Delhi Style Harlequin Squash

This pretty Squash makes a great side dish for an Indian Curry Night.

I really like the gentle sweetness and delicious Indian spiciness in this dish.

Ingredients

1 Harlequin Squash (or other Pumpkin/Squash)

1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds

1/2 tsp Nigella Seeds

1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds

1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns

1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds

5 dried Red Chillies

1tbs Coconut Oil

1 tsp Sea salt

1/2 tsp Amchur Powder

In a wide non stick heat the Oil and add the whole Spices, 

stir for minute then add the diced Squash and sprinkle with the Salt.

Mix well with the Spices then cover and turn the heat to very low. 

Cook until the Squash is nice and soft, stirring every now and then.

When the Squash is done squish some of the pieces and leave some for texture. Stir in the Amchur Powder to balance the sweetness. Lemon juice maybe used instead of Amchur.

The skin now has a nice chewy quality and the flesh is lovely and soft.

I'm not sure it will last until the rest of the Curries are ready,
I could eat it just as it is, right now!

Tapas, Pulpo alla Gallega

Now that the sun has come out to play again, I feel like socializing outside and gathering my friends around for a Tapas Party. 

I made a variety of Tapas, but the one I would like to share with you is the Pulpo alla Gallega. Otherwise known as Octopus Gallega style.

I first had this dish in Madrid, in our usual Tapas bar and loved it then. It's not often you come across Octopus in a shop here in the UK, so when I saw one in the freezer of an Asian supermarket, I had to have it.

Here is how I prepared it. 

This octopus was frozen, but if it is fresh it must be frozen first for a day, then defrosted. This helps the tenderising process.

Ingredients:

1 Octopus (Pulpo)

1 Onion

3 Bayleafes

Water

Sea Salt

Spanish smolked Paprika

A good Spanish Olive Oil

Place a large pot with Water onto stove, add 3 Bayleafes and a halved Onion and bring to a rolling boil. Salt will be sprinkled on the finished dish, so NO salt in the Water.

Rinse the octopus, then using kitchen tongues grap it by the head cavity and lover into the boiling water for 5 seconds. Take it back out for 5 seconds, lower again for 5 seconds. Repeat 3 times. This closes the pores and helps it keep the skin tight. (Or something like that... It's what they do in Gallega and that's this recipe, so just do it! :-)

After the 3rd time leave it in the water, bring back to simmering point then simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. At that point check with a small sharp knife at a thick part of the Pulpo, if it feels tender. The same way you would check if a potato is cooked. If it does, turn off the heat and leave to cool in the water. If it's still very tough carry on simmering for 10 minutes and check again. Keep doing it that way until it has reached the tender point. Cooking it for too long can make it toughen up again.

Finally take the octopus out and slice into bite sized pieces. Arrange on a platter or better still on a round wooden board. Sprinkle over the Sea Salt, Paprika and drizzle the olive oil. A final sprinkle of Paprika and serve. Room themperature is best.

My guests and especially my spanish friends loved it, so it was a winner for me.

Maafushi, Budget holiday for Tee Totals

There it is again, the old wise man's saying; 'If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.'

Well I do have nice things to say about Maafushi, a local island in the Maldives, that since 2010 opened it's guesthouse doors to tourists for very reasonable prices. 

First of all I like that the government changed it's mind about letting the locals make their own money from tourism rather then giving it all to the big hotel chains. Secondly the locals are doing a wonderful job, being some of the most welcoming, friendly and gently beautiful hosts I've encountered on my travels.

All of the Guest houses are very new and built to a high standard. Even better than expected for the price. A funny thing I noticed is that the menus have all exactly the same dishes. You'll find out what is actually available when you try to order something. Likelihood is that they don't have it. Though I'm feeling quite enchanted by that, and think it is only normal for an island like this, relying on daily incoming goods by boat. The food I did have was nicely prepared. 

In fact the seafood soup I liked so much, I will crave it forever after. I wish I had ask them for the recipe.

The excursions on offer are nice looking days trips to picnic islands, snorkeling, diving, fishing and all manner of water sports, and not at all dear. The guesthouses have their own boats and they charge the same prices, so no need to shop around. Definitely something I would recommend doing. In fact, do one excursion every day!

Unfortunately that's pretty much where it ends with the 'nice' things. 

On this occasion, and just because I think it's fair, here I will list some of the things I didn't like about Maafushi. 

First, there is still great need for development and cleaning up the shores from debris and floating water bottles. 

Then with the influx of money I can only hope that many of the local buildings will be made to appear more pleasing rather then being eyesores as they are now.

Also Maafushi's beach now allows tourists to wear bikinis. This is a good thing, I wouldn't really like to sit on a beach fully dressed, would you? The beach, by the way, for Maldivian standards, is pretty average when it comes to looks.

Finally my biggest bugbear however has to be the imposed alcohol absence.

Holiday I associate with having fun. On my usual holiday I will definitely have a drink at sunset, sometimes 2 or 3 and occasionally loose count. For someone to forbid me to have a glass of wine with my dinner or otherwise is just plain unacceptable. I realise it's a Muslim country, I respect the religion and will never question what they do or don't do. But I am not Muslim not even while I am on my holiday. I'm paying you my money to stay on your island and then I'm told that I can't do what is perfectly normal for me?

Not being able to have a drink, I associate with work, being in hospital or being imprisoned. Not with being on holiday. The sad truth is, I felt a little bit imprisoned on Maafushi.

One more thing that really needs to be improved is the acces to the island. One scheduled boat from Male at 1500, taking 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and one going to Male at 0730 is not enough. Who in their right mind wants to get up before the cockerel on their holiday or get to your destination at sunset, missing half of the day? 

Yes. My Rant is now over, you'll be glad to hear.

Will I return? Yes, provided the transport is better and I can have my glass of wine to accompany the stunningly beautiful sunsets.

Meanwhile I will miss the wonderful locals and staff with their warm smiles and friendly chats.