ABOUT THE GROUP Central and West Integration Network was established in 2009 and aims to work with individuals, community groups, voluntary and statutory agencies to support the needs of refugee, migrant and minority ethnic communities and promote cross-cultural understanding, equality and social inclusion.We do this by building the strengths of groups and by bringing people together from different communities for common action and activities. We run a food bank, women groups, children’s drama club, men’s group, activities for older people and regular events throughout the year. The idea to create a Cookbook with our members took shape during the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. We work with people from all over the Commonwealth who have made their homes in Glasgow and wanted to share some of the diverse culinary traditions and family recipes. This Cookbook was created through a series of workshops delivered by Open Jar Collective exploring the ingredients and flavours of different cuisines. The project is part of the wider Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games legacy. Florence Dioka, Central and West Integration Network
Over the course of just four short sessions, a group of women with a love for food, came together to share the flavours of their childhood. Almost all the recipes in this book have been passed down by mothers, grandmothers and aunties, through the ritual of women preparing family meals together in the kitchen. We tried an array of different curries, which use some of the same spices but are prepared in slightly different ways, resulting in unique flavours. We also discovered that flatbread (in the form of a fermented pancake-like batter) is common to many cultures – Dosas in India, Appa in Sri Lanka, traditional flatbread in Ethiopa.
INTRODUCTION
While some of the ingredients may be hard to come by in Scotland, the pleasure of sitting round a table with friends to share a meal hopefully will not be. So the next time you want to celebrate, invite some friends or family round and have a go at cooking one of these delicious dishes together. If you don’t have the budget to buy all the specialist ingredients, make something more familiar and take inspiration from these recipes by experimenting with a new spice. You could also get in touch with one of the Integration Networks in the city and see if they have any cookery groups you can join. There are so many people in Glasgow who would love to share their cookery skills, and we found that there’s nothing more rewarding than a multitude of hands working together in the kitchen. Over a tasty homecooked meal, neighbours can then become family too. We would like to say a big thankyou to Florence, Antoinette, Geetha, Razia, Tayeba, Nabila, Cassandra, Eyerusalem, Remi, Dhavamani and Britto who contributed their family recipes to the book. Clementine Sandison, Open Jar Collective
PAKISTAN
RAZIA’S CHICKPEAS PILAU
1 tin chickpeas 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 Medium tomato, finely chopped 1 clove garlic 1 thumb sized piece of ginger ½ tsp whole cumin seeds ½ tsp crushed dried chilli 1 cinnamon stick Salt to taste ½ cup Olive oil 3 cups water Before you begin: Soak two large mugs of basmati rice for half an hour 1. Fry onion until dark golden. Add crushed garlic and ginger and fry on a low heat until slightly golden. Save half the onion, garlic and ginger for later to garnish. 2. Add cumin, chillies, salt, and cinnamon and fry for a minute. 3. Add a little water and tomato, put lid on and steam for a few minutes until tomato is soft like a paste. 4. Add chickpeas and continue to fry a little 5. Add the 3 cups water and bring to the boil with the lid on. 6. Add soaked rice, simmer gently, check after 8-10 minutes. Steam for a further ten minutes with the lid on (no heat). 7. Mix remaining fried onion, garlic and ginger in at the end.
NABILA’S STUFFED PARATHA
For the filling: 1 tsp dried chilli flakes ½ bunch fresh coriander 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 5 small potatoes, boiled with skin on 1 tsp lemon juice salt For the paratha dough: 2 cups chapatti flour water (luke warm) 1. To make the filling, cook the potatoes, remove skins and mash then add all the other ingredients and taste for seasoning. Allow to cool fully before making the paratha. 2. To make the dough add luke warm water to the flour until it makes a soft dough, it should not be dry but not too sticky either. 3. Knead for 5 minutes then cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes. 4. Divide the dough into 12 small balls, dip a ball in the chapatti flour and flatten slightly into a small patty, do the same with another ball of dough. They should only be floured on one side. 5. Put filling inside the two patties (flour on outside). Then seal the edges with your fingers and roll out quite thinly, ensuring surface is well floured to prevent sticking. 6. Fry in a medium hot pan with some oil until golden on each side. Makes about 6
NABILA’S VEGETABLE PAKORA
1 cup gram flour 1 potato 1 onion ¼ bag spinach 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp dried red chilli flakes 1 fresh green chilli 1 tablespoon dried methi (fenugreek leaves) ½ cup water 1 tsp salt ½ litre oil (for deep frying) 1. Mix the gram flour, chilli flakes, methi, coriander and salt in a bowl. 2. Add the lemon juice and just enough water to form a smooth batter that is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. 3. Finely chop all the vegetables and mix into batter. 4. Heat the oil in a deep heavy-based frying pan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) 5. When the oil is hot, carefully lower tablespoons of the batter mixture in batches into the oil and fry for 5-6 minutes, or until the pakoras are crisp and golden-brown and the vegetables have cooked through. When you are experienced at making pakora it is generally dropped into the hot oil by hand.
