Kenyan Spicy Black eyed bean stew.

Spicy and rich protein packed Kenyan black eyed bean stew.

Ingredients

8oz / 240 g  pre cooked blackeyed beans
1 tablespoon  sunflower oil
1 clove garlic finely chopped
2 medium ripe tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Method:

1.Chop the tomatoes and pulse them in a blender to make a smooth puree.
2. Heat  the oil in a pan and when it is hot saute the garlic. Add the blended tomatoes, salt, cumin powder,chilli powder and pepper and cook the tomatoes for 2-3 minutes until oil starts to separate and tomatoes loose their rawness.
3. Add the precooked beans and 100 ml water and mix well.
4. Simmer the stew on medium heat for 6-7 minutes until the stew thickens and spices infuse.
5. Remove from heat  and stir in the lemon juice.
Serve hot with rice or flat breads.

NB- I find that this recipe works best with slightly overcooked and mushy black eyed beans as it gives the stew a rich creamy texture.

You may like:

Matoke Kenyan plantain stew.

Submitting to:
Flavours of Kenya event by simply.food guest hosted by Jagruti of JCO

Giveaway ~ Elisabeth Shaw Chocolates.

I recently had a large hamper of Elisabeth Shaw Chocolates  to sample. The chocolates are made by one of Britain's best-loved luxury chocolate makers using only the finest ingredients.

Amongst the many flavours such as creamy Butterscotch, tasty Orange and smooth Milk Mint Chocolate, the mint crisp is by far the favourite. In the range there are also smooth, luxurious chocolate batons with tempting fillings. The flutes come in a range of tempting flavours: Mint, Orange, Latte Macchiato and Amaretto. For the alcohol lovers there is also a special range of the finest dark chocolate with liqueur centres which are made with some of the world's famous brands: Cointreau®, Courvoisier VS Cognac®, Harveys® Bristol Cream®, Irish Cream, Drambuie® and Grant's®.

We ate the chocolates as they were but there were so many(not that we are complaining), others we dipped in ice cream and devoured them and the mint crisp ones made a wonderful topping crumbled onto delicious vanilla frosting on a gooey chocolate cup cake.I was particularly impressed by these chocolates as they are suitable for vegetarians but also that Elisabeth Shaw also maintain ethical and fair relationships with all their suppliers, including the farmers who provide them with essential ingredients such as cocoa, sugar and milk.
If you would like to try them you can purchase them on line or from many large supermarkets in the UK such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, Co-op and Booths and other independent stores.

Selected pictures and text courtesy of Elisabeth Shaw.The opinions and views written in this review are my own.

So that you too can have a taste of these delicious luxury chocolates, Elisabeth Shaw have teamed up with simply.food and  generously  offered a hamper of their chocolates to one simply.food reader.

The Giveaway is open to all UK residents and must be over 18 years of age.

How To Enter
·         Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
·         Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
·         Please read the rules they form the terms and conditions of this Giveaway
·         Closing date - 12th October  2012 6.00pm

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Matoke~ Kenyan Plantain Green Bananas Stew

Delicious wholesome spicy plantain stew.

Ingredients:

5 green bananas -raw plantain  (Matoke)
2 medium ripe tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 green chillies.
150 ml water
1 tablespoon fresh chopped  coriander for garnishing

Method:

1. Peel the green bananas- plantain  and slice them in to 5mm thick round slices and soak them in cold water.
2. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.
3. Slit both the chillies  and remove the membrane and seeds and cut into 4 pieces.
4. Heat oil in a pan when it is hot add 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them splutter.
5. Drain the bananas and add to the pan followed by the tomatoes, salt and pepper and chillies
6. Mix well and add the water.
7. Bring the stew to boil , than reduce the  heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until bananas are tender and sauce has thickened.Add the lemon juice and stir.
8. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with fresh coriander.

You may like:
Cassava fries

Submitting to:
Flavours of Kenya event by simply.food guest hosted by Jagruti of JCO

Thai Green Mango Salad ~ Som Tum ma muang

Thai Mango salad, tropical sharp and tangy mango balanced with sweet coconut in a sweet and sour and spicy dressing.

Ingredients:

I large green mango
60g / 2oz fresh grated coconut
2 red chillies cut into thin strips
1 red sweet pepper cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon fresh chopped coriander leaves
1 small red sweet onion cut into very thin slices

Dressing:

1 tablespoon soya sauce(replacing fish sauce)
1 tablespoon sweet Thai chilli sauce(replacing shrimp paste
1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 red chilli finely chopped

Method:

1. Peel the mango and remove the stone, using a mandolin slice the mango into long thin ribbons (alternately you can grate it or cut it into juliennes) Add it to a large bowl.
2. Add the red chilli, red pepper, half the coriander , onion  and half the coconut to the mango and toss well.
3. Add all the ingredients in the dressing list to a jar with a screw top and mix well.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.
5. Transfer the salad to a serving dish and garnish with remaining coconut and coriander.

You may like:
Thai Raw Papaya Salad

Submitting this to:
Flavours of Thailand ,event by simply.food guest Hosted by Reva

Give away~Free Tickets to BBC Good Food Show London Olympia

London Olympia 9th - 11th November 2012

Its time yet again for the BBC Good Food Show, and this year is even better than before and the exciting news is that its being hosted in London Olympia between 14th and18th November. It is  featuring The Wine Show together with the regulars such as cookery demos, producers village, eateries and  the fantastic 600 seat super theatre. It will be the perfect place to shop for all your Xmas presents and enjoy a day out in London.
Again this year BBC Good Food Show have teamed up with simply.food and  they are offering three pairs of tickets to 3 lucky winners.The Giveaway is open to all UK residents and must be over 18 years of age.

How To Enter
·         Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
·         Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
·         Please read the rules they form the terms and conditions of this Giveaway
·         Closing date - 31st October  2012 6.00pm

Pictures and text courtesy of BBC Good food show
For those of you who wish to enter for the BBC GOOD FOOD Show NEC Birmingham click here.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Round up ~Lets Cook with Fruits.

Thankyou to everyone who participated in this lovely event, there were some delicious entries.Here is the round up.

Flavours of Morocco Round Up

Thankyou to everyone who participated in this event.You can check out the round up here.