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Prawn and tamarind curry (Chemmeen vevichathu)

27 Jan

Prawn and tamarind curryimage
Watching Saturday kitchen last weekend, Indian Michelen stared chef Atul Kochhar served up his prawn and tamarind curry that comes from the Keralan area of India.
I just had to make and share. when I make a curry it has to be from scratch, none of those pre made pastes that can be bought, making your own releases amazing heady aromas that fill float around the kitchen.

Ingredients
Serves 4 image

For the curry
1 seedless dried tamarind (about the size of a walnut)
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 shallots, chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger, peeled
15–20 curry leaves
20–24 medium prawns, head and shell removed, deveined
½ tsp palm sugar (optional), also known as jaggery
100ml/3½fl oz warm fish stock or water (optional)
salt

For the spice paste
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cinnamon stick (approximately 5cm/2in)
2 cloves
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 small dried red chilli
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp black pepperimage
To serve
Cooked basmati rice

Method
Preparation method
Soak the tamarind in 200ml/7fl oz water for 15-20 minutes.
For the spice paste, put all of the ingredients in a blender with 4-5 tablespoons of water. Blend to a paste.
For the curry, heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and cook until you hear them pop, then add the fenugreek seeds and shallots. Cook until the shallots are light brown in colour.
Add the green chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Season with salt. Cook over a medium heat for 3–5 minutes.image
Mix in the spice paste, cook for 5 minutes or until light brown in colour. Stir in the prawns and palm sugar.
Add the tamarind and its soaking liquid. Cook for 10–12 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, stir in 100ml/3½fl oz fish stock or hot water.
Spoon the curry into bowls and serve with the rice alongsideimage
For more info call or mail: 0031 (0)642297107 simon.bingham@simons-sauces.comimage

Coconut mackerel curry with lemon rice

28 Dec

Coconut mackerel curry with lemon rice
This delicious curry from Chennai, packed of flavours that are then tamed by the coconut. Mackerel is very popular southern India and is used regularly in coconut curries with tamarind to balance the flavours. Cut it into steaks as these keep the fish together and the bones add flavour to the gravy. Serve with lemon rice – nothing else is needed.
Mackererel curry

INGREDIENTSimage

2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
15g garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
8g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
3/4-1 1/2 teaspoons red chilli powder
1 tablespoon coriander powderimage
350ml water
450-500g whole mackerel, cleaned and cut into steaks 2.5cm thick
3-5 green chillies, left whole
1 1/2 teaspoons tamarind paste, or to taste
250ml coconut milk
salt, to tasteimage
METHOD

Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan. Add the fenugreek, cumin seeds and 10 of the curry leaves and fry for 10 seconds. Add the onions and cook for about 6–8 minutes until golden.
Meanwhile, puree together the tomatoes, garlic and ginger and powdered spices. Add to the pan and cook for 8–10 minutes over a high heat or until you can see little droplets of oil on the sides of the masala. Add a splash of water at any point, if necessary.
Add the water, bring to a boil and then add the fish, green chillies and remaining curry leaves. Bring back to the boil and cook for 3–4 minutes. Stir in most of the tamarind paste but leave a little to add later. Once the fish is cooked, add the coconut milk. Stir well, taste and adjust the seasoning and sourness (adding the remainder of the tamarind paste if necessary) and add more water if you prefer a thinner curryimage
Lemon rice

This South Indian dish goes well with seafood and vegetables. Curry leaves are used frequently in this part of India. When you find a fresh bunch, put them to dry on a towel on top of the boiler, then place them in an airtight jar to use as needed.<img src="https://simonssauces.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/image2.jpg?w=300" alt="image
Ingredients
image

2½ tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
pinch fenugreek seeds
1 tsp split chana dal (also called Bengal gram lentils)
1 tsp split black gram (also called urad dal or black lentil)
2-3 dried red chillies, left whole
1 rounded tsp chopped fresh ginger
¼ tsp ground turmeric
4 tbsp roasted peanuts
10 curry leaves, torn in half
salt, to taste
3 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
350g/12oz freshly cooked basmati rice

