Hmiss - Algerian Style Flame Grilled Aubergine & Pepper Dip

As-Salaamu Alaykum / Hello Reader,

I'll be totally frank with you, this dip is quite time consuming, charring the vegetables on the stove top, peeling the blackened skins and scooping out every last bit of succulent 'meat' of the aubergine, chopping up, placing in pan and cooking over low heat until the flavours meld together and concentrate but after all that labour the result, full on smoky flavour, sweetness from the pepper with a hum of garlic and the fruity decadence that is olive oil it's irresistible served alongside a crusty baguette.

Chili / Harissa can be added at the second cooking phase to give it a kick although i do tend to stick to a clove of crushed garlic and slug of extra virgin olive oil.

I like topping this dip with more olive oil, spring onions and fresh herbs such as coriander however, I was all out of fresh herbs on this occasion. Olives and tuna are some other toppings you can try too.

I know this seems more of a summer dish especially in Algeria when these vegetables are cheap and plentiful, you could flame grill on your barbecue however, it's winter and I like to get warm by any means even if that's by the gas stove! it's a firm favourite in my home all year round and in sha Allah it will be in yours too.

What dish do you eat in all seasons?

Hmiss

Ingredients

• 1 Aubergine 
• 1 Pepper (i prefer to use red bell pepper as it gives a nice sweetness but any will do) 
• 2 Salad Tomatoes
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Garlic Clove, crushed
• Salt, Black Pepper, Cumin (to taste)
• Chili / Harissa (optional)

Method

1. Rinse and pat dry vegetables.
2. Place all vegetables on gas stop tops on high heat flame grill all vegetables, turning every few minutes until all are blackened. 
3. Tomatoes will be the first to cook, it's not necessary to blacken the tomatoes completely, just enough so the skins starts coming away from the flesh. 
4. Pepper, Aubergine you really need to blacken skins all over, the aubergine will start to look like a piece of coal that's burnt i.e. white in places where it's burnt so much. 
5. Place Pepper and Aubergine inside plastic food bag and leave for a few minutes to steam, this will help remove skin.
6. Take Pepper and Aubergine out of the bag and remove skin from tomatoes and pepper, chop and place in small pan.
7. Cut the aubergine straight down the middle and scoop out the flesh as close to the skin as possible and place in the pan along with pepper and tomatoes, crush together with fork.
8. Add a slug of olive oil, crushed garlic, season with a pinch of salt, pepper and cumin (you can adjust later) and chili/harissa if using. Cover and cook on low heat for around 15 minutes.

Serve hot or room temperature topped with more olive and chopped spring onions / toppings of choice alongside bread.

Tips: 

• Using your fingers I find works best for removing skins, you won't be able to remove all of the char but do as much as humanely possible. It's important you do not wash the vegetables at this point or you will loose all the flavour profile you have built up.
• Alternatively grill vegetables in oven however, i personally don't think you can ever achieve the same level of smokiness flavour.

Tahini & Chocolate Chip Cookies [vegan]

As-Salamu Alaikum,

These cookies are the best 'vegan' recipe I’ve ever tried, you do not miss the butter or eggs at all.

Made using Tahini; a paste made from ground hulled sesame seeds and popularly used in middle eastern dishes such as hummus, tahini has 10 main health benefits:

1.       It’s rich in minerals such as phosphorus, lecithin, magnesium, potassium and iron. 

2.       It's a good source of Methionine, which aids in liver detoxification. 

3.       It’s one of the best sources of calcium out there. 

4.       It’s high in vitamin E and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B15. 

5.       Helps to promote healthy cell growth. 

6.       Prevent anemia. 

7.       Helps to maintain healthy skin and muscle tone. 

8.       It has 20% complete protein, making it a higher protein source than most nuts. 

9.       It's easy for your body to digest because of its high alkaline mineral content, which is great for assisting in weight loss. 

10.   It is high in unsaturated fat (good fat!)

Source http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-6997/10-Reasons-to-Eat-Tahini.html

Tahini is an acquired taste but throw in sugar and you can pretty much get everyone loving it, hence why Turkish halwa/halva is so popular but wow throw in chocolate chips and you have something your taste buds won’t be able to resist hence, I advise you make a double batch and share them with your friends/family immediately.

