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What's cooking / VT cookbook merge


trimandson

Do you like to cook ?  

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  1. 1. Do you like to cook ?

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Well last night's dinner was OK, but bellydraft - bad idea!

Tonight I'm being lazy and I've just threw a frozen pizza into the oven.

Gets the job done. What topping? The Goodfella's Pepperoni pizzas have went down hill.

Ah, it's just a cheapo Co Op Pepperoni that I bought and froze a while ago (Co Op pizzas are ace). Speaking of pizzas, I love those mini Chicago Town pizzas (in fact, anything by Dr Oetker).

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Homemade Honey and Mustard Sausages
:notworthy: I'm impressed.

Me too.

I tried making my own at the weekend, but it didn't go well. Got the casing from the butcher, brined it for a couple of days, then tried to stuff it. First problem was how, without a sausage-making machine or attachment to a processor.

So I thought I would use a funnel.

First step was rolling the casing over the end of the funnel, a bit like trying to place a six-foot condom over a two-inch protrusion. I imagine.

Then stuff the filling down the funnel, push it through with the handle of a wooden spoon, squeeze it up to the end of the casing, squeeze any air pockets back the way, what could be simpler?

First one went fine. Then it all went a bit wrong. The casing/condom started to slip off (the Julian Assange defence). When I got it back on, somehow it had folded back on itself, so I was pushing against an air pocket which I wasn't going to be able to compress. When I realised this and undid it and rolled it all back on, I had so weakened it that it split. So the sausage meat came out neatly but in parallel to, and outside, the casing.

So I cut that bit off and started again.

And then again.

By the time I cut my losses and gave up, I had two splendid but rather lonely sausages, and enough sausage filling for another couple of dozen.

I expect I'll try again. But not this week.

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I made a nice spicy spaghetti thing this evening (I say spaghetti but it was with egg noodles :)). Lots of tomatoes, chopped up chorizo, mushrooms, garlic and many spices all cooked up in a wok.

Could that be counted as spaghetti. Hmmm, maybe it more like an italian stir fry :lol:

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Today's meal is something different. I usually do a stonking roast but today, I've gone for smoked river cobbler. Throw it with some veggies (carrots, cauliflower and broccoli) and some new potatoes that I'm going to oven roast with some herbs and I'm sure it'll be lovely. No doubt, I'll also add some sort of sauce to go with it.

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Roast chicken with my home made stuffing. Put a loads of butter under the skin to stop it drying out. Rubbed curry powder, chicken seasoning and chicken oxo on the skin, makes it lovely and crispy. Done roast carrots, parsnips , spuds, cabbage and mash with a ton of proper gravy. MMMHHH

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Not that impressive, but I like to make smoothies for myself. But sometime get a bit bored of the same old - and don't have time for extravagant multi fruit ones often. Or the fruit. Nor do I always want a "healthy" drink, but one to "enjoy".

But this simple recipe worked. Banana, (a couple of small ones), lo fat probio "basics/value" yoghort, apple juice (which are pretty much the basics of any dairy smoothie. Then 1 simple ingredient - custard! A small pot of ambrosio custard - made it much "richer" and almost like a drinkable banana custard - unsurprisingly.

Ok, its really simple, but in several years, rarely come up with a new flavour I havent tried before. Usually with banana, I use cinnamon or maple syrup if I am out of other fruit.

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Made heavenly braising steak burritos earlier, mange-tout, chill pepper, red nion, red pepper, courgette and mini sweetcorn mixed in along with mixed spices. Mexican ftw.

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Punjab chicken

Go on ...

this is out of my Anjum Anand New Indian book, best indian cookery book around in my opinion as she dont go for your standard curries. At the front she shows you how to make your own Gara Masala and an amazing spice mix called Black masala,

Punjabi Chicken Curry

This chicken curry is soul food for the Punjabis. It is neither sweet nor thick nor too spicy, but a harmony of our flavours that only complement rather than overpower the chicken. This is the chicken recipe that most of my friends have asked for. As with all Indian food, I must say that the tomatoes have to be the cheap variety, not plum or vine, and the onions must be well browned. As it is a Punjabi dish, it has an array of whole spices as well as a final hit of the aroma of garam masala added at the end. The fresh coriander should be added for flavour and not just for garnish. The secret to any well-cooked curry is the cooking of the masala – slowly and over time is the best way, so be a little patient as it is worth the effort.

