Cajun Curry with Black-Eyed Beans

A Cajun style curry, made with black-eyed beans, carrot, garlic, green and red chilli, green and red bell peppers, onion, and tomato puree.

I used a commercially available Cajun spice powder, which contained garlic, chill powder, paprika and cumin. But you could easily make this up from your spice cupboard.

The black-eyed beans were rehydrated overnight in unsalted water, then boiled for half an hour until soft. The pot was drained, refilled with salted water, then brought to the boil again.

Then I added the diced vegetables - the deseeded chillies, the red and green peppers, the carrot and onion, and two garlic cloves, the tomato puree, the Cajun spices, and some vegetable stock. Simmered for forty minutes. Add a generous pinch of oregano.

The black rice was cooked for twenty minutes first of all, and then drained. The pot was refilled with boiling water, salted, and a third of a cup of American long grain rice was added. Turn down the hob to a medium to low heat and cook for another fifteen minutes, stirring frequently/Drain the rice thoroughly. Add the rice to the serving plate and spoon in the curry. Delicious!

This is a vegetarian version, but the dish can be served with chicken.

Vegetable and Smoked Bacon Soup

A soup packed with goodness to the point of almost being a broth. Made with onion, carrot, courgette, Brussels sprouts, celery, potato, spelt, oats, and fried smoked bacon.

I started the soup with three small diced carrots, half a courgette, also diced, and a julienned white onion. Cooked for half an hour until soft. I then added celery and 250g of peeled and tailed Brussels sprouts, some preboiled potato, and a handful each of spelt grain and ground oats, and half a teaspoonful of turmeric.

Simmered under glass for another half an hour, and then the contents of the pan were mashed.

I added a little sunflower oil to the soup, some mixed herbs (tarragon, parsley and sage), two small pinches of cumin, and vegetable stock. Add a dash of Worcester sauce if you like. Once it had cooled, the soup was stored in the fridge overnight (soups are always better the next day).

I diced two rashers of smoked bacon, and fried the pieces at a medium heat until crispy. The soup was reheated, and the bacon pieces added and stirred through. Ready to serve!

Chicken Tarragon with Roast Potatoes and Sprouts

The chicken breast was cooked from scratch the preceding day as part of a batch of four. Cooked in a standard lidded casserole dish, on a bed of sliced red onion, sunflower oil, sea salt, and a little water, for fifty minutes at 190 deg. C.

The Brussels sprouts were prepared Italian style, being chopped up and cooked in salted water. I added a little Tabasco sauce.

The complicated part was the preparation of the spiced roast potatoes. They were par-boiled in salted water for eighteen minutes, then the pot was drained. I drizzled two teaspoonfuls of goose fat over the potatoes, along with some tomato ketchup, powdered cumin, white pepper, dried tarragon, and vinegar. Then the potatoes were fluffed up for roasting by rattling them around the lidded pan.

The potatoes were placed on a roasting tray on the middle shelf of the oven, and cooked for another thirty minutes at 190 deg. C. Turned over once. Watch carefully!

The chicken was reheated in a lidded pan, along with some of the red onion and the gravy for twenty five minutes. If the chicken breast is chopped up, the cooking time will be around 12 to 13 minutes.

When the chicken breast was served, it was dusted with tarragon. The sprouts were thoroughly drained before being added to the plate. Followed by the roast potatoes.

Beef and Mushroom Curry, with Garlic and Coriander Naan Bread

The cubed beef was browned in a saute pan with a drizzle of sunflower oil. Started at a high heat, and then lowered, stirring regularly.

After ten to fifteen minutes I added two medium sized diced onions, and two diced carrots. Stir-fried for fifteen minutes or so until the onions became semi-transparent.

I added half a green bell pepper, cut into strips. Cooked for another five minutes before I added about half a pint of boiling water, a little tomato puree, and vegetable and beef stock. I added diced pieces of three large mushrooms.

Stirred thoroughly, and simmered under glass at a low heat for another hour and a half, until the beef is deliciously tender.

I added some powdered cumin and cardamom, some turmeric (teaspoonful), a dessert spoonful of hot curry powder from ASDA, and some dried coriander leaf. Simmered for another half an hour before serving.

The Garlic and Coriander Naan bread was made commercially. It had been in the fridge for a few days, so I dampened it on both sides, and allowed it to stand for ten minutes on a drainer, while I fired up the grill. Cook for three or four minutes on both sides, watching carefully to prevent burning the naan.

The combo was served with a dusting of coriander, and a teaspoonful of lime pickle. Delicious!

