The Hungry Gecko Shop is open!

I've been so busy, it's been a tricky few months juggling dining pop ups with events, and launching my online shop. I'm hoping to launch the pad Thai sauce very soon. But for now, you can buy my delicious shashlik paste in my new online shop or check out the local suppliers.

My Indian shashlik paste is an authentic marinade for paneer, vegetables, meat and fish. Each product is hand made by me, from toasting the authetic spices and roasting fresh ingredients, to blendingand testing to ensure the highest quality product.  The perfect marinade for BBQs, grilling and roasting. The paste can also be used to amke a delicious spicy curry and fried Indian snacks.

This product is 100% vegan and gluten free.

Thali thali thali!

I have to be honest, Indian subcontinent food is my favourite food of all.  In my family, we eat more home cooked Indian food than anything else.  I love cooking it and eating it.  Simple as that really.  My children often caused a small furore with their chilli eating while we were travelling.  People were so surprised to see such young children adore spice so much.  But if you grew up on dal and rice instead of bangers and mash, it's not that surprising really.

So we've been enjoying lots of lovely recipe testing in our house in preparation for thali night.  And here it is.  The first draft of the menu...

Cauliflower & chard pakoras

Paneer & cashew koftas in yoghurt curry

Kali daal (creamy black lentils)

Baigan ka bharta (roasted aubergine mash)

Pappu dosaki (dudhi gourd with channa :)  

Stir fried lotus root

All served on a banana leaf, with steamed rice, salad and pickles.

Well all that's certainly made me hungry! The evening is now fully booked, but if it goes well, we could be looking at v2....

A recipe from one friend to another... Sunil's Dahl

I learnt this recipe from a friend a very long time ago.  We've always called it Sunil's dahl in our house, although I think it's possibly a simplified version of Kashmiri red kidney beans.  I remember he came from a family of rather amazing cooks and had a nice repertoire of simple tasty dishes.  A firm favourite on many a hungover morning were pittas stuffed with scrambled egg, chilli, onion, tomato & coriander.  I think his sister still runs the consistently good 'world food' restaurant, Cachumba, in West Didsbury. 

I don't see him much these days, but I make this dish all the time, as it's ridiculously easy, nutritious and tastes delicious.  It often forms part of my thali platters at home as it's a nice simple element, freeing up time to spend on a more complex one.  After Saturday's thali night, I promised my friend Lisa that I'd blog this recipe, as her lot rate this as their favourite dish.  Typical!  I spend hours on other elements, and the one that takes 10 minutes gets dish of the day.  A lesson to be learned there perhaps! 

Sunil's dahl  -  serves 6

• Kidney beans, 4 cans, thoroughly rinsed
• 2 very large white onions (or 4 medium) - finely sliced
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 2 heaped tsp garam masala
• 1 heaped tsp cumin powder
• 3 inch piece of fresh ginger - fined chopped
• 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder (hot variety) - finely chopped
• 2 large red chillies (milder variety) - finely chopped
• 1-2 small green chillies (hot variety) - finely chopped
• 2-4 tsp salt (to taste, but be generous)
• Roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves

1. Saute finely slice onion in ghee until nicely softened and translucent.  Then add spices and cook for 3 mins.
2. Add ginger and chillies and fry gently for 5 mins.
3. Add kidney beans and 3 pints of water.  Bring to boil and season with salt to taste, but it needs plenty of seasoning so be generous. 
4. Simmer for 2 hours.  The longer the better.  Just add more water if it gets too thick, and more seasoning if required.  You want a nice rich gravy like sauce.
5. Sprinkle with large handful of fresh coriander and serve with soft chapatis or steamed rice.