Dry fried lamb curry
I tried this dish in Bangalore in a restaurant specialising in food from the Konkan coast - the south west coast of India, including Kerala and Goa. This is mouth wateringly spicy. Beware.You can use a pestle and mortar or a blender but the first gives far more rewarding results.
Ingrendients:
1/2 kilo lamb shank (or similar) cut into bite sized pieces
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 star anise
3-4 dried hot chillies (more if you like it spicy!)
1 teaspoon tumeric powder
3 cm fresh ginger
3 cloves of garlic
2-3 fresh chillies
1 large onion, sliced finely
1-2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoon cooking oil
Method:
1. Make a curry paste by blending the garlic, ginger, fresh chilli and half the onion. Add the spices. It is best if they are polverised first in a pestle and mortar and the fresh ingredients added whilst continuing to pound. This makes the flavour the strongest. Add salt and pepper.
2. Marinate the lamb pieces with some oil and the curry paste for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.
3. When ready to cook, heat the oil in a shallow pan until hot and add the rest of the onion and a little sugar to slighty brown and caramalise them. Add the lamb mixture, ensuring the heat is high and the lamb sears and the spices and cooked. Lower the heat and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes until the lamb is cooked.
4. Sprinkle with coriander and serve with lime. Goes well with boiled rice as the blandness counters the spice!
Moussaka
This is a great dish, with a slighty sweet hint in the spiced meat, but the warming baked feel that is similar to lasagne. Can't get enough! Although this has meat, the mince can be replaced with lentils and cooked for a while longer for a vegetarian version.
Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
500 g mince meat
1 tin tomatoes
Vegetable or beef stock cube
1 tablespoon of mixed spice (cinammon, nutmeg and cloves will do)
2 teaspoons of cumin powder
2 large aubergines (eggplant) sliced to 1 cm width
Salt and pepper
750 mls milk
4 tablespoons white flour
1 cube of butter
Cheese for topping (grated mozarella or parmesan)
Method:
1. Fry the onions and garlic until softened
2. Add the mince meat and stir in spices and seasoning until the meat has turned a brown colour
3. Add the tinned tomotoes, stock cube and 250ml of water. Allow to simmer and let the flavours dissapate through the meat mixture.
4. In the meanwhile make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a heavy based pan, and heat the milk with it. Do not let the milk boil. Then add the flour teaspoon by teaspoon, whisking thouroughly so there are no lumps. Add seasoning as required. After about 5 minutes this should become a thick sauce. Dont let it become too thick so that it cannot fall of the spoon easily!
5. In a deep baking dish layer the meat, aubergines and white sauce until full. Sprinkle with cheese.
6. Place the dish in a preheated oven for 45 minutes to one hour. The mixture should be bubbling slightly and crispy on top but do not let it burn!
This ia great dish to serve at a dinner party, a large family gathering or to keep and eat for left-overs the next day!
Steak with caramlised onions and mashed pumpkin
I discovered this quick and tasty recipe due to the rise in meat prices. We bought a much thinner cut that overcooked very easily. To overcome this the steak is cooked extremely quickly with a delicious garnish of caramelised onions!
Ingredients
2 beef steaks, about 1cm deep
Vegetable oil
3 medium size onions
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 spoon of balsamic vinegar (optional)
1/2 pumpkin or squash, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of milk
2-3 cubes of butter
Salt and pepper
Method
1. Slice the onions finely and fry in about 1 cm depth of oil on a medium heat
2. Add sugar and allow the onions to caramelise.Add a dash of balsamic vinegar to add some colour and zing. This may take up to 10 minutes
3. In the meantime boil the squash or pumkin. The smaller you chop it the quicker it will cook!
4. Remove the cooked slighty crispy onions. They will get sticky very quickly, so try not to let them cool down too much.
5. Keeping the frying pan hot, add the steaks and season generously.
6. Turn over after 30 seconds to a minute depending on how well done you would like it.
7. Drain and mash the pumpkin, mash with a fork and add butter and milk and seasoning.
8. Serve the mashed pumpkin with the steak and onions for a tasty and filling meal!
Spice grilled chicken
This is so simple and delicious! You can change the spices slightly according to what you have available.
Ingredients:
2 chicken legs with skin, washed
Either:
1 Tablespoon mixed spice
1 Tablespoon grown cumin
Or:
1 Tablespoon Tandoori spice
1 Tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
Method:
This is very simple! Cover the chicken with the spice mixtures and a bit of oil on the baking tray and over the top. Make sure you put plenty of seasoning as well! Bake in a very hot oven, or if this doesn't seem to get the chicken cooked and the skin crispy, put it in the grill for 5-10 minutes. Cooking time should take 25-35 minutes at 250 degrees C. To check if it is cooked prick with a knife and check that the juices run clear.
I served this with creamy mashed potatoe and steamed green beans. Mmmm.
