Category Archives: Breakfast

Coconut & coriander chutney

We have both been very quiet for the last few weeks as we have  gotten quite engrossed in our daily routines.   Hopefully we will get back into the habit of sharing recipes on a more frequent basis.   Apologies for the multiple posts today as we clear some of our back log.   The first recipe we would like to share with you is a simple accompaniment for dosai or idli.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1/2 cup of fresh coconut – grated or pieces
  • 1 Thai red chillies
  • 1 small red onion or 2 sambhar onions
  • Handful fresh coriander with stalk
  • Salt to taste

How much will I make?

Around 1 cup

How do I make it?

Place all the ingredients in a blender  with a little bit of water and grind to a coarse paste.  Transfer into a serving dish and enjoy 🙂

Chestnut flour chocolate pancakes

We are surprised it has taken us this long to make a chocolate based pancake.   Having made these a few days ago, we are certain to make it again and potentially serve it as a dessert pancake with a classic Chantilly cream or vanilla ice cream.

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What do I need to make it?

 

  • 1 cup chestnut flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 large egg
  • Zest of an orange
  • 1 tsp orange blossom water
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1 tbsp coco powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp muscavado sugar
  • 50 gms chocolate chips
  • Pinch of salt
  • Butter to cook

 

How many will I make?

Around 6 depending on size

How do I make it?

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl to make a semi thick batter.   Heat a pan with some butter and spoon in a ladle of batter- cook on both sides and enjoy hot on it’s own or with a sprinkling of icing sugar.

Moroccan flavoured corn cous cous upma

With the kids on half term break a couple of weeks back we have not managed to post any recipes.   The weather also appears to have turned for the better after a couple of months of incessant rain – thus allowing us to begin cleaning our backyard and prepare it for some vegetables and herbs.   We posted a recipe for a gluten free alternative to semolina upma using corn cous cous – we made it again and this time decided to add a teaspoon of Ras al-Hanout powder, a teaspoon of harissa paste and a preserved lemon which was coarsely chopped (added after the onions were sauteed and cooked for a couple of minutes to ensure the raw smell of the spice mix disappears).   The flavours worked beautifully and the addition of the preserved lemons added a new dimension to the upma.   We are now inspired to experiment with other ethnic flavours to make our upma more interesting.

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Related links:

Corn cous cous upma

Corn cous cous upma

On one of our past trips to ASDA we came across some cous cous made from maize semolina which we have been meaning to experiment with.  Tonight we made an upma (generally made with wheat semolina) with it which tasted remarkably like normal upma but without any of the gluten.   It is safe to say based on tonight’s experiment that this ingredient is definitely going to be a part of our cupboard essentials for quick meals in the future.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 cup corn cous cous – roast over medium heat for 5 minutes
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 4 green chillies slit
  • 1 inch piece of ginger finely chopped
  • Handful fresh curry leaves
  • 1 cup of frozen corn and peas microwaved for 3 minutes
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp split urad dahl
  • 1 tsp channa dahl
  • 3 tbsp ghee or oil
  • Salt to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 2

How do I make it?

Heat a wok on medium heat with some ghee in it and saute the mustard seeds, urad and channa dahl till the mustard seeds start to splutter.   Then add the ginger, curry leaves and green chillies.   Saute for 30 seconds before adding the chopped onions.    Sprinkle a bit of salt to taste and cook the onions till they go translucent.    Add the microwaved corn and peas to the wok with 300 ml of boiling water.   Allow the dish to come to a boil before pouring in the cous cous.    Give the dish a good mixe,  place a lid over the wok and switch off the heat.  Wait for 5 minutes for the cous cous to absorb the water.    Once done fork through the dish to fluff up the cous cous and enjoy hot.

Thai flavoured savoury chestnut flour pancakes

Once you start experimenting with different flavours in pancake batter there’s no turning back.   We had some savoury pancakes for a lazy weekend breakfast and tried something different with some Thai 7 spice mix and some fresh herbs.   The pancakes tasted great on their own and with some sweet chilli sauce.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 cup chestnut flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp baking powders
  • 1 1/2 tsp Thai 7 spice powder (we found this under the Schwartz brand)
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • 1 Thai red chillie chopped
  • 2 sprigs of spring onion chopped
  • Handful fresh coriander and basil chopped
  • Salt to taste

How many will I make?

6-8 depending on size

How do I make it?

Place the chestnut flour, baking powder, milk and egg in a mixing bowl.  Whisk the ingredient till you get a medium consistency batter.  Add the remaining ingredients and give it a good stir.   Heat a frying pan and use a knob of butter to ensure pancake doesn’t stick to the pan.   Pour in a ladle of batter and cook on both sides till done.   Serve on it own or with sweet chilli sauce.

