Black Corn Salad

What is Black Corn?

Black corn is native to Peru, it is often known as Aztec Corn or Mexican corn. Black Aztec is an heirloom corn variety, it has a deep purplish/black kernels.

Black corn contains a plant pigment called anthocyanins. It has anti inflammatory and antioxidant benefits and contains many essential nutrients such as iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, magnesium, folate, phosphorus, and vitamin A.

Black corn stains very easily, it has a chewy starchy texture. It can be cooked in many ways such as boiling, grilling, steaming or roasting. It’s slightly tougher and less sweet than yellow corn and it can be used in many recipes such as salsa, salads, tortilla and cornmeal. It is not readily available in the UK but can be found in many specialist greengrocers. 

Black corn is very popular in Mexican cuisine which is really colourful and rich in flavours. Why not check out this Mexican Food Guide for some inspiring dishes to try.

Yield: Serves 2

Author: Nayna Kanabar

Black Corn Salad

Crunchy black corn salad with a spicy Indo Chinese dressing.

prep time: 15 Mcook time: 55 Mtotal time: 70 M

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of 1 lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon soya sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger paste
• For Salad
• 1 Black corn on the cob
• 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
• 1 carrot peeled and grated
• 1/2 red capsicum finely diced
• 1/2 yellow capsicum finely diced
• 1/2 green capsicum finely diced
• 8 mini silver pickled onions cut into quarters
• 1 tablespoon red pickled jalapenos finely diced
• 8 baby tomatoes cut into quarters
• 2 sprigs coriander finely chopped

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan add the sweet corn cover with water and boil until tender. This took almost 45 minutes as black corn is very tough.
2. Once the corn is cooked cool it and then remove the kernels.
3. In a large bowl add the sweetcorn kernels, carrot, capsicums, pickled onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos and coriander. 
4. In a jar with a lid  add the vinegar, olive oil, soya sauce, lime juice,salt, pepper, chilli flakes,and ginger. Put the lid on and shake it all together.
5. Pour the dressing  onto the vegetable mixture and toss together.
6. Serve immediately.

NOTES:

You can use yellow corn if black corn not available.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Churros

Week 4 of the Great British Bake Off and the theme is batter, this is a first on the series where contestants have been challenged to create recipes using batter. This weeks the signature challenge was yorkshire pudding with filling, technical challenge was lace pancakes and showstopper was churros a Mexican fried doughnut. It was a really interesting challenge and it was great to see all the different combinations of flavours that the participants offered.

At simplyfood I rarely fry food and you will find very few recipes that are fried, I am fairly health conscience how ever fried food eaten in moderation is fine so this week I have decided to make churros. The recipe I have used is from Rachel's yoghurts, only modifcations I made were that I left out the eggs in the recipe as I have seen on google that you can make churros with out eggs too.I also chose to go for a non conventional shape and make my churros in spirals like pinwheels.

print recipe

Churros

by Nayna Kanabar September-16-2016

A delicious fried sweet doughnut that is flavoured with cinnamon sugar and served with a dipping sauce.

Ingredients

• 25g Butter
• 200 ml Water
• 175g Self raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
• 1 tablespoon Rachel's honey Yoghurt
• 800 ml Oil (for deep frying)
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon for dusting
• 100g Sugar for dusting
• 200ml Rachel's honey Yoghurt for dipping with a extra pinch of cinnamon for sprinkling.

Method:

1. In a pan add the water and butter and bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and keep aside 2.Sift together the flour and baking powder and add this to the water and butter mixture and quickly mix the ingredients until they come together.Leave the mixture to cool slightly.3. Once the dough has cooled slightly add in 1 tablespoon of Rachel's honey yoghurt and mix it in thoroughly. 4. Cover the dough and leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.5.Place a large star nozzle into a large piping bag and fill it with the dough.6.On grease proof paper pipe 12 spiral pinwheel shapes making sure you leave space between them. Leave these a side to rest for 10 minutes.7.In a plate mix together the sugar and cinnamon and keep aside.8. Heat oil in a deep fryer to 190 degrees C. Once oil is hot test it by dropping a ball of dough if it immediately floats to the surface oil is ready.9. Gently lift off the piped churros off the grease proof paper and lower them into the hot oil. (Only fry 2-3 at a time , do not over crowd the pan)Deep fry them for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Remove them from oil with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate with a piece of kitchen paper on it.Fry the remaining churros in small batches.10.Once all the churros have been fried sprinkle them with the cinnamon sugar.11. For the Dip pour some Rachel's honey yoghurt into a dish and sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon.Serve the dip with the churros.

Details

Prep time: 30 mins (plus 30 mins resting time) Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 1 hr 25 mins mins Yield: 12

Churros are generally served with a dipping sauce, chocolate sauce is a firm favourite however I am serving my churros with Rachel's Honey yoghurt with a sprinkling of cinnamon on the top.

