Quick Chicken Biryani - an "after the style of" recipe

No, this recipe is very definitely not culturally correct.  So before people go shooting me down in flames for it not being X, Y or Z, please note that I make no claim that it is correct for a Biryani.  In fact, I think it is probably closer to a Pilaff, but as "Biryani" is what we've been calling it for years, that's what it shall stay.

So, having said that, if you've ever made my Kedgeree you'll no doubt notice similarities in the way the making of this recipe is approached.  It's basically a chicken Kedgeree with just a few differences.

Incidentally, it's worth noting that if you've got the other half of a roasted chicken with no job to do - it works very well in this recipe.  Just add the chicken after the curry paste & spices and don't bash it about with a wooden spoon too much, to keep the pieces whole.

Oh, and prawns work well here too!  If they're defrosted ex-frozen prawns, make sure to squeeze them between two sheets of kitchen paper to remove any excess water, then add them just before the rice etc.  Just give them time enough to heat through but no longer and they won't turn all hard and rubbery.

As you can see, I served ours with a few Indian style snacks from the supermarket - samosas, pakoras and bhajis.  This recipe has always worked well for us as a midweek dinner, I hope it can do the same for you!

QUICK CHICKEN BIRYANI   (serves 4)

Ingredients :

4 eggs
1 tbsp coconut oil (groundnut oil works well here too)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 red chilli, chopped (remove the seeds if you want)
pinch of sea salt
pinch of black pepper
half a tsp of ground cinnamon
25g salted butter
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced small
2 tbsp Patak's korma curry paste
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
200ml hot water
2 tbsp flaked almonds
1 tbsp sultanas
1 flat tsp turmeric
250g cooked white basmati rice, hot
1 large tbsp fresh coriander, chopped - saving some for garnish.

Method :

Place the eggs into a pan of boiling water and cook until hard boiled.  Set aside in cold water, to prevent the yolk turning grey around the outside.

Heat the coconut oil in a pan and add the onion, garlic and red chilli.  Cook on a moderate heat until the onion is softened, transparent and just beginning to caramelise.  Part way through the cooking, add the sea salt, black pepper and cinnamon.

Add the butter and allow it to melt, then turn up the heat to maximum and add the sliced raw chicken.  Cook, stirring to prevent the onions and garlic from burning, until the chicken is all opaque and no pink areas are left.

Add the curry paste, ground coriander and garam masala and stir through.  Cook on a moderate heat, again stirring to prevent it catching on the bottom of the pan, until the curry paste has released its oils.  This should take around 4-5 minutes.

Add the hot water and stir through, creating a thick curry sauce.  Now you will need to keep a close eye on the consistency until you combine it with the cooked rice and add a tiny amount of water each time it appears to be becoming too dry.

Add the flaked almonds and sultanas and cook on, gently simmering, for another 10-15 minutes, during which time you can peel the hard boiled eggs and quarter them.

Add the turmeric, cooked rice and three quarters of the chopped fresh coriander and stir through.

Serve onto warmed plates, with a quartered hard boiled egg on top and a sprinkle of fresh chopped coriander over everything.  If you like that kind of thing, Mango chutney goes well by the side.

Printable version

Singapore style Chicken Fried Rice (or "using up roast chicken")

We had the most amazing chicken for dinner on Sunday.  My chicken brick (which I have yet to tell you about, but is the best thing that has ever happened to my roast chickens) did its job and produced a succulent, soft and beautifully roasted bird that was just so intensely chickeny.

Having eaten our fill from the chicken for Sunday dinner, we were left with the other half of it for Monday's meal.  Now, once again, I was avoiding involving potatoes (half as a personal challenge to make a succession of meals that didn't involve potatoes and half because hubby has REALLY had enough of them) so all the "with potato" casseroles or "chicken in a wrap with potato wedges" options were out.

We hadn't had a rice dish all week - I know, how remarkable was that! - so I began thinking down ricey routes.  As I was strolling through various recipe sites on t'internet, I saw one for a Singapore style rice dish, which used both Thai curry paste and Indian curry powder.  Now that got me thinking, as I knew I had both in the fridge from previous curries.  I knew how to make a very (also known as VERY) acceptable, nay yumalicious, fried rice dish in my gorgeous Nasi Goreng, so perhaps some adaptation of that recipe might produce something along the Singapore lines, but I had to make sure it didn't just wind up like Nasi Goreng minus the prawns.

My chicken brick, with roasted chicken.

I know a little bit about Singapore (I was born in Malaysia, remember?) and know that it is a real melting pot of nationalities.  Hence, I wasn't bothered about mixing genres of ingredients for this dish.  Ultimately, I wound up with English roast chicken, Thai curry paste and fish sauce, Indian curry paste and rice, Japanese rice wine, Chinese soy sauce and bean sprouts - and some fresh coriander, which just about every country seems to have available, these days!

