Final post about the #ChilliJamWithComplexFlavours - here is one of the several jars of the paste, with the chilli oil, and the weekend's preserved/fermenting goodies.
Fermenting quince vinegar, fermenting citrus peel vinegar; Punjabi-style quince pickle, dried quince for quince teas, fermenting honey with quince and pomegranate, chilli oil, chilli jam.
Finally, the #ChilliJamWithComplexFlavours is done. I have just turned it off - I had to turn it off when I had to go out for meetings, so finished its low-heat cooking tonight. Once it cools, I'll put it into jars. There'll also be some beautiful chilli oil as a side product.
It is interesting how it is made. It has a fair amount of oil in the pureed mix of chillies, onions and garlic. Over the hours of cooking over low heat, the puree is "roasted" in the oil, developing the layered flavours. After 12'ish hours, dark sugar and tamarind are added, and it is further cooked for 2 hours.
I never realised about the roasting before as I have always used all red chillies. This time I used a mix of red and green, so in the beginning, with the onions, it was a pale mixture.
After cooking overnight in the slow cooker, it was a dark red colour. Beautiful. Altho the mix of chillies gives a slightly different flavour.
The original recipe was from #ChristineManfield and is in her books #Stir and #Spice. #AustralianAuthor It is a very SE Asian style chilli sauce/jam.
The house will smell of chillies for several days no doubt.
The #ChilliJamWithComplexFlavours cooked overnight in the slow cooker, and I've just added the sugar and tamarind. I also had a taste - it is <explitive> hot! But sweet and layered.
This is the first time I have cooked it in a slow cooker. I don't think it is quite as good as using the lowest of heats on the stove. Next time it will be back on the stove, even tho it needs more attention over the day.
Yoghurt can be baked, but it isn’t often seen – sadly, in my honest opinion.
This recipe, from Irfan Orga’s 1956 book Cooking with Yoghurt, takes the most unusual of ingredient – Brussels Sprouts – covers them in yoghurt and bakes them. It is the most intriguing of dishes.
Even though a lemony yoghurt sauce is sometimes made with sprouts, I have never seen one that bakes them with yoghurt. It is a dish that reflects its mid-last-century origins, but nice enough to have in your repertoire of Brussels Sprouts recipes.
Plus I am always on the lookout for oven baked dishes that I can cook in Winter to warm the kitchen.
#FromTheKitchen today....
I am planing on finishing the Indian quince pickle that I began yesterday, by slightly dehydrating quince chunks.
and beginning the chilli paste with complex flavours.
that i am not too lazy today to do both, or maybe tomorrow is a better day for the chilli paste 
It does take a lot of pre with the tiny chillies I am going to use.
I think about fermentation temperatures a lot, being in a state where Australian summer temps can reach as high as 45C.
I wonder about the North American fermenistas who claim temps of 18C- 22C are best for fermentation, when many Indian fermented products are placed in the sun (on roof tops) to ferment.
I wonder if it is all baloney. I would guess my ferments this Summer had house temps of 25-27C, and a little higher on the hottest of days. I have loved all my ferments after my initial experiments.
It is all a matter of tasting, and not allowing them to go too far. And possibly slightly slowing down fermentation with salt ratios and other food additions known to ferment more slowly. I have learnt to rely on taste, and on adjusting fermentation lengths according to the season.
Also on keeping good notes.
Also, yesterday I also got to the Makrut Lime Pickle with the final 6 makrut limes (I used the other 3 for the citrus peel vinegar). It now cures for a week before it can be opened, but I have the other jar still being used.
A reminder of the recipe: https://gayathriscookspot.com/2016/01/naarthangai-oorugai-kafir-lime-pickle/ I used RamDev Aachar spices and mustard oil.
I added the offcuts of the limes (tops and bottoms, plus some flesh bits) to the citrus peel vinegar jar.
One of the precious gifts of Spring is Broad Beans. If you do not grow your own you miss the young, tender pods, no more than, say, 8cm long. Often smaller. Sweet with the grassy taste of Spring, these need not be podded or peeled – they can be used as they are.
If you are not so lucky, purchase them from your green grocer and always look for the younger pods. Remove the beans from the pods, scald them for a few minutes, and then remove the outer peel of each bean. Perfect! You can even buy frozen broad beans.
