.5 tbsp Water

Jammy Tomatoes
250g Cherry Tomatoes, whole
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Sugar
1.5-2 tbsp Gunpowder Spice Blend (substitute with any savory Dukkah or your favorite spice blend)

Pickled Stuff
6 Breakfast Radish, thinly sliced into discs
1 small Shallot, thinly sliced
1/2 Red Fresno Chile, thinly sliced into rounds
2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt

9-10g Fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped
8-9g Fresh Sweet Basil Leaves, roughly chopped

Directions
💥 Combine all pickled stuff ingredients in a small bowl and keep it aside for 20 mins or so. Now heat up a small 8-9” nonstick skillet, once very hot transfer tomatoes and begin charring them. Keep the pan moving to ensure they don’t stick. Once they start softening and blistering, add pepper and let everything char/cook for 1 minute. Turn off heat and transfer everything into a bowl, immediately add paprika, salt, sugar and gunpowder (spices must be added when hot). Give it a good mix and keep it aside

💥 Put all crêpe batter ingredients in a blender, pulse until smooth and loose consistency is achieved. Adjust water quantity to get to a thinnish crêpe like batter consistency. Let it rest for 25-30 mins. Meanwhile, heat up oil in the same skillet - add ginger, shallot and mustard seeds. Fry on medium flame for 2 mins, add green beans and continue frying for 4 mins. Add chives, salt and water, mix and cover. Let it cook on low flame for 3 more mins. Turn off heat and transfer and keep those beans aside (they should be cooked with a bite)

💥 Pre-heat oven to 200F. Wipe the skillet clean and put it back on heat (no oil needed, the fat in coconut cream is enough). Give a little whisk to the batter so that it de-settles and becomes homogenous again. On low-medium flame, ladle about 1/4 cup batter and swirl to cover the base (the edges will be thinner than center). Cook for 2-3 mins or until it’s set. Then flip and cook for another minute and gently slide onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat this process to make about 8-10 crêpes and keep them warm in the oven until ready to serve

💥 Pick up a warm crêpe and stuff with some jammy tomatoes & fried green beans (refer to the image gallery). Top with pickled stuff and fresh herbs, roll up and enjoy!

Not So Humble Lentil Soup

In the Umami basics repertoire, here I’m adding a humble looking soup yet exploding with bold flavors. Lentil soups are quite hearty and versatile to whip up in no time. You can make a big batch for weeks and switch up different toppings to make it special every time. I love the yoghurt sauce in this as it not only adds a subtle creaminess but a pleasant tang that balances the overall dish. I use the magic formula of 1:3 (+1/2) solid to liquid ratio to get the right results, so feel free to use this ratio for other lentils to make this delectable heartwarming dish this winter!

Ingredients (serves 6)
200g Green or Brown Lentils, rinsed under cold water
100g Carrot, after peeled and cut into 2” pieces
900ml Water + 100ml extra
2.5 tbsp Ghee (substitute with oil of your choice to keep it vegan)
1 large Red Onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tsp Ground Turmeric
1.5 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Ground Cumin Seeds
2 tsp Ground Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Ground Cardamom
2 tsp Ground Chile Pepper of your choice
2 tsp Ras-el-Hanout or Baharat spice blend (optional)
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp Fine Sea Salt (adjust to your taste)
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
15-20g finely chopped fresh Dill

Yoghurt Sauce
70g Greek Yoghurt (substitute with vegan yoghurt)
1 small garlic, grated
1 tbsp Lemon juice
2 tbsp finely chopped Dill leaves
Pinch of Fine Sea Salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Finishing touches
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds or Nuts of your choice
Chili Oil or Chile Pepper Flakes
Sumac
Crackers, lightly crushed
Fried Onions

Directions
💥 Combine and whisk all yoghurt sauce ingredients. Keep it aside for serving

💥 In a large saucepan, combine water, 1tsp salt, 1 tsp turmeric & lentil. Turn on heat and cook on medium heat until it starts simmering vigorously. Now put on the lid and cook for 12 mins. Then add carrots, cover and cook on medium-high heat for 12 more mins. Turn off the heat and keep it aside

💥 In a large deep bottomed pan (think Dutch oven or wok), add ghee and onions. Turn on heat and on low flame, cook onions for 8-10 mins then add garlic with all dry spices, 1 tsp salt and sugar. Cook everything on low flame for 5 mins (keep an eye so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom much). Now add tomato paste, cook for a minute then add cooked lentils-carrots-water (everything from previous step). Mix well and continue cooking for 10 mins

💥 Turn off heat and using an immersion blender, blitz everything to your preferred texture. Add 100ml extra water, mix well and turn on heat - bring it to simmer while stirring. Adjust seasoning at this stage. Now ladle hot soup into serving bowls, drizzle yoghurt sauce, sprinkle fresh dill and any or all of the finishing touches. Enjoy!

