World Kitchen Recipes – Leith Open Space

Cooking, eating and sharing food – a virtual feast from a safe distance

Onions sizzle in the pan. When Rana adds her mix of whole spices a tantalising aroma fills the hall and a small crowd gathers round the table.

Making and breaking bread (without Bake Off)

How to make bread? Here’s a long overdue Friday food story to share a basic recipe which produces good, tasty loaves. But first a confession:

Meena’s recipe for Leith Mess

A treat in the post. Meena Bhana has sent a recipe for her Indian twist on Eton Mess which she callsÂ Leith mess. Meena, who is a very talented member of World Kitchen in Leith, came up with the idea for this variation on an old theme when she was planning the menu for one of her Chai Lounge Supper Club nights.

A cake for all weathers

‘I wish I could join you, But perhaps you could share this recipe with your friends instead.’

Rose Jamieson lives in Perthshire so was not able to join us for our recent events in Out of the Blue Drill Hall. But her cake was a hot favourite on the desert stall at Jock Tamson’s Brunch. We’re hoping Rose can join us in person when World Kitchen in Leith goes on tour (no kidding, more about that later) but meanwhile here’s her lovely apple cake recipe’¦

Pancakes for breakfast, tea…any time at all

Apple pancakes with cinnamon butter, a variation on a traditional Scottish theme, went down well at World Kitchen in Leith events this year, here’s the recipe from Fay Young.

Ok, I know dropped scones are really meant for teatime. But they can be good at breakfast too – perhaps, sinfully, fried with bacon and served with maple syrup as a Scottish variation on the Canadian theme.

Alice’s famous beans in coconut

At World Kitchen in Leith events, Alice’s beans in coconut disappear off the plates in record time and everyone wants to know how to make them. Well, here Alice Musamba shares the secret and a little extra tip: the coconut sauce can be adapted to suit many other vegetables. In fact at last night’s World Kitchen meeting she brought a pot of delicious mushrooms in coconut. They soon disappeared off the plate too.

A feeling for Falafel

Rami Okasha rustled up a taste of Egypt for World Food Day. Here he gives his recipe for Falafel and makes it sound very simple. That’s Rami in the picture on the right busy dishing up to the stream of people arriving for lunch at Out of the Blue Drill Hall (Ellie and Maka are on the left).

Practice makes perfect (British) paella

Paella partners: pork, chorizo and squid

For World Food Day in Out of the Blue on Sunday 16 October, Ellie Casson set out to overcome her fear of failure – the perfect paella is hard to make and she has tasted the best in Spain where it comes with sun, sand and the Med.

Meena’s menu for an Indian brunch

Meena

A beautiful green spinach cake was a hot (literally) favourite at the World Kitchen brunch. Here Meena Bhana shares her recipe for the spicy savoury cake but first she takes us to the bustling streets of Indian cities with her menu for the World Kitchen brunch.

I put together a menu of Gujerati dishes for the brunch and then I spent hours in the kitchen experimenting. We decided to offer Falooda – a spectacular mix of milk, vermicelli and flavourings topped with ice cream – as a complimentary drink for guests arriving at Out of the Blue. With at least 80 bookings, how much milk would that take?

THE MENU

Chickpea and Potato Chaat – chaat is a dish that takes you right back to the streets of India. Chaat tastes hot, sweet, tangy and crunchy. It contains, potatoes, channa, chaat masala, onions, chillie powder, coriander, puffed rice and tamarind chutney.

Spinach cake is a savoury baked cake to get the taste buds tingling whilst sipping a cup of masala tea. It is made with methi (fenugreek leaves), semolina, maize flour and corn.

Dokhrais a savoury steamed cake that can be eaten at any time of the day. It is made with yoghurt, semolina, green chillies and ginger and is topped with mustard seeds, sesame seeds, curry leaves and coriander. Served with green coconut chutney, dokhra is a perfect accompaniment to a cup of masala tea.

Dokhra topped with seeds and spices

Falooda is a culinary spectacle, a rose infused drink that consists of not only an array of beautiful colours but also numerous flavours and textures owing to the variety of ingredients that go into its making. A gastronomic delight thought to be introduced to the lands of India by the Parsi’s.

(And how much milk? In the end we decided on 10 litres, there was quite a lot left over but Out of the Blue Drill Hall Arts Cafe was able to use it up.)

RECIPE FOR SPINACH CAKE

Note: Methi is another word for fenugreek. You will get it at one of the Asian stores in Leith walk. It has small leaves on a stem but if you are not sure, the store owner will definitely know what it is. It has a slightly bitter taste but works well in this cake.

Liquidise the following ingredients: 2 bunches methi, 1 cup oil, 1 onion, 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons green chillies finely chopped, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt

Sift together: 1 cup semolina, 1 cup gram flour, 1 cup plain flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder

Small tin of corn

Add liquidised mixture to the above dry ingredients. Add drained corn and mix thoroughly. Pour into greased pan and bake at 180 degrees for 30min.

What to eat? Bea and Parvez help guests make the difficult choice.

Found in translation: Spanish empanadillas

“Knowing what to make is not to same as knowing how to make it.” In a story full of Spanish colour, Ellie Casson explains why she chose to make Spanish empanadillas for the World Kitchen brunch – and how.

When my family first moved to Spain, we discovered in a nearby village an outstanding family bakery. It was situated on the square and had a little terrace outside where you could sit with a coffee from the bar (and a little brandy if you were feeling particularly Spanish that morning) and eat pastries or cakes you had just bought at the counter inside.