I can tell you what, it only worked!  In fact, it worked really well and was almost verging upon the epic.  I now have a new recipe to add to the stable of Nasi Goreng and Kedgeree.  In fact, I could quite see my cycling through the three without ever getting fed up with any of them!

Now if you've ever made my Nasi Goreng, you'll know that it really isn't tricky to make - it's simply a matter of chopping stuff, then tipping it into a wok and cooking it in the correct order for the correct time at the correct heat.  This, dear reader, is even quicker than that.  Because there are no prawns or mushrooms to worry about and the chicken is already cooked, plus the beansprouts and peas cook themselves as you go, it all came together with 15 minutes to go before I was due to ring the dinner bell.  Mind you, not that anyone was complaining - the lovely smells had raised them from their various occupations rather like Bisto kids, following their noses!

Everyone liked it, everyone enjoyed it, everyone would have eaten more if we could have fitted it in.  Son and heir was seriously considering having seconds, but decided it was an "eyes bigger than belly" situation.  Hubby has every intention of having more for breakfast and I have every intention of having more for lunch tomorrow.  I can see I'll have to separate out the leftovers into separate bowls!

The upshot of it all is, if you have the other half of a roast chicken available and don't know what to do with it, plus, if you fancy a really quick, tasty meal, then this fried rice is for you.

Would I do anything differently?  Well, I might be tempted to add some sliced water chestnuts, but that's about it.

SINGAPORE STYLE CHICKEN FRIED RICE   (serves 4-5)

Ingredients :

2-300g Basmati rice
2 eggs, lightly whipped
salt & pepper
2 individual knobs of butter
1 tbsp groundnut oil
a bunch (6 or 7) of spring onions , cleaned and chopped diagonally
3 fat cloves of garlic, chopped finely
2 heaped tsp of red Thai curry paste
2 heaped tsp of mild Indian curry paste
a couple of handfuls of frozen peas (still frozen)
a pinch of dried red chilli flakes, to taste
3 big handfuls of fresh bean sprouts
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp mirrin (Japanese Rice Wine)
a quantity of cold roasted chicken, shredded (half a chicken works for me!)
a large handful of fresh coriander, chopped.

Method :

1.  Cook the basmati rice according to the instructions on the packet, but stop the cooking a fraction before it is done, leaving a slight bite in the rice.  Drain it well and run under the cold tap to cool.  Leave in the colander or sieve to drain well, but place it back into the saucepan and put the lid on top to prevent the rice from drying out.

2.  Using a deep frying pan or wok, melt one of the knobs of butter and add half the seasoned egg mixture.  Roll the pan to spread the egg out thinly and cook to form a thin omelette, flip over to cook the other side.  Do the same again with the remainder of the egg mixture, then roll the two together to form a tube and cut into shreds.   Reserve to keep warm.

3.  Add the oil to the remains of the butter and heat until really quite hot and add the spring onions.  Stir and fry until slightly softened, just a minute or so. 

4.  Add the garlic and continue to stir and fry for another 30 seconds, taking care not to let it stick to the bottom of the pan or colour.

5.  Add the two curry pastes and stir well.  Cook for some 2-3 mins.

6.  Add the frozen peas, chilli flakes and bean sprouts and toss them to combine them with the mix.

7.  Add the soy sauce, fish sauce and mirrin and reduce the heat to prevent it burning.  Continue to cook (1-2 minutes) until a sticky and thick consistency has been achieved.

8.  Add the chicken and stir through to coat it in the sauce, quickly followed by the chopped coriander and the rice.  At this stage, you're just heating the chicken and rice through, not cooking anything, so keep the heat high enough to do the job - but not blazing!

9.  Stir or toss the rice to combine it and prevent it from sticking to the pan. 

10.  Add the omelette strips, stir through lightly and serve. 

Printable version  

Curry baked chicken with vegetable curry & green pea rice

Just recently, I've made several chicken & salad meals by coating chicken pieces in some kind of sauce or rub, then baking it in the oven.  I think, so far as I can remember, I've done a BBQ version, a Cajun version, a garlic and herb version - you get the idea.  So when I was considering a curry for one of the week's meals, it occurred to me that I could do the same sort of arrangement - but with a vegetable curry instead of salad.

If I were to marinate the chicken in something, then bake it - and make a vegetable curry earlier on in the day, then that would result in a really quite simple dinner preparation.  All I'd have to do is put the chicken in the oven, warm up the vegetable curry and cook the rice and peas.  Lovely!