TAYEBA’S CHICKEN CURRY
Spice mix ½ teaspoon of: Salt Red chilli powder Mustard powder Black pepper Garam masala Ground coriander Black Jeera (cumin seeds) Dried Methi (Fenugreek leaves) For the Curry: Handful fresh coriander leaves 1 tsp ginger paste 1 tsp garlic paste ½ tin chopped tomatoes 1 cup sunflower/vegetable oil chicken on the bone [can we make a guess at weight – ½ kilo?? It’s not in recipe] 1. Finely chop onion and fry in 1 cup of oil over a medium heat. 2. When onion is brown, add tomato, ginger, garlic paste and green chilli. Fry for a little while then add all the spices and continue to fry for about 15 minutes. 3. Add chicken and fry for a further 15 minutes. 4. Add some water and fresh coriander. Leave pot on very low heat with lid on for 15-20 minutes, until chicken is tender.
SRI LANKA GEETHA’S HOPPERS
Hoppers (appa) are a range of dishes based on a fermented batter, usually of rice flour, coconut milk and spices. Geetha always serves her Hoppers with fish chutney and fried egg. The batter takes time to ferment, so plan ahead! 2 fresh coconuts to make milk from 1 kilo red rice soaked for 12 hours Ÿ tsp dried yeast 1 tsp salt ½ tsp sugar 1. Make milk from the coconuts. In Sri Lankan we use a special machine to extract the milk, but you can use a blender. 2. Drain soaked rice and mix with the coconut milk and coconut water 3. Add salt and blend to make batter then add yeast and sugar 4. Leave at room temperature overnight. 5. Heat the hopper pan over a high flame, put 80 ml (3 fl oz) of batter in it and swirl the batter round to coat the sides of the pan. 6. Cover the pan with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for up to 2 minutes. 7. After you put the hopper batter in the pan and turn it around, break an egg into the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and heat over a low flame until the egg is cooked. 8. Remove hopper when the edges are slightly brown.
FISH CHUTNEY
Dried red chilli Onion Dried anchovies Long Turkish chilli (green) curry leaves Fry anchovies in some oil, add curry leaves, finely chopped green chilli and long slices of onion. Then fry until golden.
GEETHA’S CURRY SPICE MIX
2 tablespoons coriander 1 tablespoon cumin ½ tablespoon fennel seeds 1 teaspoon mustard seed 1 teaspoon Methi (Fenugreek) seeds 1 tablespoon rice 5 cloves 5 cardamom pods 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
GEETHA’S RICE
4 cups Basmati rice 1 tin coconut milk 2 onions Curry leaves Pandan leaves Turmeric Cardamom Cloves Ghee 1. Soak rice for half an hour. 2. Heat ghee in pot, add finely chopped onion, curry leaves and pandan leaves and fry for 10 minutes. Add a little turmeric, salt, cardamom, ground cloves and fry a little then add the drained rice a fry for a further 5 minutes. 3. Add coconut milk and 2 cups water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 8 minutes then leave to steam with heat off. 4. Garnish with raisins
GEETHA’S CHICKEN CURRY
2 onions 2 fresh tomatoes (peeled) 1 inch fresh ginger 6 cloves of garlic 10 curry leaves 10 pandan leaves 3 inches of lemon grass 1 whole chicken, chopped Chicken stock ¼ can coconut milk Sunflower oil
1. Dry roast all spices, then grind in an electric grinder 2. Heat oil in a deep pan, add curry leaves, pandam leaves and lemon grass and fry lightly 3. Chop onions and tomatoes very small and fry together to make a paste 4. Add the ginger and garlic paste, fry a little then add spice mix and fry for a further few minutes. 5. Chop up the whole chicken, wash and add to pan. Fry for 10 minutes. 6. Add coconut milk and enough chicken stock to make a sauce. Cook until chicken is tender.
“My mum taught me to cook it, it’s an every day kind of dish for my family. Every festival and occasion we make it.”
ETHIOPIA EYERUSALEM’S LENTIL STEW
½ cup sunflower oil 2 onions, finely chopped 2 tomatoes, chopped 3 heaped teaspoons dried red chilli powder 500g red lentils water 1 tsp salt 1. Rinse lentils a few times in cold water then leave to drain. 2. Finely chop onions and fry in sunflower oil for 10 minutes. 3. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes. 4. Add 3 heaped teaspoons of red chilli powder (or less to taste!) Fry for a another few minutes then add drained lentils. 5. Add salt and enough water to cover fully then bring to a boil and simmer until lentils are tender. Add more water if it becomes too dry.
