Wasting bandwidth since 1996

So I’ve devised a recipe for what I’m hoping will be a nice Christmas Pudding Ale. The Youngs one, if I remember correctly, is just a winter warmer mixed with a stout and with a dash of coconut added. The one I’m planning is significantly more spiced.

The actual brew will be a fairly standard winter warmer – 5.22kg Pale Malt, 0.45kg Crystal Malt and 0.25kg Chocolate Malt, bittered with Kent Goldings. The trick, though, will be in the infusion I’ve concocted to be added into the last 15 minutes of the boil.

Basically, on the stove top I boiled up:

• The juice and rind of three oranges
• 2.5 tsp ground nutmeg
• 6 crushed cardomom pods
• 1.5 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp mixed spice (pudding spice)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• About an inch of liquorice root
• 400g of clear honey
• 200ml water

I let these boil for a good fifteen minutes or so and then sealed up in a tub and left to infuse for about a week. I’ve no idea if this is going to work out or not, but I’ll be sure to update if it does.

Normally the curries I make tend to be closer to actual Indian food than the type of things you buy in a British Indian restaurant, but it’s nice to have a change sometimes. This is a pretty straightforward but very yummy Korma recipe.

First off, make a curry paste (sort of) by mixing together two tablespoons of ghee, half a teaspoon of cayenne, half a teaspoon of cumin, half a teaspoon of turmeric and half a teaspoon of cinnamon.

Next, we’re going to make a basic onion sauce. Quarter a large onion and put it in a pan with two shallots, about 2 inches of roughly chopped ginger, a clove of garlic and about two cups of water. Bring this to the boil then cover and simmer for about forty five minutes, topping up the water if need be. Set aside to cool for a bit.

Put the contents of the pan in a blender and whizz it until very smooth. Take about a ladleful of the sauce out and set it aside for the chicken.

Add to the remaining sauce one finger chilli, three cherry tomatoes, half a teaspoon of cumin, half a teaspoon of ground coriander a little bit of salt and a pinch or two of turmeric. Whizz this together until all smooth. Put it in a pan and bring it to the boil, skimming the gunge that rises to the top. Allow it to boil for a minute or two once it’s skimmed. This is your base sauce.

In a flat pan / wok, heat a tablespoon of ghee and season with some cardomom pods, cloves and a bit of cinammon. Drop in a couple of diced chicken breasts and stir until the chicken is sealed. Add the ladle of sauce you kept aside earlier and continue to fry until the water is boiling out and the sauce is reduced to practically nothing (you’ll get a nice sizzling sound when this happens). Fish the chicken out with a slotted spoon and set aside then empty the pan.

Add the curry paste to the pan and allow the spices to fry for a few seconds then pour in the base sauce. You want to get it really hot. Be warned, it’ll spit quite enthusiastically. Once it begins to reduce, add the chicken and continue to cook until the water has boiled off.

Add about half a block of grated creamed coconut and stir in. Add single cream, a little bit at a time, until your sauce is at the required thickness. Take care not to overheat the sauce once the cream starts to go in.

Throw in some fresh coriander. Done.

If you want to do a Vindaloo instead of a Korma, about the only thing you need to do is add a tablespoon of white wine vinegar, one teaspoon of cayenne pepper and two teaspoons of hot chilli powder to the base sauce, leave out the coconut, and add half a teaspoon of garam masala and some fresh coriander at the end. Maybe a bit less cream, depending on your taste.

Okay, so, my little Scotch Bonnet plant, Stingy, has babies. So I thought I’d cook a couple of them. I chose two small chillies – a red and an orange. Given that the chillies are at their hottest when they’re green, I thought it would be a fairly safe experiment. It was – what dropped out of the bottom of it was a ‘curry’ with a beautiful light fruity flavour combined with a deep and intense heat. Here’s what we did.

Chicken was marinaded for a few hours in pineapple juice and coriander leaf.