Now sometimes, this sort of plan goes awry at the last minute as I haven't anticipated how long it would take me to chop the vegetables, or I'd run out of pans and make horrid amounts of washing up.  This time, however, it all went beautifully according to plan and was indeed the most satisfying dinner not just from an eating perspective, but from the preparation and clearing up perspective too.

I started off the processes by marinating the chicken in a mixture of curry paste, mango chutney and Greek yoghurt (doesn't have to be Greek - it's just that Greek yoghurt is my plain yoghurt of choice) for the day.

Next - and during the morning - I sat down and peeled, cut and chopped all the vegetables for the curry and set about making it.  I do so enjoy cooking without time constraints.  It was lovely to just sail along, cooking without having to keep an eye on the time.  We try to have our meals on the table for 6pm, you see.  Sometimes I have a lot of trouble hitting that 6pm deadline!

As ever, when cooking a curry, I had an end result in mind but no real idea how I was going to get there.  So, I knew I wanted to emulate the British Takeaway vegetable curry flavour and texture of the thing - without over cooking any of the veggies and without it winding up too watery, too stew-like or too greasy.  Shouldn't be a problem!

I went through the fridge and pulled out everything that didn't have a home to go to as well as the few veggies that I'd bought with this particular dish in mind.  So we wound up with onion, garlic, red chilli, carrot, potato, mushroom, baby red peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, fresh quartered tomato, fresh coriander and red lentils.  That should take care of our five a day!

Whenever I do the chopping-and-a-peeling, I always put the cut veggies onto plates or in dishes in the order I'll be needing them.  So the onion, garlic and chilli went onto one plate, the carrots were in a dish on their own.  The potato, mushroom and baby red peppers went into the colander and the tomato, cauliflower and broccoli were on another plate.  That way, I don't have to waste any time separating one from the other - and they're all ready to go when I start cooking.  I can't cook and chop - just doesn't work.

I was tempted to spice the curry myself, but in the end decided to use our pre-prepared Sharwoods Korma curry paste - the same one I'd used on the chicken.  I was going for simplicity and the Sharwoods is a very good middle of the road curry paste that you can pep up with additional chilli if you want.  The ingredients list reads very well, too.  With tomato puree, coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger, chilli, paprika, cardamom, mustard seeds, fenugreek and fennel and the only additive being acetic acid, it is a very acceptable quick curry fix.

So, it went like this.  First of all I chose my biggest saucepan in which to cook so that I had enough room for everything as I wasn't entirely sure how much it would come to.  I put 2-3 tbsp of sunflower oil in and got that heating, then added the onion - and a small pinch of salt - which cooked until golden brown, but not burned.  The garlic then went in for a minute, before I added the chilli and carrot.  Next in was the curry paste and tomato puree which I cooked until the oil was released - just a few minutes.  The next things into the pot were the potato/mushroom/red pepper combo which got mixed all around and coated in the aromatic loveliness.

I wanted to include some coconut milk at this point, but didn't want to use a whole 400g tin of the stuff.  Amazingly, I found a small carton of Blue Dragon coconut cream which did the job perfectly - and was just about to go out of date - so that went in next.  I added a teaspoonful of Essential Cuisine chicken stock powder and approximately 200-300ml of water and gave everything a good stir.  I was tying my hands behind my back to prevent myself from adding more salt at this stage.  The temptation was enormous, but I resisted - and jolly good job too.  I satisfied the urge by adding some black pepper instead.  *chuckle*  In went the red lentils and I let everything simmer gently together for around 20-30 minutes until almost cooked.  Finally, I added the cauliflower and turned off the heat - leaving it to cool.

When I came back to start the dinner properly, first thing was to put the chicken into the oven, then start the vegetable curry warming up and boil the water for the rice.

Once the curry had heated through enough to start bubbling, I removed the lid and let it reduce slightly - just to thicken the sauce a little.  In went the broccoli and the tomato quarters, plus three quarters of the chopped fresh coriander.  Once the broccoli was cooked and the sauce reduced to my liking, it was done.

The chicken came out of the oven still beautifully coated in the curried yoghurty mix, which had slightly caramelised on top, thanks to the mango chutney - which was exactly what I was hoping for.

The plain basmati rice was brightened up by the addition of a few green peas.  A tip for adding frozen peas to cooking rice is to run the peas under the hot tap to defrost them and warm them up before adding them to the rice with around 2 minutes to go.  That way, you don't stop the cooking process by adding freezing peas and they will stay a vibrant green.

The whole meal was absolutely delicious, comforting, satisfying and got a huge thumbs up from everyone.  So long as you make the veggie curry earlier in the day, it was ultimately all finished in around 30 minutes and was a perfect arrangement for anyone who loves curry but wants healthy along with it - and who can't spend too long in the kitchen making it.

