This is another dish that I tried on my quest for the ideal dish for the World Yogi day. it is called Methi Chole which means chickpeas with Methi leaves. The source of inspiration was Sailu´s Kitchen. An other great source of information concerning Indian cuisine is the blog of Nivedita which I can highly recommend. Thanks for your help Nivedia!

Preparation time: 15 minutes + soaking the chick peas over night

cooking time: 25 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

soak the chick peas over night. Then drain and rinse them. Boil them until they are al dente.

Graate the peeled carrots and put them with the diced onions into a pan for frying with some Ghee.

Soak the Methi leves in hot water.

Dice the peeled ginger and garlic and put into a mortar. Add the spices and some salt and mash the ingredients until they have turned into a paste.Add the paste to the vegetables and fry for a couple of minutes.

Remove the tomatoes form the can. If you have tasty and fresh ones to use, take fresh ones. Cube them tomatoes and add them to the frying veggies.

Now add the boiled chick peas to the pot, stir well, add a lid and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

In the end add the drained Methi leves to the the chick peas. Season with Chili and salt to taste. Serve with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

I was on a quest to find a suiting recipe for the World Yoga Day and certainly it should not be anything Mediterranean. Something Indian would fit though. I twittered a bit and got some help from Tina Foodina on the topic.

A good source of inspiration is Jisha, One page cook book and Mestolo.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Peel and dice the onions. Heat the Ghee in a pot and fry the onions in it on medium heat. After about 5 minutes add the chopped garlic and fry it shortly.

Heat the coriander seeds and the mustard seeds in a pan until they pop. Put them into a mortar adding the clove, the cinnamon, the chili the cumin the madras Curry and the Turmeric powder. Crush all well then add the peeled and diced ginger. Grind in the mortar until you have a paste like substance.

Peel and dice the potatoes. Cut the carrots into rings and add to the onion. Peel and cube the celery and add to pot.

Now add the paste to the vegetables and fry while stirring for a few minutes.

Cube the tomatoes and add them to the pot. Add the curry leafs. Put a lid on top and let it cook for 20 minutes. Season with salt and lemon juice. Serve with fresh coriander.

This Moroccan lamb dish is being served in the Casa Moro restaurant in London. I love theese sort of dishes where the lamb meat gets so soft that it falls off the bone. It as well is easy to make and requires hardly any preparation. Due to the seasoning, the lamb taste is not too strong.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

cooking time: 120 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Soak the saffron stigmas in a little bit of hot water.

Add the olive oil, the cumin, the cinnamon stick, the onion and the tomato to a pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the meat, a liter of water and the saffron with the water. Let it all boil on low heat for an hour and a half.

When the meat is tender add the peas and boil for an additional 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, serve with couscous.

I love lentils in anz form but this recipe is my favourite. Probably because my mother used to cook them this way, as a stew. Lentil stew is a hearty dish with few ingredients. Growing up in Tyrol, speck was added to the dish. An ingredient the region is famous for. Often some slab was added during the cooking process, which later was removed again in order to give some extra taste to the dish. Lentil stew I can always eat, sometimes with a sausage or just a piece of bread.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

cooking time: 30 minutes

simple recipe

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Soak the lentils over night in water. Drian them and put them to boil in plenty of water. They should be soft, but al dente after 10 minutes. Drain them once more.

You could be using canned lentils as well. In this case start form here.

Peel the carrots and slice them finely.

Peel and dice the onion. Fry both in a big pot with some oil on medium heat.

Cube the speck or bacon and fry it in a small pan until it is crusty.

Add the honey to to carrots and onions and mix well.

Cut the leek into stripes and add to the carrot mixture. Stir and fry for a minute then add the vinegar. Add the bay leaves, the bacon (speck), the mustard and the lentils and stir well. You might want to add a cup of water. The ingredients should be covered in liquid and simmer for 20 minutes.

Season with salt and peper. Ready to serve.