Therssy's Village Black Pepper Mix

Following a long period away from the website - we now have a one year old daughter and 2 weeks ago got married!  I think that can constitute as a busy time of our lives.  We are now getting into a routine which sees both of us working full-time and Olivia in full-time nursery.  

This might provide an opportunity to kick-start the blog which is what I intend to do.

As I just said, we recently got married and as Olivia is so young we chose not to take a long honeymoon.  Instead we called on the services of nanna, grandpa and grandma, packed a couple of bags and headed North.  We had a fantastic night in Glasgow visiting the fascinating Hanoi Bike Shop.  Then we went even further North, onto the Isle of Skye, up to the North West of the Island for the main part of our holiday which was a 3 day break at the amazing Three Chimneys.  These wonderful places will each feature in their own post shortly.

First I wanted to share a little discovery with you.  Fran had mentioned to me that if we ever visited Skye, we must go to Portree and find a place called Skye Batiks.  The website will tell you more but it wasn't the tie-dyed clothing Fran was interested in it was the Sri Lankan curry mixes they sell.  Apparently they used to have a shop in York which is from where Fran hails and she had memories of a black pepper mix that she insisted I tried. Well we found the shop, bought a few items such as a hand crafted puffin for Olivia, but most importantly we found the curry mixes.

A couple of nights ago I tried using the Black Pepper Mix and I have to say it was fantastic.  There is a recipe on the back of the packet which I followed very loosely.  It suggests Chicken or Beef so I chose Turkey Thigh (frugality bites after paying for a wedding).  Because of this I cooked the meat in stock to tenderise it before adding the coconut milk.  Also, some of the other ingredients were changed slightly according to what was in the house, note the garlic! Here is exactly what I did:

Ingredients:

Therssy's Village Black Pepper Mix
500g Turkey Thigh - diced
2 Tomatoes - coarsely chopped
2 Medium Onions
1 Green Pepper
1 large clove Elephant Garlic
200 ml Coconut Milk
1 tsp Crushed Garlic
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
250 ml Chicken Stock
Vegetable Oil
Salt (to taste)

Add the curry mix to the meat, tomatoes, salt, vinegar and ginger and mix thoroughly.









Gently fry the onions, garlic and peppers until lightly browned.








Add the meat mixture and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes.  Add the stock and simmer for 20 minutes.








Add the coconut milk and simmer for a further 20 minutes.  Serve with rice.







This curry mix was fantastic, not too spicy but with a warm pepper kick to it and a lovely sweet blend of cinnamon and cloves.  I'm not very au fait with Sri Lankan food but this had an almost Moroccan feel about it - probably the use of the cinnamon that I found to be very moreish and I can't wait to try the other mixes we bought.  I can see we will be ordering more from the website when we have finished these (which won't take long).

Kashmiri Butter Fish

Kashmiri Butter Fish

This was a fantastic dish I created after making a Kashmiri Butter Chicken in the slow cooker.  The original recipe comes from Ultimate Slow Cooker.  From this I used the idea of creating the sauce seperate from the meat and pureeing the onions in order to get the right consistency.  This is not a new idea for us as it is the way we make curry sauce "curry secret" style.

When preparing the sauce for the chicken I thought it would work perfectly for cooking fish.  This is because I could spend the time getting the sauce just right and then add the fish just for 10 minutes till cooked.  I also decided to add a little chilli powder to the spice mix as it seemed to be lacking a little in heat.

So that is what I did.  This recipe can be easily adapted by making the sauce and pouring over whole fillets and baking in the oven in order to keep the fish whole.  On this occasion I cut up a couple of fillets of Coley into chunks and cooked them for 10 minutes at the end which worked perfecly well too.