Son and heir was practically begging for this curry to be made again and soon - so I'm sure it won't be long!

CURRY BAKED CHICKEN, VEGETABLE CURRY WITH RICE AND PEAS   (Serves 3 with leftover vegetable curry)

Ingredients :

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tbsp plain (Greek) yoghurt
1 tbsp mango chutney
1.5 tbsp curry paste.

3 tbsp sunflower oil
2 onions, sliced finely
2 fat garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 hot red chilli (seeds are optional)
1 donkey carrot, peeled and diced
3 tbsp curry paste
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
6-10 mushrooms, washed and quartered
6 baby red peppers (or one red pepper, cut into pieces), top & tailed
250ml coconut cream
1 tsp chicken stock powder or a low salt chicken stock cube
enough water to just cover the contents
3 heaped tbsp red lentils
3-4 cauliflower florets, broken into small pieces
3-4 broccoli florets, broken into small pieces
1 large ripe tomato, quartered (or smaller) into wedges
a large handful of fresh coriander, chopped.

1 cup of uncooked basmati rice
sea salt
half a cup of frozen peas.

Method :

1.  In the morning, mix together the yoghurt, chutney and curry paste in a large bowl.

2.  Trim the chicken breasts of fat and gristle, then score lightly across the top to allow the marinade to more easily penetrate the meat.

3.  Add the chicken to the marinade and mix gently to ensure every little bit of chicken is covered in marinade.  Cover with cling film and refrigerate until 30 minutes prior to cooking.

4.  To make the vegetable curry (which I recommend should also be done in the morning), heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan.  Add the oil.

5.  Add the onion - and a small pinch of salt - and cook for around 10-15 minutes until golden brown, but not burned.  Add the garlic and stir quickly, then add the chilli and stir.

6.  Next, add the carrot pieces, which will help to cool the pan and so avoid burning the garlic.

7.  Next add the curry paste and tomato puree and stir well to combine with the rest of the ingredients.  Cooked until the oil is released - just a few minutes.

8.  Add the potato/mushroom/red peppers and stir well to ensure they are coated with the curry mixture.  

9.  Add the coconut cream, stock powder and water and stir gently to combine.  Do not add any salt at this stage, but if you're yearning to - add a little black pepper instead!

10. Stir in the red lentils and let everything simmer gently together for around 20-30 minutes until almost cooked.

11.  Finally - for this stage - add the cauliflower, turn off the heat, cover and leave to cool.

12.  Several hours later and when you're ready to prepare the dinner proper, begin by turning on the heat under the vegetable curry and pre-heating the oven to 200degC/400degF/Gas 6.  Line a shallow baking tray with silver foil (optional - but it helps with the washing up!) and place the chicken onto the foil.  Spoon any additional marinade over the top of each chicken breast.  Place into the oven for 25-35 minutes or until the juices run clear if pricked with a knife.

13.  Three quarters fill a good sized saucepan with water, add a pinch of sea salt and place it on a high heat, to boil.

14.  Put the dry rice into a seive and run it under a hot tap until the water runs clear.  Once the water in the pan boils, add the rice and cook - simmering - for 7-9 minutes.  2 minutes before the rice is due to be ready, add the defrosted peas.

15.  As the rice is cooking, the vegetable curry should have come up to temperature.  Remove the lid and allow the sauce to reduce a little as you add the broccoli, tomato and three quarters of the fresh coriander.  Stir from time to time, to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

16.  Once the rice is ready, drain and return to the warm pan.  You can add a little of the chopped coriander for some extra flavour, if you like.

17.  Once the chicken is done, serve with the vegetable curry and green pea rice - with an added flourish of a sprinkle of chopped coriander for garnish.

Printable version

Mango stuffed curried chicken with spiced pilau rice

I know that I've definitely made this recipe before, but having done so again, I just can't remember the first time as being anything like the second time!  I have a vague recollection of not being able to get whole chicken breasts, so trying in vain to stuff small chunks of chicken with mango chutney - which as you can imagine, would not go well.

So, this time was really a first "proper" go at this recipe - which again is another BBC Good Food one.

The chicken breasts from our local butcher have been a bit random in their quality just recently.  However, they seem to have picked up a bit now and we're back to some lovely fat, chunky pieces of chicken that were just perfect for this recipe.

The chicken part of it couldn't be any easier to prepare.  You simply take the breast and slice it almost in half - enough to make a pocket to contain the mango chutney.  Then, quickly spoon in the chutney and close up the pocket with a deftly inserted cocktail stick and put the whole lot onto a baking tray that you've previously covered in sliced red onion.  Then, mix up a combination of curry powder, cumin seeds and olive oil and brush the chicken liberally to coat and then put it in the oven for 25-30 minutes.  How easy is that?