To give these cookies a true taste of north Africa I added a tablespoon of orange blossom water which worked well with the bitter dark chocolate and offset the sweet caramel taste from the unrefined brown sugar but if you want to sure you can leave it out, you can use some vanilla as per the original recipe or even rose water would still work but just remember with flavoured waters a little goes a long way by no means do you have to use a tablespoon it’s all down to personal preference and as most flavourings out there they are of different strengths so experiment.

You will adore these soft, dense and satisfyingly chewy cookies, they can even be slightly crisp on the edges if you bake them long enough.

I don’t know about you but I prefer cookies just a tad under baked (cookie= scant 1/4 cup bake 8-9 minutes) and with no egg in the recipe no worries of giving anyone food poisoning, big +

As I bake to inshaAllah please all, husband gets his with golden edges (cookie = scant 1/4 cup bake 10 minutes)

 I even made slightly smaller ones for the kids ( cookie = 2 tbsp bake 7-8minutes) not that they are happier having smaller ones...

I used 53% dark chocolate chips  in my cookies which I purchased from Chocolate Trading Company, it’s a great site for everyone with lots of details and ingredients list you are bound to find a chocolate or 2 to suit you. Of course, being Muslim I advise you choose those containing no alcohol.

What is your favourite type of cookie/biscuit?

Tahini & Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted slightly from here

Makes around 12-18 (depending on size, see below)

1cup =250ml (British Standard)

 Ingredients

¼  c caster sugar

¾ c unrefined light brown sugar (I used muscovado), packed.

⅔ c tahini (stir well before measuring)

¼ c vegan margarine 

¼ c made up of 1 tbsp orange blossom water and water.

1½ c plain flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¾ c chocolate chips

Method

Preheat oven to 375F/190C/170C Fan
Line a cookie sheet with foil.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugars, tahini, margarine.
Beat in water and any flavourings you wish to add.
In a small mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add dry mixture to wet; beat to combine. Dough will be stiff but not dry.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Using an ice cream scoop (about a scant ¼ cup), place 6 balls of dough on a cookie sheet or using 2 tablespoons  of dough per cookie, place 8-10 balls of dough on a cookie sheet.
Flatten balls to desired cookie thickness, mine were about 1/4-1/2cm thick.
Bake between 7-10 minutes (see post for more details)
Let cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Store in sealed container or cookie jar. Best eaten within 3days.

*Disclosure: I wasn’t asked or paid to advertise any company in this post, all opinions are my own.

Please note, after a friend tried this recipe using butter (instead of margarine) she found the cookies to be too dry. this might be due to a number of things i.e. the tahini being too thick, measuring inaccurately etc, therefore if you want to make this recipe non vegan please by all means go ahead use butter but if you find the mixture too dry you can add/beat in 1 egg or add more water to get the consistency right.

Dairy & Egg Free Baking: Date & White Chocolate Cookies / Biscuits

As-Salamu Alaikum Sisters / Greetings Dear Readers,

I originally eyed a version of these cookies/biscuits on The English Kitchen and was immediately drawn to them not only because they looked scrummy but the way Marie described them was oh so tempting!

I admit I have a lot to learn on how to write a come and bake me now foodie blog post but one thing I can do is photos, mobile phone photos at that which I'm not ashamed to say have then been edited in Photoshop!

 

Yes, I have to work with what I've got, not only in my digital life but also in my kitchen cupboards and I wanted to make these especially for my dairy and egg allergic daughter and masha'Allah I just so happened to use my last Orgran No Egg, Egg on these yummy cookies!

No second guessing, I took a bite out of one, two OK I forgot how many I had......they were good and the perfect bite size treat.

I'm 95% happy with these cookies, the only thing I may do differently next time is increase the amount of vegan margarine a smidgen.

The original recipe contained 50g butter plus the fat from 1 egg and 50g white chocolate chunks which meant Marie's cookies spread due to being higher in fat than mine but hey the sugar content more than made up for any loss in fat in my version and you know what excess sugar converts to don't you? F.A.T. so I won't be saying these are the healthiest cookies in the world but again I'm working with what I have got ...... sugar! you can only imagine what this hormonal pregnant woman did when my 4year old knocked the tub containing my rare buy of rather expensive unrefined golden caster sugar on the dining room floor, yes I cried that's how much sugar means to me......sad but true.

OK so if you have the need like i did to make these cookies allergy free or you just fancy a change in  your all butter and egg kitchen then follow my recipe, if not check out the original I'm sure you will enjoy either.

