A beautiful green spinach cake was a hot (literally) favourite at the World Kitchen brunch.  Here Meena Bhana shares her recipe for the spicy savoury cake but first she takes us to the bustling streets of Indian cities with her menu for the World Kitchen brunch.

I put together a menu of Gujerati dishes for the brunch and then I spent hours in the kitchen experimenting.  We decided to offer Falooda –  a spectacular mix of milk, vermicelli and flavourings topped with ice cream –  as a complimentary drink for guests arriving  at Out of the Blue.  With at least 80 bookings, how much milk would that take?

THE MENU

Chickpea and Potato Chaat – chaat is a dish that takes you right back to the streets of India. Chaat tastes hot, sweet, tangy and crunchy. It contains, potatoes, channa, chaat masala, onions, chillie powder, coriander, puffed rice and tamarind chutney.

Spinach cake is a savoury baked cake to get the taste buds tingling whilst sipping a cup of masala tea. It is made with methi (fenugreek leaves), semolina, maize flour and corn.

Dokhra is a savoury steamed cake that can be eaten at any time of the day. It is made with yoghurt, semolina, green chillies and ginger and is topped with mustard seeds, sesame seeds, curry leaves and coriander. Served with green coconut chutney, dokhra is a perfect accompaniment to a cup of masala tea.

Dokhra topped with seeds and spices

Falooda is a culinary spectacle, a rose infused drink that consists of not only an array of beautiful colours but also numerous flavours and textures owing to the variety of ingredients that go into its making. A gastronomic delight thought to be introduced to the lands of India by the Parsi’s.

(And how much milk? In the end we decided on 10 litres, there was quite a lot left over but Out of the Blue Drill Hall Arts Café was able to use it up.)

RECIPE FOR SPINACH CAKE

Note: Methi is another word for fenugreek. You will get it at one of the Asian stores in Leith walk. It has small leaves on a stem but if you are not sure, the store owner will definitely know what it is. It has a slightly bitter taste but works well in this cake.

Liquidise the following ingredients: 2 bunches methi, 1 cup oil, 1 onion, 1  cup milk, 2 tablespoons green chillies finely chopped, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt

Sift together: 1 cup semolina, 1  cup gram flour, 1  cup plain flour,  2 teaspoons baking powder

Small tin of corn

Add liquidised mixture to the above dry ingredients. Add drained corn and mix thoroughly. Pour into greased pan and bake at 180 degrees for 30min.

What to eat? Bea and Parvez help guests make the difficult choice.

The launch of the world recipe book in Leith Methodist Church on Saturday 25 March was always planning to celebrate Japan.  But now, since the devastation brought by earthquake, tsunami and nuclear explosions, WFWP have decided to dedicate all money raised during the event to relief.

As Harumi Currie of WFWP  puts it:

“We still don’t know whole scale of the disaster. We hear worse news everyday. We have many friends in Japan and our heart naturally goes to them.

“WFWP-Scotland decided our recipe book launch on 25th is combinedwith raising fund for Japan. The programme is the same; talks, music and free tasting. We sell our recipe book and the Japanese goods. All proceeds go to the victims. Please invite your friends as well.”

Saturday’s event at the Acorn Centre in Junction Street Leith includes Japanese Harp and African Drum performances. There will also be free tastings of recipes from the book published with funding from Awards for All.

25^th March

The story began this way in 2010…

Here’s your invitation to host a traditional Burns Supper – with pipes, poetry, speeches and song  – for a very  inventive fundraising campaign during January and February.  “It’s a credit crunch Burns supper”, says Mary Millar of the Meningitis Research Foundation who has teamed up with Clan Radio to provide you with the essential DIY kit.  The only thing they don’t do is cook and eat the haggis for you! (click below to hear a taster).

For a that, and a’ that,
It’s comin’ yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man, the world o’er,
Shall brithers be for a’ that.”

The aim (which fits well with the World Kitchen) is to encourage families and community groups to raise money for the Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) and the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) with the help of a “Burns Super Supper” CD produced by the internet radio station Clan Radio.

For a donation of £5 you get the CD which guides you through the complete Burns Supper from the piping in of the haggis to Auld Lang Syne through all the toasts (to the haggis, the Immortal Memory, the lassies, and a’ that) with poetry and song – and a 30 minute interlude of music to give you time for some eating and drinking. Anything else you raise during the supper (say, £5 per guest) can be sent to MRF (see below).

