Prawn Pakoras

Could this be the perfect accompaniment for an ice cold bottle of kingfisher beer? The answer is yes yes yes. I first had this in Kerala, sitting on a cliff edge in Varkala, Bob Marley blurring in the background, residual sand from the beach still nestled between my toes, in the searing heat of the post monsoon weather I was handed a brain freeze inflicting Kingfisher beer and prawn pakoras. Pure bliss. Indians are spice magicians when it comes to making something already wonderful taste extraordinary. Who would have thought that something that is this delicately spiced would be served as a bar snack! I feel it is an absolute travesty that we do not share the same interest in snacks because quite frankly I would rather choose prawn pakoras over a pack of pork scratching’s every single day of the week.

You will need:
4 heaped teaspoons of gram flour (ground chickpea flour)1 ½ teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon onion seed
½ teaspoon mango powder
1 green chilli finely chopped
1 ½ turmeric
½ teaspoon of chilli powder
½ teaspoon of ginger powder
½ teaspoon of garam masala
½ teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 finely chopped garlic clove
100ml water
2 tablespoons of fresh coriander finely chopped
250g raw Tiger King Prawns 

2 teaspoons sugar

This could not be simpler. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until the batter has no more flour lumps. Devein the prawns, this simply is running a knife along the back of the prawn and remove the intestinal tract from the prawn. Dip the prawn into the batter and deep fry in a pan of vegetable oil, at least three inches deep. Fry until golden brown. Serve with mango chutney, it’s delicious.

Pyttipanna

 Pyttipanna, roughly translated means little things in a pan. This is a classic Swedish dish that usually consists of diced and fried potatoes, onions and usually sausage. I suppose that this is the Swedish version of the English classic bubble and squeak, all I know is as a child if I came home from school to a plate full of pyttipanna I would be very very happy. The saying goes that less is more and this really is the case here, why complicate just a few simple ingredients, sometimes the most simple foods are the best. I'm a firm believer that if you ingredients are good that is half the battle won. For those of you who think they do not have time to cook, this is the dish for you, and it will not break the bank.

You will need:

2 German Bockwurst sausages (or substitute with mattesons smoked sausage)
2 large potatoes
1 red onion
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of Piffi Kryda (this is a swedish seasoning available online but if you cannot get this substitute this with all purpose seasoning)
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon of chopped chives

This recipes serves two hungry people.
Cut the Sausage and potato into roughly the same size cubes. Fry the potato in the butter on a low heat in a large frying pan. Season the potatoes with the piffi kryda and salt and allow to cook. When the potatoes are almost cooked through(nearly knife point tender) add the onions and sausage and continue to cook until the potatoes are fully cooked through. Add the chopped oregano and chives and toss together.
Top each portion with a fried egg. Yummy.

Singapore Chilli Crab

  There are certain dishes that I will always remember from my backpacking days, most certainly the food in Singapore made such an impression on me that I have always longed to go back. The wonderful thing about the Singaporean cuisine is how eclectic the food is, I think this is because of the huge ethnical diversity which culminates in the multicultural boiling pot that is Singapore. With such influences as Thai, Chinese, vietnamese, indian, Malay to name but a few, there is no wonder that the food in Singapore is so revered. I have very fond memories of both very smartly dressed business men and regular locals rubbing shoulders at hawker stalls munching away on the fiery crustacteans. If you love Seafood and a little fire in your belly this is the dish your you, wonderfully light but flavourful and completely antisocial and messy, to be eaten with a dozen napkins and with someone who will not think any less of you when you have sauce all over your face. 

You will need:

The Sauce

1 tbsp of sesame oil

1 tbsp Chilli Garlic sauce such at lee kum kee

100ml of tomato ketchup (that's right, you heard me!)

