Saturday, 31 July 2021

What to cook in hot weather …

Cast your mind back to last weekend and Sunday 19th July in particular when, during soaring temperatures exceeding 30 degrees plus in the UK, it was the British Grand Prix and we were expecting friends to watch and then eat afterwards. Many of us don't look forward to entertaining generally but in recent times getting back into the swing of it has been hard work!

It suddenly struck me that I had to plan a menu to serve relatively quickly after the race which didn't involve me melting in the process and take into account other nightmare considerations - like serving food that is difficult to control temperature-wise in extreme heat - as an example - a prawn salad is not a good idea!

I made two decisions – a flash of inspiration me thinks – the first – definitely no salad and second it's going to be curry. You might not think it but curry is an excellent choice in hot weather – eating hot to stay cool – the heat of the spices makes you sweat - or should I say glow - and sweating cools you down. The science bit – circumin in turmeric helps promote good circulation helping to speed up your blood flow and cool your body down.

I always plan my entertaining with the dessert and then work backwards – strange I know but it works for me. The extreme hot weather actually helped my decisions. Two courses, straight into the main and then dessert. I took advantage of seasonal fresh fruit, in this case bowls of strawberries and cherries, together with a bowl of crushed Amaretti crumb, everyone helps themselves. My final element was a lemon pot – zingy, chilled and a perfect palate cleanser too after curry.

I decided on two curries – here's my final main menu :


Butter Chicken

Rendang with potato, onion and peas

Pilau rice

Naan breads

Mango chutney

Raita

I could make both the curries in advance and fridge. Each of the curries “stood alone” if preferred or together if you like a combination of flavours. The rendang catered for the veggie – me! Served in bowls at the table everyone, once again, could dive in and take whatever they fancied.

Okey dokey, lets get organised!


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