Chilli Archives - Spiced Up By Bilal

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Belle Babies

Belle Babies - Served

ByBilalBham | On July 28,17 | 0 Comment

My Italian friend Giovanni was having a dinner party at his and invited his European, hailing from Italy and Spain, over for food and asked us to bring or cook something. As you know, I love to cook, but I also wanted to show off my culinary skills… ehem! Since my friends were European, the food had to be good! I wanted to make something which was relatively easy to transport, didn’t need any Tupperware and people could just pick up and eat on a small plate. I also had to ensure that it was tasty in terms of spices but not too spicy hot since various people had different levels of tolerance, and I am a softy when it comes to spicy hot !If you are wondering why I used 3 different bell peppers, it’s simple, I like my food to be colourful and appetising!

I had made stuffed peppers before but I wanted to make sure I nailed it right this time. The time before, I didn’t have enough tomato puree and it showed up in the taste test!

If you are wondering how I managed to transport this to Giovanni’s place directly from the oven, then here’s the spoiler – mum came to the rescue with a brilliant idea! She covered the top with more aluminium foil, and then wrapped it in packing paper we had lying around from various deliveries, popped it in a large shopping bag and I was ready to roll! When I arrived 10 mins later, the food was still piping hot and ready to eat, and thankfully, they all enjoyed it!

For my vegetarian/vegan friends, you can swap the beef mince with Quorn mince, tofu, legumes and grains, or nut blends.

INGREDIENTS

1 kg beef mince

9 bell peppers

1 red onion

1 normal onion

3 cloves garlic

1 cm ginger

1 cm turmeric

1 red chilli

1 green chilli

100 g tomato puree

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon of coconut oil

RECIPE

Chop up the onions, garlic, ginger, chilli and turmeric, and sauté at medium heat in a small frying pan with coconut oil.
In a larger frying pan, cook the beef mince at medium heat until it is cooked through and turned a tan/light brown colour – get rid of all the red bits, unless you like eating raw meat!
Whilst the 2 frying pans are cooking, slice the top of the bell peppers off and clean out the insides of seeds and other debris. Be sure to wash to get rid of everything, and shake dry.
Transfer the sautéed vegetables to the mince meat saucepan and mix thoroughly.
Add the tomato puree – they tend to be 200 g so use half – and mix thoroughly until cooked.
Set the oven at gas mark 6/200°C and set a shelf in the middle.
Line a baking tray with aluminium foil.
Fill all of the bell peppers with the beef mince mix, cover with the sliced portions, and place in the baking tray.
Bake the bell babies for 30 minutes until the tops begin to turn brown.
Belle Babies served!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves up to 9 people – my friends loved these!

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Lunch, Vegan, Vegetarian

Chilli Con Quorni

Chilli Con Quorni and Juwar Chapatti!

ByBilalBham | On December 05,16 | 0 Comment

It’s my first full month of going vegetarian and we’re cooking on gas, both literally and metaphorically! I wanted to cook chilli con carne but didn’t have all the ingredients that I would have liked but, so I improvised! I love spicy food but not too spicy, and the whole point of my blog is to make spicy tasty food highly nutritious, so I upped the vegetables and added protein in the form of Quorn mince!

Chilli con carne is usually served with white rice, but I really didn’t fancy more (brown!) rice this week, especially after having so much quinoa! Therefore, I decided to get the boss, my mum, in to help out! I wanted some form of bread but being gluten intolerant means her delicious chapattis (made from chapatti flour) don’t go down very well, literally, so mum suggested that I have my meal with juwar chapatti instead!

Juwar, or sorghum flour, is naturally gluten free, high in protein and carbs, light but moreish, and very easy to make, so easy that I got my mother in to make it… also, because I have the hands of a baby and can’t handle the heat from the hot chapatti pan… ehem…! But mum does it better anyway, as you might have seen from the video, so I got the seasoned experts in!

This recipe is meat free, gluten free, and dairy free, but highly nutritious and delicious, if I do say so myself!

INGREDIENTS

Chilli Con Quorni

200 g Quorn mince

1 red onion

1 onion

3 spring onions (I would have added them if I had them!)

3 cloves garlic

1 cm ginger

1 cm turmeric (I would have added it if I had it!)

½ courgette/zucchini

½ red chilli

½ green chilli

½ red pepper (I would have added it if I had it!)