Saffron Roasted Cauliflower and Peppers in Caper Dressing

We all have a handful of recipes that we can whip up our eyes closed - this super easy tray bake falls into that category. Comprising all my go to pantry essentials and including my favorite spice “saffron” - this one is a winner anytime of the year! Make sure to use only Golden Raisins (bear with me even if you don’t like Raisins) in the dressing and by swapping the butter with oil you can adapt it to vegan dietary restriction. Since the saffron is included in the cooking medium, therefore you don’t need a very high quality or imported Persian Saffron - reserve that for no bake desserts!

Ingredients (Serves 4 as a side)

1 head of Medium Cauliflower, leaves intact & cut into quarters. Blanched for 60-90 seconds in boiling salted water

1 large Red Onion, quartered & cut into big chunks

8 mini Sweet Peppers, whole with a slit

4 Garlic Cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground Cumin Seeds

1 tsp ground Cayenne pepper (substitute with mild chile flakes for less heat)

1/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt

1 tsp Brown Sugar

Saffron Butter

4 tbsp Unsalted Butter (to keep it vegan substitute 1:1 with Olive Oil)

1 tsp saffron threads

1 tsp sea salt

Capers Dressing

4 tbsp drained capers, patted dry & finely chopped

12g flat leaf parsley, stem discarded and finely chopped

12g chives, finely chopped

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

45-48g Golden Raisins (if you are dead set on not using raisins then swap with same quantity of Turkish style Dried Apricots)

1.5 tbsp Orange Juice (OJ)

Pinch of salt

Directions

💥 To make the saffron butter - combine saffron threads & salt then crush them into powder. Heat up butter, once shimmering add saffron-salt mix & cook on low flame for 3 mins. Then let it steep for at least 1 hour to overnight

💥 Pre-heat oven to 400F, then combine first 8 ingredients in a large roasting pan (I use a 13”x9” casserole pan). Transfer the saffron butter & mix until everything is well coated. Bake for 40 mins or until cooked and golden

💥 Meanwhile in a small heatproof bowl add raisins and OJ. Microwave on high power for 30 secs, let it sit for 15-20 mins. Roughly chop up the raisins and throw it back into the bowl. Add rest of the dressing ingredients into the bowl and mix everything. Once the vegetables are out of oven, let it cool for 2-3 mins then generously scatter caper dressing into the roasting pan. Give it a toss and serve right away!

Dark Chocolate, Chestnut and Whiskey Torte

Amidst the cookie marathons, gingerbread house decorations, organizing holiday parties and setting up the Christmas tree, phew! This holiday season the grown-ups deserve an indulgent dessert break to treat themselves. So, here I have a rich flourless chocolate torte enhanced with a bay leaf infused chestnut paste and spiked with a peaty Irish Whiskey, finished with the real MVP - Chestnut Chantilly Cream topping. If you don’t want to make chestnut paste from scratch, then you can absolutely use the store-bought versions - just make sure to look for sweetened ones. I would highly recommend using good quality whiskey for this recipe but if you want to keep it alcohol free then just use same quantity of Apple Cider+1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste/Extract.

Ingredients (serves 5-6)

Chestnut Paste
250g Roasted & Peeled Chestnuts (I buy packaged ones from H-Mart)
160ml Whole Milk
100ml Double Cream Or Heavy Whipping Cream
40g Light Brown Sugar
20g Granulated Sugar
6-8 Bay Leaves
4 Star Anise Pods
1 tbsp Vanilla Extract or Bean Paste

Torte
125g Dark Chocolate, you can use chips or chopped up bar (I use 72% from Trader Joe’s)
125g Salted Butter
100g Chestnut Paste
70g Caster Sugar (fine Granulated sugar)
32g Whiskey (I used Connemara Peated Irish Whiskey, feel free to use your favorite whiskey. I love the smoky undertones so I think a good scotch will be fantastic)
2 large Eggs, separated
Pinch of Salt
1/2 tsp Ground Star Anise

