Hola Amics, King Prawn Laksa and Mallorca?

Posted on June 6, 2015 by julianrolfe

A last-minute decision to go and find some sun, this time last week we were starting our final evening on the stunning island of Mallorca (Majorca). I have never booked a holiday two days before departure but needs must, and what a fantastic time we had.

On the day before we departed from home, a package arrived from those lovely people at Steenbergs, upon opening up the cardboard box it was an opportunity to be part of their taste panel.

Two different Tea samples, a mix for Nasi Goreng and a bottle of Lemon Oil, Organic of course and all were nestling in the vibrant orange paper, with feedback cards to let them know how each product tasted.

Unfortunately testing was going to be delayed as the plane was awaiting, but the next post will be my attempt at Nasi Goreng, with maybe a few twists along the way. I am working on some ideas on how to use some of the Lemon Oil, watch this space.

This particular dish, Prawn Laksa is derived from one by Ching He Huang, the recipe on the BBC website does have a couple of mistakes in it, namely it lists both Water and Chicken Stock in the ingredients but says to use water. I opted to forget the water and use some of the home-made Chicken Stock I prepared recently for an Indian inspired dish. Having checked on Chings’ website under the ‘free member’ section, the recipe is subtly different, but does not mention the water!

Quickly back to Mallorca, we stayed in a delightful hotel in Alcudia, north of the island. It was an all-inclusive style and I have to say the food was some of the best I have had. There was a WHOLE Suckling Pig one evening, I did not have my camera to capture the evidence but it went down a treat.

Anyhow, back to the Laksa, which takes a few stages to complete the 1st being the spice paste.

Take a couple of small Onions, 3 Cloves of Garlic, 2 Lemons Grass stalks (the proper fresh ones from Chinese supermarkets), 1 piece of fresh Turmeric (if you can get it, it makes a difference), a couple of inches of Galangal, 1 tsp Coriander Powder and the same of Cumin, 1 tbls Shrimp Paste, a few Birds Eye Chilli’s (I used three), and whizz in a processor with 50 ml of Coconut Milk into a smooth paste.

The end result is in the white tin to the left of the picture above, in the smaller tin are 4 King Prawns, marinading in a couple of spoon full’s of the mixture, which are then coated in CornFlour and fried until crispy for a tasty, crispy garnish.

The Laksa paste needs frying in a little oil, it will start to darken slightly, I cooked mine for about 5-6 minutes to release the flavours, cook out the spices and evaporate some of the water. It smelt amazing.

After the mix is cooked out, add a few Kaffir Lime leaves, the remaining Coconut Milk (about 250 mls), and Chicken Stock about 1 pint, a couple of tbls of Fish sauce and 1 tbls Palm Sugar, simmer vigorously for about 20 – 25 minutes. I also added two more finely shredded Birds Eye Chilli’s after tasting, to increase the potency slightly!! I also added some grated Lime zest, about 1/2 a Limes worth.

You are looking for a consistency YOU are happy with, not too runny but not too thick as you will be adding more ingredients to finish the dish off at the end.

Whilst the broth is simmering you can prep the garnishes, pick some Coriander leaves, finely shred some Red Chilli (nice colour contrast) and slice some Spring Onion on the angle. You will also need some Lime Wedges which are used as a condiment. The Prawns, and Noodles (fresh please), only take two minutes or so to cook, the marinating prawns can be coated in Corn Flour and deep fried before draining on kitchen paper.

We are onto the final straight, add the Prawns, and cook your noodles according to the instructions, mine were fresh and just needed a kettle of boiling water to be poured over them, left for a minute or so and thoroughly drained, When the Prawns are cooked, add the noodles and stir through for 30 secs to 1 minute maximum to coat.

Serve how you wish, I used a simple bowl with the Laksa spooned in, and then added the Chilli, Spring Onion, Coriander and the Lime Wedge. The crispy Prawns were hung on the side, next time I cook this dish I will do a few more this way as they were stunningly delicious!!

Wowzer, ’nuff said it’s gorgeous, tasty, vibrant, spicy and downright amazeballs.

Even more important, the governor through the same, words like Wow, Mmmmmm (not a word I know but hey), it’s a blinding dish and well worth the effort.

