Chicken and Cauliflower Curry

A quick and simple chicken curry with cauliflower florets.

I used:

3 - 4 tbsp oil
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
3 cardamom pods
4 peppercorns
3 cloves
Pinch of cumin seeds (optional)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece ginger, minced
2 1/2 small onions, finely sliced
Salt to taste
1/2 capsicum, chopped (optional)
Chopped coriander
1 tomato, blended
1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp curry powder (i used Bolsts)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/8 tsp paprika (optional)
1 baby chicken, curry cut, washed and drained
1 cauliflower, cut into florets then washed
Coriander to garnish

In a saucepan, heat your oil. Add your whole spices (cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cardamom, peppercorn, cloves and cumin) and allow to infuse for a minute. Add your garlic and ginger and brown.

Then add your onions, salt, capsicum and coriander and cook for about 5 - 10 minutes until softened. Then add your blended tomato and cook for a further 5 minutes. Put in your powdered spices (turmeric, chilli, curry, coriander, cumin and paprika) and stir. Add a little water if and when spices start sticking to the pan. Continue this for another 5 minutes.

Once oils have released, add your chicken and cook on a medium - high flame for about 2 minutes, constantly keeping your eye on it. Add a little water if needed, but the chicken releases it's own water anyway. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on a low heat.

Remove lid, shake saucepan slightly, add the cauliflower florets and stir gently. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, take off the lid and add boiling water for the sauce. Shake the pan gently so water is distributed evenly, cover and cook on low - medium for 5 - 10 minutes.

Turn off heat, garnish with coriander and serve with rice.

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ♥

Prawn and Spinach Bhuna

A spicy, bhuna style seafood dish with the addition of spinach, a brilliant source of iron.

I used:

2 - 3 tbsp oil
1 tsp panch puran
6 - 7 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1/4 capsicum, finely chopped (optional)
1 tomato, blended
Chopped coriander
1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp chilli powder
1/2 tbsp mixed curry powder
1 packet frozen, cooked prawns
1 packet washed baby spinach, roughly chopped
Coriander to garnish
Chillies to garnish

In a saucepan, heat up your oil. Add your panch puran, and once sizzling, add your garlic.

When garlic is browned, add your onions, salt, capsicum, tomato and coriander. Cover and cook kn a low heat for about 10 - 15 minutes, until all the ingredients have browned and softened.

Add your spices, a little water, and cook for a further 5 minutes until oil releases. Put in your prawns and stir well. Put the heat up and allow water to evaporate slightly (water will have increased due to the prawns).

After about 5 minutes, add your spinach, stir and cover and cook on the lowest heat about 7 - 10 minutes. You shouldn't need to add anymore water.

Turn off heat and garnish with coriander and chillies. Serve hot with roti.

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ♥

Measuring spoons

I thought i would do a blog post today on measuring spoons and how i found using them.

When i used to watch my mum cooking, i always noticed that there would be no particular measurement, everything was done by eye. If i ever asked her advice on cooking a dish and the amount of spice to go in, it would be 'ekh sif' (one spoon). Now mum, how am i meant to tell which spoon you're on about? In England, there are teaspoons, latte spoons, dessert spoons, serving spoons, tablespoons, wooden spoons... I'm sure the list goes on.

If she then said 1 tea spoon, then the problem becomes worse, because my mum's teaspoons are a different size to my teaspoons, and mum's serving spoons are a different size... You get the gist.

Now i have been cooking on my own for almost 7 years and had gotten used to putting in spoons in my spice jars and remembering how many of that spoon i used in my last curry. But since taking cooking very seriously, and thinking to start a blog on cooking, i had to make sure my measurements were very precise because i was advising other people on how to cook and what quantities to use. It also helped because my curries come out the same all the time, and i know if i am making a curry that is double the size of my normal one, all i do is double the amount if spices that go in.

So i went to Asda and found a set of measuring spoons (£1 - £1.50) ranging from 1/8th teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, going up in 6 measurements. This has literally been a fantastic purchase, one which i use everyday, and it has been super useful for my blog.

Now when i say 1/2 tbsp in my blog, you don't need to ask yourself which tablespoon size is she on about. I'm on about the standard measurement that everyone can measure out - using these spoons :)

I hope this helped.

Yaz ♥

Chinese 5 spice chicken wings

I was craving some spicy wings the other day, but instead of indian spice, i thought why not try chinese spiced ones? So off i went to my local supermarket, and improvised a recipe.

It didn't come out as sticky as i wanted, but someone recommended adding golden syrup instead of honey. You can do that if you wish, but honey was sweet enough for my hubby and I :)

It's always useful keeping your cupboard stocked with long life food stuffs just in case you want to experiment. I had to buy the 5 spice and hoisin sauce, but everything else i had. You never know when it comes in handy!

To make this, I used:

500g chicken wings, skin on, 3 slits on each side
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, minced
Salt to taste
2 tsp light soy sauce
4 tsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp chinese 5 spice
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp dark brown sugar
Pinch of black pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes
1/4 tsp red food colouring
Pinch of caraway seeds (optional)

Mix all the above ingredients in a large bowl, making sure to get it in the slits in the chicken. Cover the bowl with cling film and put in fridge overnight, or at least 6 hours.

