First ever guest posting on Kayotic Kitchen! I really want to introduce a friend of mine, Simone. Simone is a fellow Dutchie and is the author and photographer of Junglefrog Cooking—one of my favorite food blogs. I love her recipes and photography. Here’s why!

When Kay asked me if I wanted to do a guest post on her blog I was honored, especially since that doesn’t happen very often. I’ve followed Kay’s blog for quite a while now and love it for many different reasons; her photography is brilliant, the recipes mouthwatering and her step-by-step photos are great if you’re unsure of certain cooking or chopping methods. Especially in the beginning of my blogging career this has been a big help for me.

But yes, those step by step photos; when we talked about my post Kay mentioned – almost matter of fact – that she always includes step by step photos so would it be ok for me to do too?

Sure I thought, how hard can it be?

Let me tell you; as of today I have a whole new level of respect for Kay! You know those moments when people ask you how you manage to cook, shoot your food and then eat it? That is nothing compared to also shooting every single process in between. My kitchen is not really big and as I was moving around in the kitchen to prevent the direct sunlight hitting the board I was working (and shooting on) I had to move between the stove, roasting my spices, setting them up, shooting, going to the next step. And that was for a salad…

So let me tell you; this is my first and most likely my last time doing step by step photos of a dish! By the time the dish was ready it was like a bomb had exploded in the kitchen; food everywhere, herbs, chopped up cucumbers… I had no time to also clean up in between!

But now on to the dish I prepared for you. A vegetarian Indian spicy salad with pomegranate and yogurt to cool of the spicy elements of the dish. I love Indian food as it tends to be fragrant and warming and brings me back to places I’ve been to before. I couldn’t find any garam masala spice mix that was needed for the dish but I had very recently bought all the separate (whole spices) at the black market in Beverwijk so I knew I should have the right ingredients to make my own.
 

Making a spice mix like this is really not that hard. The only thing you have to do in this particular case is remove the seeds from the cardamom, toast all the spices except the nutmeg and once roasted ground them all either in a mortar and pestle or in a magimix or similar machine.

I put mine in the machine and ended up doing the big bits that were left over in the pestle and mortar. It’s not supposed to be all ground, but I don’t like whole cloves in my meal.

It’s worth the extra effort as the flavor is much stronger than any pre bought package and spicier too! This is a salad with a mighty kick (you’re warned!). If you do not have to take any photographs in between, this is a pretty quick salad to put together. There is some chopping involved and some measuring.

You cut up one small onion, grate 2 cm of ginger, deseed and chop one green (or red) chili. The you remove and deseed the cucumber and dice it. I used a couple of cherry tomatoes but you can use any type of tomato you prefer. Just chop them into cubes or manageable size to incorporate in your salad.

Have a little bowl ready with 1 tsp of ground chill and one tbsp of your garam masala mixture you just prepared.

Put 2 tbsp of nut oil in a frying pan and add your ginger, onion and chili to the pan. Fry for about 5 minutes or until your onions are soft.

Add the chickpeas and cook for a further 5 minutes until golden. Add the chili powder and garam masala you measured and then cook until golden and fragrant. (about 2 minutes) Remove from the heat, taste if you need any extra seasoning (I didn’t) and set aside to cool.

In a bowl mix the cucumber, tomatoes and chopped coriander together.

Add a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Divide among 4 plates and top with the chickpea mixture, yogurt, pomegranate seeds and crushed papadums.

Sprinkle with the coriander leaves and serve immediately before the papadums start to soften. Enjoy!

*recipe adapted from Delicious uk.

Thanks a million, Simone! Recipe looks fantastic and photos are stunning.

©Junglefrog