Tag Archive for: mowgli

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Home-Style Aubergine from Mowgli!

Taken from Mowgli: Street Food by Nisha Katona, this staple dish is a firm favourite in South Asian households! Full vegan and definitely delicious, read ahead for some words of wisdom from Nisha herself.

From Nisha: “Many Indians are vegan. Aubergine/eggplant is India’s best-loved vegetable and the reason for this, my Maa and I reckon, is because it is the closest many Indians get to that meat texture. We always fry the aubergine before we add our curry spices, unlike in Thai cuisine. This adds a caramelised sweetness to the flesh that does much of the legwork in creating the massive flavours in this dish.”

Taken from Mowgli: Street Food

PREP: 10 MINUTES
COOK: 30 MINUTES
SERVES 4

Ingredients
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp panch phoron
1 large dried red chilli
2 large aubergines/eggplants, cut into long, thin 5cm/2 inch slices
¼ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp caster/granulated sugar
juice of ¼ lemon
250g/9oz canned chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped coriander/ cilantro leaves 

Method
1 Put the vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan set over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the panch phoron and fry until they start to crackle, then add the red chilli and aubergines and, turning the heat down to low, partially cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the aubergines are golden brown and tender.
2 Stir the ground turmeric, chilli powder, salt, sugar, lemon juice and the canned tomatoes into the aubergine mix and fry for a further 6 minutes until the oil has started to split out of the tomatoes. Garnish with the chopped coriander and serve. 

Happy cooking!
Don’t forget to tag us in your cooking Instas, #NourishBooks!

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Cardamom Custard Tart from Mowgli Street Food!

This season of The Great British Bake Off might be over but (!) we’re still feeling the ache to bake! Also, you know, who doesn’t need cake on a Tuesday afternoon? We’re going for this decadent Cardamom Custard Tart from crowd favourite Mowgli Street Food by Nisha Katona, it’s one for the ages.

        Cardamom Custard Tart from Mowgli Street Food

 

From Nisha: ‘This is such a great variation on the comfort food of our grandmothers’ generation. Cardamom works tremendously well in any dishes that are milk based; the aromatic oils in the spice seem to bring custards alive. The other spices you need to play with – omit or enhance as your taste demands – but it is the sprinkle of cardamom at the end that wakes the pudding up in eastern climes.’

 

Ingredients

For the pastry:

145g/5oz/generous ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

250g/9oz/1⅔ cups plain/all-purpose flour

¼ tsp ground cloves

⅛ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

110g/3¾oz/½ cup caster/granulated sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp full-cream/whole milk

For the custard:

250ml/9fl oz/1 cup double/heavy cream

250ml/9fl oz/1 cup full-cream/ whole milk

1 vanilla pod/bean, split

8 large egg yolks

100g/3½oz/scant ½ cup caster/granulated sugar

2 green cardamom pods, crushed

2.5cm/1 inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled

1 whole nutmeg

1 clove

2 black peppercorns

1 small bay leaf

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

¼ tsp rosewater

⅛ tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp ground cardamom, plus extra to sprinkle

 

Method

  1. Start by making the pastry. Rub the cold butter into the flour and ground spices with your fingertips until it starts to resemble breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg and milk and gently bring together until it forms a smooth dough.
  2. 2  Lightly flour your work surface and roll the pastry out to a thickness of 3–4mm/⅛–¼ inch, then line a 20cm/8 inch tart pan, leaving about 3cm/11⁄4 inches of pastry overhanging the edge of the pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Take your pastry case out of the refrigerator, prick all over with a fork and line with baking parchment, then fill with baking beads. Blind bake for 20 minutes, then remove the baking beads and parchment and bake for a further 15 minutes or until it is golden brown. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 140°C/275°F/gas 1.
  4. To make the custard, put the cream, milk and vanilla pod in a medium saucepan set over a medium heat and bring up to the boil. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale white, then pour a little of the hot cream mixture over the egg yolks and mix well. Pour this back into the saucepan, then add the rest of the custard ingredients. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring continuously, for a further 5 minutes. Strain the custard into a pouring jug and skim off any froth or bubbles.
  5. Carefully pour the custard into the case, then place the tart case on a shelf in the middle of your oven. Bake for 40–45 minutes or until just set – there should still be a slight wobble to the custard as it’s removed from the oven.
  6. Trim off the overhanging edges, then leave to cool completely. Finish with a sprinkle of ground cardamom just before serving.

Happy baking! Tag us (@NourishBooks, #NourishBooks) on social media, we’d love to see your creations.

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