"Right now, I'm craving spicy chickpea curry...."

Food styling and photography: Annalise Muller

I was excited to try this dish out, because I have relatively little experience with cooking curries. I've made some kormas and laksas from shop-bought pastes, that's really it. 

 Upon a bit of research on chickpea curries, I came up with chana masala, a tomato based dry curry (meaning most of the liquid has evaporated, not that it's dry like a cracker). 

This dish did involve a trip to my favourite Indian market, where I bought amchoor (dried, powdered green mango) powder for the dish. It adds a sour, bright flavour to the dish. If you can't find it, use more citrus instead!

I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe for chana masala, which was adapted from one of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes.  I made a few  slight changes, but nothing major. 

I am always wary of giving measurements of chile peppers, since people buy all sorts of them. I used a green Jwala chili, which is common in Indian cooking and quite hot. I only used half. You may want more. 
I would recommend serving this with yoghurt or a raita of some sort. 

Chana Masala

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 onions, chopped finely
1 large clove garlic, chopped finely
1 thumb sized knob of ginger, grated
1/2 hot chile pepper, chopped (can less or more to your taste)
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 tbsp amchoor powder
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
4 cups cooked chickpeas
The juice of half a lemon or lime.


1.  In a large, heavy bottomed pan, heat a bit of oil. Add onions, garlic, ginger and chile pepper and cook for about five minutes, until fragrant.
2. Add all the dry spices, lower the heat as not to burn, and stir to incorporate with the onion mixture. Sautee over low heat for a couple of minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, water and chickpeas. Stir to incorporate. Simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, until most liquid has evaporated.
4. Stir through citrus juice and season with salt.
5. Serve hot with rice or a fluffy flatbread such as naan.

What do you eat in winter?

"Chunky soup."

Justin, Texas, USA

This soup is so simple yet so packed with flavour and texture. It is smokey, spicy, savoury, crunchy, soft and soothing. Here, I serve it with toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), tortilla chips, and chopped cabbage. Normally, I also top my bowl of soup with avocado and lime juice, which I absolutely recommend.  

I think this dish really lends itself to experimentation;  you could try using another legume of instead of chickpeas, or even add a bit of chicken or chorizo if you're feeling a bit more carnivorous. The possibilities really are endless with soup....

Smokey tomato soup with chickpeas and rice

1 onion, chopped

2 small dried chipotle peppers

2 carrots, cut into rounds

10 cups of vegetable or chicken broth

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup rice

1 cup cooked chickpeas

2 tsp finely chopped cilantro

Avocado, tortilla chips, chopped cabbage, lime juice and toasted pepitas, to serve.

1.   In a large pot, heat a bit of oil and add onions, chipotles and carrots. Sautee until the vegetables are fragrant and a little soft.

2.   Add broth, tomatoes and spices.  Season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to boil.

3.   Add rice, reduce heat to a steady simmer, and cook until rice is soft; about 20 minutes.

4.   Add chickpeas and stir through chopped cilantro. Re-season with salt and pepper.

5.   Serve hot with toppings! 

A drizzly Melbourne morning.

Your tram was fifteen minutes late, filled with gossipy schoolgirls and their swinging ponytails.  The café is filling up, the takeaway window crowded with faces.

Coffee up!

Coffee up!

I said, coffee up!

Your barista is moodily pouring out an endless clatter of coffees. He’s been wearing the same faded shirt, that black one with the ninja, for three days. He barely acknowledges you, just wordlessly hands you the first of many flat whites. You swirl your teaspoon through it and take a little taste before tying on your apron. You try and assess the dining room, but before your eyes can scan beyond the oddly piratelike looking man at table two, you hear that thick Israeli accent cry out;

Coffee up!

He hits the bell and looks at you. Two flat whites and a skinny latte for table sixteen. You place them on little saucers, along with a scattering of Tiny Teddy biscuits and a teaspoon and carry them to a round table by the big window. 

You pour two cool glasses of water for your newest arrival, a mother and daughter. They're regulars here, and always get the same latte orders; one soy and one extra hot. Sometimes the daughter comes alone, and when she does, she gets a strawberry muffin. You saw her once, at the Prahran markets, but you couldn't place how you recognised her until hours later, while watching The Voice, it just came to you. Funny how that happens, isn't-

Ding!

Food up!

Poached eggs on Turkish bread with Vegemite, eggs royale, eggs florentine, table nine.

You run the plates over to the table. A middle aged woman and a younger couple. Vegemite toast for the man, eggs Florentine for the young lady, and-

What is this? I didn’t order this.

Apparently, that new backpacker waiter completely misunderstood the woman’s order. She wants Spanish eggs, not eggs royale- not entirely sure how the bloke mixed the two up. You take a deep breath, preparing yourself for the task of telling the chef. She’s intimidating; a lanky, angular ex-surfer with a steely glare.

Table nine wanted Spanish eggs, not eggs royale. I’m sorry.

Swearing under her breath, your chef fills a little clay dish with a piquant chorizo laden tomato sauce. Her teary-eyed sous chef looks up from his pile of shallots and winks at you.

Using a wooden spoon, she makes two wells in the sauce, and drops in two eggs. She sprinkles over some salt and then throws the whole thing under the grill.  You bring a big spoon to the table and whisk away the offending eggs royale, bringing them to where you have been sporadically sipping your coffee. 

As the morning passes, you quietly pick at the lady’s castoff eggs royale, which are good- the café does a nice lemony hollandaise that goes beautifully with the fatty, smoky salmon. It’s nice, but you wish it had been the Spanish eggs that were gifted upon you this morning. Those Spanish eggs are just so robust and flavourful, especially with toasted Turkish bread on the side.

Later that night, you are inspired to try your own version for dinner. Perhaps it looks something like this:

Melbourne café eggs

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 cup chorizo, cut into lardons

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small red pepper, chopped

1 tsp sherry

1 1/2 cup water

1 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp sugar

1/8 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

4 eggs

1.     In a shallow, heavy bottomed pan, heat a bit of oil and add garlic and onions. Cook until translucent and fragrant.

2.     Add chorizo and render out a bit of fat. Add tomatoes and peppers and sautee.

3.     Add the sherry and give it a good stir.

4.     Add water and tomato paste, stir to combine, and season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to boil. 

5.     Meanwhile, combine oil with cumin, paprika and cayenne. Season with a bit of salt.

6.     Reduce the heat of the tomato mixture and stir through the seasoned oil. Reduce heat to low.

7.     Gently crack four eggs into the sauce. It helps to use a spoon to create little wells for each egg. Season eggs with salt and pepper. 

8.     Cover pan and cook on very low heat for 5 minutes, or until egg whites are just set.

Serve with bread.

What do you eat in summer?

"Greek salad and fresh pasta. Nothing creamy or heavy."

Molly, British Columbia, Canada

Spaghetti with zucchini, tomatoes and herbs 

8 oz spaghetti

1 tablespoon salted butter

1 zucchini, sliced

1/3 cup basil, chopped

1/4 cup rocket

1 medium heirloom tomato, diced (about 1 cup)

1 teaspoon olive oil

Parmesan cheese, to serve

1.   Boil a pot of water for spaghetti. Add plenty of salt and cook spaghetti until al dente.

2.   In a medium pan, melt butter. Add zucchini and cook until tender and fragrant.

3.    Drain pasta and stir through. Add vegetables, olive oil, a pinch of salt, and plenty of cheese.