1 tbsp oyster sauce (I like thai boy oyster sauce)

4 tablespoons sugar

1 tbsp soy

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp shrimp paste

1 tsp chilli oil

1 tsp shriracha chilli sauce (I use Flying goose brand)

200ml water

Aromatics

4 tablespoons of chopped ginger

8 cloves of garlic chopped

4 stalks of spring onions chopped

2 lemon grass stalks (inner part only) finely chopped

3 tablespoons of chinese chives finely chopped

2 red chillies finely chopped (seeds removed if you can handle the heat)

Essentials

2 tablespoons of peanut oil

60ml water

1 tbsp cornflour

The Star

1 kg of blue swimmer crabs, raw not cooked (I bought this frozen at my local asian supermarket)

The finishing touches

A small bunch of corriander

1 sliced red chilli

3 sliced spring onions

3 tablespoons of chopped chinese chives

 Mix all the items for the sauce into a bowl and set aside for later.

Begin by frying the aromatics (see above) in the peanut oil, once you can smell the garlic add the crab and the 200ml of water.

When the crab is starting to turn red add the sauce and allow to cook throughly, this should take about fifteen minutes, I used a lid to allow the crab to steam cook.

Once the crab is cooked, mix the cornflour and 60ml of cold water together and add this to the crab to thicken the chilli sauce.

Finish with a scattering of all the above finishing touches.

Serve with steamed rice.

Super light Chocolate Mousse

My Husband Mark has such a sweet tooth, it is so bad that I'm almost certain that if I told him that he could only ever eat cake for the rest of his life I think it would suit him very much. There are certain things that you expect from your spouse once you embark on the long journey which is the sanctity of marriage, honesty , love, compassion and apparently cake? Now my husband is a modern man who does not feel that donning a pair of marigolds is in any way emasculating , but he does love the notion of a freshly baked cake or scrumptious dessert waiting for him when he comes home from work. I have to say I love spoiling him and if "daily dessert" was subliminally in the contract of our marriage, I'm only happy to oblige. 

  This weekend was our "Date night," the once a month spectacular when our beautiful son gets to keep grandma and grandad up all hours and allows us to sleep through. We always make sure you go to great lengths to make the most of our evening so this date night consisted of Singapore chilli crab, and of course my husbands dessert, and adult version of a childhood classic, chocolate mousse.

There is something incredibly comforting about a simple chocolate mousse, maybe it's the fact that it appeals to the inner child in most of us. Remembered flavours are usually the most soothing. 

You will need:

100g 70% cocoa solid dark chocolate
50ml water
50g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod
1 tsp espresso powder
A pinch of salt
3 eggs Separated
100ml double cream

 Place a small pan on a low heat cook the water and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and resembles a clear syrup, this should only take 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and add the chocolate, coffee powder, vanilla and salt into the warm syrup and allow to melt, keep stirring until fully incorporated. What will happen is the chocolate will begin to seize because of the water and create a paste rather than a glossy liquid. Do not panic, this is perfectly normal. When the paste has cooled beat in the egg yolks reserving the whites for later. When you beat the yolks into the paste it will begin to break it down and turn the paste into a thick glossy mixture.
Whisk your egg whites until they form stiff peaks, Beat in one spoonful of the whites into the chocolate so that the mixture loosens. Carefully fold the rest of the whites with a metal spoon or a spatula, be as gentle as possible so that you do not knock the air out the egg whites.
Once just incorporated whisk the double cream and fold this into the mousse mixture like the egg whites. Decant the mixture into glasses or ramekins, (I have used champagne flutes). This mousse will make four generous portions. For a finishing touch I have grated some extra dark chocolate over the top.

Thai Prawns

  I call this dish Thai prawns very loosely, you probably will not find this in Thailand as I have drawn on my knowledge of the Thai cuisine and created a dish using some of my favourite ingredients. Usually I'm a stickler for authenticity but sometimes it's just nice to play around in the kitchen and create something completely original to your own palate.I always find that as long as you use the best quality ingredients, you will find it makes a HUGE difference. The two key ingredients in the Thai prawns are fresh (and they really must be fresh) Kaffir lime leaves, these are now available in Sainsbury's so no excuses. Also Thai sweet basil, which is now available in Waitrose. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have heard chefs suggesting that if you cannot get hold of sweet basil just use normal basil, this is completely ridiculous as they are not even remotely similar. Sweet basil has a lovely aniseed flavour which you could only replace (at a push) by Tarragon, I digress but I will say all of these products are readily available and make a huge difference. This dish was extremely tasty and a complete success , I'm sure my husband thought the same after his three LARGE helpings.