The next post, hopefully very soon will be my interpretation of Nasi Goreng, I have had a few ideas buzzing in my head on how I might do things so…..

………………………..Until next time………………..l8ers

Desi, Native, Traditional Yardbird (Chicken, Murgh) – Confused, read on?

Posted on May 17, 2015 by julianrolfe

You would think making a Chicken Curry would be simple, Nah……..

I had planned to make some Paratha’s to go with a Desi Murgh I was going to attempt, hence the flour in the picture above, it never happened but I promise to re-visit Paratha’s another day.

The week was rather busy, I meet a new bunch of people I am supporting in my day job and ended up in a fantastic Greek restaurant in Weston-Super-Mare called Demetris, the ‘Sheftalia’ was delicious and the ‘Stifado’ was that good, I got several pats on the back for finding such an amazing restaurant with 5 minutes notice.

The following day I was at a RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) home with some other team mates, doing a days charity work helping get the garden in pristine condition, a really worthy graft albeit left with aches and pains in places I did not know existed.

Back to the kitchen and Desi Murgh, a traditional dish from Southern India. According to the research I did whilst preparing this beauty it used to be a dish for a special occasion, as large scale chicken production did not exist and Chicken was expensive. The reference to ‘Yardbird’ in the title, is that in the Deep Southern states of America, a Yardbird was another name for Chicken, but elsewhere it was a term for a prisoner!!

I have been fortunate enough to attend two 1 day cookery courses with the Lovely Sumayya Usmani of My Tamarind Kitchen, she is currently writing her first cookery book which is due to be published later this year. I learnt to cook Onions the proper way on this course, which you need to do for this dish.

The recipe is easily available via google, mine came from a book from Indian Chef Vivek Singh, its purely a co-incidence that he is appearing on Sunday Brunch as I am writing this post, he is one of the UK’s best in Indian cuisine!!

The Onions take about 30-40 minutes to cook, its not a five minute job. The trick is to use your eyes, and cook until you see the Oil separate and then add a little water and carry on cooking, stirring to make sure the Onion does not burn on the base of the pan.

You need to hold your nerve with this process, it seems as if you are cooking the Onion to within an inch of its life, I used two large Onions and by the time the cooking process has finished and you have essentially cooked all the moisture out of the Onions, there is not that much left.

Once you have passed the ‘Deep Brown’ stage, set aside to cool down and then blitz in a food processor or use a ‘Stick Blender’. You will have a delicious deep sweet base for the Desi Murgh, and many other Indian dishes as this technique is used a lot.

During the Onion cooking stage take your Garlic and Ginger and make a paste, I used about 5 Garlic Cloves and 1 1/2 Inches of fresh Ginger, delicious.

This needs cooking out, see above, before adding the Onion Mixture and cooking for 5- 6 Minutes making sure the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

The kitchen will start to fill with amazing aromas by now, adding the rest of the spices like Coriander, Cumin, Turmeric, Black Smokey Cardamon, Kashmiri Chilli, cooking each one out to remove the powdery taste. A Bay leaf finishes this stage of the cooking.

Next, Tomatoes are added cooking the sauce base until the Oil splits from the rest of the mixture. I did not have fresh so used a tin of chopped tomatoes which were in the cupboard. Finally add some Yoghurt as per the recipe.

Chicken is the protein in this delicious dish, slow cooking for about 45 minutes use whatever you have to hand, Thighs, Breast (cut into chunks) or Legs its up to you. I put mine on the oven on about 150 degrees with the lid on. Make sure the Chicken is cooked if you are using larger cuts with the bone in.

At the end, add some fresh Coriander and cook on the hob for a further 10 minutes until the Oil splits out again.

I served the Desi Murgh with some Basmati rice that had been flavoured with Clove, Cinnamon, Green Cardamon, roasted Coriander Seeds, I guess it was Pilau Rice without the colouring, a ‘flourish’ of fresh Coriander was also added, I love the stuff!!

It takes a while to prepare this Desi Murgh but the results are delicious, if you like your food a bit hotter, add extra Chilli Powder as the dish is mild and fragrant. Its supposed to be quite a ‘wet’ curry so some Indian bread would go well, I was too tired after a busy week so fried some Popadoms instead!

…………………….Until Next time L8ers………………

وفته kufteh In Search of the perfect………….Kebab!

