Name: Masala Chips
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 4 large handfuls frozen fries or chips (preferably the kind you deep fry, but oven bake will do); Rapeseed or vegetable oil, for deep frying; 1 tsp red chilli powder 1/2 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground coriander; Salt; FOR THE MASALA SAUCE; 2 tbsp rapeseed oil; 1 tbsp cumin seeds; 5 tbsp tomato hamburger relish; 5 tbsp ketchup; 1 tbsp sugar; 1/2 onion, finely chopped; 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste

Masala Chips

July 13, 2016 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

Masala Chips are most definitely one of the best snacks out there.

You can make this masala chips recipe in less than 30 minutes. If you like masala cries, you are going to want to try this recipe. The recipe first featured in my second cookbook 'The Curry Guy Easy' and the later in 'The Curry Guy Bible'. If you're looking for a delicious way to make these spicy chips, then read on...

About this recipe

I love masala chips. Whether you're serving them as a main dish snack or doing serving them as a side, they are always a big hit.

You'll find that the recipe couldn’t be easier, but you’ve got to follow the instructions carefully. You don't need to worry too much, this recipe could not be more simple.

Make this recipe your own

Please use the following masala chips recipe as a guide. You can and should tailor it to your own personal taste. If you would like to add more chilli powder, do it! You can also add less sugar or more cumin or salt! The recipe is in your hands and as you have to eat the masala fries, you might as well take some time to taste and adjust accordingly.

What do you serve masala chips with?

You can serve these fries with pretty much any meal where you would normally serve fries or chips. Of course masala fries are always good with a curry house style curry. Here are 15 one pan curry house curries you might like to try.

Of course masala fries are also a welcome accompaniment at any barbecue party. You'll find some delicious barbecue recipes here.

Masala chips or fries?

In the UK, you will find fries which are the thin skinny fries like you find at most burger places and then there are the chunkier chips, popular at fish and chip shops. You can use either in this masala chips recipe depending on your preference.

Do I have to use frozen chips/fries?

Absolutely not. If you have a good recipe for homemade fries that you like to prepare, you can use that for these masala chips.

Yield: 4

Masala Chips

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 large handfuls frozen fries or chips (preferably the kind you deep fry, but oven bake will do)
Rapeseed or vegetable oil, for deep frying
1 tsp red chilli powder 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Salt
FOR THE MASALA SAUCE
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
5 tbsp tomato hamburger relish
5 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste

Instructions

First make the sauce. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium–high heat. When visibly hot, stir in the cumin seeds and sauté in the oil for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the hamburger relish followed by the ketchup and bring to simmer.
Stir in the sugar and continue to cook for about 1 minute, then add the chopped onion and garlic and ginger paste and stir it all up to combine. Season with a little salt and take off the heat while your prepare your fries.
Cook your fries as per the instructions on the packet. Most takeaways use frozen chips or fries that they deep fry. I highly recommend doing the same, but if you’re looking for a lighter or less messy option, oven chips/fries will do.
When your fries are ready, season them directly with the chilli powder, cumin, coriander and a little bit of salt to taste. Remember there is already some salt in the masala sauce, so go easy.
While the fries are still hot, begin adding them to the pan, stirring so that every fry is evenly covered in the sauce. Ideally, the process of coating the fries in the sauce and serving should be done in a couple of minutes. If you let them sit too long, the chips will get soggy rather than the crispy sauce-coated fries they are.

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I hope you enjoy this recipe for masala chips. If you do try it, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

Chocolate Kulfi

May 31, 2016 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

Authentic chocolate kulfi is delicious but it takes some time to make!

This chocolate kulfi recipe is delicious but you really need to love cooking to make it. You will need to spend four hours of hands-on cooking so you've been warned. Please don't let that stop you from making this chocolate kulfi recipe though. Once made, you will love it and it is the perfect dessert after and delicious curry feast!

Making chocolate kulfi isn't easy!

I’ve made kulfis a few times but never this authentic version until recently. I watched a chef making kulfis when I visited Sri Lanka in January. To be honest, I never intended on making it because it takes so long. We’re talking four hours!

I decided that if I was going to make kulfis for my family, I would have to make a big batch. There’s no point spending so much time in the kitchen not to have a lot of kulfi for your efforts. Are you ready to get stirring?

Is chocolate kulfi the same as chocolate ice cream?

Kulfi is often referred to as Indian ice cream. It really isn’t ice cream at all. Ice cream is made with a custard base.

Kulfis, on the other hand are nothing more than reduced full fat milk, with the flavouring of your choice added before freezing.

Can you use other flavours besides chocolate?

There are many different flavours of kulfi. Try adding fruit, vanilla, mango pulp... Whatever sound good to you, do it! The work is in reducing the milk. What you add to that reduced milk is down to you.

Taste for the perfect flavour.

Chocolate kulfi can be very sweet or not very sweet at all. The amount of sugar you add depends on the flavouring you are adding and your own personal taste preference. If you were to add sweet mango pulp, for example, you wouldn’t need as much sugar as if you added nothing but vanilla beans.

I used about eight tablespoons of sugar to make these chocolate swirl kulfis. I simply added sugar until I was happy with the sweetness.

How do you freeze the chocolate kulfi?

Kulfis are traditionally frozen in clay moulds that you can find at many Asian grocers and online. I had a few ceramic cups that looked very similar in shape to kulfi moulds so I used them instead. You can really use any mould you like.

Are you ready to get started?

Be warned, this is a long and boring job. But the chewy texture and caramel flavour of these authentic kulfis is worth the work. Kulfis may not be ice cream as often described but they are an excellent and a deliciously different alternative.

Making kulfi — Halfway through and getting bored.

Making kulfis — Kulfis poured and ready to swirl in the chocolate.

Yield: 8

Chocolate Swirl Kulfis

Prep Time 8 hours

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 12 hours

Ingredients

3 litres full fat milk
½ cup chocolate chips
Sugar to taste
Rapeseed oil for greasing the molds

Instructions

Pour your milk into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce the temperature to it’s lowest setting. Start stirring.
Continue stirring for about four hours until the milk has reduced by two thirds. Luckily we have a TV in our kitchen so I got to catch up on a few shows.
Once reduced down by two thirds, add a few tablespoons of sugar. Try it. Add more to taste.
Lightly grease your molds with oil and then pour the reduced milk into them.
Divide the chocolate chips between the molds and stir it in. The milk will still be quite hot and will melt the chocolate giving your kulfis that marbled effect as shown in my photograph.
The kulfis need to freeze for about eight hours. When ready to serve, run the hot water and place the mold under the tap. The kulfis will melt slightly and come out of the molds. If you are serving these later, cover and place back in the freezer until ready to serve.

Chickpea Salad

May 31, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

As salads go, this easy chickpea salad is about as easy as they come. It's rustic and can be adjusted to taste. This is a Mediterranean version of the salad which goes perfectly with some of the Turkish and North African recipes on my blog but with a few tweaks, mentioned below, you can serve the chickpea salad with many different cuisines and have it taste and look very authentic!

The completed chickpea salad served in a bowl

About this chickpea salad recipe.

This is a recipe I return to often but it rarely comes out tasting like the last chickpea salad I prepared. You will want to use this simple version of the salad as a guide but please look at some of the variations below.

This is a chickpea salad you can serve with pretty much everything, either as it is or changed to look and taste like it is meant to be served with the cuisine you are serving.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this chickpea salad recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin. It's just plain easier that way.

See recipe card for quantities.

Chickpeas
Red onion
Garlic
Cherry tomatoes
Fresh parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
White wine vinegar
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper to tast

Step by step photos

Below, you’ll see step-by-step photographs to guide you through the recipe. At the bottom of the page, you’ll also find the full recipe card, which includes the complete list of ingredients and written instructions in an easy, printable format.

The dressing ingredients combined in a bowl

Step 1: Whisk the dressing ingredients together.

Step 2: Finely chop the vegetables and pour them into the dressing with the chickpeas. Toss and adjust seasoning to taste.

The finished chickpea salad mixed with the dressing in a bowl

Step 3: Serve immediately or place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill and allow the flavours to develop.

Popular Variations

One of the beauties of chickpea salad is how adaptable it is. Here are some crowd-pleasing twists you can try:

Roasted Chickpea Twist – Roast the chickpeas with spices of your choice before adding for a crunchier texture.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad – Add Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and oregano to give my chickpea salad a Greek twist.

Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad – Add chopped cucumber, tomato, parsley, mint, and sumac for a tabbouleh-style dish.

Avocado Chickpea Salad – Toss in diced avocado for creaminess.

Spicy Chickpea Salad – Add jalapeños, red pepper flakes, or a splash of hot sauce to the dressing.

Protein Boost – Mix in grilled chicken, tuna, or boiled eggs for extra protein.

Grain Bowl Style – Add cooked quinoa, couscous, or bulgur for a heartier meal.

Useful Equipment

While this salad doesn’t require much in the way of special tools, a few basics can make life a bit easier:

Small whisk or jar with lid – Perfect for mixing or shaking up the dressing.

Large mixing bowl – Essential for tossing everything together.

Sharp chef’s knife – For chopping vegetables cleanly and evenly.

Cutting board – Preferably a large one to keep everything organized.

Citrus juicer – Makes squeezing lemons quick and mess-free.

Nutrition Benefits

This chickpea salad isn’t just tasty… it’s packed with health benefits:

High in plant-based protein – Keeps you full and supports muscle health.
Rich in fiber – Great for digestion.
Loaded with vitamins & minerals – Thanks to the variety of fresh vegetables and herbs.
Naturally gluten-free & vegan – Perfect for many dietary preferences.

What do you serve with this chickpea salad?

Try this chickpea salad as a side for a stew like Beef Stiffado, Harissa Salmon or Harissa Chicken or with a good kebab like Turkish Beef Shish Kebabs, Chicken Kebabs and/or Turkish Chicken Kebabs. The salad is also nice with seafood like this Mediterranean Grilled Fish.

Rice Dishes: All of these side dishes will go great with dahi chicken curry - Steamed Basmati Rice, Boiled Basmati Rice, Pilau Rice, Mushroom Fried Rice

Breads: Tandoori Naans, Tandoori Roti Chapatis Spiced Chapatis, Stovetop Naans

Dals: Chana Dal, Tarka Dal, Spinach Dal, Dal Makhani

How do you cook the chickpeas?

This recipe uses canned chickpeas but purchasing dried chickpeas for this Indian chickpea salad is always a good idea. The cooked chickpeas will keep in the fridge for at least a week and they can also be frozen.

To cook them, just read the instructions on the side of the package. You could do that or simply wash the chickpeas and then simmer them in water until they are soft and cooked to your liking. This could take about 45 minutes but it's cheaper and in my opinion the best option.

Although purchasing tinned (canned) chickpeas is convenient, you will get a lot more for your money if you purchase dried chickpeas. Soak them overnight and then simply simmer until they are tender.

Storage

Fridge: You can keep this chickpea salad in the fridge for up to a week. In fact, as the flavours develop, the salad will get even better.

Freezer: I don't recommend freezing this chickpea salad! You want the vegetables in the salad to be crisp and freezing them will not go well.

That said, if you are cooking your chickpeas, they do freeze well. Simply freeze them in portion sizes that you feel is convenient for how you will be using them.

Final Thoughts

This easy chickpea salad recipe proves that healthy food doesn’t have to be complicated. With simple ingredients and a bright, zesty dressing, it’s a dish you can whip up anytime you need a quick meal or a fresh side.

Whether you enjoy it straight from the bowl, tucked into a wrap or alongside your favourite main course, this salad will never disappoint. Plus, with endless variations, you’ll never get bored of making it.

So next time you’re in need of a quick, healthy recipe, remember this chickpea salad. It’s fresh, flavourful and guaranteed to become a regular at your table.

Top Tip

Make it ahead – The salad actually improves after sitting in the fridge for a few hours.

FAQ

Do you really need to rinse and dry the chickpeas?

For best results yes. You want the flavour of the chickpeas and not the brine from the can. Also, by drying the chickpeas it tastes better as the dressing will not be diluted from the water in the can.

Can you work ahead?

Yes. You can prepare the whole salad a couple of days ahead of serving. That or whisk the ingredients for the dressing together. Both options allow the flavours to develop though I do highly recommend making this salad at least a few hours ahead of serving.

Can you use other ingredients?

Of course! Chickpea salads are popular around the world. You could use other beans such as kidney beans and/or butter beans too. Or even a mix of different beans. You can also try different herbs and even add chillies for a bit of a kick.

Can you use dried chickpeas for chickpea salad?

Yes! I often do. In this recipe I used tinned (canned) chickpeas for ease but cooking dried chickpeas will be even better. You will need to wash and then soak the chickpeas over night before cooking them. Using dried chickpeas is also cheaper and they do freeze well.

Try this salad as a side dish for one or more of these!

Pairing

This easy chickpea salad is delicious on its own but is also great served as part of a meze platter. Try some of these...

Have you tried this chickpea salad recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 4

Chickpea Salad

A nutritious side dish, that can also be enjoyed as a main... you are going to love this simple but delicious chickpea salad. As you will see in the blog post above, there are so many ways you can adjust the flavours so that the salad can be served with everything from a kebab, to a curry or stew.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

300g/10.5 ounce tinned (canned) chickpeas
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves minced garlic, minced
225g (1/2 lb) cherry tomatoes quartered
1 small bunch chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Mix together the ingredients for the dressing in a large mixing bowl.
Taste the dressing and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Salt is your friend here. Chickpeas need salt to really shine!
Wash and dry the chickpeas. This will ensure that you get the brine from the can off and also that the salad does not get diluted from excess brine.
Stir the chickpeas and quartered tomatoes and again taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Finely chop the red onion, garlic and parsley and mix together with the dressing, chickpeas and tomatoes.
You can serve the salad immediately or place it in the fridge for 30 minutes or more to chill and allow the flavours to develop. I recommend making this chickpea salad at least 4 hours ahead of serving.

Multi-Cooker Curry Base Sauce

April 14, 2016 By Dan Toombs 46 Comments

Make curry base sauce in minutes using a multi-cooker!

This is an updated version of my pressure cooker base sauce that you will find in my cookbook 'The Curry Guy'. At the time, multi-cookers with pressure cookers were not nearly as popular as they are now. Using this multi-cooker curry base sauce recipe, you can prepare the perfect base sauce to use in any of my curry house style curry recipes.

Multi cooker base sauce in a pan and ready to use in curry house style curries. — Just like the best curry house style rogan josh curries! You've got to try this one.

About this multi cooker base curry sauce recipe.

The most authentic way to prepare a curry base sauce is to do it in a pot just like they do at curry houses around the UK and in my recipe here. Slowly simmering the base sauce in this way is easy and perfect for busy Indian restaurant kitchens.

For the home cook, you might prefer to make a multi cooker base curry sauce as you can prepare in much faster and it's really a no-fuss way of doing it. This recipe is different to my other base sauce recipes as it really is something I just throw together when I need it. You could cook any of my base sauce recipes in a multi-cooker though so use this recipe or try one of the others. They all work.

Is cooking base sauce in a pot better than using a multi-cooker?

dFrom my taste tests, I really don't think so. It makes a lot of sense for the chefs in a popular curry house to use a big pot so that they don't run out during service. At home, you can simply throw everything in your multi-cooker and achieve a curry base sauce that is just like the pot cooked version.

Ingredients

You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin.

See recipe card for quantities.

rapeseed (canola) oil
onions, roughly chopped
melon seeds
cashews
garlic and ginger paste
single (light) cream
natural yoghurt
cardamom pods, lightly bruised
cinnamon stick
green finger chillies, slit lengthwise down the centre (optional)
black peppercorns or ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

See recipe card for quantities.

Is it important to stick exactly to the recipe?

Not at all! We're not baking cakes here! Use my recipe as a guide but don't worry to much about measuring everything out exactly. You really can't go wrong.

How long will this multi cooker base sauce keep in the fridge?

You can store this, covered in a bowl in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. It's great to have on hand for those last minute curry cravings.

To use it, just heat it up in a pan and follow the curry house curry recipe of your choice.

Step by step photos

Step 1: Pour the oil into your multi cooker and heat it up using the saute function.

Step 2: Add the onions to the hot oil and fry for about 5 minutes to soften. Do not brown the onions.

Adding the spices and remaining vegetables to the multi cooker.

Step 3: Add the remaining veggies and spices to the multi cooker.

Adding water to the ingredients in the multi cooker.

Step 4: Pour in 750ml (about 3 cups) water and stir well.

The ingredients in the multi cooker ready to be pressure cooked.

Step 5:When ready, secure the lid and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. Then allow the pressure to naturally release or do it by hand if in a rush.

Step 6:When you raise the lid, you will see that the vegetables are all really soft and the oil will have risen to the top.

Step 7:If you like, you can remove some of the oil and discard it or use it as seasoned oil in a curry. You could also leave it in the sauce which is what I do.

Step 8:Begin blending the sauce. You can use a hand blender or blend it in batches in a countertop blender.

Step 9: You want to blend the sauce until very smooth with no chunks.

Here are more curry house curry favourites that require a base sauce you might like to try!

Storage

Fridge: Allow your dish to cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Flavours often develop even more after a night in the fridge.
Freezer: Portion and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then reheat gently on the hob or in the oven until piping hot.

Top Tip

Keep the heat gentle when simmering the onions and spices – this stops the gravy from caramelising too dark and keeps that clean, pale colour that’s perfect for kormas, pasandas, and other lighter curries.

FAQ

Why is it called “white” base gravy?

Because the onions and spices are cooked gently without browning, which creates a pale, mild sauce ideal for lighter curries.

Can I use this base for all curries?

Yes, but it works best in mild or medium dishes. For stronger curries (like Madras or Rogan Josh), many chefs prefer the darker, richer base.

Try out your multi-cooker base sauce in one of the following curries...

Other Base Sauce Recipes

Pairing

Once you have cooked up a curry with this multi-cooker base sauce, you might also like to pair your curries with...

Rice

Naan

Dahls

Have you tried this recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow The Curry Guy on Instagram and Facebook for all our latest recipes.