Preparation method
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add the mustard and fenugreek seeds, the chana dal, black gram and the chillies and stir fry until lightly browned.
Add the ginger, ground turmeric, peanuts, curry leaves and salt, to taste, and cook for about 40 seconds.
Stir in the lemon juice and cook for another minute before adding the rice. Stir fry to heat through, being careful not to break up the grains too much.
To serve, place the rice onto serving plates. imageimage
For more info don’t hesitate to contact me; simon.bingham@simons-sauces.com

Curry night with a Saag aloo & Rogan Josh

23 Sep

Autumn had officially arrived and the cold nights have started! So how about something spicy to warm you up.
Today I have two recipes, yes two delicious recipes!
Saag Aloo & Rogan Josh

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Saag – meaning spinach, and Aloo – meaning potato, this classic north Indian side dish can be a great way to get the goodness of spinach into people (which lets face it, isn’t always easy). Not only does it contain healthy spinach, but this mildly spiced dish is truly delicious and tastes great alongside your favourite curry.

Rogan Josh is a ‘real curry’. Hearty, rich and flavoursome, with a medium spiciness, it is one of my most favourite indian curries. The dish originated from the Kashmir region of India, and like many Indian dishes there are many different variations. Our version uses a special blend of cardamom, garam masala and coriander with other spices and of course fresh tomatoes blended into a puree, to create a deliciously tasty, rich and aromatic dish.

Ingredients
Serves 4/6

Saag aloo
A great dish for vegetarians

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• 4 large potatoes, cut into 2 cm pieces
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ tsp each: cumin, crushed coriander seeds, turmeric, chili powder and fenugreek

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• 2 green chilies, sliced
• 4 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 600g of spinach
• Juice of ½ lemon
• naan bread

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Perpetration method.

1, Cook the potato until just tender.
2,Fry the sliced onions gently in the oil, add the spices and chilli and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3, Stir in the ginger and garlic.

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  • 4, Drain the potatoes and let them steam dry for 1 minute.
    5, Add to the onion mixture and stir fry all golden brown. Add any extra oil.
    6, Mix half the spinach. Allow to shrink and add the rest. Let everything simmer for 8-10 minutes.
    7, Add the lemon juice and serve

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    Rogan josh

    Ingredients
    Serves 4/6
    • 5 tbsp vegetable oil
    • 7 black peppercorns, left whole
    • 3 black cardamom pods, left whole
    • 5 green cardamom pods, left whole
    • 4 cloves, left whole
    • 1 cinnamon stick
    • 1 piece of mace
    • 1 onion, finely chopped
    • 750g neck of lamb or mutton, bone intact, cut into pieces
    • 6 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
    • 2cm/¾in piece ginger, peeled and cut in half
    • 2 tsp ground coriander
    • 2 tsp ground cumin
    • ½ tsp red chilli powder
    • 2 tsp ground fennel seeds
    • 1½ tsp garam masala
    • salt, to taste
    • 2 tomatoes, blended to a pulp in a food processor
    • 3 tbsp plain yoghurt, stirred
    • handful chopped fresh coriander, leaves and stalks

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    Preparation method
    1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the black peppercorns, black and green cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon and mace and fry for 1-2 minutes, or until the spices are sizzling and fragrant.
    2. Add the chopped onion and fry for 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly, until golden-brown.
    3. Add the lamb pieces and fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring continually, until golden-brown all over.
    4. Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend the garlic cloves and ginger with one tablespoon of water to a fine paste.
    5. Add the garlic and ginger paste to the lamb mixture, stir well to combine, then reduce the heat and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly.
    6. Stir in the powdered coriander, cumin, red chilli powder, fennel seeds, garam masala, salt, tomato pulp and yoghurt, cover the pan with a lid, then reduce the heat to a low heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until the sauce has almost completely dried out.

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    7. Add 2-3 tablespoons of boiling water to the sauce, stir well and simmer for a further 7-8 minutes, stirring continually and adding splashes of water as necessary, until the volume of liquid has reduced and the sauce has thickened.
    8. Add enough boiling water to almost cover the lamb, bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer or 8-10 minutes, or until the lamb is cooked through.
    9. Stir in the chopped coriander just before serving.

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    10. Im serving this with basmati rice cooked in coconut milk ,Saag Aloo, naan bread and mango chutney

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    Still don’t fancy making it yourself ! I could come and cook it for you
    For more info don’t hesitate to mail or call :
    simon.bingham@simons-sauces.com 0031 (0)642297107

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