Chocolate rethink - then try this tart!

Easter has many meanings. There's the religious one, naturally. Or the start of spring and new life. Or - for many - chocolate! It's estimated that 80 million chocolate Easter eggs are sold per year, and that's in the UK alone.

Culturally, it seems that Easter is an excuse to gorge on the brown stuff with impunity. This seems to go hand in hand with Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter. Chocolate is number one on the list of items that people give up for Lent, in remembrance of the time Jesus spent in the wilderness.  However, many non-religious people also participate in the process too, and I wonder if that is more of a control issue rather than a spiritual one - chocolate can be so moreish and addictive!

It's estimated that it takes 21 days to change a habit; when you exclude a food item from your diet, it takes about this length of time for your tastebuds to change too (see this old blog post for more tastebud info http://foodiesensitive.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/tastebud-tales.html). In this time, your body also changes the way is responds. Most chocolate is packed full of sugar and fat, which is why we love it so much! But if we take time to listen to our bodies and take note to how it reacts to different foods, you'll probably notice a difference to how you feel without a shed load of chocolate every day. When you start eating it again, especially after 40 days, your body will react differently, and often can make you feel quite unwell. The odd thing is, that's probably how you felt before the exclusion period, but hadn't recognised it as a bad feeling, just a normal one. It's amazing what our bodies deal with as 'normal'.

Now don't be aghast and think that I'm declaring you shouldn't eat chocolate - I wouldn't dare! And as recent research suggests, in certain forms and small amounts, cocoa is actually pretty good for us. Not only does it have iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc, minerals that help keeps the body functioning well, but it's also packed full of helpful antioxidants, sterols and flavonoids that can help blood pressure regulation, reduce cholesterol and potentially increase blood flow in the brain and prevent cognitive decline - I'm all for some of that!

To me, the issue is type and amount of chocolate. All the benefits of cocoa come with dark or raw chocolate. Milk chocolate is miles less effective and carries loads of sugar and fats which lead to weight gain, amongst other problems. Cheap chocolate bars only contain about 10% cocoa; the rest is made up of dairy products, sugar and oils, often hydrogenated (this changes the chemical structure and is toxic to us). And that fat and sugar combo is what makes us want to go back for more, as it triggers the pleasure centres in the brain, and boy those centres just love to be satisfied!
I'm really not keen on dark chocolate, so when I went dairy free it meant going without. Fortunately, I've never been that fussed, so it wasn't really an issue. But now there are so many dairy free alternatives on the market, it's easy to have a little chocolate indulgence every now and then. I buy my dairy free chocolate from Plamil (www.plamilfoods.co.uk) - great flavour and minimal additives. And there's something utterly decadent about buying a 7.5kg box of chocolate drops.......not all for me, honest! I use it for desserts at my supper clubs.

So if you overindulged over the weekend and are feeling rather sluggish and sick, have a listen to what your body is trying to tell you, and maybe have a rethink about your chocolate habits. Then when you've recovered, try this gorgeously yummy and healthy chocolate and coconut tart - it not only tastes good, but will make you feel good too!

Chocolate and coconut tart

Base:

1 cup hazelnuts

1 cup of dates, soaked for 10 minutes

50g cocoa powder

Filling:

400g tin coconut milk

1/4 cup (60ml) dairy free milk

1/4 cup cornflour

pinch of salt

1 cup dairy free chocolate 

Topping:

Toasted coconut flakes

First of all, make the base. Drain the dates and place in a food processor with the hazelnuts and cocoa powder. Blitz until everything is chopped up and well combined - add a little of the date water if you need to help it stick together. Spoon out into a loose bottomed round cake tin and press down firmly so the base sticks together, covering the bottom of the tin. Pop in the freezer whilst you make the filling.

Mix the cornflour and dairy free milk together in a small bowl and put to one side. Heat the coconut milk in a small pan. When it is warm but not boiling, add the dairy free chocolate and salt and stir until melted and smooth (a couple of minutes). Slowly pour in the cornflour mix and continue to stir until it thickens, approximately 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little. 

