Recipes and Cookery

[philonightmare]

Originally Posted by Geoff

Do either of Balti or Tikka massala make it into your daily cuisine?

Balti (food) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chicken tikka masala - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If so, you are eating english dishes, and I wonder how they have ended up in your (family?) repetoire?

If you think I'm labouring the point, it's that I love good curries of all sorts, and I'm kinda proud my country invented some of the best

No, this is quite interesting! I'm finding out that my family's food isn't totally authentically Pakistani Well, there's not really any sort of "authenticity" when it comes to Pakistani culture (it's a mishmash of everything, really), so it shouldn't surprise me, but I would not have thought England to be the point of origin for one of my Mom's favorite meals to cook (karai chicken). Most of my family originated in Kashmir, so from what the wiki article states, it makes sense.

Hurrah to Britain for inventing these dishes! Chicken tikka masala is also one of the most commonly made dishes in Pakistani households, but I think I attribute that to the fact they all get these masala boxes from the Indian grocer where the spices are already mixed in dry form and you just have to add the meat and whatever else is necessary.

[EffEmDoubleyou]

Hurrah indeed! I've always found "authenticity" to be a very overused and overrated term when it comes to cooking. If it's good, it's good. It doesn't matter to me how long people have been preparing a dish a certain way.

[Geoff]

1 long red pepper (eg mediterranean), chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 large mushrooms chopped
4 rashers of very lean extra trimmed bacon, roughly chopped
1 mini-tin (about 50g) of tomato puree
500g of passata (chopped, pureed tomatoes) or 1 large tin chopped tomatoes
1 fresh red chili, seeded and chopped
1 small handful fresh oregano, chopped
500g (enough for two people) fresh gnocchi (potato done like pasta)

Gently saute the pepper, chili and garlic in a little olive oil for about 10 minutes
turn up heat and add bacon and mushrooms fry 2 or 3 minutes until cooked
add passata, oregano, tomato puree
Bring up to a simmer and leave to bubble away for 20 mins or so.

Cook gnocchi by bringing water to boil in a saucepan and add, after about 2 minutes should all be floating on surface -> it's done!

Divide gnocchi into two, ladle sauce over the top.. maybe sprinkle with some fresh parmesan.

Very yummy.. if I say it myself.. I made this one because I fancied something a little fiery without onion... and it's nice... rich and tomatoey with a kick

Enjoy!

[Seanan]

Originally Posted by FMWarner

Hurrah indeed! I've always found "authenticity" to be a very overused and overrated term when it comes to cooking. If it's good, it's good. It doesn't matter to me how long people have been preparing a dish a certain way.

I agree... I once went to Italian home where they had been cooking the sauce for 2 days with 3 kings of meat. It didn't taste any different that what I cook in an hour with those meats.

[Geoff]

Geoff's leg of lamb pot roast, mediterranean style (which he made today )

1 leg of lamb, about 1 1/2-2lb. Good quality.
1 red onion, peeled and quartered
4 cloves of garlic, peeled, whole
1 small handful of each of fresh rosemary, thyme and basil
1/4pt/200 ml (ish) of good quality red wine
some gravy thickening powder
a little olive oil

Get olive oil smoking hot in a large frying pan
fry lamb on all sides for about 2 mins each until a little crispy and starting to cook
chuck in the onion at the start too so it kinda brows and starts frying
put lamb in a crockpot/slow cooker along with the garlic, fresh herbs and onions
take heat off frying pan
chuck in wine, scrape away until wine has picked up any juices (known as deglazing the pan)
tip wine and juices over lamb in the slow cooker

cook on high (remember, this is a slow cooker/crock pot, so it's still a low heat) for about 4 or 5 hours

strain wine/juices out of crockpot into frying pan, add a little water and gravy thickening powder and bring to boil, stirring until it thickens, use as gravy (taste it, might need more water etc)

serve lamb, carved with mashed potatoes, veggies and the very delicious gravy

tip : save 1/2 the lamb, and use it a couple of days later to make a decent curry (especially a bhuna or balti.. at least that's my plan!)

Enjoy!

[Jae Rae]

Originally Posted by darlets

These are my Blueberry and oatmeal muffins.

Those look great. Recipe?

Jae Rae

[prplchknz]

does anyone know of a good tomato based vegetable soup that's a bit spicy?

[Jive A Turkey]

Originally Posted by prplchknz

does anyone know of a good tomato based vegetable soup that's a bit spicy?

Yeah. Good idea.

I think mulla-ga-tani (mulligatawny) would get you out the gate pretty good. Tomato puree and South Indian aromatics with heat typically come with the package and acidity is often raised by integrating lemon. So your mouth'll be in for it. That kissing disease vendetta you been talking about.

I'm not so sure about vegetable addition, though. Pouring in some veggies will make the soup look like you just poured in some veggies. The world needs more black vegetables. I bet those would look threatening in red puree.

The rest is really in your head.

[Jae Rae]

Originally Posted by Geoff

Geoff's Turkey Chilli Burgers (I really ought to come up with a better name for this...)

500g or 1lb of healthy lean turkey breast slices/steaks (sometimes called escalopes), chopped finely
2 red chilli peppers, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh chopped leaf coriander (also called cilantro)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fresh chopped mint

Mix all ingredients together and form into about 5 or 6 burgers. Squeeze each handful tightly to make it stick. Optional : refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Heat a grill/pan/bbq to a med-high heat... cook burgers about 6 or 7 minutes each side.. when turning, turn the heat down to a low medium to avoid it burning before it's cooked through.

Made this one up/cooked it over the weekend. Absolutely delicious... and about 90cal and 0.5 g of sat fats per burger. Pretty decent in a toasted pitta or bun with something like fat-free blue cheese dressing as a sauce.

Enjoy!

We made these last night and they were delicious. My 15 year-old daughter called them toothpaste burgers, but asked for seconds. We served them with brown rice/shitake pilaf. Thanks for the recipe.

Jae Rae

[Geoff]

Originally Posted by Jae Rae

We made these last night and they were delicious. My 15 year-old daughter called them toothpaste burgers, but asked for seconds. We served them with brown rice/shitake pilaf. Thanks for the recipe.

Jae Rae

Cool, I'm so glad you liked them. Even if they resemble toothpaste! As I am sure you realised, the trick is just cooking them enough that they stay juicy without being undercooked.

Let me add another snack to the collection.

Quick and easy spanish chorizo lunch.

per person :

2 eggs, beaten with a little milk.
1 or 2 tbsp of finely chopped chorizo (the spicy dried spanish sausage, not the uncooked mexican one!)
2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 garlic and coriander pitta.

Cook the chorizo in a frying pan until it crisps and releases all that yummy red oil.
Add the eggs and coriander, some salt and pepper and turn the heat virtually off.. it should set virtually with the heat of the chorizo.. you want it just cooked and not dried.
Meanwhile toast the pitta.

Make the pitta into a pocket and fill with all that yummy goodness. Trust, me, it's delicious!