EYERUSALEM’S FLAT BREAD
Needs to be made 2-4 days in advance to allow for fermentation 1 bag (1.5 kg) self raising white flour 3 tsp yeast water 1. Mix flour, yeast and enough water to make a runny pancake-like batter. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 48 hours to ferment. 2. Heat a pan to a high heat with no oil 3. Add a ladle of mixture and swill it around the pan so that it cover the pan evenly 4. Allow the flat bread to cook for approx. 2 minutes, and then cover with a tight fitting lid wrapped in a tea towel so the bread will steam. Serve with lentils.
EYERUSALEM’S TRADITIONAL BREAD
4 tsp yeast 2 tsp sugar 1 bag (1.5 kg) self raising white flour Luke warm water 1. Mix the yeast and sugar in a little lukewarm water until yeast is frothy then add to flour. 2. Add enough lukewarm water to make a soft bread dough then knead for 20 minutes. 3. Put in a covered bowl to rise for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 150 C. 4. Shape dough by hand into a round loaf and place on a tray lined with non-stick baking parchment. 5. Bake for 15 minutes at 150 C then raise temperature to 200 C and bake for a further 20 minutes.
INDIA
DOSA 3 cups basmati rice 1 cup skinless split Urad Daal (yellow lentils) ¾ teaspoon fenugreek seeds Salt to taste Vegetable / sunflower oil for cooking 1. Wash the rice and urad daal well. Add the fenugreek seeds to the mix and cover the lentils and daal so it is 2" above. Soak overnight. 2. The next morning, drain all the water from the rice and urad daal. Now put some in food processor and grind - adding very little water if necessary - to a smooth yet slightly grainy paste. 3. When all the rice-daal mix is ground like this, put it into a large mixing bowl and add enough water to make a batter. The consistency of the batter should be such that it thickly coats the back of a spoon. 4. Now add salt to taste and keep the Dosa batter aside in a warm, dark spot, covered, for 6-8 hours. After this fermentation, stir the batter well. It is now ready to make Dosas. 5. Put some cooking oil in a small bowl and keep ready. You will also need a bowl of ice cold water, a large flat non-stick pan, 2 sheets of paper towel, a brush, a ladle, and a spatula. 6. Fold one sheet of paper towel into a wad and dip lightly into the bowl of cooking oil. Squeeze out
any excess and then rub the paper towel all over the surface of the pan to grease. The correct amount of oil is such that it is barely visible on the pan. Now turn on the heat/ flame at medium high. 7. Fill the ladle up to the 3/4 level with Dosa batter. Gently pour this batter onto the center of the pan - just as you would for a pancake - till the ladle is empty. 8. Now begin to spread the batter in sweeping circular motions to form a pancake of roughly 8" diameter. Do not be alarmed if the Dosa develops tiny holes as you spread the batter. This is normal. 9. As soon as you have finished spreading the batter out on the pan, dip the brush in cooking oil and drizzle the oil all over the surface of the dosa and also around its edges. Now hold the pan by its handle, lift up and swirl it so as to make the drizzled oil spread all over the Dosa. 10. When the upper surface begins to look cooked (it will no longer look soft or runny), flip the Dosa. By this time, ideally, the surface that was underneath should be light golden in color. Allow to cook for 1 minute after flipping. The Dosa is almost done. Fold it in half and allow to cook for 30 seconds more. 11. Dosa is traditionally served with Sambar and South Indian chutney.
SAMBAR MASALA SPICE MIX: 1/2 cup coriander seeds 1/4 cup cumin seeds 1/4 cup chana daal (large split yellow lentils) 1/4 cup urad daal (black gram) 1/4 cup fenugreek seeds 1/4 cup black peppercorns 1/4 cup dry red chilli flakes 1/4 cup grated dessicated coconut 1/4 cup mustard seeds 20 dried curry leaves 2 tbsps tumeric powder 2 tsps asafetida powder
SOUTH INDIAN COCONUT CHUTNEY 1/2 coconut grated 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tbsp urad daal (yellow lentil) 2 dry red chillies 5-6 curry leaves Salt to taste 2 tbsps oil
1. Grind the coconut into a fine paste in the food processor.
1. Roast all the ingredients (except the asafetida) on a hot griddle until they begin to smell fragrant
2. In a small pan, heat the oil and when hot add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chillies and urad daal. Fry till the red chillies turn dark in colour.
2. Cool on a tray. Add the asafoetida and grind into a fine powder. Store in an airtight container.
3. Remove from the fire and add to the coconut paste. Add salt to taste and serve.
This recipe makes lots, so you can use it again and again!
