The Big Book of Curry Recipes (51 page)

Add the ghee, turn into a pan and cook until the mixture is almost dry. Add the medium coconut milk and the ghee and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the mixture is thick. Add the crushed cardamom then stir in the thick coconut milk.

Bring back to a simmer and cook gently for 5 minutes more (do not boil once the thick coconut milk is added).

Combine the ghee and coconut milk to a small pan. When the coconut colours a light brown, add the raisins and cashew nuts.

Turn the jaggery mixture (the paaysam) into a serving dish and garnish with the fruit and jut mixture (the gothambu). Serve immediately.

Puran Poli

Puran Poli is a traditional Indian recipe for a classic dough fritter with a bean and sugar filling that is shallow fried and which is commonly served for Diwali, but which makes an excellent snack at any time.

The Maida flour called for in this recipe is a finely milled and highly-refined Indian flour typically used in making cakes, desserts and sweetmeats. Substitute fine (at least 00 grade) cake flour.

Ingredients:

For the Stuffing:

120g (1 cup) split chana dhal (black chickpeas)

150g (3/4 cup) jaggery, grated

1/4 tsp green cardamom powder

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

For the Dough:

275g (1 1/4 cups) maida

pinch of salt

120ml ghee (clarified butter)

cold water, to bind

Method:

Wash the chana dal, place in a large pan, cover with plenty of water and bring to a boil. Continue cooking until the beans are soft enough to be easily mashed with a fork.

Drain the chana dhal, return to the pan and add the grated jaggery along with the ginger, cardamom powder. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until almost dry. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.

Once cold, turn the mixture onto a flat work surface then powder by hitting or rolling with a rolling pin. Divide the mixture into sixteen to twenty equal portions then roll these into balls with your hands.

For the dough. Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add 3 tbsp of the ghee then work in just enough cold water to form a soft dough. Place in a bowl, cover and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into the same number of pieces as the filling. Roll the dough into balls then flatten each ball between your palms and stuff each one with a portion of the stuffing mixture. Cover with the dough and seal the edges.

Dust the balls with flour then roll out into medium-thick rounds.

Heat the remaining ghee in a tawa or wok, add the puran poli and cook, individually, until browned on both sides.

Serve warm, accompanied by ghee.

Pineapple Pudding

Pineapple Pudding is a modern Indian recipe for a classic Diwali dish of pineapple topped with biscuits served in a milk sauce that’s garnished with Nestlé cream and coloured sugar before serving.

Ingredients:

1 pineapple

1 tbsp sugar

250ml (1 cup) milk

5g (2 tbsp) chinagrass (agar-agar)

10 cashew nuts

10 dates, chopped

10 Marie biscuits

250ml (1 cup) whole milk

200ml (1/2 tin) condensed milk

3 tbsp sugar

almonds, to garnish

To Garnish:

200ml Nestlé cream

4 tbsp coloured sugar

almonds, cashew nuts, dried fruit, to garnish

Method:

Peel the pineapple then cut the flesh into small pieces. Combine with the 1 tbsp sugar in a pan and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the pineapple releases its excess liquid and all this evaporates away.

Layer the pineapple pieces in a pudding dish. Arrange the Marie biscuits over the top, followed by the dates and cashew nuts.

In the meantime, combine the milk, sugar and condensed milk in a pan. Bring to a boil then take off the heat and allow to cool slightly before beating in the agar-agar until dissolved (if the mixture forms chunks process in a liquidizer until smooth).

Carefully pour the mil mixture over the layers in your pudding dish (be careful not to disturb the layers) then allow to cool before transferring to the refrigerator to cool completely.

Beat together the Nestlé cream and coloured sugar then pour over the pudding and serve garnished with nuts and fruit. Allow to cool and serve.

Classic Spice Blends

Introduction

This chapter presents different and classic spice blends from across the globe. You will already have encountered some of these spice blends in preceding chapters. Here, however are the recipes for all the spice blends referred to in this book, as well as recipes for other traditional spice blends.

A spice blend is a way of preparing and storing a flavouring mix needed for a recipe or a cuisine so that it is always to hand. Thus we have spice blends for flavouring (from simple things like lemon pepper to highly complex blends like the North African Ras el Hanout). Or a spice blend can be a mix of flavours that is crucial in creating a dish. Think of curry blends, mole blends or pickling spice blends.

This chapter is divided into three sections. First come all the traditional spice blends. Next are curry powders (and curry-associated blends, such as Garam Masala) from across the globe. All these can be prepared and stored long-term.

The final part of this chapter has spice pastes needed in preparing more authentic curries. These need to be prepared and cooked almost immediately before use.

Traditional Spice Blends used in Curries or Curry-like Dishes

Berbere Spice

Origin: Ethiopia       Period:
Traditional

This is a traditional Ethiopian recipe for a classic hot spice blend that’s a feature of Ethiopian cookery.

Berbere spice is a classic Ethiopian spice blend (most notably of the Eritrea region) where it’s typically added to colour and flavour stews. It can also be used in the same way as masala to heighten the notes of a stew or curry or it can be used as a rub on meat or fish.