Here is how I did it:

Ingredients:

white Fish (such as Coley)
30g butter
3tbsp double cream
2 medium onions
3 cloves of garlic
chunk of fresh ginger (2 inch)
2tbsp tomato puree/paste
half pint chicken stock
1tbsp demerera sugar
salt and pepper

Spice Mix:

1tsp paprika
1tsp turmeric
1tsp fennel seeds
1tsp whole cumin
1/2 tsp chilli powder
5 cardamon pods
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

Blitz the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor.
Heat the butter in a large pan or wok and add the onion puree.
Cook on a medium heat till just beginning to colour (about 15 mins)

Crush and mix all the spices together in a pestle and mortar and add to the onions.  Cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the sugar, tomato puree and chicken stock, season and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Add the chopped fish and cook for a further 10 minutes.  Take off the heat and add the cream and serve.

Kantipur Nepalese Restaurant, Stockport



I wonder how many of us can remember our first taste of curry?  Curry of any cuisine is so common place now that it is hard to imagine life without it or even a time when it wasn't the norm.  Well, the first time I had a curry I was aged about 11 (so 25 years ago) and the restaurant my parents took me to all that time ago was in Levenshulme, Manchester. 
At the time I understood it to be Indian cuisine but have since learned that it was Nepalese.  Perhaps I should have realised this at the time as my first ever curry was called Lamb Nepal!!  I can remember the dish as being a rich curry sauce that wasn't too sweet except for the half mango that it was cooked with it. - it was delicious and from then on I was hooked. 

The home of my first ever curry was Kantipur and it is the same restaurant that moved from Levenshulme to Stockport about 5 years ago.  When I visited Kantipur since the move, I recognised the hostess as the same waitress all those years ago in Levenshulme.  It turned out that they were one and the same and she now runs the business with her brother.  So now what you get is a very well established, family-run restaurant delivering a first class contemporary Nepalese cuisine to a new, eager audience just 5 miles away from where the business began.

On the A-board outside the front of the restaurant it states: "Nepalese and Indian Cuisine", maybe this is to appease the concerns of the more moderate customer that likes to stick with what is known and trusted.  Myself, I always like to order from the specials or chef's recommendations and not only judge a place on the quality of the food but also the originality and diversity in it's options.  I like to be taken on a culinary journey and experience new things. 

Kantipur certainly delivers on choice.  In fact the standard curry options that you would expect to see make up only a very small part of the menu.  The specials menu is extensive with interesting delicacies ranging from a dish called Khajana Chara which is chicken stuffed with cheese and spinach, to pepper-hot dry curries such as the Chara Bhuteko, which as well as a greater use of black pepper, the chef also uses ginger in a similar way to how I experienced it in Cambodia which is to use it almost as a vegetable.  This generous amount of ginger produces a wonderful heat the does not hurt but instead makes you salivate for more.

The vegetarian and seafood options are extensive also.  Often you find that seafood dishes only include prawns, here the Kantipur offer Nepalese dishes that feature cod, tiger prawns, calamari, sardines and cuttle fish.  In the vegetarian section the dishes do not just leave out the meat - they are a celebration of the ingredients themselves.

A visit to Kantipur was long overdue so last Sunday after we returned from a short camping trip and did not want to cook we thought it a perfect time to sample some more dishes and share it with you on the blog.

We decided not to have a starter (except for the customary poppadoms) in order to leave room for a main dish each with a side dish to share.  This way we could have a banquet style meal without over-eating.  We chose:

Makhan Fish (cooked in a special butter sauce, flavoured with fenugreek leaf)

Chicken Lalitpur (tender cubes of chicken deep fried.  Cooked with special Nepalese homemade lightly sweet and sour sauce, flavoured with spring onion and ginger).  This came with the option of green chilli, which we decided not to have on this occasion.

Bhanta (aubergines)









The Makhan Fish is a favourite from a previous visit and did not disappoint this time.  It was beautifully creamy but not too sweet.  The fish was perfectly cooked, tender but retained its consistency well in the dish.

The Lalitpur was a new choice for us but again it was great.  As the chicken was deep fried and cooked in sweet and sour sauce with ginger, it had more than a bit of an oriental taste to it - however the extensive use of onion gave the dish a shaslick style and taste too.  It felt like a fantastic bit of fusion cooking but perhaps it is actually very authentic Nepalese.   It is worth noting that the batter used was made with cornflour which meant it was gluten-free too.