Remove the base from the freezer and pour in the filling. Place in the fridge to firm up for about 8 hours or leave overnight (if you're short of time, pop in the freezer for a few hours but keep an eye on it). To serve, sprinkle toasted coconut flakes over the top, and enjoy!

Curry comfort

Our time living in Indian widened our horizons in many ways. Food wise, we discovered a cornucopia of different South Indian 'curries' most of which we had never come across before in the UK. Most curry houses in the UK serve North Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani routed food, adapted to the British taste (lots of sauce!). These dishes tend to be rich, tomato based, heavy with cream and featuring meat. South Indian food consists of a huge amount of vegetarian dishes, many enhanced with coconut, either milk or freshly ground, making them rich but not heavy.
Coconut is a regular ingredient on my blog - I love it, not only for it's wonderful creamy taste, but it's amazing health benefits. Coconut meat and milk are high in fat, there's no getting away from it, but the fat is medium-chain saturated fats which research shows is actually health promoting rather than detrimental like many saturated animal fats. And of course, being plant based, it contains no cholesterol, a fact my friend was surprised about when I told her. Placed on a cholesterol reducing diet by her GP (better than being given statins that's for sure), it was on the list of food to avoid due to  it's high cholesterol content. In fact the oil in coconut helps improve a person's cholesterol, increasing healthy HDL cholesterol.
Lauric acid is one of the main fatty acids in coconut; this converts to other compounds in the body and had an array of beneficial effects including acting as an anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and if eaten as coconut meat, the fibre promotes these properties, contributing to a healthy gut.
I love to make vegetable Malabar curry on a cold and windy day as there's just something so warming and comforting about it. Rich and flavoursome, I feel wrapped in a soothing warmth. Malabar curries come from the Kerala area, often as a fish curry. Although truly Indian, it has Chinese roots and developed along the coast. The warm, comforting element comes from the inclusion of a mixture of cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, all medicinal herbs in their own right. Cloves have an anti-inflammatory effect as well as a mild anaesthetic (oil of cloves for toothache), cinnamon has compounds that aid digestion and help reduce muscle spasm (amongst other effects) and cardamon is sometimes used as an anti-depressant.
Make this super healthy by using red, orange and green vegetables, packed full of nutrients and anti-oxidants to keep the winter bugs at bay. And of course by using coconut, it's completely dairy free.
Although there is a long list of ingredients in this recipe, it's actually pretty easy to make. You can buy a malabar curry mix from your local Indian store, but be careful, as these can contain a large amount of salt. It's pretty easy to make your own, so I make it fresh each time. Serve this up on a blustery evening with a warm roti or pile of steamed rice (brown of course!) and let yourself be enveloped with a soothing warmth which, with any luck, will transport your mind, if not your body, to warmer climes.
Vegetable Malabar Curry

Spice mix:
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 whole cloves
4 cardamon pods
Vegetable mix:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 spring curry leaves
Asafoetida - pinch (miss if you can't find it)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
2 onions chopped
2 fresh tomatoes, pureed
1 cup chopped carrot or sweet potato
1 cup green veg (beans, broccoli)
couple of handfuls sweetcorn or peas
1 tin coconut milk
up to 1 cup warm water
fresh coriander to garnish
First, make your spice mix. Bash the cardamon pods in a pestle and mortar to release the seeds. Grind seeds with the cloves until fine and mix in the cinnamon.
Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the mustard seed, asafoetida and curry leaves until the seeds splutter. Add the onion and ginger and cook until the onion is soft. Pour in the pureed tomatoes and a pinch of salt, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the chilli powder, turmeric, spice mix, vegetables and mix well to coat. Pour in the water and simmer with the lid on until the vegetables are cooked.
Turn off the heat and pour in the coconut milk. Stir well and heat on a low flame for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed, sprinkle the fresh coriander over the top, and enjoy!

Happy Earth Day - have some gorgeous squash soup to celebrate!