I took inspiration to create this recipe from GBBO, it is created in collaboration with Rachel's Yoghurts. The recipe used in this post has been adapted from Rachel's Yoghurts.

Submitting this to :

Great Bloggers Bake Off  with Jenny from Mummy Mishaps.

Vegetarian Chilli ~Secret recipe club November 16th 2015

This is my assignment with the Secret Recipe Club.The aim of the club is that you are allocated a blog from which you have to select a recipe and try it and blog about it. For the month of November my assigned blog is Living the Gourmet . The blog is a joint contributed blog by Catherine, Tammy and  Michael, between them they post some wonderful recipes, reviews and photography on the blog. 
Looking through I found some lovely recipes but one I immediately wanted to make was the sweet and spicy vegetarian chilli recipe. I love one pot meals and this is perfect for the winter to prepare and enjoy. I made very slight changes by using the veg that I had in my vegetable box .The recipe was a super success with my family .We enjoyed it with rice and also with pasta.

print recipe

Sweet and Spicy Vegetarian Chilli

by Nayna Kanabar November-15-2015

A medley of seasonal vegetables cooked together in this rustic bowl of Spicy chilli.

Ingredients:

• 400g Precooked kidney beans
• 3 thinly sliced Capsicums red/yellow/green
• 100g Precooked sweet corn
• 1 Large Courgette diced
• 200g chopped Tinned tomatoes in juice
• 1 Medium Sweet potato peeled and diced
• 1 Finely sliced Red onion
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Chilli Powder
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinergar
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 2 cloves Finely chopped Garlic
• 1 Finely chopped Green chilli
• 2 sprig fresh Coriander

Method:

1. Add oil in a pan when its hot, add the garlic and onion and saute for a couple of minutes.2. Add the sweet potato and peppers and courgettes and saute for 5 minutes.3. Add the sweetcorn, kidney beans, chopped tomatoes and the juice.4. Add the salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, green chillies and cook the vegetables until the sweet potato is cooked through. approx 10 minutes.(Add a little water if mixture is dry )5. Add the honey and balsamic vinegar and stir together.6. Transfer the chili to a serving pan and garnish with fresh coriander. You can serve the chilli with rice or pasta.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: Serves 4

An InLinkz Link-up

Roasted Vegetable Wraps

I love mediterranean vegetables and I am always looking for ways to cook them in interesting ways. With the arrival of my ActiFry, roasted vegetables have become a breeze to cook and I love serving them with a home made spicy tomato salsa and cactus corn tortilla.

Using the ActiFry is simple all it requires is less than 1 tablespoon of oil and a selection of vegetables and the actifry does the rest.It cooks using a hot air system in minimal oil without compromising on the taste.

print recipe

Roasted Vegetable Wraps

by Nayna Kanabar November-3-2014

A colourful medley of roasted mediterranean vegetables served with spicy homemade tomato sauce and cactus corn wraps.

Ingredients:

• 2 baby courgettes cut into 5mm thick round slices
• 2 baby carrots peeled and cut into 5mm thick round slices
• 10 baby new potatoes cut into quarters
• 1 green pepper cut into one inch pieces
• 1 red pepper cut into one inch pieces
• 10 button mushrooms cut into halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 6 cactus corn tortillas
• 6 tablespoons homemade spicy tomato salsa

Method:

1. Put all the vegetables except the mushrooms in the ActiFry and add 1 tablespoon of oil.2. Roast the vegetables for 15 minutes in the ActiFry, after 15 minutes add the mushrooms and roast the vegetables for 5 more minutes.3.Remove  the roasted vegetables from the ActiFry and add them to a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, chilli flakes and lemon juice and toss together.4. Place a  tortilla wrap  on a hot griddle to warm for 30 seconds , transfer the wrap onto a plate, spoon over it the spicy tomato salsa and add a portion of the roasted vegetables 5.Roll up the wrap and serve immediately.6. Repeat procedure for rest of wraps.

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 6 wraps

NB- If you don't have an ActiFry you can place the vegetables on a baking tray and roast them in the oven instead. I was sent the ActiFry by Tesco Direct to review, all the views and opinions in the post are my own and unbiased.

Submitting to:

In my VEG BOX ~Mushrooms, event by citrusspice and guest hosted by Mayuri's Jikoni

Quesadilla-Mexican

Delicious snack made with tortilla wraps, vegetables and cheese.

