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pea curry with cumin

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I don’t need an excuse to use peas in anything, as I’ve always been a massive pea fan. My mum and sister always kept petit pois peas in the freezer in case they had to cook for me. So I have been looking at recipes that are predominantly pea based.

This recipe is from Madhur Jaffrey’s easy vegetarian books but I’ve tweaked it a bit to suit my taste, and added olive oil, a bit of lemon juice and parsley so it’s even healthier and tastier. Peas are a fantastic super food and are one of the highest fibre vegetables.

This recipe is perfect as an accompaniment to baked fish, basmati rice and salad. It’s got all the sweet and savoury flavours that work well with the fragrance of the spices. It’s also dairy and gluten free. I drizzle a bit of dairy free kefir on mine to add even more good things. And it’s delicious cold in a warm chapati for lunch.

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japanese(ish) radish and cucumber salad

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I love the salads in Japanese restaurants and this salad is super healthy and refreshing and works well with fish and sushi. I’ve even eaten it on a Ryvita with a sliced boiled egg. It’s crunchy, creamy, very tasty and looks gorgeous and I also sometimes eat it with avocados as it’s another great combo. If you prepare it in advance, keep it in the fridge and put the dressing and sesame seeds on just before you serve it.

Perfect combo with my previous recipe for japanese aubergines.

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roasted japanese aubergines with fried ginger matchsticks

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I love the way the Japanese cook aubergines and I wanted to create a recipe which reminds me of eating it in their restaurants. This recipe is a delicious way to cook them and has lovely textures and is a bit crunchy with the ginger matchsticks. They are packed with flavour so they would be great with baked fish, salads and rice. Perfect as a little starter or a side dish.

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vegetable tajine with harissa

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This tajine has all the flavours of a tasty Moroccan dish.  It’s perfect for a warming supper or dinner party now it’s colder.  It has that lovely combo of savoury and sweet because it’s got delicious spices and dried apricots in it. It’s super easy as it’s all baked in the oven and needs little attention. Perfect if you are busy. I serve it with saffron couscous, garlicky yogurt (Alpro have just started doing a sugar free plain yogurt) and my Moroccan orange salad, recipe in the index, and it’s a big hit with vegetarians and non vegetarians.

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vegan chilli paneer

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This recipe is really easy, dairy free, gluten free and vegan. Vegan food lends itself really well to the flavours of middle eastern and Indian ingredients because it peps up foods like tofu which has little flavour and adds va va voom. Originally this recipe was created by an Indian Chinese chef and has the components of both food cultures combined. I converted this recipe from a Madhur Jaffrey recipe and I replaced the paneer cheese with a very firm tofu by The Tofoo Co, which is available in supermarkets. It’s the perfect paneer replacement. I serve this with hot chapatis, salad and pickles but you can serve it as a side with any of my other Indian recipes.
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nasi goreng

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Like Gado Gado, this is another Indonesian street food recipe. It is a delicious mix of sweet and sour with a bit of crunch mixed with the creamy egg. Who’d have thought lime would go with a fried egg? Well it really does. You can soft poach the eggs if you prefer… It’s perfect Asian comfort food and its low budget and pretty healthy too. I love anything with a fried egg!

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tuna sashimi with sesame dressing

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this delicious easy recipe lower carb sashimi style tuna has a fab dressing which is sweet and savoury with the flavours of sesame and soya sauce. I serve it with the Japanese pickled ginger and a wasabi sauce as you would with Japanese food. It takes  about 5 minutes to make and there’s no cooking. So it’s perfect if you fancy sushi and a bit of a sushi scenario and you don’t want the carbs. Make sure the tuna you buy is the colour of watermelon and has not gone brown, so it’s the freshest possible which tastes the best. I hope you like it as much as me…

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chocolate dipped ginger shortbread

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These shortcakes are really fun easy and dairy free, but you can make them with butter if you prefer. Anyone can make them. All you do is mix the ingredients, bake them, dip in warm chocolate and leave to cool. They taste amazingly buttery even though there’s no butter in them. They are perfect as tree decorations if you make a little hole in them before baking so you can thread a ribbon or piece of string through to hang them up.  I’ve tried these out on friends who can’t tell they are dairy free. You can also use any shape cookie cutter if you haven’t got this one.

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chewy ginger cookies

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Crunchy, chewy and spicy…these cookies tick all the boxes. I found a recipe in the Waitrose supermarket, converted it to vegan and reworked them with healthier coconut oil and spelt flour. They are really easy to make and would be fantastic dipped or drizzled in melted dark chocolate. They are also perfect for making an ice cream sandwich with, with dairy free ice cream stuffed between two cookies. My favourite dairy free ice cream is Swedish Glace,I’m testing them out on my friend Emily tonight and I’ll get back to you.
They passed the very ‘moorish’ test….hurrah!

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kale curry

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This Kale curry is really creamy and it’s got pine nuts, sultanas and coconut milk in it so it’s quite rich. I wasn’t sure if it was too rich, but once you put it with plain basmati rice it’s perfect. You could also serve it with roast chicken. It’s also a more complicated recipe than my usual recipes, but bear with it as it’s worth it, and it’s a tasty way to eat kale. My friend Babs tried it when she popped round and she loved it and she normally loathes curries… So if you fancy a healthy, creamy curry this recipe is for you.

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