Monday, May 12, 2014

To weigh or not to weigh?

To weigh or not to weigh?

For roast meat, I weigh the joint to calculate the cooking time.
For other savoury dishes, I do not weigh or measure anything. I just add what looks about right, occasionally varying quantities according to my mood. In my recipes, I have indicated quantities but, if you want to try the recipe, to not feel bound by amounts given, just use them as a guide.

For bread, pastries, cakes, etc., I weigh everything carefully.

For bread, I find 500 gm flour plus 300 gm water works well.

For pastry, I always use 2 parts flour to one part fat (margarine, butter, suet, goose fat) by weight.

For cakes, I always follow a recipe carefully.

Baigan Bhaji (Aubergine curry)

Baigan Bhaji

I used to cook this curry using a large aubergine purple aubergine found in supermarkets. However, the aubergine soaks up a lot of oil in the initial stages of cooking. I frequently eat at the Everest Spice, my local Nepalese/Indian restaurant, in Redhill. They serve a dish they call Bhenta Ko Tahkaari which uses small (about 4 cms long) aubergines. I now use whatever variety of small aubergine they have in my local Asian shop.I find they have more flavour and do not soak up as much oil.

Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

500 gm small aubergines, cut into 2 cm pieces
2 or 3 dried chillies
2 heaped tsps garam masala
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp asafoetida (hing) powder
2 or 3 ripe tomatoes, tomatoes
tomato paste
juice of 1 lime
salt
vegetable oil

Use a heavy bottomed saucepan.
Crumble the chillies into hot oil and fry for 5 min.
Add garam masala.
After 1 min add onions and garlic.
Add asafoetida.
When the onions are translucent, add the aubergines.
Add the tomatoes, a good squeeze of tomato paste, lime juice and salt. Stir well.
If necessary, add just enough water to stop the ingredients catching on the bottom of the pan.
Cover and leave on a low simmer until the aubergines are cooked, about 30 min.

Garam masala Heat a dry pan and dry fry 5 tsps cumin seeds, 3 tsps coriander seeds, 8 cloves, 8 green cardamon pods and 1 brown cardamon pod until they start to brown slightly. Let the seeds cool and then grind them with a 2 cm piece of cinnamon stick and about 1/4 nutmeg. Grind into a powder. I use an old coffee grinder kept just for spices.

Note: The number of dried chillies added depends on how hot the chillies are and how hot you like the dish. I buy a large packet and experiment . Alternatively, you can leave them out and add chilli powder at the onion stage.
At this point, you can also add thinly sliced fresh chillies (red or green). I usually deseed them.





Persian Lamb Casserole

Persian Lamb Casserole

When I was in Isfahan with my friend, Alireza Ardjmand, we had a spiced lamb stew with fruit in it. Ali said the fruit was pomegranate.This is my version using apricots.

Serves 4

Ingredients

750 gm lamb shoulder, off the bone, 2 cm dice
olive oil
heaped tsp cumin
6 cloves
8 green cardamon pods
2 tsps allspice seeds
3 cm piece of cinnamon bark
1 onion, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
vegetable stock 
8 apricots, stoned and cut in quarters. Use fresh if in season, otherwise use dried, soaked in some hot water, if necessary
salt 
black pepper

Use a casserole dish than can be placed on the stove.

In a frying pan, heat some olive oil and brown the lamb. Set aside.
In the casserole dish, heat some olive oil. Add the cumin seeds followed by the cloves, cardamon and allspice, all crushed. Fry for 2 min.
Add onion and garlic. Fry until translucent.
Add the lamb and stir well.
Heat some stock in the frying pan and scraping up any bits from the lamb. Add to the casserole.
Add the apricots.
Pour in enough stock to just cover everything.
Bring to the boil and place in a pre-heated oven at 180°C.
Cook until lamb is tender (60-90 min).