You will need:

200g of raw king prawns 

1/2 tsp of shrimp paste (make sure you don't invite guests to your house the day after it tends to pong)

2 tsp sesame oil

1 lemon grass stick, the inner part only

6 garlic cloves

3 red chillies (mild large chillies from the supermarket)

50ml water

1 large red onion halved and sliced

2 medium tomatoes chopped

3 tablespoons of sugar

150ml of coconut milk

A pinch of salt

4 fresh lime leaves, stalks removed and finely sliced

A small handful of french bean top and tailed then cut into thirds

The juice of one lime

A bunch of sweet basil

3 tablespoons of fish sauce

A handful of salted peanuts roughly crushed

2 spring onions

Preparation is the key so try to get everything chopped and prepped in advance.

To make the dish go further I halved each prawn cutting through the back where the intestinal tract is and placed them to one side. Finely chop two of the chillies(reserving the third for later), garlic and inner part of the lemon grass, by this i mean the outer leaves removed, the inner part is very tender and you should have no difficulty chopping it, if you do you have not removed enough of the outer leaves. 

In a large frying pan or wok fry the shrimp paste on medium in the sesame oil until it begins to break down, this should only take a couple of minutes. Then add the garlic, chilli and lemon grass and fry until you begin to smell the garlic. Add the onions to the pan and the water so the garlic will not catch. When the onions have softened add the tomatoes and sugar, the sugar will begin to caramelise the onions, this is when you should add the coconut milk, fish sauce and salt. The reason I use both is because salt adds a roundness that fish sauce does not.

Allow to reduce for five minutes and add the sliced kaffir lime leaves, prawns and the french beans, cook for a further minute and turn off the heat, do not panic if the prawns are not throughly cooked they will carry on cooking in the residual heat.

Lastly add the juice of a lime, the sweet basil leaves and of course the crushed peanuts for texture, if you are allergic then you can leave them out.

I garnish the dish with the remaining chilli and the sliced spring onions. Serve immediately with rice.

Kladd Kaka

  Kladd Kaka roughly translated means sticky cake, very similar in texture to a brownie but made with cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate. What makes this cake so fantastic besides the "stick to the roof of your mouth texture" is the fact that you do not have to go out of your way to buy the ingredients, you will probably have them all already.

It's extremely simple to make, I made this cake with my niece Natalie. If you are making this on your own it will take five minutes, with children involved definitely longer.This is my late cousins recipe who was without question an amazing baker, but this was his stand out recipe.I have very fond memories of him bringing a Kladd Kaka to my grandmothers house and it would barely last the hour it was that addictive. Unfortunately we lost Kim but his memory lives on, even at his funeral the only food that was served was this cake and whipped cream. A very special cake by a very special person.

You will need:

100g melted butter (melt until nut brown, this give a lovely flavour to the cake)

300g caster sugar

1 tsp of vanilla extract or vanilla sugar

3 eggs

150g of plain flour

4 tablespoons of Cocoa powder

1 tsp of ground espresso powder

A pinch of salt

The coffee and salt is something that I have added because I think the cocoa in Sweden is richer, this is my way of trying to replicate the flavour of Kim's Cake.

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees c

Butter and line an eight inch tin(don't worry it does not have to be heart shaped). Melt the butter until nut brown, this almost add a caramel quality to the butter which makes a very rich cake.In a large bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and espresso powder. I then sieve this to ensure the mixture is lights and fully incorporated. Mix in the three eggs, vanilla and cooled melted butter.Mix until just combined and that is it! 

Bake at 175 degrees of 30-35 minutes or until the surface appears cracked. Do not worry about the centre being damp it is supposed to be that way.

Serve with thick cream or creme fraiche, it's amazing.