Mushroom and Pepper Curry

A delicious curry, with a flavour you may not have tasted before. Made with one green bell pepper, deseeded and cut into strips, one Spanish onion, diced, and some large white mushrooms, also diced. Plus half a teaspoonful of mustard seeds, half a teaspoonful of cumin powder, chilli powder, and dried coriander. I used a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes also.

The onion was added to a saute pan containing a drizzle of groundnut oil (sunflower is fine as an alternative). Then I added the mustard seeds. Cook for five to ten minutes at a medium heat, until the onion begins to brown, and the mustard seeds burst.

After that I added the pepper and mushrooms. Stir fried for another five to ten minutes.

The dish was now ready for the chopped tomatoes (I added some boiling water also). The cumin and chilli powders were added, along with the dried coriander, and stirred together thoroughly.

Turn down the heat and allow the dish to simmer under glass for between fifteen and thirty minutes.

Serve with rice, or as in this case, with a toasted garlic and coriander naan bread, along with some plain Greek yoghurt.

Garlic and Black Bean Soup

This simple and tasty soup takes very little preparation time (about ten minutes), and is ready to serve in an hour.

Some cheap leeks from the Co-op prompted this dish. Cut a large leek in two length wise, and divide each half into four strips. Gather the strips together, and cut into centimetre lengths with a large bladed knife. Add to a saute pan of hot olive or sunflower oil, and cook until the leek is soft and translucent.

Add half a teaspoonful of powdered cumin, then add about half a pint of boiling water. Add either chicken or vegetable stock, and some tomato puree. Add three desert spoonfuls of garlic and black bean sauce (I used Lee Kum Kee brand - this saves a lot of time with mincing garlic and blending black beans in a soy sauce). Add some onion gravy granules (about a desert spoonful). Stir together thoroughly. Allow to simmer at a low heat under glass for an hour.

That is the basic process. At the end of of it, add either some fresh coriander, or dried coriander (about half a teaspoonful). It is ready to serve!

Carrot and Spinach Soup

       

I had a large box of carrots in the fridge, and I found a bargain bag of spinach in the local store. An ideal combination of ingredients! A simple winter soup made with carrot, cumin, spinach, rosemary, celery, and onion.

Boil half a litre of water. Add four whole carrots, topped and tailed. Add one diced onion, one sixth of a celery plant, finely chopped, and a hundred grammes of spinach leaves, also finely chopped.

Cook for twenty five minutes, until the carrots are soft. Mash for two minutes. Add half a teaspoonful of powdered cumin (or alternatively cumin seeds), and a generous pinch of rosemary. Add the vegetable stock (chicken stock can also be added, or added instead).

Simmer under glass for another forty-five minutes before serving.

Cauliflower and Cumin Soup with Cream

I made a delicious cauliflower cheese with one half, and decided to make a soup with the other.

The cauliflower was steamed, which means it is more likely to keep its integrity during cooking. This soup was always going to be blended however, so boiling in water is fine.

The other ingredients are: one carrot, a medium onion, green lentils (one handful), vegetable and chicken stock, one deseeded green chilli, coriander leaf, a teaspoonful of cumin powder, and a pinch of cumin seeds, plus a quarter teaspoonful of turmeric, and a dash of white pepper.

boil the vegetables for half an hour, and then mash. Add the stock. Cook for another half an hour, and then blitz the contents of the pot with a hand blender for two minutes. Serve the soup with two dessert spoonfuls of single cream in a swirl. Delicious!

Pork and Potato Curry

Pork strips from a leg joint, cooked with onion, spring onion, diced mushroom, and peas. With chilli (deseeded) two garlic cloves, and the spices garam masala, cumin, coriander powder, coriander leaf, sliced root ginger, and some ground black pepper.

Easy to prepare. Place all of the ingredients in a pan containing boiling water and cook for half an hour under glass at a medium heat, then reduce to a low heat for another half an hour. Stir occasionally, and check the consistency of the curry. 

During which preparation time you can peel some potatoes, cut them into wedges, and cook them in a steamer for thirty minutes or so at a low heat (put the potatoes into the steamer when the water has come to the boil).

Decant the potatoes on to the serving plate, and add the pork curry. May be served with garlic nan bread.

Apricot and Chestnut Mushroom Curry

A delicious apricot and mushroom curry, which can also be served as a dressing for chicken pieces.

