Category: Asia

Prawn and Potato Curry

Greetings people of the internet.  This week we are returning to our sojourn around the world via Good Housekeepings World Cookery. Last time we visited this book we were in Pakistan for a subcontinental take on Scotch Eggs.  Today we are moving south and east into India for a super easy, super delicious Prawn and Potato Curry.

Potato & Prawn Curry1

I threw some baby corn in as well because this is my year of not wasting food and we happened to have some in the fridge that was not going to last the week.  To be honest, the baby corn should never have been bought.  It was on sale and the fussiest eater in the world said he wanted it.

“For what?” I asked.

“I’ll think of something”

Something was not thought of.  Hence the fact that the baby corn went into the curry.

There seems to be something in the air this year around reducing waste/saving money.  I set a goal for 2020 to be my year of reducing kitchen waste.  Halfway across the world, the lovely Jenny from Silver Screen Suppers is also cutting down on waste this year.  My boss  is radically cutting down on her kitchen waste this year by living off pantry supplies every fourth week and donating the money she would have spent on food to charity.  I LOVE this idea!!!! Such a bold and generous move!

Potato & Prawn Curry5

But back to the curry.  This curry is very easy to make and for a curry, few ingredients.  It is also very tasty! Here’s the recipe, direct from the pages of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery.  But please feel free to add in any veggies you may have that would otherwise go to waste!

 

Potato & Prawn Curry8

 

Have a great week!  And please tell me any tips you have for reducing kitchen waste!

 

 

Pakistani Scotch Eggs

Hello, people of the internet!

Arrrgghh, it’s been such a long time between posts due to a long period of lethargy following the flu and a dying,  then dead,  laptop.  But, at long last, we can continue our journey around the world 1972 style as we enter the Indian subcontinent and taste test these delights straight out of Pakistan.  During this leg of the trip, we will visit, Pakistan, India and the country of my birth,  Sri Lanka.  I am very excited about what lies ahead.  But first, let’s talk about these Pakistani Scotch eggs I made…or, more correctly, let’s talk about the Nargasi Koftay I made.

I love Scotch eggs. Not those horrible store-bought things you buy on holiday in England and spend the next few weeks regretting…but proper homemade Scotch eggs.  My mum used to make them regularly when I was a child and like most things, in my mind, mum’s Scotch eggs are the BEST!  But surprisingly, given our Sri Lankan heritage, we never had them with a spicy mince coating the egg.

Let me tell you….mind blown!!!!  Such a good innovation.

That is…until I started to do a little bit o’ digging into the history of the Scotch egg and realised that maybe it is not an innovation at all…

Fortnum and Mason claim to have invented the Scotch egg in 1738 as a luxury travelling snack for wealthy Londoners departing the fog and funk of the city for the fresh and crisp air of their country manors.  The idea being that plain old hard-boiled eggs were far too stinky for these posh folk to have to deal with.

Wow…imagine that world!

I had never thought of Scotch Eggs being posh people’s food.  I would have put money on it originating in a working-class scenario, much like a pastie. The crumb coating protecting the meat from the dirt and dust of a coal mine while the egg was added as a cheap and quick protein boost and to eke out the meat.

Pakistani Scotch Eggs2

Let’s throw another scenario out there

Way back in 1592, the Moghul Empire was founded…and those dudes had a long history with Persia. How about those Moghuls found a recipe for an egg wrapped kofta from the Persians and,  in turn, and over centuries, that was given to the British in the days of the Raj…

And turned into a lux travelling snack due to its popularity with the returning sahibs and memsahibs?

Not totally out of the realms of all probability I think.

Here’s the recipe!