Falukorv

  To those of you who have never tasted, or heard of this dish (which I presume is most of you) a Falukorv is a Smoked and salted pork and beef sausage, not your typical sausage, more like a Frankfurter on steroids, it's huge. I probably should not say this but whenever my mother and I would go to Sweden for the summer we would make sure that we would bring a little slice of Sweden home with us, and by that I mean we would fill a suitcase with food LITERALLY. The craziest item we have ever brought home with us was an outdoor shower that we managed to take on board as hand luggage. To say that that was one of the most humiliating plane journeys would be an understatement. Like a drug mule my mother would fill my hand luggage full of cheeses, bread, sausages, even a whole smoked salmon, and of course Falukorv. It is completely delicious and very quick to prepare. This is not the average sausage that you can buy in your supermarket, however you could replace it with a smoked mattessons sausage but if you can get hold of the real thing do it, it's worth it.

www.totallyswedish.co.uk 

You will need:

1 falukorv sausage

3 tablespoons of Stark Swedish mustard (hot mustard)

(if you cannot get hold of this substitute it with Dijon mustard and a little honey)

One large sliced white onion

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees c.

Take the sausage and slice all the way along it without going right down to the bottom, almost in the style of a garlic bread. In each slit spread the mustard and add a slice of the white onion. The idea is that the mustard almost caramelises the onions and the slits fan out in the heat of the oven.

Place into a baking dish and cook for twenty minutes.

Serve with new potatoes and extra mustard.

nyppon soppa

Swedes love their chilled fruit soups, the most celebrated of which is the infamous Nyppon Soppa which are rosehip berries. I don’t expect you to pop to your local super market for a punnet of rosehip berries, these little berries may be growing wild practically on your front door step, and trust me, there is nothing more satisfying than foraging for food that is free. Make sure you know what you are picking, please do not eat anything that you are not sure about, the internet is a great tool to help identify wild fruits. Rosehips do not break down like conventional fruit but they do release the most wonderful perfume, the flavour is a cross between rhubarb and apple, though it is not tart so requires help from a couple of trusty lemons. I know that fruit soup does not sound like everybody’s idea of heaven, but try it with a lick of cream, you may surprise yourself.

You will need:
600 g rosehip berries
1600ml of water
The juice of 1 ½ lemons
8 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoon of corn flour

Measure 1500ml of water and pour into a sauce pan, add the rosehip berries and sugar, cook for 45 minutes with the lid on.

Using the remaining 100ml of water dissolve the corn flour into it, make sure that the water is cold because it will not dissolve properly if it is warm.

Add the lemon juice to the rosehip berries followed by the corn flour solution, stir well until the corn flour has turned the soup from opaque to clear and thickened. Turn off the heat and sieve to separate the berry solids from the soup. Allow the soup to cool and serve with a swirl of double cream. It’s fruit heaven.

Kaseberga Classic

Fried Herrings with Mash and Lingonberry

        Believe it or not this is classed as a fast food in Sweden. It is mainly found along the coastal regions. I first tried this dish in a town called Kåserberga in southern Sweden. It was one of the most comforting meals I have had, partly because I was completely freezing and yearning for some stick to your ribs food, this did not disappoint. Some may find the combination strange but it is extremely Scandinavian to have the sweet lingonberry jam as a condiment alongside mash potatoes. If you love fish I urge you to try it. This meal serves two people happily, so if you would like this as a family meal, double the quantities. Herring is one of the most affordable and sustainable fish available but is you cannot get hold of herring, mackerel works as an excellent substitute.

You will need:

2 herrings, filleted (your local fish monger will be happy to do this for you)
1 egg
6 tablespoons of plain flour
6 tablespoons of bread crumbs
½ teaspoon of white pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of butter

Each fillet begins the coating process with a light seasoning of salt and cracked black pepper, this is roughly a pinch of each per fillet.

You will require three plates, one for the egg, one for the flour and the third for the bread crumbs. Dip each fillet into the flour making sure to shake off the excess. Whisk the egg and dip each fillet into the egg. Mix the teaspoon of sea salt and white pepper with the bread crumbs and dip the fillets into them.

  In a large frying pan add one tablespoon of butter and turn on the heat to medium, when the butter is bubbling add the fillets a cook until golden brown, this should take three to five minutes. When you turn over the fillets to brown the other side add the second tablespoon of butter to help the other side brown. Remove from the pan onto kitchen paper to drain any excess fat.
  Serve these breaded lovelies with the perfect mash and lingonberry sauce, if you cannot find this, substitute this with cranberry or redcurrant sauce.