Yield: 8 to 10

Multi-Cooker Curry Base Sauce

This pressure cooker base sauce will be ready in about 30 minutes and most of that cooking time you can be doing something else. It really could not be easier to prepare!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

75ml (5 tbsp) rapeseed oil or ghee
700g (1 1/2 lbs) brown onions, roughly chopped
25g (1 oz) carrot, peeled and chopped
25g (1 oz) cabbage, chopped
40g (11⁄2 oz) red pepper (bell
pepper), deseeded and diced
40g (11⁄2 oz) green pepper (bell
pepper), deseeded and diced
150g (5 1/2 oz) chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground fenugreek
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp garam masala

Instructions

Heat the oil or ghee in the pressure cooker pan. When hot, add the onions and fry for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned.
Add the remaining ingredients, and stir it all to combine. Fry for a further minute or so.
Pour in 750ml (3 cups) water in and secure the pressure cooker lid. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes then allow it to naturally release the pressure. If you are in a hurry, you could release the pressure with the valve by hand,
Your sauce is now ready to be blended until smooth. Four minutes blending per batch should do
the job.
There you have it: a base curry sauce that usually takes 90 minutes to make, in less than 20 minutes!
You might find that the base sauce is a bit thick after blending. It should be about the same consistency as full fat (whole) milk before using in your curries. Add water to adjust the thickness.

Apple Samosas

March 22, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

These baked apple samosas are a great way to finish off your curry feast.

Who doesn't love a good samosa? Samosas are an excellent way to start off a meal. You might like to try my chicken or beef samosas if savoury samosas are one of your favourites too!

If you're looking for something sweet, however, these apple samosas might be just what you're looking for.

Apple pie samosas — I had to put a little leftover blueberry custard on this from my blueberry samosas.

How to you prepare apple samosas?

You could use a traditional samosa wrapper, either homemade or shop-bought. In this recipe you use filo pastry which can be purchased at pretty much any supermarket. This makes everything a lot easier.

Then all you need to do is prepare the apple samosa filling. That too isn't a difficult job. To finish, you wrap the cooled apple filling in the filo pastry and bake it.

This recipe is very convenient for a curry feast with friends.

Samosas are normally fried. That's great when you are serving them to start off a meal. I don't know about you but I don't like deep frying things when I have eaten a dinner and consumed perhaps a little too much wine.

You can prepare these apple samosas ahead of time and then just place them in your oven to cook.

What do you serve apple samosas with?

Apple samosas are delicious on their own or with a scoop of ice cream. If you want to go all out, try my chocolate kulfi recipe and serve that with your samosas.

How long with these samosas keep in the fridge?

You can prepare your apple samosas a day or so ahead of baking.

Can you freeze apple samosas?

Yes. They freeze really well. Just let them defrost completely and then bake them as in the recipe.

Can you fry the samosas?

There is no reason why you can't. Go for it if that is what you prefer.

Where is this recipe from?

I tried a similar recipe while in Sri Lanka a few weeks ago. I hope you like it as much as I do.

by the way, if you like this one, be sure to check out my blueberry, cinnamon and custard samosas here.

Step by step photographs.

Making apple pie samosas — Melt the sugar into the butter.

Making apple samosas — Apple pieces and cinnamon added.

Yield: 10

Apple Samosas

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon water
3 medium apples – cored and peeled
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon cornflour
2 teaspoons water
1 roll of ready make shortcrust pasty
1 egg - beaten

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200c (400f)
Melt the butter in a small pan over medium high heat.
When melted, pour in the sugar and stir until it dissolves in the butter
Chop your apples into small pieces and pour them into the sugar/butter mixture.
Add the cinnamon and add the one tablespoon of water. Cover the pan and cook until the apple pieces are soft but not mushy.
Mix the cornflour with the two teaspoons of water and stir to combine. Pour this into the apple mixture. This will thicken the apple stuffing.
Allow the apple mixture to cool slightly and then cut the pastry into then equal sized rectangles.
Place a spoonful of the apple mixture in the top left corner of one of the rectangles. Fold this over into a triangle and then fold again and seal. It is important the the triangular samosas are tightly sealed so that you don’t loose any of the filling when cooking.
Brush the egg wash over each samosa and place in your over for about 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and hot inside.
Remove and serve hot.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 151Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 88mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 3g

Blueberry Samosas

March 22, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

Blueberry samosas make an easy and delicious dessert.

These blueberry samosas are a play on my apple samosas recipe. They are so convenient to serve at the end of a curry feast.

Samosas are usually savoury and served at the beginning of a meal. These dessert samosas are therefore unique. You might also like to try my beef or chicken samosa recipes. If you're vegetarian, I've got you covered too.

How do you make blueberry samosas?

It's actually a quite easy process. All you need to do is prepare a simple blueberry filling. Unlike my savoury samosa recipe which call for homemade samosa wrappers, this recipe uses shop-bought filo pastry.

All you need to do is wrap the cooled filling in the pastry and bake as in the recipe below.

Can you work ahead?

Yes. You can prepare the blueberry filling a couple of days ahead of serving. Just keep it in the fridge, wrapped tightly and then take it out to wrap up your blueberry samosas.

It's quite easy to prepare so you might just want to do it all in one go.

You can also wrap up the blueberry samosas a couple of hours before baking.

Can these samosas be frozen?

I don't recommend doing this. The custard will not freeze well. It's best to just prepare and bake them on the same day.

What do you serve with blueberry samosas?

You can eat these samosas on their own. The custard filling is so good and not to be missed. That said, you might like to serve them with ice cream or perhaps even my chocolate kulfis.

Samosas being filled with the blueberry custard mixture — Filling the short crust blueberry samosas.

Wrapped samosas brushed with egg wash — A little egg wash for colour.

Finished blueberry samosas — Ready to dig in!

Samosas served with ice cream — I don't really have a sweet tooth but I could eat this again now.

Yield: 10

Blueberry Samosas

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

200g blueberries
½ box of ready made Aldi custard (250g should do)
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 sheet ready made shortcrust pastry
1 egg – beaten

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 200c (400f)
Mix the custard, blueberries and cinnamon powder in a small bowl.
Slice your ready made short crust pastry into ten equal sized rectangles.
Place a spoonful the blueberry mixture in the top left corner of one of the pastry rectangles.
Fold this over into a nice triangle and then again and again until you have a perfect little samosa. Seal tightly and repeat with the others.
Brush with the egg wash and place in your preheated oven on grease proof paper on a baking tray.
Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
Remove and serve hot.

Lamb Soup Indian Style

March 18, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

This lamb soup is so easy to prepare and tastes so good!

I don't like food waste. Who does? So whenever I prepare a lamb raan or roast leg of lamb, I always make a lamb soup just like this with the leftovers. Although you could just use stock cubes and some leftover lamb meat, you will get better results if you prepare a lamb broth before getting started. This lamb soup is simple food and gets one more meal out of that leftover lamb.

About this lamb soup recipe

This is a lamb soup recipe I learned while in Mumbai researching for my 'The Curry Guy Veggie'. No it's not vegetarian but sometimes I just had to find meat. You could easily make this lamb soup recipe vegetarian though as the spice paste that goes into it is good prepared with vegetable stock and more veggies too.

Can you make this lamb soup quickly?

Yes. You will find this lamb soup super easy to prepare. If you have lamb broth prepared, it's even easier but feel free to use a good quality shop-bought meat broth if that is more convenient for you.

Can this soup be frozen?

Yes. It freezes really well. So rather than throwing away that leftover lamb bone, make some lamb broth. Freeze the broth or make this lamb soup and freeze it if not required on the day.

What do you serve with this lamb soup?

This is a delicious starter course. You could serve it before tandoori chicken or perhaps a lamb raan if you really love lamb.

In the photo above, I served it with tandoori naans which are great if you have a tandoor. If not, you might like to try one of these naan recipes. ---> If you'd like to make naans, why not try one of these? Instant naans, Peshwari naans, stove top naans, keema naans, garlic naans, tandoor naans (if you have a tandoor oven), or if you're cooking outdoors, karahi naans. Oh, and really easy but just as delicious are homemade chapatis.

Step by step photos

Ingredients for lamb soup — Get your ingredients together before starting. It's even easier that way.

All of the paste ingredients in a blender — Place the paste ingredients in a blender and add just enough lamb broth or water to blend to a paste.

Adding the spice paste to the oil to fry. — Fry the curry leaves and turmeric in the oil for a minute. Then pour in the prepared paste and fry for 3 to 5 minutes.

Stirring in the chopped tomatoes and meat. — Stir in the chopped tomatoes and the meat. Then cover with the meat broth to simmer for 10 minutes.

Lamb soup — Give this lamb soup a try soon. You'll love it.

Yield: 4

Spicy Minced Lamb or Beef

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 ½ tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
½ tsp ground turmeric
200g chopped tomatoes
10 curry leaves
1 litre (4 cups) lamb stock
225g (1/2 lb.) roughly chopped lamb meat
salt to taste
4 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
FOR THE PASTE
10 shallots
2 green finger chillies, roughly chopped
1 ½ tsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
6 garlic cloves, smashed
5cm (2 inches) ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

Instructions

Start by blending the paste ingredients with just enough water or cold lamb stock to make a thick paste. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a suitably sized pot over medium high heat and when hot, stir in the ground turmeric and curry leaves. Fry for about a minute. Stir in your prepared paste and fry for about 3 minutes. Add the lamb stock and meat and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
Season with salt to taste and serve hot.

Notes

You can substitute a good quality shop-bought meat stock for the homemade lamb broth.

Elephant Safari Near Habarana Sri Lanka

March 15, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

My last stop in Sri Lanka was Habarana Lodge by Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts. Situated in the centre the Sri Lankan forest, this five star resort offers a bit of everything; relaxation, adventure, luxury, amazing food and first class service. Again I was left wishing I had just a little more time in this place but was still very happy to experience all that I did. If you love to being at one with nature, Habarana Londge is a place you've got to experience.

Situated in 37 wooded acres of what was once a chena cultivation, Habarana Lodge is the perfect place to unwind and enjoy nature's beauty. They have taken great care to run the place in an eco friendly manner that is quite impressive. The vegetables and fruit along with many of the spices used in the hotel's restaurants are all grown on the grounds.

They make their own compost that is used locally but households and businesses. The place is sanctuary for over 138 species of exotic birds. You may enjoy strolling through the many trails or simply finding a hammock or tree house to watch the day go by. There are even wild monkeys! I'll be telling you all about the Habanara experience in a future post.

We were flown to Habarana by Cinnamon Air which was a fun and memorable experience but that was just the beginning of my day. I had about an hour to check into my room and then it was time to go on safari!

Our guide was impressively knowledgeable about all of the wildlife we encountered which made the experience even better. Every few minutes or so, he'd yell to the driver to stop so he could show us a wild bird or some other small wild animal. I have no idea how he spotted them as it usually took me a few minutes to see his finds. He had a very trained eye for such things. I was there to see the wild elephants though but was warned that with the vegetation being so dense we may not see any.

In fact, for the first half hour or so we didn't but luckily that all changed. We saw hundreds of the things and it never got old. To be so close to a wild elephant in its natural habitat was something I want to experience again and again.

Personally I enjoyed bumping around in the jeep on the dirt roads, standing with camera in hand hoping to spot another group of elephants. It was far more exciting than I ever dreamed it would be.

Elephants in Sri Lanka — First of many sightings. Two babies.

On elephant safari in Sri Lanka — Selfie Time.

After all that excitement, it was time to go back to the lodge and have a swim, a few beers and another amazing Sri Lankan dinner. If you ever find yourself in Sri Lanka, I couldn't recommend a day out on safari enough. I think I must have taken a hundred photos which I would show you but I think you have to be there.

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Cinnamon Hotels. This was all on them and I can't thank them enough. I was flown from Heathrow to Colombo and back by my friends at SriLankan Airlines. I have flown with a lot of airlines over the years but they just seem to get it better than most.

Spinach & Apple Lassi

March 15, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

My spinach smoothie recipe is delicious with the extra bonus of being super healthy. I even include turmeric in the spinach smoothie recipe for the extra health kick.

Finished drink — The spinach lassi with a sprinkling of walnuts

I'm not even going to try to tell you that this is one of my all time favorites. My spinach smoothie is, however extremely healthy and is always my go-to breakfast when I feel like I have been over-indulging a bit.

It is actually quite filling as I add walnuts for the extra bit of protein and it really will easily keep you going until lunchtime.

I actually name this smoothie a lassi as technically it is an indian lassi. Lassis are generally made with yoghurt and no milk at all so this spinach smoothie recipe ticks all the boxes of an Indian lassi drank frequently for breakfast in India.

Make the recipe your own

I use walnuts for my spinach smoothie recipe but you could also use pistachios. Add some to the blender with the other ingredients and sprinkle some finely chopped nuts on top to make the lassi look nice.

I have made the spinach smoothie both with a Nutibullet that I have had for years and also with my more recently acquired Vitamix A3500i. Both work well to produce a smooth lassi but as you can see the Vitamix A3500i does produce a more smooth consistency as is a more powerful blender for fruit smoothies and lassis.

showing the ingredients — Spinach lassi ingredients

Adding the ice — Add the ice with all the other healthy ingredients

The finished drink made with the Vitamix A3500i

Spinach, Apple & Turmeric Lassi — The finished drink made with a Nutribullet

If you enjoy this recipe try my other lassi recipes:

Banana & Avacado Lassi

Yield: 4

Spinach, Apple & Turmeric Lassi

Prep Time 2 minutes

Total Time 2 minutes

Ingredients

2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
250ml ( 1 cup ) low fat Grrek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 apples very roughly chopped
Large Handful of Ice Cubes
Good handful walnuts and a few finely chopped for the top

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Serve.

Curried Cauliflower Gratin

March 3, 2016 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

Cauliflower Gratin

Here’s another of my big Easter dinner experiments that went down very well. Believe me, some dishes stay in the pan for me to eat later. I do go a bit crazy with the chillies sometimes and my family usually isn’t very happy impressed.

This curried cauliflower gratin is mild but still has a nice curry flavour with just enough heat.

The cheese you use is up to you. Whatever you fancy. I used Cheddar but any cheese will work fine.

You can make this cauliflower gratin recipe a day or so ahead of time and then bake it just before serving. In fact, this will let the flavours develop and improve the flavour.

Cauliflower gratin is the perfect side dish for a crowd and it can even be served as a vegetarian main course.

If you like this recipe try these other vegetable recipes:

Fried Cauliflower with Coconut and Almonds
Turmuric Cauliflower
Pan Fried Spicy Cauliflower
Cauliflower Egg Fried Rice
Tandoori Broccoli, Cauliflower & Onion

Making cauliflower gratin — Boil your cauliflower for no more than 3 minutes.

Yield: 4 - 6

Curried Cauliflower Gratin

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 large or 2 small heads of cauliflower
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig parsley
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
250ml (1 cup) double cream
200g (7oz) mature Cheddar cheese
toasted bread crumbs to cover (2 or 3 tablespoons should do the job.)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 230c (
Cut your cauliflower into florets and set aside.
Chop any remain stem finely, discarding and tough bits. You should have a good cup of chopped stem when finished. Set aside.
Heat a large pot of water until boiling. Add the cauliflower florets in two batches and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.
Remove with a strainer and place in a gratin pan or similar.
Heat the butter/oil in a pan over medium heat and add the onions, garlic and herbs. Fry until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
Now add the chopped cauliflower stems and just enough water to almost cover the cauliflower.
Simmer until the stems are very well cooked and soft. I used about 200ml of water but you may need to use more.
Continue to simmer until the water bubbles away and then add the cream, curry powder and chilli powder.
Remove the herbs and place this mixture in a blender with the cheese. Blend until very smooth.
Pour this sauce over the par-cooked cauliflower florets and toss to coat.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and cover with the breadcrumbs.
Place in the oven and bake until the cauliflower is steaming hot and cooked through and the breadcrumbs are lightly toasted.
Serve immediately.

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Flying High Over Sri Lanka With Cinnamon Air

February 25, 2016 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

One of the highlights of my recent visit to Sri Lanka was flying with Cinnamon Air from Colombo to Habarana. Talk about an incredible experience! Cinnamon Hotels really did it for us with this one. I can highly recommend Cinnamon Air!

Cinnamon Air has daily flights between each of Cinnamon Hotels' resorts and and this is an awesome way to travel between hotels. It is of course more expensive but worth every penny.

When I return to this beautiful country with my family, I'll be sure to budget for this. If we had driven to Habarana, it would have taken about five hours instead of just forty minutes.

It allowed us to have more time taking in all that Habarana had to offer. We were only there for two days so the additional time meant a lot.

It also gave me a chance to see Sri Lanka from the air and that was nothing short of amazing.

The seats in the plane were large and comfortable. That was a good thing given the amount of food and drink I'd put down my gob in the previous few days.

Once in flight all I had to do was relax, look out the window and take in the views. Oh, and of course take a few photos. What a way to travel!

Just forty minutes and it was over. We were in Habarana!

Cinnamon Air also have sea planes which is on my list of things to do next time.

Marco Pierre White earlier in the week about to board one of Cinnamon Air's seaplanes.

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts. My accommodation, travel and spectacular meals were all on them. Seriously, the trip of a lifetime.

I was flown round trip from Heathrow to Colombo courtesy or SriLankan Airlines. I couldn't recommend this airline enough. Excellent service.

Cinnamon Lakeside, Marco Pierre White & More Amazing Food

February 24, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

The Cinnamon Hotel Lakeside. Nice place to stay in Colombo.

My new food blogger friends and I were moved last minute from the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo to the Cinnamon Lakeside. I'm not sure why but both hotels were full so it probably had something to do with it. I wasn't complaining though. My room was on the executive floor of the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel with wonderful views of the city.

Where we had enjoy tranquil scenery and a rather laid back atmosphere in Hikka Tranz and Cinnamon Bey Beruwala, we were now in Colombo and got to experience a lot of what this lively city had to offer.

My room was comfortable and nice. Cinnamon Lakeside is more of a business hotel than the others we'd stayed at. From the executive floor patio, you could look down on the pool and enjoy panoramic views of Colombo. For those of you thinking about a holiday to Sri Lanka, Cinnamon Lakeside would make the perfect stop over spot before travelling on to wherever it is you're going as it is quite close to the airport.

It was already evening when we arrived and I had just enough time to check in at home and do a bit of work on my computer when the phone rang. We were all invited to dinner across town at Nuga Gama - a traditional Sri Lankan restaurant at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel. There, we dined outdoors under a 200-year-old Banyan tree and the food and ambiance were spectacular.

