Curry...!!

[Dutto]

I know it's a "Curry" thread but ....

We all love Chilli and we have a very small freezer, so with No.1 son staying with us and Christmas looming, I decided to produce a Chilli that could be packed into freezer bags to take up the smallest amount of space.

The following were tipped into a saucepan and fried/boiled:

• 700g of steak mince
• 2 x large onions (chopped)
• 130g tube of tomato concentrate
• 135g tin of Harissa Paste
• 4 x teaspoonful of crushed chillies
• 6 beef Oxo cubes + salt to taste
• 2 x 400g cans of red kidney beans (drained)
• 1 x 400g can of chickpeas (drained)

This produced a nice chilli mix that didn't have too much liquid, so when it had cooled it could be bagged and frozen in five plastic freezer bags.

When we need a Chilli on the menu all it needs is a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes to each bag, bring everything to the boil and "Bingo" a spicy Chilli for three people ready to go on to boiled rice, pasta or even a plate of spring greens!

Amazingly, so far the chilli hasn't lost any of its "heat" in the freezer.

Enjoy!

 

[Clint]

Nice to see you Dutto!

 

[Shirley Bassett]

Dutto

Can you put up a picture of the tinned Harissa paste? and where do you buy it from?

I second Clint, it’s nice to hear from you.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

that chilli sounds wonderful - reminds me of when I went to Maryland on a business trip, and arriving into Dulles very jetlagged, went to a local pub and ordered a ‘cup of chilli’ ... good grief it was phenonemal. The secret, it seemed, was to add a small quantity of grated raw onion after cooking and to use a mixture of steak mince and lamb. Mmmmmm the memory....

 

[Dutto]

Can you put up a picture of the tinned Harissa paste? and where do you buy it from?

Many thanks for welcoming me back! Tomorrow, I see the Consultant Surgeon who repaired my thigh back on 7th April and hope for the "All Clear" and reassurance that the pain is adhesions (where the muscle sticks to the bone) rather than the repair moving! I dearly hope that it is "just" adhesions 'cos then I know that every bit of pain is worth it!

BTW:

1. My Mum always told me "Pain is transient. It will go away eventually." The "eventually" always sounded ominous to me.
2. On my Notes the Surgeon wrote "This man is a Risk Taker." Ha! With 137 stitch marks in my body and 96 of the tiny scars left by modern "clips" the least he could have written was "... unsuccessful Risk Taker"!

Here's a photograph of the small tin of Harissa Paste that I used. It's horrendously expensive at £1.49, which is why we tend to buy it when we are over in France! Hope this helps!

https://www.worldfoodsgroup.co.uk/products/harissa-paste-135g

 

[Rodcx500z]

Welcome back Dutto and good luck with the surgeon

 

[Dutto]

Thanks for the "Welcome Back" messages!

However, today I got a bit of a set-back from the Surgeon when he told me that he still can't see enough "callus" (new bone growth) on the break and repair! I must admit, there is enough ironwork in there for bone to grow on, so I did the daft thing and queried "Why?"

He explained "You are old (as if I didn't know) and these things take time. I will see you in another four months!" so I pointed out that in four months I would be even older (78) and it will be nearly a year since he did the repair!

Ah well, roll on the next four months!

Back on Topic! Tomorrow's Lunch is "Chilli and Rice" (for two persons):

• One mug full of Basmati Rice
• Pinch of salt
• Tablespoonful of Olive Oil
• Two mugs full of cold water.

In a saucepan:

• Fry the rice and pinch of salt in the Olive Oil until the rice goes "translucent" (hard to describe)
• Pour in the two mugs of cold water
• Bring it to the boil on maximum heat - stirring most of the time
• The second it starts to boil, drop the heat to "Low" (*), put the lid on the saucepan and don't touch it for 30 minutes!
• After 30 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat and briefly plunge the base into cold water.
• Remove the top layer of rice and serve with the chilli.
• Scape the bottom (crunchy) layer of rice into a bowl, sprinkle it with a little salt and serve it as an accompaniment to the Chilli and Rice.

(*) How low depends on the cooker - I use level 3 on my induction hob. If you don't get a crunchy layer of rice on the bottom you had the heat too low and if the bottom layer was burned then too high a level.

Enjoy!

 

[Dutto]

CURRIED EGGS

Sorry, but SWMBO decided on the above - rather than go and get a bag of Chilli out of the freezer, which is in a garden shed!

So, for two people:

• Four large eggs
• Small amount of olive oil
• One large onion (finely chopped)
• Curry Powder or Paste to taste (I prefer Madras with added Chilli Powder)
• Tin of Coconut Milk
• Handful of sultanas
• Pinch of salt
• Teaspoonful of sugar (or honey)

In a saucepan:

• Hard boil the eggs, drain off the water, remove the eggs, peel off the shells and put to one side
• Turn down the heat, add the olive oil to the pan and fry the onion until translucent
• Add the Curry Powder and fry until everything starts sticking to the bottom of the pan
• Add the Coconut Milk and stir to get the sticky stuff off the bottom - keep stirring
• Add the handful of sultanas
• Add the pinch of salt and the teaspoonful of sugar
• Taste and add more Curry Powder if required
• When the sauce starts to simmer, introduce the eggs and bring back to the simmer
• Switch off the heat and allow the Curried Eggs to soak for a few minutes before serving

Good to eat with rice or noodles.

Enjoy!

 

[Clint]

Thanks for the "Welcome Back" messages!

However, today I got a bit of a set-back from the Surgeon when he told me that he still can't see enough "callus" (new bone growth) on the break and repair! I must admit, there is enough ironwork in there for bone to grow on, so I did the daft thing and queried "Why?"

