Recipes – Page 3 – Mediocre Mum

My Friday Five: Slow Cooking Blogs

These are a handful of Slow cooking blogs that I find myself going back to time and time again!

Mari’s World – I’ve knocked out a few good slow cooking recipes in my time but I’m always in awe of Mari’s Recipes. She really can cook!

Feeling frustrated with the lack of Vegetarian Slow Cooker recipes then check out Dawn’s Blog. One of my favourites is Courgette and Roast Pepper Lasagne

Just Annie QPR has cracked the secret of a Perfect Slow Cooker Roast Chicken. My own daughter said it tasted better than ice-cream. You can’t get a better compliment than that.

I thought I had an unhealthy obsession with my Slow Cooker but Stephanie O’dea used hers everyday for a year! That’s 365 recipes!

Plus2point4 Aly Hodge – Bet you never thought you could do puddings in a slow cooker. This woman never ceases to amaze me. She’s cooked everything from Spotted Dick to Blueberry Muffins to Rhubarb and Cheesecake! All in her Slow Cooker.

Do pop by and check them out. What are your favourites?

Slow Cooker Sunday – Spinach and Egg Tarka Dahl (7th Oct 2012)

Did you know it’s National Curry Week this week 8^th-15^th October? Apparently, 73% of Brits say they love curry and 24% name it as their absolute favourite. We’re fans in our house as well.

Hence my offering this week for Slow Cooker Sunday, a place to share recipes and be inspired to try something new. You can either leave a link to your recipe in the Linky below but don’t worry if you don’t have a blog you can always leave your recipe in the comment section.

I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with this week as I’m always looking for new recipes to try. Don’t forget the Linky is open all week so you can always pop back later. There is a badge in the sidebar if you’re so inclined but not mandatory. :-)

Slow Cooker Sunday – Spinach and Egg Tarka Dahl (7th Oct 2012)

Recipe Type: Slow Cooking

Cuisine: Indian

Author: Mediocre Mum

Cook time: 3 hours

Total time: 3 hours

Serves: 4

Spinach and Egg Tarka Dahl (Inspired by Sara Lewis) Cooking Temp: High Difficulty Level: Easy Cooking time: 3-4 hours Serves 4

Ingredients

250g of red lentils
1 onion, finely chopped
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cumin seeds, roughly crushed
2 cm fresh root ginger, finely chopped
200g canned chopped tomatoes
600 ml vegetable stock
Salt and Pepper
2 handfuls of frozen spinach
4 hard boiled eggs
Natural Yoghurt
Naans
Tarka
1TBSP sunflower oil
2 tsp black mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
Pinch of turmeric
2 cloves of garlic

Instructions

Rinse the lentils well and place in the slow cooker with the onion, spices, ginger, tomatoes and stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Make sure the lentils are soft or you may chip a tooth.
minutes before serving, stir in the frozen spinach. Peel and slice the eggs, placing them on top of the lentil mixture, return the cover and cook for another 30 minutes. Till the spinach and egg are heated through.
To make the Tarka, heat the oil in the pan, add the spice and garlic and fry for 2 minutes.
Spoon the lentil mixture into bowls, top with a dollop natural yogurt, sprinkle with Tarka and serve with warm Naans.

Do peruse the offerings below and ‘Like’ a few!

Slow Cooker Coconut Beef Madras

For a number of reasons; holidays and a technology meltdown, Slow Cooker Sunday had a break for a couple of weeks, but we’re back. Feel free to share your own recipes by either linking to an old or new recipe on your own blog, a recipe on the net that you love or you can also leave your recipe in the comments section.

Unfortunately, my hubby has deleted the photos of this recipe. However, we all really rated it and it was incredibly easy to make. One of the things I like most about slow cooking is that it allows you to use cheaper cuts of meat, and we’re always looking for ways to pinch the pennies, as it cooks slowly all day even the toughest cuts of meat melt in your mouth.