½ green pepper

½ teaspoon dried coriander

1 tin chopped tomatoes

½ tin white kidney beans (I would have added half a tin if I had other kidney beans in!)

½ tin red kidney beans (I would have added it if I had it!)

½ tin black kidney beans (I would have added it if I had it!)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons coconut oil

Juwar Roti

250 g sorghum flour

500 mL filtered water (boiled)

RECIPE

Chilli Con Quorni

In a large saucepan, melt 2 teaspoons coconut oil, and add in sliced and diced red, normal and spring onions (keep the green leaves until the end), crushed garlic, chopped ginger and turmeric, and sauté until golden brown, cooking on 3/4 heat;
Add in quorn and mix until all the bits are separated;
Add in 1 tin chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, ½ teaspoon salt, and cook until the water evaporates;
Add in the chopped chillies, peppers, kidney beans (drained) and courgette, cover and leave to cook for around 10 minutes on ¼ heat (start making the juwar chapatti), stirring occasionally and to check the ingredients are done as you like them;
Chilli con Quorni is served! (If you wish, garnish with fresh coriander, parsley, basil or even mint!).

Juwar Chapatti

In a bowl, add 250 g sorghum flour, and add enough boiling filtered water needed to knead the dough into dough balls;
250 g of sorghum flour will give you around 5 dough balls, more than enough for 2 people;
On a plastic sheet, gently flatten out the dough balls with your hands into a circle (~15 cm diameter);
Cook on a hot pan, the one you saw mum use is specific for chapattis;
To ensure the dough is cooked thoroughly and in the interests of speed, you can use a solar grill to finish off the juwar chapattis.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves 2 people

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Fish, Lunch

Spiced Up Salmon

Spiced Up Salmon is served!

ByBilalBham | On November 07,16 | 0 Comment

Continuing the theme of more fish in November, and going vegetarian for December, I had a craving for grilled salmon! Now normally, mum or myself will cook it by topping the salmon with garlic, ginger, chilli and seasoning and eating with some salad, but I wanted some taste and a little of a kick to my food, so I came with this! And even mum enjoyed the sauce, even if she’s not a big fan of salmon!

Salmon is a big part of my diet for my breakfasts and occasional lunches, where I eat the smoked variety on top scrambled eggs and avocado or with a mouth-watering salad!

Instead of normal onions, I went with a red onion this time, because the scent of salmon is lovely but for me the red onion breaks up the taste and adds a layer of pungency to the dish! I added the green chilli and pepper for both taste and colour, otherwise it would be a very red dish! And as usual, I had it with some quinoa! I made sure that had a good mix of protein, fats and healthy carbs in this dish, and this one has the macronutrients covered!

You can have this dish with rice, naan, chapatti, bread, bulger, buckwheat or anything like that but I love my quinoa so had it with that!

INGREDIENTS

Spiced Up Salmon

2 salmon filet

1 fresh lemon

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Mixed herbs

Spiced Up Sauce

1 red onion

3 cloves garlic

1 cm ginger

1 cm turmeric

½ red chilli

½ green chilli

½ red pepper

½ green pepper

½ teaspoon dried coriander

½ tin of chopped tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons coconut oil

Quinoa

40 g quinoa

½ small onion

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coconut oil

200 mL filtered water

RECIPE

Spiced Up Salmon

Lay the salmon filets onto aluminium foil;
Season with salt, pepper and mixed herbs (as I said in the vlog, you can do what I used to do, which is top the salmon with garlic, ginger, chilli and seasoning and have it with salad but I wanted something tastier!);
Wrap the aluminium foil around the fish, closing all ends and leaving space for it took, it should look like a boat tent;
Place on the middle shelf of your oven at gas mark 5/375F/190°C for 30 minutes;
Bring out, unwrap the aluminium foil, place on your dish and top with slices of lemon, and your almost there!

Spiced Up Sauce

In a large saucepan, melt 2 teaspoons coconut oil, and add in ½ sliced and diced red onion, crushed garlic, chopped ginger, and chopped turmeric, and cook and stir until the smell goes, cooking on 3/4 heat;
Add in ½ tin chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, ½ teaspoon salt, and cook until the water evaporates;
Add in the chopped chillies and peppers and cook until you have a tight sauce with all the water evaporated, around 10 minutes on ½ heat;
Continue to stir occasionally and check the vegetables are done as you like them;
Spiced Up Sauce is served! (If you wish, garnish with fresh coriander, parsley, basil or even mint!).