Whilst every day really should be Earth Day, it is good there is a day once a  year which highlights the absolute amazingness and beauty of this gorgeously unique planet we live on.  We need a reminder to pay attention to something that we just take advantage of and abuse every moment. If there was a galactic Social Services, I think our precious Earth would have been taken into care by now!

Even though there are those who still refuse to acknowledge the existence of global warming (like those in the past who refused to believe the Earth was round…..), it's difficult to escape the effects that we, the human race, have on our eco systems. As Brits, we just love discussing the weather, and there's been lots of that going on to raise a few questions! Most of us try to make adaptations to help the environment - reduce plastic, recycle, shower instead of bathe etc - but these actions will only have a small impact on a global scale. 
However, changing to a plant based way of eating is the single more important change we can make that can have a direct impact on the environment. Whilst this may seem like a huge claim, you just have to look at the environmental impact of meat production to see where vast amounts of natural resources go.
Bearing in mind less than 50% of the world's population eat meat in the first place, the shear number of livestock which need supporting is immense - 17billion! Just check out these other statistics:
   * 30% of the world's land mass is used for raising animals for food
   * 11 times as much fossil fuel is needed to create meat products compared to plants
   * In the US, 70% of the grain grown is for animal feed
   * It takes 2400 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, whereas is takes 25 gallons to 
   produce a pound of wheat
   * By not eating that pound of meat, you could save as much water as not showering for 6 months!
A plant based whole food diet is not only good for our health, but our environment's too. Even making small changes will have an impact - if everyone reduced their meat intake by a few pounds a week, look how much water alone could be saved. But don't replace processed meat with processed meat alternatives, rather care for yourself as well as your environment and eat real food, complete with all the nutrients and gorgeousness that our wonderful planet provides.
So to celebrate, have some gorgeous soup that's just bursting with flavour and nutrients - a tasty reminder of what our Earth so generously provides. 
Roasted butternut squash, ginger and coconut soup
500g butternut squash, peeled and cut into large chunks (or any small squash or pumpkin, preferably local if possible)
few drops olive oil
1 onion
good thumb sized bit of ginger
2 cloves garlic
400g tin of coconut milk
salt and pepper
First, roast the squash chunks in the oven for 25 minutes or so until soft but not crispy brown. Roughly chop the onion, ginger and garlic, and pop in a small food processor. Blitz until very finely chopped. Heat the oil and add the onion, ginger and garlic mix, gently frying (add a little water to stop it burning). Cook for 10 minutes or so until soft, then poor in the coconut milk and heat through well. Add the roasted squash, salt and pepper to taste and lower the heat right down. Leave to simmer gently for another 10 minutes or so then turn off the heat. Once cooled a little, puree with a stick blender, adding a little more water if it's too thick, reheat gently and serve. 

Warming dairy free squash soup

Soup is an all year round staple in our house, but particularly during winter. And at the moment, I need all the help I can get to warm up, on the inside as well as out! When my children were small, the vegetable eating battle commenced as they started to express their opinion over what they would or would not eat.  I discovered that soup didn't seem to count as a problem. As long as it was smooth and didn't look like it might be too good for them (ie: not green!), they guzzled down fresh vegetable soup with no problem.
Over time, certain soups have become associated with specific events. There's 'Holiday Soup' - red lentil and tomato soup taken away in a big flask to eat on the journey to our holiday destination. 'Lunchtime With Friends Soup', a marvellously hearty vegetable and tarragon soup which never fails to impress. So feeling cold and missing the warm, sunny days of a Bangalore winter, I've turned to one of my favourite soups I've made over the last couple of years whilst we've been away - pumpkin (or squash), ginger, garlic and coconut soup - 'Warming Soup'!
Eating soup in India may seem a little odd, and I must admit it wasn't on the menu during the extreme summer heat, but somehow it didn't feel out of place. Small pumpkins are readily available all year round, as of course are the other main ingredients, so it was easy to buy and simple to make. And it's utterly delicious as well as dairy free, and pretty much free of any allergens which makes it suitable for anyone.