The resultant chicken is beautifully juicy and the sweet spiciness of the mango chutney mixes so well with the curry flavoured coating that it's just yum from the beginning to the end.

Now the spiced pilau rice was a bit lacking in the spice department, I thought.  After all, just an onion, cumin seeds, bay leaves and a cinnamon stick would have to work pretty darned hard to meet the description of "spiced", especially when paired with such a flavoursome meat recipe.  So, I upped the spice quota by adding some turmeric (which I try to include in anything relevant, for the healthy anti-inflammatory benefits), ground coriander (the rice is finished with some fresh coriander, so I didn't think the use of ground would be out of place) and a pinch of chilli flakes for added zap!  The recipe stated to use half of the cumin seeds in the rice, but I hadn't understood that and had used them all with the curry powder.  So, I just used a teaspoonful of ground cumin, which so far as I could tell worked as well, if not better than the original!  Also added, were some sultanas for their ability to deliver little pockets of intense sweetness and some flaked almonds for added texture.  As another way of increasing the flavour quota, I used boiling chicken stock as opposed to just water.

Now THAT was a spiced pilau rice.  In fact, I had the leftovers for lunch the following day with some scrambled egg and it was completely delicious.  It worked very well with the chicken and everyone returned clean plates.  You can't ask for better than that!

MANGO STUFFED CURRIED CHICKEN with SPICED PILAU RICE    (feeds 3)

Ingredients :

1 red onion, sliced 
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 tbsp chunky mango chutney
1 tbsp medium curry powder
3 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 brown onion, sliced finely
2 tbsp flaked almonds
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
half a tsp ground turmeric
a large pinch of dried chilli flakes
2 tbsp sultanas
200g basmati rice
450ml boiling chicken stock.


Method :


1.  Pre-heat your oven to 200degC/400degF/Gas6.


2.  Line a baking tray with silver foil and arrange the red onion slices to form a bed for the chicken.
 

3.  Take each chicken breast and slice into each (without cutting through) to form a pocket.  Spoon a tablespoonful of mango chutney into each pocket (remembering not to put the spoon into the jar once it's been in contact with the chicken. Spoon the chutney out into a bowl before you start and don't put any chutney back into the jar - any leftovers can be drizzled onto the onions) and close the pocket by piercing it through with a cocktail stick. I found it was easiest to do if you roll the chicken onto its back and let gravity hold the chutney inside, but be quick!


4.  Place each chicken breast onto the onion bed.


5.  Next, in a small bowl mix together the curry powder, cumin seeds and oil and brush each chicken breast liberally with the mixture.


6.  In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil and add the sliced onion.  Fry for 5-6 minutes on a low to medium heat until the onions have turned transparent and softened.

7.  Add the flaked almonds, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, ground cumin, ground coriander
and the chilli flakes.  Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes, or until fragrant.

8.  Add the ground turmeric, sultanas and rice (which you have previously washed under warm water, until the water has run clear), stirring well to coat each grain of rice in the oil.


9.  Add the stock and simmer for 5 minutes, then turn the heat off, cover with a lid and leave to steam for 7 minutes or so - or until the rice is tender.  You shouldn't be left with any liquid, but with individual grains of coloured and spiced rice.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, particularly with salt.


10.  Serve, including the baked onions from under the chicken - which will be softened and deliciously flavoured from the chicken juices.


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Lamb rice with golden onions

This recipe was my first foray into cooking from my new copy of Rose Prince's "Kitchenella".

Well, I say my first foray - but to be correct, let's call it the first foray since owning the book, as initially I borrowed it from the library and loved it so much, I had to include it on my Christmas list.

Meals during that no-man's land of time between Christmas and New Year tend towards being simple and - in our house, certainly - easy to prepare.  After all, having done the long haul of Christmas Dinner and with another long haul - New Year's dinner - ahead of you, you're not in the mood for ostentatious display.

As such, as soon as I clapped eyes upon the "Lamb rice with golden onions", it clicked.  Although I didn't have any leftover roast lamb to use, I figured that a pack of minced lamb would do the trick, plus it had the added benefit of being a one-pot wonder - which always go down well.

However, it also intrigued me (intrigue features so often with my choice of recipe!) with its use of allspice, sultanas, pine nuts and cherry tomatoes.  I loved all the ingredients, I felt hubby would be happy with the spiced element, but I had reservations as to how the cherry tomatoes would go down with son & heir.


As it turned out, the inclusion of cherry tomatoes was completely forgotten over the enticement of minced lamb.  As he put it himself "it's got minced lamb in it - everything else is forgiven".  Right, I'll have to remember that!