The Perfect Mash

You will need:

2 pounds of peeled and cubed maris piper or floury potatoes
2 tablespoons of butter
100ml of double cream
100ml of whole milk
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons of salt
1 teaspoon of white pepper
1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg

Bring a large pan of water to the boil; add the salt and the potatoes. The salt will penetrate and season right the way through the potato, so you will not need to season once the potatoes have been drained and mashed. 

Boil until the potatoes can be broken with a spoon. This should take 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your potato chunks. I usually cut eat piece into half inch sized cubes because they cook quicker.

When the potatoes are cooked and drained mash them using a potato ricer, this is the most effect way to mash the potatoes with ZERO lumps.

Add the butter, cream, milk, nutmeg and white pepper and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Lastly add the egg yolk and stir quickly so that the yolk does not scramble in the heat of the potato.

swedish strawberry cake

 

Nothing says summer to me like a Swedish strawberry cake.  I have memories of picking strawberries with my mum, desperately searching in each row of the red jewels for the biggest strawberry I could find. I have to confess that a large percentage of the days pickings always landed in my tummy before weigh in, but the rest would end up in this wonderfully summery cake. This cake does not poses the pretty spender of its princess cake cousin but what it does do is deliver bags of flavour.  The best part is that you do not have to be a seasoned cake expert to make it, the more rustic and amateur the cake appears the more endearing and characteristic the cake will look. The desired appearance is shabby chic, and what is more chic than a cake devoted to Wimbledon’s favourite pairing, strawberries and cream.

For the cake:

4 eggs
300g Caster sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
2 tbsp. Corn or potato flour
200g Plain flour
6 tbsp. hot water
1 tsp. baking powder

For the vanilla cream filling:
2 Egg yolks
2 tbsp. Corn or potato flour
1 vanilla pod split lengthways
300ml Double cream
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
3 tbsp. Caster sugar

In addition you will need two punnets of strawberries (roughly 800g)

A tin of peaches in juice (this is for a non- alcoholic version)

Or
150ml of amaretto liqueur, either one of these options are to moisten the sponge.

For the topping

300ml of double cream
2 tbsp. icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and grease a 23cm cake tin and line with parchment paper to the base and sides.

Start with the cake sponge, combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until the eggs double in volume and turn pale and fluffy. When you lift up the whisk, the mixture should leave a ribbon like trail. Sift the flours and baking powder together into the eggs and sugar, whisk until just combined and add the boiling water whilst whisking so that the eggs do not cook with the heat of the water.

Pour the batter into the tin and cook for 35-40 minutes, or until you can insert a metal skewer and it comes out clean.

Whilst the cake is cooking it’s time to make the vanilla cream.

Combine all of the ingredients into a cold pan (this is so that the eggs do not scramble, by introducing heat gradually will result in a smoother cream). Make sure that the vanilla pod is split length-ways and the vanilla seeds have been scraped out into the cream. On a low heat stir the ingredients with a whisk until the mixture is as thick as custard, this should take 5-10 minutes, do not let it boil. Sieve the cream into a bowl to remove any lumps and place in the fridge to cool.

When the cake sponge has cooled slice it into three layers, these will be quite thin but they are fairly robust. Slice one punnet of the strawberries into quarters. Take the bottom cake layer and place onto your desired cake platter. Drizzle the sponge layer with either the amaretto or the tinned peach juice, this depends on whether you want to be naughty or nice, this keeps the sponge moist Split the vanilla cream into two and spread the first layer with half, top this with half of the sliced strawberries. Top this with a second layer of sponge and repeat the process with the juice/amaretto, vanilla cream and strawberries. Drizzle the top layer of the sponge on both sides with your desired moistener. Place onto of the other two layers. Whisk the double cream, vanilla and icing sugar together for the topping, this should only reach soft peaks. Spread the cream over the final layer and decorate with the remaining half of the strawberries, I like to leave the stalks on the strawberries, I half some and keep some whole, this just adds to the rustic charm. To finish, dust the cake with icing sugar.

killer aubergine linguine

       I wish I could say that this dish was discovered during my travels, or a wise Italian grandmother told me the secrets to her signature dish but I fear I cannot. This is a made up creation that I love to cook on a rainy day, partly because it is a very warming cosy dish and partly because I like to make my own fresh pasta which requires a great deal of time and patience. I am not suggesting you do the same, but if you want to give it a try, it’s well worth the effort, there is no comparison to homemade pasta. The sauce for this pasta is a combination of my favourite popular Italian ingredients thrown together, in a hap hazard like manner and do you know what? It works! This dish serves two greedy people or four normal portions.