I'm not a big fan of all you can eat buffets in the West. They bring back bad memories of morbidly obese people stacking their plate so high they have to ask a waiter to carry it for them while they waddle to their table. The buffet that was set out set out for us that night was a completely different story. You would be amazed at the selection of dishes. The hot curries were all cooked over a wood fire in clay pots. What a place! The bonus was, not only did the food taste and look great, most of the dishes were good for you. One of my favourite curries that evening was an authentic Sri Lankan black pepper chicken curry and yes I did get the recipe for you.

Nuga Gama — The 200 year old Banyan tree.

Food at — Some of the vegetarian chutneys and sambols. I tried them all.

Curry selection at Nuga Gama — Curry anyone?

After a fun filled evening of awesome food and a few cold lagers, it was time to head back to the Cinnamon Lakeside.

The following morning we were invited back to the Cinnamon Grand to listen to Marco Pierre White speak and also watch him make a new signature dish he developed for Cinnamon Hotels. You can't help but feel inspired when he speaks about his life. Us food bloggers were merely there to observe but he took time to take questions from each of the approximately thirty chefs in the room. Given the number of people he must have met while in Sri Lanka with Cinnamon Hotels, I was impressed when he turned to me, shook my hand and said "Hi Dan." He must have an excellent memory.

Marco cooking — Somehow managed to get a front row seat. His lobster recipe was almost as good as my tandoori lobster recipe! 😉

After Marco's demonstration, we were off to see Colombo for a few hours. Colombo is a bustling place. There was so much to see and not enough time to see it. I managed to get a few markets in and that was about it. Still, I saw enough to know I want to go back someday and spend a little more time.

I managed to get my hands on a couple of hopper pans so I could make these Sri Lankan specialties for my family and then it was time to get back to the hotel. The hugely publicised Master Chef with Marco Pierre White event was being held that afternoon. I have to admit I didn't watch the whole show as the bar was calling. The evening concluded with a gala dinner with Marco. The theme of the evening was British food and the Cinnamon chefs didn't let us down. All of the food had been brought in from the UK. As delicious as it was, I was there to try Sri Lankan food and I was about to get a lot more of that.

The next morning we were being flown by Cinnamon Air inland to Cinnamon Lodge Habarana!

Master Chef finals at Cinnamon Lakeside.

Posh dinner evening at Cinnamon Lakeside — This was one posh evening.

Posh dinner at Cinnamon Lakeside — The fun was about to get under way.

Marco Pierre White and The Curry Guy — Outside the event with my new friend Marco just before he was picked up to go to the airport.

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Cinnamon Hotels in Sri Lanka. I absolutely loved my stay and recommend Cinnamon Hotels to anyone visiting Sri Lanka. I was flown round trip from Heathrow to Colombo courtesy or SriLankan Airlines. Such a nice airline. Excellent service.

Avocado and Tomato Salad

February 19, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

Avacado and Tomato Salad

Avocado & Tomato Salad — This salad with avacado and tomatoes is very quick and easy to make.

If you're trying to get your five a day in, this avacado and tomato salad ticks all the boxes. I make this one all the time. It's great on its own but I do like to use it to garnish kebabs, hummus, and meat and fish dishes.

The flavours all go so well together. Make a large batch and eat it on the day or store it in the fridge, tightly covered for up to two days.

I love Mexican guacamole and this is simply a play on it. It's a lot better for you and I do like all the different textures.m If you like things spicy why not add some red or green chillies. It is a mellow salad with lots of fresh ingredients but there is no reason why it can't be spiced up.

If you love this salad that goes great with Indian food try my other salad recipes:

Lentil Salad
Indian Potato Salad
Chickpea Salad
Spicy Celeriac Salad
Kachumber Salad
Curly Kale Salad
Tomato, Chilli and Yugurt Salad
Tomato, Onion and Mint Salad

Yield: 2 - 3

Avocado & Tomato Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 large avocado - cut into small cubes
2 small medium sized firm tomatoes - diced
1 onion - diced
2 green chilli peppers - finely chopped
3 tablespoon finely chopped coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of one to two limes

Instructions

Simply place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
If serving later, I recommend adding the juice of two limes as it will help ensure that the avocado doesn't discolour.
Cover tightly if storing in the fridge.

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Garlic and Chickpea Soup

February 19, 2016 By Dan Toombs 3 Comments

I go through my share of garlic. I love the stuff and it's great for you. This recipe might scare a few of you off but it isn't as intensely garlicky as you might think. Slowly cooking the garlic mellows it and it also works as a nice thickener for the soup.

This garlic and chickpea soup is low calorie but you'd never know it when you try it. Today as I'm trying to lose my belly after thirty years, I made a big batch to last me over the weekend. It also works well as a sauce for chicken which I'll show you in a later post.

Making garlic and chickpea soup — One pound (450g) garlic.

That picture you're looking at above is one pound of garlic. I leave the skin on for flavour and ease. The skin also helps ensure the garlic doesn't burn when frying it.

I used to make this garlic soup as a kid but without the chickpeas and with white wine, thyme and cream. With a few tweaks I made an equally tasty Indian inspired version that is much healthier.

If you enjoy this Indian soup recipe try my others:

Spicy Chickpea and apple soup
Spicy Tomato Soup
Mulligatawny Soup
Spicy Chicken Vegetable Noodle Soup
Hot and Sour Thai Prawn Soup
Tom Kha Soup - Thai Chicken Soup
Hot and Sour Soup - Authentic Thai Tom Yum Gai

Making garlic & chickpea soup — In go the chickpeas.

Yield: 4 - 6

Garlic & Chickpea Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
450g (1 pound) garlic cloves - with skin on
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
2 small red onions - finely chopped
1 x 400ml tin of chickpeas
750ml (3 cups) chicken/vegetable stock
500ml (3 cups) milk
3 tablespoons chopped coriander
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil/ghee in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
When hot, add the spices and garlic cloves. You only want to lightly brown the garlic in the oil. Be careful not to burn it. About five minutes should do the job.
Add the chopped onions and continue frying until the onions turn translucent and soft.
Pour in the chickpeas and the stock and simmer for 30 minutes.
Now add the milk and bring to a boil. Then immediately turn down the heat to low and simmer for another ten minutes.
Add the coriander and blend the soup until it is creamy and smooth. I do this for about two minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve piping hot. A sprinkle of chilli powder on top is a nice touch for spice fans.

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Gobi Manchurian

February 12, 2016 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

This Gobi Manchurian features in my cookbook 'The Curry Guy Easy'.

When I was choosing recipes for my cookbook 'The Curry Guy Easy', I knew this gobi manchurian recipe had to feature. It's so simple and it's also delicious. Many people love gobi manchurian and this recipe definitely ticks all the boxes!

What makes gobi manchurian so good?

Cauliflower may not taste of much on its own but serve it with this Manchurian sauce and it comes to life. To make the fried cauliflower extra crispy, you will fry it once, remove it and then fry it again at a higher heat. This double frying technique really makes this dish special.

Of course, a lot of what makes Asian recipes like cauliflower manchurian so good is their sweet, sour, spicy and savoury flavours. These need to be just right.

So grab a spoon and taste as you go. You know what you like so adjust the flavours accordingly. Tasting as you cook is one of the most important parts of cooking gobi manchurian perfect for your taste preferences.

Can this recipe also be made with broccoli?

I get asked this all the time and the answer is yes. You won't find that on the menu of many restaurants but it tastes amazing.

Use the freshest cauliflower or broccoli you can find and it will be perfect.

How long does this recipe take to prepare?

I've done it in less than 30 minutes but then I have been cooking gobi manchurian for many years. You can easily cook this one up in less than 40 minutes though.

What's with all those ingredients?

OK, I promise you, this recipe is super easy. The thing is, most Indian and Asian recipes like gobi manchurian have a lot of ingredients. That's just the way it is and to cut some out would lose so much.

No worries. Just get all your ingredients together before cooking. When you have them all in front of you, the rest could not be easier.

If you like this Gobi Manchurian recipe, you might like to try some of the Indian Vegetarian favourites.

Love Indian Vegetarian Recipes? Why not try one of these too...

All Indian Vegetarian recipes

Have you tried this Gobi Manchurian recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

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Yield: 4

Gobi Manchurian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, broken into bite-sized florets (approx. 750g/1lb 10oz)
1 tsp ground turmeric
Rapeseed oil, for frying
FOR THE MARINADE
2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste
FOR THE BATTER
125g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
30g (1/4 cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
40g (1/4 cup) rice flour (or more cornflour)
FOR THE SAUCE
2 tbsp rapeseed oil or sesame oil
2 red onions, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2.5cm (1in) piece of ginger, finely chopped
3–4 green chillies, finely chopped
125ml (1/2 cup) passata (or blended chopped tomatoes)
2–3 tbsp hot sauce (your favourite brand
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
4 spring spring onions (scallions) finely chopped
3 red chillies, sliced,
2 tbsp coriander (cilantro), finely chopped

Instructions

Bring 1 litre (4 cups) of lightly salted water to a rapid boil, then turn off the heat. Add the cauliflower and turmeric and let the cauliflower cook in the hot water for about 3 minutes.
Drain and transfer the par-cooked cauliflower to a clean kitchen towel and dry. The turmeric can stain so don’t use one of your best towels.
Once dry, mix together the marinade ingredients and rub the marinade all over the cauliflower. Let rest for about 20 minutes, or longer. This can all be done
ahead of time.
When ready to cook, make the batter. Mix the batter ingredients well in a mixing bowl and add just enough water to make a thick batter. It should be pourable but it needs to be thick enough to coat the cauliflower.
Add the cauliflower florets to the batter so that they are all nicely coated.
Now heat about 10cm (4in) depth of rapeseed oil in a large pan over medium–high heat. The oil is hot enough when a small piece of battered cauliflower sizzles immediately when dropped in the oil.
Fry the battered cauliflower for about 3 minutes until
lightly browned. I usually do this in batches so that I don’t overcrowd the pan.
Transfer the cooked cauliflower to paper towels to cool while you cook the rest of the cauliflower.
Now turn up the heat to high and fry the cauliflower
again for another 2–3 minutes until crispy and golden brown. This double frying makes the cauliflower nice and crispy.
To make the sauce, heat the 2 tbsp rapeseed oil in a large frying pan over medium–high heat and sauté the chopped onion for about 5 minutes until soft
and translucent. Add the chopped garlic, ginger and chillies and fry for a further 30 seconds.
Now pour in the passata and hot sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar, if using. Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes, then stir in the chopped spring onions (scallions) and cauliflower. Mix well so that the
cauliflower is evenly coated with the sauce.
To serve, check for seasoning and then plate up, sprinkling with a little more chopped spring
onions and the coriander (cilantro).

Cinnamon Bey Beruwala - Sri Lanka

February 11, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't ready to leave my first stop in Sri Lanka, Hikka Tranz behind. I could easily have stayed another two weeks. It felt like there was still so much to experience and see but luckily my next stop, Cinnamon Bey Beruwala didn't disappoint. How could it when you look at that photo above? The lobby was completely open plan with no doors! Not in the back or the front. I guess you could say the same about Hikka Tranz but it wasn't until I arrived at Cinnamon Bey Beruwala that I really noticed. Call it jet lag.

We arrived at the hotel just as the sun was setting and were greeted by hotel manager Christine Chevalaz. She couldn't have made us feel more welcome. When we asked where and when we were going to eat that evening, she replied "Why not try all of our restaurants?"

I've got a big stomach but thankfully not that big. I wish I could have done just that but the food we did try that evening was extraordinary.

Christine suggested we start with a few cocktails and canapés up at the lebanese bar on the roof terrace. I was in Sri Lanka to experience Sri Lankan food but I was going to turn down that offer. When in Sri Lanka, why not do as the lebanese do? It sounded good to me.

Next stop was a restaurant called Rock Salt. What fun! We all cooked our own meals on granite bricks. I ordered the lobster, prawns and a selection of other local fish. I almost managed to eat it all. It was served with a garlic an ginger sauce.

Food at cinnamon bey Beruwala — Of course all of the amazing sides were served as well.

I started the next day with a well deserved hangover but it was worth it. After breakfast, we all met our driver in the lobby and then ventured out to see the area. First stop was a herb garden where they grow everything from curry leaves to cinnamon and peppercorns. Have you ever tasted a cinnamon leaf? You can just pick and chew on them. Nature's candy!

Curry leaves — It was pretty cool to see curry leaves growing instead of in a plastic bag. The aroma was magnificent.

Pepper plant — I would love to be able to go out and harvest my own pepper.

As nice of an experience as it was, you can only watch pepper grow for so long. So we piled back into our van and drove a couple of miles to visit Budist and Hindu temples. We were asked to remove our shoes while we walked around to see it all. This was definitely a day to remember. If I ever get my family over to Sri Lanka, I'll be taking them here. Everyone was so nice and we all felt quite welcome.

The sheer size of this Buda was impressive.

Elephant and monk — I wasn't quite sure about the chained elephant. Two days later on safari, we were charged by one so I guess they do it for a reason.

Tuk Tuks — When in Sri Lanka, be sure to take a ride in one of these tuk tuks! What fun.

Lighting candles. I wasn't sure what was going on here but it still looked interesting.

Incense holder — That's one big incense holder!

Monk — The people there couldn't have been any nicer.

After our short but fascinating visit to the temples, it was time to head back for a quick lunch and a swim before heading off to Colombo. Again I felt we just didn't have enough time at Cinnamon Bey Beruwala but it was time to move on.

Room view at Cinnamon Bey — The view from the patio of my room.

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts. It was a holiday I'll never forget and want to experience again someday soon. I was flown round trip from Heathrow to Colombo courtesy or SriLankan Airlines. I couldn't recommend this airline enough. Excellent service.

Crispy Skin Salmon with Coriander and Cashew Sauce

February 11, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

It isn't difficult to make crispy skin salmon but there are things you need to know before you start.

This crisp skin salmon recipe is so easy and the sauce that accompanies it is delicious with so many other things. In this recipe, I want to show you how to get that salmon cooked to perfection. The sauce is a bonus that you can serve with the salmon or vegetables or any fried or barbecued fish or chicken dish.

About this recipe.

This is not just a recipe but instruction on how to achieve crispy skin salmon whenever you fry it. This is something readers of my blog ask me for advice on all the time, not just with salmon but other fish.

With this recipe for crispy skin salmon, you will see how to get perfect results every time and the advice applies to other fish like sea bass and bream.

The additional recipe for the coriander and cashew sauce is a play on a fish recipe I tried when I was in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The fish they used was locally caught and not salmon as in this recipe but it does work exceptionally well with salmon.

So is this a Sri Lankan recipe?

To be honest, I have not seen fish prepared in this way or with a coriander and cashew sauce other than that one time and I travel to Sri Lanka often.

The coriander and cashew sauce, however uses ingredients that are very popular in Sri Lanka so I imagine you will see similar recipes at fancy restaurants if you go to Sri Lanka.

Cashews are indigenous to Sri Lankan and you will fine them in many Sri Lankan recipes.

How do you achieve crispy skin salmon?

It isn't difficult but there are things you need to do to cook your crispy skin salmon to perfection. The first step is one that most people leave out which is why they fail to get crispy skin.

You need to scrape a sharp knife down the skin of the salmon or other fish. In doing so, you will see that you scrape out a lot of moisture from the skin. It lived in water after all so there is a lot of moisture in the skin.

If you don't do this, the skin will not get crispy. You will see photos below of this process.

The second important step is to place your salmon, skin side down in a hot pan with oil. As you do this, you will see that the salmon fillets buckle up as if they are trying to escape the intense heat.

Use a spatula to press then down all over the fillet. You want that skin to be in contact with the pan while it fries!

How do you make the accompanying coriander and cashew sauce?

When I tried it in Sri Lanka, the sauce had been pounded in a pestle and mortar. It was not smooth and it tasted fantastic so do this if you like. You will find a photo of the pestle and mortar version under the recipe at the bottom of this page.

In the method you see below, you blend the sauce ingredients. When you do this, the sauce becomes thick and creamy and is very much like mayonnaise in consistency.

How do you cook the salmon fillets as you like them.

Do you like your salmon pink in the middle like me or do you prefer it well done? You can easily cook your crispy skin salmon the way you want it.

As the salmon cooks, skin side down, you will see the fish cooking through from the bottom to the top. I usually watch it closely and then turn the fish when it is about 70% cooked. Then I flash fry it for about a minute on the other side.

This is how I like my crispy skin salmon. Nice and pink in the centre but you should experiment and perhaps even take a look with a sharp knife when you turn the fish to cook it to your preferred doneness.

Which type of pan is best for this crispy skin salmon recipe?

I highly recommend using non-stick pans for this recipe if you are new to cooking. You can use other pans but to ensure that the skin stays on when you flip the salmon fillets, non-stick is the way to go.

Can you store leftovers in the fridge?

Yes, you can store crispy skin salmon in the fridge, but the skin will likely lose its crispiness over time. Stored properly, crispy skin salmon can last in the fridge for up to 2 days, but it’s best enjoyed fresh if you want to keep that crispy texture. Here are a few tips to help keep the salmon as close to fresh as possible:

Storing Crispy Skin Salmon:

1. Cool Completely: Allow the salmon to cool completely at room temperature before storing. Placing hot food in the fridge can create condensation, which will make the skin soggy.

2. Store Separately: If possible, keep the salmon and skin separate. Gently remove the skin and store it in a separate container lined with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture.

3. Use an Airtight Container: Place the salmon (and skin if stored together) in an airtight container to prevent it from absorbing any other odors from the fridge.

Reheating to Retain Crispiness:

1. Oven or Air Fryer: Reheat the salmon skin side up in a preheated oven or air fryer at around 375°F (190°C) for a few minutes until the skin crisps up again. This helps restore some of the original texture.

2. Avoid the Microwave: Microwaving can make the skin rubbery and soggy, so it’s best avoided for crispy skin salmon.

Can you freeze crispy skin salmon?

Yes, you can freeze crispy skin salmon, but the skin will not stay crispy after freezing and thawing. However, with careful reheating, you can restore some crispiness to the skin. While it’s possible to freeze and reheat crispy skin salmon, the texture will be closest to fresh if you consume it right o.

Steps to Freeze Crispy Skin Salmon:

1. Cool Completely: Allow the salmon to cool fully at room temperature. Freezing hot salmon can trap steam, which makes the skin soggy.

2. Wrap Securely: Wrap the salmon tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil to protect it from freezer burn, then place it in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. This extra layer helps retain its moisture and flavor.

3. Label and Freeze: Label with the date, and freeze for up to 2-3 months.

Reheating to Restoring Crispiness:

1. Thaw Slowly: Thaw the salmon in the fridge overnight for the best texture.

2. Reheat in an Oven or Air Fryer: Place the thawed salmon skin-side up in a preheated oven or air fryer at 375°F (190°C) for about 5–10 minutes, or until it’s heated through and the skin is crisped up again.

