recipes courtesy of Cintia Stammers


Ekadasi Pasties
Ekadasi Savoury Bread

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EKADASI PASTIES
Makes 4 -6 pasties

Ingredients for the pastry:
250 g (2  cups) buckwheat flour
120 g (1 cup)  potato flour (potato starch)
90 ml (6 Tbsp) sunflower seed oil
½ tsp salt
1 tsb dry thyme or mixed herbs
About 100 ml (½ cup) cold water
A little oil or butter for greasing the baking tin
  
Ingredients for the filling:
200 g (about 3 medium) potatoes
100 g (about 1 medium) carrots
100 g pakchoi or chard or another firm green vegetable

2 Tbsp olive oil
2  tsp chopped fresh ginger
2 tsp dry oregano
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp salt
A little extra oil for brushing

To prepare the pastry:
Mix the two flours in a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the middle, and there place the oil, herbs and salt.
Using a fork or finger tips, mix all the ingredients until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
Add the water a little at a time and continue mixing and gathering together with your fingertips, until the pastry is soft and pliable.
f the pastry is still too dry, add a little more cold water.
Roll into a ball, cover and leave it aside while you prepare the filling.

To prepare the filling:
Chop the potatoes, carrots and greens as finely as possible.
Mix them in a bowl, adding salt, parsley, oregano, ginger.
Heat the oil in a saucepan, and add the ginger.
Let it heat for a minute, and add the oregano and parsley.
Mix in the chopped vegetables and the salt.
Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring once in a while.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a little while.
Heat the oven to 180°C / Gas Mark 4.
Grease a baking tin with a little oil or butter.

To make the pasties:
Divide the pastry into 4 cm (1 ½ “) balls.
Roll them out and in each place 1 Tbsp filling.
Turn them over and pinch the edges with finger tips or a fork.
Place the pasties in the greased tin and bake for 15 minutes.
Brush them with a little oil.

Variations:
1.    Use other root vegetables such as parsnips, celeriac, Jerusalem artichoke or swede.
2.    Add a little chopped paneer cheese (curd) to the filling.

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EKADASI SAVORY BREAD

250 g (2  cups) buckwheat flour
100 g (¾ cup)  potato flour (potato starch)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp mixed herbs
2 Tbsp grated cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp sunflower seed oil
200 ml cold water

Heat up the oven to 180°C / Gas Mark 4.
Prepare abread tin or any other deep tin: brush with a little sunflower oil and dust with buckwheat flour.
Sift into a bowl the flours, salt, cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda.
Stir in the herbs and cheese.
Make a well in the middle and add the oil and ¾ of the water.
Mix with finger tips, until you have a firm dough.
Add more water if necessary, buckwheat flour tends to absorb a lot of liquid.
Place the dough in the prepared tin and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Check if it’s ready by inserting a cocktail stick or skewer in the middle.
If it comes out dry, the bread is ready.
When cool, slice it and fill with cheese or peanut butter or vegetable pate.

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