The ingredients are: three fresh apricots, basmati rice, haricot beans, cashew nuts, red chilli, grated coconut, single cream, cumin, cumin seed,  garam massala, garlic, root ginger, onion, Californian raisins,  turmeric, vegetable stock, and yellow pepper,

A dish such as this would normally be made with dried apricots, but diced fresh apricot works just as well, particulary when paired by raisins, which add sweetness. Destone the apricots, and chop finely. Chop the onion (two small), the chestnut mushrooms (two), and half a yellow pepper. Stir fry in sunflower oil at a high heat until the onion begins to brown.

Add deseeded chilli, root ginger, and three crushed cloves of garlic.Turn the heat down to medium and stir-fry for another three or four minutes. then add boiling water to the pan. Add the haricot beans (half a tin of baked beans will do just fine), a handful of cashew nuts, another handful of the raisins.

Add the spices - a teaspoonful of turmeric, half a teaspoonful each of garam massala and cumin, and a pinch of cumin seed. Simmer for forty-five minutes to an hour at a low heat under glass.

Finally, add a generous cupful of single cream, and a dessert spoonful of ground coconut, and stir together. Simmer for ten minutes, and serve with white basmati rice.

 

Beef Korma

Made with stir-fried beef strips, peas, scotch bonnet chilli, garlic, and a korma sauce made with turmeric, cream and ground coconut.

Cook the beef until it begins to brown, Add the chopped chilli (1 chilli should be enough) and the garlic. After a couple of minutes add some boiling water and the garden peas. Allow most of the water to evaporate.

You can make the korma sauce from scratch with the turmeric, cream, ground coconut, coriander leaf, and a little sugar (chopped dates are an alternative), or you can add a commercially available korma sauce. Add cumin if you like.

Cook for another seven minutes or so, stirring the mixture frequently.

Serve with boiled basmati rice.

Leek and Lentil Soup, with Coriander, Cardamom and Cumin

A simple and tasty soup made in an hour. One large leek, a pinch of coriander leaf, seeds from six cardamom pods, a pinch of cumin seed, a dash of turmeric, a handful of green lentils, plus vegetable and chicken stock.

Chop the leek in half lengthways, then chop each half into small pieces, and place in a pan of boiling water along with the lentils. Cook until tender (half an hour to forty-five minutes). Mash the mixture, and add the coriander, cardamom and cumin seed, and the vegetable and chicken stock.

Blitz the soup with a hand blender for about two seconds, and then add the turmeric (adding this ingredient last means your blender will not be stained yellow!). Cook for another fifteen to twenty minutes under glass at a simmer. Ready to serve!

Chicken, Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

Chicken meat from a drumstick, mashed plum tomatoes in juice, a diced red pepper, two small onions, two spring onions, some Camargue red rice (optional), Black pepper, Oregano, Rosemary and Coriander leaf, a pinch of paprika, a quarter teaspoonful of cumin, and chicken and vegetable stock.

Empty a tin of plum tomatoes into a pan, and mash. Add two cupfuls of cold water. Bring to the boil while chopping the vegetables and chicken into small chunks, and add to the pan. Cook for half an hour at a simmer under glass, and add the vegetable and chicken stock, the herbs, the paprika and the cumin, and some sea salt to taste. Cook for at least another fifteen minutes before serving.

Chicken Dopiaza

Made with 3 cardamom pods, chopped chicken breast, or chicken legs, chicken stock, coriander leaf (desert spoonful), cumin (tsp), hot Madras curry powder (desert spoonful), garlic, ginger (tsp), honey, lemon juice, onion, Peanut Butter, Tomato, Turmeric (a dash), Yoghurt. Served with white basmati rice, black pepper, and yoghurt. 

Make the sauce/marinade first. Mix together the contents of the cardamom pods, the coriander, cumin, curry powder, powdered ginger, garlic, and the turmeric. Open a can of chopped tomatoes and decant into a pan. Add the spices to the pot, and the chicken stock. Add a dessert spoonful of peanut butter, a dessert spoonful of honey, and three dessert spoonfuls of yoghurt. Stir thoroughly. Add the juice of half a lemon, or a whole lime. Bring to the boil and simmer. 

The chicken should be precooked. Chop into chunks, and add to the sauce. Simmer the chicken and sauce for at least thirty minutes under glass. 

Caramelise three large chopped onions in goose fat, or sunflower oil if you prefer, stirring continuously in a skillet for fifteen minutes, until golden brown. Add the onions to to the curry sauce, and stir thoroughly. Cook for a further fifteen minutes at a low heat, and serve. Utterly delicious! 

Beef Curry

The beef came from a joint of Scottish prime silverside, slow roasted in the oven for two hours, at 180 deg C. Cooked on a bed of root vegetables - 2 carrots, 2 onions, one large carrot, and a chopped stick of celery. Sea salt was rubbed into the top of the joint, along with freshly ground black pepper. Roasted in a large casserole dish, with half a pint of beef stock.

