Saturday, 27 January 2024

Bombay side … or main!

Although this is used as a very popular “side” it can morph into a stand-alone veggie meal by adding a selection of other stuff – cauliflower and chick peas to name but two!

Back to the recipe – for those of you who follow the blog you'll know I always have baked, jacket spuds in my fridge, so you could use two of them.


Bombay Aloo – aka Bombay Potatoes


2 large jacket spuds from your stash, peeled if you prefer

OR

500g of cooked potatoes – I use Charlottes – whatever you use it should be a waxy potato that holds its shape, so any new potato will be just the job


1 medium onion, finely diced

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

250g passata

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp ginger paste or 1” fresh, grated.

2 cloves of roasted garlic or 2 cloves of fresh, crushed

1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander, garam masala and curry powder. Use a curry powder that best suits your palate and how much heat you like – mild, medium or hot

1 tsp salt or to taste


Use a medium size saucepan (21cms/8”).

Your potatoes should be cut to approximately 6-12 cms/¼” to ½” pieces.

Fry the onions in the oil until soft – 3-4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, spices and salt. Fry so that the spices are released. Add the potatoes and the tomato paste, fry gently so that the potatoes absorb the flavours and the paste cooks too – 3-4 minutes.

Add the passata and sugar and cook on a gentle heat for 10 minutes**. Taste the Bombay Aloo, adjust salt and sugar to personal taste. Cool, box and fridge. The longer you leave this dish the better it will be. It freezes well.


As a guide this recipe will give you 690g of scrumptious Bombay Aloo.

You can add a can of chick peas, drained and rinsed or tiny florets of cauliflower with the passata and sugar marked ** above - or anything that takes your fancy!

A photo-guide ...


The curry sauce!

This is a middle for diddle curry sauce, it won't blow your head off erring on the mild side – you could ramp it up by increasing the strength of the curry powder to your taste, if you prefer!

I use this all the time – it's quick, easy and above all it's yum!


Rendang Sauce


160 ml coconut cream


3 tsp brown sugar


2 tsp curry powder

(I used mild)


1 tbsp kecap manis

(also known as sweet soy sauce)


Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat for 3/4 minutes

and serve. Can be made ahead and re-heated.


Cool, then set aside alongside the koftas until you're ready to serve.


If you're a fan of “sides” here are two of my absolute favourites!


Saturday, 20 January 2024

Your kofta guide

You'll find it so much easier if you use a foil tray - with 2 tbsp plain flour – it enables you to roll around the koftas to coat with flour without having to “assist” them – a few at a time!





If you would prefer a larger version then use a dessert spoon of mixture, treated in exactly the same way, like these:



Coming up … the curry sauce and a couple of sides!

The Thrift Guide - With taste!

It's that time again – New Year and after all the festivities it's back to the economical nay thrifty – here's a few ideas using that boring ingredient – mince!

This recipe hits the spot. Koftas are small Indian meatballs and as you'd expect from me they can be made ahead and frozen – in fact they improve with freezing. Versatility is the key!


Koftas - makes 25/30 ish


500g of minced lamb

or Quorn mince


*salt and black pepper

*2 cloves of garlic, crushed or 2 tsps of paste

*1 tsp of ground cumin

*1 tsp of ground coriander

*pinch of garam masala

*pinch of chilli powder


1 heaped tbsp of tomato paste

1 egg


sprinkle of plain flour

kitchen gloves or damp hands


Rapeseed oil for shallow frying


a foil tray 23cms x 23cms


Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the ingredients marked * and mix well. Add the tomato paste and the egg and combine. If you find the mixture too wet, then sprinkle a little plain flour into the mixture and fold in gently.

Using either gloves or damp hands your mixture should aim to be the size of a walnut (or 1 heaped teaspoon). Roll the mixture between your hands and when you've 8 or so heat the oil in a large frying pan. Seal the koftas on a low heat and carefully shake the pan to turn them – use tongs if you are accident prone!

At this stage you can continue to cook the koftas in the pan or you can transfer to an oven-proof dish and pop into a pre-heated oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15 minutes.

Alternatively let the koftas cool once sealed, transfer to freezer bags and freeze until required. Defrost and then place in a foil tray and warm in a pre-heated oven as above for 15 minutes.


Easy peasy, economical and really tasty the photo guide

Saturday, 13 January 2024

The same applies …

to this recipe as with the last, it's as old as the hills and never fails – even guests who don't “do tuna” hoover these morsels!