It's the perfect soup for a cold winters day, as the ginger warms you from the inside and the coconut makes you think of warmer climes! In ayurvedic medicine, ginger is used to fuel the body's 'fire', so it really does warm you up on the inside. It's well known for aiding digestion and apparently helps improve circulation, reduce inflammation and ease colds. Garlic also has warming properties and is great for helping to improve circulation and fighting off colds. Ginger and garlic together are the perfect winter pairing!
I used butternut squash for my soup but this works with any orangey pumpkin or squash. Butternut squash is pretty good for you too, with no fat, low in carbohydrates and offers a good amount of vitamin A and C along with  potassium, manganese and a tad of magnesium.
The weights and measurements for this recipe are approximates - it all depends on what squash you are working with, how much you have and how much ginger and garlic you like. I do like my ginger fairly pungent, so you may want to use less to start. It's important to add the coconut milk at the end and don't let it boil otherwise it may split. The soup tastes ok, but doesn't look as appetising! If your accidentally put in too much stock and the soup ends up too runny once the coconut milk has been added, don't worry - serve it in a mug instead of bowl, it still works brilliantly.
Warming winter squash soup
1 butternut squash/small pumpkin, skinned, deseeded and cut in to small chunks
1 onion finely diced
3 cm chunk of ginger, peeled and finely chopped (add more or less as desired)
2-3 cloves of garlic (varies according to size or taste) finely chopped
1 tablespoon oil
800mls - 1 litre vegetable stock (or water if you have a yeast intolerance)
200mls coconut milk
salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion until it starts to soften. Do not brown. Add the ginger and stir constantly for a couple of minutes, making sure the ginger doesn't burn. Add the garlic and fry for a minute or so. Tip in the squash, stir to incorporate then pour over the stock or water until the squash is well covered (you may need more or less water depending on how much squash you have). Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the squash is soft. Add the coconut milk and heat through without boiling. Turn off the heat and leave to cool slightly, then pour into a blender and blitz until smooth. If it's really thick, add some more water or stock. Season with salt and pepper then reheat gently and serve. Enjoy the warmth spreading through your body - it really is 'souper'!!

Yummy chocolate brownies - dairy free!!

There's not many people who don't love a chocolate brownie every now and then, but most of the ones you can buy in the shops have some sort of dairy content, either butter or milk. Most traditional recipes for homemade brownies have the same issue. Of course, if you have some 100% dairy free spread to hand, you can easily substitute this for butter, use a non dairy milk and voila! But when there's no spread available, there's a brownie gap in my cake tin!

The other challenge over in India is finding cocoa powder. There is a local brand, but it doesn't taste very good and tends to be grainy. Cadbury's cocoa is my favourite, and should be a staple in any dairy free cupboard! Unfortunately, it's been a good 4 months since I've last seen it in the shops, so I was really excited the other day to find a tin and smiled all the way to the checkout, getting a few odd looks from the locals on the way!
This recipe uses oil rather than spread, and still produces delicious, gooey brownies although they can be a little greasy. I've tried different oils for baking - coconut oil is supposed to be excellent and does give a great texture but changes the flavour of the brownie. I bought some lovely delicious organic coconut oil recently, made a batch of brownies only to realise the oil had gone rancid really quickly (the downside of coconut oil) and they really tasted revolting. It was very sad to see the brownies in the bottom of the bin! So I now use organic canola oil, but rapeseed or any non-aromatic vegetable oil will do. The raisins enhance the texture, and increase the gooiness inside.
For those of you with egg allergies, try using an egg substitute, and reduce the cooking time as the brownies are drier.

Dairy free yummy chocolate brownies

2 medium eggs

1 cup caster sugar

5-6 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup self raising flour

pinch salt

3 oz raisins
handful of chopped walnuts (optional)

Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and mix together well. Add the cocoa powder and oil, and stir well. Add remaining ingredients - use a little non-dairy milk if it's too dry.

Place in a greased square 8 inch baking tin and bake at 180oC for 20 minutes or so until firm on top but soft to the touch. Take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin, then cut into squares, remove carefully with spatula and enjoy!