We absolutely love Kantipur and would highly recommend a visit.  Be daring though and try something new and if you are vegetarian there are still lots of great dishes to choose from.  The service is warm and friendly and the prices are very competitive:
Our meal of 2 x Poppadoms and chutneys, 2 x main meals, 1 x side dish, 2 x pilau rice, 1 large wine and 2 soft drinks came to just £33 plus tip!

The Curry Secret

The Curry Secret by Kris Dhillon was first published in 1989 and set out to provide a method for home cooks to produce Indian Restaurant style food from the comfort of their own homes.  In its introduction, Kris explains how restaurant cooking has a distinct flavour often very different to that with a more home-cooked taste.  Now this in itself may be a little disappointing but I totally understand the notion in trying to re-create your favourite dish.

In her book, Kris reveals the "tricks of the trade" and secret recipes that are claimed to be the techniques often used by restaurants.  I am not about to reveal all these secrets but I will elude to the main points and tell you why I love this book so much.

"Kris Dhillon writes with the authority of an accomplished Indian restaurateur, with many years' experience and thousands of satisfied customers.   Most chefs guard closely the secret of their basic curry sauce, but here Kris Dhillon reveals all, and offers you the opportunity to reproduce chicken, lamb, fish and vegetable curries with that elusive taste."

The book provides a recipe for a curry sauce which is to become the main ingredient for most of the dishes listed (in varying amounts).  The curry sauce takes a few hours to prepare but the quantities shown make enough for about 12 main courses - and I have found it to be greater still.  This sauce can be frozen or chilled and re-used so when you come to make the final dish the process is quick and simple.

The curry sauce cannot really be used on its own as it has very few spices but instead creates the consistency and background flavour needed with the use of tomatoes, garlic, ginger and onions.  Another reason I love this book is that the spices used are mainly dried spices that are cheap to buy and can sit in your cupboard for a long time if you are an occasional cook.  Of the dishes I have tried the main spices needed are as follows:

Cumin
Coriander
Garam Masala
Chilli Powder
Fenugreek Leaves
Turmeric
Cloves
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Bay Leaves
Salt & Pepper

There are a few other ingredients used within the book but you will be able to tackle most of the dishes with these simple store cupboard ingredients.

Some of the dishes we have tried with success are:

Chicken Tikka Massala

Chana Aloo (Chickpeas and Potatoes)

A simple Pilau Rice (with cloves and cinnamon)

Saag Meat (Gosht) - lamb and spinach

A mix of some of the above








We have also enjoyed the Tarka Dal (needs Ghee but easily available these days) and Chicken Dhansak which uses some of the pre-prepared Tarka Dal (lentils), pre-cooked chicken, various spices as above and the incredible curry sauce.

I bought this book for Fran for Christmas but as you can tell, I think I have had the most use out of it so far.  Although, Fran has also enjoyed the tasting (she tells me).  This is a great book to use for dinner parties as you can easily make several very different tasting dishes and have much of it pre-prepared so you can spend more time with your guests.  there are even quick recipes for deserts at the back of the book like Indian Ice Cream and Yogurt flavoured with Garlic and Cumin. 

Why not get the book yourself and discover the secrets - you will love the dishes and will go back to it time and time again I am sure.

www.thecurrysecret.co.uk

Chantra Thai Red Curry Kit

We were sent a Thai curry kit from Chantra Thai to test and review. It was on offer through another blog from the company, and being lovers of oriental food, we thought why not. We emailed off, and the Red Curry Kit arrived.

The kit comes with all you need, minus the meat and veg, to make an authentic Thai curry. The all important paste, coconut milk powder - which was a new one on us, dried herbs and chillis and a small sachet of fish sauce. We made a chicken curry, even though the Chantra Thai website recommends Red Curry for beef, pork or prawns, so all we needed to buy was the chicken and the green beans.

