The Back Yard Lemon Tree

Indian Food, Recipes, Side dishes, Vegan

Easy Bengali Zucchini Sabzi with Panch Phoron Spice Mix

This zucchini epitomises the best of Indian home-style cooking, simply spiced and freshly made. You will never find this kind of vegetable sabzi on a typical Indian restaurant menu, it’s far too simple and homely. It uses the Bengali five spice mix panch phoron, a mixture of – cumin, fennel, fenugreek, nigella and mustard seeds.…
View recipe: Easy Bengali Zucchini Sabzi with Panch Phoron Spice Mix
Cakes, Cookies, Biscuits and Sweet Things, Recipes

Magical Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble | Quick and Delicious

There is something magical about the combination of strawberries and rhubarb. I recently went out for dinner and had a strawberry, rhubarb and ginger mocktail which was truly sensational. Strawberry and rhubarb jam is my all time favorite jam. A couple of months ago I made a stupendous strawberry and rhubarb pie to take to…
View recipe: Magical Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble | Quick and Delicious
Recipes, Salads, Side dishes, Vegan

Crunchy Chinese Celery Salad with Spicy Chilli Crisp

We don’t celebrate celery enough. How many times have you bought half a bunch of celery because you couldn’t work out to with the rest of the bunch. This salad solves that problem for you: it tastes sensational, uses five large stalks of celery, but it also keeps excellently in the fridge for a few…
View recipe: Crunchy Chinese Celery Salad with Spicy Chilli Crisp
Cakes, Cookies, Biscuits and Sweet Things, Recipes

Why British Hobnobs Are the Perfect Dunking Biscuit

A couple of months ago we went to a friend’s place for lunch and my son was introduced to the delights of chocolate coated hobnobs. It’s hard to believe it took twelve and a half years for my son to taste his first chocolate hobnob but once tasted you can never go back. He’s now…
View recipe: Why British Hobnobs Are the Perfect Dunking Biscuit
Indian Food, Pulses – Beans, Lentils, Recipes, Vegan

Sensational Adzuki Bean Dal | Madhur Jaffrey Recipe

Adzuki beans are not something I associate with Indian food so when a friend first told me about this adzuki bean dal I thought it was some kind of macrobiotic hippy/ Indian fusion dish. In fact adzuki beans are used in all over India where they are known as red chori beans. I’m glad…
View recipe: Sensational Adzuki Bean Dal | Madhur Jaffrey Recipe
Preserves, Condiments, Sauces, Recipes, Side dishes, Vegan

Quick Carrot and Cucumber Pickle Recipe

I love pickles and quick pickles are so good because you can whip them up with very little effort and you know exactly what’s in them. This pickle makes an excellent side to all coconut based curries, it’s great on sandwiches of all kinds and I’ve also used it in Vietnamese Banh Mi style rolls…
View recipe: Quick Carrot and Cucumber Pickle Recipe
Appetisers, Snacks, Dips and Spreads, Recipes, Vegan

Delicious Coriander Pesto: Perfect for Noodles and Tofu Dishes

Last week, I had to go away to Melbourne for five days and I spent a couple of days clearing out the fridge. I made some laksa paste and a shallot, ginger, chilli paste for a Burmese curry base. Things were going well and I was feeling pleased with my thrifty frugal house-wifery when I…
View recipe: Delicious Coriander Pesto: Perfect for Noodles and Tofu Dishes
Recipes, Side dishes, Vegan

Easy Indian Carrots and Green Peas with Fresh Coriander | Aromatic Vegetarian Side

Peas (almost always frozen) were a staple vegetable when I was growing. I’m still partial to peas as a vegetable and I always have a packet of frozen peas in the freezer, though I don’t dish them up for dinner quite as much as my mum used to. I particularly love peas and rice as…
View recipe: Easy Indian Carrots and Green Peas with Fresh Coriander | Aromatic Vegetarian Side
Pulses – Beans, Lentils, Recipes, Soups, Vegan

Aromatic Vegan Thai Red Lentil Soup by Yotam Ottolenghi

Finally, Sydney has a bit of a cold snap, making it feel like a proper winter at last. In the cooler months, there’s no such thing as too much soup. This Thai red lentil soup from Yotam Ottolenghi is wonderfully aromatic, rich and warming. I’ve doubled the original recipe because I found it didn’t quite…
View recipe: Aromatic Vegan Thai Red Lentil Soup by Yotam Ottolenghi