To listen to sampled extracts of the Burns Super Supper click here:  Burns Super Supper Taster by innerear

“Instead of one big fundraising event we are looking for lots of people to contribute relatively small amounts from lots of different events,” says Mary Millar. “It’s a credit crunch way for people to celebrate Burns and help charity”.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.

The inspiration comes from Robert Mackenzie who started Clan Radio to broadcast the highlights of the annual Gaelic talent show (The Mod). He now finds an “almost scary” amount of interest in Burns from different people across the world. That set him thinking:.  “Wait a minute, I would love to have a CD that tells me how to run a proper Burns Supper.”

The result is “the world’s first interactive Burns Supper” – 80 minutes of beautifully produced downloadable music, song and poetry (from singers and musicians giving their time freely, many of them volunteers working in hospital radio).  The podcast programme will be broadcast on Burns Night (Monday 25 January)  beginning at 8 pm on Clan Radio with listeners across the world. But as Mary points out the Burns Supper season lasts until the end of February, ” the CD lets you organise your own event wherever and whenever it suits you”.

The campaign hopes each supper will raise at least £50.  (Anyone raising more than £250 gets a free bottle of whisky.) To find out more and to get your CD, contact Dawn Carrie or Alison Baker on 0131 510 2345 or email dawncarrie@scotland-meningitis.org.uk

Both Mary and Robert are keen  to connect with ethnic minority community groups, emphasising the international appeal of Burns.

“So, if you’re free on Saturday, 29th January, and would like to sample a Burns Supper with a difference, why not join us at Old St. Paul’s Church Hall, in Jeffrey Street (just off of Market Street, on the south side of Waverley Station)?”

The flyer says its from 7.30 pm till late.

Tickets £10 or £7 concession. For more details ring Dane 07961 036 962 or Bongayi on 07737 865 509

World Cafe, we should add, is not to be confused with the World Kitchen in Leith.  The World Cafe is a monthly event organised by CORE (Community Organisation for Racial Equality) on the last Friday of every month.

But there is a link between Cafe and Kitchen – Alice Musamba who co-ordinates the monthly event at NEAC in Pilton is also an invaluable member of the WKiL team (and we met up with her this week to make plans for a future event in Out of the Blue, though keep that under your hat for the time being).

Alice tells us she hopes to finish this month’s World Cafe in time to get to Samba Sene’s album launch at the Jazz Bar in Chambers Street.  Samba, a member of the Edinburgh Senegalese Society, also sometimes performs at the World Cafe.

By the way we heard Cynthia sing at a recent Open Mic night at the Voodoo Rooms, she has a lovely voice.  And right now we are cheering up a wintry afternoon by tuning into Samba’s Myspace page.  If you can make both events on Friday it will get the weekend off to a great start.

World Cafe is from 5.30 to 7pm at NEAC, tickets are £5 for adults, £2.50 for children. You can just drop in but its better to book if possible. Ring 0131 467 7990

Samba’s album launch is from 6.30 to 9pm at the Jazz Bar in Chambers Street.

When we escaped from the heat of the kitchen this is what we saw from the “minstrels’ gallery”overlooking the fantastic space of the Out of the Blue Drill Hall Arts Cafe transformed for the World Kitchen in Leith.  The music mixed by our minstrels, RadioMagnetic, is Quantic – Mishaps Happening (Tru Thoughts) and there’s that indefinable undertone hum of people having a good time.

Cardinal Keith O’Brian is preparing for a Fringe first with his version of the Hippopotamus Song but he can look forward to something much tastier than ‘mud, mud, glorious mud’ when he visits the Punjabi Women’s Cafe on Wednesday 16th June.

This will be his Eminence’s second visit to the Sikh community this year. Cardinal O’Brien, the Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh,  was welcomed to the Gurdwara in Leith in February this year when as always food was an important part of the occasion.

The visit to Punjab’n De Rasoi in Leith Walk is part of an ongoing commitment to strengthening links with faith communities in the city.  As Trishna Singh explains: “This has been organised by our links with the Edinburgh Inter Faith Council Secretary Victor Spence.”

Wondering where to go and what to eat on Friday night?  How about African lamb with spinach, mixed vegetable curry, rice with coconut and beans…finished with a fresh fruit salad of  mangos, watermelon, guavas and pineapple.  Welcome to the monthly World Cafe at North Edinburgh Arts Centre.

If it’s the last Friday in the month it has got to be the World Cafe. For over a year the Community Organisation for Race Equality (otherwise known as CORE) has been celebrating multicultural life in North Edinburgh with  a menu of food from all over the world  – from Algeria to Venezuela, from Colombia to Kurdistan and many good eating places in between.

