The Humble Cardamom

 

The humble Cardamom pod! What is it? Where does it come from? 

Cardamom is a spice made from the seed pods of the cardamom plant, a close relative to ginger and turmeric, that is native to South India. The triangle-shaped pods are made up of clusters of seeds with a thin outer shell that can be enjoyed both whole or ground. The spice is frequently used in both sweet and savory dishes in global cuisines from India to the Middle East to even Scandinavia. 

Cardamom has an interesting aroma with a piney, fruity, and almost menthol-like flavour. To me, cardamom is an essential addition to the flavour of a rich curry sauce, although my wife would disagree and will always send out an advanced guard to hunt out and remove said pod from her meal. One way to enjoy the full aroma & taste of the pod without chewing on the woody outer shell is to carefully open the pod and add the seed to your sauce separately. 

Black Cardamom pods are larger and used to add a smokiness to a curry so are more suited to red meat dishes. They are mainly grown in the himalayas region. 

I would recommend you remove them from your curry after cooking as they are not pleasant to taste. 

Tasty Tiramisu!

 

Wow! 

Tiramisu, made easily, without eggs. 

You must try this simple yet very tasty Tiramisu, if I can do it, so can you. 

Ingredients. 

I used 300ml double cream

125g marscapone

40ml Tia Maria

90g sponge fingers

2 tblsps caster sugar

150ml strong coffee made with 1.5 tblsps instant coffee

25g plain chocolate

2 tsps cocoa powder. 

Method. 

Put the cream, marscapone, Tia Maria and sugar into a bowl. 

Whisk until it resembles the consistency of thick cream. 

Pour the coffee into a shallow bowl and dip the sponge fingers in for a couple of seconds turning once. Remove before they become soggy. Layer in a dish until you've used half. Then spoon half of the cream mixture over the top. 

Then using the coarse side of the grater, grate half the chocolate onto the mixture and then repeat using the remaining sponge fingers. Use up the remaining coffee then the cream, grated chocolate and finally a good dusting of cocoa powder. Chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Serves 4

Know your onions!

 

Onions! To say I'm a slow learner is an understatement, so when I first started cooking curry about 30 years ago, I thought, heat some oil cook a few chopped onions for a few minutes then chuck in your spices tomatoes and meat, cook for a while… Hey presto! Curry is served…… Wrong!! 

One of the most important ingredients in a curry is the humble onion, treat it with respect! Depending on the recipe you are using, onions should be cooked longer for red meat and slightly shorter, for say, chicken, typically 15-20 minutes of browning on a medium heat, adding water if the onions start to catch on the pan. Browning the onions well adds a rich depth of flavour to the curry. I recently did a biryani dish and the onions were cooked in unsalted butter for over 30mins and they caramelised giving a really fantastic flavour to the finished dish. So, for the perfect curry, have a little patience with those onions, seriously, it'll be worth it. 

Keema Mattar

 One of my favourite go-to curries is Keema Mattar, I use either lamb or beef mince depending on what's in the freezer. 

It's a simple, easy to follow recipe and tastes so good! Serve it with plain boiled rice or chapatis. 

KEEMA MATTAR  (Lamb or Beef Mince with Garden Peas).

Ingredients:

1 tsp Coriander Seeds

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

2 Cardamoms

4 Cloves

1 Kashmiri dried red chilis

1 tsp ground turmeric

Salt to taste

Tsp of sugar

3 Large Tomatoes

5 Cloves Garlic

15g Ginger peeled weight

8 Curry Leaves

50cm Cinnamon stick

1 Green chili whole but pierced

1 Onion

500g Lamb Mince

Half tsp Garam masala

Mug of Frozen garden peas

To Cook:

In a spice grinder, grind the red chillis, cloves, cardamoms, cumin seeds and coriander seeds.

Set aside.

In a blender, Blend the garlic, Ginger and tomatoes with a splash of water.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan until hot, then add the curry leaves, cinnamon and green chilli, sizzle for 10 seconds and add the onion. Cook until well browned.

Add the blended paste and cook with the onions for about five minutes on a moderate heat.

Now add the mince and all the ground spices and sugar along with the turmeric and salt.

Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook for twenty minutes, adding a little water if the mixture becomes too dry.

Add the frozen peas and cook on low until the peas are cooked. Stir in the Garam Masala and serve. Tip: If you want to make it a little richer in taste, add a little double cream with the peas. 

Good with rice or Chapatis.

PERFECT RICE

 

Perfect Rice Everytime! 

For a long time, I'd struggled with my rice, it usually ended up too wet or stodgy! Now, I have a formula which I think is full proof! 

Serves two. 

1. As a rule I use 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water. 

2. Wash your rice under cold water until the water runs clear. Drain well. 

3. In a small pan, heat a dsrt spoonful of oil and add the rice 

4. Cook for a minute stirring constantly. 

5. Add the water, a little salt to taste and bring to a boil

6. Put a lid on the pan and turn heat to its lowest setting. 

7. Cook like this for exactly ten minutes, then take pan off the heat, leave to stand for a further ten minutes. 

8. Fluff up gently with a fork and serve.  

Add flavour. 

At step 3, add 2 black cardamom, 3 green cardamom, 4 cloves, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and 1"piece cinnamon stick to the oil and fry until the aroma is released, then follow the rest of the instructions. 

Bukka Chicken Curry

Bukka Chicken

Inspired by recipes I've followed, I concocted this recipe about 6 months ago and I have to say, its pretty damn tasty. I used a little mango chutney to add some sweetness. 

It's a very simple to follow recipe, so please give it a go. 

BUKKA CHICKEN Ingredients

10 curry leaves

3 cloves

3 cardomoms

Teaspoon cumin seeds

4 peppercorns

1 dried Kashmiri chilli

1" cinnamon stick

500gr chicken thighs (skinless)

4 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoon ground coriander

Half teaspoon chilli powder

Half teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

1-2 chopped green chillis

1 teaspoon Sainsbury's spicy mango chutney

2 medium onions chopped

3 garlic cloves crushed

1" piece ginger finely sliced and julienned.

1 teaspoon Garam masala

BUKKA CHICKEN Method

Fry dried spices in oil until fragrant

Add onion garlic and chopped ginger, cook until soft and golden, about ten minutes. Add ground spices and salt and chopped green chilli, stir. Turn the heat down to stop the spices burning. 

Stir in tomatoes a spoonful at a time and cook down, until you end up with a nice dense base. 

Add chicken, cook on medium high stirring frequently.

Add some water and cook for ten minutes. Add the mango chutney, julienne ginger and a splash of water. Put lid on and cook on low for a further ten minutes.

Stir in Garam masala. Leave to rest for a few minutes, then serve.

Using your Loaf!

 

Fresh Bread

I've recently been trying my hand at bread making. During the first COVID lockdown in 2020, I found I had time on my hands and thought, why not give it a go? Apart from making a bit of a mess in the kitchen, I find kneading the dough quite therapeutic. Whilst the results have been mixed,(see picture) generally the bread tastes good and makes fantastic toast! 

If you fancy having a go yourself, I use a simple recipe from www.Bakingmad.com