Hubby and I both found that the spicing was a bit too subtle and the quantities could do with increasing a little - which I have reflected in the recipe below.


I also found that serving the rice with a chutney alongside the yoghurt provided a nice counterpoint to the flatter, more subtle flavours of the dish.  The chutney we used was a Roasted Garlic & Apple one which went really extremely well.


I enjoyed this dish very much and together with son & heir, we took care of what little there was left, so very definitely child-friendly!

LAMB RICE WITH GOLDEN ONIONS    (serves 3)

Ingredients :

500g minced lamb

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp sultanas

half a tsp of ground allspice

half a tsp of ground coriander

one and a half tsp of ground cumin

around 20 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 garlic clove, chopped

enough cooked basmati rice for 3 persons

sea salt & black pepper

To serve : chopped mint and/or parsley leaves, 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts, 6 tbsp greek yoghurt.

Method :

1.  Begin by toasting the pine nuts in a dry frying pan, then once cool, chop them (if you prefer them that way).

2.  Next, dry fry the lamb mince, until just beginning to caramelise and all the water content has evaporated.  Drain off the fat.  Reserve the meat to keep warm.

3.  Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion.  Cook for around 5 minutes over a medium heat until it turns pale gold and smells fragrant.

4.  Add the sultanas and spices and cook for 1 minute more, then add the tomatoes.

5.  Cook gently for another 5-7 minutes, until they begin to take on a little colour.

6.  Add the lamb and garlic and stir-fry for a minute or so, then stir in the rice.

7.  Cook, stirring from time to time until well heated through – which is very important with leftover rice.

8.  Season to taste and scatter the chopped leaves & pine nuts over.

9.  Serve with the yoghurt by the side & with a fruity chutney.

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Indonesian fried rice with Mackerel

Well, our week's menu planning went right out of the window as of Wednesday evening.  I had bought ten chicken breasts so that I'd be all ready for two of the dishes booked onto the menu and could put one set of three and a single one into the freezer for next week.

However, hubby needed collecting from town with his newly acquired stereo - it was way too big to juggle all the way home on the bus - which broke into the time I would have been cooking the Paprika Chicken, before putting it in the oven.  So, we had sandwiches and some hastily purchased cake, instead.  A kind of high tea.

The stereo has proven to be a little gem, by the way - and a complete bargain.

Thursday evening, after a hugely busy day at work when I dealt with all the invoices for May (received so far, anyway) in the one day - never done that before! - I was absolutely wiped out when I came home and very definitely not in any fit state to make dinner.  I'll have to remember that when I'm pushing myself to get all the invoices done, in future!  ~slaps own forehead~

So, Thursday became a fish & chips day - and my menu planning was thrown into complete disarray.

However, bearing in mind that when Asda delivered the shopping on Tuesday, they forgot to deliver all of Friday's ingredients (and the pie for Monday!), I moved the Indonesian Fried Rice with Mackerel to Friday and bumped the Chicken Jalfrezi and Paprika Chicken to next week.

When Son & heir realised that it was Smoked Mackerel that we were going to have with the rice, he wasn't impressed.  So, because I'm a kind and thoughtful Mum, I defrosted the one lone chicken breast for him.  ~takes a curtsey~

I marinated it in a little sesame oil, some oyster sauce, soy sauce and honey, then put it in the oven at 200deg for 20-25 minutes.  He ate the lot and declared it yummy, so that was that job done.

This is very definitely one of those dishes that requires you to commit to a mise en place (or getting everything chopped and prepared before you start cooking).  I'd have totally lost the relatively small plot, had I have been trying to chop stuff as I went along.  Once you've got everything chopped and ready, then it's just an easy matter of picking it up, throwing it in and mixing as it cooks.  Of course, it makes a bit more washing up - which dear Hubby did for me.  Bless him!

As ever, I added a few ingredients and did away with one ingredient from the original recipe.  It just made it nicer from our point of view - plus it used up a few leftover veggies, which these fried rice dishes are so good at!

The ingredient I did away with, was some sliced and halved cucumbers which were used as garnish.  In truth, I forgot to slice them and in actuality I'm sure they would have been nice, so I've left them in the recipe as detailed below.  It's up to you whether you would like to include them, if you have a go at this.

I've also just eaten the leftovers for lunch, the day after.  I can confirm that it is even nicer the next day - so if you've got time on your hands and space in the fridge, it is probably worth doing it that way!

INDONESIAN FRIED RICE WITH MACKEREL  (serves 4)
From BBC Good Food website.

Ingredients :

1 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
pinch of caster sugar
800g cooked basmati rice
bunch spring onions, sliced
4-5 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
140g frozen peas
2 tbsp soy sauce (approx - you may need a little more)
4 smoked mackerel fillets, bones removed and flaked into chunks
half a cucumber, sliced into half moon shapes.