Quinoa

In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil (put the filtered water on to boil);
Slice and dice in the ¼ onion and stir, sauté until the onion caramelises;
Add the quinoa and stir gently for 30 seconds, and then add in the boiling water and a ¼ teaspoon of salt, and allow the quinoa to simmer by turning the heat down to a quarter and covering with the lid;
Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds intact. Repeat until the quinoa is cooked and all the water has evaporated;
Cooking time is about 20 minutes and your quinoa is ready to eat!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking/baking time: 30 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves 1 person – mum loved the extra sauce I made her but didn’t fancy the salmon!

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Fish, Lunch, Vegetarian

Hearty Haddock

Heart Haddock is served!

ByBilalBham | On October 30,16 | 0 Comment

As part of me going chicken-free in November, and vegetarian for December, I decided to cook fish! I looked in the freezer and found some haddock. I love how my mum cook’s haddock but it can be a bit too spicy for me, and although I love chapatti, my stomach doesn’t do well with gluten! I also bought a pack of mixed vegetables the other day and I decided to put it to good use!

I love colour in my food, and although many of the dishes turn out red because of the tomatoes, I love the mix of green and red, so always try to ensure a colourful and of course tasty dish! Ever since I began this blog, I wanted to ensure that I had a good mix of protein, fats and healthy carbs in my dishes, and this one has the macronutrients covered!

You can have this dish with rice, naan, chapatti, bread, bulgur wheat, buckwheat or anything like that but I love my quinoa so had it with that! Also, depending on how well you like your vegetables cooked, adjust the time you cook them for. I personally like them slightly crunchy, mum loves them basically mashed! Each to their own!

INGREDIENTS

Hearty Haddock

250 haddock filet (2 pieces)

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic (I used a bag we’d frozen before)

2 cm ginger (I used a bag we’d frozen before)

2 green chillies (I used a bag we’d frozen before)

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: Red chilli powder

Small pack of mixed vegetables

½ teaspoon dried coriander

Optional: A handful of fresh or frozen coriander

2 teaspoons coconut oil

Quinoa

100 g quinoa

1 small onion

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coconut oil

200 mL filtered water

RECIPE

Hearty Haddock

In a large saucepan, add in 2 teaspoons coconut oil, 1 chopped onion, and caramelise on 3/4 heat;
Add in garlic, ginger, chilli, and cook and stir until the smell goes;
Add in 1 tin chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, 1 teaspoon salt, and cook until the water evaporates;
Add in the fish, mix, cover, and cook until all the frozen bits are cooked (unless using fresh, in which case cook until it is almost done), around 10 minutes;
Add in the mixed vegetables and cover for 10 minutes;
Continue to stir occasionally;
Check the fish and vegetables are done as you like them and add the fresh or frozen coriander as a tasty garnish;
Hearty Haddock is served!

Quinoa

In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil (put the water on to boil);
Slice and dice in the ¼ onion and stir, sauté until the onion caramelises;
Add the quinoa and stir gently for 30 seconds;
Add in the boiling water and a ¼ teaspoon of salt;
Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
Repeat step 8 until the quinoa is cooked and all the water evaporates;
You are now ready to eat!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves up to 2 people

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Snack, Vegetarian

Fishy Omelette

Fishy Omelette :)

ByBilalBham | On October 24,16 | 0 Comment

I love eggs! Free-range mind. And I eat 4 every morning for breakfast! I get my daily dose of post-gym protein and healthy fats without fail! Hard boiled, scrambled or as an omelette, I eat eggs! The omelette is ubiquitous throughout the world and comes in many different forms such as the frittata (Italian omelette) in Italy, tortilla in Spain (Spanish omelette) or the tamagoyaki in Japan (Japanese omelette).

In Gujarat, India, the birthplace of my parents, the omelette is called a pura. As you can expect, Indian omelettes are spiced up to the high heavens! If there’s no chilli, it isn’t Indian! I loved the omelettes my mum and dad made for me and sometimes mum does still make them. In our household, and I am sure many households, it is the default go-to dish when you are hungry, don’t want to make a fuss in the kitchen and enjoy a filling meal.