Eat with chapatti or roti or a pilaff.

Serves 6

15g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into large pieces

10 large cloves of garlic, peeled

4 small black cardamom pods

4 cloves

5cm piece of cinnamon stick

5 tbsp vegetable oil

1 bay leaf

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

2 green chillies, whole but pricked with the tip of a knife

750g chicken joints, skinned

5 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

¾ tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp turmeric

1 ½ tsp garam masala

salt, to taste

3 medium tomatoes, cut into small wedges large handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Method

Using blender, make a fine paste of the ginger and garlic with a little water. Set aside.

Place the black cardamom pods in a mortar, give them a bash with the pestle, then remove the husks to leave only the seeds. Add the cloves and cinnamon and grind to a powder.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the bay leaf and onion and cook until brown, around 8–10 minutes.

Add the green chillies and ginger and garlic paste and cook until just golden, around 2–4 minutes.

Add the chicken and brown gently, over a moderate heat. Stir in the spices and salt and give the pan a good stir.

Add the tomatoes and enough water to come 2.5cm up the pan. Bring to the boil, then cover and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes.

Uncover the pan, increase the heat to high and brown the masala. This will add a lot of depth to the flavour. Toss and turn the chicken in the reducing paste. Once the water has reduced, lower the heat and continue for another few minutes – the masala should release some droplets of oil. Then add enough hot water to the pan to come more than
halfway up the chicken joints, bring to the boil, stir in the fresh coriander and serve.

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Someone will technically say I had beef fajitas, but I consider beef to make burritos and chicken to make fajitas. Although normally its with minced beef.

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this is out of my Anjum Anand New Indian book, best indian cookery book around in my opinion as she dont go for your standard curries. At the front she shows you how to make your own Gara Masala and an amazing spice mix called Black masala,

Punjabi Chicken Curry

This chicken curry is soul food for the Punjabis. It is neither sweet nor thick nor too spicy, but a harmony of our flavours that only complement rather than overpower the chicken. This is the chicken recipe that most of my friends have asked for. As with all Indian food, I must say that the tomatoes have to be the cheap variety, not plum or vine, and the onions must be well browned. As it is a Punjabi dish, it has an array of whole spices as well as a final hit of the aroma of garam masala added at the end. The fresh coriander should be added for flavour and not just for garnish. The secret to any well-cooked curry is the cooking of the masala – slowly and over time is the best way, so be a little patient as it is worth the effort.

Eat with chapatti or roti or a pilaff.

Serves 6

15g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into large pieces

10 large cloves of garlic, peeled

4 small black cardamom pods

4 cloves

5cm piece of cinnamon stick

5 tbsp vegetable oil

1 bay leaf

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

2 green chillies, whole but pricked with the tip of a knife

750g chicken joints, skinned

5 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

¾ tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp turmeric

1 ½ tsp garam masala

salt, to taste

3 medium tomatoes, cut into small wedges large handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Method

Using blender, make a fine paste of the ginger and garlic with a little water. Set aside.

Place the black cardamom pods in a mortar, give them a bash with the pestle, then remove the husks to leave only the seeds. Add the cloves and cinnamon and grind to a powder.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the bay leaf and onion and cook until brown, around 8–10 minutes.

Add the green chillies and ginger and garlic paste and cook until just golden, around 2–4 minutes.

Add the chicken and brown gently, over a moderate heat. Stir in the spices and salt and give the pan a good stir.

Add the tomatoes and enough water to come 2.5cm up the pan. Bring to the boil, then cover and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes.

Uncover the pan, increase the heat to high and brown the masala. This will add a lot of depth to the flavour. Toss and turn the chicken in the reducing paste. Once the water has reduced, lower the heat and continue for another few minutes – the masala should release some droplets of oil. Then add enough hot water to the pan to come more than
halfway up the chicken joints, bring to the boil, stir in the fresh coriander and serve.

I'll add it to my list. I have all those ingredients :thumb: I'll keep an eye out for the book too. If you missed us recmomending it before, check out this. It also concentrates on proper regional Indian dishes (some are proper weird!). And it's £2.98 on that site at the mo'.
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