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[Hofzinser]

...or "help me cook dinner tonight".

Me and Mrs. H are currently trying to work out what to have for dinner based on what we have in the house (we're trying to do things quite frugally at the moment so would rather avoid going to the shops for extra ingredients). However, we're a bit stuck for inspiration at the moment, so I thought I'd reveal the contents of our kitchen to otf to see if anyone can come up with something tasty, simple and quick to cook tonight.

We have the following:

potatoes
red and green peppers
tinned tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
four eggs
rice
couscous
rice noodles
avocado
onions
garlic
red onions
fresh chillis
greek yoghurt
kidney beans
various dried herbs and spices, including basil, sage, parsely, coriander, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, turmeric, rosemary, and possibly one or two more

And all the standard stuff you'd expect to find in a kitchen, like milk, flour, cooking oils, salt and pepper etc.

I'm sure there are loads of possibilities from that little lot - so any ideas?

[Jimmy Bignutz]

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Chips

[caja-dglh]

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A fritatta.

[JtS]

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Vegetable chilli potato bake.

[Ginger Yellow]

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If there were some meat in there I could help you out... I'm no good at veggie recipes.

[Guest]

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What can't you make out of that lot?! There's too much scope. Depending on how much time you want to spend on dinner...

Tomato and yogurt kidney bean curry (is *very* yum)
the frittata suggestion is good
stuffed peppers? I don't like them but you might
a rice and peas-type thing, with the kidney beans and peppers, although I think to be authentic you might need coconut

[Guest]

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Or you could stick the peppers, garlic, onions and cherry tomatoes in a roasting tin in the oven for 20-30 minutes and make a soup, either with some veg stock or with the tinned tomatoes and some herbs

Or you could just roast the peppers and serve them with the yogurt and lots of salt

[Hofzinser]

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I very much like the sound of the tomato and yoghurt kidney bean curry - tell me more...

[Mumpo]

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What kind of rice is it?

[Hofzinser]

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basmati

[Guest]

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Well my recipe is adapted from Madhur Jaffrey and what I do is:

you chop up an onion and stick it in a pan with some oil, let it fry for a bit

add in
about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
a LOT of ground coriander, I probably use at least a tablespoon
your fresh chilli, as much as you like
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
As much garlic as you want, I always stick loads in
Some ginger if you've got it, if not it's OK

Then I let it all cook down till the onion is soft

Then I take it off the heat for 5 mins

Then I stir in 3 large tbsps of yogurt - again quantity is up to you

Then I put it back on a gentle heat and add in tinned or bottled tomatoes - whichever - and some veg stock just to loosen it up

You can cook it for ages or not for long, depending on the consistency you like.

That is my tomato-yogurt curry sauce and then you can put whatever you want in. I often do aubergine/chick pea/spinach. I think kidney beans would go great. If you've got any greens they would work too.

[Ball Comrade]

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That sounds fucking gorgeous. I would make it today if there wasn't already some cabbage casserole in the oven.

[hobbes]

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I think I'd rather eat the oven than cabbage casserole.

[Bill Poster]

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Be fair it's a cheap dish. Perhaps he was a bit brassica.

Be fair it's a cheap pun.

[Mumpo]

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Basmati - cool.

Wash as much rice as you need three times in a pan of cold water, draining as much of the water as you can each time. This is essential, as you need to get all the starch out. Boil the rice for about five minutes - it won't need any longer, you don't want it to cook right through. Empty it into a colander and rinse it through with cold water. Meanwhile, melt a big knob of butter in the bottom of a large saucepan. When it's melted, empty the rice into the pan. Place a few more dabs of butter on top of the rice. Wrap the saucepan lid in a clean teatowel and plce the lid fully on the rice. The teatowel is important as it absorbs the moisture from the cooking rice. Cook the rice on a very low heat for 45 mins to an hour - too much heat will burn the rice at the bottom. And there you have your first helping of delicious Persian rice, complete with achingly tasty tad deek - crunchy rice to scoop out the bottom of the pan.

