World Cuisines: Onion Bhaji II (India)

This is another recipe for bhaji with different spices. Experiment with both and find what you like. 

Makes 10 pieces.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup gram flour (also called besan or chickpea/garbanzo flour)
1/4 cup rice flour
1 yellow or red onion - medium sized, thinly sliced
1 tbsp butter melted
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, well minced
1/2 hot green chili chopped well
good pinch of fresh coriander leaves - around 1/8 cup
pinch of salt and black pepper
a bit of water
vegetable oil for deep frying (I use canola/rapeseed oil)

Preparation:
- Sift the flour into a bowl.
- Add salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin and mix together.
- Add butter, lemon juice and water. Mix well until smooth and like the consistency of thick yogurt.
- Stir in remaining ingredients. (Except vegetable oil). Coat the onion well.
- Heat the oil in a skillet. I pour 1 inch of oil.
- With a soup spoon, form small balls and put them carefully in the hot oil. Fry until golden. Flip to fry other side. Make sure you give them space in the skillet.
- Remove and put on a paper towel to drain.
- Serve with lime wedges for extra flavor.

World Cuisines: Onion Bhaji (India)

A simple, delicious snack to munch on. Easy and fast to make (around 30 minutes). There are much more complicated recipes with different ingredients but this one is good to try out first. If you like it, look for other ones. 

Makes 10 pieces. 

Ingredients:
5 tbsp gram flour (also called besan, chickpea or garbanzo flour)
1 medium large yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, well minced
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp lemon juice
good pinch of fresh coriander leaves - around 1/8 cup
pinch of salt and black pepper 
a bit of water
vegetable oil for deep frying (I use rapeseed oil)

Preparation:

- Slice the onion thinly. Place in a bowl. Add salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands to separate the pieces. 
- Add curry powder, turmeric and garlic. Mix well.
- Add gram flour and lemon juice. 
- Add water a little bit at a time until a soft dough forms but is not liquidy (dripping).
- Heat the oil in a skillet. I pour 1 inch of oil. 
- With a tbsp, form small balls and gently put them carefully in the hot oil. Fry until golden. Flip to fry other side. Make sure you give them space in the skillet. 
- Remove and put on a paper towel to drain. 
- Serve with lemon or lime wedges. 

                        

World Cuisines: Our Ratatouille (France)

This is our take on the traditional dish. We admit that we got the inspiration from the cutest movie rat you'll ever see with a passion for cooking. This is a bit different than traditional ratatouille, but we've made this several times and tweaked it to our liking. It's amazing.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup basic tomato sauce (make you own or use jarred sauce if you want)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 medium size eggplants
- 4 bell peppers (can be multicolored)
- 3 zucchinis
-  6 medium tomatoes
- 4 white onions (red/yellow is ok too)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt to taste
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- pinch of dried or fresh thyme
- pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)
Please note: All vegetable amounts are approximate. You need enough of each to eventually fill the pan tightly, so err on the side of more rather than less.

Preparation:
- When purchasing vegetables, try to match the sizes of each different vegetable as much as possible (e.g. thin eggplant, average zucchini, small onions and tomatoes, etc.)
- Prepare a baking dish 8 by 10 inches or similar size.
- Begin by spreading tomato sauce evenly on the baking dish. Sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper. 
- Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, cut all the vegetables thinly. 
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- On the top of sauce arrange vegetables in a pattern, alternating eggplant, tomato, onion, bell pepper, zucchini as regularly as possible.
- When one row is finished, start a new row (as in photograph ) or curve at the corner. 

- When arrange, sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and thyme. For extra heat, use cayenne pepper as well.
- Cover with foil for about 45-50 minutes until tender/soft. Remove foil and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
- Remove any French Disney rats which may have accumulated and serve. Haha :)
- Serve immediately.

Serves 6-8 people (or 50-60 rodents - haha).

World Cuisines: Hoppin' John (Southern USA)

Ingredients:

- 1 pound boneless pork chops, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tsp salt
- pinch of black pepper to taste
- 1 medium onion, chopped 
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup brown rice
- 200 g chopped kale leaves
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar (we added 1 tbsp of white wine and 1 tbsp of lemon juice due to lack of vinegar in our kitchen today)
- 1 can of chicken broth - around 2 cups (or you can make your own)
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 cups of black-eyed peas (follow the cooking instructions on the bag or use 1 can of beans). We used dried beans, soaked them for several hours in water and eventually boiled them for 45 minutes with 1/2 tsp of salt. Add additional water if the peas are not covered.
- a pinch of red crushed pepper (optional)
- tabasco sauce 

Preparation:

If you decide for dry black-eyed peas, prepare them in the morning or at least several hours before cooking. 
- Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the pork, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of salt and a pinch of black pepper, stir until cooked through, around 6 minutes. Set aside. 
- Add 1/2 tbsp oil into a large pan, heat over medium heat. Add onion, tomato paste and rice, stir and fry for 4 minutes. 
- Add kale and garlic and cook until kale starts to wilt, for 2-4 minutes, stirring often. 
- Stir in broth, vinegar, paprika and 1/2 tsp salt. 
- Add the pork with remaining juices.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Cook for another 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked. Add extra water (1/2 - 1 cup) if necessary. 

Makes around 4-6 servings. 

We enjoyed it today with freshly-made cumin-lime vinaigrette coleslaw (posting next!). For extra heat and flavor, use tabasco sauce over your Hoppin' John. By the way, John used to eat a version of this when he was younger but didn't call it Hoppin' John. He had sauerkraut with sausage and black-eyed peas on the side every New Year's. He had to count his peas. Each one was a day of good luck for the New Year. 
Hoppin' John is a southern American dish, originally from South Carolina. 

Enjoy!

:)

Our Recipes: Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked wild rice
- 1/2 cup cooked white basmati rice (optional)
- 2 cups shelled cooked edamame
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds (almond flakes-optional)
- 5 medium scallions thinly sliced (only the white and light green parts)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tsp honey
- pinch of salt and pepper

Preparation:
- Cook the wild and white rice separately. Let it cool.
- Cook and shell edamame.
- On a medium heat warm up the vegetable oil in a frying pan and toast until golden brown for around 6 minutes. Stir often. Careful because it is easy to burn it.
- Once the rice is cooled down, transfer it to a large bowl.
- Add almonds, edamame, scallions, carrots, cranberries, pinch of salt and black pepper and mix.
- Prepare the dressing by mixing the olive oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar and honey together.
- Dress the salad and toss to combine.
- Chill in the fridge before serving.