The whole idea of the coconut milk powder seemed a bit odd to me, but it did work well, and cooked through nicely. The pack said you could vary the amount of paste used in accordance with how spicy you wanted the curry. We generally like spicy food (although I have had a yellow curry in Thailand which was so hot I couldn't eat it), and we wanted to try exactly what the curry kit had to offer, so we used it all. With the addition of the chillis, herbs and fish sauce, it smelt divine! We served the curry with some plain rice.

We thought the curry was lovely. Very tasty. It had a different depth of flavour which you don't always get with the standard Thai curry pastes you can buy in the supermarket. Perhaps it was the addition of the herbs and a different mix of spices which gave it the more authentic taste. The idea behind the kits we think is very good. Especially for the occasional cook. Having the right amount of all the ingredients certainly is an excellent idea if you aren't into cooking oriental food often so you don't have to seek out and buy a bottle of fish sauce which you might only need for a Thai curry, for example. Also the coconut milk powder is a good idea for similar reasons. We've recently been making a few recipes which call for a small amount of coconut milk, and opening a tin just for that, seems such a waste if you're not in a position to use it the next day.

The kits are priced at £3.29 on the Chantra Thai shop website, but the delivery charges seem rather high to make it worth buying one or two packets. A bit of poking around their website, and it seems their products can be ordered from a number of sources, including Amazon, but in varying package sizes. They do have a stockists locator via their main homepage, and their products seem to be available in quite a few local places. So I think we will be keeping an eye out for them as we shop, rather than ordering online.

Coconut Beef Madras

Yesterday saw the return of the slow cooker.  There is something very pleasing and homely about coming home to the smell of something slow-cooked.  For some reason it always smells better than when done in the oven.  The added benefit of course (other than being able to use a cheaper cut of meat) is that with the money you save you can spend in the pub and return home at a time to suit you - knowing that the food won't spoil.

After a not very successful trip to start the Christmas (and a few birthdays) shopping at the Lowry Outlet, we came back with only 1 present but we did buy a new grater and yet another little cookbook.  I was particularly taken by this book as it had a flip out piece of card so it can stand up allowing you to easily read the recipe while cooking - genius. 

This recipe is taken from "Slow Cooking" by Top That! Publishing

So for our first of many slow cooked recipes we will no doubt take from this book we chose the Coconut Beef Madras.



Coconut Beef Madras

You will need:

1.5 kg Beef such as braising steak (cut into pieces)
2 tablespoons of plain flour (we use gluten-free)
2 large onions (chopped)
6 cloves of garlic (crushed)
Big chunk of ginger (3 inch, finely chopped)
3/4 a jar of madras curry paste
200 ml coconut milk
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
3 small green chillies (halved length ways)
1 teaspoon of salt
Vegetable oil

First dust the steak and brown it in batches in a hot pan with some oil.  Put meat aside as you go.

In the same pan, fry the onion, garlic and ginger and cinnamon powder - add a little water and soften for 20 minutes.  When ready - transfer the onion mix to a food processor and blitz to a paste.

Put meat and paste into the slow-cooker and add coconut milk, madras paste, cinnamon stick, chillies and salt.  Mix well and cook on low for about 8-10 hours.

Serve with steamed rice and fresh coriander








The recipe asked for 2 cinnamon sticks but as I only had 1 I used the cinnamon powder in addition.  This created a different twist to a normal madras and I think this is what caused Fran to declare it is nice but a little odd.  She assured me this was not a negative statement but merely to describe the interesting flavours she had noted.  I thought it was lovely and the recipe above would make 5 or 6 portions so is also great for the freezer or a big hungry family.

South East Asian Delights

Cambodian Aubergine Curry and Stir Fried Spinach with Nuoc Cham

After last week's Fish Amok success we still had some Kroeung left so it was back to the recipe book for more inspiration. Also, since discovering the price of Aubergines in Lidl, we always seem to have at least one in, so it was with little surprise that the recipe for Cambodian Aubergine Curry leapt off the page.
As with a lot of these recipes the ingredient list was quite substantial, and some items require a flick to the glossary, or to the ingredients or condiments section to see what exactly it is.
We did have most ingredients in for the Aubergine curry, but did have to make a few adjustments (Morrisons doesn't sell Shrimp Paste, and haven't ventured into China town yet to investigate these type of crazy ingredients, and Cambodian Fish Sauce? Sorry, Thai will have to do).
We served it with a side of stir fried spinach with Nuoc Cham, again adapted slightly, as this was normal British spinach and not oriental Water Spinach, and also by accident, the proportions got slightly out.