He explained "You are old (as if I didn't know) and these things take time. I will see you in another four months!" so I pointed out that in four months I would be even older (78) and it will be nearly a year since he did the repair!

Ah well, roll on the next four months!

Back on Topic! Tomorrow's Lunch is "Chilli and Rice" (for two persons):

• One mug full of Basmati Rice
• Pinch of salt
• Tablespoonful of Olive Oil
• Two mugs full of cold water.

In a saucepan:

• Fry the rice and pinch of salt in the Olive Oil until the rice goes "translucent" (hard to describe)
• Pour in the two mugs of cold water
• Bring it to the boil on maximum heat - stirring most of the time
• The second it starts to boil, drop the heat to "Low" (*), put the lid on the saucepan and don't touch it for 30 minutes!
• After 30 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat and briefly plunge the base into cold water.
• Remove the top layer of rice and serve with the chilli.
• Scape the bottom (crunchy) layer of rice into a bowl, sprinkle it with a little salt and serve it as an accompaniment to the Chilli and Rice.

(*) How low depends on the cooker - I use level 3 on my induction hob. If you don't get a crunchy layer of rice on the bottom you had the heat too low and if the bottom layer was burned then too high a level.

Enjoy!

When I was 16 I had my left leg lengthened because I had little of the ball joint due to bone disease...they wouldn't do a hip replacement..
Anyway the procedure consisted of having four long steel pins as thick as a pencil screwed I to my femur..two below the hip and two above the knee,facing to the left. To this was bolted a sliding, lockable frame. My femur was then partly sawn through..then broken..as a break encourages better bone growth. I spent a couple of weeks in hospital then went home with this frame screwed to me and an Allen key. My job for the next couple of months was to loosen the frame and extend it by around half a MM,twice a day,extending the gap in my broken leg. The bone would grow,bridging the gap. After the time was up the frame was locked off and left for about four or five months. The break healed and a big bone callus grew around the break making my femur about a third thicker...but it took months. I had the pins removed in out patients..no anaesthetic..tapped on the ends and unscrewed with pliers! I had about 8 months physio to get back walking and moving properly again..
Hang in there Dutto..

 

[foxy]

My favourite, easy Biryani, so simple and quick to make, I use sella basmati rice for this.
Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani

 

[Mungri]

My favourite, easy Biryani, so simple and quick to make, I use sella basmati rice for this.
Leftover Roast Chicken Biryani

Sound lovely. I'll give that one a go.

 

[Dutto]

@Clint Your memory brought a few tears to my eyes, both of laughter and the memory of pain!

I originally broke my leg by riding a motorbike up a lamppost in 1967 after being forced off the road by a car. (Glad to say I won the court case and got three years worth of wages!)

However, I learned quite a few bits and pieces as follows:

1. My foot was resting on the back of my neck as I was laid on the grass verge and it hurt; even more so when a passerby threw a thick blanket over me and then unfolded it!
2. The Ambulance man said to me "We can go nice and gentle or go fast. What do you want?" I chose to go fast and everything worked out until we hit the level crossing at Healing!
3. They gave me three sachets of blood when I arrived at the hospital. The first two sachets were put in over a period of no more than three minutes and the third sachet went "drip-drip-drip" just like I'd seen on films!

Enough reminiscing. For my sins, I was in hospital for four months, in a spica (plaster cast) for six weeks, in a calliper for six weeks and in physiotherapy for eight weeks (nine months in all) before returning to work dipping tanks and loading road-tankers.

That was the femur I managed to break in April 2020! Oh joy!

BTW, like the Biriyani Recipe!

 

[Justin Dean]

I cook nearly all my curries form a book: Curry Lover's Cookbook by Mridula Baljekr. They are not typical British curries more aromatic and authentic and most if not all a proper tasty. Especially the Fragrant Lamb Curry and the Lahore style lamb ( Lamb and lentils curry)

 

[gibbo_sd]

Having recently seen a recommendation for Misty Ricardo on YouTube (On here somewhere).I’ve just knocked up a garlic chilli chicken. Banging I tell thee !!
great shout ..Thanks

 

[Stonedhouse]

Friday night is often home made curry night.

For an Xmas pressie one year the wife got me (and her) a voucher for a local cookery school Indian curry night.

https://www.foodworkscookeryschool.co.uk/courses/?event_time=evening&event_style=
It was awesome, an evening class of around 14 and a chef demonstrated each stage of Onion Bhajia starter, chicken curry main and sag aloo side totally from scratch (crushing spices, all ingredients supplied etc) and then we cooked it individually and all sat together at the end of the night for a feast, drinks thrown in as well. Great pressie idea if you are stuck for ideas and have one locally....... and as I sit typing right now there is an amazing smell of curry filling the house, so if you will excise me now .........

 

[Clint]

That's an epic present...it'll last....

 

[Stonedhouse]

That's an epic present...it'll last....

It was... must have been 4 years ago now and still enjoy the dish around once a month. Just edited to add a link.

 

[Justin Dean]

Tonight Karahi Lamb from Northern India.

 

[Justin Dean]

Those are fried cranberries. Trick is to plump them not burn. Less than a min in pan with cardomon pods and cinnamon stick butter and oil.

 

[Dutto]

......

It was awesome, an evening class of around 14 and a chef demonstrated each stage of Onion Bhajia starter, ....

Ah, Onion Bhajia brings back so many memories.

They are mainly of my late brother Joe who loved them. Unfortunately, it didn't matter who made them, how they were cooked or how many he ate; even cooked until they were nearly black and lathered in sauce, they upset Joe's stomach so badly that he spent a long time on the toilet over the next 24 hours.

You had to admire him though because his problem never stopped him from eating them!