Creamy Saag Aloo!

 

Along with Bombay Aloo, Saag Aloo has to be one of my favourite Indian side dishes. 

The creamy taste of potatoes and spinach, along with garlic, ginger, mustard seeds and cumin make this dish stand out. 

Here's my version, I hope you enjoy. 

INGREDIENTS

4-5 Charlotte or new potatoes

1 tblsp oil

1tsp Mustard seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp turmeric

2 garlic cloves sliced

1 tblsp ginger finely sliced

1 large tomato chopped

1 small bag baby leaf spinach

1-2 small chillis chopped

1tsp salt

1 tsp Garam masala

METHOD

Boil the potatoes in their skins until just cooked through, set aside and allow to cool. 

Once cooled, remove the skin and cut into bite size chunks. 

Heat the oil on a medium heat in a shallow pan and add the mustard seeds. 

Once they start to pop, add the cumin followed by the garlic, ginger and turmeric, reduce heat and cook for a couple of minutes adding a splash of water to stop it catching in the pan. 

Now stir in the tomatoes, chilli and salt. 

Cook down to form a Masala paste or until the tomatoes break down. 

Add the spinach, stir, lower the heat, put a lid on and cook until the spinach has wilted down. 

Now add the potatoes and carefully stir in, cook for a couple of minutes, stir in the garam Masala and serve! 

Sweet 'n' Spicy Chicken Jalfrezi

 Sweet n Spicy Chicken Jalfrezi! 

One of my favourite takeaways is Chicken Jalfrezi, it's sweet, Sour & Hot! 

I used Hari Ghotra's recipe for this, as it's so simple to do. 

INGREDIENTS

8 chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces 

TOMATO GRAVY

2 tblsps oil

4 small chillies finely chopped

1tsp cumin seeds

4 cloves garlic sliced

1 tsp salt

4 tomatoes chopped

½ tsp turmeric

2 tblsps Greek yogurt

JALFREZI FRY

½ tsp salt

1 tblsp oil

1 Onion cut into chunks 

1 red pepper cut into chunks

1 green pepper cut into chunks

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tomato chopped

2 chillis chopped

1tsp Garam masala

METHOD

Heat oil in a large pan and add the cumin seeds, chilli and garlic. 

Fry until lightly browned. 

Now add the tomatoes, salt and turmeric. 

Cook until the tomatoes break down and it forms a thick Masala sauce. 

Add the chicken and mix well, reduce the heat, put a lid on and cook for 15-20 mins until the chicken is cooked through. 

Stir in the yogurt and carry on cooking on the lowest setting. 

In a separate pan, heat the oil, add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant. 

Stir in the onions, tomato, Peppers and chilli. 

Stir fry for as long or as little as you prefer, it's nice to keep a little crunch. 

Stir in the garam Masala. 

Once the chicken is cooked and the sauce has reduced, stir in the fried pepper mixture, simmer for a couple of minutes and serve. 

Enjoy! 

Tarka Dhal

TARKA DHAL

Tarka Dhal, hmm…. During my last employment, in the sign trade, my old boss would treat us hardworking souls to what was called a corporate Curry night, where far too much beer was consumed for a weeknight, but it was always a great evening. 

I first joined said company 25 odd years ago. 

The Tarka Dhal for some reason was renamed by the boss as a Tarka Goddam 

So I thought I would add this dish as a homage to those days!  

I've followed Hari Ghotra's Red Lentil Dhal recipe. 

Ingredients:

200g Red Lentils (washed). 

900ml water (approx). 

1tsp salt. 

Masala:

1tblsp ghee or veg oil. 

1tsp cumin

1 dried red chilli

1 Bay Leaf

1 Onion chopped 

1 garlic clove chopped

2 Tomatoes finely chopped

1tsp Ginger grated

1tsp Turmeric

1 chilli finely chopped 

1tsp fenugreek leaves

1tsp Garam Masala

For the Tarka:

1 tblsp Ghee

1 garlic clove sliced

1 green chilli finely sliced

1tsp Mustard seeds. 

METHOD

Put the Lentils in a large pan of water and salt. Bring to the boil. 

Remove the froth, lower the heat and simmer until the Lentils are soft. 

In a frying pan heat the ghee or oil

And add the chilli, bay leaf and cumin seeds. 

When the seeds sizzle, add the onion and garlic, fry until lightly browned. Reduce the heat and add the tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, fenugreek and the chopped chilli. Cook gently until it forms a thick Masala. 

Add a ladle full of Lentils to the masala and stir to mix well. Then empty the contents of the frying pan into the lentils, it should have the consistency of soup, but if its too thick, just add some boiling water. 

NOW FOR THE TARKA

Heat the ghee in a small frying pan

Add the sliced garlic, chilli and mustard seed, cook until fragrant, then add to the Dhal. Stir in a tsp of Garam Masala and add some fresh chopped coriander to garnish… That's it, enjoy! 

Chinese Sticky Beef!

 

CHINESE STICKY BEEF

I had Roast beef leftover from a Sunday dinner and wondered what to do with it. 

So I cobbled this tasty meal together, trust me, it was well worth the effort! 

I dished it up with a vegetable Chow Mein and boiled rice. 

Ingredients. 

1 tblsp vegetable oil

Leftover roast beef

2 tblsps cornflour

2 tsps Chinese 5 spice

1 garlic clove sliced

1 small red chilli, sliced

2 spring onions, sliced

1 sachet Blue Dragon Sweet Chilli & Garlic sauce. 

Method. 

Cut the beef into slices then strips. 

In a bowl, mix together the cornflour and 5 spice. 

Using a little oil mix the beef strips in the flour. 

Add the oil to the wok or frying pan and heat up on a medium setting. 

Add the garlic and chilli, stir for a few seconds, allowing to sizzle. 

Now add the beef and stir fry for around 2 min 

Finally, pour in the blue dragon sauce and cook stirring constantly until the mixture becomes sticky. 

Serve with a sprinkling of chopped spring onions on top. Enjoy! 

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.