Now, I do love my mum’s omelettes, but they tend to leave me feeling a little hungry – must be my big appetite! So, about 3 months ago, after a big morning workout, when I felt hungry enough to eat a cow, I decided to experiment (much to the chagrin of my mother’s traditionalist attitude in the kitchen) with a tin of tuna, and half a tin of mixed vegetables, along with the regular spice, and coconut oil! Up until this point, mum was using olive oil (and vegetable or sunflower oils before that, which play havoc with my immune system) for her omelettes, even though we’d switched to coconut oil – something about frying and “proper” oil ;). Anyway, I ended up cooking a deliciously healthy, tasty, quick and easy meal, rich in protein, good fats and healthy carbs, which was rustled up in 15 mins, and eaten in about 5! You can have this omelette for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and if you reduce the ingredients, a hearty snack! Oh, and if you want to up your greens, this omelette goes perfectly with salad!

I cooked this without the half tin of mixed vegetables because it was late and I wasn’t as hungry as I am after the gym! However, don’t be scared to experiment, have a bit of fun in the kitchen and see what you can come up with!

INGREDIENTS

4 free range eggs

4 cloves garlic (I used a bag we’d frozen before)

2 cm ginger (I used a bag we’d frozen before)

2 green chillies (I used a bag we’d frozen before)

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: Red chilli powder

Optional: ½ can of mixed vegetables

1 can of tuna (remove the brine)

½ teaspoon dried corriander

1 teaspoon coconut oil

RECIPE

In a bowl, whisk up the eggs, garlic, ginger, chilli, salt, pepper, seasoning and tuna (and mixed vegetables);
Heat up a teaspoon of coconut oil in a large non-stick frying pan;
Pour the mix into the frying pan and cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, the bottom is cooked;
Turn on the solar grill to full and place the frying pan in there for about 5 minutes whilst the top of the omelette cooks. If you don’t have a solar grill and/or want to flip the omelette, good luck!
Once it cooks to your taste, place a large plate over the frying pan, carefully flip over, and you are ready to eat!

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves up to 2 people

This was a meal for me, but it could easily feed 2! My rule of thumb is 2 eggs per person 🙂

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Lunch

BrocCauli ChiQuin

ByBilalBham | On October 16,16 | 0 Comment

In traditional Indian cuisine from the state of Gujarat, for those of us who are meat eaters, we don’t eat much by way of vegetables! As I have been trying to do throughout my blog, I want to increase the nutritional content of traditional dishes that I have grown up eating! Today it was chicken curry or chicken tikka massala again!

Broccoli and cauliflower are rich in vitamins C, B and K, and broccoli, so definitely good for your immune system at this time of year as our climate changes! Pigeon peas add some extra greens and vitamins to really give you a good helping of protein, healthy carbs, fats, fibres, vitamins and minerals!

I love my quinoa, but you can have it with whatever you wish! Mum had hers with chappati because she’s not a big fan of quinoa! More for me!

INGREDIENTS

BrocCauli Chicken

1 chicken breast

1 onion

50 g pigeon peas (we used a bag we’d frozen before)

1/2 tin chopped tomatoes

4 cloves garlic (we used a bag we’d frozen before)

2 cm ginger (we used a bag we’d frozen before)

2 green chillies (we used a bag we’d frozen before)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon dried coriander

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 teaspoon

2 teaspoon coconut oil

Pillau Quinoa

40 g quinoa

¼ onion

2 cinnamon sticks

200 mL of filtered water, boiled.

¼ teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Coconut oil

INSTRUCTIONS

BroCauli Chicken

In a large saucepan, add in 2 teaspoons coconut oil, 1 chopped onion, and caramelise on 3/4 heat;
Add in garlic, ginger, chilli, and cook and stir until the smell goes;
Add in the chicken, sliced and diced, and cook until all the pink bits are cooked.
Add in 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes, spices and seasoning, pigeon peas, and place on ½ heat and cover for 5 minutes whether ingredient are frozen or not due to moisture from the chicken;
Simmer on ¼ heat for 20 minutes and stir occasionally to mix;
Add in the cauliflower, chopped, and cover for 10 minutes;
Add in the broccoli, chopped, and cover for 10 minutes,
Continue to stir whilst the curry cooks, add water if needed;
Check the chicken and vegetables if they are done as you like them;
BrocCauli Chicken is served!