Date & White Chocolate Cookies / Biscuits (Dairy and Egg Free)

Makes: 19 x 1 tbsp sized cookies
Adapted from the English Kitchen

Ingredients

50g Pure Dairy Free Sunflower Spread or any other suitable vegan spread
80g unrefined golden caster sugar
few drops of pure halal vanilla extract or use vanilla golden caster sugar in place of regular golden caster sugar
1/4 tsp Orange Blossom Water optional (provides I subtle background flavour)
Equivalent of 1 Egg of your chosen egg replacer (I used 1 heaped tsp orgran No Egg made up with 2tbsp water )
70g whole, pitted dates, cut into chunks
50g Dairy Free chocolate buttons (These are halal certified)
130g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Method

Preheat the oven to 160*C/140C (Fan) /325*F/ Gas mark3. Line two baking sheets with baking paper and set aside.

Beat together the vegan spread and sugar with a wooden spoon until light and creamy. Add the vanilla, orange blossom if using and egg replacer, mixing it in well. Sift together the flour and baking powder and stir into the creamed mixture. Stir in the chocolate and the dates.

Drop tablespoon sized drops onto the prepared baking sheets. I did 9-10 per baking sheet

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until they are pale golden brown, and a bit crispy on the edges. (I move the trays around halfway through the baking time so that they bake evenly.) Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

 

**Please note I have not been compensated or asked to advertise any of the allergy free products displayed in this post, they are personally what I chose to use and although I can't guarantee 100% that the Pure Dairy Free Sunflower Spread or Orgran is halal, I wrote to the manufacturer of Pure Dairy Free who responded that they don't make any claims that their products are suitable for a halal diet they did say they don't use alcohol to make their spreads and that their spreads are suitable for vegans.

I haven't had chance to write to Orgran about their egg replacer but if you look here you can read the ingredients list and this product is also suitable for Vegans.

Algerian Cooked Carrot Salad

As-Salamu Alaikunna Sisters / Greetings Reader,

I found this recipe a while ago....as with most recipes that I pin, this got put to the back of my mind and for a time I think I forgot about it altogether!

At the moment for no particular reason, other than husband brought home carrots when we already have some I have an abundance of carrots sat in my fridge. Rather than bake them into carrot cake or any other sweet right away (I have plans in the making) I remembered this salad and gave it a go.

The carrot flavour in this salad is mild and sweet due to the carrots being cooked first but also because you get a punchy flavour from the raw garlic, lemon, cumin and olive oil dressing.

If you don't like or despair to have the lingering after taste of raw garlic, I suggest you finely chop the garlic then steam / boil it along with your carrots although it's much more beneficial for your body especially your heart when eaten raw.

To read about the benefits of raw garlic, click here

Algerian Cooked Carrot Salad

recipe adapted slightly from tastingspoons

Serves 2

Ingredients

 

250grams carrots, washed and peeled

1 garlic clove - I used a small one and crushed it but if you prefer use a regular size garlic clove and finely chop it this will make it less pungent and like I said above you can always cook the garlic if you prefer the flavour even milder

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon coriander or parsley, finely chopped 

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin - this is your seasoning but feel free to substitute with salt & pepper

1/4 teaspoon brown sugar

Method

 

Cut carrots at an angle to your desired thickness, mine were about 1/4cm-1/2cm thick, steam for 15-20minutes or until they are cooked through but not mushy.

 

Place cooked carrots in a heat proof bowl and leave to cool slightly.

 

Make up the dressing in a separate bowl and then pour onto your carrots.

 

Served best at room temperature but if you like you can chill it in the fridge and serve it cold.

Egg & Wheat/Gluten Free - Falafel

Falafel Balls Over Salad

Falafel Patties

Falafel - a deep fried ball or patty made from chickpeas, fava beans or a combination of the two.

It is a common street food in the middle east although they are becoming more and more popular elsewhere in world. Usually being served inside a pita along with salad and drizzled with tahini sauce.

Both vegetarians and meat eaters enjoy this street food and i'm sure like with my family it has a place in your home too, in sha Allah

The name Falafel is said to come from the Arabic word falāfil (فلافل), which is the plural of filfil (فلفل), meaning 'pepper' indicating this snack is spicy which is true however, for me with 2 small children, trying to get them to eat hot, spicy things is a struggle and i must say i am not a huge lover of chilli like my husband so i choose to use sweet paprika instead of hot pepper flakes but the choice is yours.