Chestnut Chantilly
110g Chestnut Paste
22g Whiskey (I used Connemara Peated Irish Whiskey)
25g Powdered Sugar
120g Double or Heavy Whipping Cream, super cold (straight from the refrigerator)

Whiskey Syrup (optional but highly recommended)
3 tbsp Whiskey
2 tbsp Maple or Agave Syrup

Garnish

Rosemary Sprigs
Cocoa Powder

Directions
🎊 Make the Chestnut Paste - combine all ingredients in a saucepan, cook on medium heat and bring it to simmer. Simmer for 18-20 mins or until it’s thickened. Remove from heat and let it cool completely. Now, remove bay leaves and Star Anise pods and blitz everything in a food processor until very thick and smooth. To achieve a smoother texture, pass the paste through a mesh sieve using a wooden spatula (optional Step). We will need about 210g Chestnut Paste so if you end up with extra then feel free to use on toasts

🎊 Make Torte - pre-heat oven to 350F and line a 7” springfoam baking tin with parchment. Fill a saucepan with 2 cups of water, once barely simmering set up a large heatproof bowl on top and add chocolate and butter. Stir until chocolate has melted, take off the heat and add sugar and whiskey. Keep stirring until everything looks homogenous and shiny. While this is cooling - Beat egg yolks, salt, star anise and chestnut paste until smooth. Now gradually combine the chestnut paste-yolk mix into the chocolate whiskey mixture until everything is well combined. Whisk egg whites into fluffy stiff peaks, then in 2-3 batches gently fold them into the chocolates chestnut mix. Pour this into the prepared tin and bake for 26-28 mins or until just set. Let it cool completely then refrigerate until the Chantilly is ready

🎊 Make the Chantilly - combine and beat Chestnut paste, Whiskey and sugar until a smooth homogenous paste is achieved. Now whisk chilled heavy cream to medium to stiff peaks and using a silicone spatula carefully fold in the Chestnut mix. We are looking at a well incorporated dirty ivory colored thick luscious cream

🎊 Assembly and serving - Mix whiskey and maple syrup well. Bring out the chilled torte and put dollops of Chantilly. Using a spatula spread evenly, feel free to make some waves! Decorate with rosemary and a dusting of cocoa powder. Slice and serve with a generous drizzle of whiskey syrup

Blistered Garlic and Breakfast Radish Rasam

In my 15 years of home cooking journey, the very first dish I deliberately tried to nail was “Rasam” - the magical soup hailing from Southern India that not only warms you soul but also cures the seasonal sniffles in no time (sounds dodgy, eh!). The recipe varies across all states in that region and after experimenting with different variations, I have found my happy version that includes lots of whole caramelized garlic and sweet radish. I love dunking steaming Idlis (steamed fermented rice cakes) however the classic Rasam-Rice combo is hard to beat. Don’t get bogged down by the long list of ingredients as I can swear you will get hooked on to this for life - especially when down with cold/flu.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)
15 cloves of garlic, peeled and whole
6-7 Breakfast Radishes, quartered (substitute with Daikon or Jicama about 20-25g)
2-3 tbsp Ghee
1/2 tsp Salt

Rasam
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 tbsp Cumin Seeds
2 Rehydrated Dried Chiles - soak dried chilies in boiling water for 15 mins then drain and pat dry
1 large Garlic Clove
1 Medium Red Onion (about 30-35g), thinly sliced
1/2 jalapeño, de-seeded and thinly sliced (optional)
1 Medium Tomato, finely chopped (preferably remove the skin)

1/2 tbsp seedless tamarind pulp soaked in100ml warm water or else 3/4 tsp Tamarind Concentrate (Tamicon Brand) dissolved in 100ml Water
500ml water
50g Cooked Red Lentils
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp ghee (substitute with Olive Oil)
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
Generous Pinch of Asafoetida (optional)
10-15 curry leaves
2-3 tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions:

🥣 Soak the tamarind pulp for at least 30-40 mins then using a sieve strain the concentrate and keep it aside. If using the concentrate, then mix with water and keep it aside

🥣 In a pan, on low heat, toast peppercorns & cumin for about 5 mins or until very aromatic. Now using a mortar pestle/spice grinder/food processor blitz the toasted whole spices, garlic & rehydrated chiles into a coarse paste