This simple salad pairs the beans with tomatoes and parmesan, a classic pairing, easy to prepare, delightful to eat. Even if the parmesan is a bit hard 
Broad beans are particularly good with parmesan, but it can be replaced with a creamy Persian feta. Cut into cubes and toss with the salad.
Garlic chips are also wonderful when add to the salad.
#FromTheKitchen Progress so far...
I've put the quince honey to ferment for up to 14 days - I always do this, but never realised it was fermenting. It doesn't bubble but the honey thins and tastes different as well as flavours from the fruits. I used quince, ginger and pomegranate seeds (that I had frozen a month or so ago).
Offcuts from the quinces (peels, cores etc) are dehydrating to be stored and used to make a Greek style quince tea (seep them in boiling water for a delicious tisane that is said to be perfect for colds and sore throats.)
Some diced quinces are partially dehydrating to be made into my favourite North Indian style quincee pickle. I partially dehydrate them to save having to sun-dry them over 2 or 3 days.
A small batch quince vinegar is prepared, ready to ferment. I added some of the raw grape vinegar I made earlier as a starter.
AND I STILL HAVE 8 QUINCES LEFT. There might be more ferments. I found I had 3 more than I thought I did, so there will be quince products all this week I think.
The house smells deliciously of quinces.
Also prepared, a small batch citrus peel vinegar ready to ferment. Peels from makrut lime, chinotto orange and a sour cumquat-like citrus fruit have been used. This one I used raw apple cider vinegar for the starter.
I am only making small batches as I have more vinegar than I would normally use from the grapes. However, I can always increase the usage if I have to
There may be another jar of the citrus peel vinegar once I make the makrut lime pickle - there will be ends and seeds that I can use to either start a new jar or add to the current one.
The tamatar ka shorba is made 
I forgot to mention Quince and Ginger Honey - quince (raw) and ginger root, chopped, into a jar with raw honey, allow to sit out for some days then refrigerate if you want. Have a tsp a day to ward off colds and flu (so they say).
Also pomegranate kernels and peel in honey works the same way, and is delicious.
Winter staples here. Who knows if it works... they are just a daily treat.
From the Kitchen.....
As well as some Indian dishes*, I'll put some quince vinegar on to ferment, and either get the makrut lime chutney happening or the chilli paste with complex flavours. Each one takes a bit of work so I don't think I'll get both on today.
I have also been reading about citrus peel and pith vinegar. Maybe a small batch. We shall see.
* Indian things - tomato shorba, popcorn chickpeas, plain rice, lemon rice, a quick cabbage dish and a quick carrot dish (I have a couple of curries already made). Shorba and rice in the instant pot. Veggie dishes in an kadhai take no time at all. Chickpeas snack in the oven (cooked chickpeas from the freezer). Curries from the freezer.
France is full of sauces. If you are going to categorise French food broadly, you might say – meat, sauce, butter, cheese, baked goods. It is pretty accurate – one of my comprehensive books on French cooking contains 2 salads and a small clutch of vegetable recipes. To be fair, (I have spent time working in France) French food does include a large variety of salads. It is just that the other elements have a stronger focus.
So, with a love of French food, we pick and choose from amongst the cuisine, and make to our #vegetarian style. This is a beautiful version of a Tomato Sauce – one we added to our collection of tomato sauces – and, like the others, it freezes very well. Also, of course, it is delicious.
It comes from #HowsAndWhysOfFrenchCooking
Beetroot. Earthy, versatile, raw or cooked, beetroot is a colourful and delicious addition to our table.
Three very delightful things today:
The beetroot kvass is tangy, lively and very lovely. It always surprises me, because there is a difference in taste from the taste before bottling and refrigerating, and after it has been in the fridge for a while. Being in a closed container it gains some effervescence that is beautifully lively on the tongue. The taste somehow changes too. Divine. #fermenting
The makrut lime pickle that I made recently is SO VERY GOOD. I had it with some scrambled chilli tofu this morning. Excellent.
I was out watering the garden as the weather is heating up over the next couple of days, and poked my nose into the tulsi bushes to check for bees. Only 1 bee at that late hour, but busy, diligently collecting the pollen. I think she didn't make her required quota for the day, and had to work late.