SAMBAR
2 cups Toor or Tuvar (split yellow peas) 4 tablespoons Sambar Masala spice mix 1 cup chopped aubergine (cut into 2"cubes) 1 cup chopped potato (cut into 1"cubes) 10 pearl onions (small white onions), peeled and cored 10-12 baby lady’s fingers (okra) 1/2 cup pumpkin 10-12, 3"long pieces of drumstick (an Indian fruit) Golf ball-sized lump of tamarind 3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 8-10 curry leaves 3 dry red chillies Salt to taste Chopped fresh coriander leaves 1. Boil the lentils and Sambar Masala with enough water till they are soft. The consistency should be that of a thick soup. 2. Soak the tamarind in a small bowl of hot water for 10 minutes. Squeeze well to remove all juice. Add this purée to the lentils. Mix well. Add salt to taste. 3. Simmer and add the potatoes to the lentils. Cook till the potatoes are half cooked. Now add the other vegetables and cook till done. 4. Heat the ghee in a small pan and add the dry red chillies, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Fry till the spluttering stops and add to the boiled lentils. Mix well. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander.
NIGERIA
WEST AFRICAN YAM POTAGE
1.5 kg Yam 1 chopped onion 3 stock cubes 1 clove of garlic (whole) 1 tin tomato 1 scotch bonnet chilli 1 tablespoon oil 1. Peel and cut yam into big cubes. 2. Cover the yam, garlic, onion and stock cubes with hot water and cook until yam is tender. 3. Blend tomato and chilli together then add to pot with oil. Mash and serve.
MOIN MOIN
500g Black eye beans 75g dried crayfish 100g smoked mackerel 10 stock cubes Salt to taste 2 scotch bonnet chillies 5 medium sized onions, peeled and cut into cubes 1/2 cup Palm oil Banana or Uma leaves for wrapping
1. Wash and peel the black eye beans and soak for at least 3 hours 2. Drain the beans and add the chopped onions, scotch bonnet, stock cubes, crayfish, smoked mackerel and some water. Blend together into a fine texture. There should be enough water added to form a soft dropping consistency. 3. Melt the palm oil, add to the bean mixture and blend to mix. 4. The mix needs to be steamed for 1 hour, in Uma or Banana leaves. Fold the sides of the leaves and fold up the bottom to make a funnel, spoon in the filling and wrap then place in a deep pot. 5. Put a few inches of water in the bottom and secure lid tightly so they can steam for 1 hour.
FLORENCE’S TOMATO AND CHICKEN STEW
5 chicken thighs (or any chicken with bones in) 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped 1 small piece ginger, peeled and chopped 3 medium onions, chopped 2 tsp dried thyme 2 tsp curry powder ½ cup corn oil 5 vegetable stock cubes salt to taste 1 tube of tomatoe puree Blended mixture: 3 tins tomato 1 red pepper 1 scotch bonnet chilli with seeds 1 onion 1. Marinade chicken in spices for at least 2 hours 2. Heat oil in large sauce pan, fry onions until golden brown 3. Then add garlic and ginger and fry for another minute (this can burn easily so be careful) 4. Add thyme and curry powder, then add chicken and fry for about 3 minutes to brown slightly 5. Using a hand held blender, blend tomato, pepper, chilli, and onion. 6. Add to the pan with stock cubes and simmer for 15 minutes 7. Add tomato puree and simmer on low heat for another 10 mins 8. Serve with yam pottage or boiled rice with plantain
ST LUCIA
CASSANDRA’S CARRIBEAN COLESLAW
Dressing: 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 2 tablespoons crème fraiche 1 teaspoon vinegar (optional) 1 tablespoon of brown sugar 4 tablespoons pineapple juice 1 tablespoon of mustard 2 cups white cabbage 2 cups red cabbage 2 cups grated carrot 1 1/2 mango 1/4 fresh pineapple 1. Finely slice the cabbage, grate the carrot, chop the mango and pineapple. 2. Mix it altogether with the dressing.
PARTY CAKE!
GEETHA’S ICED CELEBRATION CAKE
250g plain flour 250g caster sugar 4 large eggs, at room temperature 250 g unsalted butter 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla essence 1. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use an electric mixer if you have one) 2. Break eggs in a separate bowl, add one by one and beat in between 3. Then add flour, mix on a very slow speed. 4. Add vanilla, give it a final mix and spoon into greased tin (lined with baking parchment) 5. Cook for about 35-40 minutes at 170C until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
BUTTER ICING
250g soft butter 500g icing sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1. Beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla together to make a creamy icing. 2. Geetha ices her cake with butter icing, then royal icing and finally decorates it with intricately painted flowers.
Open Jar Collective are a group of socially engaged artists and designers who use food as a lens to view the world. Through active and creative community engagement, our work strives to empower people to take part in the growing debate about the sustainability of our global food systems. We see food as a tool for bringing people together to explore our relationship to the land and to each other. We deliver collaborative projects that range from hosting communal meals and staging unique pop-up events to research, workshops, exhibitions and publications. Photography and workshops by Clementine Sandison. Design and Illustration by Josie Vallely. www.openjarcollective.co.uk
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