Serves 4

Slow Cooker Setting: Low

Cooking time: 6-8 hours

Ingredients

2 TBSP of vegetable oil
500g of stewing beef or similar, cut into bite sized cubes
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 tsp of Lazy Garlic or 4 garlic cloves, minced
5cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
4 TBSP Madras Curry Paste
400 ml of Coconut Milk
1 Large cinnamon stick broken in two
Salt, season to taste

Method:

Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the beef until it’s sealed on all sides. Transfer to slow cooker with slotted spoon.

Put the Onion, Garlic, Ginger and chillies into a food processor, and chop finely. Squeeze out the excess liquid and transfer to frying pan, sauté for a few minutes until onions start to soften. Add the Madras paste, mix well and fry for a further minutes, until it’s fragrant. Add the Coconut Milk and Cinnamon sticks and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt. Pour over the beef in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Remove the cinnamon sticks; serve with Basmati rice, yoghurt and Naans.

Do check out everyone elses recipes and like and comment.

Click here for more Slow Cooker Inspiration

‘Come Dine with Me’ with Class: A Feast through India

What do you get when you cross a Canadian, Australian, Irish Woman, Indian, Mexican and a couple of Brits?

It sounds, like a start to a really bad racist joke, but in fact, it was the start of a wonderful evening.

I have to admit that prior to being invited to a Supper Club I had absolutely no idea what it was all about. It loosely resembles ‘Come Dine with Me’ but the biggest difference is the host is an amazing cook and the people are really nice.

As we walked up to the front door we were greeted by the most amazing smell and knew we were in for a real treat. Within minutes we were enjoying a cocktail in the garden chatting with the other guests.

Sheba had been busy all day cooking ‘A Feast through India’ for us. Check out this menu. The pictures don’t do it justice I can’t begin to tell you how amazing the food was. I wish the pictures were scratch and sniff!

The menu

Appetisers

Parippu Vada (Kerala) – Lentil & shallot fritters served with coconut chutney
Bonda (Kerala) – Spiced potato balls with mustard seeds & curry leaves

Mains

Rogan Josh (Kashmir)
Aromatic lamb slow cooked with cardamom, cloves & fennel seeds

Kozhi Kuruma – Home style chicken cooked with poppy seeds, coconut and cashews

Payar Thoran (Kerala) – Green bean sautéed with a delicate combination of spices
Coconut Rice (Andra Pradesh) tossed with garlic, red chillies & cashew nuts
Jeera Rice (Basmati rice with cumin seeds & ghee
Carrot & coriander raita (North India) seasoned with cumin

Dessert

Ethakya Porichathu (Kerala)
Caramelised plantains with lime, nutmeg & coconut milk

Masala Chai

Sweet tea infused with cardamom and cinnamon

Verdict

I’m now a convert and will definitely go again. What a wonderful way to meet new interesting people and sample some amazing food. It’s probably the best dinner party I’ve been to in ages!

The next ‘Kerala Summer Supperclub’ is on the 21^st of July inSt Albans. I’d highly recommend it. Thanks to Sheba for all her hard work.

Disclosure: Dinner was compliments of Absolute Indian Cookery

Slow Cooker Sunday – Jacket Potatoes (27th May 2012)

If you like your jacket potatoes crispy this one isn’t for you as they are more steamed and I can hardly call it a recipe, it’s more of an idea.

Simply scrub a few baking potatoes, pat them dry, poke with a fork, wrap in foil and place in the slow cooker for 8-10 hours. DO NOT ADD ANY LIQUID. Then top with your favourite fillings (tuna and sweetcorn, beef or veg chilli, prawn cocktail, sour cream and bacon bits).

I came across this idea on last weeks slow cooker Sunday and think it’s brilliant. My hubby loves jacket potatoes but I never think of having them.

Feel free to share some of your own slow cooker recipes; they can be old or new and don’t even have to be your own just one of your favourites from the web. All we ask is that you have tried them yourself.

Thanks for joining in. I really appreciate the inspiration.

For more of our favourite slow cooker recipes click here.