Ingredients

2 tbsp whole cumin seeds

4 whole cloves

3/4 tsp whole Ethiopian cardamom (
Aframomum corrorima
) seeds, or substitute black cardamom seeds

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

1/4 tsp allspice berries

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds

10 piri-piri chillies, dried

1/2 tsp freshly-grated ginger

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp sea salt

2 1/2 tbsp paprika

1/4 tsp freshly-ground cinnamon

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

Warm a small non-stick frying pan and on low heat toast the cumin, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, allspice, ginger and fenugreek for about 2–3 minutes, until the spices begin to ‘pop’, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, allow to cool then add to a coffee grinder along with the de-stemmed chillies and thyme leaves then grind to a fine paste. Add the remaining ingredients and store in a well-sealed jar.

Chinese Five Spice Powder

Origin:
China
      Period:
Traditional

Chinese Five Spice is a traditional Chinese recipe for an almost indispensable Chinese blend of spices that occurs in so many Chinese dishes. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Chinese version of Chinese Five Spice.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Sichuan pepper

8 star anise

1/2 tbsp cloves

1 tbsp freshly-ground cinnamon (in traditional Chinese recipes, ground cassia bark is always used, ensure you use Cassia if making red-cooked dishes)

1 tbsp fennel seeds

Method:

Warm a non-stick drying pan and toast the Sichuan pepper in this until the aroma is released (about five minutes). Add the toasted Sichuan pepper and the star anise to a coffee grinder. Grind to a fine powder and sift to remove any woody stems from the Sichuan pepper. Next add the cloves, cinnamon and fennel seeds to the grinder and grind to a fine powder. Mix with the pre-ground Sichuan pepper and star anise and store in an airtight container, where it will last for several weeks.

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

Origin:
Jamaica
      Period:
Traditional

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning is a traditional Jamaican spice blend typically used as a spicy coating for chicken and fish.

This is a classic Jamaican recipe that dates back to the original inhabitants of Jamaica, the Carib-Arawak Indians who used this method of spicing for pit-cooked meats.

Ingredients

For the Dry Powder:

1 tbsp ground allspice

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp ground sage

3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp habanero or Scotch bonnet powder

For the Fresh Mix:

2 tbsp minced fresh garlic

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 Habanero (or Scotch Bonnet) chilli

3 spring onions, finely chopped

225g (1/2 lb) finely-chopped onion

Method:

If making a dry spice blend then simply mix all the herbs and spices together and store in an air-tight jar. If, however, you are making a fresh blend then de-seed and finely chop the Habanero pepper, then in a large bowl combine the allspice, thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper, sage, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, garlic and sugar then add the Habanero peppers and the onion.

This mixture can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days and makes an excellent rub for fish and meats. However, if you want to use the mixture as a marinade stir-in 100ml orange juice, 4 tbsp lime juice, 6 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp soy sauce.

Kammon Hoot

Origin:
Libya
       Period:
Traditional

This is a traditional Libyan recipe for a classic spice blend typically used in fish dishes (hence the word hoot [fish]) and which is a classic Libyan spice blend.

Kammon Hoot (also known as Kammoon Hoot) is a Libyan spice blend that’s very similar to Harissa but which contains a large portion of cumin (Kammon) and which is, most typically, used to season fish (Hoot). I hope you enjoy this classic Libyan version of: Kammon Hoot (Kammoon Hoot).

Ingredients

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp mint

3 tsp cumin seeds

5 garlic cloves

1 tsp coriander seeds

15 dried hot red chillies

Method:

Cover the chillies with hot water and let stand for 15 minutes until soft. Place chillies and remaining ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth using water that the chillies soaked in to thin it. The sauce should have the consistency of thick paste. If you place the paste in a jar and cover with a thin film of olive oil it will keep for at least a couple of months in the refrigerator.

Panch Phoron

Origin:
India
       Period:
Traditional

This is a traditional Indian recipe (from the Bengal region) for a classic spice blend that’s also sometimes known as Bengali Five-spice.

Ingredients

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp Nigella seeds

1 tbsp fenugreek seeds

Heat a dry non-stick pan on a low heat, add the spices to this and toast gently for five minutes. Allow to cool then transfer to a coffee grinder and blend to a smooth powder. This will store for several weeks in an air-tight jar.

Pickle Masala Powder

Origin:
India
       Period:
Traditional

This is a traditional Indian recipe (from Kerala) for a classic spice blend that’s typically used during pickling.

This is a classic Indian spice powder from Kerala that’s typically used to flavour pickles and chutneys.

Ingredients

100g (1 1/2 cups) dried red chillies

1 tbsp dried methi (fenugreek) curry leaves

2 tbsp moong (dried mung beans)

1 tbsp jeera (cumin seeds)

1 tbsp mustard seeds

1 tsp haldi (turmeric) powder

1 tsp hing (asafoetida) powder

Method:

In a dry frying pan separately toast the chillies, fenugreek, mung beans, cumin seeds and mustard seeds until aromatic. Combine in a spice grinder (or coffee grinder) and render to a fine powder. Mix with the turmeric and asafoetida then turn into a jar and keep in a cool, dark, cupboard until needed.