Ingredients: (Aubergine Curry)

2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 small shallots, sliced
1 dried chilli
1 1/2 tbsp Kroeung
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp mollases
300ml coconut milk
175 ml chicken stock
1 large aubergine, cut into chunks
3 kaffir lime leaves
fresh basil

First of all, fry the garlic, shallots and whole chilli until things start to colour. Then add the Kroeung, fish sauce and mollases and stir fry until they start to colour.

Then stir in the coconut milk, stock and lime leaves.

Next add the aubergines and stir through.
partially cover the pan and simmer for 25-30 mins until the aubergines have cooked through and the sauce has thickened.






Ingredients: (Spinach)

Groundnut oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 green Thai chillis
500g spinach
3 tbsp Nuoc Cham - 4 garlic cloves, 2 Thai chillis, 1 tbsp sugar, juice of 1 lime, 4tbsp fish sauce
Salt and pepper

The spinach was more complicated, since we had to make the Nuoc Cham from scratch. This involved pounding the garlic, chillis and sugar with a pestle and mortar, then adding the lime juice and the fish sauce (which in the book is called Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese) - to confuse matters (not to be confused with Tuk Trey which is Cambodian.) Confused?)

The garlic and chillis were then fried in a wok with the groundnut oil for about 1 minute, then the spinach was added. As it wilts, the Nuoc Cham is added. All of this went in. The measurements for the Nuoc Cham make more than is needed for the spinach stir fry, but hey ho, it didn't offend and meant there was a bit of liquid left over.

The Cambodian curry was lovely. The flavours of the Kroeung coming through, and not overpowering the aubergine. We'd used light coconut milk, but this didn't have an effect on the creaminess of the dish at all.

The spinach (Vietnamese) was lovely and refreshing with the lime juice of the Nuoc Cham coming through, also with a satisfying kick from those chillis. We do like spicy food, but perhaps these two were not best matched. The heat of the chillis in the spinach seemed to overpower the delicate flavours and fragrances of the curry. We will do both of these again, and again. But probably not together.

Fish Amok

It has been a while since we cooked Khmer food (Cambodian). We attempted a meal for parents a while ago, after our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia last year. For us, it was the Cambodian food that was the most memorable of the trip, even though we were in the country for such a short time. We ate in out hotel a couple of times, which also had a restaurant in the town. Other meals were in small restaurants within the Angkor complex.

My favourite dish from Cambodia is their national dish Amok Trei, or Fish Amok. There are a few different recipes and cooking methods written about on the Internet, but our Cambodian and Vietnamese recipe book calls the dish "Steamed Fish in Coconut Custard". Some recipes I have come across don't even involve steaming, and in fact one recipe I saw was from the wall of Angkor Thom apparently, and there was no steaming.

The two examples of Amok I had in Cambodia (above) were quite different. The first was chicken Amok, and was rather liquid. This was served in a coconut, and had a small amount of onion and other vegetables within the dish. The second was fish amok and was served in a banana leaf cup, in which many recipes say that the mixture should be steamed. (Although some just say it should be presented in them). This second version was thicker and again included small amounts of vegetables. Both we very tasty and quite unlike anything we'd ever had before.

The basic flavours of this dish come from the paste "Kroeung". Some times this is called this Cambodian curry paste, other times it is called a herbal paste, but the version I used contained lemongrass, shallots, ginger, turmeric, kaffir lime leaves and loads of garlic. No chilli. Some recipes do add chilli, but I was following the "herbal paste" recipe from the Cambodian and Vietnamese recipe book.

When we tried the dish before, we'd used that book, however the quantities didn't seem to add up. The Amok was very liquid, and the flavour of the Kroeung quite diluted, so I'd researched a few alternative recipes and came up with an idea of what to try to see if it worked.