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Pakistani Scotch Eggs

A spicy take on a British Scotch Egg.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 eggs, boiled and shelled, aim for soft boiled
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1cm piece of ginger, grated
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 4 sprigs of coriander or mint, finely chopped
  • 500g beef mince
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 cups dried breadcrumbs
  • Sunflower oil to deep fry
  • Kasundi, coriander leaves to serve (optional)

Instructions

  1. Carefully shell the eggs and place aside.
  2. Heat the coconut oil in a pan over a medium heat
  3. Add the onions and cook until translucent.
  4. Add the garlic, ginger, salt, chilli powder, Garam masala, turmeric, cumin and coriander. Cook for 2 minutes until the spices become aromatic.
  5. Put aside to cool.
  6. Once the spice mix is cool add the minced beef and the coriander and mix well.
  7. Wet your hands with water and divide the mince mixture into 6 equal parts.
  8. Wrap one of these around an egg, ensuring that there are no cracks or uncovered spaces.
  9. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
  10. Season the flour with salt and pepper and spread on a plate.
  11. Put the beaten egg in a bowl
  12. Add the breadcrumbs to another plate.
  13. Roll the covered eggs in the flour, dip in the egg and roll in the crumbs.
  14. Repeat for all the eggs.
  15. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  16. Preheat the oven to 170C.
  17. Half-fill a deep-fryer or a large pan with oil and heat to 190°C (a cube of bread will turn golden in 30 seconds when the oil’s hot enough). Fry the eggs, in batches, for 2 minutes or until golden. Place the eggs on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes until the meat is cooked through.
  18. Serve warm or cold with tomato kasundi and coriander leaves.

Nargasi Kofta is traditionally served in a curry sauce. I decided to crumb and fry mine simply because I wanted them to be portable.  Sadly no country manor just a commuter train to work!

I served my Pakistani Scotch Eggs with a tomato kasundi from Kylee Newtons’ The Modern Preserver, which is a book I can heartily recommend.  You can also find the recipe for the kasundi here.

This spicy relish complements the taste of the Scotch Eggs.  If, however, you did not want to go to the bother of making it, you could serve with mayo, or Greek yoghurt – ideally with a swirl of Sriracha through it but plain would also be fine!

Enjoy and have a great week!

 

 

Sri Lankan Lamprais

I had a different post planned for today but after the events of Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka, I thought I would change things up and share some Sri Lankan food.  Lamprais is a dish from the Dutch Burgher community of Sri Lanka, which is my heritage.  The name is derived from the Dutch word “lomprijst” which translates into “parcel of food”.

For English speakers, the closest pronunciation is “lump rice”.

So this is our “parcel of food”.  It is Sri Lankan comfort food at it’s best – hearty, spicy, flavoursome.  Lamprais is something that I have eaten for as long as I can remember – from being a small child who would only eat the fish cutlets (the meatball type things you can see in the picture above) and the rice because everything else was too spicy to nowadays loving the fact that I can have a delicious, satisfying, complex meal on the table within about 45 minutes and using either one baking tray or a steamer.

For the last, we think four years, (maybe five) Mum and I have been making our lamprais at Easter and it has become a little tradition for us(just like chocolate eggs)!  We were planning our timetable over a very non Sri Lankan roast lamb dinner when we heard the horrible news of the Easter Sunday Isis bombings in Sri Lanka.  Thankfully no one in our family or friends was injured in the horrendous act of violence but over 300 innocent people have lost their lives.

I have always wanted to share this dish but have baulked at it because it’s just so involved…but given we were down to make them, now seemed like a perfect time.

Let’s break down what goes into our version of lamprais.  This will vary slightly, each family will have their own variation. For instance, many people add an egg into their lamprais which is not something we do.  Also, traditionally in Sri Lanka many people add fried ash plantains.

Here’s what goes into ours:

Here is Charmaine Solomon’s recipe for Lamprais – there are some slightly different spellings / terminology but this is the closest version to ours that I could find.

We do not however, pour that final bit of coconut milk over the dish before cooking.

Lamprais9 - Ghee Rice recipe

 

Lamprais Base – Ghee Rice

Ghee Rice is the foundation of every lamprais.  (Except for last year when we ran out and had to sub in some microwave brown rice for our last two lamprais).

Ghee rice is long grain or basmati ricecooked in ghee (duh) with spices such as cardamom, cloves, curry leaves and cinnamon.  This gives a lovely flavourful base for your lamprais.

Lamprais3 Ghee Rice

The Main – Lamprais Curry

So, in our breakdown of labour, mum always cooks the ghee rice because she does it really well and I can’t cook rice for shit.  Making the lamprais curry?  That’s my job.