You will need:

250g of linguine
For the sauce:
5 tablespoons of good olive oil (it’s a lot I know but this is a treat)
4 large garlic cloves finely chopped
1 small dried chilli or a pinch of dried chilli flakes
2 tablespoons of freshly chopped oregano
2 teaspoons of sugar
100ml of vodka
15 slices of thinly sliced Milano salami, chop into quarters
1 small aubergine diced into inch cubes
400g of cherry tomatoes sliced in half
4 tablespoons of double cream or two tablespoons of mascarpone cheese
1 teaspoon of salt (sea salt is less harsh than table salt)
1 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons of black olives chopped
A small bunch of basil chopped (roughly 4 tablespoons worth)
1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar

In a saucepan pour the oil and add the garlic, oregano, chilli and black pepper, then turn on the heat, when you start the smell the garlic add the salami and the cubed aubergine fry this for five minutes. Add the tomatoes, vodka, sugar, vinegar and salt, place the lid on the pan and continue cooking for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile place your linguine into a pan of boiling water, make sure the pasta water is well salted with at least 3 tablespoons of salt. Italians say that you should always make sure your pasta water is as salty as the Mediterranean.
 Lift off the saucepan lid and reduce the sauce for a further five minutes. Lastly stir in the cream, olives and basil and turn off the heat. Drain your cooked pasta and add it into the sauce, toss well and sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of grated Parmigianino cheese.

Sri Lankan Squash curry

I have such great memories of this Sri Lankan curry because my husband and I honeymooned is Galle, Southern Sri Lanka. We could not get enough of the squash curry, and if it’s one thing that Sri Lankans know how to cook is a dynamite vegetable curry. I think we spent most of our honeymoon thinking of our bellies because the flavours are irresistible. The difference between a Sri Lankan curry and an Indian curry is regional produce and availability. Coconuts, lemon grass and pandan leaves are in abundance in Sri Lanka, so the food is fresher and lighter but packs more heat. It is the perfect cross between Thai and Indian food, without the heart clogging ghee and cream. As for me the best thing about this cuisine is that it is quick.

You will need:
Two tablespoon of coconut oil
2 small sliced squash (roughly 200g)
½ a large white onion
8 chopped garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of onion seed
2 tablespoons of fresh curry leaves or if you can get pandan leaves use two 2 inch pieces instead
1 two inch piece of cassia bark stick
4 cardamon pods
3 whole cloves
½ teaspoon of chilli powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 heaped teaspoon of Sri Lankan Curry powder (see below)
100ml water
1 lemon grass stick
1 can of coconut milk
2 teaspoon of salt
3 teaspoons of white sugar

In a sauce pan heat up the oil on a high heat and fry the curry leaves/ pandan leaves, onion seed and onion. Cook until lightly golden and add the lemon grass, cassia bark, cloves, cardamom, turmeric, chilli powder and Sri Lankan curry powder. Cook this for five minutes, this is so that this opens up the flavours of the spices and does not leaves a chalky after taste to the finished dish.Add the garlic and chopped chilli followed by the squash and water. Add the coconut milk, salt and sugar and cook for 10 minutes until the squash is knife point tender. Serve with fluffy basmati rice or with the traditionally Sri Lankan Red rice.

Light Sri Lankan Curry powder:

2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

1 teaspoons of fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

1 small cassia bark stick broken into pieces

4 cardamon pods

4 cloves

2 inch piece of pandan leaf

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Add all of the whole seeds into a dry frying pan (please make sure that you remove the seeds from the cardamom pods, I am sorry to report that they look a little like mouse droppings). Lightly toast the seeds for five minutes until you start to smell the aroma coming from the spices, pour into a pestle and mortar and grind like crazy until you are left with a fine powder. Alternatively buy this ready made in any Indian or continental store, it still tastes great.