08/09/2010 by D.

1 chilli
1/2 lime (or lemon), juiced
4 tbsp salted butter

NB, this freezes well so you make it into a sausage shape using clingfilm, then just cut off a slice as and when needed. 

Soften the butter in a pan, a microwave (or by balancing the bowl on a lid of a boiling pot of water containing something like sweetcorn).  Finely chop the chilli and squeeze the lime.  Whisk the lime and chilli into the butter and refrigerate to cool.  You may find not all of the lime juice incorporates; that is fine.

Use as flavouring on boiled or grilled sweetcorn (you can brush the liquid mixture straight onto the corn, then pop in under the grill to brown for a couple on minutes).  It is fantastic when used to pep up plain boiled rice, potatoes, peas, beans…. whatever you have really!

Posted in Garnish, Lime, Butter, Chilli, Recipe | Print | No Comments »

07/06/2010 by D.

This is another fabulous recipe I’ve adapted from World Food Café 2.  If the chutney jar is empty and the cheese board awaits, this fantastic little number is quick to make and has all the great elements a chutney needs: spicy, tangy, sweet and moreish.

3 tbsp tamarind dissolved in 350ml hot water
2 mugs dates, stoned and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 inch ginger, peeled and grated
1 tsp chilli powder or 1 fresh chilli, sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sultanas
1/2 mug cashews, chopped

Gently bring all ingredients apart from the cashews to a boil.  Cover pan and simmer for 10 minutes until the dates have cooked down to a chutney consitency.

Fill two jam jars and their lids with boiling water to sterilise.  Tip out water after 10 mins and upturn jars and lids to drain onto a clean towel or cloth.

Add cashews to mixutre in pan and cook for 5 more minutes.  Spoon into the jars and seal with lids immediately.  Leave to cool.  Once you open a jar, store in fridge.

Posted in Chutney, Tamarind, Sultanas, Cashews, Dates, Ginger, Vegetarian, Chilli, Garlic, Recipe | Print | No Comments »

28/03/2010 by D.

The traditional way to make this involves poaching the chicken, which is delicious.  I never get round to it, so tend to make it with leftovers from a chicken roast:

cold chicken
3 spring onions
white pepper

Soup
chicken carcass
1 onion
1 carrot
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp light soy sauce

Rice
1 mug rice
2 mugs cold water
1/2 tsp salt

Cucumber pickle
1 cucumber
1 cup vinegar
1 small chilli
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Once you’ve stripped all the chicken off the carcass, put the chicken in the fridge.  Put the carcass in a big pot with a peeled chopped carrot and onion and two bay leaves.  Cover with water and bring to boil.  Simmer for an hour or two, then strain and throw away the bits, leaving the liquid to cool.

Meanwhile wash the cucumber and cut into batons or thin slices.  Chop the chilli finely.  Mix the chilli, cucumber, vinegar, salt and sugar in a bowl and leave to macerate.

When you are ready to eat, cook the rice.  Bring the rice, 2 mugs water and 1/2 tsp salt to boil.  Simmer for around 10 mins until water has evaporated.  Taste the rice.  If it is ready and the water is nearly gone, put a lid on the pot and turn up the heat for 30 seconds to generate steam, then turn off the heat.  If not yet done, add a little more water then retest a couple of minutes later.

While the rice is cooking, bring the chicken stock to boil.  Season with a dash or two of light soy sauce.  Finely chop the spring onion.

To serve, pack the cooked rice into a small bowl, then turn one out onto each plate.  Arrange the cold chicken next to the rice.  Pour some chicken soup into a small bowl for each person, sprinkle in some spring onions and season with a shake or two of white pepper.  Serve with the bowl of cucumber pickle on the side.

I absolutely love the clean, fresh tastes of this dish.  To eat it you can take a spoonful of rice and dip it into your chicken soup.  You then have the succulent pieces of chicken (more so if you make this by the poaching method), and some fresh and spicy cucumber to give it all a lift.  We are having this tomorrow night and I can’t wait!

Posted in Chicken, Bayleaf, Cucumber, Spring Onions, White pepper, Vinegar, Soy sauce, Carrot, Onion, Chilli, Rice, Recipe | Print | No Comments »

08/02/2010 by D.

- Quick note on the spices; you can use dried chilli and ginger, and pre-ground spices if that’s what you’ve got.  The taste is more zingy with the fresh stuff!
2 Onions
3 fat Garlic cloves
1 inch Fresh Ginger
4 Potatoes
4 Carrots
any other seasonal veg (sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, celeriac, squash, spinach etc)
2 tbsp Oil
2 Fresh Chilli (to taste)
1 tsp Coriander seed
1 tsp Cumin seed
1 tsp Cardamom pods (green)
(optional tin of tomatoes and a tin of coconut cream – the curry is richer with, but equally good and more authentic without these)
2 veg or beef stock cubes
1 litre boiling water
Salt to taste
(to serve: Fresh coriander leaves, chilli, pitta breads, yoghurt, chutney, basmati rice)
 
Chop the onion finely. Peel and crush the garlic.  Peel the ginger and cut into small matchsticks.  Peel, wash and chop all the remaining veg into roughly the same size pieces.  Place all the above in a big pan and drizzle over the oil. Finely chop chillies and add to pan.

Crush the cardamom pods and discard the husks.  Finely grind the cardamom, cumin and coriander and add to the pan.  Boil the water.  Heat the pan slowly and stir for a couple of minutes until you can smell the spices.  Add the tin of tomatoes, the coconut milk and add the stock cubes to the pan.  Stir.  Pour over the boiling water until all the veg are just covered (depending on your pan it may need more or less than a litre).

Bring to boil again and stir every 10 mins or so.  Simmer for 40 minutes or until the hardest vegetable is done.  Taste and season accordingly (eg salt, more chilli etc).  If you want a thicker curry, crush some of the potatoes against the side of the pan and stir them back in.  For a thinner one, add a little more water.  Adjust seasoning.

Serve in pita pockets, wrap in pastry for samosas or boil up some brown or basmati rice.   You could serve it with some thick yoghurt, chutney, fresh coriander or extra chilli, according to your tastes!

A good side dish with this is a basic dhal (red lentils, whole onion, 2 cloves, stock and water, add the lot and simmer for the same time as the curry, stir regularly and don’t let it dry out).

NB this curry is great for children as they love the taste and will eat all manner of veg like celeriac and parsnips, believing them to be potatoes.  For kids leave most of the chilli out and serve the curry with chopped chillis on the side for the adults.

Posted in Cardamom, Ginger, Cumin, Curry, Coriander, Garlic, Chilli, Potato, Carrot, Onion, Vegetarian, Recipe | Print | No Comments »