recipes
tacos, three ways
It’s #NationalTacoDay in the UK, so here’s a little spin on this Mexican favourite. Using Earth & Wheat’s chilli tortillas, we reconstruct tacos taking you from from Mexico to Sri Lanka, Thailand and India, with bits of amma’s kitchen in all three of them.
This was particularly exciting because tacos are one of the most versatile foods that allows you to mix and match different flavours, truly living up to our flowing concept. And so, if you have a taco flavour you’d like us to try, comment below!
pulled roast chicken & eggplant sambal
jaffna-inspired
Eggplant sambal and chicken curry is a common feature during a Sunday lunch at our home. What Amma would usually feed us with rice, we decided to put this on a taco.
crispy battered cod & "papaya" salad
thai-inspired
We couldn’t find raw, green papayas so here’s a twist with green apples. And those spicy sweet sour taste could only go well with some battered fish!
pan-fried paneer masala & coriander chutney
indian-inspired
We take some quintessentially Indian flavours in this third twist – paneer masala and coriander chuntey with some good ‘ol fresh red cabbage salad.
pulled roast chicken & eggplant sambal
the stuff
the main:
chicken breast (or jackfruit)
chilli powder
cumin powder
coriander powder
turmeric
salt & pepper
oil
the salad:
1 eggplant
1 onion
turmeric
oil
2 tsp cumin
3 tsp mustard
ginger-garlic paste
4-5 dried chillies
apple cider vinegar
the dressing:
yoghurt
lemon
chives
salt & pepper
the method
- Pre-heat the oven to 200oC.
- Rub the chicken breast with all the spices and pop them into the oven for about 30-40 min.1 2
- While the chicken cooks, slice them eggplant and onion into thin strips.
- Stir fry with a pinch of salt and turmeric.
- While they cook, grind the cumin, mustard, ginger-garlic paste in a food processor.
- You know the eggplants and onions are well-cooked when they are in a nice brown shade. It’s now time to turn off the flame and mix the ground spices in with some vinegar.
- Prepare your sauce by squeezing some lemon into a scoop of yoghurt.
- Once the chicken is done, pull it apart into shreds with two forks (sounds like our lives but hey!).
- Time to assemble: scoop some pulled chicken onto a tortilla, top it with a bit of the eggplant sambal, and drizzle that yoghurt sauce!
1 You can prepare this in advance, it always tastes better the day after when the chicken’s soaked in all the juices and spices!
2 If you’re using jackfruit instead, pull the jackfruit, shredding into pieces and fry it in a pan with the different spices.
crispy battered cod & "papaya" salad
the stuff
the main:
3 pieces of cod
75g plain flour
100ml chilled water
salt & pepper
the salad:
3 green apples (or a raw green papaya), cut into matchsticks
1 dried red chilli
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
1/3 cup cherry tomatoes
4 green beans, sliced
1 carrot, chopped into matchsticks
2 tbsp chopped salted peanuts
the dressing:
honey
dijon mustard
olive oil
salt & pepper
honey
dijon mustard
olive oil
salt & pepper
the method
- Toast the peanuts over a medium heat until golden brown and set aside.
- Pound the chilli and garlic coarsely.
- Add in sugar, tamarind and lime juice and mix.1
- Toss in the beans and tomatoes and lightly pound.
- Drop in the carrots and apples and mix. Set aside.
- Whisk the chilled water with some flour, salt and pepper to make the batter. Coat the cod slices in the batter.
- In a pan, heat some oil at high heat to shallow fry the cod. Lower the heat if it starts splattering!
- Flip sides and cook until they’re all golden brown!
- Time for the dressing: mix equal amounts of honey, dijon mustard, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble it the same way – the main stuff goes first, followed by that apple/papaya salad, and finally drizzle over some sweet-tangy sauce.
1 If you can’t find any tamarind, fish sauce works just as well. If you can’t find that either, well just pump up the lime juice quantity to match.
pan-fried paneer masala & coriander chutney
the stuff
the main:
paneer, cubed
chilli powder
cumin and coriander powder
masala powder
turmeric
yoghurt
salt & pepper
the salad:
red cabbage
vinegar
salt & pepper
the dressing:
fresh coriander
fresh mint
2-3 green chillies, chopped
1-inch ginger, chopped
lemon juice
salt & pepper
the method
- Rub the paneer cubes with all the spices mixed in yogurt. Set aside.
- Shred red cabbage, season with some salt and pepper.
- In a pan, heat some oil on medium-low heat. Fry the paneer cubes until golden brown on all sides.
- In a food processor, blend all the ingredients for the chutney.1
- It’s eating time! Crumble the fried paneer onto a tortilla, drop some fresh red cabbage salad, and top with the coriander chutney.
1 You can add some water and/or yoghurt depending on the consistency you like, to get a smoother texture.