Side Dishes | My Random Recipes

Pumpkin Bread

Desserts, Side Dishes, Snacks No Responses »

Oct 302011

My sister makes the best pumpkin bread, this is the recipe, with a few tweaks I’ve added! This recipe makes 2 loaves, so when I make it I usually half this recipe and it turns out great!

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 cups whole wheat flour (wholemeal flour in UK)
1/3 cup ground oats
2 tsp baking soda
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup water (may only need half if adding fresh pumpkin)
1x 15oz can pumpkin or 1.8 cups fresh pumpkin

2 loaf pans

Directions:

Beat sugar and oil in a large mixing bowl (medium speed). Add eggs and beat well.
In another large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg).

Add flour mixture and the water alternately to the sugar mix, beating on low speed till combined, then beat in pumpkin. If using fresh ground pumpkin, only add half the water to begin with. If, after adding the pumpkin, the mixture is much thicker than an average cake or brownie mixture, then you may need to add more water.

Pour batter into pans. Bake in a 176°C (350°F) oven for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool and enjoy!

Note: You can use all whole wheat flour instead of oats, if you wish, or regular white flour instead of whole wheat and oats, I try to be a bit healthier when I can!

Naan Bread

Side Dishes, Snacks No Responses »

Sep 262011

Ingredients:

1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp dried yeast
2 cups white flour
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tbsp ghee, butter or lard at room temperature
oil or ghee to coat

1 tsp onion seed (optional, also known as charnushka or kanolfi seed)

Dissolve sugar in warm water, add yeast and mix. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes and the yeast should begin to froth and form a thick layer on the top.
In a separate bowl, sift salt with flour (optionally, add onion seeds now or sprinkle on top before baking)
Make a well in the center and add yoghurt, ghee and yeast mixture.
Knead well until it forms a dough. If dough is sticky, add more flour until elastic. Shape into a ball.
Coat the dough with ghee (or butter, lard or oil), then shake off excess oil, cover with damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place.
After 2-3 hours, dough should have doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 450^oF or 230^oC.
Knead the dough and divide into around 6 equal portions. Shape into typical pear-shape naan, roll out or hand-flatten. Brush with ghee or butter or drizzle with oil and bake for 5-10 mins, depending on how thin you’ve rolled the dough. You can also sprinkle with onion seed, garlic, coriander (cilantro), salt or other herbs, spices or seasonings before or after baking.

Serve with curry or dip into hummous!
Naan is traditionally baked in a stone oven where it is slapped onto the sides to cook.

Hummus

Side Dishes, Simple Recipes, Snacks No Responses »

Apr 162009

For a long time I had no idea how to make hummus and thought it was the most amazingly delicious mystery food, until my sister decided to make it and I realized that it was so easy with such simple ingredients. Since then I make it all the time and enjoy it so much more than store-bought kinds! And it couldn’t be easier to make custom flavours such as, red bell pepper and lime with coriander (cilantro)… just add those ingredients and there you have it!

Ingredients:
note: you will need a food processor or hand blender for this recipe

-1 can (200g/7oz) of chickpeas/garbanzo beans or equivalent amount of dried beans that have been soaked over night

-1-2 tbs olive oil

-1-2 tbs lemon juice

-1-2 cloves of garlic

-salt to taste

-1 tsp tahini (ground sesame seeds – optional)

What to Do:

Drain chickpeas/garbanzo beans, reserving some liquid. Place in a food processor or large bowl if using a hand blender.

Add 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs lemon juice, 1 tbs reserved liquid, 1 clove of garlic, and salt. Blend until smooth. Taste and if needed add more olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, or salt. I don’t like to add too much of the reserved can liquid because I find it adds a bland taste, instead I just add some water. Some people add tahini or peanut butter, but I find it doesn’t really need it. I’ve used my own ground up sesame seeds a few times and it’s ok, but I don’t notice that it adds much to the taste or texture, just my opinion!

When storing leftover hummus (if there is any!), I find that it keeps better is drizzled with olive oil, then covered with plastic-wrap (or container of your choice).

When serving I also like to drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cayenne pepper or smoked paprika, yum! Then eat with warm pitta bread/naan bread, carrot sticks, bell peppers, small cherry tomatoes, or any other vegetables you fancy!

Mashed Potatoes

Side Dishes No Responses »

Apr 162009

Good news ! Mashed potatoes don’t have to be difficult or a hassle to make! For some reason I used to think that you had to boil potatoes whole in order to make mashed potatoes, how silly I was! Whether you peel the skins off or not, if you just cut them into decent-sized pieces, they cook much quicker and are so much easier to mash!

Once mashed, there are so many things you can do with these potatoes! Just check out how delicious they can be in my recipe for Shepherd’s Pie! Make sure to use plenty of garlic!

What you Need:

-4 regular sized potatoes

-2-3 tbs butter

-1 cup milk (whole is best)

-2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped

-salt and pepper to taste

What to Do:

Cut potatoes into large chunks and boil in salted water until very soft. Drain and place back into the pot. Add the garlic and some of the butter and milk while mashing, adding more butter and milk until the potatoes become fluffy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cheese Stuffed Bell Peppers

Side Dishes, Snacks No Responses »

Apr 162009

I had an epiphany for this recipe a few days ago and decided to try it out for dinner and it was amazing. I didn’t actually use measurements for anything, so it’s all guesstimation really! I served it along with some roasted chicken thighs which complimented it perfectly!

What You’ll Need:

-2 bell peppers (red or green)

-1 cups grated cheese (white cheddar)

-2 rashers of bacon, cooked then chopped

-1 tbs olive oil

-1 onion, chopped

-2 large cloves of garlic, crushed (more is always better!)

-1/2 small chili pepper, chopped

-about 10 leaves of spinach

-White Sauce (recipe here)

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to about 190-200 C (gas mark 5-6) or 375-392 F.

Make the white sauce and set aside.

Carefully cut the tops off the 2 bell peppers and clean out seeds. Add any excess of the pepper top to the onions.

Saute onions, half of the crushed garlic, the chili pepper and any excess bell pepper in the olive oil until softened.

Begin to layer into the opened peppers in the following order:

-couple pinches of cheese
-a few leaves of spinach
-onion mixture
-2 large spoonfuls of the White Sauce
-half of the bacon pieces
-spinach leaves
-cheese
-more onions
-more white sauce
-rest of bacon
-rest of onions
-rest of white sauce
-rest of cheese

Put the stuffed peppers into the oven for about 25 minutes or until peppers are softened to your liking.

Alternatively, you could cut the bell peppers length-wise and layer ingredients inside the halves.

Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha

My Random Recipes

Pumpkin Bread

Naan Bread

Hummus

Mashed Potatoes

Cheese Stuffed Bell Peppers

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My Random Recipes

Pumpkin Bread

Naan Bread

Hummus

Mashed Potatoes

Cheese Stuffed Bell Peppers

Categories

Pages

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Helpful Resources