Chestnut flour pancakes with cashew nut and sultanas

We felt a bit adventurous yesterday and added some cashew nuts and sultanas with a pinch of cardamom to our pancake batter (1 cup chestnut flour, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp honey and 1 egg – all whisked together) and really liked the flavour combination.  We think this could probably double up as a dessert option – served with some good quality vanilla ice cream or Indian kesar kulfi.

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Italian flavoured chestnut flour pancakes

A couple of days back we made some stuffed chilli peppers with a mixture of cheese, olives, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, onion and Italian herbs.   We had some of this mixture left over and decided to make use of it in a chestnut flour pancake batter.  We are quite pleased with the outcome and will add this to our repertoire of savoury breakfast options.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 cup chestnut flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3 tbsp of stuffing mixture
  • Pinch of salt
  • Butter to cook

How many will I make?

6 small pancakes

How do I make it?

Mix the milk and chestnut flour first and then whisk in the egg till it is full incorporated into the batter.   Add the baking soda, salt and stuffing mix and spoon onto a hot pan with a little butter.  Cook on both sides and serve hot.

Chestnut flour pancakes

The love affair with chestnut flour continues and we are tinkering with different flavour combinations to our standard pancake mix (one cup chestnut flour, one cup milk, one egg and one teaspoon baking powder).  Over the last week we have made two versions, one savoury and one sweet.   For the savoury option we added a pinch of salt, one teaspoon of English mustard, some chopped spring onion, fresh coriander, 1 Thai red chilli and a handful of a blend of 4 cheeses.   The subtle taste of the mustard made it quite delightful.   For the sweet version we added one tablespoon of smooth peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of Nutella and  1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.  This was equally delightful but then again we don’t think one can go wrong with Nutella in any sweet dish!

Mustard and four cheese pancake

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Peanut butter and Nutella pancakes

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Related articles

Chestnut and rice flour bread

We have been scouring the web for a good bread recipe incorporating chestnut flour.  We found one on the glutenfreealchemist.com blog and tried it a few weeks back in our bread maker.   We made a bit of a hash with it and ended up with too much yeast and although the loaf was edible it did have a bit of a taste to it.   Determined to make things right we experimented with the loaf again today with a few changes, the first being mixing the ingredients and forming the dough by hand as our bread maker decided to pack up on us.  We also increased the proportion of chestnut flour to rice flour and used apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice.   We baked it in our table top oven and are well impressed with the outcome.   This bread is now going to be a weekly feature and both of us are looking forward to toast and marmalade for breakfast.

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What do I need to make it?               

  • 230 gm chestnut flour
  • 230 gm rice flour (we used Dove’s Farm blend of brown and white rice)
  • 85 gm potato flour
  • 1 tbsp Xanthan gum
  • 4 tbsp dried milk powder
  • 1 ½ tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 370 ml water
  • 3 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 7 gm fast acting yeast (we used Alinson fast acting yeast)

How much will I make?

A medium sized loaf (750 gm)

How do I make it?

Beat the eggs and white to a light fluffy consistency.  Place the egg and water mixture  in a large mixing bowl, add oil, apple cider vinegar, milk powder, sugar, salt and Xanthan gum followed by the flours and yeast.    Mix everything together with a laddle or use your hands (it can get a bit messy) until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.  Cover the dish with a wet cloth and allow to prove for an hour in a warm area.   The dough should rise before you transfer it into a greased loaf tin and bake in a pre-heated oven at 190 degree Centigrade for 45-50 minutes.   Remove and cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Coffee flavoured chestnut flour pancakes

Having discovered the versatility of chestnut flour as an adequate replacement for normal flour in our baking endeavoors we have been making pancakes regularly with it.  We decided yesterday to try something different and incorporate some bold coffee flavours into the batter and are pleasantly surprised with the outcome.   We think this could work brilliantly as a dessert option with scoops of vanilla or coffee ice cream or a syrup made with Kaluha.  The pancakes have also given us an idea for a  tiramusu alternative – more once we have tried it.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 2 cups chestnut flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp  sugar (adjust to taste)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 shot of espresso
  • 2-3 tbsp Kaluha (add more for a boozy dessert pancake)
  • 1 tsp espresso powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • Butter to grease the pan
  • Pinch of salt

How much will I make?

8 medium sized pancakes depending on size

How do I make it?

Beat the egg and milk in a bowl and then add the chestnut flour and baking powder.  Use a whisk to beat further to ensure no lumps.   Add the remaining ingredients, whisk further and batter should coat your ladle.   Heat frying pan on medium heat and add a knob of butter some batter and cook on both sides,   Serve hot as a breakfast pancake or as a dessert with a scoop of coffee/vanilla ice cream.