Pillau Quinoa

You can begin cooking this simultaneously with the BroCauli Chicken at point 6;
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (put the water on to boil);
Slice and dice in the ¼ onion and stir, sauté until the onion caramelises;
Add in the boiling water, ¼ teaspoon of salt, the quinoa and stir gently;
Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
Repeat step 8 until the quinoa is cooked and all the water evaporates;
You are now ready to eat!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves up to 2 people

I made enough just for mum and I! Mum had hers with chapatti!

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Lunch, Vegan, Vegetarian

Spicy Spinach

ByBilalBham | On October 09,16 | 0 Comment

As part of my little experiment to go meat free, I decided to get mum in to help me out when I decided to cook! She suggested I cook her dish Spicy Spinach, which I have enjoyed for many years. The only thing we have changed recently is using coconut oil instead of other oils.

Traditionally, we ate this with every other Saturday with yellow rice, (mum uses turmeric for the colour!), and kurhi, a heated watered down yogurt, not great for my digestive system! Mum also enjoys this with chapati, naan or pitta bread, however, with my gluten intolerances, I guess I could handle wholemeal or jasmine rice, but I went with my tried and trust quinoa, made Indian style!

This dish is perfect for a light lunch or dinner, contains potatoes for some carbs (mum said sweet potato or butternut squash would make the dish too sweet, so I went with starchy potatoes!), iron and zinc from spinach and other spices to up antioxidants. You will also receive a decent amount of protein from 40 g of quinoa!

INGREDIENTS

Spicy Spinach

200 g spinach (we used a bag we’d frozen before)

50 g peas (we used a bag we’d frozen before)

¼ tin chopped tomatoes

4 charlotte potatoes

4 cloves garlic (we used a bag we’d frozen before)

2 cm ginger (we used a bag we’d frozen before)

2 green chillies (we used a bag we’d frozen before)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon dried coriander

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 teaspoon

2 teaspoon coconut oil

Pillau Quinoa

40 g quinoa

¼ onion

2 cinnamon sticks

200 mL of filtered water, boiled.

¼ teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Coconut oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Spicy Spinach

In a large saucepan, add in ¾ chopped onion, 2 teaspoon coconut oil peas, garlic, ginger, chilli, ¼ tin tomatoes, chopped potatoes, spices and seasoning, place on ½ heat and cover for 5 minutes whether ingredient are frozen or not due to moisture from the spinach;
Simmer on ¼ heat for 20 minutes and stir occasionally to mix;
Spicy Spinach is served! Yes really!

Pillau Quinoa

You can begin cooking this simultaneously with the Spicy Spinach;
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (put the water on to boil);
Slice and dice in the ¼ onion and stir, sauté until the onion caramelises;
Add in the cinnamon sticks;
Add in the boiling water and a ¼ teaspoon of salt;
Add the quinoa and stir gently;
Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
Repeat step 8 until the quinoa is cooked and all the water evaporates;
You are now ready to eat!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves up to 2 people

I made enough just for mum and I!

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Lunch, Snack

Spicy Lamb Seekh Kebabs

ByBilalBham | On May 01,15 | 0 Comment

Who loves kebabs? I love them! Pure meat with some spices! But how many of you have paid the price the next morning after one from the takeaway? Or, got a frozen which just didn’t quite live up to what you were expecting? So mum and I began experimenting a while ago at home and it turned out that mine were better than what mum came up with! I ended up developing my own way of making kebabs, stealing bits here and there and coming up with something that makes my mouth water just writing about it!

One of the major obvious benefits of kebabs is the high protein content. If you are looking to lean up and bulk up in the gym, meat will be an essential part of your diet. I usually make enough to last me a couple of weeks if not longer, so that I can snack on them too! Yup, spicy lamb mince seekh kebabs are my light late night snack everyone! No carbs, good fats, plenty of protein, deliciously fiery (which boosts metabolism and burn fat!) and so quick to make, grill them or bake them they don’t take long. Served with some fresh salad or grilled vegetables, I can’t think of a more filling and nutritious meal any time of the day!