Coconut water

I wrote an article earlier this year  about tender coconut water, the fluid found in the immature green coconuts sold by the roadside, for our local expat associations magazine. The virtues of coconut water are being discovered in the West and there is much discussion about its value as a post-workout drink, so I thought I'd write about it again here.

Coconut sellers are dotted all round the city, and next to any road in South India; vibrant green, occasionally mottled, nuts either piled up high forming a little stall, displayed on a hand cart or hanging off the side of  an old, rusty bicycle.  Normal tap water is not really potable, so these coconuts provide a safer option to assuage the thirst of the passing traveller - the fluid inside the green coconut is sterile as long as the nut is not damaged and there are reports that it has been used as an intravenous fluid in cases of severe dehydration when sterile normal saline is not available. Not one to try at home though!

Harvested from trees in clusters when they are between 5-7 months old, these immature nuts contain between 200mls-1 litre of sweet, unctuous water that is highly refreshing on a hot summers day and incredibly nutritious and healthy, and possibly the secret to youthful skin!! The water is contained within a gel like flesh on the inner lining of the nut and tastes very different to the milk taken from the coconut meat (see Cocoloco). This is the endosperm of the nut and contains simple sugars fructose and glucose. These sugars change and become more complex as the nut matures, as does the flavour. Once fully matured, 90% of the sugar content is sucrose which gives it a much sweeter flavour and higher calorie content.

Coconut water though is very low in calories - only 19 calories per 100ml - and contains excellent amounts of potassium and good amounts of calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, zinc and B vitamins along with an impressive array of amino acids, cytokines and other antioxidants. This is what makes coconut water such a great medium for rehydration, specifically the potassium content which helps the body to revitalise at cellular level. And probably why the sports and health foods industry are beginning to promote this as a wonder product - with a wonder price! Seeing a bottle of coconut water on sale in the UK back in the summer, I was stunned to see it carrying a price tag of £2.50 - they cost Rs 15 here (equal to 17p). 

Coconut water is a fantastic fluid replacement drink post diarrhoea, and much tastier than those revolting rehydration salts. My poor husband has been so sick the last few days with a nasty case of 'Bangalore belly' and has managed to recover drinking glass after glass of chilled coconut water. Lemon juice can be added to increase the flavour - I have a friend who added fanta, but not sure that's such a good thing (you know who you are!!).

Along with hydration, tender coconut water aids digestion (in Ayurveda it promotes Agni, digestive fire), its antiseptic properties kill intestinal worms, helps clear urinary tract problems, increases mental concentration, helps cleanse the liver and reduce jaundice and, apparently, is an aphrodisiac! So even with a hefty price tag, you can't really lose!

But that's not all! Tender coconut water is reported to be wonderful for the skin (as are other coconut products). It can help prevent prickly heat and reduces and soothes rashes from chicken pox, measles, sunburn and just general random itching. It's light, cooling properties soothes and calms. This is particularly useful in general skin care. If you have oily skin, tender coconut water can be used as a skin cleanser. For all skin types, it can also be dabbed on the delicate skin areas underneath the eyes - it soothes puffiness and hydrates the skin thereby reducing wrinkles. I must say, I've not tested this yet, but will soon and eagerly await good results!

So if you ever get the chance to stop at a roadside coconut seller, you can either drink it there and then (watch out how clean the straw is though!) or get the vendor to prepare the nut for easy opening at home, unless you happen to have your own machete in the kitchen drawer that is! Once opened, coconut water starts losing it's beneficial properties and if left more than 48 hours could turn bitter and unpalatable. I don't know how the coconut water that ends up on the shelves far away from their origins is prepared and stored, but it probably has lost a fair amount of goodies and maybe flavour. When I finally return to the UK at the end of the year, I'll give it a go and see how it compares. Maybe it will bring back some amazing memories!

Cocoloco

I love coconut. My love affair with that wonderful deep, sweet flavour started with my first Bounty bar and has continued ever since. In the days when I consumed milk, I would always chose coconut ice cream or frappe, or anything coconut flavoured, unless strawberry was on offer. Living in South India is ideal for me as coconuts are everywhere! It's a key ingredient in local dishes, and of course it's dairy free.