Heated some ghee and dropped in the two Scotch Bonnets, thinly sliced. Allowed these to fry for a few minutes than added two chopped onions, two cloves of crushed garlic, and about two inches of grated ginger.

Once the onions started browning, we pitched in the chicken and the marinade, keeping it all moving until the pineapple juice had reduced.

With everything frying again, we add 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika (for colour) and 1/2 teaspoon of ground turmeric (also for colour). No cayenne or chilli powder was added – we wanted whatever heat was there to come from the bonnets.

Once the spices had fried for a few minutes, we added two tablespoons of greek yoghurt and stirred until absorbed. Then we pitched in half a tin of coconut milk and let the whole thing reduce down. In the last five minutes or so of cooking, we finished off with 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala.

So, nothing complicated and nothing overpowering, flavour wise. The result was that the beautiful delicate flavour of the bonnets really came through – as did the cumulative heat. Time to try with some green ones!

Ok, so this is a tricky little bugger to get right, but here’s the easy bit:

Ingredients

• 270 g sugar
• 170 ml water
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

That’s it. First, some notes. These are formed from my own failed attempts to get it right. You may need some trial and error to get it working.

1. Don’t stir. You’ll be tempted, but you have to resist. The idea is that if you just heat the sugar in a pan, the outsides burn before the sugar has fully melted / caramelised.
2. You need to cool it FAST or it flops. I do this by having a baking tray floating in cold water in the sink. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best I can do.
3. Timing is EVERYTHING – as soon as the colour shifts, you need to get it out of the pot. Even when it’s in the tray it’s still hot and the middle can burn. I guess this is why crunchies are always darker on the inside.

Method

Put the water in a pot, add the sugar, stir in, then bring to the boil. It’s going to boil for about twenty minutes, but you need to watch it like a hawk in this time. The idea is that we’re making a saturated sugar solution then boiling off the water. As the sugar drops out of solution (as the water evaporates) it’s much finer than even caster sugar and melts immediately.

DON’T STIR IT. Really, don’t. This will lower the temperature and force big clumps of sugar out of solution early and by the time they’re melted, the rest will have a nasty burnt flavour.

It’ll reduce, it’ll look gloopy and it will start to darken.

DON’T WAIT FOR IT TO BE TOFFEE COLOURED. If you do, it’ll burn in the baking tray. As soon as there’s the first sign of colour darkening, get it off the heat.

Now you need to act like a ninja – with it off the heat, stir in the bicarb FAST. It’ll froth up and go golden. You need to get it into the chilled tray fast, so stir it in rapid-like, then dump the whole lot in the tray floating in the water. All going well, once it cools, you’ll have cinder toffee. Admittedly, it’s a little flat compared to what you buy, but I think I’d need specialist equipment to cool it quicker to get it like that. Although…. ice cube trays…. hmmm

I’ve no idea if this is going to work, but it smells beautiful and fresh.

• 8 banana shallots, very finely chopped / shredded
• 4 hot green chillies, very finely chopped / shredded, with seeds kept in
• 2 inch cube ginger, grated
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

Organise this lot and mix it all together. Hey presto, marinade. I’m kinda double-marinading it because I have it sealed in the fridge overnight to let it all settle and then I’m going to mix it into some chicken and leave that to marinade for a day before doing something with it. Don’t know what yet, but I’ll update when I do.

Update

Ok, so this one turned out to be an absolute stunner. Here’s what we did:

• 2 Onions, sliced (not chopped)
• 1/2 teaspoon black onion seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
• 300ml boiling water
• 1/4 can coconut milk
• 3 chillies, finely chopped with seeds left in
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• fresh chopped coriander leaves

Heat oil and season with some cloves, cinnamon stick and cardomom pods as usual.

Use a high heat setting.

Fry the onion and black onion seeds until the onion darkens and begins to separate from the oil.

