Eveleigh Markets - Farmers Market in Sydney: A Review

This is a non-recipe post to share one of my favourite farmers market in Sydney, the Eveleigh Markets. Before moving to Australia, TH and I did a couple of trips here, partly to help make up our minds to leave the convenience of Singapore, and partly to make sure we will like living here. One of the things that really helped push me in this direction is the lovely farmers markets in this country. The first one we visited in Australia is in Melbourne, called the Queen Victoria Markets and it was fabulous. Lots of fresh produce, local food products like cacao nibs, homemade pasta sauce, chutneys, dips, and a fresh donut truck that had a mile-long queue.

Fast forward a year later and we are living in Sydney searching for a similar market to Queen Victoria Markets in Sydney. The first reaction I got from people I asked is that there's nothing comparable, Melbourne just has better markets, but that's not entirely true. Less than 10 mins walk from our apartment, there's the popular Orange Grove Markets but it's the Eveleigh Markets that seemed to have everyone smitten. So TH and I trudged our way across on a Saturday morning.

It was absolutely jam-packed and, I am not exaggerating when I say everyone except us either had kid(s), dog(s), or both in tow. I even saw a funny foursquare 'tip' that you need to have one of those to fit in. Not that we minded just being us. So yes, we stepped right into the crowd milling around the different stalls.

First things first. It was Saturday morning and we went with the intention of getting breakfast so some freshly squeezed juice was the first purchase. I got orange and it was, well, chilled and delicious.

Some stalls were super niche like this one that only sold potatoes. Some 12 different varieties, but still, just potatoes. I still couldn't find russet potatoes but the fingerlings were very fresh so a bagful was bought. Spicy potato roast, anyone?

Another stall only sold tomatoes. Rows and rows of all kinds of tomatoes, big and small. They had some gorgeous heirloom ones but they were organic and very pricey so I passed this time. I feel they would be best served raw sliced on a sandwich and I rarely do that at home anyway.

Ah yes, a couple of stalls did lovely baked goods. We bought a macadamia brownie from one that only did brownies, some 12 different kinds. You can tell them what kind you like - nutty, fudgy, cakey, sweet - and they help you pick out the right one. Sets you back about $6-$8 per large piece. Next time, I'll skip buying brownies though, my basic chocolate brownie as good as a store-bought one, even if I say so myself.

They also had a lovely area in the middle of the markets that had rows of fresh flowers that were cheap by Sydney standards. The speciality is that they carry a lot of indigenous flowers and green stalks most of which I'd never seen before. Just beautiful and seemed really popular too.

Colourful rainbow chard, regular chard, kale, all types of greens on display.

Lots of fresh produce, both organic and otherwise, direct from the farmers. I bought enough to last me two weeks and cost me not more than $20.

Oh, and Kylie Kwong, popular Aussie chef, has a stall here and it's very popular, especially when she's in attendance which I am told is not every week. I was tempted to queue up but it just seemed too long.

We finally ended up sharing this quite large crepe with spinach and cheese filling from "the crepe and coffee". A generous portion for round $8 if I remember correctly.

I also bought some non-homogenised milk from this stall that had fresh dairy products. Their yogurt tasted delicious too.

Eveleigh Markets are open every Saturday from 8am to 1pm. That's right, they do close early so get there first thing in the morning if you can. A lot of the stalls also sell out of their stuff quite quickly, especially fresh food and good produce. Carriage Works, where the market is held, is a beautiful building and often has various activities happening through the year. Check out their website for more details.

Capsicum Rice Recipe - How to Make Capsicum Masala Rice

I know I just shared recipe for tawa pulao and this is yet another rice recipe but I haven't been cooking anything new for a few weeks and these recipes are from the deep dungeons of my archives! I tend to try different recipes with rice over the weekend mainly because it's so easy to make a one pot dish over weekends and use the rest of the time to relax and laze around. Spiced masala rice types also store well and leftovers tend to taste better the next day so that really helps too.

In all honesty, after putting in the requisite 45 mins into this dish, I didn't end up liking it that much but TH really liked it. He's usually not a big fan of South Indian rice dishes like tamarind rice and lemon rice but this, he liked. So that's surely a good sign and probably you'd like it too. It's a bit more work that I normally like to put into a rice recipe so I adapted the original recipe quite a bit to suit my cooking style (read: using the smallest amount of effort possible).

The list of ingredients for capsicum masala rice is fairly long but you would have most, if not all, of them in your pantry already. The only thing I had to buy is the capsicum and I decided to use a bit from red, green, and yellow capsicums. I always have raw peanuts in my pantry but if you don't, and you don't want to buy a bagful for the handful required in this recipe, just skip it or substitute with cashew nuts. Your rice would be a bit less interesting but it's not a deal breaker.

For some odd reason, I really enjoyed pairing this capsicum rice with raw onions. In general, I like to eat raw onions with my rice and curries (it's a habit formed from eating at my uncle's in Alappuzha where they always have fish and so it's always accompanied by thinly sliced raw onions) but this is the first time I was pairing it with something like this and I loved it. A raw onion raita would go fabulously with this masala rice too. Papads are obviously a given, the amount of spices in this calls for that anyway. So, off we go, let's make some capsicum masala rice, shall we?

