Lamb, cheese and mint pie
In Chania and the villages of western Crete, kreatotourta is baked on Easter Saturday so it is ready for the Sunday feast: a tall pie of tender lamb pieces layered with soft fresh cheese and mint, sealed in a crisp olive-oil pastry. It is cut into wedges and eaten warm or at room temperature, and leftovers vanish over the following days. The traditional cheeses are fresh mizithra and some graviera. Common mistake: putting raw lamb in the pie, which leaves the pastry burnt before the meat is tender; simmer the lamb first. Chef's tip: save a ladle of the lamb's cooking liquid and pour it through the steam hole halfway through baking so the filling stays juicy.
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Fafadia gathia are pale, airy strands of gram flour dough rubbed through a gathia jara straight into hot oil. Beating the salt and kharo water until white and frothy, then kneading the dough hard, makes them light and melt-in-the-mouth. Serve with fried green chillies, papaya sambharo or jalebi. For fuli (puffed) gathia, use coarsely ground black pepper instead of white pepper and press the dough through a fuli jara.
Sakarpada (shakarpara) are little sweet diamonds of a rich dough made with ghee, milk and sugar, fried until golden and crunchy. They are a Diwali favourite with tea, and the cubes go into bhusu too. They keep for weeks in an air-tight tin.
Bhusu is a festive farsan mix: crunchy fried pulses and lentils, three kinds of sev, tum tum, bundi, sakarpada cubes, puffed rice, cashews and peanuts, all tossed in a sweet, sour and spicy seasoning. It makes a large batch for Diwali and keeps for weeks in air-tight tins. It's a project spread over a few days, because the pulses need soaking first. Make the jini sev, jadi sev, tum tum and sakarpada from their own recipes in this section.
Tum tum are thick, chunky gram flour sticks pressed through a 1 cm disc, spiced with chilli, cumin-coriander, black pepper and ajwain, and balanced with lemon and sugar. They are hot, tangy and crunchy, perfect with tea, and one of the components of bhusu.
Mathia are thin, crisp, slightly sweet and peppery wafers made from mathia flour, a mix of ground husked moong and urad dal. They are a classic Gujarati Diwali snack. The dough is pounded until pale, rolled very thin between plastic sheets and fried one at a time. They are fragile, so store them gently. To make mathia flour, finely grind 4 parts husked green gram lentils with 1 part husked black gram lentils.
Small, crisp fried puris flavoured with cumin seeds and plenty of black pepper. The butter rubbed into the flour makes them short and flaky, and frying them slowly over low heat keeps them crisp right through. Serve them as a snack with tea; they keep for weeks in an air-tight tin.
Bhabhri are long, thin strips of plain and gram flour dough, fried until crisp and tossed straight away in a mix of powdered sugar, chilli, citric acid and salt. They are sweet, tangy and lightly spicy at once, and a favourite tea-time nasta. Pounding the dough makes it lighter in colour and gives the strips their crisp, flaky bite. They keep for weeks in an air-tight container.
Chakri (also called chakli) are crisp, ridged spirals piped from a sev press and deep-fried. This version uses rice flour with a little gram flour and plain flour, flavoured with fresh coriander, ginger, chilli, sesame and lemon, with a touch of sugar. They are a Diwali favourite and keep well in an air-tight tin.
This is the big festive chevdo: crisp potato straws and rounds, fried chana dal, green grams and pawa, with cashews, peanuts and sultanas, curry leaves and green chillies, all coated in a sweet-hot seasoning and a fragrant whole-spice tempering with lemon. It makes a large batch for Diwali and keeps for weeks in air-tight tins. Golf potatoes are small, round potatoes.
Potato chakri are crisp, light spirals made with rice flour and boiled potato, flavoured with ginger, chilli, lemon, sesame and coriander. The potato makes them extra tender-crisp. They keep for about 3 weeks in an air-tight container, so make them ahead for Diwali or guests.
Jadi sev is the thick variety of sev: crunchy gram flour noodles pressed straight into hot oil, seasoned with coarse black pepper and green chilli powder. Eat it by the handful with tea, or mix it into bhusu and chevdo. For medium sev, use a disc with slightly smaller holes.
Khakhra are thin chapaties roasted slowly on a griddle until they turn crisp, like a cracker. This masala version adds gram flour, fresh fenugreek, turmeric and chilli to the wheat dough. They are a light Gujarati breakfast or tea-time snack, and lovely with pickle, chutney or a smear of butter. You can also make them in a roti maker.
Sanchar papdi are thin diamonds of rice, gram and urad flour dough that blister and bubble as they fry, then get a dusting of sugar, chilli and sanchar (black salt). They are crisp, light and tangy, and a lovely tea-time snack. Pounding the dough until pale makes them extra crisp.
Uppma is a soft, savoury semolina dish cooked with vegetables, onion, green chilli, ginger and curry leaves. This version cooks the semolina in tangy buttermilk and finishes it with lemon, coriander and cashews. Toasting the semolina first keeps the grains separate. Serve it hot for breakfast or tea, with plain yogurt.
