Pico de gallo
All Mexican food always has this side salsa made with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and some lime juice. This mixture is called pico de gallo. Once you’ve tried this, you’ll want it with all all your Mexican dishes and everything else! Pictured here is a healthy salad with beans and corn, avocado and pico de gallo. Check our Mexican Fiesta bowl recipe for more Mexican inspiration.
Serves 16
Makes 1 quart
Ingredients:
3 cups of ripe Roma tomatoes diced 1/4 inch (the riper the better) (1 1/2lb)
1 tsp sea salt to taste
3/4 cup large red onion diced finely (1/2 red onion)
1 jalapeno chili finely diced (If you want it hotter, leave seeds in and add more Jalapenos)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice from 1 lime
Directions:
Sprinkle sea salt over tomatoes and toss to combine. Transfer tomatoes to a fine mesh strainer and drain the liquid from tomatoes (20-30 minutes)
Combine all ingredients and add more salt if you wish.
Serve with Nachos, Taco chips, salads, fish, and anything you desire.
SPICY ROASTED ALMONDS AND CASHEW
I played around with this recipe and finally got it down to perfection. A few years ago, everywhere you went to get roasted nuts, the ingredients were always canola oil, maltodextrin and other ingredients whose names you couldn’t pronounce. My recipe has cayenne, himalayan salt, and water. Yes water!! I make these nuts for friends and family and everyone is always impressed. You can add as much spice as you want. I just make them spicy enough for my taste buds. My Dad used to love these. Thought I would make these today in memory of my Dad for Father’s Day.
All you need is raw cashews, raw almonds, cayenne, himalayan salt and water. First wash the nuts several times and soak for about 20 minutes. Studies show the longer you soak the nuts, the better. If you have time to soak them overnight, its better, but the roasting time will increase as the nuts will take longer to get that crunch.
After washing and soaking, mix cayenne and himalayan salt in 1/4 cup of hot boiling water and pour over nuts and mix thoroughly making sure all the nuts are evenly coated.
Bake for an hour and a half at 250 degrees F and keep stirring the mixture at 20 minute intervals. Leave the nuts to cool in the oven.
SPICY ROASTED ALMONDS AND CASHEW
Serves: 6-10
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 90 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1/4 cup hot water
INSTRUCTIONS
Wash nuts several times and soak nuts in cold water for about 20 minutes. You can soak for longer but this will increase your roasting time. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Rinse nuts and set aside. Mix the cayenne and Himalayan salt in hot water and stir till salt has dissolved and add the mixture to the nuts. Stir, making sure the nuts are coated evenly. Transfer to a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Roast the nuts for about an hour and a half stirring every twenty minutes so they cook evenly. Leave the nuts to cool in the oven.
HOT AND SPICY MANGO MOJITO (NON-ALCOHOLIC)
During the summer months, I am always looking for colourful fruity and spicy drinks. This hot and spicy mango mojito will do the trick every time. Enjoying this drink on a nice sunny day with some guacamole and tortilla chips on my patio listening to some latino music is the best way to spend a nice evening. This drink is diluted with sparkling water and has no added sugar or alcohol (if you need to spike it, substitute the sparkling water for more mango juice and add rum or tequila.)
Ingredients you need are unsweetened mango juice, lime, jalapeño, mint leaves, himalayan salt, sparkling water or club soda.
Chop lime in quarters and slice 2 for garnish, slice 1/2 a jalapeño, and chop 4 mint leaves.
In a mortar and pestle mash up the lime, jalapeno and mint adding 1/4 tsp of Himalayan salt. Scoop out the mashed ingredients and add to 1 cup of unsweetened mango juice.
Add 1 cup of sparkling water or 1 cup of club soda and 6-8 ice cubes.
HOT AND SPICY MANGO MOJITO (NON-ALCOHOLIC)
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsweetened mango juice
1 lime chopped in quarters ( reserve 2 semi circle slices for garnish)
1/4 to 1/2 jalapeno sliced in circles (the more you use, the spicier)
7 mint leaves (chopped fine and reserve 3 for garnish)
1/4 tsp.Himalayan salt
1 cup sparkling water or club soda
INSTRUCTIONS
Place 2 glasses in the freezer and chill for 10 minutes. In a mortar, add lime chopped into quarters, sliced jalapeños, chopped mint leaves, Himalayan salt and mash with pestle till all ingredients are meshed together. Add all ingredients to mango juice, then add sparkling water and ice and stir and pour into chilled glasses. Garnish with jalapeno slices, mint leaves and a slice of lime.
Enjoy!
SPICY MANGO SALSA
This mango salsa was also developed with my childhood memories of buying spicy cut up mangoes from a vendor stand walking home from school on a tropical hot sunny day. The ripe mango, crunchy cucumbers, red onions and red peppers along with the tantalizing flavours of fresh mint, cumin and cilantro is absolutely to die for. The True Nosh Ghost pepper sauce does the trick here as it is perfectly spicy, sugar free, preservative free and gluten free.
Finely chop all ingredients and mix.
SPICY MANGO SALSA
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cucumber, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2-3 mint leaves finely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 garlic clove mashed
1/4 tsp cumin ground
Juice of two limes
1 -2 tsp True nosh ghost pepper sauce
Himalayan salt to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix. Refrigerate for an hour and serve chilled with Tortilla chips.