3. Avoid Microwaving: Microwaving won’t restore crispiness to the skin, so it’s best to use a dry heat method like baking or air frying.

Step by step photographs.

The ingredients for the recipe laid out and ready for cooking. — Get all your ingredients together and ready before you start cooking.

Blending the coriander and cashew sauce. — Place the ingredients for the coriander and cashew sauce except for the salt and lime juice in a blender. Add about 125ml (1/2 cup) water and blend until smooth.

The finished coriander and cashew sauce. — Season with salt and lime juice to taste. It should look like this, mayonnaise consistency.

Scraping the moisture out of the salmon skin. — Using a sharp knife, scrape the moisture out of the salmon skin. I usually scrape each piece a couple of time to get it all out.

The salmon fillets ready for the pan. — The skin should be paper dry. Season with a bit of salt.

Frying the salmon fillets, skin side down in a hot pan. — Heat about 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Place the salmon in the pan skin side down when hot.

Pressing the salmon fillets down into the pan with a spatula. — When you do this, the salmon fillets will rise up some because of the heat. Hold them down by pressing a spatula down on them.

The salmon fillets frying, skin side down in the pan. — As the salmon fillets fry, you will see the cooked line coming up fro the bottom. I usually wait until they are about 70% cooked before flipping.

The crispy skin salmon in the pan with the skin side facing up. — When you flip them, you should have crispy skin salmon. If not, turn them back over and press down hard with a spatula until crispy. Season with salt and pepper if you like.

The salmon fillets, flipped over again with the skin side down. — Flip the salmon over again when you think you are reaching your preferred doneness. You can use a knife to take a peek.

Crispy Skin Salmon garnished with the coriander and cashew sauce on a serving plate with rice and vegetables. — Enjoy with the coriander and cashew sauce. This crispy skin salmon is so good!

the crispy skin salmon on a serving plate with rice and vegetables. — I usually serve the salmon with a couple of lime wedges. You can squirt the lime juice over to taste.

Yield: 4

Crispy Skin Salmon with Coriander and Cashew Sauce

This is not just a delicious recipe but a way to get achieve crispy skin salmon. The coriander and cashew sauce really brings in all together. This is one you need to try soon.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

4 x skin on salmon fillets
2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
150g (about 1 cup) salted and roasted cashews
2 to 3 green finger chillies, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 small bunch of coriander (about one packed cup)
Juice of two limes
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Start by making the sauce. place the cashews, green chillies, garlic and coriander in a blender with about 125ml (1/2 cup) water. Blend until smooth. You might need to add a drop more water but be careful not to add too much. The sauce should be the consistency of mayonnaise.
Add the lime juice and salt to taste and set aside.
Scrape the moisture from the skin of your salmon by running a sharp knife down the skin. I usually do this about three times to ensure I get it all. You want that skin to be dry as paper.
Heat the oil in a pan over a medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, place the salmon fillets skin side down in the pan. When you do this, the fillets will buckle up from the heat. Press them down with a spatula so that the skin is in constant contact with the pan.
Don't turn the fillets over in the pan until the salmon is about 70% cooked through. You can watch the cooking progress from the side of each salmon fillet. Flip and then cook to your preferred doneness. You might want to flip the fillets over again and take a peek at the meat inside with a knife to ensure it is cooked to your liking.
Transfer the salmon fillets to a serving plate and drizzle with some of the coriander and cashew sauce. Serve some more of the sauce at the table so you can top it up if you like.

Chili Sambal

February 10, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

This chili sambal can be prepared in minutes and tastes great!

One of the things I enjoyed most about visiting Sri Lanka was eating and also learning how to prepare delicious Sri Lankan food like this easy chili sambal. There are so many different sambals that are served with different main and side dishes. Sambal is the Sinhala name for it. You might have heard chili sambal called a sambol which is the tamil word for this spicy chutney.

About this chili sambal recipe...

This is a recipe I learned on a visit to a small village. All of the cooking and food preparation was done in a small hut. The sambals were prepared as they have been for hundreds of years: on a stone table. The ingredients were place on the grinding stone and then smashed to a paste, with just a little water.

I watched as a batch of this chili sambal was prepared and then the cook, asked me to give it a try.

I sat there and grinded my first chili sambal. It was an experience I will always remember.

Special Ingredients

One of the ingredients used to make this and other chili sambals was Maldive fish. This is a popular ingredient in many sambals but it's not something you can just run up to the supermarket and purchase.

You will find it online and at specialty Sri Lankan shops though. Failing that, you could use dried baby shrimp which are easier to find at most Asian grocers.

That's what I used in this recipe but I now am the proud owner of several jars of dried Maldive fish.

How is chili sambal made?

Dried bird's eye chilies are first soaked in water to rehydrate them. Then they are pounded on the grinding stone into a thick paste.

Then, one by one, each of the other ingredients is added to the chilies and the grinding continues until it's all pounded and ready to enjoy.

How I changed the recipe...

To be honest, I'm not sure if I changed the recipe at all. I have always toasted dried chillies before soaking them. It brings out the flavour. It's possible they did the same but I didn't see this done.

You can toast or leave them as they are before soaking.

You could probably leave the roasting step out without affecting the flavour too much. I used dried shrimp instead of Maldive fish as they use in Sri Lanka.

Making chilli sambol — Toasting the dry chillies until warm and fragrant.

Making red chilli sambol — Grind your red chillies into a paste.

Chilli sambol — Once all pounded into a paste, add salt and lime juice to taste.

If you like this Sri Lankan chili sambal, try some of these Sri Lankan favourites too...

Butternut Squash Curry
Black pork curry
Black chicken curry
Crab curry
3 Meat Curry
Eggplant (Aubergine) curry
Green Bean Curry
Sri Lankan Beef Curry
Sambal Oelek

Yield: 250ml

Sri Lankan Red Chilli Sambal

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

50g dried red chillies (the kind shown)
50g red onion - finely chopped
1 tablespoon Maldive dried fish or dried shrimp
Lime juice to taste
Salt to taste

Instructions

Roast your chillies for about three minutes until fragrant over medium heat in a dry frying pan.
Soak the chillies for half an hour. Remove the stems and place in a mortar or food processor.
Using your pestle and mortar (or food processor) grind the red chillies with just a little water until you have a paste.
Add the onion and dried fish or shrimp and continue grinding until combined.
Squeeze a little lime juice over it all and add salt to taste.

Hikka Tranz Hotel - Sri Lanka

February 8, 2016 By Dan Toombs 4 Comments

I'd been looking forward to visiting Hikka Tranz in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka for some time. As jobs go, this was a good one as I had been invited with three other bloggers to experience Sri Lanka and also a few of Cinnamon Hotels' luxury hotels. Finally I was there!

Food blogger and author Sarah Brittan (My New Roots) and I were picked up from the airport in Colombo for the two hour drive to the hotel. Looking out the window of the van along the way, I could tell this was going to be a holiday to remember. It was so green and lush. We passed palm trees, cinnamon plants and tea plantations all along the way.

View from room at Hikka Tranz — View from my room at Hikka Tranz. It doesn't get much better than this.

When we arrived at Hikka Tranz, we were offered cold drinks and then shown to our rooms. My suite was very comfortable. Air conditioned and large. All of the home comforts were there. I walked out onto the patio off my room and immediately facetimed my wife and kids. That photo above was my view and I really wished my family could be there to experience it all with me. Our boiler back at home had just packed in and they were freezing. I didn't quite get the reaction I was hoping for. 🙂

In addition to writing about all that Cinnamon Hotels have on offer, we were also there to shadow Marco Pierre White's highly publicised visit to Sri Lanka with Cinnamon Hotels. I had no time to rest, there was a cocktail party starting down by the sea where Chef Marco was the guest of honour and us food bloggers were all invited. January is summertime in Sri Lanka and it was nice and warm as the sun set over the Indian Ocean.

The cocktails, I had my fair share, were spot on as were the canapés that were my first real taste of Sri Lankan food. I was in Sri Lanka! This was just too good to be true.

I walked up to Marco who was having photos taken with the chefs from the hotel and introduced myself. I'd just finished reading his book "Devil in the Kitchen" and wasn't sure what he would be like. He turned out to be quite laid back and easy to talk to; a nice and down to earth guy. More on Marco in later posts.

Between snacking and drinking by the pool and dinner, I had an hour to kill so I went for a quick swim. What a place!

The meal that evening was put on specially for Marco's visit. You would not believe the work that went into it. I met Sarah and another of the food bloggers, Roxanne Bamboat (The Tiny Taster) for drinks and then that spectacular dinner. The thing was - and I wasn't to know this at the time - this was a good sign of things to come. The food served at each of the Cinnamon Hotels we visited was out of this world even when Chef Marco wasn't in the building. As much as I wanted to just sit down and eat, I had to take a few pics.

Roast turkey at Hikka Tranz — Roast turkey Sri Lankan style.

Kebabs at Hikka Tranz — Kebabs anyone? The chefs were making kebabs to order. From squid to chicken, the choice was yours.

Fish at Hikka Tranz — Fresh locally caught fish and lots of it. I just had to pick what I wanted and the chefs cooked it. I wish I had a few more stomachs.

Fish at hikka Tranz hotel — Pretty much anything you could think of was there.

Lobster at Hikka Tranz — There was no way I was going to pass on the lobster!

Cooking fish at Hikka Tranz — Some of the fish I tried I'd never seen before. This was a food lover dream.

Food at Hikka Tranz — Not a seafood fan? No problem! There was everything from chicken to homemade dosas.

After that evening of fun and overindulgence, I was ready for bed. I'd been told that if I make my way down to the sea at 6.30 the next morning, I could swim with wild large turtles. I wasn't going to pass up that opportunity.

I wasn't quite ready to wake up when the wakeup call came but I got up anyway. I put my swim trunks on and headed down for the sea. I got a few photos of the turtles before packing my camera and jumping in for a swim. If you go to Hikka Tranz, I highly recommend getting up early and swimming with these friendly turtles.

Meeting the turtles at Hikka Tranz — The huge turtles are quite friendly. They only come into shore for about half an hour between 6.30 and 7.00.

Turtles at Hikka Tranz — You can even help feed them as long as it's something that grows in the sea.

We didn't have enough time in this beautiful place. That afternoon we were being picked up to go to the next hotel Cinnamon Bey Beruwala. But not before a quick trip up the road with the head chef of Hikka Tranz to the local fish market and a cookery lesson. Executive Chef Julinda Pushpakumara showed us all how to make one of his incredible fish curries. You can see the recipe here. If you love seafood, you are going to have to give it a go.

Fish market near Hikka Tranz — Selling the morning catch.

Water monitor — While admiring the market, this 10ft water monitor walked up behind me. I moved very quickly. They aren't dangerous.

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Cinnamon Hotels in Sri Lanka. I absolutely loved my stay and recommend Cinnamon Hotels to anyone visiting Sri Lanka.

I was flown round trip from Heathrow to Colombo courtesy or SriLankan Airlines. Such a nice airline. Excellent service.

Coconut Sambol

February 5, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

coconut, chilli and onion chutney — This coconut sambol is so good. I like it with hoppers.

I can honestly say that I didn't have one bad meal during my recent visit to Sri Lanka. I learned so much about the country, its people and their food in a short period of time.

As a guest of fantastic luxury hotel chain Cinnamon Hotels, I was shown so much that I couldn't wait to tell you all about t all.

One afternoon, I was invited with my new food blogger friends Roxanne Bamboat (The Tiny Taster) and Sarah Britton to go to a local village to observe the cooks prepare the most incredible vegetarian feast.

They worked in a communal open kitchen made of clay and straw. It was amazing to see what these women could do with the most basic tools.

One of the cooks made this coconut, chilli and onion sambol. I had already tried similar chutneys (sambols) a few times while in Sri Lanka but it was fascinating to watch it being made as they have for hundreds of years.

They ground and mixed the ingredients so meticulously. It just seemed to magically come together.

I even got to try my hand at grating a coconut with a sharp but simple tool they used to do the job. It took some doing but I soon got the hang of it. I don't think I'll be challenging them to a race though.

My teacher worked that coconut so fast. You can't see it in the photos but there is a sharp metal object that is attached to the small stool that is used to dig all the meat from the coconut out of the shell.

There was no way I was going to do that quickly as I didn't want to end up later at the hospital than in the swimming pool enjoying a few cold beers in the hot sun.

By the way, this coconut, chilli and onion sambol goes very well with hoppers. You can check out my recipe for those here.

If you like this recipe try these other recipes for chutneys that also go well with hoppers:

Coriander & Coconut Chutney
Tomato Chutney
Coriander & Mint Chutney
Coconut, Tomato & Chilli Chutney
Tomato, Onion & Chilli Chutney
Spicy Coriander Chutney
Garlic Chutney

Making coconut, chilli and onion chutney — The traditional way of adding salt. Rock salt is added to water that is then splashed into curries and this chutney.

grinding coconut — Scooping out a coconut by the professional.

Grinding coconut for coconut chutney — My ever so slightly slower attempt. I didn't want to sit on the stool in case I broke it.

Yield: 2 cups

Sri Lankan Coconut, Chilli and Onion Sambol

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Shredded meat from one coconut
3 red chilli peppers
Salt to taste
A slash of water
1 red onion
Juice of one or two limes

Instructions

Using a pestle and mortar or a grinding stone if you have one, start by grinding the chilli, salt and water to a paste.
Add the coconut and onion and keep grinding until you have a chunky, thick paste.
Add lime juice to taste and serve.

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Disclaimer: I was a guest of Cinnamon Hotels Sri Lanka. My flight, stay, meals, travel and activities were all compliments of Cinnamon Hotels. I loved my stay and highly recommend Cinnamon Hotels if you are travelling to Sri Lanka. You can visit their website here.

I was flown round trip from Heathrow to Colombo courtesy or SriLankan Airlines. What a great airline. Excellent service.

Sri Lankan Chicken Curry with Black Pepper

February 4, 2016 By Dan Toombs 40 Comments

Are you ready to try the best and most popular Sri Lankan chicken curry ever? This Sri Lankan chicken curry recipe will get you the results you're looking for!

Authentic Sri Lankan Black Pepper Chicken Curry. — Authentic Sri Lankan Chicken Curry with lots of black pepper.

How I got to know this incredible Sri Lankan chicken curry.

I enjoyed so many amazing meals while in Sri Lanka staying at Cinnamon Hotels. One of my favourite curries was a black pepper chicken curry that I had at The Cinnamon Grand at their restaurant Nuga Gama. What a place!

That was my first introduction to this Sri Lankan chicken curry that I enjoyed many more times all over Sri Lanka.

I was in Sri Lanka as an invited blogger guest of Cinnamon Hotels and got to learn this recipe from their head chef at Nuga Gama.

The chicken curry is usually made with small cuts of chicken on the bone.

I loved picking up these small bones and gnawing at the meat. The flavour was out of this world.

Presentation and flavour tips.

All of the curries at Nuga Gama were cooked and presented in clay pots. I was determined to do that same.

It's not easy carrying a big clay pot back in your hand luggage but as you can see I got it back! You could of course use a normal saucepan for this authentic Sri Lankan curry but cooking it in a clay pot is great for presentation and flavour.

When it comes to the black pepper, please use this recipe as a guide! I like a lot of black pepper in this curry and usually use more than suggested. That is completely down to you and your taste.

When making a curry like this, it's important to taste as you go.

Some of the spectacular curries at Nuga Gama. Cooked in clay pots over fire.

Making black chicken curry — Melt the ghee over medium high heat.

Making black pepper chicken curry — In goes the garlic and ginger paste along with the soy sauce.

Making Sri Lankan black pepper chicken curry — Stir in the sweet green peppers and sliced onions.

Making chicken curry — Water will be released from the meat and vegetables.

If you like the look of this chicken curry, try some of these Sri Lankan recipes too.

Sri Lankan red chilli sambo
Sri Lankan Coconut, Chilli and Onion Chutney
Sri Lankan Pork Curry
Sri Lankan Jaffna Crab Curry
Sri Lankan Hoppers

Yield: 3 - 4

Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry

This Sri Lankan black pepper chicken curry is exactly as I enjoyed it in Balapitiya, Sri Lanka. In fact it's the same as it was made there while I helped out in the kitchen. You are going to love this.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
2 tbsp good quality curry powder]
1 kg (1 1/4lb) small bite sized chicken pieces, skin removed and preferably on the bone
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp coconut oil
1 cinnamon stick, broken into small pieces, or cassia left whole
4 cloves
2 cardamon pods, lightly bruised
½ medium red onion, finely chopped
2 green chillies, cut lengthwise
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 x 2.5cm (1 inch) ginger, finely chopped
2 small pieces of pandan leaves, about 7.5cm (3 inches) square total
20 curry leaves
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp Chinese chicken powder (optional but it adds a nice flavour)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Place a dry frying pan over a medium heat and stir in the Kashmiri chilli powder and curry powder. Let these spices roast for a few minutes, stirring often until they turn a deep chocolate brown. Transfer the roasted spice powder to a plate and set aside.
Put the chicken in a large mixing bowl and season with the salt, pepper and soy sauce. Be sure to mix these ingredients right into the flesh of the meat. You can now go straight to cooking or leave it to marinate overnight.
When ready to cook, heat the coconut oil in a large wok or pot over a medium-high heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, chopped onion, chillies, garlic, ginger, pandan leaf and curry leaves and stir it all up.
Continue frying for about 5 minutes or until the onion is just beginning to turn a golden brown and then stir in the ground turmeric and the prepared roasted curry powder and chilli powder blend.
Pour in 250ml (1 cup) water and bring it all to a simmer. Then add the chicken and add a little more water if required. You want the water level to almost but not completely cover the chicken pieces. Add the Chinese chicken powder, if using.
Cover the pan and continue cooking for about 10 minutes, by which time the meat should be just about cooked through.
Then uncover the pan and let it all simmer gently for another 10 minutes or so to thicken the sauce. This is normally a dry curry with a thick sauce and the black sauce should coat the chicken.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy with white rice or matta rice.

Notes

If you don't like curries with chicken on the bone, you could use boneless chicken. The bone in chicken does add flavour though.

Hopper Recipe

February 4, 2016 By Dan Toombs 4 Comments

You could be a pro and making this hopper recipe in no time!