Get the chicken out an hour before baking them. Heat your oven up to a medium - hot heat. Alternatively these can be grilled, barbecued or very shallow fried!

Line a tray with foil, lightly grease with oil, and place a single layer of wings all over. Heat until crisp on one side, turn over and cook on other side until deep red.

Serve immediately! Lovely with noodles or on their own with a sweet chilli dipping sauce!

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ♥

Chicken Tikka Biryani

So i love chicken tikka and fried rice. Why not put them together and make a chicken tikka biryani (how it is made in Indian/Bangladeshi restaurants anyway).

I have posted a recipe for homemade chicken tikka in my previous post, or alternatively if you want the biryani asap, just buy some from your local takeaway and use that instead!

Recently i posted a photo on Instagram of a chicken tikka biryani, Indian restaurant style and was asked for the recipe.

I had been craving for chicken tikka biryani for a few weeks, even hinting to my dad (not happening lol - he's left that life behind) and opportunity came when i visited Kebabish with a friend (who i met after 7 years - another long story). Now i don't claim to be a really good cook, but i know that chicken tikka should taste of something right? I was given off white chicken cold chicken mixed with cold yellow rice. That was it. Suffice to say, i didn't finish it (again another first for me), and left feeling disappointed.

So a few days later, i thought to myself, i have to give it a go! As i was at my parents house, i knew i had good critics who would give me an honest opinion.

I marinated the chicken in the morning, and although i normally leave marination overnight, i was slightly desperate, so thought 8 hours was more than sufficient. I cooked it, my family ate it, and although just a little less salt than my family like (we loooove salt. I'm surprised we all do not suffer from high blood pressure) i was given a thumbs up. Result :) (and much better than Kebabish's if i say so myself!)

I used:

2 tbsp oil

8 cloves garlic, roughly  chopped
2 onions, sliced
Salt to taste
1/2 red capsicum, finely chopped
3 green chillies, finely chopped (adjust accordingly)
Chopped coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder (adjust accordingly)
2 tsp mixed curry powder
1 tbsp ghee
400g sliced chicken tikka
Cooked rice (please add according to rice/chicken ratio and also it is preferable to use day old rice)
Coriander and chillies to garnish

Put the gas on high as this is quick cooking and everything is precooked so it doesn't take too long. Also do not go from the kitchen as things may get burnt :)

In a wok, heat your oil. Add your garlic and brown. Add your onions, salt, capsicum, green chillies and coriander and stir together.

Cook for about 5 mins, then add in your turmeric, chilli and mixed powder. Stir for another 5 minutes (adding water only if required) then add your ghee and chicken. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes, then add your rice. Make sure you break the rice with your hands or a spoon so you don't have lumps. Stir fry for another 5 minutes mixing all the time.

Turn off gas and garnish with coriander and chillies.

Et voila, quick and simple :)

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ♥

Pabda (fish) in Mustard Jhol

Pabda fish (known in English as Pabo Catfish) is a very delicate fleshed fish. It needs to be cooked gently, and not moved around a lot as the flesh disintegrates quickly.

It is widely available in the UK in frozen block form at most Bangladeshi food grocers. Please check the expiry date before purchase (speaking from past experience).

Mustard seeds (Shorisha/Hoiro) are also a very Bengali spice. In Calcutta (Kolkata) mustard oil is the main form of fat in their cooking. It has a very pungent mustard flavour with a hint of heat, which is why i do not use it in cooking, unless i make a mustard based dish.

In this dish, i will be using only mustard seeds and no vegetables, to add flavour. It is called a jhol, which means sauce.

I used:

2 tbsp mustard seeds, soaked overnight in water
1 block Pabda (8 fish, heads and tails cut off, fins trimmed and cut into 2 pieces each)
1 tbsp mustard oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 medium onions, finely sliced
Salt to taste
1 tomato, chopped
Chopped coriander
4 green chillies
1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp chilli powder
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp curry powder
Coriander to garnish

Firstly, you need to soak mustard seeds in water overnight. This will allow them to soften to make blending easier.

When using frozen fish, salt the fish when defrosting. This will take away any freezer smell. Wash well, and put in colander to drain while making the jhol (sauce).

In a saucepan, heat up your oil. Once hot, add your garlic, let that brown then add your onions, salt, chopped tomato, coriander and green chillies. Turn the heat to low, and allow to cook for about 20 minutes, until the onions have disintegrated (broken down into mush). If not completely mushed, use a potato masher to do this.

Add in your spices and cook for about 5 minutes.

In a blender, pour in your mustard seeds, including water, and blend for a minute. Take this and add to the spices. Mix well and cook for 2 - 3 more minutes.

Then add your fish, stir once to mix well, then cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add boiling water for the jhol, adjust water according to how saucy you want it, then cover and cook on low heat for another 7 minutes. Holdimg the saucepan, swish gently to make sure curry is mixed well. Do not stir! Take off heat.

Garnish with coriander and serve when hot with rice.

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ♥