This month’s event coincides with Africa Day so the menu offers a feast of African dishes like Liberian Kala (or doughnuts) along with fried plantaine.  All co-ordinated by Alice Musamba  – incidentally, one of the supporters of World Kitchen in Leith who helped cook up a storm during torrential rain at Leith Festival last year (that’s Alice on the left with Agnes serving on the right).  In fact we have happy memories of rice with coconut and beans served during a rare moment of sunshine in Leith Meadows.  It was delicious.

As Alice says in her email,  “This mouth-watering menu is not to be missed. Hope to see you all there.”

The World Cafe is from 5.30 to 7 pm on the last Friday of every month –  after tomorrow (28th May) the next one is on 25th June. Prices are only £5.00 adults £2.50 children (fruit juice, wine and beer are also on sale) but places are limited so please book in advance to avoid disappointment. Phone 0131 467 7990

Ally Tibbitt of Greener Leith has an answer for anyone who doesn’t eat bacon (though even the most dedicated vegetarian often confesses to weakening at the thought of a crispy bacon roll).  Replying to a request for fruit smoothies on the Greener Leith website he says:

“Don’t worry – it’s not just bacon rolls! We will have a supply of fresh juice and there’s veggie roll options too ”

The commuters’ breakfast is from 7.30 – 9am on Tuesday 21 April

You can’t miss the Punjabi Women’s Kitchen. Sandwiched between fast food outlets in multicultural Leith Walk, the bright orange shop front promises home made traditional Punjab cuisine. Above the door a sign declares nothing less than empowerment for women.

“The day that sign went up was when I realised we had finally done it,”says Trishna Singh, the business development manager of the new community enterprise run by Sikh Sanjog, “It is a huge achievement for the women of our community”.

With sun beaming through the window there is an almost tangible buzz of excitement inside the café. It’s 11.30 am and the daily breakfast of stuffed bread, yoghurt and spiced tea is giving way to lunchtime curries, chutneys and chapattis. All freshly prepared.

Two days earlier John Swinney was in here trying out his hand at rolling chapattis and Trishna and Balwinder proudly present press cuttings showing Scotland’s finance minister in his shirt sleeves surrounded by smiling women.  Just as proudly, they show feedback forms filled in by satisfied customers.  “Lovely food,” says one, “One of the best vegetable curries I have tasted,” says another.

Punjab’n De Rasoi, to give the café its proper name, has opened with the help of £70,000 from the Scottish Government’s Third Sector Enterprise Fund (which is why John Swinney was pictured rolling out the dough).  After years of feasibility studies and pilot projects – curry lunches at Dr Bells and catering for  regulars at the Acorn Centre – Sikh Sanjog is ready to do business.

Shaani prepares delicious potato-filled prantha

Each day volunteers work with trained staff. The aim is to provide skills and training in catering, customer service and food hygiene with extra tuition in literacy and numeracy when it is needed. This is the empowerment that can help volunteers gain employment.

Within less than a month the café has secured orders for two weddings – one Scottish, one Sikh – but as custom grows something else is happening. Already, Trishna says, she can see a difference in the women who work here.

“It might not look like that to the outside eye but there is definitely more confidence”, says Trishna,  “These are women who have volunteered their lives away,” she adds, “now they are finding that skills they take for granted could actually be used to get a job.”

In the kitchen Jasbir is not keen to be photographed but between preparing orders she is happy to talk about today’s menu: “A choice of fish, chicken, or vegetable curry. And haggis pakora, that is a speciality. The carrot desert is really yummy.” Jasbir, who has worked as a voluntary bi-lingual support assistant in primary schools, is one of around 20 volunteers working flexible part-time shifts to fit in with family commitments.

It’s not just about women. Trishna lists the supporters who have helped turn a derelict property into a fresh and welcoming space with a gleaming modern kitchen. We are sitting on seats provided by Charan Gill (the Glasgow catering entrepreneur who featured in Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire). Brian Smith of Dynamic Design Catering gave technical advice, Steve Cochrane of Dr Bell’s provides ongoing guidance on customer care, David Court of McRae, Flett and Rennie gave legal advice and kept the fee low, and Jonathon Murray of Golley Slater PR ensures good press coverage. Like that picture of John Swinney.

“All men,” Trishna notes with a laugh. Perhaps one of the most touching comments from a customer was the elderly man who told them the fish curry reminded him of his mother. Food, family and community – it seems a good business combination.

Punjab’n De Rasoi is planning an official opening celebration on 30^th April. The cafe is open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 3 pm.

Trishna (left) and Balwinder