Maths/Weight problem:

As i used dry chickpeas (for the first time i may add lol) i weighed out 246grams before soaking in water. Not thinking at the time DUH that the chickpeas will take on water overnight, which of course they did and so i ended up with twice the number of chickpeas app 500g. So that is a big point to note for any future dry bean recipes Asmaa, either randomly put as many dry beans in a bowl of water to soak over night and weigh the next day the amount required for your recipe OR dry weigh approximately half the quantity you need for your recipe, assuming all beans take on the same amount of water, I'm sure they don't!

Now onto the recipe...

Falalfel Recipe

Recipe adapted from Ya Salam Cooking and About.com

Ingredients

• 1 x 400g Net Weight =246g after being drained and rinsed OR approximately 123g dry chickpeas = 246g after soaking overnight
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons coriander or parsely, finely chopped
• 1 egg or equivalent in egg replacer plus water required (i used 1 heaped teaspoon orgran no egg plus 2 tablespoon water)
• 2 tablespoon chickpea flour also known as gram flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground paprika or hot chilli pepper flakes
• 1 galic clove, crushed
• Sunflower oil, enough for deep frying

Method

1. If using tinned chickpeas, drain and rinse, pat dry with kitchen paper. Or if like me your using dry chickpeas, soak overnight then drain, place in pan with frsh water, bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes and then reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for an hour. Drain and allow to cool for around 15 minutes.
2. In a food processor add chickpeas, garlic, onion, egg or egg replacer, spices, seasonings, flour and herbs and process until you get a thick paste that is fairly smooth but still with a little texture.
3. Heat the oil to 180C, Shape mixture into as many patties or balls you require. I used a ice cream scoop for the patties and 1 tablespoon of mixture for each of the balls.
4. Deep fry patties for 4-5 minutes and balls for approximately 2-3 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and then serve any way you like, but for most pita, salad and tahini are a must where as i like serving mine as part of a salad or in homemade mini baguettes/bread fingers, salad, cream cheese, mayonaise and or tomatoe ketchup.

Chickpea and Lentil Soup With Homemade Wholemeal Bread

Salam Alaikum / Greetings readers,

Today I present to you a simple and comforting meal which is suitable for the plummeting temperature that comes with the change of season here in England.      

Homemade wholemeal bread can be heavy but not if you follow my recipe i promise! the only 'out there' ingredient that the original recipe called for, was a vitamin c tablet... as i didn't have one of those to hand i missed it out completely and still ended up with a loaf which was light, tender and a good nutty flavour comes from using wholemeal / wholewheat flour which is more expensive but healthier than bleached white flour.
 
You do get what you pay for in this instance although i should think processing flour to make it white would end up costing the manufacturer(is that the right word?) more in the long term?  
 
Now soup, my children are not yet lovers of spicy food. Even a pinch of black pepper is pushing it with my 3year old son but alhamduillah my daughter seemed to enjoy this while he stuck his nose up at it and ate the bread. I know it's common thing for toddlers to be picky eaters so i try not to worry too much, some days i will cater to my son's picky ways more than others because at the end of the day i don't want to be cooking separate meals for everyone for the rest of my days...am i alone on that?
 
Let's get down to the nitty gritty the recipes, peace until next time inshaAllah
 

Wholemeal Bread

Makes: 1 loaf (i use a 30x10x5cm loaf tin but you can use any you have but you will need to adjust the baking time i.e. keep checking after 3/4 of the time is up)

Ingredients

425g / 3 ½ cups strong wholemeal bread flour

50g / ⅓ cup plus 1 tbsp strong white bread flour

1 x 7g / 2 ¼ tsp sachet easy blend fast action yeast

1 ½ tsp salt

3 tsp brown sugar

up to 400ml / 1 ¾ cups warm water

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

 
Measurments in green colour are estimates.

You may need extra olive for work surface if kneading by hand

Method

1. Put the flours, yeast, vitamin powder (if using), salt and sugar into a bowl and mix well. Add 300ml water, and stir in well, then pour in the olive oil and work in well. You should have a soft, sticky dough: if not, add a little more water. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.
2. Tip out on to a lightly oiled work surface, if using a stand mixer leave it in the bowl! Knead for 10 seconds, then put back in the bowl and cover. Repeat twice more at intervals of 10 minutes, then leave the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
3. Flatten the dough into a rough rectangle about the length of your baking tin, then roll up tightly, and put into a greased tin, with the join facing downwards. Cover and leave to rest in a warm place until it has doubled in height (at least 1½ hours).
4.  Pre-heat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/430F/Gas Mark 7 then turn the temperature down to 200C/180C Fan/390F/Gas Mark 6 and cook for a further 15–20 minutes, until the crust is a deep brown, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Turn out on to a cooling rack.