I have bottled the #kvass 
and I am very happy with the result. As well as the beetroot, one had ginger and one had cumin, fennel and other seeds.
The one with the seeds is definitely my favourite. It began fermentation earlier than the other, was more vigorous, but best of all, has a sweeter taste to it. I can definitely taste the fennel seeds. Very delightful indeed! I will definitely make that combo again.
In this batch I used fewer beetroot and less salt (a la #SandorKatz), but think I will increase the salt again next time. Fewer beets works well, a slightly lighter taste, so I know I can use either less or more, depending on what I have at hand.
Back to the beetroot kvass which has been fermenting for 6 days....
One jar has ginger with the beetroot, and one has fennel, cumin and other seeds.
The one with ginger had a slow fermentation start (due to ginger) but the seed one was bubbling away well within a day.
I tasted them today, and they are very close. I might bottle them today, or maybe tomorrow morning. The 6 days is close to #KirstenShockey's recommendations for US weather (it is winter here), and double the time it takes in our Summer.
The taste of both is less beetrooty than other batches, as I used less beetroot. But still lovely. I now know I can just use what beets I have on hand and it will still produce good product.
The one with the seeds is sweeter than the one with ginger. Both taste "alive" which is what I look for in beetroot kvass, not "flat".
Very pleased with it. I think I will leave them 1 more day (decided while writing this) then bottle and refrigerate.
Not the best looking sambol, but fresh and delish.
Mint Sambol is a Sri Lankan fresh chutney recipe akin to Pachadis or Thogayals of South India. It takes lots of mint leaves, some onion, garlic and chilli and grinds them with sultanas and coconut for sweetness, and lime juice for tang. It is a great accompaniment to rice or any Indian or Sri Lankan spicy dish. (Also as a spread in a salad sandwich, dolloped into soups or on haloumi or other such things.)
You can make it finely blended or chunky.
The recipe is from #SriLankanFlavours, by #ChannaDassanayaka.
I used to often do meals of little dishes, from the fridge or cooked simply and served help-yourself-style on the table. With some good bread, a wedge of cheese, a green salad alongside, it was a great meal, very much in the Elizabeth David style.
I haven't done any like this for a while because my #NaturopathPrescribedDiet (for health reasons) cuts so many things out, like bread and cheese.
But I pottered in the kitchen this afternoon, making
horse gram lentil salad with parsley, evo and some home fermented vinegar
home-grown red capsicum, well chargrilled over the stove gas burner, sliced, layered on a plate in its same (but flat) shape, drizzled with olive oil.
brussels sprouts, roasted, with crispy leaves, tossed with evo, lemon juice and some home fermented Hawaiian chilli water.
cooked beetroot, sliced, with black pepper and dollops of grainy mustard
a plate of home-made ferments and pickles
and, off to the food of another country, some chana chaat - chickpeas with spices, tomatoes, chillies, ginger, onions, lime juice, coriander leaves. (I can't have potatoes, so left them out.)
All is ready for dinner.
There will be leftovers for tomorrow.
Roasted Eggplant with Special Miso Sauce
The thing about #SpecialMisoSauce* is that it is rich and dark and almost overwhelming in its deep flavours, so it is perfect for dishes in which you want the sort of umami that things like fish sauce or anchovies usually provide. Not that it tastes the same but it does have that same affinity for certain ingredients.
And we all know just how well miso pairs with eggplant anyway – it is a classic combination in the miso-loving parts of the world. So in this dish we brought together eggplants and the Special Miso Sauce for wonderful results and a very simple dish.
*Click on the hashtag link to see where to get the recipe.
Just an update on these beans/lentils from the pantry. Not beluga (beluga are typical lentil shape, not bean shaped).
Possibly black horse gram. I checked pics I have of not-black horse gram from years ago on the blog, and interestingly they look to be a mix of several types of horse gram including a few black beans like these.
So the puzzle remains. I am going to cook them like horse gram in the Instant Pot*, adding a little more time as black beans seem to cook longer than non-black. And we shall see.... I might have a mushy black soup.
But I have to say, the beans are very beautiful.
And BTW, horse gram is such an ancient food, and FULL of goodnesses.
*Pressure Cooker