Lamprais curry is like no other curry, I know for two reasons.  Firstly it’s a mixed meat curry containing beef, lamb, chicken and pork.  I mean have you ever?  It’s also delicious.  Like seriously who knew mixing ALL the meats would taste so good?

Second, in most other curries, you cook the meat from the start in the gravy.  Not so with this one.  You boil the beef, lamb and chicken first, then tip the cooked meat into the curry gravy to simmer away for a couple of hours.

If you make this, be prepared to chop things for HOURS.  Four onions,  eight garlic cloves.  And around two kilos of meat into a pea-sized dice.

Did I say labour of love?

Did I say this is why we split this between two people and only cook it once a year?  On a long weekend?

Also, you can use the water used to boil the mix of meats as stock to flavour the rice.
Lamprais4 Lamprais curry

Lamprais 10 - Curry recipe

Lamprais – My Favourite Bit – Fish Cutlets

Usually, in a lamprais, you get two fish cutlets.  So, they are always the first thing I eat.  And the last thing I eat.  These are little crumbed meatballs you can see in the photo. Or should that be fishballs?  Either way?  They are delicious.  If you are averse to fish, you could sub these out with frikkadels.

Mum makes these –  she made around 60 of them this year.  Which was handy because I ate my weight in them as we were going!

This recipe is from S for Sri Lanka.  All other recipes are from Charmaine Solomon via the The Great Australian Cookbook.

 

Lamprais5 - fish cutlets

 

Lamprais 11a - Fish cutlets

Lamprais 11b - Fish cutlets

In the above photo, you can also see our first condiment or sambol – Prawn Blachan

Lamprais Accoutrements 1 – Prawn Blachan

Blachan is made from dried prawns and spices.  It is spicy, salty, pungent and a little goes a long way.

Lamprais Accoutrements 2 – Seeni Sambol

Seeni Sambol is a caramelised onion relish that adds a touch of sweetness to your lamprais.  You could make this yourself.  If you feel like chopping up another four onions after you’ve chopped up four for the curry….or you could find your local Indian / Asian / Sri Lankan grocery store and just buy a jar of it.

You have to make the rice, you have to make the curry, the meatballs and the blachan.  Trust me,  unless you want to end up sobbing on the floor, buy the seeni sambol.

Or make it just because it’s delicious a couple of days before you want to make the lamprais.

Lamprais 12 Seeni and Blachan

 

Lamprais 6

Here is our process in motion!

Lamprais Accoutrements 2 – Brinjal (Eggplant) Moju

Now, normally I make our brinjal moju but this year, I decided to use some ready made. Not so much because of my recently diagnosed allergies, but more so because I just didn’t have the time.  The purpose of the eggplant moju is to add a little sour into the dish, to cut through the richness of the curry.  And possibly also to add a vegetable that is not onion into this dish!

I also have no concerns about eating the moju despite the allergy.  It is, after all, only a spoonful per meal

Lamprais 13 Eggplant

Which brings us to the end.  We made 16 lamprais. We make ours big so one is enough for a meal.

Lamprais7

Now you might have been wondering about the preponderance of aluminium foil in this post.  Lamprais are traditionally wrapped in and steamed in a banana leaf.  This also adds another layer of flavour/aroma to this dish.   Here is a traditional lamprais that I had at the DBU (Dutch Burgher Union) in Colombo when I was there in 2015.

Lamprais8

As much as I would like to go traditional, we use aluminium foil so we can pop our “parcels of food”  straight into the freezer.  You can either bake your frozen lamprais in the oven for around 40 minutes or steam them for around the same amount of time.  I personally like to cook them in the oven because the bottom of the rice goes a little crispy like in claypot rice.

So that’s it…our lamprais….I don’t expect any of you to be crazy enough to make it, but if you have somewhere that sells Sri Lankan food near you, why not try some!

Stay safe, be kind to each other, take care and have a wonderful week!

