There are many versions of lamb tagine in Morocco but this one is my absolute favourite! Cooked slowly in a rich tomato sauce with dates and apricots it sounds like it would be too sticky and sweet but it isn’t at all and whilst the flavours are rich it isn’t a heavy dish either. I…
Category: Hearty Meals
Kalam polo – Persian fragrant pilaf with cabbage & lamb
Kalam polo is a type of delicious Persian rice pilaf originating from Shiraz. Kalam means cabbage and polo is rice in Farsi hence the title “Kalam Polo” however it often contains meat of some kind. Like many Persian recipes there are many different versions of this dish which are all equally as tasty. Sometimes even…
Lemon & Olive Chicken Tagine
A Tagine is a Moroccan stew that is cooked and served in a “Tagine” which is where it gets its name from. It doesn’t mean you need to have a Tagine to make one – a decent heavy based saucepan will do – however I feel that clay material that a tagine is made from…
Creamy Tofu Curry
There are so many ways to make a lovely curry and with winter looming it really is one of my best comfort foods. This recipe makes a silky smooth creamy aromatic sauce that is very mild and family friendly. It doesn’t have to be served with tofu and works well with other veggies, prawns, chicken…
Saag Paneer
Paneer is a type of fresh cheese used often in Indian & Afgan cooking and which is happily much more readily available these days! It is made in a similar way to ricotta and then pressed into a slab so it’s a light and healthy way to get protein into your diet. It is often…
Persian Aubergine & Split Pea Stew – Khoresht Bademjan
Serves 4-6 INGREDIENTS 3 medium Aubergines quartered lengthwise and then cut into chunks. 3 tbsp olive oil 1 cup yellow split peas (soaked in water for 2-3 hours and boiled for 10mins) 2 large onions, peeled and sliced very thin – one for stew – one for garnish. 3-4 TBSP butter/ghee, for frying the onion…
Moroccan Orange & Lemon Roast Chicken
I think one of my earliest “pleasureful” memories of eating as a kid is one of eating roast chicken. My mother made the best, (of course) and it was a dish that brought us all together. I even remember her roasting a chicken and wrapping it in foil for long plane journeys so we could…
Winter Vegetable Tagine
Nothing beats winter comfort food for me more than a fragrant spiced Moroccan vegetable tagine. It’s bowl food that can be simply eaten on its own or as part of a feast for friends and family and it satisfies my seemingly bottomless pit of a stomach during the chilly winter months. The root veggies in…
Persian Rice with Tahdig & Zereshk
Fewer things remind me more of my grandmother Bibi Fadhila than “Tahdig” and the hillocks of fluffy buttery rice that accompany it. “Tahdig” or “Tahdigh” just means “Bottom of the pot” in Farsi, and in this case the bottom of the pot should be a delicious golden crispy disc of rice – which is highly…