I love visiting restaurants when I’m on holiday as they provide great inspiration for kitchen adventures. I was so impressed with the guacamole served at Dos Caminos Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas that I was determined to re-create it when I got home. Handily, they supplied us with the recipe on some souvenir fridge magnets they gave us. However, I’ve toyed with the recipe slightly to include more tomato and fresh coriander.
Unsurprisingly for such a simple dish, the reason this guacamole works is because everything is in correct proportion. Just make sure every ingredient you use is extremely fresh and your guacamole will really sing…
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados, peeled and stoned
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 red jalapeno/serrano chillies, finely chopped
- large handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- 2 limes, juiced
- sea salt & pepper
Mash the ripe avocados with a fork and gently combine with the rest of the ingredients. Add the lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. You will need plenty of salt to bring out the flavour of the buttery avocados. Serve with some good-quality, plain corn chips. (For goodness sake, don’t allow a “Dorito” to go anywhere near something as good as this…)
“The Big 8 - The only curry recipes you’ll ever need!” - Part 1/8
Dal is often consigned to the “side dishes” section on restaurant menus, but this hearty lentil curry deserves to take centre-stage. It makes a fantastic meal accompanied by some bread or rice. I think lemon rice makes a particularly nice accompaniment, though this is not very authentic. Tadka dal is more a north Indian specialty, lemon rice being from the south.
Ingredients
- 225g toor dal
- 750ml water
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 green chillis
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced/finely chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp black mustard seeds
- ½ tsp onion (nigella) seeds
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 8 curry leaves
- 4 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon
- fresh coriander, a handful
Method
- Rinse the lentils and check for little stones. Rinse well using a sieve, then place in a large saucepan along with the water, turmeric and salt. Make an incision in the green chillies and add them too.
- Bring to the boil and skim off any scum that rises to the top of the cooking water. Reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Stir regularly as the lentils will stick to the bottom of the pan as the liquid evaporates.
- While the lentils are cooking, make the tadka in a separate pan. Heat the butter and oil, then add the whole spices and curry leaves. Stir-fry until the mustard seeds start to pop. Reduce the heat then add the onion and garlic. Cook gently for about 15 minutes or until the onions are soft and browned. Add the chopped tomatoes and fenugreek then cook for another 5 minutes.
- The lentils should now be fully cooked. Squash the lentils using a potato masher (or use a stick blender) to achieve a creamy consistency. You can add a little extra water if you want a thinner consistency.
- Add the tadka to the lentils and simmer very gently for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Stir through the fresh coriander and a good squeeze of lemon juice, then serve.
Cheat’s Sambar - This recipe can be easily converted into a cheaty version of sambar, a thin lentil soup commonly eaten in South India. When the dal is cooked, add 750ml - 1 litre of good-quality vegetable stock, 2 tsp of tamarind extract and some chopped vegetables. I use canned chickpeas, frozen peas and frozen broad beans. Simmer gently until the vegetables are cooked. This is also a good way of using leftover dal; just use a smaller amount of stock and vegetables until you achieve the desired consistency.
Another Indian snack/starter, which I’m a little obsessed with of late. Chunks of chicken are marinated in yoghurt and spices, then roasted quickly in a hot oven. Not as good as those produced by the tandoor, but they taste great. Just like the Seekh Kebab, you could add some red food colouring for that authentic Indian restaurant vibe but it’s not necessary.
Ingredients
- 2 large free-range chicken fillets
- 8 tbsp natural yoghurt
- ½ tsp sea salt
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp of the following: ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, paprika
- 2 tsp garam masala
- ½ chilli powder
- 2 red onions
Method
- Cut the chicken into large pieces, about the size of a walnut, and place in a mixing bowl.
- Add the yoghurt, lemon juice, salt and ground spices and mix well. Cut the red onions into quarters and add to the chicken. Mix again and leave to marinate for an hour.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Thread the chicken and onion pieces onto skewers. If you’re using wooden skewers, remember to soak them in water for an hour first.
- Place the skewers on a grill pan and roast for about 15 mins. You can also use a grill rack on a baking sheet.
- I like to serve these on naan bread with mango chutney and yoghurt.
Serves 2.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the majority of Indians did not know how to make a cup of tea and were reluctant to drink one. Now that India is both the world’s major producer and consumer of tea, this seems incredible. It confounds the myth that the British acquired their love of tea from their Indian subjects. In fact, it was the British who introduced tea to the Indians. Although they barely changed the way Indians eat, the British radically altered what they eat and drink. While the introduction of a wide variety of European and American vegetables to India was an inadvertent by-product of British rule, the conversion of the population to tea-drinking was the result of what must have been the first major marketing campaign in India. The British-owned Indian Tea Association set itself the task of first creating a new habit among the Indian population, and then spreading it across the entire subcontinent.
Extract from “Curry - A Biography” by Lizzie Collingham.
If like me, you tend to “over-indulge” when you eat Indian food, chai is a great option for dessert when you’re too full, but you still want to satisfy that sweet tooth. The fragrant spices are infused in boiling water and milk before the tea is steeped. Chai is also believed to be great for tummy upsets and generally aiding digestion.
Even if you’re not accustomed to taking sugar in your tea, don’t skip on the sweetening. You need it to bring out the warmth and flavour of the spices.
Ingredients
- 350ml water
- 100 ml milk
- 5 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 5 black peppercorns
- 3 cloves
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- piece of cinnamon stick (about 5cm)
- slice of ginger root (about 2cm thick)
- 1 tsp tea leaves (black tea)
- 1-2 tsp sugar
Method
- Heat the water, milk, ginger and spices in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and leave simmer gently for 15 minutes.
- Take off the heat and add the tea leaves. Leave to stand for 3 minutes before straining into a mug and sweetening to taste with a little sugar. A teaspoon or two should do it.
Serves 1.