INGREDIENTS

500g lean lamb mince

1 onion

1 red onion

3 spring onions

4 cloves of garlic (I love garlic in my food)

1 cm of ginger

1 cm haldi

1 red chilli

1 green chilli

1 spoon dried coriander

A bunch of fresh coriander

Salt

Pepper

1 large free range egg

½ lemon

Wooden skewers

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice and dice the onions, crush the garlic, and chop up the ginger, corriander, haldi and chillies into tiny pieces;
Add the vegetable mix to the lamb mince and mix thoroughly;
Whisk up the egg separately and add the juice from half a fresh lemon and add to the mincemeat and mix thoroughly;
Kneed the mix as you would dough, creating striations with your knuckle which shows that the meat is completely broken down and mixing with the vegetables;
Roll up the mix in a bowl, cover it and leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight;
Soak the wooden skewers in lukewarm water for 30 minutes to stop them from burning or catching fire;
Bring out the mix from the fridge and knead again to fresh it up;
With moist hands, pick off a handful of the kebab mix and mould it onto the skewers, leave some out to eat now and some to place straight into the freezer for another time;
Place on grill for 15-20 minutes/oven bake in a tray at gas mark 5, 190°C/375°F for 20-30 minutes, depending on how well done you like your meat – do check every 10 minutes and turn them to ensure thorough cooking.
Serve with a salad or grilled vegetables such as courgette/zucchini, aubergine, sweet potato or butternut squash, or my favourite long peppers!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves up to 4 people

We always make more so we can enjoy the food another time!

Please do let me know how you get on and feel free to provide feedback 🙂

Dinner, Lunch

Mighty Mung

ByBilalBham | On March 28,15 | 4 Comments

Mung, or moong, is a green bean that’s popular over the Asian subcontinent, and very popular in our household! Mung is a good mix of proteins, carbs and fibre and is a staple food in India, where my family come from. It is popular among those who are vegetarian and vegan, so if you want a nutritional punch without the meat and dairy, this is the dish for you!

Growing up here in England, we had mung at least once a week! Traditionally, we had it with my mum’s delicious chappati, and my dad and I used to lap it up, by breaking the chappati up into little pieces and mixing it in the mung and digging in! My mum would also add yoghurt to the mung for thickness and taste, so I have continued with that but changed from dairy to soya yoghurt because of my lactose intolerance, acid reflux and IBS – believe me, the payback is definitely not worth it, not even a little bit… Think the film Bridesmaids…!

Nowadays, I am off the refined carbs due to my digestive issues with carbs and also my health and fitness reasons – there is a reason this is fitness food blog – which is my quest for a 6-pack! I am not that far off currently but I am going to motor on with this no refined carb and no dairy diet, it’s working for me both in terms of my health and fitness 🙂

One of the things I am trying to do is increase the nutritional value of all of our traditional dishes whilst removing the refined carbs. In this case I decided to add coloured vegetables in the form of chilli and peppers to increase the complex carbs and upped the protein by adding some tofu! The result is a delicious mix that has surprised me over and over again by how tasty it turned out, and it impressed my dear mother too! With my modifications, you get your protein, carbs and fibre, spice and taste all in one dish, what more could you ask for? 🙂

INGREDIENTS

1/2 onion

1/2 red onion

2 spring onions

3 cloves of garlic (I love garlic in my food)

1 cm of ginger

1 cm haldi (not tamarind as I say in the video, my apologies!)

1 red chilli

1 green chilli

1/2 long red pepper

1 long green pepper

1 fresh tomato

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

200g tofu

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 tablespoon dried coriander

100ml soya yoghurt

1 litre of filtered and boiled water

First full fresh coriander

2 saucepans, 1 medium, 1 small

INSTRUCTIONS

In the large saucepan, add 500mL filtered boiling water and add in the 100 g mung. Stir, cover with lid and allow to boil on ¾ heat for at least 30 minutes, or until all the mung have split;
Continue to check on the large saucepan every 10 minutes or so for water and stir (add more water if you need, and trust me, you will need to! With the rest of the boiled water in the kettle, prepare a cup of tea!);
In the small saucepan slice and dice in the onions (hold back the green leaves of the spring onions until the end), add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds and allow the onions to turn brown whilst stirring;
Once the onions brown, add the garlic (I cut the garlic knobs up, press them in a garlic crusher and add them directly into the saucepan), chopped ginger, haldi and tomatoes, curry leaves and dried coriander;
Continue to stir gently until the tomato cooks through;
Check on the mung (should be done around the 30-minute mark), and if the mung beans have popped, add in the contents of the small saucepan, chop in the red and green chillies (add them later at point 8 if you want your mung less spicy) add ½ teaspoon of salt and stir;
Turn the heat down to a quarter, taste the mung and add salt and black pepper to taste;
Chop in the red and green peppers, stir and cover with the lid and to cook for about 5 minutes;
Add the chopped tofu and spring onion leaves and cover for 5 minutes;
Feel free to add any coriander to finish and you are ready to eat!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves up to 4 people

I made enough for the next day as we had a busy weekend ahead!