Posted on January 27, 2014 by julianrolfe

I love a Kebab, the only issue I have is that they are typical a bit bland, covered in a ‘not very nice’ tasting Tomato Chili sauce and the meat origin is suspect. This is a generalization as I have had some awesome Kebabs, but whilst dining in a half decent restaurant. This post is the result of some creative I have been working on over the past few months, and uses some unusual and exotic spices to create an amazing flavour. I cannot repeat/print what the boss said last night as we were munching our way through them but it was highly commendable 😉

For me, food is about what you see, smell, taste and FEEL. Texture is important when eating, and this version of the popular take-away will have you wondering why you did not make them yourself before. I will start with the ingredients, you may need to invest in some of them as they are not found in your typical supermarket, but are readily available from my favourite suppliers such as Ottolenghi’s and Steenbergs, once you have tried this dish, you can experiment with other Middle Eastern Delights!

For the Kebab

500 grms Lamb Mince
1 Red Onion
1 Clove Garlic
1/2 tsp. Anardana
1 tsp. Sumac
1 tsp. Aleppo Pepper
1/2 tsp. ground Cumin
1 tbsp. ground Coriander powder
1 tsp. Ground Ginger
1 tsp. Thyme
1 tsp. Peppermint
1 tbsp. Dukkah
1 tsp. Pomegranate Molasses
Zest of 1 lime
2 tbsp. dried Barberries

For the Red Onion Relish

1 Red Onion
2 tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
2 tbsp. Castor Sugar
60 ml Rapeseed Oil
1 tbsp. Poppy Seeds

For the Mint Yoghurt Dressing

250ml Greek Yoghurt
2 tbsp. Dried Mint
1 tsp. Sumac

To Serve

1 Baby Gem Lettuce, Leaves separated and halved lengthways
2 Tomatoes, sliced and sprinkled with some Sea Salt, covered in 1/2 small bunch Chopped Coriander
Pitta’s Grilled and Cut width ways to form pockets

Part of the secret of this dish (it’s probably not a secret really, but the phrase sounded good at the time of writing!), is to cook the Onion and Garlic/Spice mix first, and add It to the meat when cooled, to marinade. So cut the Onion finely and cook in some Butter and Oil (or Ghee), on a lowish heat for at least 15-20 minutes, then add a splash of water and continue to cook, until the Onions are soft, melting and sweet, about another 15-20 mins. Crush a clove of Garlic and add to the Onions cooking for 2-3 mins then add all the other herbs and spices, fry for 2 minutes more then take off the heat, add the dried barberries, Lime Zest, Pomegranate Molasses, stir and leave too cool.

When the mixture has cooled, mix well into the Lamb mince, cover and pop into the fridge for at least a couple of hours, half way through, take out and mix again, making sure the Onion/Spice is well distributed.

The accompaniments make this special, a simple dressing of Yoghurt and lots of dried Mint, with some Sumac sprinkled on top, and for me, a killer Onion Relish which is dead easy to make, and comes from one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s salad recipes which I have posted before. Thinly slice the Onion and place in a bowl. Dissolve the Sugar in the White Wine Vinegar and add to the onion, mixing well, then add the Rapeseed Oil, using your fingers to blend everything together, then finish by adding the Poppy Seeds and set aside for at least an hour (in the fridge).

The Lamb Kebabs need to be gently fried, about 3-4 minutes each side. To Serve, take a halved Pitta, opening up the large end, pop in 2-3 pieces of lettuce, some of the Onion Relish, some of the Tomato and Coriander Slices, pop in a Kebab and spoon on some Yoghurt Mint dressing.

A simple dish to make but packed with flavor and texture, its well worth investing in some new and unique spices to make this dish. I started my culinary journey when I was seven, but only really discovered the delights of Middle Eastern flavours in recent years, and I am so glad I did. Using Cold, Hot, Piquant and Spicy really makes this dish stand out, its not Chili Hot, so you experience waves of flavor, and texture.

Till next time.

L8ers…….

Pakistan: The Confluence of Spice and Flavour – a cookery class with a difference

Posted on November 24, 2013 by julianrolfe

Earlier this year I headed of to Puglia in Southern Italy to spend a week at an Organic Masseria (walled/fortified farm), learning how to cook local food, taught by a local Italian lady with centuries of knowledge handed down through the family. This experience really opened up my eyes to how much can be learnt from ‘the locals’ so to speak, cooks who have learnt from their parents and grand parents, and growing up in their nation’s land.