I was first introduced to this hopper recipe when I was in Sri Lanka in 2016 and I was immediately hooked on them. With this authentic hopper recipe, you will be able to make amazing hoppers at home which taste just like those you find in Sri Lanka.

On my most recent trip to Sri Lanka, I made hoppers almost daily and even got to have a go making them at Nuga Gama restaurant in the Cinnamon Grand Hotel. My hopper recipe has changed very little over the years so I have updated this page with more recent photos that you should have a look at below.

The photos will help you get this hopper recipe just right!

Homemade hoppers using this hopper recipe.

What are hoppers?

Sri Lankan hoppers, also known as appam or aappa, are a popular and traditional Sri Lankan dish made from fermented rice flour and coconut milk batter. They are a type of bowl-shaped pancake with a crispy edge and a soft, spongy center.

To make this hopper recipe as written, you will need a hopper pan but don't let that stop you!

You can use a small wok or even a frying pan to make this hopper recipe. Your hoppers will look different to the bowl shaped pancakes found in Sri Lanka but the flavour will be the same and that's the most important thing.

How do you cook hoppers?

To make Sri Lankan hoppers, a special hopper pan or appachatti is used. This pan is round and bowl-shaped, with a small depth in the center and a slightly raised edge. You pour the prepared batter into the pan and swirled around to coat the bottom and form the characteristic bowl shape. The pan is then covered with a lid to allow the batter to cook through from both the bottom and the top.

Are there different types of hoppers?

Yes and I will be adding recipes for those too very shortly. Hoppers can be a savoury meal served with chutneys and they can also be sweet.

The savoury hoppers are often mixed with other spices to give them different colours such as beetroot for red hoppers and turmeric for yellow hoppers.

Watch this space! Those recipes will be on my blog very soon along with a few sweet dessert hopper recipes.

What if you don't have a hopper pan?

Hopper pans are difficult to come by outside of Sri Lanka where almost every family has a few. Try to get one on ebay if you can or at a specialty Sri Lankan grocer.

Don't let this special pan stop you from making this hopper recipe though! You can use a small wok or even a frying pan. Your hoppers won't look like they do in Sri Lanka but they will still taste amazing.

Sri Lankan hoppers can be made in various forms:

1. Plain Hoppers: These are the basic hoppers made from the rice flour and coconut milk batter as in the recipe card below. They have a subtle coconut flavour and are typically served with accompaniments such as sambal (spicy chili paste), coconut sambol, or a curry.

2. Egg Hoppers: In this variation, a whole egg is cracked into the center of the hopper batter before it sets. The egg cooks along with the hopper, adding richness and flavor. Egg hoppers are a popular breakfast dish in Sri Lanka. See the notes in the recipe card below if you want to give egg hoppers a go.

3. String Hoppers: These are made from a different type of batter consisting of rice flour and water, without coconut milk. The batter is extruded through a special press to form thin strands, which are then steamed to create delicate, noodle-like strands. String hoppers are often served with curry and coconut sambol.

Can you store Sri Lankan hoppers in the fridge?

Sri Lankan hoppers are best enjoyed fresh, soon after they are cooked, as they are at their peak texture and flavor. However, if you have leftovers or need to store them for later use, here are some guidelines:

Refrigeration: You can store leftover Sri Lankan hoppers in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 days. Place them in an airtight container or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out and absorbing other odors in the refrigerator.
Freezing: Sri Lankan hoppers can also be frozen for longer-term storage. If you plan to freeze them, it's best to do so soon after they are cooked and cooled down. Place the hoppers in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze them until they are firm. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container, separating the layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Frozen hoppers can be stored in the freezer for up to 1-2 months.
Reheating: When you're ready to eat the stored hoppers, you can reheat them by steaming or microwaving. If frozen, allow them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating. To steam, place the hoppers in a steamer basket or steaming tray and steam them for a few minutes until they are heated through. Alternatively, you can microwave them for 30-60 seconds until warm.

It's worth noting that while stored hoppers may not have the same texture as freshly cooked ones, they can still be enjoyable, especially when reheated properly and served with your favorite accompaniments. However, for the best experience, it's recommended to consume Sri Lankan hoppers fresh whenever possible.

Can you freeze hopper batter?

Again, I do not recommend doing this. Coconut milk does not freeze well so it is best to make up some batter whenever you want delicious hoppers.

Step by step photographs

Not pictured is the process of proving the yeast water mixture which is easy and explained in the recipe card below.

Making hoppers — While the yeast is proving, sift the rice flour into a large mixing bowl and add just enough of the coconut milk to make a wet dough.

The batter for the hoppers. — Whisk all the batter ingredients until there are no lump and it is creamy smooth. It is best to let the batter ferment over night but this is not essential to cook them.

Hopper pans heating up over a medium-high heat. — Heat a lightly greased hopper pan over a medium-high heat.

Adding a small ladleful of the batter to the pan. — Add a small ladleful of the batter to the hot pan.

Swirling the batter around in the pan — Swirl the batter around in the pan to coat the sides completely with a thin layer of the batter.

Batter lined hopper pan. — The pan should look like this with a thin layer of batter all over the sides and a thicker layer of batter at the bottom.

Cooking the hopper in a pan with the lid on. — Cover the pan and place it back on the heat for about 4 minutes.

The hopper after cooking for 4 minutes. — After about 4 minutes, lift the lid and your hopper will look like this. Uncover and keep cooking to brown the hopper some.

A stack of hoppers using this hopper recipe. — Stack the hoppers as you finish cooking them and enjoy with a good Sri Lankan chutney.

If you like this Sri Lankan hopper recipe, you might like to try some of these other Sri Lankan favourites.

Spicy Sri Lankan Fried Cashews
Sri Lankan Fried Calamari
Isso Vade
Sri Lankan Prawn Curry
Beef Curry Sri Lankan Style
Green Bean Curry
Butternut Squash Curry
Prawn Curry with Moringa Leaves
Sri Lankan 3 Meat Curry
Eggplant Curry
Sri Lankan Black Pork Curry
Sri Lankan Chicken Curry
Crab Curry
Black Pepper Chicken Curry
Sri Lankan Fish Curry

Have you tried this Sri Lankan hopper recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow me on Instagram and Facebook for all my latest recipes.

Yield: 10

Hopper Recipe

Ingredients

1 tsp dry active yeast
70ml (1/4 cup) warm water
1 tbsp sugar
FOR THE BATTER
270g (2 cups) white or brown rice flour
400ml (1 ½ cups) good quality coconut milk
125ml ( ½ cup) coconut water or water
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar

Instructions

Pour the warm water into a bowl. It should be hand hot so not boiling but about bath water temperature. Stir in the dry active yeast and sugar and then cover with a towel to retain the heat of the water and place in a warm location for about 15 to 20 minutes. The yeast will wake up and become bubbly.
While the yeast is proving, sift the rice flour into a large mixing bowl and add just enough of the coconut milk to make a soft dough. Cover and let it rise in a warm location for about 4 hours.
After four hours, add the remaining coconut milk and knead it into the dough. Then start adding the coconut water or water slowly. You may not need it all. You just want to have a thick and creamy batter similar to full fat cream. Whisk until there are no lumps in the batter. Your batter is now ready to use but you can make it even better by letting the batter ferment.
To do so, cover the batter tightly and place it in a warm place. I usually place it in my oven with just the pilot light turned on. Leave it to ferment for 24 hours for a stronger, more authentic flavour. Whisk again and set aside.
To cook the hoppers, lightly grease a hopper pan. You just want a film of oil so that the hopper doesn’t stick and greasing the pan is not necessary if you are using a non-stick hopper pan.
Place the pan over a medium-high heat and when hot, add a small ladle full of the batter and swirl it around in the pan. You are aiming for a thin film of batter all over the sides of the pan and more batter at the bottom. This will give you both a fluffy and crispy hopper just like those you find in Sri Lanka.
Cover the pan and cook for about 4 minutes. The sides will turn crispy brown and the bottom of the hopper will be nice and fluffy.
If you are not using a non-stick hopper pan, hit the sides of the pan a few times with the handle of a knife and then use the same knife to ease the hopper out of the pan.
Transfer your cooked hopper to a plate and continue until all the batter is used up or until you have enough to serve. Any leftover batter can be stored in the fridge for at least three days and it can also be frozen for up to six months.

Fish Curry Recipe

January 30, 2016 By Dan Toombs 5 Comments

The view from my room at Hikka Tranz hotel by Cinnamon Hotels. — The view from my room at Hikka Tranz hotel by Cinnamon Hotels in Sri Lanka.

Check out that view! This was taken from the balcony of my room at Hikka Tranz by Cinnamon Hotels just as the sun was going down.

I may have been exhausted after an eleven hour flight from Heathrow to Colombo and another two hour drive to the hotel but there was no way I was going to rest.

I'd waited too long to make it to this part of the world and I wanted to get out and experience it.

Marco Pierre White and the Curry Guy, Dan Toombs — After reading his books, it was great to meet Marco.

First stop was a cocktail party by the sea where I met Marco Pierre White! What a great guy. I just finished reading about his rather eventful and impressive life in his autobiography "Devil in the Kitchen", so to meet him in person was a great way to start my trip off in Sri Lanka.

After a few strong adult beverages, it was time to enjoy a feast that was put on by Executive Chef Julinda Pushpakumara.

There's too much to show and tell you about so I'm going to have to do that in a later post. For now, I would like to show you a fish curry recipe that Chef Julinda demonstrated to me and a few new food blogger friends the following morning.

Julinda took us first to the fish market where he purchases fish for the hotel's restaurants.

Fisherman display their catch that they brought in just a couple hours earlier. You can't get much fresher than that.

Fish market — I wish we had a market like this near my home

For his recipe, Julinda was looking for pavow fish and managed to snap up the last few.

I'd never tried or heard of pavow. I liken it in flavour and texture to halubut. Halibut is what I'll be using when I cook this fish curry recipe at home as it's a lot easier to come by.

Pavow is red in colour so if using white halibut it won't look the same as photographed.

With his Executive Sous Chef Saman Kumara, Julinda demonstrated this fish curry recipe step by step. Now I would like to show it to you so that you can taste a bit of Sri Lanka at home.

If you like seafood, you're in for a treat. This dish is so Sri Lankan. Not only was the freshest fish used but there was an emphasis on cinnamon, black pepper and cardamom which were all used in the marinade and sauce.

These are all part of the homegrown ingredients that make Sri Lankan food so good.

Making fish curry — A couple of the pavow cleaned and ready to prepare.

If you like this recipe for fish curry why not try these similar ones:

Keralan Fish Curry
Goan Fish Curry
Halibut Fish Curry
Fish Curry with Coconut & Chilli
Spicy Fish Curry with Naga Chillies
Monkfish Curry

Yield: 4 - 6

Fish Curry Recipe From Hikka Tranz By Cinnamon Hotels

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

1 kilo (2 lbs.) meaty fish like halibut or povow if you can get it
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon chilli powder (more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon dried red chilli flakes
1 tablespoon garam masala
Juice of two limes
A handful of green chillies
1 red onion - quartered

FOR THE SAUCE

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 stick of cinnamon
3 cloves
3 green cardamon pods
1 red onion – roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic – roughly chopped
1 thumb sized piece of ginger – finely sliced
2 tablespoon – finely chopped lemongrass
3 green chillies – roughly chopped (more or less to taste)
2 tomatoes – roughly chopped
2 tablespoons – roughly chopped pandan leaves
20 fresh curry leaves
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (more or less to taste)
500ml (2 cups) coconut milk
Juice of two or more limes
More salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Start by marinating your fish. Pour the oil over the cubed fish and then add the spices and salt.
Mix it all up and allow to marinate for 30 to 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.
Pour the vegetable oil into a large pan over medium high heat. When it begins to bubble, add the cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods.
Fry for about 30 seconds to allow the oil to take on the flavour of the spices and then add the curry leaves, pandan leaves, onion and ginger.
Cook this until the onion becomes translucent and soft and the add the garlic and green chillies.
Let this sizzle for a minute or so and pour in the chopped tomatoes,
Stir this all up nicely to combine and add black pepper, chilli powder and turmeric.
Turn up the heat slightly and add the coconut milk. bring to a simmer to allow it to thicken slightly.
Pre-heat your oven to 180c (350f).
Skewer the cubed fish, red onion and green chillies and place in a roasting pan.
Cover the fish with the sauce and cook for about 15 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
Season with salt and perhaps a little more black pepper to taste.
Serve with rice and a little green salad.

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I would like to thank Julinda and Saman for this fantastic recipe. It was incredible.

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Hikka Tranz by Cinnamon Hotels Sri Lanka. I absolutely loved my stay and highly recommend this hotel. I can't wait to bring my family back next time and will do that sooner rather than later! That room, location and of course the food will ensure we do. I was flown round trip from Heathrow to Colombo courtesy or SriLankan Airlines. I couldn't recommend this airline enough. Excellent service.

Korean Cucumber Salad

January 25, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

This delicious Korean cucumber salad could not be easier to make!

Korean cucumber salad is a must with any Korean meal. Below you will find step by step photographs and see for yourself just how easy it is to make. You can prepare this Korean cucumber salad in as little as 10 minutes.

You can follow the recipe as written or add your own touch to it, making it spicier, sweeter or more savoury to taste.

About this Korean cucumber salad recipe.

There really isn't much to do with this recipe. Just be sure to source the freshest, crispiest cucumber and spring onions (scallions) you can find. You can whisk the delicious dressing together in a minute.

So if you are in a hurry for deliciousness, be sure to make this. Your Korean cucumber salad can be prepared in less than 10 minutes and it makes a great snack or light lunch.

I usually serve it as a side dish with a Korean main such as beef bibimbap, Korean pork chops, Korean braised beef stew or Korean fried chicken.

Make this recipe your own.

In the recipe card below you will see how to make this recipe simply and easily. There is no reason you can't add to it though.

The salad dressing is great with any crisp vegetables. Go ahead and add the vegetables of your choice. If it sounds good, it will be.

Can you work ahead?

Yes. You can make this Korean cucumber salad a couple of days before serving. In fact, I think it gets better when you do. You could also just prepare the dressing, cucumber and spring onions a couple of days ahead of serving and mix it all up later.

What are the key ingredients in the salad dressing?

2 tbsp soy sauce: This gives the dressing a delicious and savoury flavour.
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar: Rice wine is quite mild and gives the Korean cucumber salad a subtle sour flavour.
1 tbsp sugar: Sugar adds sweetness to the dressing. You should add it to taste.
½ tsp sesame seeds: Sesame seeds are used as a garnish and to give the dressing a nutty flavour. You could toast the sesame seeds for additional depth of flavour.
1 tsp gochuguru (Korean chilli powder): This gives the dressing a slightly spicy flavour. Like sugar, it should be added to taste.
2 - 3 tbsp gochujang: This Korean chilli paste is sweet and mildly spicy. Some are spicier than others. Try it and add it to taste.

Is there no oil in this dressing?

There certainly can be. There isn't in my recipe but go ahead and add about a tablespoon of sesame oil if you like.

How long can you keep Korean cucumber salad in the fridge?

Your salad with its dressing will keep in the fridge for at least three days. It can actually be stored longer but for best results, consume it within three days.

Step by step photographs.

Ingredients for the salad. — Get all your ingredients together and prepared before starting. The rest is a breeze.

The dressing whisked together in a bowl. — Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together.

If you like this Korean cucumber salad recipe, you might like to try some of these Chinese takeaway favourites too:

In addition to all the new Korean recipes on my blog, I am currently adding the most popular Chinese takeaway recipes so be sure to check back often for new recipes. There are a lot on the way!

Have you tried this Korean cucumber salad recipe?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow me on Instagram and Facebook for all my latest recipes.

Yield: 2 - 4

Korean Cucumber Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 English cucumber, slit down the middle and finely sliced
2 - 3 tbsp gochujang (Korean Chilli Paste)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp gochuguru (Korean chilli powder)
3 spring onions (scallions) finely chopped

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together with half of the chopped spring onions (scallions).
Add the sliced cucumber to this dressing and mix well to combine.
Ganish with the sesame seeds and remaining spring onions (scallions).
This Korean cucumber salad can be prepared a couple of days ahead of serving for more flavour but that is not essential. There are plenty of delicious flavours going on here!

Simple Chickpea Chaat Recipe

January 19, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

This chickpea chaat is a nice one if you just want to make a quick, healthy meal. It’s also nice served as part of a curry feast.

The traditional way of making chickpea chaat is to soak dried chickpeas overnight and then simmer them until tender. Knowing that most people, including myself won’t usually have the time or desire to do this, I have used tinned chickpeas for this recipe. They work just fine.

Do use dried chickpeas for your chickpea chaat if you have the time though!

Chickpea chaat can be eaten hot or cold. It make an excellent low calorie snack that is both filling and delicious.

I call this my "simple chaat" as it can be made in minutes. There are a lot of chickpea chaat recipes out there that are more complicated but this one get awesome results with very little work involved.

Making chaat — Frying the onion and spices.

If you like the look of this chickpea chaat, you might like to try some of these!

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

Yield: 4

Simple Chaat

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 x 400ml tins of chickpeas – drained
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
½ red onion – roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic – roughly chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) chilli powder
½ teaspoon garam masala
Juice of one lime
3 tablespoons chopped coriander
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add the onions, turmeric and chilli powder and fry until the onions are soft.
Add the garlic and fry for a further minute or so.
Pour in the chickpeas and cook them until heated through.
Add the lime juice, coriander and garam masala and stir to combine.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm or cold.

I hope you enjoy this chickpea chaat recipe. If you do give it a try, please don't be a stranger. Leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

Banana and Kiwi Smoothie

January 18, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

Make this banana and kiwi smoothie in minutes!

This is a lassie version of banana and kiwi smoothie that you've simply got to try. It's so easy to prepare and good any time of day.

Kiwi, Banana, Turmeric & Vanilla lassi — I'll be making this again often.

What is the difference between a banana and kiwi smoothie and this fruit lassie?

Where smoothies can be prepared with a lot of different liquids such as cream, milk and even ice cream, lassies are usually just prepared with yoghurt and perhaps some ice.

Other than that, this banana and kiwi smoothie is like any other smoothie but it's the lassie influence that makes it healthier for you. If you really want to treat yourself one morning with a healthy shake that tastes great, I recommend giving this one a go.

When do you serve with this fruit smoothie?

You might think of smoothies as something to have for breakfast or a lunch time snack. Good idea. That said, lassies are served any time of day. They are hugely popular at Indian restaurants.