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback J

Dinner, Lunch

Spicy Green Prawns

Spicy Green Prawn Curry With Quinoa

ByBilalBham | On March 21,15 | 0 Comment

My mum’s prawn curry has to be one of my all-time favourite dishes that I look forward to every month! We tend to limit the amount of prawns we eat because of the high level of LDL cholesterol in prawns but once or twice a month we can’t go wrong!

I looooove the delicious sauce my mother makes, it is absolutely divine, and back when I was eating chappati, I could have 1 or 2 easily by dipping then piece by piece into the sauce and devouring, without even having touched the prawns! Mum usually adds potatoes but I felt that wasn’t enough for what I wanted to achieve.

I believe in serving you up the tastiest, healthiest, most nutrient-rich and of course spicy, food as possible to help you continue to make fitness gains without compromising on taste! Who said Indian food was unhealthy?! As you may already know, I am off the chappati and my mission is to create spicy, tasty, healthy, complex-carb rich food without the need for refined carbs, which block my plumbing and, well, I really am not going back to that painful place! Therefore, protein-rich pillau quinoa, with the method we use to cook pillau rice, is the way forward for me and for you if you want!

Now my mother uses fresh unpeeled and uncooked king prawns which I love because their shell adds to the gorgeous sauce, however, being someone who doesn’t like to get his hands dirty whilst eating (call me lazy and particular if you wish!), I decided to go for the easier option of shelled and cooked prawns!

INGREDIENTS

Spicy Green Prawns

1 onion

1 red onion

3 spring onions

4 cloves of garlic (I love garlic in my food!)

1 cm of ginger

1 cm haldi (not tamarind as I say in the video, my apologies!)

1 red chilli

1 green chilli

1 long red pepper

1 long green pepper

1 medium cauliflower

2 heads broccoli

1 carrot

150g cooked king prawns/300g fresh king prawns

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 tablespoon dried coriander

1 litre of filtered and boiled water

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

200ml of filtered water, boiled

INGREDIENTS

Pillau Quinoa

100g quinoa

1 onion

4 cardamom seeds

8 cloves

8 black pepper seeds

200ml of filtered water, boiled.

Salt

Olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Spicy Green Prawns

In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil (put the water on to boil for the quinoa);
Slice and dice the onions (hold back the green leaves of the spring onions until the end), garlic (I cut the garlic knobs up, press them in a garlic crusher and add them directly into the saucepan) and ginger and add to the saucepan to sauté. Stir regularly until the mix starts to bronze;
To the onions, add in the tin of chopped tomatoes, dried coriander, tamarind and a half a teaspoon of salt and chop in the chillies (if you want your dish less spicy, add the chillies in with the other vegetables in point 7);
Allow to simmer and continue to stir gently until the water evaporates;
Slice the carrots, and cut the broccoli and cauliflower into manageable chunks;
Add the boiling water to the saucepan and then add in the carrots, broccoli and cauliflower (and stir gently for a couple of minutes);
Turn the heat down to a quarter, taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste;
Cover with the lid and leave the mix to cook for about 10 minutes;
Add the prawns and chopped spring onion leaves and cover for 5 minutes;
Feel free to add any coriander to finish and you are ready to eat!

Pillau Quinoa

Begin making your quinoa preparations at point 6 of cooking the spicy green prawns;
In a saucepan on ¾ heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (put the water on to boil);
Slice and dice in the onion and stir, sauté until the onions caramelise;
Add in the spice mix of cardamom, black pepper, cloves and cinnamon sticks;
Add in the boiling water and a ½ teaspoon of salt;
Add the quinoa and stir gently. I gently rinse the quinoa first in lukewarm water and then drain it before adding it to the saucepan;
Allow the quinoa to simmer, turn the heat down to a quarter, and cover with the lid;
Check on it 3 to 5 minutes later and gently turn the quinoa over with a plastic or wooden spoon to ensure you keep your quinoa seeds in tact;
Repeat step 8 until the quinoa is cooked and all the water evaporates;
You are now ready to eat!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Eating time: 15 minutes

Serves up to 4 people

I made enough curry to last us another day and my mother and I like to eat our quinoa fresh!

Let me know how you get on and please feel free to provide feedback 🙂