Method :


1.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok.  Tip in the eggs (I used each egg individually) and swirl to coat the base of the pan.  Cook for 1 minute, then flip and cook the other side until set.  Remove and roughly chop into ribbons, then place to keep warm.

2.  Add the mackerel to the warm place (under the grill, is good) to gently take on some heat.


3.  Add the curry paste to the pan with the sugar and fry for 1 minute.  Add the onions and mushrooms and stir to coat in the paste.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, before adding the cooked rice and folding gently to mix everything in and heat everything through well.


4.  Add the soy sauce, the omelette ribbons and mackerel.  Fold them through, gently.


5.  Serve, adding the cucumber sprinkled over the top.

A magnificent Chilli con Carne

Slow cooked, oven baked, Chilli con Carne

You'll recall from my last post, my dilemma in the butcher's when they didn't have any ham hocks, so I rapidly changed tack to Beef Shin.

At that stage, I didn't really have any idea what I was going to do with it - I just knew that the ingredients for the Ham Hock dish were fairly compatible with Beef Shin in one way or another, so I didn't need to buy anything else.  Which is good on two counts - one because I could do without spending more money and anyway, my back had run out of it's ability to support me when standing up.  So, having limped back to the car, I began to work on what I could use the shin for.

Shin of beef : before trimming

We'd had various stews of one sort of another just lately and I didn't really want to conjur up another stew-type thing (although the idea of dumplings did occur to me and, tempting as they are, were rejected on the "too much fat" front).

It was when the beans came to mind, that I considered doing a Chilli con Carne.  I knew that I had a tin of red kidney beans in the cupboard, chilli powder in the spice rack together with crushed red chillis and in the fridge, fresh red chillis.  I also remembered that I'd bought two tins of cherry tomatoes on the offchance that I'd need them.  It's always good to grab a couple of tins when you see them, as they are quite the best tinned tomatoes, I've discovered.  Yes, chilli con carne was the way to go.

We'd been wanting to try the more authentic way of making Chilli con carne - that is, with pieces of meat, rather than with mince, for a very long time - so this was my chance.  I even had a block of dark chocolate in the fridge, specifically for this sort of recipe.

Shin of beef - after trimming

Being shin, the meat would require long slow cooking in order to render out the fat and have it tender enough to be cut with a spoon.  The only sensible way to do this was to oven cook it in a casserole dish.  Now, I've done oven cooked chillis and bologneses this way in the past and find that the sauce tends to amalgamate better with less likelihood of it splitting, so that all made sense.

So having sat and thought about the recipe for a while, I set to with making it.

Dustbin 1

The shin really is glorious stuff, but it is essential that you have a sharp knife (and two eager hounds to act as dustbins) when trimming it up.  Without a sharp knife, I dare say I'd have lost patience with it and a good percentage of it would have gone into the dog, rather than into the casserole dish.


It's not difficult to trim of its fat and gristle, it's just a wee bit fiddly.  Still, you can see that once trimmed, you still have a good quantity of meat left from your 700g - and two happy dogs.

Dustbin 2

I began by sweating down one large chopped onion, the garlic and the chilli, then setting aside to keep warm, whilst I sear the meat.  That's the opposite way around to most people, but I think that the flavours of the onion, garlic & chilli get into the meat before they've all been introduced, that way.

It didn't take long to assemble, then it was into the oven, back out to be stirred and the moisture levels checked - I had to add a little water later on in the cooking - and add the beans at the last minute.

I served up with white rice and a dollop of greek yoghurt because it really was blisteringly hot flavour-wise.  The yoghurt isn't traditional but it was there as a survival technique for both son and myself.  We also like to sprinkle on a little grated cheese and some sultanas - but then I think we may be bit weird that way.

Searing the beef

Hubby's verdict, after the second mouthful, was that it was a magnificent chilli.  In my opinion, I'd consider it to be the best chilli I have ever produced - which considering the amount of chilli's (in their various forms) I have produced over the years, is definitely saying something!

Ready to go in the oven

SLOW, OVEN-COOK, CHILLI CON CARNE  (serves 4)

Ingredients :

2 tbsp olive oil

700g beef shin, trimmed and cubed

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 red chilli, chopped, seeds left in

2 tsp hot chilli powder

tin cherry tomatoes

2 beef oxo cubes

200ml water

half a tsp of dried sage

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt & pepper

can of beans of your choice, red kidney or haricot are good

1-2 squares of very dark chocolate

Method :

1.  Pre-heat oven to 140deg C.

2.  In a deep sided frying pan, fry the onion in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened.  Add the chilli and continue to fry gently until the onion is beginning to brown.  Add the garlic and fry for another minute.  Keep aside in a warm place.

