Sunday 24 June 2012

Rogan Josh




To some degree I am a creature of habit and my menus depict this.  The down side of this is that meals become predictable and the children are agitated by a change in routine.  I do try to keep a degree of flexibility and novelty.

Saturday nights tend to be international night, we might go Mexican, Italian (other than bolognaise) or often a curry.   Curries are great as there are so many different varieties, a spicy Indian will differ greatly from the creamy coconut of mild Thai curry.   

I am a disciple of the Indian chef Gurpareet Bains author of Indian Superfood.  Having been a follower of his for a while now I have found that the same few ingredients turn up through not only his meals but they are now creeping into the most mundane of my meals to spice them up slightly;  Ginger, Garlic, Chilli, Nigella seeds, whole spices such as cumin, cardamon, turmeric, fennel seed, garam masala are all now basic cupboard essentials.   What is even more important I use them all and they are replenished regularly so are always pungent and fresh.

Here is my take on Gurpareet’s fabulous Rogan Josh curry.  As you will know I am not an exact cook and foods get thrown in or amounts get changed to satisfy children’s tastes and reluctance to experiment, I have tried to give an idea of how much spice I used to feed a family of two adults and three children.
   
Ingredients
Olive oil
Green cardamom pods – crushed (I only used 5)
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
½ teaspoon of nigella seeds
Onion,  sliced thinly
Garlic cloves, chopped really finely.   (I used 6 chunky cloves)
1 teaspoon of Turmeric
2 teaspoons of garam masala
3x 400g of tinned chopped tomatoes  -  this sounds a lot but it leaves the curry with a depth to the richness and tomato does not overpower the dish.
Ginger – again lots, peeled and then grated (Gurpareet suggests 3 tablespoons – I used a bit less)
Chillies -  I used 1 red  (Gurpareet uses  2-6 green ones )
Diced beef – this can be swapped for any meat although the tomatoes and beef go particularly well together - if I was cooking for more people I would double the meat and up the tomatoes,  depending on numbers I would up the other ingredients slightly.
Chopped Coriander to garnish

I have learnt the key to a good curry is to add the ingredients to a hot pan really quickly allowing the smell of the cooking spices to envelope you in a blanket of anticipation then leave it for a long time to allow the flavours to mix and develop.  The only way to do this properly is to prepare all the ingredients beforehand and have them ready to add.





Put the empty pan on a hot ring and allow it to start heating up.  Turn the heat down as the oil goes in, (I find my instant touch gas brilliant for this but you will know your own cooker). Add the cardamom, cumin and nigella seeds, stirring constantly. 




No more than 2 minutes then add the onion, again stirring constantly, allow this to soften and take on the flavours of the seeds.

About 5 minutes then stir in the garlic

Sprinkle the turmeric over and add half the garam masala, keep stirring.


At this point I added a tin of tomatoes and rinsed the tin with water, then added the ginger and chillies.  Turn the heat up and allow the liquid to reduce and thicken, now you can just stir occaisionally.

Add the beef or whichever meat you are using and allow it to seal off for about 5 minutes.  

Finally add the last of the tomatoes and rinse with water

Bring to the boil then turn down the heat to a simmer and leave uncovered for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  


Cover the pot and leave again for at least 30 minutes still remembering to stir now and again.   

 It is at this point I begin the rice.

I am lucky enough to own a rice cooker, not one you plug in, this one goes either in the oven or in the microwave.  It is one of the few things I do use the exact timings and measurements for in my cooking as it has revolutionised my complete record of failure with rice.

I put 330g of dry white basmati rice (4 adult portion)  in the pot. Then add 550ml of boiling liquid over it.  (there are two lines one for the rice and one for the liquid which I religiously stick to).  However I usually spice up my rice and do not add salt by adding a stock cube instead.     
To serve with this Rogan Josh; I added a generous helping of whole cumin seeds and a chicken stock cube which I had crumbled over the rice.  I then mixed the rice, seeds and cube before topping up with the boiling water.  The pot comes with two lids the lower flat one with two tiny holes and the top with a slight dome and a handle also has two holes.   One lid goes on and the top one is added with the holes at opposite angles. 

Put it in the pre-heated hot oven for 17 minutes,  I do actually use my timer for this.  When the buzzer goes off take it out of the oven – and I put it on the table, again I set the timer for 10 minutes this time.  

DO NOT OPEN THE LIDS – initially this was probably the most difficult thing for me but I have learnt.  (10 minutes is the minimum – it will remain hot and be fine for 45 mins to an hour -  This is my rice cooker – others will differ slightly)


I use this 10 minutes to pop in some Naan Bread and lay up the table with poppadums and chutneys and then call the family.  As I bring the Rogan Josh to the table I added the remaining garam masala.  I would also normally add a good sprinkling of chopped coriander but I had used it all up the night before.  It gives a fresh cleansing flavour that compliments the curry  so is not just a decorative herb.

Despite the exacting method of making rice, it sounds complex but it is so easy to follow and the results are fantastic.   Although I used all those strong spices the curry was not too spicy or hot; it is full of complimenting flavours and disappeared with seconds being helped on to plates. 



Enjoy – let me know what meat you use and what sides you like to serve with your curry.

