Cauliflower Fritters & Lentil Rice with Hot Sauce

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

This will take about 40 mins, maybe more to prepare.


  • 1 cauliflower, core removed and broken into florets
  • 100 g breadcrumbs
  • mixed herbs
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 90 ml vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 onion
  • rice
  • lentils
  • teaspoon nutmeg
  • beef stock
For the sauce:
  • one clove garlic, crushed 
  • one hot chile pepper, cleaned and chopped
  • can crushed tomatoes 
  • one-half cup water
  • two tablespoons vinegar 
  • teaspoon cumin 
Serve along with brown rice & brown (or green) lentils: rinse the brown rice in a large pot of plastic bowl three times, then put aside into an empty cooking pot. Measure out a slightly less than equal mount of lentils and rinse the same way,before adding to the rice. The idea is to wash the rice and lentils separably so you can better see if there are any stray bits of other grain (wheat etc) that have found their way into the package. Boil the rice and lentils with the beef stock. 
Chop the onion into 1 inch pieces (in other words, not too finely) and fry until caramelised, then set aside. 
The brown rice and lentils will both take 30-40 mins to cook, so factor that in before beginning the fritters. When the rice is done, add a pinch or two of nutmeg and mix, then stir in the caramelised onions.
Sauce: 
Prepare sauce while lentils and rice are cooking: Heat oil in large skillet or frying pan. Sauté garlic and/or chile pepper for a few minutes. Add tomatoes, water, vinegar, cumin and salt. Cook on high heat for a few minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes until sauce is thick and velvety. Set aside. 
The fritters (can be done alongside the sauce)
Par-boil the cauliflower in salty water (5 mins should be ok) and then drain. In a bowl, mix together the. Dip the cauliflower in the eggs, then coat in the breadcrumb & herb mixture. Heat the oil in a pan and lightly fry until golden. 

Trini Curried Pumpkin & Lentil Rice

Sunday, September 05, 2010

For Mr Umami's post footie dinner on Sundays, something easy to digest but not too light is the aim. Since our veg box this week had an acorn squash, which I discovered really lasts (recipe for Morrocan lamb tagine with pumpkin coming!) I thought this Caribbean inspired recipe from Trini Gourmet was as close to perfect as possible!

Please do check out her blog for her variety of dishes. Plus, she's Kosher, so no shellfish in sight! Yay!

Here's all I've done differently:
Add equal amount of brown lentils as brown rice, wash both 4 times really well. I leave them to soak in a little cold water while I start of the pumpkins. I didn't have curry powder so I ground up allspice (3-4 balls) in the pestle with the same amount of curry leaves and 2 teaspoons of gram masala powder. Instead of pimento peppers I used one peri peri pepper. I used a beef stock cube to the water to give everything some more flavour and chucked in some cabbage to use it up.

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