Curry Night

Tonight I made four curries, or made three and put together a chicken korma with bought sauce because that's what Arya eats, as well as making pilau rice. Aside from the korma, this whole lot is vegetarian, and probably vegan. It was also a roaring success.

Sag aloo
1/2 tbsp oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, chopped
500g potatoes, cut to roughly 2cm cubes
1 large chilli, chopped
1/2 tsp mustard seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
250g spinach

For this recipe, I used a chilli from the garden, and home grown beetroot greens instead of the spinach.

1. Heat the oil on a medium heat and fry the onion, garlic and ginger for about 3 minutes.
2. Add the potatoes, chilli and spices; stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Add a splash of water, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the potatioes are soft through, but not disintegrating.
4. Add the greens and wilt before stirring together.

Red lentil dahl
1/2 tbsp oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, chopped
1/2 chilli, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
200g red lentils
400g chopped tomatoes
400ml coconut milk
500ml vegetable stock
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 handfuls spinach

Again, this used the home grown chilli and beetroot greens (in lieu of spinach.) Be aware, this recipe makes a lot of dahl.

1. Heat the oil and fry the onions for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the spices and cook for another minute.
4. Add the lentils, tomatoes, coconut milk and stock and cook for 15-20 minutes.
5. Add the lemon juice and greens and allow to wilt.

Curried beetroot
1/2 tbsp oil
450g beetroot
1/2 onion
2 chillies
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
120ml coconut milk
120ml water

A late addition to the lineup intended to use the home-grown beetroot, I actually made about half this much because the beetroots were very small.

Mix all the ingredients together in a pan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes covered, then 10 minutes open.

Emergency Sticky Ginger Chicken

400g chicken
1 cup frozen veg (peas, broccoli, carrots)
500g egg noodles, cooked
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp clear honey

1 tbsp grated root ginger
Juice of one lemon
2 tsp rice wine

Could add spice or chillies

Mix tomato puree and liquids.

Marinate chicken and veg.

Stir fry.

Add noodles and cook through.

Coq au Vin

This one is a bit of a classic which I semi-improvised around. The onions and garlic should be good and chunky in this recipe. The carrots should be in fat slices and the mushrooms quartered. This is a hearty, rustic stew, so the veg should be chunky.

6 thick rashers bacon (or pack of pancetta or lardons)
2 small-to-medium onions
3 cloves garlic*
6 chicken thighs, bone in
300g mushrooms
Two carrots
600ml red wine
300ml chicken stock

Chop the bacon up and fry in a large saucepan or stock pot. Trim the fat, but do not remove it all; much of the cooking fat should come from the bacon.

Add the onions and garlic, roughly chopped. Cover and simmer until the onion starts to soften.

Add the chicken and brown on both sides.

Add the carrots and mushrooms, roughly chopped.

Add the wine and stock. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a steady simmer. Cook for about 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with mash, noodles or rice.

* Some recipes describe the garlic in coq au vin as 'optional', but how can anything with that strong a flavour be optional?

Summer Pancake Pudding

Another recipe for leftover pancakes.

7-10 uneaten drop scones
Approx. 500g mixed berries
3 tbsp vanilla sugar
3 tbsp water

Line a pudding basin with cling film.

Put the berries in a pan with the water and sugar, leaving out strawberries and anything else that would go squidgy. My mix was about half strawberries with raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. Bring to a simmer then gently heat for about five minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Strain the fruit, reserving the syrup.

Add the strawberries to the other fruit.

Line the basin by soaking pancakes in the syrup then laying them in an overlapping pattern.

Fill the pudding with fruit and lay the remaining pancakes over the top.

Close the cling film over the pudding. Place a small plate over the top and weight with cans. Chill for at least two hours.

Lemon pancake bread and butter pudding

This recipe is based on this one from the BBC.

Small stack left over gluten free drop scones (aka Scotch or American-style pancakes)
Lemon curd
Cinnamon powder
350ml whole milk
50ml double cream
2 eggs
25g sugar

Butter a 2 pint ceramic dish.

Spread the pancakes generously with curd, cut in half and arrange in layers in the dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Gently heat the milk and cream together.

Beat the eggs and sugar gently together. Add the milk and cream and stir through until combined. Pour this custard over the pancakes.

While the pudding sits, heat the oven to 180C, and then cook for about 30 minutes.

Serve with fresh berries and a little cream or ice cream.

Paprika Chicken HD

This is a recipe from the first Hairy Dieters' book. We cook it a lot - usually making half the amount here and serving it with rice - and the book keeps going walkabout, so I'm recording the essentials here.

1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions
12 chicken thighs
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp smoked paprika
400g can chopped tomatoes
400ml chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 tsp mixed herbs
3 large peppers
1 tbsp cornflour

Heat the oil in a large pan. Finely chop the onions and fry on a medium heat until softened.

Bone the chicken, if necessary; cut away the fat and cut each thigh in half. Season with pepper and add to the pan, turning occasionally until browned on both sides.

Finely chop or crush the garlic. Stir into the pan along with the paprika.

Add the tomatoes, stock and herbs. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes.

De-seed the peppers and chop into chunky pieces. Add them to the pan and cook for another 20-30 minutes.

Mix the cornflour with a tablespoon of the cooking juices and return to the pan. Cook another 5-10 minutes to thicken the sauce.

Pasta Bolognese

I am not a Bolognese snob. I do not hold with their being one way to make it and all others being a sin. A great many ways are rubbish, there's no denying it. I've seen some horrible Bologneses in my time, as well as one in California which was actually a tomato sauce with meatballs and sausages like in The Godfather.

For myself, I like a Bolognese to be thick, rich and meaty, without carrots or celery.

Ingredients
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic (oh yes, I went there), finely chopped
250g lean minced beef (not extra lean)
400g chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 glass red wine
1/2 tsp oregano*
1 tsp basil*
1 beef stock pot

75-100g pasta per person

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a medium-high heat.

Add the onion and garlic, stir well, reduce the heat to medium and then cover and sweat until the onion starts to soften.

Add the beef, making sure to break up any large chunks early. Stir periodically as the meat browns.

Add the herbs, a twist of black pepper, the puree and the wine. Stir well, add the tomatoes and the stock pot and mix well until the stock is dissolved.

Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-20 minutes.

Serve with almost any kind of pasta and freshly grated Parmesan. You can also mix with the pasta and layer into an overproof dish with mozzarella to make an excellent pasta bake.

* While living things wither in my presence, if you can keep a basil or oregano plant alive, this is a meal that really benefits from fresh herbs.