Chickpea And Lentil Soup

Serves: 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 toddlers

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

½ tsp fennel seeds

1tbsp tomato puree

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp ground Cinnamon

1 tin chopped tomatoes (400g)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp brown sugar or to taste

1 stock cube dissolved in 2-3cupswarm water

¾ cup lentils that have been rinsed, soaked over night

1 ¼ cup canned chickpeas,drained and rinsed

3 sprigs coriander

1 dried bay leaf

salt and pepper, to taste.

Method

In a medium sized pot with a lid, heat the olive oil at medium heat and add onion and fennel seeds, cook gently for about 10minutes or until onions are translucent, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoe paste, spices, garlic and a tiny amount of water to prevent spices from burning, sauté for a few minutes before adding chopped tomatoes, bay leaves and sprigs of coriander. Turn up the heat to high and bring to boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

Add your stock (the cube mixed with water), lentils and chickpeas (you can leave the chickpeas out until 10minutes before the end but i like to add them now).

Season with a little salt, pepper and sugar remember you can add more once the soup has reduced a little and the flavours have melded together. Cover pot and let simmer for about 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Check for seasoning, add more of salt, black pepper and sugar as you like. Remove bay leaf and coriander sprigs before serving.

Snack / Cereal Bar - Recipe Template

This template is back from my school days when i studied food technology/home economics, we were tasked with designing a healthy cereal bar. The baker in me was graded a B and although i was keen on baking back in the day, i never thought of pursuing it as a career choice as i was also a bit of a science geek too,Which is funny because people say baking is a science!

Tomorrow i will post my Blackseed and Honey Oat bar recipe but until then here is the template recipe which it is based on

Ingredients

125g Butter/Margarine  or 100g Vegetable fat/shortening
125ml Clear honey /Golden syrup/ Date syrup/ Agave nectar/ Maple syrup etc or a combination
75g Brown sugar (light or dark)

250g Cereal
Rolled oats/ Crushed branflakes/ Muesli mix / Puffed rice cereal, OR Crushed biscuit crumbs/ Popcorn etc

25g Chopped nuts or seeds
Peanuts/ Hazlenuts/ Walnuts/ Cashews/ Almonds/ Chestnuts/ Pistachios/ Pine Nuts/ Brazil Nuts/ Shredded Coconut/ Sunflower seeds/ Watermelon seeds/ Pupmkin seeds/  Sesame seeds(Tahini paste would work too) or any other that takes your fancy

25g Dried Fruit
Sultanas/ Figs/ Dates/ Raisins/ Currants/ Apricot/ Apple/ Peach/ Pear/ Banana chips/ Candied Peel/ Glace cherries, pineapple/ Pomegranate or Passion fruit pips and pulp

Other Flavourings you might like to try
Stem Ginger, Chocolate chips, Vanilla, Lemon, Lime, Orange Zest, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Coca, Coffee Powder

YOU WILL NEED
Saucepan, wooden spoon, tablespoon,greased baking tray (18x28cm ideally) or foil dish, knife, cooling rack

1. Set the oven to Gas 4/ 180C/ 160C Fan/ 350F
2. Melt butter or alternative, honey/syrup and sugar in the saucepan over a low heat.
3. Stir in the cereal, nuts/seeds, fruit and any other flavourings mix well.
4. Spoon into a greased baking tray and smooth down/spread to an even consistancy.
5. Bake for 20-30mins (bars should be golden with darker edges), cool for 2mins, cut into slices and remove from tray. Leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.

You may want to coat the bars or layer them(depending on their thickness i.e. which size tray you use.)

Make these bars as healthy or indulgent as you desire. Experiment and enjoy something new for breakfast or snack throughout the day.

Free From Friday - Vegan & Gluten Free Courgette/Zucchini Fritters

Asalamu Alaikum / Hi everyone,

Courgette or Zucchini? Well here are a few interesting foody facts:

• The term Zucchini has an Italian origin while courgette is relatively French.
• Zucchini is used by those people who speak North American and Australian English whereas courgette is used by those who speak French, British, New Zealand and South African English.
• Zucchini and courgette are the same plant veggies but are used to refer to that same plant, which is growing across its different stages of plant development. The courgette is smaller and estimated to be about 14 x 4 cm long whereas the zucchini is bigger, which is estimated to grow as big as 15-20 cm.                                                     Source

So now we are all aware of the difference, let me say either can be used in this recipe and you will still achieve the same tasty results, inshAllah.

