Maldivian Menu

Apologies for being AWOL. I was lucky enough to enjoy a ten day stint in the beautiful Maldives. Even luckier, I was on an all inclusive package in a beautiful resort with a fantastic chef and have returned a bigger person ... literally!

The food was AMAZING! There was so much choice with an abundance of colourful salads, fruits and vegetables. For the vegetarian the main food sources are:-

- Coconuts - grown on every island and declared the national tree. It is grated and shredded into dishes, eaten raw or turned into coconut milk to add creaminess to curries and beverages.

- Starches - yams, sweet potatoes, breadfruit and screw pine and, of course, rice.

- Curries - often containing the above ingredients as well as aubergines, pumpkins and bitter gourds as well as green bananas. The curries are served with rice and/or roshi, an unleavened flatbread.

               Snake gourd curry above and bitter gourd curry below served with rice and roshi

The influence of nearby India and Sri Lanka manifests itself in the food providing tasty, exotic flavours.

Visiting a nearby island where maldivians live, we saw banana trees, star fruit trees and local nuts left out in the sun to dry.

                                  Star fruits growing on a tree and nuts left out in the sun to dry

The main food source is fish, in particular tuna, so if you are pescatarian rather than vegetarian or vegan, the world is your oyster.

Pimping your pumpkins

Watch out for seasonal pumpkin, gourd and squash recipes coming your way this month. Sweet, savoury and stylish!

                                                 

Pumpkin to talk about

A friend has just returned from the States. I have looked after the family rabbit whilst they were away and she popped around with a thank you gift - a bouquet of gourds! Inspired by the New York stoops adorned with pumpkins and fairy lights, she knew I would like them for decoration. Hovering over the basket, however, I am tempted to see which ones are edible.

I love pumpkin flavoured everything. They are fantastic roasted, mashed, stuffed, baked in cakes, blended in soups, made into gnocchi, pasta and pasties. They are best friends with strong cheeses, nuts, herbs and spices and their seeds can be roasted for soups, salads and snacks.

On holiday last week in Palma I had the best dish ever - pumpkin gnocchi at a little place in the wall near the cathedral called Cafe Murada.

Last year I became addicted to the special edition Pumpkin Spice Baileys and this year my daughter has bought me Beanies Pumpkin Spice Coffee Granules which is rich and flavoursome without the sweetness of syrup added to coffee.