Add the entire contents of the marinade tub – all the chicken and all the marinade, and fry until it begins to dry. This will take a wee while as the vinegar and any juices from the chicken have to reduce.

Add the ground coriander and cumin and stir in then quickly add the boiling water. Turn down the heat to a gentle simmer and allow to reduce.

Add the chillies and garam masala and simmer for a couple of minutes, then stir in the coriander leaf and serve.

Apologies for the lack of photo, but this was nommed too quickly.

Ok, so this is the easiest thing in the world to make, takes ten minutes, and tastes amazing. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 100ml white wine vinegar (malt will do, but white wine is nicer)
• 100g muscovado (or other light brown) sugar
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tbsp water
• 3 hot green chillies, finely chopped, seeds included

Method

First a note – this will make a HOT sauce. If you want to retain the flavour but reduce the intensity of the heat, remove the seeds from the chillies before chopping. As is usual when working with hot chillies, wear gloves or try and avoid skin contact with the chilli oils.

Mix the white wine vinegar and sugar together and put in the smallest pan you can find (we’re only making a small amount). Bring to the boil and turn down the heat to a gentle simmer. The liquid will begin to darken almost immediately as the sugar caramelises.

Mix the tomato puree and water then add to the pan.

Drop in the chillies and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced to the desired thickness.

If you don’t want chunks, you can strain the liquid through a metal sieve or tea strainer to get a smooth, glossy sauce, but it’s much nicer with the chillies left in.

Works particularly well  when drizzled over tikka’d chicken stuffed in a baguette with lettuce and sour cream

Ingredients

• 3 tomatoes (diced)
• 1 stick celery (diced)
• 8-10 button mushrooms
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed but whole
• 1 bulb of fennel (diced)
• 1/2 an onion (diced)
• 1/2 a leek (diced)
• 1 carrot (diced)
• 4 fresh parsley stalks (roughly chopped)
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

Heat the olive oil in the stockpot over a medium heat and add the onion, fennel, leek and carrot. Allow to sweat for 2-3 minutes.

Add enough water to cover the vegetables generously and turn the heat up to high.

Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, celery, peppercorns, parsley and garlic and stir. Cook at a rolling boil for 15 minutes.

Sieve the stock and discard the chunky bits. It will keep in the fridge for three days or can be frozen in batches.

Updated and Edited to add extra yum.

Ok, so first off, this recipe is a bit of an invention. We made up the recipe as we went along and through a bizarre twist of fate produced something truly wonderful. Unfortunately, I didn’t write down what I did so this is basically done from memory. I fully intend making it again at some point, at which time I’ll verify that the recipe is right, but in the meantime here’s what I think we did.

First off we made a little marinade:

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1 tsp ground cumin seeds
• 4/5 tbsp lemon juice

Make a paste with this and coat the chicken then leave to marinade. We only left it for about an hour which is nowhere near long enough for the marinade to do its thing. Once I’ve left it longer, I’ll report back.

Once the chicken has marinaded, seal it in a hot dry pan then set aside somewhere.

For the rest we need:

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 2-3″ block of ginger, finely grated
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• A knob of butter
• 1 tsp ground cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 4 curry leaves, crushed
• 4 tablespoons plain yoghurt
• 250ml vegetable stock
• 3 green chillies, finely chopped with seeds left in
• 1 tsp garam masala
• finely chopped coriander leaf

Note: these quantities are best-guess – this was done purely by taste.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in the usual curry pan, season with cardomom pods, clovers and cinnamon, and fry the onion and shallots, for a few minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and continue frying until the onions begin to brown. Add the knob of butter and fry for a few more minutes. Add the chicken that was sealed earlier and fry for another few minutes before adding the ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, and curry leaves. Mix well, taking care not to burn the spices.

Add the yoghurt, a spoonful at a time, stirring well to make sure it all gets absorbed. I added great dolloping spoonfuls here, so don’t be frugal with it. Once this is done, add the stock and mix well. Bring to a simmer and leave alone until it begins to reduce.