🥣 Now heat up a nonstick skillet. Once smoking, add garlic cloves and toast for 2-3 mins or until begins to char or turn deep golden. Then add 1 tbsp Ghee and fry garlic for 3 mins. Transfer the garlic into a bowl and return the skillet to high heat. Now add radish quarters and let them start turning golden, then add 1 tbsp Ghee and fry for 4-5 mins. Transfer into the bowl with garlic. Everything should look deep golden and blistered all over. Sprinkle salt and toss to coat well. Keep it aside

🥣 In a soup pot, on medium flame - heat up ghee and add onion and jalapeño. Fry for 10-12 mins or until looks caramelized and smells aromatic. Now add mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric & asafoetida and sauté for 2-3 mins. Add ground spice paste and continue to sauté for another 2 mins, then add lentils, tomato and sauté for 3 more mins. At this point, add the tamarind concentrate, water & salt. Adjust the seasoning (if required)

🥣 Simmer this on medium heat for 13-15 mins. Add blistered garlic and radish into the pot and cook for 2-3 more mins. Serve right away with a garnish of chopped cilantro

Cardamom and Lime Poached Apricot Clafoutis

Adapting a French classic to make it glutenfree and infusing my favorite flavors! You can substitute any stone fruit of equal weight and the poaching time will vary based on the type, size and ripeness of the fruit. Serving with Crème Fraîche is a MUST, if you can’t find it then try freshly whipped cream instead of ice-cream.

*Note: by using plant based milk, butter and cream you can absolutely adapt it into a Dairy Free dessert. Wouldn’t recommend going egg-free as those proteins are essential for the custardy experience

Ingredients (serves 4)
4 cardamom pods, crushed
1 tsp Saffron Threads (optional)
45g Granulated Sugar
80ml dry White Wine (I used Pinot Grigio); substitute with good quality apple cider
170ml Water
2 tbsp Lime Juice
2-3 long strips of Lime Peel
350-355g Ripe Apricots, pitted & halved

Batter
55g Granulated Sugar
1 tbsp Lime Zest
1 tsp Ground Cardamom
50g 1 to 1 Gluten-free Flour (that already includes Xantham Gum)
10g Rice flour (substitute with ground nuts of your choice)
Good Pinch of salt
2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or Extract
2 Large Eggs (about 52g)
200ml Full fat Milk
80ml Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted at room temp

Serve with 3-5 tbsps of Crème Fraîche

Directions
1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a saucepan, on a low flame bring it to light simmer. Once simmering add apricots then gently cook for 3 mins. Turn-off heat, let apricots poach for additional 2 mins in the warm liquid then transfer them out. Pat dry and keep them aside

2. Now add 10g of granulated sugar to the poaching liquid and bring it back to heat. Cook until reduced to a runny syrup, discard peels and cardamom pods and keep it aside. Pre-heat oven to 415F and grease a medium baking dish with melted butter

3. Combine sugar, zest and cardamom. Using finger tips massage sugar with aromatics - to release the essential oils & flavor the sugar (About 5 mins)

4. In a blender, combine flavored sugar with rest of the batter ingredients and pulse for 90 secs. Arrange poached apricots (cut side down) in the baking dish and pour batter. Bake for 35-40 mins or until the batter is risen and edges look golden

5. Cut a slice, dust with powdered sugar, top with dollops of crème fraîche and generously drizzle the syrup. Enjoy!

Sichuan Potato Pepper Salad

Have you tried green Sichuan peppercorns? If not, then highly recommend you do - as it’s citrusy & floral aroma with more potent numbing kick makes a dish quite unique! Here’s presenting Potato Batons & Peppers dressed in spiced numbing oil tempered with soy-vinegar duo - a house favorite that we often have it alongside dumplings or cold noodles.