Stir through some chopped dill and serve with yoghurt. We like to have it with eggs, cooked in a pan with some chopped tomatoes and onion.

[Ball Comrade]

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I've got an open mind. This is the first time Mrs Bomba has tried to make it without meat, and she seems excited about the prospect.

The recipe seems to be:

fry onions and mince. set aside. Fry carrots and cabbage in the same pan. Layer it all up in a casserole dish with some rice and barley in between the cabage and mince. Pour on stock and cream, and shove it in the oven on a low heat for an hour or so.

[Hofzinser]

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That does sound lovely, lyra - I maye well give that - or a variant of it - a go.

I like the sound of the Persian rice too but I think the curry shades it.

[Guest]

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Otherwise there's that thing with fried sliced onions and peppers and you can make it spicy wit chilli and cayenne, and then you drop an egg in the middle, and I totally forget what it's called...

[Mumpo]

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You curry away, Hof. Don't mind me, I'm only trying to affect an air of cosmopolitan sophistication.

[Bored Of Education]

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Probably too late but bastardise this Nigella recipe leaving out the sweet pots and Halloumi and you could always add the cherry toms if you like roasted toms.

I always have variations of it andjust did tonight with carrots replacing the sweetpots

It is actually my favourite accompaniment to the Christmas dinner

1 large sweet potato, the orange-fleshed American variety
1 large Desiree potato, or other red/firm potato
1 red onion
1 yellow pepper
1 red peppers
0.5 head Garlic
4 tbsp Olive oil
1 pinch Pepper
125g halloumi cheese, sliced as thinly as you can

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.

2. Cut the sweet potato into rough 4cm cubes and the Desiree slightly smaller (2.5cm) as the sweet potato will cook more quickly.

3. Halve the red onion then cut the half into 4-6 segments, discarding any tough outer skin.

4. De-seed the peppers and cut into 2.5 cm squares, and separate the cloves of garlic.

5. Put everything into a large roasting tin or whatever you want to use (it should be big, otherwise use two dishes) and, using your hands, give the vegetables a good coating of olive oil. Season with black pepper, but no salt as the cheese will make it salty (and anyway, the salt will make water leech out).

6. Cook for 45 minutes, by which time the vegetables should be cooked through and here and there tinged with brown.

7. You'll need to turn the oven up to maximum, or light the grill for the endgame: so place the thinly sliced cheese on top of the bake, and put it back in the very hot oven or under the grill until the cheese has melted and turned slightly brown on top, about 5-10 minutes. Serve straight out of the roasting tin.

[kugelrund]

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I used to do that halloumi and carb bake a lot when I could get my hands on sweet potatoes, Bored. It's fab.

Lyra, what Bombanersson said about that sauce of yours. The next time I cook a curry (I usually do spinach / chickpea / prawn / potato variants) I'm going to use Lyra Sauce and credit you to the admiring hordes.

[Gangster Octopus]

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So, Hof, was it a green pepper or a red tomato?

[Hofzinser]

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Ha.

I actually ended up improvising a veggie chilli concoction which turned out to be very tasty. The other half preferred it to the meat chilli we had the other week. I'll be making it again, I think.

[Bored Of Education]

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I used to do that halloumi and carb bake a lot when I could get my hands on sweet potatoes, Bored. It's fab.

What I like about it is that it is adaptable for any veg you can get.

Substitute carrot for sweet potatoes if you have none or just double up on normal potatoes.

Substitute feta for halloumi or just leave out the cheese completely.

I put swedish meatballs or sausages in with it as well sometimes.

I do a autumn veg version as well with parsnips & cubes of swede in there

[Ball Comrade]

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I had lyra's curry for lunch today, with kidney beans and green peppers, and it was bloody lovely.

A new challenge for OTF's ready steady cookers: what can I do with coconut milk? There's a very old tin in the cupboard and I should really use it, but I'm not sure how.