Whole Spice

Have you been following whole spices food journey on Instagram? My handle is
Meanwhile the year is inching towards Spring and Easter is here. The wet spell always leaves me craving for fried, savoury snacks. That is a lovely Indian trait I tell you. While it drizzled outside, I sat at home longing for Indian Chinese.
Lost no time sighing and whipped up a quick and dirty batch of broccoli, Gobhi Manchurian style.
Just toss broccoli or cauliflower florets in soy sauce, chilli flakes, white pepper powder, a touch of oyster sauce. Check for seasoning. Heat enough oil to deep fry.
Toss the florets in a flour-cornstarch mixture and deep fry for a couple of minutes. Drain and serve piping hot. Or if you are like me, fight with your husband over who gets how many before they even have a chance to cool down.

For those who live in Reykjavik, today was a lovely throwback to a beautiful spring day (which we didn´t really see in the Spring ;) ). The sun has been out and about and bright in all it´s buttery warmth, and we´ve all had an excuse to whip out our sunglasses for one last time before we blanket ourselves in the winter darkness.
My little summer project was to grow vegetables in our little balcony. I planted some carrots and radishes, alongside some Indian greens (dill, methi, coriander) and some herbs. But in true Icelandic fashion, the weather played havoc and not everything I planted survived.
Except, these guys. These sturdy little cocky greens took a whole 3 months of battering, but made it. I will stir-fry them with some rice. And that little radish, small as he may be, will be lovingly sliced into paper thin discs, sprinkled with sea salt and eaten with bread slathered with butter. Very french, very summer.
But most importantly, defiant, strong, and resistant, like we sometimes need to remind ourselves to be.

Have you been following on Instagram? I haven´t been a very good contributor on this page of late, but Instagram has been a little eating-shooting-writing outlet.
Follow and show us some love, eh? Lots of snippets from my travels, food musings and the ever present Indian deliciousness.
https://instagram.com/wholespiceland/

Whole Spice (@wholespiceland) • Instagram photos and videos Food enthusiast. Home cook. Indian making Iceland home.

Been away from the page, but I wrote a little something. Sun´s out, hope everyone is having a gorgeous summer! Psst..buy this skyr (no they didn´t pay me to say this :) )
http://wholespice.tumblr.com/post/124754510020/gamaldags-skyr

It has been a long sabbatical. Winters on the... - Whole Spice It has been a long sabbatical. Winters on the island can be very trying. Making a new place home is equal parts exciting, and equal parts daunting. Lack of warmth, both inside and outside your heart...

Kicking off the year with an all vegetarian session at Salt eldhús! Vegetarians and meat eaters alike will enjoy this, I promise. This will not be a soggy salad affair ;)

Grænmetisréttir eiga sér langa sögu í Indlandi og þeir kunna svo sannarlega að matreiða þá svo vel sé. Við mörg hátíðleg tilefni, þar sem indverjar vilja skarta sínu fegursta og bera á borð það besta sem býðst, eins og t.d. við brúðkaup, er uppistaðan í matnum nánast alltaf grænmetisréttir að sögn Shruthi Basappa sem kennir á þessu skemmtilega námskeiði.

Skráning hafin hér: http://salteldhus.is/is/bookevents/?date%5B%5D=&type%5B%5D=

Whole Spice is featured as part of a blog discovery initiative by Food Lovers Magazine. Can you say I´m excited? If you haven´t checked out the blog yet, do it now!

Blog
Ragi - Oatmeal Pancakes
By Shruthi Basappa

I have always loved pancakes, even before I had them. Reading about these American classics in novels, recipe books always had me intrigued and I had decided early on that I liked them and when I’d try them, I’d love them.

Thankfully, I do. Having had a baby I also realize the goldmine of opportunities the humble pancake offers. (Please note that I refer to American style pancakes, and not the crepe style Icelandic ponnukokur) Want to sneak in a vegetable? Grate a zucchini/ carrot in. Toddler going through a no egg/ no dairy phase? (Mine did) No problem, there are eggs and buttermilk to boot in here. Want to mix it up and make it an all-in-one meal? Switch up the flour base! Which is exactly what I did with these ragi pancakes. Ragi, or finger millet belongs to the millet family (duh), an inexpensive grain and staple food of multitudes in Karnataka, the state I hail from. It is ground to a fine flour and used to make rottis (flatbreads), dosas (fermented lentil-rice crepe kinda things) or ragi mudde (ragi balls, literally).

This recipe is a variation of these Heavyduty Pancakes I’d made earlier in the year.

For the complete story and a recipe of these delicious pancakes, visit tinyurl.com/lragnm3

Excerpted with permission from http://wholespice.tumblr.com published by Shruthi Basappa, who focuses on simple dishes like desserts, jams and pastas. Her writing style is nice and light and the blog also has great visuals. All content copyright rests with the author.

This post is part of a blog discovery initiative by Food Lovers to curate and collaborate with some of the most interesting blogs in the country.

I'd been saving these stalks of rhubarb for a summer tart with berries. But when the child fell sick, and the gloomy clouds are no help, nothing cheers you up like a tart. A mini tart is even better with it's dainty size.
The roasted rhubarb sits on a cold, creamy, bed of crème patisserie. (I didn't have cornstarch on hand, so subbed with rice flour. On it's own it reminds me of a super smooth phirni - Indian rice pudding variation.) Throw everything together on a buttery all-butter pie crust, and it is splendid.
How has your weekend been? How are you holding on to the last shreds of summer?
PS - Some slots still available for this month's cooking sessions. Write in!

Now taking bookings for September. All new recipes, all this month! Koli Barthad (a peppery, spicy chicken from the Malnad region), Mutton Saar (lamb curry in a coconut base, a family recipe), delectable desserts and more. Quick, satisfying, perfect to ring in the autumn. Call 696 6960 or write to [email protected]

The Skyrkaka I promised? It's up on the blog! It is luscious and delicious ;)
http://wholespice.tumblr.com/post/95011240785/summer-memories-have-been-a-recurrent-theme-on-the

Summer memories have been a recurrent theme on the... - Whole Spice Summer memories have been a recurrent theme on the blog lately. One can’t be blamed for that when you live in a place with a handful of sunny days. Literally. We have been enjoying sporadic sunny...

Late summer can only mean one thing - berry picking. I am totally down with this Icelandic tradition and look forward to it eagerly. It is serious business and my brother-in-law showed me the ropes and helped me pick my first ever batch of solbers, black currants. Can't get more Icelandic than a skyrkaka with foraged berries. That's what's coming up next on the blog.
PS - Even if I say so myself, this was utterly delicious! Simple, and screams summer in a bowl!

The rose petal jam has been a breakfast - snack - dessert staple at home. I'm plotting my way through for a lighter second batch. Want to make your own preserve? The recipe is on the blog! Would love to hear your thoughts about the same.
http://wholespice.tumblr.com/