Indian Spiced Scones

I've not posted for a few weeks but with good reason I promise. I've been making hundreds of Christmas Cakes for our lovely cafe customers and developing a range of chutneys and relishes inspired by my wonderful big sister and her San Francisco based Chutney Company McQuade's Celtic Chutneys. This is one of the best recipes I've come up with to show off the products. I've been meaning to post this recipe for months but every time I make them, they are wolfed so quickly, I've not managed to stop and take a photograph.... really!

Unlike a regular scone, they are not served with sweet jam and cream but instead with strong gutsy flavours to complement the chilli heat in the dough. Sweet onion chutney takes centre stage inside a warm scone seasoned with chilli, garlic, ginger and Indian spices. This is a gorgeous canape for those upcoming holiday parties, lovely with a full flavoured red wine and cheese or cut slightly larger and served on the side of warming lentil soup.

Indian Spiced Scones

250g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp garam masala
125g butter (straight from the fridge)

1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 red chillies,  finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp natural yogurt
2 tbsp mustard seeds

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. 
Sieve the flour, bicarbonate, baking powder, salt and garam masala into a large bowl. 
Add the cold butter and rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs. 
Stir in the garlic, ginger, chillies, egg and yogurt and bring together into a soft dough. 
Place on a well floured surface and roll to about 2cm thick.
Cut into rounds, either large to serve with soup or small to use as canapes.  
Brush each scone with milk and sprinkle with mustard seeds.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until risen and golden. 
Serve as canapes with cheese and chutney or warm and buttered with soup.

Curried Lentil & Coconut Soup

It is definitely September, on the first day of the month the weather seemed to take a turn for the autumnal. Suddenly, a t-shirt was not enough in the sunshine, jumpers were looked out, boots come to the front of the wardrobe... hats and scarves don't seem too far away, and in the middle of all this wind, rain and cool temperatures, Now despite being later in the month and the nights drawing in, I am planning a camping trip. It seemed like a great idea a few weeks ago, now I'm not too sure. A flask of soup and a flask of rich beef stew will be coming with us just in case the wind blows out the flame of the camping stove.

My round-up of camping food will come next week but this recipe fits more into the planning stage as I am making it before we leave and eating it after we pitch on friday night.

So so so easy, this is the most beautiful smooth, creamy and light flavoured soup,child-friendly in its spiciness though easy to heat up if you add a teaspoon of chilli with the tikka masala paste. No-one has tried it without asking for the recipe and almost no-one believes there are only 4 main ingredients.

Curried Lentil & Coconut Soup
1 onion, finely chopped
1tbsp olive oil
2tbsp tikka masala paste
2 large handfuls of orange lentils
1 tin of low fat coconut milk

Warm the olive oil in a heavy based saucepan.
Saute the onion until transluscent, don't allow it to brown.
Add tikka masala paste, and saute a minute longer to allow the spices to warm up.
Throw in the lentils, coconut milk and a cupful of water.
Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the lentils have cooked and broken down.
Blend until smooth.

Indian Lime Chutney

I thought I loved curries best during the winter months - with frozen breath floating over icy pavements, the need to rush home for something hot and spicy, rich and filling seemed to provoke a lot of curry cooking. Then spring came and I became quite sure that I loved curries best during the spring months - mild days with cold evenings, lighter nights but still a need for food that warms your bones from the inside out. But now it is summer, and despite a dearth of hot, hazy summer nights, the urge to linger over spicy food on a warm clammy evening is definitely with me.

Like cooking a Mexican menu, Indian meals in particular benefit from a plethora of side dishes: parathas; nan; scented rice; dhal; raita; poppadoms; and the ubiquitous chutney.

Lately I have become completely addicted to the hot and sour flavours of Indian Lime pickle. It introduces a sharp note to a mild creamy curry, adds a tangy heat dabbed into a paratha with spiced mackeral or adds balance simply served on the side of barbecued chicken or fish.

Many versions abound the internet, most taking weeks to age before they can be eaten (I do have one such version sitting maturing in a cupboard but I was too impatient to stop there so needed to find a flavourful but far more speedy version.) This is based on a chutney recipe but has no sugar to sweeten the end result leaving the most perfectly sour and spicy condiment.

Indian Lime Pickle

300 g of chillies (green or red or mixed)
1 kg limes
200 g grated fresh ginger

1 large bulb fresh garlic, peeled
5 or 6 curry leaves, shredded
900ml white vinegar
2 tsp turmeric
1 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp mustard seed
1 Tbsp fenugreek seeds
500ml rapeseed (or veg)  oil
5 Tbsp rapeseed (or veg) oil

Heat 3 Tbsp of oil in a large frying pan until hot.
Sauté the limes turning them over and over until their skins are a golden brown.
Cut the limes into about 6 thick slices and then half the slices.
Add 2 Tbsp of oil to a blender with the chillis, peeled garlic, grated ginger and curry leaves. Blend to a paste
Heat the remaining oil in a pan until hot. Add mustard and fenugreek and warm till the seeds are toasted and start to pop.
Add the chilli paste, stir and cook gently for 15 minutes.
Add the turmeric, lime and vinegar and stir until thoroughly mixed.
Cook for a further 10 minutes...  to reduce and thicken
Put the pickle into sterilised jars then cover with any remaining liquid. Seal and leave for a couple of weeks, if you can bear to - if not open immediately and serve.