It was with this in mind that I booked up to go on Sumayya Jamil’s Confluence Of Spice & Flavour course at the Central London Cookery School, hoping to gain some insider knowledge on food from Pakistan, which is not greatly understood in this country. Sumayya appeared on Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Nation TV series a while back, and is also a prolific food author. I came across this amazing cook on Twitter, where there is a thriving foodie and blogging community.

Before the cooking started, we were taken on a journey of spices, helping us to understand the impact of each on a dish. Pakistani cuisine is made of ‘layers’ of flavour, and having confidence in using the spices is critical to getting a dish right. Some spices are quite difficult to use, such as Fenugreek Seeds, which should be used to flavour oil, before removing completely and Black Cumin, who’s flavour gets stronger when you cook it, so be careful!

The 1st dish we prepared was Phirni, a pudding made of ground Rice, Cardamom, Saffron and Rosewater. Served cold it is beautifully fragrant and tasted absolutely delicious, and preparing it taught a fundamental skill that is needed in Pakistani cooking, food is about observation both texture and aroma. You cannot learn to cook properly just by reading a cookery book, you have to observe someone else doing and feel when a particular dish is ready by looking and smelling. In this case making sure the mixture was of the right consistency was critical to the success, along with making sure the flavour balance was spot on.

We also prepared Moong Daal with Curry Leaves & Cumin, again absolutely delicious and another skill to learn, the art of ‘Tempering’ known as Tarka or Chaunk. This again is something you need to observe and smell to get right, in our case we used a tablespoon of Ghee, Cumin seeds, slivered Garlic and Curry leaves which were ladled over the Daal when ready and imparted some amazing flavours into the dish. Learning from Sumayya was a real pleasure, as we prepared each dish we learnt lots of useful tips that you only get from hands on teaching, you will have to book one of her courses to find out what!

The Chickpea Chaat with Tamarind, Pomegranate and Chaat Masala is a MUST DO dish, a real cracker. It’s very easy to prepare consisting of Yoghurt, Onion, Garlic, Chilli, Coriander, Mint and of course Chickpeas. Its more of a construction exercise but getting the flavour balance right is quite tricky, it was hot, spicy, fragrant and really woke up the senses.

As there was only 3 of us on the course, due to it being close to Christmas, we were going to cook something not normally done due to time, a Sindhi Lamb Biryani. This dish is very specific to Pakistan, and each family has it own subtle variation of spices to make it their own, passed down from generation to generation.

You can see the last stage of the cooking process before the double layer of foil and lid were firmly seated to steam the Rice layered on the surface. This is another dish that you need to observe, as it is only by seeing how the curry underneath is developing that you know when it’s cooked properly, laying the parboiled Rice on the top to finish cooking. The Lamb is marinated in a home-made Masala paste made of Coriander, Mint and Green Chilli combined with Yoghurt before the cooking process is started..

Before the lid is put on the rice is studded with Lemon Slice’s, Mint leaves, Sprinkled with Milk infused Saffron. This is another dish that needs careful spicing with Green Cardamom, Black Cardamom, Coriander Seeds, Black Cumin, Bay Leaf, Mace, Star Anise, Fennel and Anardana (Dried Pomegranate Powder).

The Biryani is dressed with Fried Onions, Pomegranate Seeds, Sliced Green Chilli and was DIVINE, this is one fella I am going to be cooking myself at home in the not too distant future, OUTSTANDING.

The Tomato Sauce you can see In the picture with the Biryani is for the Hake topped with Kashmiri Chilli and Ajwain, another taste sensation. The punchy sauce can also be used with Prawns, or even Scrambled Egg’s. Ajwain is a really punchy spice so you have to be very careful not to add too much.

The Fish, in this case Hake is marinated in a mixture of Kashmiri Chilli which is flavourful but not too hot, Lemon juice, Salt and Turmeric whilst the Tomato Sauce is made.

To complete the ‘epic’ cookery session an Aubergine Borani was prepared, layers of cooked Aubergine, Tomato, Onion and Yoghurt with delicate spicing.