Oh, and since I mentioned I didn't exactly love this dish, let me share some rice recipes in here that I do love - my MIL's special spinach pulao recipe, my go-to veg pulao recipe, and always, egg biryani.

CAPSICUM MASALA RICE RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 4-5
Adapted from: Mallika Badrinath's Rice Recipes

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of cooked rice
2 cups of capsicum, cut into small cubes (any colour or mixed)
1 tbsp of lemon juice
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
For tempering:
2-3 tbsp of oil
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds
1 tsp of split urad dal
1 tsp of chana dal
2 dry red chillies
A few curry leaves
2 tbsp of roasted peanuts
For masala powder:
3 dry red chillies
A small piece of cinnamon
1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1/2 tsp of split urad dal
1 tsp of chana dal

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fry the ingredients for masala powder in 1 tsp oil until golden brown.

Cool,grind to a powder, and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a pan and add all the ingredients for seasoning. Fry until the dals turn golden brown.

3. Add the capsicum, some salt, and turmeric powder. Reduce heat and cook until the capsicum turns softer but still remains its shape. Don't cook to a mush. This shouldn't take more than 7-10 mins.

4. Add the cooked rice to this and mix well. Heat through.

5. Finally add the masala powder and lemon juice. Check for salt and add more if required.

6. Mix well and let it sit for 30 mins for the flavours to mingle. Serve warm with raita or raw onion salad, and papad.

Note:
Make sure to adjust all spices to your taste. This makes a moderately spicy rice so add more or less red chillies to your preference. Take care not to burn the spices and dals in the masala powder or the rice will taste bitter.

Tawa Pulao Recipe - How to Make Tawa Pulao (Pav Bhaji Masala Pulao)

Tawa pulao, or Tava Pulao, is a brief streak in my memory from my first trip to Bombay in 2010. I was so excited to try pav bhaji, batata pav (recipe coming soon) and the like that although most stalls we went to also had this delicious-smelling tawa pulao, I ignored it and ate my way through the other more popular food. Fast forward a couple of years and I saw a lovely (not to mention easy) tawa pulao recipe online and bookmarked it. Fast forward another year and I finally made it.

Tawa pulao, as the name suggests, is made on the same tawa or large iron griddle that pav bhaji is made in. The same masala is used for this and even the vegetables used are similar. It's quite a sight to watch the roadside cooks make huge quantities of this pulao by adding ladlefuls or masala and large panfuls of cut vegetables. This video shows a similar stall to the one we went to (it wasn't this crowded and looked a tad neater, but very similar), just so you get an idea of the scale of this dish being made :)

Anyway, I made a very humble portion, enough for about 4 serves. While tawa pulao is best eaten hot and fresh, TH loves to pack this in his lunch box since it requires no side dish and he can just carry it along with some raita or even plain curd. Easy!

I've made this a few times especially when making a more elaborate side dish like this paneer jalfrezi we had with tawa pulao a few weekends ago. Delicious and totally comforting meal.

TAWA PULAO RECIPE (PULAO + PAV BHAJI MASALA)

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Adapted from: The Yum Factor

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of cooked rice
1/2 cup of minced onions
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of mixed vegetables (I used peas, carrots, capsicum)
2 tsp of pav bhaji masala
1/2 of a lime or lemon
2 tbsp of salted butter
1/2 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 tsp of grated ginger

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan until melted
2. Add 1/2 minced onion, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, and 1/2 tsp grated ginger. Saute until the onion turns pink and the mixture is fragrant
3. Add all the vegetables and stir well to combine. Sprinkle 2-3 tbsp water and cook covered on low flame until the vegetables are cooked yet hold their shape. Uncover and saute a min longer until the extra water, if any, is absorbed
4. Add the pav bhaji masala and some salt. Mix and add the cooked rice. Mix again
5. Turn off heat, add the remaining 1 tbsp butter and some chopped coriander leaves (optional). Mix and squeeze some lime or lemon over it before serving
Serve hot with raita and papad

Spinach Feta Muffins - Savory Muffin Recipe (Eggless Option Included)

Muffins are a personal favourite and while a frosted cupcake is a welcome treat, a muffin is more a regular thing for me and I often bake a batch for snack time at work. However, they have always been of the sweet kind like these blueberry muffins or lemon poppy seed muffins (one of my favourites). I baked these savory muffins a couple of months ago and really wondered why it never occurred to me. If you can mix things together in a bowl and have an oven, you can bake a batch of these, that's how easy they are to make.

With a healthy dose of spinach, tomatoes, and cheese, you can choose to make this recipe eggless or keep the one egg in. After all, the egg gets divided between almost 8 large muffins. If you prefer to make eggless spinach feta muffins, just replace the egg with 2 tbsp plain curd. I haven't tried this but I don't see much reason why this wouldn't work.

The ingredients in this muffin recipe are super simple and (almost) all are healthy too. It's not often that I bake up something like this so I am totally savoring this moment. Check notes below for some easy substitution ideas. Baking up a batch of this and taking one to work every day for evening snack was probably my best food-related idea in recent times. Too bad I am lazy to follow this through plan every weekend. It only happened about 2-3 times so far. But don't be like me, ok?