Ingredients (serves 6-8 as a side)
500g Yukon Gold/Yellow Potatoes (waxy variety), julienned or super thin batons
1 small red bell pepper, julienned
2 Jalapeño, de-seeded & julienned
4 scallions, thinly sliced
15g Cilantro (including stems), finely chopped

Numbing Oil
1/2-3/4 tsp Green Sichuan Peppercorns, (sub Red Variety); adjust based on your tolerance for numbing sensation
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tsp Coriander seeds
1 pod Black Cardamom or 4 Green Cardamom pods, seeds removed
1 tsp Chili Flakes
1.5 tsp Sugar
3/4 tsp Salt
45ml Neutral Oil

Dressing
3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce (substitute with Tamari for GF and with Coco Aminos for Soy-free)
1.5 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil

Garnish
1 tsp Toasted Green Sichuan Peppercorns (optional)
1 tbsp Roasted Sesame Seeds
Chopped Cilantro

Directions
🥗 In a small pan, add first 7 ingredients of Numbing Oil. On medium flame, dry roast for 3-4 mins. Now transfer everything on to mortar pestle or spice grinder to coarsely grind the aromatics. In a large heatproof bowl, add scallions & ground aromatics & heat up oil until shimmering. Pour the hot oil onto the aromatics, mix well & cover. Keep it aside

🥗 Bring a large pot of water to boil. Set up an ice bath in a large bowl or fill a large strainer with ice. Line a large baking sheet or your kitchen work surface with paper towels. Once vigorously boiling add potato batons. Cook for 5 mins then transfer them straight into the ice bath or ice lined strainer to stop the cooking. Transfer them on to the paper towel lined sheet/surface, to remove as much moisture as possible

🥗 Now add julienned peppers & half quantity of cilantro to the bowl with aromatic oil. Add dried potato batons into the bowl, give everything a gentle mix. Now add all dressing ingredients with remaining cilantro. Mix, mix & mix (but gentle enough to not to break the potatoes). Let it sit & flavors come together for 1-2 hrs

🥗 Garnish with Sichuan peppercorns, sesame seeds & cilantro. Serve right away!

Gochujang Glazed Radish

A quick & fun twist on the classic roasted root vegetables. Korean White Radish (조선무, Joseon-mu)) cubes are roasted until golden outside and tender inside. Then quickly tossed in a sweet & spicy Honey-Gochujang glaze, broiled for a sticky finish and garnished with sesame seeds & cilantro. Perfect for gluten intolerant or avoiding party guests!

Ingredients (serves 4 as Side)
1 lb Radish, cut into 16 large cubes -approximately 3 cm each (substitute with Turnips and adjust the baking time accordingly - upto 35-40 mins)
1.5 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Sugar

Glaze
1 tbsp Gochujang Paste (I prefer the hot variety from Haechandle Brand)
1.5 tbsp Tamari (substitute with Coco Aminos to keep it Soy free)
1 small garlic clove, grated
1 tbsp Mirin
1/2 tsp Honey (sub Maple Syrup to keep it vegan)
1 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tsp water

Garnish
1.5 tsp roasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp chopped cilantro (substitute with chives)

Directions
💥Pre-heat oven to 400F. In a high sided baking pan combine first 4 ingredients. Give it a good mix, tightly cover with aluminum foil & bake for 20-22 mins . Then increase oven temp to 425F, uncover & bake for additional 17 mins or until light golden in color & fork-tender in texture

💥Meanwhile combine all glaze ingredients & microwave for 20 seconds. Pour this on the baked Radish. Give a good mix so that every Radish piece is well coated. Broil (put it under the Grill) on high setting for 4-5 mins

💥Garnish with toasted sesame seeds & cilantro. Serve at room temperature

Silken Tofu Citrus Celebration Salad

A dish that celebrates the citrus season and my love for silken tofu with sesame oil - charred peppers and cherry tomatoes are mixed with a flash fried ginger scallion numbing oil, which is further intensified with blood orange zest and juice, soy, vinegar, Shaoxing cooking wine and toasted sesame oil. Silken tofu and citrus wheels are arranged in a platter then this smoky sweet aromatic dressing is poured all over. Finished with toasted sesame seeds, flaky salt and scallion greens. It tastes better over time and can be kept in the fridge up to 3 days.