In between the cooking and demonstrations we were invited to make our own Masala mix, using the knowledge we had learnt, mine was quite a surprise as it has ended up with a subtle aroma of fried Sausages! If you want to try it for yourself you will need to dry roast 3 Cloves, 1 Star Anise, 1/4 tsp Cardamon seeds, 1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns, 1 tsp Coriander seeds, 1/4 tsp Ajwain, 1/2 tsp Black Cumin. Once cooled down a bit, whizz in a spice or coffee grinder. Why not give it a go!

All the ingredients and Spices we used in the cookery class are readily available in the UK, I personally use Steenbergs mail order, and also Ottolenghi’s as they are very ‘Clean’ and often fairtrade with a known source country rather than anonymous and insipid.

I can highly recommend Sumayya Jamil and her cookery class, I came away after 4 hours feeling that I had just travelled several thousands miles to another country and experienced some amazing textures, smells and flavours. The location in central London is easy to get too, and well equipped with Gas and Induction hobs, and all the necessary cooking implements, pots and pans.

I did not receive any discount or incentive for this review, this is me, writing my own personal experience and paid out of my own pocket.

We had lots of fun and learnt loads, it was very much worth the time and money and I can now add ‘Pakistani Cuisine’ to my Italian repertoire! You can find the Pukka Paki website HERE, go take a look I am glad I did.

بلاد الشام / Bilad al-Sham / The cuisine of Levantine

Posted on July 29, 2013 by julianrolfe

When the weather is hot my cooking turns to the middle east, as you will have noticed in recent posts. I find that I cannot manage to eat large meals, and whilst salads can be exciting, a Meze type meal is healthy, easy to digest and great fun to create.

Shawarma is traditionally cooked on a vertical spit, and comes from the turkish word ‘çevirme’ which means turning. One of my food heroes Yotam Ottolenghi has his version of the dish in the book ‘Jerusalem’ which was also a TV series shown on BBC 4.

As you can see, quite a lot goes into this dish apart from a leg of Lamb, that has been ‘punctured’ with a long thin knife to let the marinade penetrate over a 24 hour period.

If you want to have a go, you will need Peppercorns, Clove, Cardamom pods, Fenugreek seeds, Fennel Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Star Anise, Cinnamon sticks, Nutmeg, Ground Ginger, Sweet Paprika, Sumac, Sea Salt, Fresh Ginger, Garlic Cloves, chopped fresh Coriander, Lemon juice and……………………..Groundnut Oil………..!

Pop all the ‘seedy’ spices into a pan and dry roast them, the kitchen will be filled with exotic aroma’s n no time at all. Grind the spices once heated through and add to a bowl with everything else and you have you marinade. Once done, take you leg of lamb and puncture the meat in several places and then put into a dish, smother with the marinade and rub well in. Cover and stick in the fridge for 24 hours, taking out from time to time to turn over and make sure the leg is really well coated.

I was planning to serve the Lamb with various salads, a simple Red Onion piquant one was created by combining Sherry Vinegar with Rape Seed Oil, Salt, Pepper, Lemon Juice and Zest, and some fresh Coriander and finely chopped Mint.

The second Salad was some Baby Gems leafs, Tomato, Cucumber, Coriander (lots), and a dressing of Sherry Vinegar, Rape Seed Oil and Za’atar.

The lamb goes into a low oven (150 deg Fan, 170 deg Convection), for 4.5 hours. You need to add some water from time to time and cover the meat for the last 3.5 hours so the spices do not burn.

I made some Cacik to go with the Lamb, Yoghurt, grated Cucumber, Garlic, some Lemon Juice and drizzled with Olive Oil and sprinkled Sumac on the top too. I do like this particular dish, its adds a freshness and tartness which goes well with the Lamb, especially when served in grilled Pitta Breads, used a pockets to hold the various tasty fillings.

As you can see from the heading photograph, this meal is pleasing on the eye as well as giving the tastebuds a real treat. As the Lamb is cooked gently, it is meltingly tender and when stuffed into a ‘Pitta Pocket’ with the various salad’s and Caciik, you end up with the most delightful fresh taste, that will take you to the Casbah’s of distant lands.

Sahtain..

Julian Rolfe

My Foodie Life

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