In Iran, the stew was served with rice and salad.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Handi Lamb

Handi Lamb

Handi is a type of cooking pot but the word is often used to describe the food that might be cooked in a handi.
The recipe below is my version of the dish I cooked with Chef Lokesh Mathur in his cooking class in Jaipur.
Mr. Lokesh gave me a recipe which we then did not follow so I relied on my notes.

Serves 4

Ingredients

About 1 kg lamb on the bone. Scrag end of neck is suitable, I sometimes use Barnsley chops but these are probably rather expensive for this dish. 
coriander seeds
green cardamons
brown cardamon
cloves
peppercorns
1 onion
melon seeds
asafoetida powder 
chilli powder
melon seeds (ground)
garlic and ginger paste
salt

Cover the meat with water and boil for about 30 minutes. Skim off any fat after about 10 min. Remove the meat and keep the cooking water (to use later). If the pieces of meat are small enough, leave them on the bone, otherwise, strip off the meat and discard the bone.

Crush 2 tsps coriander seeds, about 8 green cardamons, 1 brown cardamon, 8 cloves and a tsp peppercorns. Add the spices to some ghee heated in a heavy bottomed pan. fry briefly, add a medium onion, sliced thinly. When it has softened, add 1/2 tsp asafoetida (hing) powder, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 2 tsps ground melon seeds and 2 tsps garlic & ginger paste and salt. Fry for 5 minutes; add enough lamb cooking water to make a thick gravy. Add the pieces of lamb, stir well, cover and cook for another 10 min. You might want to add a little lamb water.

Garlic and ginger paste. You can buy this in an Asian shop. To make your own, place about one inch of peeled ginger root and eight garlic cloves with a little water in a small food processor and whizz together.


Okra curry

Okra curry (my version of Bhindi Sukha)

Adapted from a dish cooked for me by Bhaskar Battacharrya

Ingredients

Good handful of okra per person
dried chilli seeds
panch phoran
1 onion
asafoetida powder (hing)

Wash the okra.. Leave to dry. The top and tail them and slice into one inch pieces.
In a heavy bottom saucepan, fry a couple of crumbled dried chillies in vegetable oil or ghee. After 5 min, add 1/2 tablespoon panch phoran, allow to sparkle for a few seconds. Add a chopped onion, when it is a golden colour, add 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida powder. Stir in the okra. Add just enough water to stop the food catching on the bottom of the pan. Put the lid and cook an a low heat for 15 min. Add a little more water during cooking if necessary.

Panch phoran is mixture of cumin, black mustard, nigella, fenugreek and fennel seeds. Sold in Asian shops or add individual spices.

Note: The number of dried chillies added depends on how hot the chillies are and how hot you like the dish. I buy a large packet and experiment . Alternatively, you can leave them out and add chilli powder at the onion stage.
At this point, you can also add thinly sliced fresh chillies (red or green). I usually deseed them.

My dahl recipe

My Dahl Recipe

Ingredients

200 gm lentils.
dried chillies
panch phoran
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
fresh ginger root

Wash the lentils thoroughly. Add to a heavy bottomed pan and cover with water, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and boil for about 30 min. Add water as necessary. The dahl should be a half way between sloppy and dry. Stir in some tomato paste. 
Meanwhile, in some vegetable oil, fry:
a couple of dried chillies, after 5 min add half a tablespoon of panch phoran (see below), then half an onion thinly sliced and the garlic, chopped.
When the onions are well done, stir into the lentils. Add about 1/2 inch of ginger root, chopped finely.
Before serving, garnish with crispy fried onion rings. 

Panch phoran is mixture of cumin, black mustard, nigella, fenugreek and fennel seeds. Sold in Asian shops or add individual spices.

Note: The number of dried chillies added depends on how hot the chillies are and how hot you like the dahl. I buy a large packet and experiment . Alternatively, you can leave them out and add chilli powder at the onion stage.
At this point, you can also add thinly sliced fresh chillies (red or green). I usually deseed them.