Ingredients (serves 4 as a side)

14oz or 400g Silken Tofu, cut into roughly 2” x 4” rectangles

3 Blood Oranges (substitute with 2 Navel or Cara Cara Oranges), peeled and cut into 1/2” thick discs

5-6 Mini Sweet Peppers, whole

12-14 Cherry Tomatoes, whole

Dressing

2 tbsp Fresh Ginger, grated

1 Scallion, white portion - finely chopped and green portion sliced at an angle (reserved for garnish)

1 tsp Ground Sichuan Peppercorns (I use a mix of red and green , feel free to use whatever is available)

1.5 tsp Chile Flakes (feel free to use your go to hot pepper flakes)

2 tsp Roasted Sesame Seeds

2 tbsp Vegetable oil, shimmering hot

2 tsp Red Wine Vinegar

1 tbsp Shaoxing Cooking Wine

3 tbsp Blood Orange Juice (substitute with fresh Orange Juice)

2 tbsp Dark Soy

1/2 tbsp Maple Syrup

1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil

Garnish

1 tsp roasted sesame seeds

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp Flaky Salt

Directions

🥗 Heat up a skillet, once smoking add peppers to it, using tongs begin the charring process. After 8 mins, add tomatoes into the skillet & continue charring everything until blistereded and soft. About 15 mins total. Once cool enough to handle, chop up the peppers and leave the bursting tomatoes as is

🥗 Combine first 5 Dressing ingredients in a heatproof bowl, pour the hot oil into it, give everything a good mix (it should making a hissing noise). After 1 min add remaining dressing ingredients, followed by chopped peppers & tomatoes. Give everything a good mix and let it marinate for 45 mins at least or upto overnight

🥗 In a large lipped platter, arrange the tofu pieces and blood orange discs. Pour the dressing all over, garnish with sesame seeds, oil and scallion greens. Serve at room temp or chilled (during summer chilled version is too good), Enjoy!

*Note: Feel free to substitute the citrus during summer with peaches or plums

Leeky Fennel Farinata with Fixings

For your weekday lunches or chill Weekend brunches, I urge you to make this glutenfree Génoise classic! I have used yoghurt and baking powder for a fluffy center and Yorkshire pudding cooking principle of batter in super hot oil for crisp edges. Hope you like it as much as we do.

*it involves resting time so make sure to read the full recipe to plan accordingly

INGREDIENTS (serves 4 as a side)

Batter

200g Chickpea Flour

30g Full Fat Greek Yoghurt (sub with your preferred vegan yoghurt)

575g Cold Water

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1.5 tsp Salt

1.5 tsp ground White Pepper (substitute with black pepper)

2 tsp Baharat Spice Blend (optional but highly recommended)

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp chopped Tarragon leaves

Filling

100g Leeks (only white & light green portion), sliced into thin rounds

1 large Fennel Bulb cut into 8-10 wedges

Pinch of sugar

1 tsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (optional)

50ml Neutral Oil

Flaky Sea Salt & Fennel Fronds for garnish

Pickled Asparagus (optional)

8-10 Green Asparagus, shaved into thin strips

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tbsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp Chile flakes

1 tbsp chopped fresh Basil leaves

1 tbsp chopped fresh Tarragon leaves

Sauce (optional)

1 tbsp Unsalted Butter (substitute with vegan butter or oil)

15 Cherry Tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small Shallot, chopped

1/4 tsp Chile flakes

1 tsp Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions

🥣 Combine and whisk first 3 batter ingredients until very smooth (ensure no dry floury spots remain). Cover & let it rest at room temp for 4-5 hours or overnight

🥣 Meanwhile make the sauce. Melt butter in a skillet, add tomatoes, garlic and shallot. Fry on medium heat for 10 mins or until tomatoes have broken down & look jammy. Once cooled, blitz the contents from skillet with remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning & vinegar, if required. Keep it aside

🥣 Now add remaining batter ingredients to the rested base batter mix. Add leek rounds and whisk everything; pre-heat oven to 465F (or 230C). Now add 50ml oil to a 33 x 23 cm large baking dish & pop into pre-heating oven

🥣 Heat up 1 tsp olive oil in a pan, add fennel wedges & sugar. Lightly caramelize the wedges all over, for 3 mins. Take out the baking dish after 15 mins & immediately pour the batter while it makes a hissing noise. Swiftly arrange the Fennel wedges on top and put it back into the oven for 18-20 mins or until the edges look deep golden & crisp

🥣 While the Farinata is in oven, make the pickled asparagus - toss all ingredients & let it pickle for 20 mins. Once out of the oven, run a spatula underneath & transfer the Farinata onto a board , sprinkle flaky salt & more white pepper. Cut into squares, serve along with the sauce and pickled asparagus. Highly recommend with some Lillet Blanc or Rosé

*Note: you can absolutely substitute shaved asparagus with some arugula