Why not try them with one or more of these new one pan curry house style curries?

Make this banana and kiwi lassie your own

When making a fruit smoothie (lassie) like this, there are so many things you can do to make it perfect for your personal taste preferences. Go ahead and add other fruits. I used a lot of ice but this banana and kiwi smoothie does not have to be freezing cold. Lassies are often serve so.

You really are free to experiments. Use this banana and kiwi lassie recipe as a guide and go to it with your own ideas.

If you enjoy this apple and nectarine smoothie try my others:

Yield: 1

Kiwi, Banana, Turmeric & Vanilla Lassi

Prep Time 3 minutes

Total Time 3 minutes

Ingredients

2 kiwis
1 banana
250ml ( 1 cup ) plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Beans from half of a vanilla pod (or a drop or two of vanilla extract)
A handful of ice.

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in your blender and blend for about one minute.
That's it... You done.

I hope you enjoy this banana and kiwi smoothie recipe. Lassies are great so if you do try it, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

Blueberry Lassi - Indian Inspired Blueberry Shake

January 8, 2016 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

This is a fabulous tasting blueberry shake and the addition of a tiny bit of turmeric powder really makes it!

Here's another of the healthy fruit shakes I'm drinking every morning. The ideas for fruit shakes are limitless but this blueberry shake is one of my favourites, I just love the addition of turmeric which is probably really unexpected for most people.

For me, eating healthily is all about different flavours. This blueberry and turmeric lassi has a distinct flavour is definitely a healthy choice!

The finished blueberry shake — Smooth blueberry lassi with turmeric. Healthy & delicious!

Why turmeric?

Turmeric has so many health benefits. I like the fact that it is liver cleansing and has been proven to be health enhancing on many levels.

Some of you may find the flavour of raw turmeric powder overpowering in my blueberry shake.

You will probably get used to it. I use a teaspoon in my recipe but you might like to start with a little less.

If you have to, leave it out completely. There's of course plenty of goodness in those blueberries.

Which yoghurt?

You might notice that I have used low fat yogurt in this recipe and not non-fat.

Firstly, I'm not on a diet and the extra fat makes the drink creamier. Also, in order to get the most benefit out of the turmeric, it needs to be digested with a little fat.

I also have to point out that this drink is technically a lassi as drunk all over India every morning.

I refer to it as a shake in my writing as I think it works well as a shake and ticks all the boxes of a fruit shake!

You could also use full fat yoghurt for this blueberry lassi which is amazing. That's up to you.

Which blender?

I have recently acquired a new blender and soup maker, the Vitamix A2500i.

Up until very recently I have always used an inexpensive Nutribullet for shakes but I think you will agree that the Vitamix A2500i produces a smoother shake as you can see from the pictures.

If you enjoy this lassi give my other ones a go:

Mango Lassi
Spinach Lassi
Kiwi & Banana Lassi
Nectarine Lassi
Melon & Honey Lassi

Adding the blueberries to the blender — Put the fresh blueberries in the blender.

Adding the ice, turmeric and Greek yogurt — Add the ice, yogurt and turmeric to the blueberries in the blender.

The blended ingredients — The finished, blended ingredients in the Vitamix A2500i

Making blueberry lassi — The finished blended blueberry shake in a regular blender.

Disclosure: I was sent the Vitamix A2500i blender to try in my recipes. I love it and was under no obligation to say that. I do not work for Vitamix but if you click the links provided to the machine and order, I do make a small amount of money through Amazon Associates for the recommendation.

Yield: 2

Blueberry & Turmeric Lassi

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

250ml (1 cup) low fat Greek yogurt
100g blueberries
75ml ( 1/4 cup ) honey ( optional )
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 handful of ice

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. I usually run the blender for at least a minute or just use the smoothie setting on your Vitamix A2500i blender.
Serve immediately while the lassi is still nice and cold.

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Green Chili Powder

January 7, 2016 By Dan Toombs 4 Comments

Green chili powder is not only great if you like spicy food, it also adds colour to a dish.

Making your own chilli powders from fresh chillies is easy and will add new interesting flavours to your dishes. I love dehydrating green chilies because they not only taste great but they can be made into an amazing green chili powder that is to die for! When was the last time you saw green chilli powder at your local spice shop? You're missing out because this green chili powder is so easy to prepare and tastes different and in some cases better to red chili powder.

Homemade chilli powder — A mix of long green chillies and jalapeño chillies.

What is the difference between green chili powder and red?

Good question! red chili powder is prepared using dried red chilies. There are many different varieties and heat levels.

The same holds true for green chili powder. This time around I used fresh green finger chilies but you can use whatever green chilies you like.

Each variety of green chili will give you a different flavour and heat level.

Aren't red chilies just green chilies that are riper?

In many cases yes. Here you will use fresh green chilies. These are very fresh and the flavour is brighter than using red chilies.

How do you dry the green chilies?

If you have a dehydrator, that's the cheapest way of doing the job. You can just place the inside and let the machine do all the work of drying them. I use a Buffalo dehydrator and love it.

If you don't have a dehydrator, you can still make this recipe. Simply set your dehydrator or oven to 57c (135f) and dry the chilies on a backing tray for 12 hours. Then all you need to do is grind them to a powder.

How long does green chili powder last?

This will keep in an air tight container for at least three months with little loss of flavour. You could probably store your green chili powder much longer and it will still be good.

How do you use this chili powder?

Use it just like you would any chili powder. Especially if you are preparing a green salsa or green curry.

It is also great to use as a vibrant garnish when serving.

Making chilli powder — Start with your chillies of choice. Any will do. Be sure to wash them well.

How To Make Homemade Chilli Powder

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 hours

Total Time 15 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

450g (1 lb) green finger chillies

Instructions

Slice your chillies in half and place them on racks cut side up.
Heat your dehydrator or oven to 57c (135f).
Allow to dry for 12 to 15 hours. The chillies must be crumbly dry with no moisture.
Place the dried chillies in a good spice grinder or pestle and mortar until and blend until you have a fine powder. You may need to do this in batches.
Store in an air-tight container and use within two months.

Notes

You do not have to use green finger chilies for this. Use what you like. Also, feel free to upscale or downscale the recipe.

Nectarine Lassi

January 5, 2016 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

Nectarine & Turmeric Lassi — One of your five a day! I love nectarine & Turmeric lassies!

This one might sound a bit strange but believe me... it's actually quite good. Every morning before going out for a run, I prepare an Indian lassi for breakfast. I've been doing this long before I committed to losing 50 pounds by the end of July 2016. I think you're going to like this one.

I sprinkle turmeric in a lot of my food and drink recipes. It's of course very popular in Asian cooking. I even tried it in a beer once but I wasn't very impressed. It was pretty bad really.

In a lassi, however turmeric is usually a good addition that is also very good for you. It helps cleanse the liver and reduces the risk of heart disease among many other benefits that I won't bore you with here.

Turmeric works best when eaten with a fat. In Indian food, it is often fried in oil or ghee or in this case, blended with low fat yogurt. I used a teaspoon of turmeric in this recipe which might be a bit strong for you if you aren't used to the earthy flavour. You might like to start off with less and adjust to taste.

This is just one of many recipes I'll be sharing with you in the coming months that I will be enjoying as part of my new healthier lifestyle. If you like the look of this, please share it with your friends with the hashtag #EatWellGetFit.

I've got a lot of weight to lose by the end of June. If you're aiming for better fitness too, let's do it together!

Making nectarine and turmeric lassi — Cut up your nectarines into large (or small) chunks.

Yield: 1

Nectarine & Turmeric Lassi

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

250ml (1 cup) low fat yogurt
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 medium sized nectarines - roughly chopped
1 handful of ice

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until very smooth.
Optional extras: Sugar or honey to taste. (I'm not going there anymore.)

Thank you to my friends at AldiUK for sponsoring this blog post. With their help, I'll be bringing you many more healthy recipes to enjoy as part of your own get fit program.

Tandoori King Prawns

December 16, 2015 By Dan Toombs 3 Comments

Like tandoori king prawns? You're going to love this recipe.

This is such and easy recipe for tandoori king prawns! You can literally prepare it in about 30 minutes. Just light up your barbecue and prepare the simple marinade. Let the prawns marinate while your coals are coming up to heat and then grill those tandoori king prawns to perfection. This is a recipe from my cookbook 'The Curry Guy' and it's one you've definitely got to try soon.

About this recipe for tandoori king prawns...

This is a recipe that was sent to me by my friens Chef Palash Mitra who at the time was Head Chef at Scarfs Bar at The Rosewood London.

He has since moved on but luckily you can make his amazing grilled prawns using this recipe.

I'm telling you... you are in for a real treat with this one.

Working ahead

If you like, you can prepare the marinades for this recipe a couple of days ahead of cooking. You can also ask your fishmonger to clean and devein the king prawns or do it yourself.

You will find detailed instructions on how to do this below.

Make the recipe your own

As with all recipes, tandoori king prawn recipe is a guid but you can certainly adjust it to your own taste preferences. You might like the prawns to be spicier. All you need to do is add more chillli powder or fresh chillies.

Obviously, you could also make the recipe milder by toning the chillies down or omitting them completely. Like garlic and ginger? Go ahead and add more.

Taste as you go and amend as you like. Your tandoori king prawns will be the best out there!

Are these tandoori king prawns a starter or a main?

That's up to you. These make a fantastic starter course but you could cook more and serve them as a main too.

If you enjoyed this tandoori king prawn recipes give these other similar ones a go:

Roasted Red pepper and Tomato Tandoori Prawns
Prawns and scallops with Garlic Confit
Spicy Indian Prawns

Making tandoor prawns — Get your hands on the largest prawns you can find!

Making tandoori prawns — Slice down the back with a sharp knife and devein.

The Curry Guy Easy — Over 100 new recipes!

The Curry Guy Cookbook — Best Seller! Over 100 Curry House Recipes.

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Tandoori prawns — So good and easy to make too.

Yield: 4

Palash Mitra's Amazing Tandoori Prawns

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

500g/1lb King prawns, peeled and de-veined with tail intact
1 tablespoon vegetable or corn oil
FOR THE FIRST MARINADE
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon finely ground white pepper
FOR THE SECOND MARINADE
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon cream cheese
1 tablespoon single cream
½ inch piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
1 teaspoon mace and cardamom powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon carom seeds
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (optional)

Instructions

Place the prawns in a dish, mix in all the ingredients for the first marinade and set aside for 10 minutes.
Mix all the ingredients for the second marinade and massage them into the prawns. Thread the prawns on bamboo skewers, piercing the skewer through the tail of each prawn and taking it out through the tip of the head.
Cook for 5-6 minutes in an oven preheated to 200°C. Then put under a hot grill for 1 minute and serve with a salad of your choice.

I hope you enjoy this recipe for tandoori king prawns. If you do try it, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

Parathas

December 15, 2015 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

This homemade paratha recipe will get you fantastic results!

Normally when I show my step by step recipes, I do them myself. I prepare the recipes in my own home kitchen and then send the recipe and photos out to all of you.

If you've been reading my blog lately, you'll know that a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I were invited back to Scarfes Bar by Head Chef Palash Mitra. While there, I was able to watch him prepare some of his fantastic recipes which I photographed.

Paratha Recipe — So many delicious layers. You've got to try this one!

How to cook parathas...

Chef Palash Mitra makes parathas in a tandoor oven. This is something I've started doing in my own tandoor oven but normally they are fried in a tawa which is a flat frying pan.

If you happen to have a tandoor oven, give it a try. His paratha recipe gets great results which are lighter than other methods.

So how do I cook them in a pan?

Realising that not many people have a tandoor oven, I have also shown photos of the pan method. Yes, I do prefer the tandoor but I promise you, you won't be disappointed if you prepare this paratha recipe in a pan. Parathas are an excellent alternative to homemade naans. They are great on their own dipped in your favourite raita or chutney and very nice wrapped around barbecued tandoori style meat and vegetables.

Before making this recipe, you will first need to prepare a batch of my homemade naan dough.

Making Parathas — Separate your dough into pool ball sized balls and then let them rise slightly (Covered)

Parathas — Not so layered as Palash's tandoor version but still a lot different in texture to naans. So good.

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Yield: 8

Homemade Parathas

Prep Time 55 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 quantity naan dough
Plain flour for dusting
Vegetable oil

Instructions

Separate the naan dough into equal sized balls about the size of pool balls.
Cover and allow to rise for another 40 minutes.
Roll each dough ball out into a very flat disc shape.
Spoon a little oil over the surface of each dish. (See photograph above)
Carefully fold into pleats resembling the bellows of an accordion.
Now roll this up into a spiral ball. (See photos above)
Allow to sit for about 15 minutes and then roll out again into disc shapes.
Heat a frying pan over medium hit heat and place one of your discs in it.
As the bottom cooks, small bubbles will appear on the top.
When brown spots begin to appear on the underside, flip it over to brown the top.
After about a minute, flip over again for another 20 seconds and remove from the heat. Keep warm.
Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Crispy Spinach

December 14, 2015 By Dan Toombs 6 Comments

This crispy spinach is what you want to make if you love Chinese crispy seaweed.

You know that delicious fried seaweed you get at Chinese takeaways and restaurants? Well this is one of the ways of making it. You can also use the same process to make Chinese crispy seaweed with kale or cabbage.

I don't know about you but whenever I go out for Chinese food, crispy spinach (seaweed) has to be on the table. So next time you are planning a Chinese food feast, be sure to get some spinach in and make this too.

About this recipe

I learned to make this crispy spinach from a friend back when I was at university. So a long time ago and I've been making it regularly ever since.

It is a bit fussy to make, shredding the spinach and all but it's worth it. You will get something that tastes and looks just like the fried seaweed and Chinese restaurants and for a lot less money.

Working ahead...

This one couldn't be easier.

All you need is fresh spinach, vegetable oil and perhaps a bit of salt. No, not perhaps. Get some salt as it needs it to be the real deal.

All of the shredding can be done a few days in advance of cooking. It really isn't difficult as you will see in the photos below.

Storing your crispy fried spinach.

I recommend making exactly as much as you need. Your crispy spinach will stay crispy for a couple of hours and it is best served right out of the hot oil.

If it doesn't seem crispy enough when you take it out of the oil, just let it rest on paper towels. The paper towels will soak up the excess oil and you will have beautiful crispy spinach to serve.

This does not keep well but I have kept it in an air-tight container for a couple of days and it was almost as good as fresh from the pan.

Can you freeze crispy spinach.

Not really. I don't recommend doing that. If you do find yourself with a lot left over, freeze it but you will need to give it a quick flash fry before serving again.

What is the best and fastest way to prepare the spinach?

Stack the leaves in groups of 10 to 20 s seen in the photos below. This will speed up the process and believe it or not, the spinach is easier to shred that way. I usually discard the stems.

Adding the salt.

Once you fry the shredded spinach, place it on paper towels and also pat it dry with a paper towel. This will make the spinach crispier and also soak up any excess oil.

How much spinach do you need to fry?

You can fry as much as you like in this way. It does take some shredding time but the frying is quick and easy.

Can you use any spinach?

Yes. You can use the baby spinach leaves like I did or use larger spinach leaves. Using larger leaves takes a lot less time.

Step by step photographs

Washed and dried spinach. — Wash and dry you spinach.

Stacked spinach leaves. — To make things easier, stack the spinach leaves.

Thinly slicing the spinach leaves. — Slice the spinach leaves thinly.

Shredded spinach leaves. — I usually discard the stems.

Shred as much spinach as you need. I packed two bowls which weighed about 225g (1 lb.) and the fed my family as a side dish.

Checking the oil heat for frying. — Pour about 500ml (2 cups) of neutral vegetable oil in a wok and heat it up over a high heat. The oil is hot enough when you stick a wooden chop stick or handle in and thousands of bubbles appear on contact.

Spinach frying in the oil — Cook the spinach in small batches of about a handful. It will bubble up when it hits the oil.

The spinach continuing to fry. — The bubbles will stop and the spinach will continue frying.

Fried spinach. — Fry for a minute or two until the spinach becomes crispy and turns a couple of shades darker.

The finished fried spinach drying in paper towels. — Transfer the fried spinach to paper towels to soak up any excess oil. Dry it from the top too.

Like Chinese food? Try some of these popular Chinese recipes.

Have you tried this crispy spinach recipe?

If so, please give it a star rating and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do to. Thank you.

Yield: 2 - 4

How To Make Crispy Fried Spinach

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

250g fresh spinach - Or as much as you like
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Salt to taste

Instructions

Wash and dry your spinach leaves. Remove and stems and shred with a sharp knife. You can see how I did this in the photos above.
Heat your oil in a large wok or pan. Your oil is ready when you stick a wooden chopstick or spatula in and thousands of little bubbles form around it on contact.
Depending on how much you are making, you may need to cook the shredded spinach in batches. I usually cook a large handful of the shredded spinach per batch.
When you first add the spinach, the oil will bubble right up. This is because of the moisture in the spinach leaves. As the spinach cooks, the bubbles will subside. Continue frying for about a minute or two or until the spinach looks crispy and has turned a couple of shades darker.
Transfer the cooked crispy spinach on paper towels. It should crisp right up once out of the oil. Season with a little salt.

Jaffna Crab Curry

November 22, 2015 By Dan Toombs 6 Comments

Jaffna Crab Curry

My wife and I enjoy getting up early on the weekends and driving to Staithes, an old harbour village near our home. The place is beautiful and we usually take a good four to six mile walk along the coast taking in the views.

At the end of our walk is an excellent lobster and crab supplier. The lobsters and crabs are brought in right off Staithes and then placed in pools to continue swimming until purchased. You don't get much fresher than that!

Yesterday we had our hearts set on having an afternoon crab feast for friends so we skipped the walking bit. 🙂

We purchase ten crabs and then drove home to begin working on the festivities. I par-cooked the crabs in boiling hot water for just five minutes and then removed them from the water to cool.

Normally, we serve crab with melted butter and garlic and some crusty bread. Simple but delicious.

This time, however we had something else in mind. I'd seen a Sri Lankan Jaffna crab curry recipe on Cinnamon Hotel's blog and decided to give it a go. My version was slightly different as I had a few roasted spices and some home grown tomatoes I wanted to use up but it was pretty close.

Our verdict? Well let's just say we'll be making this Jaffna Crab Curry again many times. The messy meal was not only quite tasty but fun to serve. I cracked the crab shells before adding them to the curry sauce to make it easier for our guests to get at the meat. I recommend doing the same.

