Bombay Beef, Lemon Saffron Rice and Homemade Naan

Hello again fellow food lovers! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I spent just over a week away, first at a Hot Rod run in Narrandera, catching up with family and old friends and then some time visiting my Nan. I love the Easter long weekend. Every year we travel down to attend the hot rod run, that I have been attending since I was 6 weeks old. I get to see friends that I often don't see at any other time of the year. And it is a great weekend, with great food, music, company and fun stuff to do, with the extra bonus of cool cars and awesome style. After the weekend I often hang around to spend some time with family because the town I grew up in is only 20 minutes away.

How I spent most of my long weekend. Relaxing with a view like this.

I haven't lived in Leeton for almost 15 years now, but I still have family there. While I love where I live and I have no desire to move back there, I love visiting once a year, returning to familiar places and seeing how the town has changed. I mean when I lived there we had just gotten Woolworths and that was a big deal. Now there is a McDonalds, Red Rooster, ONE set of traffic lights and other things I never dreamed of. But the heart of the town is the same, as shown by the out pouring of love, support and grief shown by the whole community following the tragic events surrounding the disappearance and murder of Stephanie Scott. Leeton is the kind of town where even if you don't personally know someone, you know someone who does or who has been affected by an event. My heart is breaking for a family and community in mourning. And I will admit that (as anyone who knows me can attest) this all hit a little too close to home and shook up a few of my own thoughts and actions.

Some of the hot rods in my family.

The other thing I love about returning to the Riverina? The food! There is no point beating around the bush, while Port Macquarie does somethings well and has a great hospitality industry, there is some food they just do better in the Riverina. I was enjoying the food so much (and posting so many facebook updates about it) that a friend had to ask if I was on a 'food-cation'. And if I'm honest that was pretty much what it was. I had a list of foods I wanted to eat and managed to tick them all off. Everything from Chinese, battered savs, pizza, to my version of bottled heaven, Portello and my favourite sweet treat, Junee White Gold (soft liquorice covered in white chocolate). The food was everything I remembered it to be, but I'm sure I put on several kilos! Haha

See what I mean about awesome style? This is one of my all
favourite dresses by Pigtails and Pirates.
Seriously check them out!

One cuisine we do have here at home that I have just fallen in love with is Indian. I have always steered clear of Indian as I am in no way a fan of hot, spicy food. In fact I am quite a sook. I can't stand it and I'm not a big fan of the taste of chilli, something that the rest of my family just can't understand. So while I am careful to order only mild dishes, I still often find them quite hot. I am growing to love the cuisine though so last weekend I decided I should try my hand at my favourite dish, and control the spice level myself. So like always I read quite a few recipes and adapted them to suit my own tastes. I also attempted a red lentil dhal, which was a complete flop. So just ignore it in the pictures. I am going to keep searching for the perfect dhal recipe.

I can't even explain how much I loved this meal. I wasn't terribly confident about making the naan, but it was far easier than I anticipated and was just plain awesome. All three of these dishes will go into regular rotation I think. In fact I cannot wait to make them again! So without further ado here are my recipes for Bombay beef, lemon saffron rice and homemade naan. Enjoy!

This week's tips/hints:
* I used imitation saffron powder as I had never cooked with it before and was too nervous about it to spend $14 on the real stuff.
* I found these great frozen cubes of ginger in the freezer section. I hate grating ginger and always end up with left overs in the fridge that go to waste. These were great, I just popped out the right amount of cubes, added them straight to the pan and the rest are in the freezer until I need more.
* I didn't add any chilli due to my own personal preference, so basically add as much as you want!
* Same with the garlic. I only added half a teaspoon as it upsets my mother's stomach. You might like to add a bit more.
* I cook most things in coconut oil these days but you can obviously fry in what ever you like.
*Finally I will apologise for the picture quality this week. I was far to excited to eat my feast and far to lazy and tired to stage proper photos. So sorry for the bad iphone pictures!

Bombay Beef, Lemon Saffron Rice and Homemade Naan

Bombay Beef

Ingredients
500g stewing steak/gravy beef
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 small eggplant, chopped
1 large potato, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic
1 teaspoon tumeric
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon tomato paste
400g chopped tinned tomatoes
200ml beef stock
240ml coconut milk

Method
Gently fry onions, carrots, potato and eggplant until it starts to soften.
Add the ginger, garlic, spices, tomato paste and beef. Mix to coat thoroughly.
Add tinned tomato and beef stock. Bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and add coconut milk.
Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until beef is tender and potatoes are soft.

Lemon Saffron Rice

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/4 cups basmati rice
4 cups chicken stock
1 whole lemon, zest and juice
1 teaspoon saffron powder
3 cardamom pods, gently crushed

Method
Place butter and oil in a large saucepan. Melt butter over a medium-high heat.
Once it is shimmery hot, add rice and stir to coat.
Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add saffron, cardamom pods, stock, lemon zest and juice.
Bring to the boil.
Cover and reduce heat.
Simmer until the rice has absorbed all the liquid (about 10-15 minutes).

Homemade Naan

Ingredients
4 cups plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup hot water
3/4 teaspoon dry yeast
3/4 cup warm milk
1 cup greek yoghurt
melted butter, for brushing
herbs for topping, option (I just topped mine with salt and pepper)

Method
In a medium sized bowl or jug dissolve sugar in warm water.
Add dry yeast and stir until dissolved.
Let sit for about 10 minutes, until mixture begins to froth and rise.
Add remaining dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl, form a well in the centre
When yeast is frothy, add warm milk and yoghurt.
Pour wet ingredients into the centre of dry ingredients.
Mix ingredients together with a wooden spoon or spatula. When dough starts to come together, use you hands to finish mixing, stop as soon as it comes together and forms a ball. It should be sticky.
Cover bowl with a damp tea towel and let sit in a warm place for 1 hour.
Divide dough into 8 equal balls. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into an oval shape about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick.
Heat pan over medium-high heat until quite hot.
Brush both sides of naan with melted butter and sprinkle with your desired herbs or spices.
Place in hot pan cook for 1-2 minutes, until you see bubbles start to form. Flip and cook for a further 1-2 minutes, until large toasted spots appear on the underside.
Place naan in a tea towel lined dish.
Repeat with the rest of naan.