Ingredients

4 whole wheat tortilla wraps
1 red onion finely chopped
1 courgette finely diced
1 tomato de seeded and finely chopped
60 g cooked sweet corn
30 g diced mixed peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes
90 g grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

1. In a frying pan add the oil and wait for it to heat, add the onions and sauté until translucent
2. Add the diced courgette and the sweet corn and peppers. Add the salt, chilli flakes, cumin powder and paprika and mix well. Sauté for 3-4 minutes until vegetables are cooked.
3. Remove vegetable mixture from heat and keep aside.
4. In a clean frying pan place one of the wraps.Sprinkle some of the grated cheese on it and on top of the cheese add half the vegetable mixture.Add the chopped tomatoes on the top and add a little more cheese.
5. Place the second tortilla wrap on top of the cheese and press down with a spatula.Cook the Quesadillla for 1 minute and then flip it over.

6.Press again with the spatula and cook the Quesadilla on the underside for another minute.
7.Remove the quesadilla on to a plate and cut it into quarters or sixths.
8. Repeat for second pair of tortilla wraps.
Serve with dip of choice.

Submitting to;
 Flavours of Mexico event by simply.food 

Lets cook with cheese event by simply.food

Mexican Rice- Arroz Mexicano and a Procook cast Iron pan review.

A delicious protein packed aromatic Mexican rice with fragrant cumin and coriander.

Ingredients:

250 g / 8 oz white basmati rice
500 ml boiling water
250 g /  8 oz precooked cannelloni beans
1 green capsicum  finely chopped
1 white onion finely chopped
1 large carrot peeled and grated
2 medium potatoes peeled and finely diced
125 g / 4 oz precooked sweetcorn kernels
60 g / 2 oz finely chopped fresh coriander
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder

Method:

1. Wash the rice and soak it in cold water for 30 minutes.
2. In a large pan heat the oil when it is hot add the onions and sauté them on low heat until translucent.
3. Drain the rice and add it to the onions and sauté the rice until all the grains are coated in the oil.stir the rice gently so that the grains don't break.
4. Add the carrots, potatoes,cannelloni beans, pepper sand sweet corn. Mix the vegetables with the rice.
5. Add the salt, chilli powder,cumin powder and coriander powder and half the amount of fresh coriander.(reserve other half for garnish) Stir all the spices into the rice and vegetables.

6. Add 500 ml boiling water to the rice and bring the rice to a slow boil.
7. Once rice is boiling, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover the pan with the lid.
8.Cook the rice on lowest setting for 22 minutes.(During this time do not open the pan lid)
9.After 22 minutes open the lid, all the water will have been absorbed with the rice and grains should be soft and fluffy.
1. Garnish the rice with remaining fresh coriander.
Serve Hot.

You may like:
Singapore five spiced rice


The Aubergine shallow Cast Iron Casserole featured in this recipe was recently sent to me to review by ProCook Kitchenware. It it is hand cast from molten iron which makes it very strong and durable with an integral handle.It is topped with a smart, stainless steel handle and enamelled inside and out.The pan is 28 cm round with a capacity of 3.5l. The added feature is that it is suitable for all hobs and ovens including induction.The pan can be used for cooking and serving as it looks elegant even when taken straight from oven to table.The pans are available in cream, black red and aubergine in various sizes.
I used the pan for cooking on a gas stove and the oven, I found that it worked well on the stove and equally well in the oven.However I did find that cooking casseroles and rice worked best in this type of pan as trying to cook anything with less liquid in the pan caused the ingredients to stick to the bottom of the pan. The pan hand washed well although it is not suitable for dishwasher.I loved the look of my pan, the aubergine colour looked very elegant.Although it did not bother me for anyone who may be frail, be warned the pan is very heavy to lift and may prove difficulty in handling.I also found that the knob on the pan lid got very hot and required an oven glove to open the pan lid.The pan is available on the ProCook website for £ 42.00 almost half the price compared to high street shops.It is also guaranteed for 25 years.

Thankyou to ProCook for sending me the pan to review, all the views and opinions in this post are my own.

Submitting to:
Flavours of Mexico event by simply.food

Fajita Kits by Discovery

Picture  courtesy of Discovery foods

I love Mexican food and find that it is fast and easy to prepare.When discovery sent me two Fajita kits to try I was more than pleased to put them to the test.Each Kit contains everything you need to make your family a tasty Mexican feast. All you have to add is the filling.

The Perfect Fajita Kits are available in three tantalising variants: Original (medium heat), Crispy Crumb (mild heat), and Mexican BBQ (mild heat).  

The kits contains:

• eight Soft Flour Tortillas, 
• a sachet of Discovery’s mouth-watering Salsa or Soured Cream
• a packet of Discovery’s sensational Seasoning Mix.  

The ingredients used are the highest quality; the kits are versatile and ideal for midweek meals or larger family get-together.All the kits come with simple to follow step-by-step recipe suggestion so that you can create your Mexican meal in minutes. These kits take up very little storage space and are perfect store cupboard ingredient to rustle up a fast and speedy nutritious meal after a hard day’s work.