Ingredients:


3 lemongrass stalks
8 cloves of garlic
Ginger root or galangal if available
1 tsp Turmeric
1 large shallot
3 kaffir lime leaves
2 Birdseye chillis
2 fillets of cod
Half a can of coconut milk
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 eggs

Firstly I made the Kroeung paste. This was 3 lemongrass stalks (I'm never sure how to prepare lemongrass, I know everything says to removed the woody outer leaves, but it is all woody if you ask me!), 8 cloves of garlic, 1 shallot, 3 kaffir lime leaves, a piece of ginger and a teaspoon of turmeric all whizzed up with a bit of water to make a paste.

Next I added about 2-3 tablespoons of the Kroeung to about half a tin of coconut milk along with 2 chopped birds eye chillis. Many recipes for Amok do not have any chilli at all, but some do (and some Kroeung recipes have chilli in but this one didn't). We like the kick, so I added some. Into this mixture went two eggs (double yolkers bought from Marple Food and Drink Festival), 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and two fillets of cod, cut into chunks.

The mixture is then put in a steamer, and for these quantities, steamed for 15-20 mins stirring part way through.
The last time we attempted Amok, we didn't have a bowl big enough for the food that would fit in the steamer so cooked the mixture in a ban marie. Perhaps that method also was to blame for it not thickening last time.
I think I overcooked the mixture slightly as the eggs seemed a little scrambled, but this didn't ruin the dish as all the flavours were still there.


The finished dish was lovely. Very very tasty. The flavours were true of the food we'd eaten in Cambodia, but possibly this version of Amok might not be that authentic. For example I used powdered turmeric instead of fresh turmeric root, and ginger rather than galangal, also I'm not actually sure about the addition of the chillis. (Kerry, can you help on this? Does your Amok have chilli in?) Plus there was not a banana leaf in sight. The fish still held it's flavour and the sauce was definitely thicker than before. We served it with plain rice.

I will modify the proportions the next time we make this. I think there was too much Kroeung to coconut milk as it was rather rich and needed the rice to balance it. I may also try adding a few thin slices of onion and another vegetable maybe. But I think this time was far more successful than last.

Fish Amok or Amok Trei

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry

A few weeks ago I made a really nice beef and sweet potato curry from a recipe I found on the internet.  For some reason I thought we'd had chicken which was the reason I couldn't find the recipe this time.  No problem as I could remember the basics so decided to have a bash myself but use chicken instead of beef.  Now in this I do use Pataks Rogan Josh paste but I think of it as an ingredient in its own right so do not see it as cheating.  Also, it seems that it is gluten-free which is a bonus.

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry

I think I may have changed the cooking method slightly and used tomatoes too which weren't in the original recipe.  Anyway, I cooked it last night and it was delicious so thought I would share it with you.

You will need:

1 Tablespoon of Oil

6 Chicken Thigh Fillets

300g Sweet Potatoes (chopped into 1 inch cubes)

500g Tomatoes (Chopped)

2 Medium Onions (Chopped)

5cm Chunk of Ginger (Peeled)

4 Cloves of Garlic

1 Chilli (leave seeds for a bit of heat)

3 Tablespoons Rogan Josh Curry Paste

1 can of Coconut Milk

25g Chopped Corriander

Juice of 1 Lime

Method:

Heat the oil and cook the onions till softened

Blitz the ginger, garlic and chilli in a mini chopper with a bit of oil and add to the onion

Cook for 5 mins more

Add the curry paste and cook for 5 mins

Add the chicken and cook until browned and coated in paste and flavours

Add the tomatoes and stir through 

Add the coconut milk, cover and simmer for 1 hour stirring occasionally

 

Add the sweet potato and half the corriander and cook for a further 15 minutes

Add lime juice and serve garnished with the rest of the corriander

 

The proportions would serve 4 hungry people or 6 with a side dish perhaps.  Fran tells me it was yummy and I happen to agree with her.  We tasted it midway and would say that the lime juice is the killer ingredient as we felt the dish was missing something before it was added.