 

Bombay Potato Snacks

Let’s talk about what makes the best snacks the best.  They are crunchy, salty, crispy, fried, spicy, sweet, creamy, fresh or sour right?  So, what if you could combine all of those tastes and textures into the one dish?  Wouldn’t that make it THE. BEST. SNACK.EVER?  Yes. It would. And the only thing that stops me from claiming this for these Bombay Potato Snacks is that there is a little bit of work involved in making them which is kind of contrary to the idea of the snack….however, persevere with me.  They’re worth the effort!  And also very pretty!

Bombay Potato Snacks 2I probably should have cropped this photo a lot more.  However, I really liked the shadows of the plants on my kitchen windowsill.  And you have to take your little pleasures where you find them right?  And for you pernickety people, there’s a cropped version down below.

So, Bombay Potato Snacks.  First time I made this, I totally forgot to strew the Bombay mix (or Sev as it is called in Sri Lanka over the top).  Doh!  It was actually still pretty tasty but you know…really just a potato snack which is totally not enough for all of you delightful and snack hungry RFFMT readers.  Cos you all deserve the bomb!  Eh?

Bombay Potato Snacks 3Okay.  Even by my standard of bad puns, that last one was just a little bit too shit.  So, let’s quickly forget it ever happened and talk potatoes.  In this case oven roasted with a bit o’ salt and cayenne pepper but you could totally pan or deep fry them should you so desire.  Once baked or fried, arrange them on a place.  I chose to place mine in a circle.  Then, add a dollop of Greek Yoghurt, and top that with a dollop of Indian Chutney.  I chose to use a home-made Mango Salsa Chutney from Kylee Newton’s wonderful book The Modern Preserver but you could use your favourite bought chutney.

Bombay Potato Snacks 4We’re then going to sprinkle a little bit of tomato salsa over the top of all of this – tomato, red onion, chilli, coriander, mint, lemon juice to add some freshness and zing and pow!

Bombay Potato Snacks 5And then, if this is not already tasty enough, we’re going to top this off by just throwing a handful of Bombay Mix all over the top!  That is five layers of awesome on your plate.  This is not just a Yeah! dish.  This is a HELL YEAH! dish!

And totes vegetarian for those who care about those things.  You could also very easily make it vegan by swapping out the dairy yogurt for a soy or coconut yogurt.  Actually, vegans please make this.  And give it to your non-vegan friends and defy them to say that this vegan dish is not as tasty AF.

Bombay Potato Snacks 6Serve this on a platter and let your guests dig in.  Or…eat it all by yourself.  I won’t judge you.  I promise. I may have even done that myself.

We’re doing Indian in Tasty Reads in April and May…and also there was an awesome Indian inspired Shepherd’s pie made on My Kitchen Rules this week, which I am totally going to adapt to my own tastes so stay tuned for more Indian inspired dishes in  future.

Print

Bombay Potato Snacks

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 large potatoes cut into 1cm slices
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
  • 100 ml Indian Chutney of your choice – I used a home made mango chutney
  • 125ml Greek yoghurt

Salsa:

  • 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp mint leaves, chopped
  • 1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 red chilli, chopped, seeds removed (less or more depending on your love of heat)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200C.
  2. Place the potato slices, the salt, cayenne pepper and oil in a large plastic bag and toss to coat.
  3. Place the slices in a single layer on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, flipping them over half way through.
  4. Remove from tray to a wire rack and allow to cool.

For The Salsa:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve

  1. Spread the potato slices around the platter.
  2. Add a dollop of Yoghurt into the middle, top this with a dollop of chutney.
  3. Sprinkle the salsa over the top.
  4. Top with the Bombay mix.
  5. Eat. Enoy!

Next up though, we’re slipping and sliding, stepping and stomping into the letter S from The A-Z of Cooking.  And for once, the heading is not completely random.  Leave a comment if you’d like to have a guess at what it might be!

It’s your week…make it fab!

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Turning Japanese – 1989 Japanese Snack Plate

Konichiwa dear people o’ the Internet.

Today we are exploring the first part of a two-part series taken from the pages of Vogue Entertaining October / November 1989 with a gorgeous Japanese snack plate.

japanese-snack-plate

On the plate today we have Japanese Fried Chicken, Prawn Canapé’s, Radish Canapés, edamame beans, wasabi and mayo!  This is so pretty, perfect for a Spring brunch!