With my kit I made veggie mixed bean Fajitas.I would like to thank Discovery food for sending me these kits to try.All the opinions in this post are my own.

Veggie mixed bean Fajitas

Barbecued Corn Salad

Barbecued Corn salad is a tasty fast and easy salad that is delicious as a starter or side dish.Crunchy barbecued corn served with sweet mango, cucumber and carrots.

Ingredients:

2 fresh corn on the cobs
2 inch piece of  cucumber
1 carrot
1 semi ripe mango
2 green chillies

Dressing:

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Black pepper
1 teaspoon honey

Method:

1. Barbecue the corn till it is charred and roasted all over alternatively grill the corn.
2. Remove the corn kernals from the roasted corn and keep aside.
3. Cut the cucumber in quarters and slice thinly.
4. Peel and grate the carrot.
5. Peel and dice the mango ,discard the stone.
6.Chop the chillies finely.
7. In a screw top jar add the vinegar, lemon juice,honey,oil , salt and pepper. Screw the lid and shake well.
8. In a bowl add the cucumber, carrot, and mango and toss.
9. Add the dressing and mix well.
10. On a serving dish add a layer of barbecued corn and top it with the mango, cucumber and carrot salsa.
11. Garnish with chopped chillies.
Serve immediately.

You may like:
Mexican cous cous salad

Mexican Veggie Tart

Flaky puff pastry tart with a spicy mouth watering delectable Mexican filling.

Ingredients:

1 sheet ready to roll puff pastry.
½ cup precooked sweet corn
½ cup pre cooked peas
½ cup precooked kidney beans
1 carrot grated
1 onion finely sliced
½ red pepper diced
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tablespoon olive oil.

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan when hot fry the onions till brown and almost turning crispy.
2. Add the grated carrot and diced peppers and stir fry for 2-3 minutes till both are softened.
3. Add the peas, sweet corn, salt paprika and tomato puree.
4. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes till masala is dry and moisture free.
5. Grease a baking try and place the rolled out puff pastry on it.
6. Using sharp knife score around all four edges  of the pastry rectangle 2 cm from edge taking care not to cut through the pastry.
7. Spoon the masala mixture onto the pastry with in the scored lines.
8. Bake in a preheated oven 200 º C/ 400 º F for 30 minutes till pastry is golden brown.

Serve hot with salad.

You may like:

Veggie puff pastry parcels

Mexican Salad.

Mexican couscous salad-A rich and vibrant Mexican salad with a spicy aromatic cumin and mexican herb dressing.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons dry couscous
1/2 cup water (enough to cover couscous)
1/2 cup pre cooked kidney beans
1/2 cup pre cooked sweet corn kernels
1 small tomato deseeded and diced
1/2 cup diced mixed peppers red/yellow/green
2 inch piece cucumber diced
1 small red onion finely diced

1/2 avocado diced

For Dressing;

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder or paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic paste
Pinch of Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. In a dish put the couscous and add just enough boiling water to cover it. Cover and leave for 15 minutes till couscous swells up and all the water is absorbed.
2. In another bowl add the kidney beans, sweet corn kernels, peppers, red onion, tomatoes, avocado and cucumber and mix.
3. Stir in the prepared couscous.
4. In a jar with a lid add the chilli powder, cumin powder, garlic, cilantro, oil, lime juice mexican oregano and salt. Shake the jar to mix all the ingredients.
5. Pour the dressing onto the salad and toss to mix thoroughly. Chill the salad for 30 minutes to allow all the flavours to infuse.

You may like:
Couscous salad

Submitting to

SARA'S CORNER-Cook with cumin seeds event idea conceived by Priya

Priya's Easy n tasty recipes- Cook with onion event.

Mexican Tortilla Wraps

Mexican tortilla wraps-A mexican spicy filling made from kidney,beans,onions,capsicums and sweet corn, wrapped in a wheat tortilla garnished with spicy salsa and salad.Healthy and appetising.

Ingredients:

4 oz precooked kidney beans
4 oz precooked sweet corn kernals
2 oz mixed colour diced peppers
1 small onion finely diced
1 teaspoon tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 tablespoons water
4 tortilla wraps
2-3 green chillies finely chopped(optional)
Side salad and salsa for serving

Method:

1.Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions till translucent.Add the peppers and cook for another 5 minutes
2.Add the salt and chilli powder and green chopped chilies.
3.Add the tomato puree and water.Mix
4.Add the corn and kidney beans and cook for 5 more mins till water is absorbed.
5.Take off heat and keep aside.
6.On a griddle warm the tortilla wrap pace it on a plate and spoon the cooked mixture on it.
7.Roll the tortilla wrap in a tube and cut in half.
8.Serve with a fresh side salad and salsa.