Tandoori Chicken Marinade

I love, love, love Indian food!  That said, I think I have mentioned my dairy allergy and unfortunately most Indian restaurants use butter, cream, and/or yogurt in their recipes so we don't eat Indian out anymore.  In my quest to enjoy a good Indian meal, I have spent a lot of time developing recipes that are dairy-free and also easy on the digestion.  I only have my Korma and 'Butter' chicken recipes up on the site but will eventually get around to the rest of our favourites.  

This Tandoori marinade is great with any kind of chicken.  We like chicken thighs because they tend to have a lot more flavour and are more tender than chicken breast but use your favourite cut of chicken including drumsticks. 

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• 1 cup plain soy milk (or any kind of milk)
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper, ground
• 2 bird's eye chilli peppers
• 2 tsps. sweet paprika
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 Tbsp. ginger, grated or chopped
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 small onion, peeled and cut roughly into chunks

Place all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Pour marinade over chicken and marinate in a plastic bag or glass container for 12-24 hours in the fridge.  Remove chicken from marinade and barbecue or bake until cooked through.

'You-Won't-Believe-There's-No-Butter' Chicken

I love Butter Chicken but as my decade long dairy allergy strengthens, all the butter and cream in this popular Indian dish doesn't love me.  With the cost of eating out on the rise and the struggle to find good dairy-free dishes, I experimented for months on this recipe until I got the quantities right for a tasty version of Butter Chicken without any dairy.

This dish takes literally minutes to make and no skills are required.  My kids love it and it owes its gentle balance of flavors to amazing spices, good quality coconut milk, the sweetness of the carrot contrasted with the tanginess of the tomato paste.

I prefer chicken thighs over chicken breast because they are more tender and are a more flavorful part of the chicken so there is no need to marinate before cooking - a real time saver!  This sauce is so great that you can just add veggies and/or chickpeas for a meat-free curry. 

I'm pretty proud of this recipe and I hope you enjoy it!

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• 2 Tbsps. coconut oil
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsps. sweet paprika
• 500g. chicken thighs, cut in chunks
• 1 cup of carrot, grated
• 50 g. of tomato paste
• 1 - 400ml can of coconut milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• chopped fresh coriander or parsley to garnish (optional)

In a medium-sized pot, heat the coconut oil; add spices and chunks of chicken. Cook for two minutes until the chicken is lightly browned. Next add the grated carrot and sauté for another two minutes. Finally, add the coconut milk, tomato paste and salt; stir.  Simmer gently for five to ten minutes until all the flavors have combined.

Serve over basmati or cauliflower rice.  Garnish with fresh chopped coriander or parsley.  Serves four.

Dream Cup Recipe put me in Heaven

A couple of Sunday's ago, it was supposed to be a day of cooking rest for me but I decided that I would try out a new recipe from Angela Liddon's Oh She Glows blog.  

For those who don't know Angela, she is a Canadian vegan who started out blogging and has published a successful, bestselling, and delicious vegan cookbook - with another on

the way.

I have been following her blog for the last year and also bought her cookbook a while back.  Her recipes are delicious and simple.  Her recent post for 3-Layer Nut-Free Dream Cups were super good.  I only had a square chocolate mold to make her Dream Cups, so I made mini sized squares that would be yummy on any dessert plate.  These sweets are dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free and totally vegan.  Yum, yum!

Freestyle Fresh Plum & Fig Frangipane

It is plum season in my neck of the woods.  A few days ago, my husband surprised me with a 10kg box of huge juicy plums and we have been eating them everyday. Today when I went out to harvest some more basil from my garden, I was surprised to find our figs from our fig tree were finally starting to ripen.  

Since I am only getting a handful of ripened figs at a time, I decided to combine the plums and figs together for frangipane awesomeness!
This freestyle plum & fresh fig frangipane is adapted from the recipe found at Gourmande in the Kitchen.  

A pretty pie dish would make this dessert a bedazzler but unfortunately all I had was a plain utilitarian glass pie plate; pretty presentation dish or not, this dessert is still a treat!  Divide into small ramekins for a more formal individual experience.

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• 4 large plums. halved and sliced
• 4 fresh figs, sliced
• 1 cup of almond meal
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

In a greased 8-9 inch glass pie dish, evenly spread the sliced plums and figs over the bottom.  In a separate bowl, whisk the honey, oil and egg together and then add the almond meal, spices, and salt; stir to combine.  Spoon the almond mixture over the fruit as evenly as possible and bake in an oven at 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly and serve warm with a dollop of coconut whipped cream, cashew cream, or dairy-free ice cream.