The magazine comes from a time when ingenious recipes and inventive ideas may have involved giving your guests a bowl of roses to munch on.  Yummy!

vogue-entertaining-oct-1989

Roses aside,  we are putting some Spring flavours in full bloom on today’s Japanese snack plate. Just as an aside though, guess which day the J key on my laptop decided to break, meaning  it had to be hit about four times harder than all the other keys.  The sound track for the writing of this post was tap, tap, tap THUMP tap, tap, tap THUMP.

Minor typing difficulties aside, lets turn our attention to some hors d’œuvres for our Japanese snack plate.

Japanese Stuffed Radishes

Could not be simpler and the crunchy peppery radish is delicious with the salty punch of the caviar. Simply slice your radish down the middle of the stem, then scoop out a small hollow in your radish and fill with caviar.  I think nowadays if you were making this you would use tobiko instead of normal caviar but maybe that was readily available in 1989.  Come to think of it, I have no idea if it is readily available now!

japanese-snack-plate2Stuffed Prawns

Pardon me for having two things stuffed with caviar in this post but seeing as I had to buy it specially, I wanted to get some bang for my buck.  Also, if it was good enough for Vogue Entertaining in 1989 its good enough for me!

japanese-snack-plate3This is also very tasty with this time a contrast between the sweet prawn meat and the salty caviar.  Add a dob of pungent wasabi and some creamy mayo and you have perfection!  The original recipe had the prawn heads left on.  I took mine off.  I just think it is easier to eat with head and shells gone.

It is important to skewer the prawns so they stay straight.

japanese-snack-plate4To make these you will need:

  • 12 medium green king prawns
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 25g black caviar

Place a satay stick through the body of each prawn to keep it straight.  Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drop the prawns in and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Remove from the water and leave to cool.

Remove the satay sticks and remove the heads and shells, leaving the tail.  Split the prawns down the back with a sharp knife and remove the digestive tracts.  Fill the tract cavity with a little caviar.  Repeat.

Soy and Ginger Edamame (loosely adapted from A Moveable Feast by Katy Holder)

These are not from Vogue Entertaining Oct /November 1989 but make a tasty and colourful addition to the snack plate.

  • 200g edamame in pods
  • 1/2 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp light olive oil
  • 1/2 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • pinch of sugar

Cook the edamame in boiling water  for 2 minutes.  Drain and refresh under cold water.  Pop the beans from their pods.  Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl, stirring well to dissolve the sugar.  Pour over the edamame and sit for at least an hour to let the flavours absorb.  Strain and add to the plate.

japanese-snack-plate5

Japanese Fried Chicken

I did not make this for the snack plate.  We had it for dinner the night before but I made extra so we could have it on the plate.  This is so good.  Huh…it’s fried chicken, like it was ever going to be bad!  This was great hot from the fryer in the evening and also super eaten cold  the next day – it was not too greasy like a lot of fried chicken as leftovers and still quite crispy, although it is not a thick southern style coating.

japanese-snack-plate6Here’s the recipe!

 

Print

Japanese Fried Chicken

A delicious Japanese take on fried chicken

Ingredients

Scale
  • 500g chicken breast meat, skin on
  • 3 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped finely
  • 1 spring onion chopped finely
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp wasabi paste
  • 1 small dried chilli, chopped
  • pinch of black pepper
  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • 2/3 cup cornflour
  • vegetable oil for deep frying
  • Mayonnaise, wasabi to serve

Instructions

  1. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
  2. Make a marinade of the ginger, garlic, spring onion, sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin, pepper and chilli.
  3. Marinate the chicken for at least 1 1/2 hours.
  4. Mix eggwhite and cornflour well.
  5. Add the chicken and marinate.
  6. Heat the oil.
  7. Deep-fry spoonfuls of the chicken mixture until golden brown.
  8. Drain onto crushed kitchen paper and keep hot whilst the rest of the mixture is cooked.
  9. To serve, spread on platter with dobs of mayo and wasabi

That’s it from me, have a great week!

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