Rice
I used to be such a snob about rice. I used to wonder who would buy the pouches of microwaveable rice, or those packets you boil in the bag. Now I wonder no longer as it’s me, I buy them. Of course I can cook rice but you what, sometimes I just don’t have the energy and it’s one less thing to think about. Particularly with brown rice which can take really quite a long time to cook and so this is a short cut which saves time and I love those. But however you cook your rice is perfectly okay, it’s just whatever works for you.

I can’t find tinned pumpkin puree
This is the one I usually get, although it’s gone up in price recently by the looks of it here. Most supermarkets do stock it. HOWEVER, if you want to make you own, it’s very simple. Peel and chop a pumpkin of your choosing - I love delica, or delicate squash or acorn but really any will do. Chop, pop on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season well. Roast until soft and beginning to caramelise. Blend until smooth. Ta dah! A tin is approx 400g so just measure that out and you’re good to go!

Cooking for 1
This recipe is very easy to half in 2 meaning it will then serve 2 and when I’m cooking for myself I love this as it means I have a portion either for the freezer or for lunch the next day. If halving the recipe you might only need half a tin of coconut milk, in which case I would pour the remaining coconut milk into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid and then place in a freezer bag and it’s perfect for bunging in smoothies, curries and whatever else you can think of.

Crispy chickpeas
These have to be one of the things I make the most in my kitchen. So easy, you can also make them in a frying pan but I find it less faff to just chuck them in the oven. They stay crunchy for a few days but I guarantee they won’t last that long. Sprinkled with a little salt they are hard to resist. Chuck them in a salad instead of crouton, serve with roasted veg and tahini on a bed of rice, or serve as nibbles with drinks.

Ginger trick
I always store my ginger in the freezer. You just pop it in there, whole and then when you want to use it you can grate it from frozen - skin and all, (or you can peel it using the bag of a teaspoon). Honestly such a good hack if you don’t already do this!

Legumes
There’s no reason this wouldn’t work with red lentils or beans such as cannellini beans too. And of course you could use the dried variety - but you will need to soak them first and they take a while to cook so they don’t quite fit with the dinner tonight remit but of course if you have more time and are so inclined by all means start with dried chickpeas and do it that way

Full fat
Full fat coconut milk is required here as we need the thick lusciousness it lends to the dish. I actually can’t think of a time when I would use the light coconut milk? I just think this is an ingredient that is worth going all the way for. Like Greek Yoghurt. It just tastes so much better and the trade of for what you sacrifice with the reduced fat isn’t worth it. You know?

Spices
feel free to go wild with what you have in the store cupboard, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garam masala, turmeric, cayenne pepper. I would say those are my most used spices and were you to stock up on them, you will make good use of them.

Toppings
You know we LOVE a garnish over here at Dinner Tonight and you can whatever you fancy with this one. Other ideas I love, fried crispy onions, crunchy garlic, swirls of coconut milk, scoop of coconut yogurt, lots of different herbs, chilli oil, fresh chilli, gremolata, peanut rayu, toasted peanuts,

Enjoy!

Happy New Year, excited for all that’s to come. Glad we’ve got that first week of the year done, always feels quite full on for me, full of promise, plump with expectation but with a bit too much pressure. Now we can relax into 2024 and try our best. That’s all we can ever do after all.