dip theory (a)*

for dip heads everywhere... i ran out of houmous (shock! middle class disaster!) and decided to go off road with an alternative with random items.

Ingredients

1. can of cannellini beans, drained
2. juice of half a lemon
3. couple of good handfuls of spinach
4. seeds from a couple of cardamon pods - bash up to get the seeds out
5. splash of olive oil
6. 1 tbsp tahini
7. pepper
   

Method

• toast the cardamon seeds in a dry frying pan.
  
• if you're a jessie, heat the oil in the very same pan and gently fry the garlic. hard core garlic nuts can just chop it up.
  
• bung it all in a liquidiser and process until squish. serve with pitta.
  

that's it .... you can add salt if you want but i tend to leave it out, given that the pitta usually comes with quite a lot of added salt (read the label ...)

* the theory is that pretty much everything can be dipified.

you're having pilaf

made-up randomness with rice, spice and veg; the hardest bit is getting the rice right, and i finally seem to have cracked it. you can make this with whatever random veg, and it would also be nice with brown and/or wild rice. if you're of the bizarre opinion that coriander is a Good Thing and not the spawn of the herb devil, bung some in. If you were craving more protein, you could stir in a few hardboiled eggs to get some kedgeree echoes happening.

the recipe uses at least 3 pans, so don't offer to make it if you have to do the washing up as well ...

Ingredients

1. basmati rice (brown if you're going offroad)
2. 1 medium onion
3. glug of oil, sunflower or olive
   
4. 3 cloves garlic (or less if you're a wuss)
5. 1 hot chilli (ditto)
6. 1 tsp lazy ginger (the ready-squished stuff in a jar)
7. selection of veg - i used a red pepper and some elderly mushrooms
8. 3 tbsp sunflower seeds
9. 1 tbsp cumin seeds
10. 2 tsp veg stock powder
11. a lemon
    
12. pomegranate molasses (optional - i seem to schloop it into everything)
    
13. pepper
    

Method

• cook the rice the best way you know how. i normally suck at it, but this time i slooshed it around with clean water, then added water to about an inch above the rice, bunged it on the stove until it boiled, then turned it down to the lowest heat and put a lid on until all the water had disappeared
• while the rice is cooking, put the chopped onion in a pan with a glug of olive oil on a medium heat- i wouldn't normally use olive oil in an indian dish cos it tastes funny, but the spices hid it ;)
• when the onion's softened, add the garlic, chilli and ginger and stir for a minute until the spices belt you in the nose
• bung in the rest of the veg and cook on a highish heat
• when the rice and veg are approaching being done, put another small dry frying pan on the heat. dry-fry first the sunflower seeds, and then the cumin, adding each ingredient to the veg once it's toasty
• when the rice is done, stir it into the veg. stir the veg stock and pomegranate molasses into a cup of hot water, then stir that in along with some pepper and the juice of half a lemon.
• put the rice into an ovenproof dish, cover with foil to stop it drying out, and heat for about 10 mins until all the flavours have all combined.
• also awesome the next day in a lunchbox.