The joint was allowed to cool, and was cut into slices the following day, The gravy, made by liquidising half of the root vegetables and the stock from the roast. became the basis of the curry sauce.

I added a dessert spoonful of ground coconut, half a teaspoonful of garam massala curry powder, half a teaspoonful of cumin, half a teaspoonful of powdered ginger (root ginger will do fine instead), half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, half a teaspoonful of turmeric, and some dried coriander leaf. I added a whole red chilli, some white pepper, plus two diced cloves of garlic.

I cubed the beef and added it to the curry sauce. Simmered for an hour before serving with white basmati rice.

Parsnip and Leek Soup

Made with three whole parsnips, topped and tailed, half a dozen Jerusalem artichoke tubers, boiled and peeled, and a whole leek. Plus cumin powder, turmeric powder, three large pinches of coriander leaf, chicken stock, and lots of white pepper. 

Mash the boiled parsnips and the artichoke tubers together. The leek was initially cooked separately in a steamer, after being cut into the traditional circles. Then the leek was added to the parsnip and artichoke mix. The dominant flavour of this soup should be cumin and coriander, so add sufficient of these according to your judgement. Add some turmeric and white pepper, and stir into the soup. Simmer for an hour before serving.  

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Parsnip and Leek Soup

Potato Salad with Moroccan Hummus

Four components - a potato salad in Mayonnaise, a leaf salad with Iceberg lettuce, red onion, and diced rocket, cooked and chopped green beans (Egyptian dwarf beans to be precise) with Moroccan hummus (chilli and topped with some chickpeas), and finally some peeled tomato mixed with cooked and diced carrot, with cumin seeds, coriander and basil. 

Potato Salad with Moroccan Hummus

The potato, carrot and green beans were cooked a steamer, with the potato and the carrot in the bottom (20 minutes cooking). The beans were in the top half, and were steamed for ten minutes after being topped and tailed. The skin of the tomatoes (3) was cut, and they were blanched in boiling water for three minutes. After which the skin is easy to peel off. 

These ingredients were put aside to cool in cold water. The leaf salad with the onion was prepared (one quarter of a medium size red onion). Dressed in a little olive oil and lemon juice. Allow to stand for fifteen minutes and stir. 

After the vegetables had cooled, the diced potato was mixed with mayonnaise in a bowl. The tomato and carrot mixture was mixed in another bowl with a pinch of cumin seeds, coriander leaf and basil.  Then decanted into a serving bowl, as shown above. The green beans were decanted into a small serving bowl also, and topped with two teaspoonfuls of the hummus. 

Assemble on a plate, and serve. 

Leek and Potato Soup, with Cumin

A simple winter soup, made with two medium leeks, four carrots, and two peeled potatoes, all roughly chopped. Cook in water in a lidded pan at a low simmer, until all the vegetables are soft. Mash. Cook again for at least twenty minutes, and puree with a hand-blender. 

Add some coriander leaf, a couple of pinches of ground cumin, a pinch of nutmeg, chicken stock, a dash of Tabasco sauce, and some Worcestershire sauce. Cook for another ten minutes, and serve. A real winter warmer!

Leek and Potato Soup, with Cumin

Green Pea Soup with Cumin and Coriander

A simple soup made with podded peas, two chopped carrots, one chopped white onion, and a teaspoonful each of powdered cumin and chopped coriander leaf. Plus some vegetable stock. 

Add the vegetables to a small pot of boiling water, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for an hour under glass. Blend the mix with an electric hand mixer, and allow to simmer for another twenty minutes. Serve with two dessert spoonfuls of Greek Style Yoghurt for each serving, stirred roughly into the soup. 

Green Pea Soup with Cumin and Coriander

Beef Chilli with Cardamom and Ginger

Ingredients: Ground beef, Chilli, Mushrooms, Parsnip, Spanish Onion, Chicory (all vegetables chopped), Tomato puree, Black Pepper, Garlic, Cardamom seed, Ginger, Cumin and Paprika, plus beef and vegetable stock.

The beef mince had 20% fat, so after it was browned and allowed to simmer in water for an hour, it was decanted into a glass bowl and allowed to cool to room temperature. Then the fat was spooned from the top and disposed of.

The remaining contents of the bowl were decanted into a saute pan and brought to the boil. The chopped vegetables and the herbs were added, and left to simmer for an hour, with the occasional stir. Served with Basmati rice, cooked in water with a little clarified butter, and some lime pickle.

Beef Chilli with Cardamom and Ginger