Tuna and Parsley rolls


200g/7oz tin tuna in oil

1 onion, chopped

100g/4oz cheddar cheese, grated

2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

salt and black pepper

*1 tsp wholegrain mustard

1 puff pastry sheet

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp poppy or Nigella seeds



Pre-heat oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6

Drain the tuna, reserving 1 tbsp of the oil. Pour the oil into a pan and cook the onion for 5 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat and stir in the tuna, cheese, parsley, seasoning and mustard until well combined. Allow to cool.

Roll out your pastry sheet and cut in half lengthways.

Divide the filling between the two rectangles, laying it in strips down the centre of the pastry.

Brush one edge with beaten egg and carefully roll up to create two long tubes. Cut each into 12 rolls. Brush with egg and place on a baking tray, seam side down. Sprinkle over with poppy or Nigella seeds and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

*I use Dijon mustard and add a dessertspoon – whichever you prefer.

Yum!


Here's a tip … if you've not already got a “go to” stash of recipes (on your laptop or wherever) that you'll use any time of the year then now is the time to start one and begin with these two recipes – you could call it “go to”!

Now it's back to the economical – but tasty … and a New Year


Under your belt!

I know the holidays have gone but I'm including this recipe so that you've got it “under your belt” - you'll use it all year round I promise you.

You'll never buy another cheese straw/twizzle or whatever other fancy name they give them, again. If you think I'm exaggerating then try the recipe just because you deserve a savoury treat!

You will guard this recipe with your life - these biscuits will become your best friend.


Parmesan biscuits


Makes 25-30


100g/4oz cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

100g/4oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting

pinch salt

pinch cayenne pepper

1 heaped tsp mustard powder

50g/2oz finely grated mature cheddar cheese

50g/2oz finely grated Parmesan, plus extra to decorate

1 egg, beaten



Preheat oven to 180c/160fan/Gas 4.

Place the butter and flour into a food processor with the salt, cayenne, mustard powder and cheeses. Process together then pulse the mixture in short spurts until you notice the mixture coming together. It will eventually bind without the need for egg or water. Tip the mixture onto a sheet of cling film and use the cling film to bring it together into a round. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Leaving longer will do no harm.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the pastry thinly. Cut out the biscuits in shapes to suit the occasion. Lay them on a greased or non stick baking tray – 2cm apart. You'll need two trays.

Brush the surface with egg and sprinkle over a little of the finely grated Parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Use a palette knife to ease the biscuits off the tray and place on a rack to cool.


They will keep for a few days – good luck with that - take my advice and bake and freeze when there's no-one around – otherwise the aroma from the oven will bring everyone into the kitchen and it'll be bye bye biscuits!

Saturday, 6 January 2024

The healthy option – paté number 3

If you fancy a fish alternative then paté number 3 is for you – healthy and virtuous.


Smoked Mackerel Paté


250g smoked mackerel


250g quark (it's a soft cheese made from skimmed milk

not nice on its own but great as a low fat product for healthy pate!)


Glug of lemon juice


Black pepper


Two tsps of creamed horseradish


To garnish – parsley, finely diced

sweet onion or finely chopped capers


Remove the skin from the mackerel, flake it and pop into your food processor. Add the quark and blitz with the mackerel, then add the lemon juice, black pepper and horseradish, blitz again. You can gauge the consistency of the paté to your personal taste – but it needs to be fairly stiff for piping.

Fridge until you're ready to pipe - then garnish with a little dried parsley, or sweet onion or chopped capers.

Any leftovers can be served with anything you like, toasted bread, rice cakes or add to warmed pitta slit, with salad. Add to cooked pasta, hot or cold – perfect for lunch on the run!

If you can't get hold of quark you can use cottage cheese - low fat of course.


You'd never know it was healthy!

Finally, the best savoury biscuits ever ...


Another piped paté

Paté number two is so easy and perfect for piping!


Cream cheese and cashew nut paté


1 carrot, finely grated

225g cream cheese

100g roasted cashew nuts, crushed to a rubble – not

to a dust!

1 tbsp of chopped chives

salt and black pepper


black olives – pitted and sliced to garnish


Mix all the ingredients together, box and fridge – complicated it isn't!

If you have leftovers it's yummy on rice cakes, gluten free cheese oatcakes, toast or even as a sandwich filling – a toasted bagel would be good. Waste not, want not!


Pipe onto crostini and garnish with black olives!

Paté number 3 up next …