THE STUDENT VEGETARIAN COOK BOOK

top: in this case, to make the filling more liquid, add an extra tablespoon of bean water to the sauce.

You can make the pie in an ordinary tart dish, but it is much easier with a pie or other dish with a rim to hold the pastry. Serve with baked potatoes, polenta, or vegetables.

If there is any pie left over, it is bettereaten cold than hot, as the spices may become slightly bitter when reheated. For 5-6.

• INGREDIENTS .

2 oz/50 g red kidney beans, soaked overnight in cold water

Salt

8 oz/250 g large mushrooms

1 red pepper

2 medium onions

3 gloves garlic

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 dried chilli

4 eggs (size 2 or 3)

About 3 tablespoons oil

2 teaspoons Basic or Sambhar

Curry Powder (see pages 62 and 63)

21f2 teaspoons cornffour

1f2 lemon

3 tablespoons Greek or other mild, thick yoghurt

Shortcrust Pastry made with 12 oz/375 oz wholemeal ffour, 6 ozll90 g butter, 3 tablespoons water and 11/2 tablespoons oil (see page 52) or I quantity

Flaky Pastry with Cream (see page 54)

8Jh inchl22 cm shallow pie or other ovenware dish with a rim

Saucepan with a lid

• METHOD .

Drain the beans and rinse in cold water. Put into the saucepan, cover with water, bring to the boil, then skim (do not add salt). Boil fast for 10 minutes. Drain and return to the pan with fresh water (still without salt). Bring to the boil, reducethe heat, put the lid on the pan and simmer for 30 minutes; add a pinch of salt and continue simmering for 10 more minutes or until tender. Drain over a bowl to catch the cooking liquor, which is needed for the sauce.

2 Trim the mushroom stalks. Peel. rinse and dry the mushrooms and chop into 1j2 inch/I cm cubes. Wash and quarter the pepper, removing the core, seeds and any darkspots, and dice the flesh. Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic. Crush the coriander seeds. Wash and dry the chilli and trim the stalk ends. Slit lengthways, shake or pick out all the seeds and dice the flesh as finely as possible. Do not rub your eyes while handling it and wash your hands directly afterwards.

3 Hard-boil the eggs: cover with water, bring to the boil and boil for 12 minutes. Put into cold water to cool. Shell and slice.

4 Pre-heat the oven to 400°F, 200°C, Gas Mark 6. If you are making the pie with a bottom crust, line the pie dish thinly with pastry (you will need slightly more than half). Cover all over with aluminium foil; press closely to the edges. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 5 minutes, then take it out of the oven. (If making the pie without a bottom crust, delay pre-heating the oven until after stage 5.)

5 Fry the onions and pepper in the oil over low heat, turning often, for 8-10 minutes or until soft but not brown. Add the garlic and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the chilli and tum in the oil. Add the coriander and curry powder and fry for 1/2-1 minute, turning constantly. Add the mushrooms and fry for 5-7 minutes or until soft, still turning constantly. You may need to add a little more oil. Stir in 2 teaspoons of the cornflour. When amalgamated, add the beans and 8 fI oz/225 ml oftheircooking liquor. Simmer for another 5-7 minutes or until the liquor has thickened. Remove from the heat. Wash the 1j2 lemon and grate in the zest. Mix the yoghurt with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cornflour and stir into the sauce.

6 Put half the mixture into the partlybaked bottom crust (or, if you are omitting it, into the pie dish). Arrange the slices of egg over it in a thick layer. Add the rest of the mixture. Roll out the pastry for the top. Brush the rim of the bottom crust (or pie dish) lightly with water to dampen it (if you have no pastrybrush, use damp kitchen paper) and cover the pie with the pastry lid. Trim the edges, cut pastry leaves or other shapes out of the trimmings, damp the undersides and use these to decorate the pie lid. Stamp the edges of the pie lid with a fork, make a steam hole in the middle and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

There are two main types of rice, short-grain, which releases starch during cooking and is used for puddings and risottos, and long-grain, which is suitable for pilaf and to accompany stir-fried dishes and curries. Various sorts within each type are grown: for risotto, I recommend arborio, which has a firm but slightly glutinous texture; for pilafs, stir-fries and curries the most widely available are American long-grain and Indian Patna and Basmati. Basmati, which has a particularly elongated grain, is about a third more expensive than American rice or Patna but worth it on occasion for its distinctive, nutty flavour. All the long-grain sorts are available in brown, which is preferable in terms of both nutrition and flavour for all purposes except risotto, where a soft, creamy texture is desirable.

In thischapterI have included recipes not onlyfora pilafand a risotto, but also forspice mixtures and a curry (there are more curries elsewhere in the book). Making your own curry powder does not take long and in fact is rather fun; it produces a mixture with far more character and flavour than the average commercial version.

l owe my introduction to Eastern culinary ideasto two writers in particular: Van-kit So, whose Wok Cookbook first inspired me to try stir-frying and on whose instructions my own technique is based (see next chapter); and Jill Norman, author of The Complete Book of Spices, which anyone who enjoys using spices should read. I have given three of her recipes in this book almost without alteration, not least because the testing team, having tried several others, declared that they liked hers best.