3.  Heat the remaining olive oil until very hot and gradually introduce the meat, until it is all seared and brown.  Remove to a casserole dish and replace the onions in the frying pan.

4.   Add the chilli powder and fry for a minute or two, stirring, to ensure it is all mixed in and moistened.

5.  Add the tomatoes (and turn the heat up), oxo cubes, water, sage, tomato puree, tomato ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and stir until all is combined.

6.  Taste for seasoning – you may need to add a little salt.  Restrain yourself from adding any sugar at this stage, for the chocolate (which is added later) may well do that job for you.

7.  Add to the casserole dish and cook at 140deg for 2 hours.

8.  After the hour, add the beans and chocolate – stir gently until the chocolate is dissolved – then replace and cook until the meat is butter-like and tender which should be around a half hour to an hour later.

Serve with white rice, grated cheese and sultanas over.  If particularly chilli-hot, serve with an additional tablespoonful of greek yoghurt.

.

Everyone loves Kedgeree - don't they?

Aaah, Kedgeree.  If ever there was a recipe that puts a smile on everyone's faces, it's that.  We're all very keen on anything that involves curry - and a Kedgeree that doesn't involve curry just isn't a Kedgeree, in my book.  Of course, there is the added bonus of it also involving smoked fish - and as we all love fish and especially smoked fish, then it is a given that we're going to love Kedgeree.

In fact, it is my ambition to one day have Kedgeree for breakfast.  I can't help but think that we'd have to go out tramping across the moors, wearing tweed and muttering about the damned beaters afterwards in order to justify the investment.

I have a very definite preferred type of Kedgeree, too.  I've been making Kedgeree for what amounts to donkey's years now and have changed the recipe quite considerably from the days when I would poach the fish in milk, add turmeric to the rice cooking water and so on.  These days, my recipe is fine tuned and designed to not lose even the tiniest iota of flavour.  Today's Kedgeree is a fairly dry concoction of delicious flavours that guarantees clear plates at the end of the meal.  In fact, I now know the recipe so well that this is the first time I've written it down! 

29 July 2016

I'm still cooking Kedgeree and it's still one of our family's very favourite meals.  I have taken the opportunity to edit the recipe slightly - for the better, I feel.  I haven't changed an awful lot, just slightly altered the order of cooking and added some garam masala, so don't worry, it's still the same yummy Kedgeree and still easy peasy to cook.

KEDGEREE (feeds 3-4)

Ingredients :

2 eggs
Basmati rice : 1 cupful per person, plus half a cupful
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
a pinch of sea salt
a pinch of black pepper
half a tsp ground cinnamon
20-30g salted butter
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
a flat tsp ground coriander
a half a tsp ground turmeric
3 rounded dessertspoons of Korma curry paste
150ml warm water
400g smoked haddock or cod, skinned and cut into sections
half a tsp garam masala
a tablespoonful of fresh coriander, chopped.

Method :

Place a small saucepan of water on to boil.  When boiling, gently add the eggs and boil for some 8-10 minutes, until hard boiled.  Drain and refill the pan with cold water.  Set aside. 

Fill a large saucepan with water, add a little salt and bring to a boil.

Place the rice into a sieve and rinse under hot water until the water runs clear.  Leave in the sieve to drain, in a colander.

In a large frying pan, heat the groundnut oil and add the onion and garlic along with the cinnamon, sea salt and black pepper and fry on a slow heat until the onion is softened and beginning to brown (around 10-15 minutes).  Make sure to not let the garlic burn.

Add the butter and mushrooms and continue to cook until the butter has melted and the mushrooms have softened slightly.

The water for the rice should be boiling by now, so add the drained rice and cook until the rice is cooked through, but don't let it become too soft.  It needs to retain some "bite".  Once cooked, drain and replace into the hot saucepan until required.

To the vegetables, add the curry paste, ground coriander and ground turmeric and cook for some 5 minutes or so, stirring so as not to let it burn.  Add the water and stir through to create a thick sauce.

Reduce the heat under the pan and add the fish and cover while it gently cooks.  If the curry mixture has become a little dry, add a little more water.

Meanwhile, shell the boiled eggs and separate the yolks from the white.  Chop the white finely - I usually mash it with a fork.

Slightly before the fish is entirely cooked through, roughly flake into large pieces.  Add the garam masala, egg white, chopped coriander and drained, hot rice.  Stir everything through with a fork, using as few mixing strokes as possible in order to avoid breaking up the rice.

Serve onto hot plates and sprinkle each serving with the crushed egg yolk.

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