Sidenote: today is Vishu and I am posting a muffin recipe but well, that's reality. I am at work and not really in any position to make a sadya so I thought I should share the recipe for these delicious savory muffins I baked and loved. That's fair no?

In case you do need some sadya recipes, check out my list of Vishu sadya recipes.

SPINACH FETA MUFFIN RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes ~ 10 large muffins
Adapted from: Taste.com.au

INGREDIENTS:
2.5 cups of plain flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of salt
2 cups of packed, spinach leaves (see notes)
3/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese
3/4 cup of cubed tomatoes
4 tbsp of grated parmesan or mozzarella
1 1/3 cups of milk
90 gm (6.5 tbsp) of butter
1 egg (or 2 tbsp plain curd)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C. Line a muffin tray with liners and spray or grease with butter or oil. Set aside.

2. Wash, drain, and finely chop the spinach leaves (I used my food processor for this). Add 2 cups spinach leaves, 2.5 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 cup tomatoes, 3/4 cup feta, and 2 tbsp of parmesan to a bowl.

3. Mix well until all ingredients are combined well.

4. Melt the 90gm butter in the microwave or stove top (don't boil, just warm so the butter melts) and add the egg and 1 1/3 cups milk to this. Whisk to combine.

5. Add this to the previous mixture and stir well to combine.

Your muffin batter is ready! How easy is that eh?

6. Pour into the lined muffin tray until the holes are 3/4 filled. Add the remaining 2 tbsp grated parmesan (or mozzarella) on top.

7. Bake in the pre-heated oven for roughly 20 mins or the top turns a golden brown. Use a skewer to poke the muffin all the way through and make sure there's no unbaked dough remaining. Remove from tray and cool on wiring racks.

These muffins taste great on the day they are made but can be kept refrigerated for 3-4 days. Warm slightly in the oven or microwave before serving. If you re-heat in the microwave, don't let it sit for long since that'll turn the muffin rubbery. I won't judge if you pat some butter on the warmed up muffin, so go for it!

NOTES:
1. I used baby spinach leaves (the kind you use in salads) for these. You can use any spinach, just note that the flavour will change accordingly
2. You can substitute fresh tomatoes with semi-dried or sun dried tomatoes. Just use lesser quantities (eyeball it) since they tend to be more intense
3. The salt in these muffins is regulated by the type of cheeses you use and the extra salt you add. So be mindful of that and add less to err on the right side of saltiness
4. If you want a spice kick, add 1/2 tsp of freshly ground green chillies or some chilli flakes, I tried it in a batch and loved it!
5. You can add some bacon if you are not vegetarian. Great breakfast muffins then, eh?
6. If you don't get feta where you live or it's crazy expensive, try adding paneer instead. I am not sure how it'll bake up but definitely worth a shot
7. These muffins are not airy and spongy, but rather dense and filling. Just putting it out there lest you guys find it disappointing with different expectations
8. You can try replacing plain flour with whole wheat flour or do a 50-50 thing. I haven't tried this though

As you can see, these spinach feta muffins can be customized many many different ways. So unleash your creativity and go for it!

And errr... Happy Vishu to whose who celebrate! :)

Strawberry Lassi Recipe - How to Make Strawberry Lassi

Lassi is one of those drinks I used to get during Indian meals, I habit I started off in Singapore. However, I very quickly got sick of the overly sweet and often artificially flavoured and coloured fake-lassi in Indian restaurants and started making lassi at home using sweetened Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. You can obviously use plain (not sour) yogurt and sweeten your lassi using honey or sugar but I find that using plain sweetened Greek yogurt like Jalna available in Australia (mentioned here) makes delicious lassi that's just the right amount of sweet. Check out my Mango Lassi Recipe too. Refer here if you'd like to make your own yogurt.

Strawberry in lassi is not a conventional choice but when you have such amazingly sweet strawberries bursting with juice in the markets, it's hard not to get excited and add it to everything, even your drinks. Also, this bowl of strawberry below is the first picture I clicked using my upgraded camera body, the Nikon D7100.

Oh but wait! Before I go on yada yada about strawberry lassi, I must explain my long absence from here. I have been travelling a lot on work and also been in training workshops on and off which required my full attention and lots and lots of energy. I also snuck in a quick weekend trip to India and after all that travel and intense weeks, I just put any major cooking plans and blogging on the back burner. I did miss it a lot but wanted to make sure I am not just throwing some recipe out there without putting in some effort into it. I know strawberry lassi is hardly a great comeback, but hey, I need to ease myself into this all over again so bear with me, yeah?

Here we go, how to make strawberry lassi.

Blend 1 cup sweetened plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup washed and hulled strawberry and 1 cup milk until very smooth. Make sure all ingredients are chilled. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.

Serves 2.

If you are using plain yogurt, make sure it's not sour at all and use sugar or honey to sweeten your lassi. I personally don't like honey in lassi and use powdered sugar to make blending easier.

It also helps if your strawberries are ripe and sweet. If they are too sour, the milk/curd may curdle so consider yourself warned.