Soft dumplings (muthia) of boiled rice, dhokra flour and gram flour, flavoured with garlic, ginger and chilli, simmered in a lightly tempered broth and finished in a thin, tangy yogurt sauce. It's a comforting one-pot meal. Serve hot with bread. It can also be cooked in a pressure cooker.
Papdi atta (papdi no lot) is a soft, steamed rice-flour dough cooked in water seasoned with cumin, ajwain, sesame, cinnamon and cloves, then shaped into little rounds and steamed until tender. It's a much-loved Gujarati snack, eaten hot with a drizzle of raw oil and khichi sambhar masala.
Soft, white steamed squares of ground rice and urad dal, spiced with black pepper and green chilli and topped with a mustard and sesame tempering. They're a classic Gujarati farsan. Serve with green and red chutneys. For yellow dhokra, use bengal gram lentils (chana dal) instead of black gram lentils, and add a pinch of turmeric and some garlic paste to the batter.
Soft, fluffy steamed idlis of rice and urad dal, served with a tangy, lightly sweet pigeon pea lentil sambhar full of vegetables: aubergine, drumsticks, bottle gourd and potato, tempered with mustard, fenugreek, curry leaves and kokum. Serve with coconut chutney. The batter is ground the day before and left overnight.
Kanki is broken rice simmered until soft and creamy in water seasoned with a generous whole-spice tempering of cumin, cloves, cinnamon, sesame and curry leaves, with green chilli and ginger. It's a warming Gujarati snack like khichu. Serve hot with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of red chilli powder.
A mild, bright green pesto made with baby spinach instead of basil and roasted walnuts instead of pine nuts. Keep a jar in the fridge and a bowl of just-cooked pasta becomes an instant meal; it is also good stirred into vegetable soup.
A rich, tangy paste of sun-dried tomatoes, black olives and toasted pecans, sharpened with red wine vinegar and herbs. Toss it through hot pasta for an instant supper, spread it on toast or crackers, or serve it as a dip.
A bright green pesto of fresh coriander and mint, made creamy with toasted cashews and sharp with lime juice. Toss it through pasta, swirl it into rice or use it as a sandwich spread.
A quick, nutty pesto of fresh coriander, garlic and roasted peanuts, blended with peanut oil. It is dairy free and vegan, and great tossed through noodles or pasta, or drizzled over grilled vegetables.
Layers of pasta, a mushroom and courgette tomato sauce and a spinach and ricotta filling, finished with white sauce and cheddar and baked until golden. A generous dish for a family meal; serve it hot with garlic bread.
A quick, light pasta of penne and broccoli in a tangy garlic, chilli and yogurt sauce, finished with toasted pine nuts or cashews. Ready in under half an hour.
Ribbons of tagliatelle tossed with a thick, creamy pesto of basil, toasted hazelnuts, green chilli, mozzarella and cream, which melts into the hot pasta. Finish with plenty of black pepper.
An Indian twist on spaghetti and meatballs: soft paneer kofta, fried until golden, served on buttered spaghetti with a sweet and tangy tomato gravy and a sprinkle of cheese. Children love it.
A simple, filling one-pan sauce of chickpeas, onion, celery and garlic simmered in tomato puree and tossed with pasta. Finished with chopped parsley, it is a good everyday supper.
A colourful Gujarati pawa (poha) of flattened rice with tender sweetcorn, diced potato, peanuts and cashews, tempered with cumin and curry leaves and finished with lemon and plenty of fresh coriander. It's a hearty breakfast or tea-time snack. Serve it hot with green and red chutneys and plain yogurt. Use thick pawa so it holds its shape after soaking.
Fettuccine tossed in a fresh tomato and chilli salsa with parmesan and a garlicky rocket and basil pesto, finished with toasted pine nuts. Serve hot with garlic bread. For a milder pesto, use baby spinach instead of rocket.
Dahi vada are soft, spongy dumplings of ground urad, moong and black-eyed bean lentils, fried, soaked and then covered in a cool spiced yogurt with cumin, chilli and tamarind chutney. They are a cooling, tangy party dish. Instead of soaking the fried vadas in hot water, you can soak them in thin buttermilk for an hour for an even softer, tangier vada.
Instant cannelloni tubes stuffed with feta, ricotta, walnuts, spring onion and lemon, baked in a gingery tomato and spinach sauce and finished with melted mozzarella.
Crisp vegetable cutlets of potato, raw banana, peas, corn and capsicum, shallow fried in breadcrumbs, then baked in a tangy tomato sauce under cheese and green chilli. A good party dish: fry the cutlets ahead and bake just before serving.
A spiced vegetable filling of potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, beans and peas with tomato, spring onion and warm cinnamon-clove, baked in a potato and bread crust and piped with a potato topping. Dotted with chilli sauce and ketchup, it makes a colourful centrepiece.
A vegetarian moussaka for a crowd: fried aubergine and potato slices layered with a herby tomato sauce and a garlicky cheese white sauce, topped with cheese and mixed herbs and baked until bubbling. Serve sizzling hot with bread.
Rigatoni tossed in a thick tomato sauce with soft aubergine, celery and garlic, with an optional splash of brandy for depth, and topped with grated cheddar.
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