Once the reduction has started, add the green chillies and mix in. Leave to cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced. Add the garam masala and coriander leaf and stir in well. Cook for a further couple of minutes and that should be you done!

I’ll start out by offering sincerest apologies to anyone reading this who may consider Indian food their natural diet. I’ve taken certain liberties here to produce something that appeals to my western palate while, I hope, staying faithful to the Indian techniques normally used for this type of dish.

This is essentially a Masala – a sauce – to accompanying the Tikka detailed in the previous two posts. It’s a peculiarly western attitude to assume that a beautifully fragrant Tikka needs a ‘gravy’ to go with it, but here’s my attempt.

• 6 shallots, finely chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2″ cube of ginger, finely grated
• 3 cardomom pops, 3 cloves, 1″ stick of cinnamon (for seasoning the oil)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (it’s a lot, I know, but bear with me)
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes / 3 chopped tomatoes
• 100 ml coconut milk
• 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• fresh coriander leaf

“Hang on,” you cry, “there’s nothing in there! It’s just a pepper sauce!”

Well, yes. The thing is, the tikka marinade is so beautifully spiced that care must be taken that it’s complimented by the sauce and not smothered. So here’s the reasoning behind it. It’s basically a standard ginger / garlic / onion base there, but I’ve substituted shallots for onions to add a little sweetness to compliment the slight sourness of the tikka marinade. Then there’s the tomatoes and the coconut milk, both of which add their own sweetness.

Now, that’s a lot of cayenne to have in there – it’s because the cayenne takes the edge off the sweetness, preventing it from becoming overpowering but will add too much heat for many people. As a result, I’m adding a fair whack of natural yoghurt right at the end to diffuse some of the heat. So, the method is:

Heat some oil and season with cinnamon, cloves and cardomom. We don’t want to add too much flavour, so after these have sizzled for 20 seconds or two, whip them out with a slotted spoon. If you don’t have one (you know who you are ), it’s a handy addition to your kitchen.

Drop the shallots, ginger and garlic in the oil and fry until lightly browned, stirring continuously. Add the cayenne to this and continue stirring, take care not to burn the spice. Add the tikka’d chicken and  tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the coconut milk. You’re adding a lot of liquid here, so it’s going to take a wee bit of time to reduce (bearing in mind the chicken is already cooked). Once reduced, stir in the garam masala and yoghurt, bring back to a simmer (stirring continuously) then add the fresh coriander leaf. Cook for a minute or two, then serve on yummy rice.

There are a lot of flavours vying for attention here and I’d imagine it would be easy to make the cayenne pepper overpowering. If in doubt, use an equal amount of chilli powder instead.

EDIT: Tried this again with a few small tweaks to the sauce and it came out MUCH better. Firstly, reduce the amount of Cayenne to half a teaspoon and add half a teaspoon of ground cumin and ground coriander. Next, replace the tin of tomatoes with a tablespoon of tomato puree, add a lot more water and then let it reduce before adding the coconut milk and reducing a bit more. I left out the yoghurt and fresh coriander, but this can be added according to taste.

This bit is easy. It’s just tikkafying the marinaded chicken. Only reason I’m doing a post about it is to reveal the Secret Incantation of the Sacrificial Potato.

You’re going to skewer your chicken and need something to rest the skewers on so it’s suspended above the grill pan, right? Otherwise it sticks! So, get a potato, quarter it, and cut a notch in the top. Voila – skewer mount. After than it’s just a matter of slapping it in the grill and letting it cook. Two points:

1. It’s MUCH better if you do it on a barbeque. Sadly, my ex-wife has custody of mine so the grill will have to do.
2. Gravity is fighting you so unless your chicken chunks are very well balanced you’re just not going to be able to get them evenly done by turning the skewer. In this case, there’s no shame in sticking them in  a dry pan for a few minutes to ‘finish them off’.