If you enjoy this recipe for crab try these similar ones:

Goan Stuffed Masala Crab
Crab Samosas
Coconut Masala Crab Curry

Making Jaffna crab curry — Quarter your par-cooked crabs and crack the shells.

Making crab curry — Be sure to remove the stringy, plasticky looking bits.

Crab curry — In go the onions, chillies and ginger.

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Yield: 4

Sri Lankan Jaffna Crab Curry

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

4 par-cooked crabs - cleaned, quartered and shells cracked
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
20 fresh curry leaves
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
4 - 8 chopped green chillies
3 tablespoons garam masala
1 teaspoon coriander powder
A pinch of turmeric
3 tablespoons toasted desiccated coconut
3 diced tomatoes (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
800ml thick coconut milk
200ml water
Juice of two limes
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander - stocks and all
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large wok or pan over medium high heat.
Toss in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and curry leaves.
When the mustard seeds begin to pop and the oil becomes fragrant, add the chopped onions, chillies and ginger.
Allow to sizzle for a few minutes until the onion becomes translucent and soft. Then add the garam masala, coriander powder and turmeric.
Stir this all up and add the tomatoes, chopped garlic and toasted coconut.
Make sure the onions are nicely coated with the spices and then add the coconut milk, water and crabs.
Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the sauce is reduced by half. Be sure to stir regularly.
Just before serving, squeeze the lime juice into the sauce and sprinkle in the chopped coriander.
Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

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Turmeric Tomatoes with Saffron

November 10, 2015 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

Turmeric tomatoes is a delicious side salad or light snack.

I really don't know how long I have been making turmeric tomatoes but it's going back a few decades. My recipe has changed some over the years and I'm quite sure it was originally from a Chinese restaurant I used to frequent but I gave it an Indian touch. I liked it so much, I featured this exact turmeric tomatoes recipe in my book 'The Curry Guy Easy'.

This is a delicious way to serve tomatoes. The flavours all go together incredibly well and I hope you love it as much as I obviously do. It's simple recipes like this that started me on my way to food blogging. It's great that something as simple as turmeric tomatoes can taste so amazing.

About this recipe.

Like most salads, turmeric tomatoes are best served chilled. So you will need to think ahead before preparing the salad.

The spices and saffron are first infused over a medium heat into the oil. Then the whole spices are removed and the remaining dressing ingredients are added. This is then chilled in the fridge for an hour or so before mixing with the tomatoes and aromatic ingredients to serve.

Can long can you keep turmeric tomatoes in the fridge?

If you would like to work ahead, go ahead and do so. Turmeric tomatoes will keep in the fridge for at least three days. Just wrap them tightly in a small serving bowl. Be sure to toss the salad before serving so that the tomatoes are nicely coated with the dressing.

Why is there so much dressing?

The special dressing for this salad takes some time and effort to prepare. So I always make more than necessary as it can be repurposed for another salad or more turmeric tomatoes.

Are there other ways to serve turmeric tomatoes?

If you have any turmeric tomatoes left over, they taste great on toasted French bread and can also be thrown tossed into a pasta with outstanding results. I like to add a spoonful or so to kebabs wrapped in hot homemade naans.

Do you fancy eating this hot? Try stirring your tumeric tomatoes into pasta for a bit of Indian/Italian fusion.

Step by step photographs

Ingredients for turmeric tomatoes — To make it easy on yourself, be sure to prep all the ingredients before starting.

The tomatoes, spring onions (scallions) and chopped ginger in a serving bowl ready for chilling. — Place the quartered tomatoes, chopped spring onions (scallions) and ginger in a serving bowl and place in the fridge to chill.

The oil heating in the pan with the garlic, cardamom, cloves, salt, sugar and ground turmeric. — Heat your oil of choice in a large pan and stir in the garlic, chillies, cardamom pods, cloves, salt, sugar and ground turmeric.

Stirring the garlic, cardamom, cloves, salt, sugar and ground turmeric into the oil. — Fry over a medium heat for about 2 minutes to soften the garlic. Then turn off the heat.

Adding saffron and vinegar to the pan. — Add a pinch of saffron to the hot pan and then add the vinegar or lime juice. The oil will take on a yellow tone from the turmeric and saffron.

Adding garam masala to the pan. — Stir in the garam masala. Be sure to stir it right in so that it becomes part of the dressing.

Removing the cardamom pods and cloves from the pan. — Take the cardamom pods and cloves out of the dressing and then place it in the fridge to cool.

The tomato salad ingredients in a bowl next to the prepared dressing. — Once chillied, take the dressing and tomato salad mixture out of the fridge.

The finished turmeric tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper. — Toss it all together and serve chilled. You can also add more salt and ground pepper to serve.

Love Indian Vegetarian Recipes? Why not try one of these too...

All Indian Vegetarian recipes

Dahls

See more Dal Recipes →

Have you tried this recipe for turmeric tomatoes?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the comments below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

Yield: 4

Turmeric Tomatoes with Saffron

This is a delicious salad that can be prepared in minutes. It's best served chilled as a salad but can also be served at room temperature of French bread or hot, stirred into paste. Enjoy!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

400g fresh cherry tomatoes
5 Spring onions - finely chopped
1/2 inch ginger finely chopped
5 Tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil or sesame oil (see notes)
4 cloves garlic - smashed and roughly chopped
4 cloves
4 green cardamons
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt
A pinch of saffron
5 tbsp white wine vinegar or lime juice (see notes)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala

Instructions

Quarter the cherry tomatoes and place in a salad bowl.
Add the chopped spring onion and finely chopped ginger and place in the fridge to chill.
In a small pan, heat the rapeseed (canola) oil or sesame oil over a medium-high heat and then add the garlic, cloves, cardamon, sugar, salt, and turmeric. If you don't like biting into whole spices, be sure to count the cloves and cardamom pods in and then count them out again to remove.
Stir in the pan for about a minute and then turn off the heat. Stir in the garam masala, saffron and vinegar.
Allow to cool slightly and then pour this mixture over the tomatoes and stir it all up nicely.
You can serve immediately but it will be better if you allow the salad to sit untouched for about two hours. Stir and serve.

Notes

Rapeseed (canola) oil or sesame oil: I prefer the strong flavour of sesame oil for this salad. You might prefer olive oil. Both work well in the dressing. A light olive oil is also good.
Vinegar or lime juice: I always used vinegar for this recipe until recently. Lately I have been adding lime juice instead and prefer the flavour. This, however is a personal preference and you might prefer vinegar.

Tandoori Roast Chicken

November 7, 2015 By Dan Toombs 39 Comments

This is tandoori roast chicken made easy!

Over the years, this tandoori roast chicken has been one of my family’s favourite Sunday night dinners. It is so easy to make and tastes amazing. The recipe calls for tandoori paste or tandoori masala. In my first cookbook, 'The Curry Guy', I featured my recipe, and have included that recipe below but a good quality commercially available brand will work just fine. You will find them at all good Asian grocers, online and also in many supermarkets.

This tandoori roast chicken recipe is from my cookbook 'The Curry Guy Easy' and it's exactly that... EASY!

About this recipe

Tandoori roast chicken recipes are many and some are quite difficult and lengthy. So you will find the tandoori roast chicken quite simple. You know that if a recipe is featured in 'The Curry Guy Easy' cookbook, then it is easy.

Simple as it may be, you will still find the tandoori roast chicken to be really delicious. You just don't need to do a lot of preparation to make tandoori roast chicken spectacular.

Working ahead

As with all of my tandoori roast chicken recipes, this tandoori chicken will benefit from a long cooking time.

So you can prepare the marinade a few days before cooking. If you do that, you might as well get that chicken prepared and in the marinade. You can do this up to 48 hours before cooking.

Then all you need to do is place the chicken in the oven and wait about an hour for some of the best tandoori roast chicken around.

What do you serve with tandoori roast chicken?

If you'd like to make your tandoori roast chicken into a feast, you've come to the right place. You could just go for a side of Basmati rice or mushroom fried rice.

If you'd like to make naans, why not try one of these? Instant naans, Peshwari naans, stove top naans, keema naans, garlic naans, tandoor naans (if you have a tandoor oven), or if you're cooking outdoors, karahi naans. Oh, and really easy but just as delicious are homemade chapatis.

You might also like to serve this tandoori roast chicken with a good and easy tarka dal or slowly simmered dal makhani.

Want to start your feast meal off right? How about fried shop bought poppadoms or if you're feeling ambitious, make your own poppadoms from scratch and serve them with coriander chutney, red onion chutney, and/or tamarind chutney.

Can this tandoori roast chicken be cooked on the barbecue?

You bet! This is one you will want to cook over indirect heat. Aim for the same cooking temperature as written in the recipe for the oven.

Doing this, you will get an amazing smoky flavour that is difficult to beat.

What is tandoori masala and tandoori masala paste?

You can purchase both of these at Asian shops and most are quite good though the quality does vary.

If you would like to make your own tandoori masala, you will get even better results with this recipe. Slowly roasting and then grinding the spices really brings out their amazing flavours.

Click here to make your own tandoori masala. If you want to make a paste, you will find a recipe for that here.

Don't waste the leftovers!

Once you have removed and served all the meat from the tandoori roast chicken, you can use the bones to make a delicious stock.

Boil the carcass when you are finished with some onions, carrot and your favourite spices for a very tasty chicken stock that can be made into soups or added to your chicken curries. It is simply too good to waste.

If you are interested in making some Indian restaurant classics, you could add the cooking stock to my base curry sauce recipe instead of water. Doing this will ensure your chicken curries better than you will find at most takeaways and restaurants.

Making tandoori chicken — All marinated and ready for the oven.

Is tandoori roast chicken good for you?

It sure is! As with most tandoori chicken recipes, all of the skin is removed before marinating.

So it is much lighter than most roast chicken recipes but still just as delicious.

Can the tandoori roast chicken marinade be used in other ways?

If you enjoy this recipe, you might like to try the same marinade with different cuts of chicken or other meats. It is great used to make tandoori chicken tikka.

It is really good with lamb and beef.

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Yield: 4 - 6

Tandoori Roast Whole Chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

2.5kg (5lb 8oz) free-range chicken, skinned
Melted butter, for basting Juice of 1–2 limes
Salt
FOR THE MARINADE
4 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 tsp paprika
1 heaped tbsp tandoori paste or tandoori masala (more or less to taste)

Instructions

Make the marinade by mixing together all of the marinade ingredients. Rub about a quarter of the marinade inside the chicken.
Make shallow incisions into the chicken breasts, legs and thighs and truss it tightly. (If you aren’t familiar with how to truss a chicken, no worries. Just tie the the legs together tightly with a piece of string. It won’t win you any awards for presentation but it will help the chicken cook evenly.)
Rub the remaining marinade all over the chicken, ensuring that all of the incisions are covered in marinade. Allow to marinate for 3–48 hours. The longer the better.
When ready to cook, pre-heat your oven to its highest setting. Once the oven is hot, place the chicken in a roasting pan and roast for 40 minutes to 1 hour, basting regularly with the melted butter and cooking juices.
Your chicken is ready when the juices run clear when you prick the thigh with a knife. If using a meat thermometer, aim for 75oC/165oF.
Squeeze over the lime juice and season with salt to serve.

Sweet Lassi

November 6, 2015 By Dan Toombs Leave a Comment

There are many different recipe combos for sweet lassi. This one will get you restaurant quality results.

Personally, I prefer a cold beer with my curries but there are many who like to wash it down with a cold sweet lassi or even salt lassi. If that's you, the you really need to try this recipe.

Lassis aren't just a delicious drink with a curry, however. You can make this any time of day and it works great as a healthy, quick breakfast.

What is sweet lassi?

Sweet lassi is a popular and refreshing Indian beverage made from yogurt (curd), water, and sugar. Other popular ingredients include cardamom, rosewater, or fruits.

It's a classic summer drink in India that is sweet, creamy and slightly tangy taste.

Key characteristics of sweet lassi include:

Yoghurt: Yoghurt forms the base of sweet lassi. It provides creaminess and a slightly tangy flavour. In India, thick and full-fat yogurt is commonly used for the best texture and taste.

Water and/or ice: Water and ice is added to thin the yoghurt and create a drinkable consistency. The amount of water can be adjusted to your preference for thickness.

Sugar: This lassi is sweetened with sugar, and the amount can be adjusted to suit your taste. Some people prefer it sweeter, while others like a milder sweetness.

Flavourings: To enhance the flavor, sweet lassi may be infused with ingredients like cardamom, rosewater, or saffron. These additions provide a nice aroma and taste.

Can you add fruit to a lassi?

Yes! The most popular sweet lassi is mango lassi. There are many different sweet lassi recipes though. You can add any fruit you like.

What is the most popular fruit you can add to a lassi?

Think fruit smoothie here! You are limited only to your own imagination.

Fruits like mangoes, blue berries, melons and strawberries are perfect for creating fruit-flavored lassi.

How do you serve a sweet lassi?

However you like really. You can serve a lassi in a glass or cup. In India, lassies are often sold in clay cups that you throw away when you are finished with your lassi.

You might like to add a popular garnish or two to your sweet lassi. Try garnishing you lassi with slivers of pistachios, almonds or a sprinkle of ground cardamom for added visual appeal and flavour

Ingredients for melon lassi — When you blend your lassi, be sure to add honey and or sugar to taste. Make it as sweet or mild as you like.

Blending a lassi — Blend the sweet lassi until creamy smooth.

Garnishing the lassi. — Garnish your lassi with nuts and/or spices like cinnamon, cardamom.

Pro Tips

Use the freshest ingredients you can get your hands on. This is especially important when choosing which fruit to blend into your drink.
Use full fat yoghurt. Doing this, you will achieve a much creamier texture.
Don't forget the ice. Blending ice into your lassi make all the difference!

Have you tried this recipe?

If so, I would love to hear from you. Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and a comment. Getting your feedback is great and I know the readers of this blog like it too.

Yield: 1

Melon & Honey Lassi

Prep Time 2 minutes

Total Time 2 minutes

Ingredients

250ml plain full fat yoghurt
1 teaspoon honey
Sugar to taste
125g fresh melon
100ml water
3 - 4 ice cubes
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

Place all of your ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Be sure to try it and add more sugar to taste if you like it sweeter. You can also garnish the sweet lassi with nuts or sweet spices like cardamom.

Tandoori Partridge

November 2, 2015 By Dan Toombs 2 Comments

I live in the country and receive my fair share of partridges from my hunting neighbours. As much as I love these gifts, it is a lot easier to purchase your partridges from a good butcher. Feathering and gutting these birds is a real pain in the ass.

If you can’t get partridges where you live, use small chickens. The flavour of the meat is very similar.

Partridges may be game birds but they don’t taste very gamy.

The sauce you make in this recipe is rich and thick. It’s good for dipping your naans into and then piling them with a few torn off pieces of marinated partridge. Totally messy but delicious.

In order to prepare the recipe exactly as I have, you will need to first make my coriander, mint and mango chutney and tandoori paste. It might sound like a lot of work but if you like to cook, it makes for a fun day in the kitchen.

Tandoori partridges. — Serve in the sauce or with it spooned around the partridges.

Yield: 4

Tandoori Style Partridges

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 partridges
200ml plain yogurt
1 tablespoon mint, coriander and mango chutney
1 tablespoon tandoori paste
2 tablespoonsgarlic and ginger paste
1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
100ml water, chicken stock or spice stock
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Start by making your marinade. Mix the chutney, yogurt, fenugreek, tandoori paste and garlic and ginger past in a bowl until smooth.
Place the partridges in the marinade and marinate for three to 24 hours. The longer the better.
When ready to cook preheat your oven to 200c (400f). Lift the birds from the marinade and remove as much marinade from them as possible. Retain any leftover marinade and pat the partridges dry with kitchen towel.
Season the partridges inside and out with salt and pepper. Then brown them all over in one tablespoon of the butter for about four minutes over medium high heat.
Place the partridges in a roasting tray and pour the cooking juices from the pan over them.
Partridges only need about eight to ten minutes in the oven. Roast until just cooked through and allow to sit for about five minutes out of the oven.
Meanwhile, place the roasting tray over medium heat and deglaze with the stock. Add about three tablespoons of the leftover marinade and the remaining butter. Let this all simmer to thicken the sauce.
Serve the partridges in the sauce or if you want to get fancy you could serve them on individual plates with the gravy on the side.

Tandoori Vegetables

October 31, 2015 By Dan Toombs 4 Comments

Tandoori vegetables are great served as a side or main course.

When I'm cooking tandoori chicken or lamb raan, I also like to serve tandoori vegetables as a side. These tandoori vegetables can be made with the vegetables of your choice. You will get great results every time!

About this recipe for tandoori vegetables

You can prepare this easy recipe in different ways. Whether you cook them outdoors on the barbecue or in your oven, you are going to love the flavour.

The tandoori marinade is simple and subtle so you get a nice hit of spice while not losing the natural flavour of the vegetables you choose.

Why do you put gram flour in the marinade?

The gram flour adds both flavour and a delicious appearance to the tandoori vegetables. It makes the marinade thicker which looks great when grilled.

You could also place these tandoori vegetables on a lightly oiled baking tray and cook them in a hot oven until lightly charred and cooked through. Personally though, I enjoy the smoky flavour and char that comes from cooking them over hot coals on skewers and the gram flour adds both to their flavour and appearance.

Which Vegetables?

You can use any vegetables you like for this recipe. If using harder vegetable such as carrots or potatoes, you might want to simmer then until fork tender before adding them to the marinade.

This will help ensure that they cook in the same time as softer vegetables. Really, it's down to you and your personal preference.

Can you make these vegetables ahead of time?

Yes! You can prepare the marinade and marinate the veggies a good day ahead of cooking. It will actually add to the flavour.

What do you serve these tandoori vegetable with?

Like anything tandoor, these grilled vegetables are great with naans and I have a lot of naan recipes for you. Why don't you try instant naans, Peshwari naans, stove top naans, keema naans, garlic naans, tandoor naans (if you have a tandoor oven), or if you’re cooking outdoors, karahi naans.

If chapatis are more your thing, try thesereally homemade chapatis with a good side sauce such as mint and coriander chutney.

These veggies are also great served with tarka dal or the slowly simmered makhani dal.

Making Tandoori vegetables — Par-boil for a couple of minutes. Not too soft now!

Tandoori Broccoli, Cauliflower and onion — Almost ready.

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You might like to try these tandoori vegetables in one of these famous curry sauces!