Adapted from smittenkitchen

Makes: About 7 fritters

Ingredients

450g/1 pound courgette/zucchini
1 teaspoon salt, plus extra to taste
1 small white onion, finely diced
1 tsp no egg (natural egg replacer) mixed with 2 tbsp water
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 teaspoon wheat free baking powder
Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying

Essential Equipment
Baking sheet
Food processor fitted with grater attachment / Grater
Sieve
Ice cream scoop

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C Fan/200C/325F, place baking sheet in oven until it's needed. Stir together rice flour and baking powder in a small bowl, In a small cup mix egg replacer with water, set aside.
2. Weigh Courhinni lol see what i did there, Cut ends off and Grate them using a food processor fitted with the grater attachment, please be careful of your fingers!!!. In a large bowl, toss courgette/zucchini with 1 teaspoon salt and then transfer to a sieve set over a bowl and leave for minimum of 10 minutes. Squeeze out the remaining water from the courgette/zhuccini by pressing it with a spoon against the holes of the sieve.
3. Place the dehydrated mass back into your large bowl. Taste and if you think it could benefit from more salt add 1/4 teaspoon or to taste, stir in onion, egg replacer and black pepper, at this stage you could also add a few spices or herbs such as dill/parsley. Stir the flour mix into the batter.
4. In a large frying pan(i really need a skillet as they are much better) heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Using an ice cream scoop as your measure, drop dollops of your batter onto the frying pan, only a few at a time so they don't merge together,  flatten as much or little as you prefer with the back of your spatula. Cook the fritters over medium heat until the edges at the base of the fritter are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turnover the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned underneath, about 2 minutes more. Pat briefly on paper towels then transfer to your hot baking sheet and then into the warm oven until needed. Repeat proces with remaining batter ensuring pan is well oiled each time. Make sure that the fritters have at least 10 minutes in the oven to finish setting and getting extra crisp. 

If your not afraid of the extra calories, deep fry  scoops of batter at 180C the scoops of batter for a minute or until the edges start turning golden. Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil, place on a baking sheet, flatten as desired, bake for 15-20mins or until needed.

Enjoy as a side dish or snack.

Free From Friday - Gluten, Dairy & Egg Free Gingerbread Biscuits

Salam Alaikum / Hi Everyone,


Today and for at least 1 Friday every month i plan to post a free from recipe.
The motivation behind this is my 1 year old daughter that has food allergies (Dairy, Eggs, Wheat) so my recipes will mainly be focused around the removal of those food products, although they may include more e,g, soya free.


Ginger is great in tea, curries, not to mention the famous gingerbread men, parkin the list could go on.


Wiki says

The traditional medical form of ginger historically was called Jamaica ginger; it was classified as a stimulant and carminative and used frequently for dyspepsia, gastroparesis, slow motility symptoms, constipation, and colic. It was also frequently employed to disguise the taste of medicines.

& 

Some studies indicate ginger may provide short-term relief of pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting. 

 

 Recipe Adapted from How to Make Gluten Free Vegan Cookies


Ingredients

• 1 cup Doves gluten free brown bread flour
• 1 cup Doves gluten free white bread flour
• 2 tsp baking powder (wheat free)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup light muscovado/brown sugar
• 1/2 cup golden caster sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan spread or shortening (i used soya), room temperature
• 1 egg equivalent of  Orgran gluten free 'no-egg' natural egg replacer combined with 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (again any vegan alternative should work), at room temperature
• Some granulated sugar for sprinkling on top of biscuits

Method

1. Oil a large baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC/160ºC(fan)
2. Mix the flours,baking powder, salt, and ground ginger together in a large bowl
3. In a separate bowl or in your stand mixer, cream the vegan spread or shortening and sugars until it's slightly paler in colour.
4. Mix the coconut milk and egg replacer into sugar mixture
5. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ones. At this stage you could add the zest of 1 lemon/orange. DO NOT OVER MIX.
6. Take a tablespoon of  the dough and roll into a ball, place on a baking sheet, repeat until you have about 17 biscuits or no dough left!
7. Flatten with the back of a spoon or fork and sprinkle the tops with sugar.
8. Bake them for 5 minutes, rotate the pan, and then bake another 4 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool a minute on the sheet before placing on a rack to cool completely.