Garlicky Yoghurt Dip for Anything Anytime!

This is one of my perennial favorite dips. I can’t however entirely take credit for this recipe - It’s from a Dutch friend of mine. (Thanks JW!) I’ve tweaked the recipe just so and love it even more now. I’ve had friends finish an entire jar of dip in one sitting – so be warned, making the quantity you thought is enough is actually never enough!


Garlicky Yoghurt Dip

What you need:
1 cup thick Yoghurt
¾th cup Mayonnaise
5 pods Garlic (minced)
2 pods Garlic (bruised)
10 sprigs of Parsley (Chopped fine)

What to do:
Mince garlic, smash two pods using the flat side of the knife. Combine the yoghurt and mayo. Toss in the garlic and parsley and stir. Serve with Nachos/ Chips/ Nuggets/ Vegetable Crudités.

Bangers and Mash

Bangers and Mash = Sausages and Mashed potatoes. It’s called Bangers because if you don’t poke a hole in the sausages when cooking them, they tend to burst with a “bang”. This is a cheap and economical meal, but there is no compromise on the taste. It's a British favorite and generally there serve whole sausages in gravy. However, I like to slice and dice mine up, so that the rich gravy can coat each mini piece of yumminess (Don’t know if that’s a real word!). The best part about this dish is that I can have it for breakfast or lunch or dinner. Promise you the kids will love them…and so will you. Easy Breezy.


Bangers and Mash

Cooking time – 15 mins
Serves 4

What you need:
8 Medium Size Sausages (Chicken - I like the flavoured ones)
2 Tbsp Oil
2 Med Onions (sliced)
4 Tbsp of Barbeque Sauce
2 Tbsp of Water
Salt and Black Pepper
For the Mash:
800 gm Potatoes
6 Tbsp Milk
1 Tbsp Cream
50 gm Butter
Salt and Black Pepper

What to Do:
Boil water in a saucepan and toss in the sausages for about 5 mins. Drain the water and dice them up. Keep aside.

In the meantime, boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until soft. Drain and keep warm until ready to mash.

Heat Oil in a pan and toss in the slices onions till they turn pink. Then the sausages go in and we need to sauté for 5 mins, till they start turning brown. Now mix the Barbeque sauce with the water, to get a gravy like consistency and pour over the sausages. Stir fry for 2-3 mins till the gravy coats each piece. That's done.

Now mash the potatoes using a masher/ fork. Toss in the butter. The heat from the potatoes will melt it. Stir in the milk (adjust the quantity to how sticky you like the mash to be). Finally season with salt and pepper and mix in the cream.

Serve the Bangers and Mash with a nice Green Salad and you’re set.

Irish Cheese Pudding and some Beer

I would presume cheese and bread are staple items in anyone’s cupboard. No matter which way you combine them, you’re sure to have a comforting meal. You can almost call them a happy couple - Wonderful by themselves and more fun when they are together. So obviously I was game when I came across a recipe for “Irish Cheese Pudding”. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out what was so Irish about it, then I read about the magic ingredient - Dark Beer. Magic? Well, if you’re a beer drinker/Irish (they’re almost synonymous) the reason will be obvious to you. But for the uninitiated, .. the Dark Beer will make the Cheese Pudding moist and fluffy. And anyone who’s tried to achieve the same result without beer, will now vouch, that beer in a main course weaves it own little magic. So I made my cheese pudding and served it with a green salad and like the Irish say, “LoVely it was!”


Irish Cheese Pudding

Prep time - 30 mins
Baking time - 30 mins
Serves 4

What you need:
8 slices stale bread
60g softened butter
150g cheddar cheese, grated
4 eggs
1 cup Dark Beer / Chicken stock
1/2 cup cream
freshly ground pepper

What to do:
Preheat oven to 150 degree C (300F/Gas 2). Remove crusts from bread, butter each slice on one side only. Sprinkle two-thirds of the grated cheese onto four slices, sandwich with the remaining bread. Cut Cheese sandwiches in half diagonally. Well you can make pretty star shapes for all I care.. but we are trying to keep it simple :)
Grease a shallow oven proof dish with the remaining butter. Arrange sandwiches over the base.
Beat the eggs, beer and cream; Note: You can substitute chicken stock for beer or go half and half (Just making the recipe kid friendly!). You can also stir in a spoon of Dijon Mustard for more flavour. Pour mixture over the sandwiches, moistening each. Make sure you cover all the sandwiches and there is some liquid standing at the base. Let the preparation stand for 30 mins. This is where the happy union begins.
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and season with ground black pepper. Bake for 30 mins or until pudding is set and golden.
Serve with a green salad to make a complete meal. And more dark beer on the side wouldn't hurt either!