Enjoy!
SPICY MANGO SALAD
Mangoes were always sold on vendor carts in Uganda -split and sprinkled with lots of hot chilli powder and lemon salt. Memories of walking home after school during my childhood always include spicy mangoes. The mangoes were either raw, sour and crunchy or ripe, soft and sweet. When mangoes are in season here, I normally take advantage of using them in refreshing salads, salsas and drinks.
My recipes are rather on the spicy side as my memories of mangoes always include “hot and spicy”. One of my favourite salads in the summer is a good mango salad. I have tried various ingredients like jicama, cucumbers, peppers but I always loved the combination of green apples, red onions, jalapeños and ripe mangoes.
The ingredients sliced thin and evenly will make the salad more appealing and enjoyable. Jalapeños can be sliced long or chopped fine depending on your spice taste buds! For me, the spicier the better.
SPICY MANGO SALAD
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutesRating: 5.0/5 ( 1 voted )
INGREDIENTS
1/2 green apple thinly sliced
1 ripe mango thinly sliced
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1/2 jalapeño thinly sliced
1 garlic clove mashed
1/4 tsp cumin ground
Himalayan salt to taste
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
1-2 tsp TrueNosh Ghost pepper sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
Slice all ingredients evenly and mix all ingredients together. True Nosh hot sauces are sugar free, preservative free and gluten free and perfectly spicy for my salad.
Enjoy!
COCONUT CHUTNEY
Growing up in East Africa, coconut chutney was served with all of our vegetarian snacks and with all of our barbecue meats. This favourite chutney will set your taste buds with sheer joy. As coconut was readily available in Africa, the coconut flesh was used to make this chutney. I use desiccated coconut as it is readily available and the chutney can be made in less than an hour to add to your bhajias, samosas, barbecue meats and pretty much anything really!
This chutney is super easy to make and only a few ingredients like coconut, cilantro, green chilli, lemon and a granny smith apple are needed. Soak 1 cup of fine or medium unsweetened coconut in 1 cup of water and 6 tbsp of fresh lemon juice for about 20 minutes. Wash and remove stems of cilantro and green chilli. Remove seeds from from the granny smith apple. Blend all ingredients including the water and lemon juice. Garlic can be added to make the chutney rise to another level but thats optional.
COCONUT CHUTNEY
Serves: 6-10
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup fine unsweetened coconut
6 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup cold water
1 bunch cilantro, washed and stems removed
1-2 green chillies, washed and stems removed
1 granny smith apple, washed and seeds removed and halved
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1 tsp garlic paste (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Soak coconut in 1 cup of water and lemon juice for about 20 minutes. Add all ingredients in the blender and blend till you get a nice smooth green chutney. If you need to add more water, add a little at a time.
The chutney can be added to pretty much all the Indian snacks and barbecues.
Enjoy!!
INDIAN EGGPLANT AND YOGURT BHARTHO
I have always loved the combination of eggplant and yogurt. Growing up in Kampala, Uganda, my grandmother always made a family favourite passed down from her grandmother in Gujarat, India . She used to make me this amazing refreshing combination of eggplant, yogurt, some spices and fresh paratha which would be ready for me after school on a hot day. This snack was a family favourite and my son always asks for it when he comes home from afar. This refreshing dish is similar to the Lebanese, Baba Ganoush which is also one of my favourites and also on my blog.
INDIAN EGGPLANT AND YOGURT BHARTHO
Serve: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 dome eggplant
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp green chilli paste (hot chilli pepper ground in a mortar and pestle)
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup yogurt (dairy or non dairy)
1/4 cup green onions chopped
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat stove to 350 degrees
Wash the eggplant and remove the leaves leaving the stem intact. Brush oil all over the eggplant then cut one slit 1 inch deep from top to bottom and place on a baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes and increase temperature to broil. Broil for 10 minutes and turn the eggplant to broil the other side for another 10 minutes. Turn off the stove and let the eggplant rest for about 8 minutes in the stove. Remove the eggplant and let cool till you can handle it. Carefully remove the skin from where the slit was made and place the mushy eggplant in a bowl. Mash up the eggplant with a knife, fork or masher and add all the ingredients and mash till it looks like a yogurt dip ( I like it chunky). Garnish with cilantro and serve with pita bread, vegetables, or spicy paratha.
Enjoy!
SPICY CORN
SPICY CORN
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
4 tbsp sunflower oil (or any other cooking oil)
1/4 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp whole cumin seeds
6 curry leaves
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
4 tbsp crushed tomatoes
1/2 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic paste
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt (I prefer himalayan)
1/4 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
3 cups frozen corn
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium sized pot, on medium heat, add oil then add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, and turmeric. When seeds start to pop, add crushed tomatoes, ground coriander, ground cumin, garlic, salt, cayenne and lemon. Stir mixture for about 3-5 minutes then add corn. Cook until corn is coated and done (about 5 minutes). Add chopped cilantro and serve as a side dish with bbq meats and chicken tikka or with meat or vegetable/bean pilaff. Recipe for bean pilaff here and vegetable pilaff here.
Enjoy!