Tag Archive for 'spinach'

Rick Stein’s Lamb & Spinach Karahi

Published
by
Toasted Special
on February 26, 2010
in Kitchen, Slow Cooking and Weekend Cooking
. 0 Comments

Indian Spices

This recipe is adapted from Rick Stein’s “Food Heroes” book and was given to him by Mumrez Khan when he visited Bradford’s Karachi Restaurant when filming his TV series of the same name. If you’ve been disappointed with home-cooked curries in the past, then give this one a try - the results are superb. I love the way the green chillies are added - they’re blitzed at the end with a little water and added to the curry, giving a delicious, fresh flavour.

Ingredients

  • 150g ghee
  • 550g onions, chopped (about 3 large onions)
  • 65g garlic, peeled (about 1 bulb/12-15 cloves)
  • 50g root ginger, peeled and chopped roughly (about the size of a golf ball)
  • 400g canned tomatoes
  • 200ml water
  • 900g boneless lamb (leg or shoulder), cut into large cubes
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp each of the following: turmeric, red chilli powder, sweet paprika, ground coriander, ground cumin
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 200g baby spinach
  • 2-4 medium-sized green chillies, stalks removed
  • 2 handfuls fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method

  1. Heat the ghee in a large cast-iron casserole. Cook the onions gently for about 20 minutes until soft and light brown in colour. Take the casserole off the heat.
  2. Blitz the garlic, root ginger, tomatoes and water in a blender until smooth. Remove the browned onions using a slotted spoon and add to the blender. Blend again until very smooth.
  3. Return the mixture to the oil in the casserole and add the lamb and salt. Simmer gently for 30 minutes. The sauce will now be well-reduced.
  4. Stir through the ground spices and cook for a further 1½-2 hours. Add a little water every now and then if the sauce starts to stick.
  5. Check the lamb is cooked to your satisfaction. At this point, you can spoon off the fat which has risen to the top of the sauce (see below). Stir through the spinach puree and the rest of the spinach leaves. Add the green chilli puree and simmer and heat through for another 10 minutes.
  6. Just before the lamb is finished cooking, make the spinach puree. Put 150g of the spinach leaves in a large saucepan along with a splash of water. Place a lid on the saucepan and cook for about 2 minutes or until the spinach has wilted down. Transfer the spinach to a liquidizer along with another splash of water and blend until smooth. Add to the curry.
  7. Make the chilli pureé. Blend the green chillies with some water until smooth and add to the curry.
  8. Stir through the garam masala and fresh coriander. Taste for seasoning, adding plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Serve with rice and naan bread with some cooling yoghurt on the side, if you wish.

Notes

  • The original recipe specifies heart-stopping quantities of ghee, an Indian clarified butter. I’ve experimented with this and have discovered you can easily cut down from 250g to 150g, with no loss of flavour. You also have the option of skimming off the ghee at the end of cooking. The best way to achieve this is to leave the pot to stand at a slight angle for 15 minutes. That way, the ghee will collect at one side of the pot where it will be easy to skim off.
  • The addition of pureéd spinach may seem bonkers, but it tastes really good and also lightens the dish somewhat. You could add the spinach directly to the curry without pureéing but you lose out on the excellent colour it gives the dish.
  • A note on cooking times: Rick’s recipe specifies 1½ hours total cooking time. I’ve found this does not give enough time to make the meat very tender, which is the way I like it. I cook this gently for 2-2½ hours which gives me the result I want. Next time I make this curry, I’m going to cook it in the oven - 160°C for 2½ hours should do it.
  • Finally, important for all curries (indeed, all stews and braises), this will taste immeasurably better on the second day after being left to stand overnight. This softens the flavour of the garlic, onion and spices and allows the curry to mellow. Do give this a try if you can - leave to stand overnight then prepare the spinach puree when you’re reheating the curry.

