Cheat's Chilli

This is a speedy supper that won't break the bank and thrifty too – it only takes 20 minutes!

Cheat's Chilli

650g minced beef or Quorn mince

glug of rapeseed oil

*½ tsp each of cumin, coriander

and cinnamon

*500g carton of passata

*1 can of red kidney beans

60ml sweet chilli sauce

l large onion, finely chopped

1 Knorr garlic flavour pot

*¼ tsp chilli powder

Only piece of kit required – a large frying pan.

Heat the rapeseed oil, add the onion and garlic and soften on a moderate heat for 2/3 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and chilli and cook to allow the spices to release their umph!

Add the minced beef and break up and mix thoroughly to ensure that the mince is browned. Add the passata and the sweet chilli sauce, mix again, finally add the beans – bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally .

Variations

Add 50g of dark chocolate broken into small

pieces and drop into simmering chilli to enrich

Use spiced mixed beans instead of red

kidney beans

Add 150g of diced chorizo – (remember you can

get Plant Chorizo Puppies) (reduce the amount of minced

beef to 500g). Fry off the chorizo first until it begins

to crisp and set aside - the rapeseed oil is not necessary since

you're making use of the oil released from the chorizo – continue

with the recipe adding the onion, garlic and spices

as above, add the chorizo back when the mince is

browned

Add a topping of sour cream

Serve with bread of your choice or wraps or how about tacos?

Why not serve with a raw slaw!

If this doesn't disappear it'll be a miracle. If by some chance there are any leftovers, freeze portions in microwave boxes.

By the way those ingredients marked * are great store cupboard items!

OR … perhaps you'd prefer a Shepherd or a Cottage?

The final side

… the humble onion salad :

Onion Salad

2 medium onions, finely chopped -

weight 150g per onion approximately

salt and black pepper

2 tbsp fresh orange juice

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp tomato paste

pinch of chill powder

Place the onions in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Place the salad in sealed airtight containers and store in a cool place.

The secret to this salad is that you should not serve it for at least a day, preferably two after making it. It's important that the orange and lemon juice and the tomato paste are allowed to “mature” - leaving to infuse takes away any harshness from the onion and the tomato paste.

This is a perfect accompaniment for any curry.

Here it is :

If you are a lover of all things spicy then this onion salad is excellent with cold meats or, best of all, with a strong mature cheddar cheese.

It's a match made in heaven – koftas, curry and two sides as well.

Next – if you don't fancy a curry what about a Cheat's Chilli?

Bombay Aloo – photos!

 Here's a photo guide of the original Bombay Aloo :

the beginning

the middle

the end

in an individual pot, ready to roll!

It's a win win – you use up any potatoes and produce a dish that will go down a storm – an added bonus - if you cook it on purpose it doesn't break the bank – I love it when a thrifty plan comes together especially when it tastes so good!

The final side ...

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!

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