Tiggy


Find out what I am up to in my other blog  Tiggy Hayes

Sunday 17 June 2012

Lemon Cheese




Sunday lunch and I didn’t have anything for pudding. It is only on a Sunday that I go to the trouble of making a pudding but it had completely slipped my mind when I was shopping earlier in the week.

I had a browse in the fridge and cupboard and found some ingredients to make a sort of cross between lemon meringue pie and lemon cheesecake.

Ingredients

Digestive biscuits – I used ½ packet
Butter melted
Philidelphia soft cheese  -  I had a nearly full pot but no plans to use it up
Lemon curd -  this half jar had been in the fridge for ages
Crème fraiche – ¾ of a pot left and it would go off soon 
Gelatine leaf – usually have this in the cupboard
Touch of hot water




Crush the biscuits well and add to the melted butter, coat well then arrange in a serving dish.  I made a thick base rather than a well.

Allow to cool in the fridge.


I used the gelatine leaf and added the smallest touch of boiled water, then brought the whole thing back to the boil which melted the leaf.




  I threw all the other ingredients into a bowl and mixed thoroughly to make a cream then added the geletine and mixed well again.












I topped the biscuit base with the cream mix and left in the fridge to chill.





Because there was not a lot of anything no strong overpowering flavours came through,  it just tasted very light and refreshing and the whole family loved it.  A dusting of icing sugar would have made it look good but I didn't have any.   

Have you got a quick easy pudding recipe, let me have it and I will have a go.

enjoy

Tiggy 

check out what I am up to the rest of my time in Tiggy Hayes


Monday 11 June 2012

Simply Sausages

Sometimes I like to serve something different to sausage and mash, but in a family where they are all wary of anything different it is quite a challenge.  This disappeared of the table so quickly it became an instant hit.  I use cheap pork sausages, sometimes the thin ones so they all seem to be getting more.


Ingredients
Butter
Onions – sliced
Bacon lardons
Brown sugar a good generous sprinkling
Sausages - cut into half or even thirds if they are really big
Potatoes cut into 1cm diced squares 
Tomato puree again a good squeeze
Chicken stock enough to cover the whole dish 

I use a roasting dish to make this one but a casserole dish or even the slow cooker would work as well.



Melt the butter and add the onions cooking in a high heat, for about 5 minutes.  Watch them, stir if necessary.






Add the bacon lardons and a good sprinkling of brown sugar.  Give these about 10 minutes before adding the sausages and allowing them to brown slightly.





Add the diced potatoes, tomato puree and the chicken stock making sure the stock covers everything.  






Cook for at least an hour allowing the potatoes to be soft and the mixture to have thickened into a delicious tomato sauce.  If it starts to dry out add a little more water towards the end.  

Serve with vegetables of your choice.  I chose broccoli to give a splash of colour, but beans would go.  I have added eating apple to the dish which complements it.  See what you think!


The only reason my family didn't help themselves to thirds and even fourths was it ran out.   I am thinking of doubling up next time, but this would make a great kids meal if you are not sure how many youngsters you have to feed.



Enjoy and let me know how you get on.

Tiggy 


Follow my other blog at Tiggy Hayes


Tuesday 5 June 2012

Sweet Potato Mash



One of the reasons I don’t follow recipes and particularly the ones with exacting measurements is that there is always a quarter of this left or a sprinkling of that.   What do you do with these tiny non useful amounts of weird and wonderful ingredients?  Normally they hog up valuable space in my fridge until they are well and truly past their sell by / eat by date and crawling out the fridge without help.

Sometimes I find I have enough to throw together something different and make it a fridge meal.    Having found some wonderful fresh vegetables in my organic Riverford box and a fridge full of odd bits I would never have used  I decided to put them together hoping to keep some for lunches over a few days.  It was a little more popular than I anticipated and lunch will be somewhat drab for the rest of the week.

Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes 
Fennel  (half left over from another dish)
Ginger chopped small
Onion ( I had a quarter left over from a BBQ and chucked it in)
Chilli  (having chopped a large chilli up for a curry – I decided it would be too spicy for the children hence a ready chopped half chilli in fridge)
Spinach an ever versatile and useful vegetable that I sneak into lots of dishes 
Butter
Soured Cream – left over from Fajitas
Cheese  -  this was pre-grated Red Leicester -  not used when we went on a picnic, but you could use any cheese
Parsely – from my herb garden to finish it off



Boil the sweet potatoes with the fennel, ginger and onion till soft enough to mash.




Drain then mash adding a touch of butter.  I also threw in a large dollop of soured cream at this point.

Add the chilli and some cheese then mix well.



In a baking dish lay the spinach in a deep layer on the bottom and cover with more dollops of the soured cream.

Add the potato mix on top and finish off with the rest of the cheese.

Cook in hot oven for about 20 minutes until the top is bubbling and golden.   

Serve.

You could use this as a main dish maybe add a beaten egg to the mash or serve with boiled or poached egg on top.  I served it as a side dish to accompany a piece of chicken - delicious.  

Try it out,  I would not expect you to have the same ingredients in your fridge as I found in mine so try out other combinations and let me know how you get on.  Leave out what you don't have or like but be adventurous and mix the flavours together.  Share your attempts with me.

Happy food

Tiggy

Check out my ramblings from my other blog Tiggy Hayes .  This week we went out to dine but I am still passionate about my food!