Coconut, and coconut trees, have so many different uses. According to The Coconut Research Centre, about one third of the world's population rely on coconut to some extent for food or income. The insides of coconuts are used in cooking, for health and skincare, but the shell, leaves and wood from the tree all have different uses too. The compound I live in has a whole area dotted with trees which provide lovely shady areas and a batch of highly sought after nuts. Some even grow in peoples garden, which can actually be quite hazardous as if the nuts fall before they can be harvested, they will damage your roof and certainly your head if one lands on you. There are many internet claims that falling coconuts kill 10 times more people a year than sharks (150) but I don't think there are any solid statistics.

According to legend, coconuts, or coco nucifera, were given their name by 15^th century explorers. The brown fibrous outer shell with three indentations were said to remind them of a monkey’s face (coco). Nucifera means “milk bearing”.  The mature nut is protected by a dense fibrous husk, 2-3 cms thick, which can be quite challenging to open up. There are machines which will open your nut and remove the meat inside, but I prefer to use the unusual kitchen tools of hammer and screwdriver or smash them outside onto the paving - great stress remover!

In India, coconut is consumed at two different stages of maturity - tender coconuts, young green nuts that are sold by street vendors for the water inside, and the mature, brown husk covered nut that are more familiar in Western countries, often found on the coconut shy at a summer fete. It's the meat from the mature nut that is used to make coconut milk - the milk doesn't come from the fluid inside but the flesh, or meat, which is scraped out, ground and then strained to extract the white fluid. Due to its fat content, when put in the fridge, the milk separates with a thinner milk lying underneath and a top layer of cream. 
If you can't get your hands on a tin of coconut milk, or prefer to make your own fresh, it's really easy. All you need break open a coconut and remove the flesh with a sharp knife - a thin brown layer of husk will come out too but that's ok. Grind some of the meat - fill the grinder about half full. When all finely chopped up, add half a cup of warm water and grind again until the coconut is all mixed up with the water. Pass this through a fine sieve or muslin cloth (or fine weave tea towel) and squeeze out as much milk as you can. Put the fibre back into the grinder and add a bit more water and repeat the process, just to get as much milk out as possible. Once fully squeezed, discard the fibre - you could use it for a facial scrub I guess (not tried that out tho').

Coconut meat, and therefore the milk, does have quite a high fat content (27g per 100g), but it's a mixture of saturated, mono-unsaturated and omega 6 fatty acids. There is no cholesterol though, as this is only found in animal fats. Fat in coconut is in the form of medium chain fatty acids; these are easier to break down and can actually help reduce cholesterol levels. Lauric acid is the main fatty acid in the chain, a fantastic immune booster and an anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agent.

Coconut meat is also great for the digestion as it’s high in fibre and can help reduce constipation, flatulence and stomach ulcers and can help stabilise blood sugar levels. It’s also a natural source of iodine and therefore can help support thyroid function as well as protect the body against cancer, osteoporosis and pancreatic disorders.

You can buy dried coconut milk powder but beware if you have a milk allergy as most of the brands I have seen also contain dried dairy milk. The freeze drying process would also knock out most of the nutritional benefits as well, so I would avoid those if at all possible. Wholefood and raw food diets advocate using fresh ground coconut as a fat or oil replacement as you can all the benefits, including the fibre, without needing to add extra oil. Try this South East Asian style salad and see what you think, although not if you have a peanut allergy!

Cucumber salad with peanuts and coconut (serves 4 big portions)
1 -2 cucumbers, depending where you live - one long English style or 2 shorter Indian style
3-4 tablespoons fresh grated coconut
3-4 tablespoons roasted peanuts (unsalted) crushed
juice 1/2 lime
salt to taste
finely chopped green chillis - depending on how hot you like it
dash of jaggery, or raw brown sugar
chopped fresh coriander
Mix all the ingredients except coriander together, adjusting the sugar, lime and salt to taste and garnish with the coriander.
Enjoy!