Sam’s Spinach Lasagna

Spinach is really healthy and rich in nutrients.  Eating spinach is said to make you really strong (remember Popeye the Sailor Man?).  The recipe below is great for ‘Meat Free Mondays’ (or for any day of the week, really).

Thank you to my friend Sam for this recipe.

Spinach Lasagna

Step 1:  Spinach

300 - 400g spinach, chopped* (depending on the size of the dish you are using – see note below)

1 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp jeeru
1 tsp crushed garlic
salt to taste
¼ tsp pepper

1 tsp ground green chilies

1 cup fresh cream

Braise onions in butter/ghee until soft.  Add garlic and braise.  Add spinach, and spices, and cook until spinach is done.  (Spinach should be limp and soft at this stage)
Add the fresh cream and allow to boil once.

Remove from heat and leave aside.

Step 2: Tomato chutney

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 tsp mixed herbs

½ tsp basil

½ tsp basil/origanum

2 tsp sugar

Braise onion in butter/ghee until soft. 

Add garlic, tomato and spices. 

Cook until chutney is done.  (Chutney should be thick.  The onions should have ‘disappeared’ into the chutney).

Step 3:  White Sauce

1 green pepper, chopped.

1 green chili

½ litre milk* (depending on the size of the dish you are using – see note below)

Salt, pepper

1.5 tbspn maizena (cornstarch)* (depending on the size of the dish you are using – see note below)

Blend together the above, in a food processor.  Heat 3 tbspn ghee in a pot.  Pour the above mixture into the pot, and allow to boil, to a custard consistency.

Step 4:  Layering

Lasagna sheets

Add tomato chutney to the spinach.

Layer lasagna as follows:  White sauce, softened lasagna sheet, spinach mixture, white sauce, softened lasagna sheet.
(Optional:  To soften a lasagna sheet, place the lasagna sheet in a dish of hot water for a few moments, and then use in layering.  It helps the lasagna to soften in the baking process).

Top with cheese, if desired.  (This recipe is already very rich as it has a cup of cream in it – adding cheese is entirely up to you)

Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.

*Note:  The above ingredients should be altered depending on the size of bakeware you will be using.  I used two 18cm x 11cm dishes – see picture.

 

Super Easy Butter Chicken

Butter chicken is one of the most popular dishes on on the menu of any Indian Restaurant.  It is a creamy chicken dish (there's no butter in butter chicken) - not spicy for those who don't like spicy foods - and for those who do, its easy to up the spice factor.

  

The dish can be served with roti, or white rice.  To impress special guests, serve it with Naan bread - these can be purchased from an Indian restaurant, or even from some supermarkets.  It really gives the dish that extra 'something' and it will really impress your in laws.

If you have extra chicken, double Step 1 of the recipe, and kept half of the prepared chicken aside for use in sandwiches - Perhaps chicken and mayo for lunch tomorrow?

 

Butter Chicken

Step 1:  Chicken:

1 kg chicken fillet - cube and drain 

1 tbspn ghee

1.5 tsp chili powder

1 level tsp turmeric

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ginger garlic

2 squirts lemon juice

1 tsp dhana jeeru

+- 0.5 cup water

Method:

1.  Heat ghee in a flat pot.

2.  Add cubed chicken, let chicken cook for a few moments (until the chicken starts turning white - should take less than a minute), then add all spices.  Mix together so that the spices coat chicken.

3.  Slowly add water, try not to pour directly onto the chicken pieces.

4.  Cook chicken on low heat until water absorbs.

Leave aside. 

Step 2:  Gravy:

2 chopped onions
4 large tomatoes / 6-8 normal tomatoes / 1 tin tomato - liquidised (tin tomato works best)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 small tub of fresh cream
Chopped Almonds (optional)

Method:
1.  Saute the onions in oil until light pink
2.  Add the liquidised tomatoes
3.  Add the spices and let the mixture absorb for a few minutes
4.  While the mixture is cooking, add the prepared chicken, and let the mixture cook.
5.  Add 1 small tub of fresh cream before serving while the stove is on low.
6.  Add almonds

Served with roti, naan bread, or white rice.

Enjoy!

Baked Beans Lasagne

So, the other day I got home to realise that my options for supper were quite limited given that I haven’t gone grocery shopping in a while.  Ah, the joys and sorrows of living on your own. After thoroughly inspecting the fridge and grocery cupboards, I decided that baked beans was to be my supper of limited choice. It was pretty decent as well, only thing was that it was quite a big can of baked beans for one little me and the result was enough baked beans to last a very long while. So, I thought to myself, what does one do with baked beans ?For a long while, I couldn’t get scenes from Dennis the Menace out of my head, but then, I thought what about a baked beans lasagne. Turns out, it was a pretty good meal. Here’s what I did :

First I made a chutney with the baked beans:

1)      Cook half an onion in two teaspoons of oil. Turn down heat once onions transparent.

2)      Add in two chopped tomatoes, or you can use half a can of tinned tomatoes like I did  (convinced that there are no good cooking tomatoes in Johannesburg)

3)      Add a teaspoon of chilli powder, a quarter teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt. Close the pot lid and allow to cook for about 10 minutes or until it resembles a chutney.

4)      Add in your can of baked beans. Cook for a further 10 minutes.

Now you can layer your casserole dish with first a layer of baked beans and then a layer of lasagne.

Repeat this step. Cover the last layer of baked beans with cheese. I added oreganum as well to give it that awesome smell as it was baking. Bake for about 35 minutes in a preheated oven on 180 degrees.

Bread Pudding

When I was younger, my mum used to bake us a bread pudding especially on really cold Winter’s Days. A sudden stroke of genius hit me today, when I realised that I don’t need for it to be Winter to eat pudding, so here goes:

-       Butter and spread a healthy quantity of Jam onto slices of bread.

-       Line in a baking tray. (the bigger your tray, the more slices of bread you have, you get the picture)

-       Toss in a handful or two of raisins.

-       Dissolve a teaspoon of custard powder and half a teaspoon of sugar in milk. Pour in just enough milk to cover the bread slices.

-       Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes.

-       Done!!

Permission to have seconds and thirds : GRANTED!!!

The Green Bean

Maybe you have to eat vegetables today or maybe you’ve decided on a healthier option or just maybe, you, like me, are a fan of the slinky legume. Whatever the case, here is a quick and easy recipe to enjoy the green bean which by the way is also known as French beans or snap beans.

-          Heat two teaspoons of oil

-          Add half a sliced onion

-          Once the onion looks transparent, turn down the heat and add in the green beans. ( I usually use frozen, sliced green beans, am sure the fresh variety is probably best, but hey I did say quick and easy)

-          Add to the pot: 1 pinch chilli powder

                             1 pinch turmeric powder 

-          Close the pot lid and let this cook for around 10 minutes.

-          Add in one chopped tomato and allow green beans to cook for a further 10 minutes.

-          EAT!

Tastes best with pita bread.  ( I got these at Pick n Pay)