Variations

  • Add a 400g tin of cooked chickpeas to bulk this recipe out and give it some extra nutrition.
  • Adding a tablespoon of dried fenugreek leaves gives this curry an extra dimension.
  • Omit the spinach leaves and use this as a “base” sauce, adding extra ingredients to make your favourite restaurant-style curry: lemon juice will give you a “Madras”. Adding lots of dried chillies, a little red wine vinegar and some cubes of cooked potato will produce a “Vindaloo”. Add a portion of tarka dal, sugar, lemon juice and some cubed pineapple to give you a “Dhansak”. And so on…

Serves 6.

Chana Masala

Published
by
Toasted Special
on October 9, 2009
in Kitchen, Mid-Week Meals and Weekend Cooking
. 0 Comments

Chana Masala

It’s not often that I can be persuaded to go vegetarian, but if it involves chickpeas, I’m usually sold. This recipe is adapted from Molly Wizenberg’s fantastic book, “A Homemade Life“. I’ve changed the spicing to suit my own tastes and added some more fresh ingredients such as ginger green chili and mint. This is great served with naan bread and some poppadoms.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp groundnut oil
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • piece of ginger, minced (about a tablespoon)
  • 1 tsp of each of the following: cumin seeds, ground coriander, turmeric, garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves
  • ½ tsp chilli powder
  • 1 green chilli pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 x 400g cans chickpeas
  • 1 tbsp concentrated tomato pureé
  • 5 tbsp plain yoghurt
  • baby spinach leaves, a few handfuls
  • fresh coriander
  • fresh mint
  • salt and pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan. Add the chopped onion and fry very gently until the onion is brown and completely caramelised.
  2. Add the garlic, ginger and spices then fry for another two minutes, stirring frequently.
  3. Add the tomatoes, green chili, sugar, chickpeas and tomato pureé then bring to the boil. Season with a little salt and reduce the heat. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
  4. Before serving, stir the yoghurt through and add the spinach and chopped fresh herbs. Taste for seasoning.

Serves 2-3.

Sausage & Lentils

Published
by
Toasted Special
on October 6, 2009
in Kitchen and Mid-Week Meals
. 4 Comments

Sausage & Lentils

Sausage & Lentils is a classic combination and offers a great way of using up ingredients in your fridge and store cupboard. The list of ingredients you see below is just an improvisation I did this evening, you can use so many combinations of vegetables and flavours in this dish. It really is versatile. You could add some peas, mushrooms or sweetcorn. You could replace the pancetta or leave it out altogether. You could replace the wholegrain mustard with some crushed fennel seeds or some Worcestershire sauce for extra flavour. You could use garlicky Toulouse sausages or spicy Genovese for a change. You could add also some grated Parmesan cheese. Just don’t use all of these things at the same time! :)

Of course, you could use dried puy lentils as they don’t take very long to cook, but I just find the canned green lentils incredibly handy. Very nutritious too.

Ingredients

  • pancetta, small piece chopped (or 6 rashers streaky bacon)
  • 6 good quality sausages
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 2 x 400g cans green lentils
  • 250ml chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
  • salt & pepper
  • baby spinach leaves, a handful
  • fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method

  1. Heat a little olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Add the pancetta or bacon and fry until golden and some of the fat has been rendered out. Remove the bacon and set aside.
  2. Add the sausages to the pan and fry until they’re golden. Remove the sausages and set aside.
  3. Add the onion, celery, garlic and rosemary and fry briskly until the vegetables are coloured nicely.
  4. Return the sausages to the pan and add the canned tomatoes, stock, mustard and lentils. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 8 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  5. Stir through the spinach leaves and some chopped fresh parsley. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve.

Serves 2, generously.

Lesley-Anne’s “Lemony Pesto Potatoes”

Published
by
Toasted Special
on August 11, 2008
in Kitchen
. 0 Comments

The name of this dish is in quotes because you have to say “Lemony Pesto Potatoes” in a Scottish accent … ;)

Boil 1kg waxy potatoes, skins on. In a dish mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of good pesto and juice of 1 lemon. Slice finely 1 red onion. Wash 200g of fresh spinach. Once potatoes are cooked drain, return to the pot and lightly crush with a fork. Add the spinach, onion and pesto mixture to the potatoes and mix well until potatoes are coated. Put on pot lid for a few minutes until spinach has wilted.