You can substitute these tandoori vegetables to curry sauces to make vegetarian versions of some of the most popular curry house curries.

Chicken Korma
Chicken Madras
Lamb Rogan Josh
Lamb Vindaloo
Chicken Chilli Garlic
Chicken Patia

Yield: 4

Tandoori Vegetables

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
1 head of cauliflower cut into bite sized pieces
1 red onion – quartered
3 tablespoons gram flour
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon chilli powder
A pinch of turmeric
Juice of on lemon
Salt to taste

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the broccoli and cauliflower florets. Boil until 50% cooked. About a two or three minutes should do. Remove the vegetables from the water to cool.
Mix all of the marinade ingredients and place the broccoli and cauliflower in a large mixing bowl with the sliced onion and pour the marinade over it all. Stir so that all of the vegetables are equally coated.
When ready to cook, prepare you barbecue grill. Skewer the vegetables and cook directly over the hot coals until cooked through.
Season with salt to taste and serve immediately.

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Lamb Raan

October 30, 2015 By Dan Toombs 20 Comments

Lamb Raan made easy!

Lamb raan is a real treat. Many curry houses serve it but don’t expect to simply walk in and order. Most restaurants will ask for two to three days notice and a deposit if you want to treat your family and/or friends to a leg of lamb raan.

The reason for this is that it isn’t ordered often and the leg of lamb should really be marinated for 48 to 72 hours for best results. Here I would like to show you how it's done and don't forget the naans and chutneys to go with it!

What is lamb raan?

Raan means leg in Hindi so this is a leg of lamb. In India and Pakistan, you will find lamb raan made with mutton or goat too.

I have tried both and they are great options too.

About this lamb raan recipe

I’ve experimented with many lamb raan recipes over the years. You will find some more complicated than others but this lamb raan is quite easy. It's so easy, I included the recipe in my cookbook 'The Curry Guy Easy' so that's saying something.

The spicing is perfect for the lamb and really the most difficult part of making this lamb raan is waiting 48 to 72 hours for it to marinate. You are going to love this simple recipe and no... no one you serve this lamb raan to will have any ideas it's so easy to prepare.

How do you cook lamb raan

If you are a big fan of lamb that is cooked pink in the middle like me, you might be a bit worried when you read the recipe below. Believe me, you need not worry. The lamb raan is slowly cooked for about two and a half hours in the oven or on a barbecue. The slow cooking method produces and well done leg of lamb that is just as juicy as any medium rare cooked lamb.

After you are finished slow cooking the lamb raan, you turn the heat of your oven right up to char it some. If cooking on a barbecue, you can slap it right down over direct high heat and char to your liking.

Working ahead

You can prepare the marinade a good five days ahead of cooking. Just ensure everything is in date before doing so.

Your lamb raan will be best if you leave it to marinate for 72 hours so this can of course be started earlier rather than later too.

Then all you need to do is follow the cooking instructions below and serve up delicious lamb raan to your family and friends.

Can you do anything with the leftovers?

Yes. If you have any leftovers, you can add it to curry house style curry sauces. Curry house curries call for pre-cooked meat and this is some of the best.

If you don't have much lamb raan meat leftover, you can still make this delicious and easy lamb soup. Use the bone to make this lamb stock and you will have one amazing soup in minutes!

What do you serve with this leg of lamb?

Anything you like really. But if you want to serve it as part of a feast, I can highly recommend serving it with samosas, naans or chapatis and of course a few good chutneys.

If you really want to start your lamb raan feast off with a tasty start, why not try making your own poppadoms or onion bhajis? They are so good and better than you will find at most expensive Indian restaurants.

Does the lamb raan have to marinate so long?

No. You could get away with just marinating the meat for a couple of hours. That said, the longer you allow the meat to marinate, the better.

Step by step photographs

Ingredients for lamb raan — Get all your ingredients together before starting. It's a lot easier.

Preparing the lamb raan by removing the fat and filling prepared holes with garlic. — Remove the surface fat and discard. Then make small holes over the surface and fill with the slivered garlic.

Frying onions for the marinade. — Fry the onions until golden brown in oil. This will take about 10 minutes.

Blended onion paste and yoghurt. — Transfer the fried onions to a food processor and blend with the remaining garlic and ginger. Whisk the onion mixture with the yoghurt and add the ground spices and lemon juice.

Marinating the leg of lamb. — Rub the marinade all over the lamb raan and allow to marinate for a couple of hours or up to 72 hours.

Lamb and it's marinade wrapped in cling film. — I recommend wrapping the lamb with it's marinade tightly in plastic wrap.

Lamb ready for cooking. — When ready to cook, rub as much of the marinade off the lamb as you can and retain it if you want to make a gravy. Place on the sliced onions, cinnamon stick and bay leaves.

Lamb raan covered with foil for cooking. — Cover the lamb with foil to cook. The foil does not need to be wrapped tightly around the lamb.

Tender cooked lamb after 3 hours in the barbecue oven. — After 2 1/2 to 3 hours, remove the foil and the lamb will be pull apart tender.

The lamb raan on a hot barbecue grill. — Slap the meat right down over a flaming hot grill or raise the heat of your oven to char it some. Brush with melted ghee from time to time.

Optional gravy recipe

Lately I have been skipping the gravy and opting for homemade chutneys. Someday I will probably go back to making gravy.

You can make a gravy for this lamb raan very easily. Just place the lamb juices with all the onions, cinnamon and bay leaves over a medium heat. Add about 250ml (1 cup) water or lamb stock and bring to a simmer.

Then whisk in the reserved marinade one tablespoon at a time. Pass it all through a sieve and serve hot with the lamb raan.

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Yield: 6

Lamb Raan

Prep Time 3 days

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 days 3 hours

Ingredients

1 leg of lamb – surface fat removed
2 cloves garlic, cut into thin slivers
Rapeseed (canola) oil for shallow frying
2 brown onions, thinly sliced
FOR THE OPTIONAL GRAVY
2 red onions cut into large chunks
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
FOR THE MARINADE
500ml plain Greek yoghurt
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 x 5cm (2 inch) ginger, finely chopped
1 teaspoon chilli powder (more or less to taste)
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tbsp tandoori masala
1 tbsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper ( to taste)
Juice of one or two limes

Instructions

Pierce the leg of lamb all over with a sharp knife. Take two cloves of garlic and slice them into thin slivers
and insert the garlic slivers into the holes. Set aside.
Now heat sufficient oil in a pan and fry the sliced brown onions until golden brown. This will take between 10
and 15 minutes. Transfer the fried onions with a slotted spoon to a food processor and add the remaining garlic and ginger. Blend to a thick paste. You can use a drop of water if needed.
Mix this onion paste with the yogurt and add the ground spices and lemon or lime juice.
Rub this marinade all over the surface of the lamb raan. I recommend wrapping the lamb in all that marinade
tightly with cling film. Allow to marinate for a few hours or up to 72 hours. The longer the better.
When ready to cook, wipe as much of the marinade off as you can. If you want to make the optional gravy, retain the marinade you scrape off the meat and place, covered in the fridge until needed.
Place the lamb in a baking dish and cover loosely with foil. Heat your oven or barbecue to 180c/350f and place it in. Cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until the lamb is fall apart tender.
Uncover the lamb and turn your oven up to 200c/400f if cooking in the oven. If on a barbecue, heat your coals up and cook over a high heat for a few minutes to char the exterior. Either way, be sure to baste with a little ghee as you char the meat.
Once charred to your liking, allow to sit for about 20 minutes before carving.
TO MAKE THE OPTIONAL GRAVY
Add about 250ml (1 cup) water or lamb stock to the onions, cinnamon and bay leave in your pan and bring it to a simmer. Scrape it all to deglaze the pan.
Add the retained marinade one tablespoon at a time and whisk it in. Continue simmering until you are happy
with the gravy consistency.
Slice at the table and serve with the sauce or cut it into small pieces to be enjoyed with naans, the sauce and a few of your favourite chutneys and raitas.

Potato Koftas

October 29, 2015 By Dan Toombs 4 Comments

Back in 2012, I was invited to Sachins in Newcastle by the owner and talented chef Bob Arora. That day he taught me a few authentic Punjabi recipes that I still make often. This potato kofta recipe is so good and really easy to prepare.

I usually serve it as an hors-d’oeuvre when we have people over. If you would like to serve it as a curry I recommend doubling the amount of yogurt and adjusting the other ingredients to taste.

These need to be eaten immediately while the kofta are still hot and crunchy. If you do need to prepare ahead, place the fried koftas in a low oven and then add them to the hot sauce just before placing them on the table.

This recipe calls for chopped coriander seeds. Using a sharp knife, roughly chop your seeds before adding them. These really add a nice flavour to the dish.

Making potato koftas — The potatoes need to be soft but still hard enough to grate.

Yield: 4 - 6

Potato Koftas

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

3 large potatoes – boiled until soft but not completely cooked
A pinch of salt
A pinch of turmeric
1 teaspoon finely chopped coriander seeds
2 – 3 teaspoons self raising flour
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 handful of fresh chopped coriander
Vegetable oil for deep frying

FOR THE SAUCE

500ml plain yogurt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon tomato paste
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon chopped coriander seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
6 fenugreek seeds
10 curry leaves
Corn flour (optional)
3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander

Instructions

Start by preparing the koftas. Grate the potatoes into a large bowl.
Stir in the turmeric, salt, coriander seeds, fresh coriander, garam masala and two tablespoons of the flour to the potatoes.
Start forming into koftas the size of ping-pong balls. If the mix is too sticky, add a little more flour.
Now make the sauce. Pour the yogurt into a large bowl and add the chilli powder, turmeric, salt and tomato paste.
Whisk until spooth.
Heat the oil over medium high heat and toss in the whole and chopped spices followed by the curry leaves. Sizzle for about 20 seconds until fragrant and then carefully pour in the yogurt mixture. The yogurt may splatter a bit when it hits the oil.
Stir it all up and simmer for about three minutes. Skim the excess oil off the top. If you would like a thicker sauce, add about a teaspoon of corn flour. I usually don’t bother.
Now heat some oil for deep frying. Your oil is ready when a piece of the potato sizzles when it hits the oil. Fry your koftas until nicely browned and crunchy on the outside.
Remove the fried koftas to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
If serving as a curry, stir the kofta into the sauce or serve as an hors-d’oeuvre, placing each kofta on top of a spoonful of sauce.
Check for seasoning and serve immediately.

Tandoori Wild Duck

October 28, 2015 By Dan Toombs 4 Comments

Tandoori wild rice — Wild mallard served on a bed of vegetable fried rice.

It’s always nice to step outside to find wild mallard ducks waiting for me. My hunting neighbours are quite generous. That said, it’s a lot easier to make this recipe if you go to a good butcher or game dealer. They should be able to sort you out with some plucked ducks. I hate plucking and gutting!

When cooking large wild ducks like mallards, it is important to cook them at your oven's highest setting. You also want to monitor their inside temperature with a meat thermometer. Mallards should be served at medium rare which is 60c (140f). You could allow them to go as high as 65c. Any higher and you may as well eat leather.

I served these mallards with a sauce that was made from the marinade. Nice and easy.

The sauce can be made as spicy as you like. I made mine quite spicy as the ducks can really stand up to the spicy heat. There is so much delicious flavour.

As wild ducks are quite rich, two adult mallards should easily serve four.

Tandoori mallard — If you can find them, get these without the feathers!

Tandoori wild duck — Submerge the ducks in the marinade and add chilli powder to taste.

Making wild duck — Dry off the ducks but retain the marinade. Season with salt and pepper.

Tandoori wild duck sauce — Heat the marinade in a pan and stir in the tomato paste.

Making tandoori duck — Stir in the butter, some of the cooking juices and the lime juice.

Tandoori wild ducks — Quarter the ducks and served topped with the sauce.

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Yield: 4

Tandoori Wild Mallard Duck

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

2 wild mallard ducks
1 quantity mustard and coriander raita
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon madras curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder (more or less to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
Juice of one lemon

Instructions

Marinate the ducks, inside and out with the mustard and coriander raita and the chilli powder for about 8 hours or overnight in the fridge.
When ready to cook, remove your ducks from the fridge and wipe as much marinade off them as possible. Allow to come to room temperature and retain the marinade.
Pre-heat your oven to its highest setting.
Sprinkle the ducks with salt and pepper and place in the oven for about 25 minutes or until they are 60c to 65c degrees in the deepest part of the meat.
Bring out of the oven to rest while you make your sauce.
Heat the marinade over medium heat and stir constantly so that the yogurt doesn’t curdle.
Add a little chilli powder or curry powder if you like and also the tomato paste.
Deglaze the roasting tin with a little water or stock and add a few tablespoons to the sauce. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the butter. Taste it and adjust seasoning.
Quarter each duck and give each person a front and back end. Drizzle the sauce over the ducks to serve.
I served these ducks on top of vegetable fried rice.

Paneer Tikka With Vegetables

October 28, 2015 By Dan Toombs 5 Comments

Paneer tikka cooked in your tandoor or on your barbecue is the way to go!

Paneer doesn't have a lot of flavour. Marinating the paneer as I do in this paneer tikka recipe really takes plain paneer and makes it into something everyone will love. This paneer tikka is great on it's own with a dipping sauce or two or wrapped in chapattis.

Paneer tikka is also an excellent substitute for meat in many popular curry house style curries like this paneer tikka masala. In this recipe I also added vegetables for use in a curry but you could leave them out if all you need is the tandoori paneer tikka.

About this recipe.

There are uncountable marinade recipes for paneer tikka. This is a good one and is also very popular as it gives the paneer tikka a delicious flavour that soaks right into the cheese. It's one that you can use for marinating paneer for a starter course or for use in curries. So it really is a good one to have in your recipe library.

You will see that I cooked my paneer tikka in my Doori tandoor oven but you could also skewer the cheese and vegetables, if using and cook them over the coals on a barbecue. In fact, you could also air fry, pan fry or roast the paneer in your oven if that is more convenient. I do love my Doori tandoor though!

I love the flavour that cooking the hot charcoal fire adds to the paneer so it's a recipe I normally cook outdoors.

Cooking up a curry with this Paneer?

Let's wrap it up in a Naan!

Is this tandoori paneer tikka recipe difficult?

Not at all. In fact it's really quite easy to prepare. You just need to whisk the marinade ingredients together. Prick the paneer cubes a few times with a fork to allow the marinade to really get in there and then cook it.

Recipes really don't get much easier.

Can you work ahead?

You sure can. Like most tandoori recipes, it is a good idea to let the paneer marinate for a good few hours or even overnight. So go ahead and do that when it's convenient and then place the paneer in your fridge to soak up all that delicious flavour.

As all of the work can be done ahead of time, all you need is some good company, a barbecue or tandoor oven, perhaps some adult beverages and you've got yourself a party.

Make this paneer kebab recipe your own...

I recommend tasting recipes as you go. Only then can you ensure that the recipe will turn out exactly as you want it.

When you make the paneer tikka marinade, try it. Feel free to adjust the flavours as you like. Add more lime juice for a more sour flavour. Add salt as needed. If you like your paneer tikka spicy, add more chilli powder. This is all in your hands so be sure to taste what you make and adjust.

Oven and air fryer cooking...

Although I love cooking outdoors year round, I know that it is not to everyone's liking.

You can cook this paneer tikka recipe in your oven or air fryer too. Simply grease a baking tray with oil or spray the basket of your air fryer. Preheat your oven or air fryer to 200°C/400°F and cook until the paneer is heated through, charred in places and soft.

When cooking in an air fryer, spray the paneer with a little oil spray and be sure to turn it once during cooking. Air fryers work like many tandoors so you will achieve a nice char on the exterior when using one. If cooking in an oven you could place the cooked paneer under a hot grill (broiler) to finish up.

What about frying the marinated paneer?

This too is possible and you will get really good results doing so. You could follow this recipe if you want to fry your paneer. The marinade in the recipe is different but you could use this marinade or the one in that recipe.

How long can you store paneer tikka in the fridge?

You can store you paneer tikka in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Be sure to cover it tightly so that it doesn't dry out.

If you have one, I recommend reheating the paneer in an air fryer at 200°C/400°F for a few minutes until hot. If using in a curry, you can just add it cold to the sauce and let it heat up as it simmers.

The paneer could also be heated for a minute or so in your microwave or even pan fried until hot but again... I prefer using an air fryer for this.

Can you freeze leftovers?

In theory yes but I don't recommend doing so. Cheese just doesn't freeze well. I find that frozen paneer using takes on a rubbery texture when you reheat it.

Ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to getting the best flavour from this lamb vindaloo recipe. You’ll find the ingredients listed below, while the precise amounts are provided in the recipe card at the end of the page. For smooth cooking and the best outcome, it’s a good idea to have everything measured and prepared before you begin.

See recipe card below for quantities...

Paneer, cut into cubes
Red bell pepper, roughly cut
Green bell pepper, roughly chopped
Red onion, roughly cut
Greek yoghurt, whisked
Garlic and ginger paste
Kashmiri chilli powder
Turmeric
Cumin
Coriander powder
Madras curry powder
Amchoor (mango powder)
Chaat masala
Vegetable oil
Lime juice
Salt and pepper

See recipe card below for quantities...

Step by step photographs...

Pricking a piece of paneer with a fork to allow the marinade to soak into it. — Prick each piece of paneer with a fork a few times. This will help the marinade soak right into the cheese.

The marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl. — Place all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

Paneer and vegetables marinating in a bowl. — Place the paneer and vegetables, if using in the marinade and allow to marinate for 30 minutes or overnight. The longer the better.

Lighting a Doori tandoor oven. — When ready to cook, light up your tandoor or barbecue and give it a good 30 minutes to heat up. Clay tandoor ovens will take longer to heat.

Paneer and vegetables skewered and ready to place in the tandoor oven. — Skewer your paneer and vegetables, if using.

The paneer tikka skewers in a tandoor cooking. — Place your skewers in your tandoor or over your charcoal barbecue.

Cooking the tandoor paneer tikka and vegetables in a tandoor oven. — You want your tandoor to be super hot. Cover the top and watch the temperature, lifting or moving the lid some if more heat is required.

Which charcoal should you use?

Please don't use charcoal that has been treated with lighter fluid. Yes, it does light easier but you will taste that lighter fluid in your food and you don't want that.

I recommend using a good quality lump wood charcoal. I use Big K lump wood charcoal and highly recommend it.

The paneer cooked and ready to be brought out of the tandoor oven. — When your paneer tikka is cooked to your liking, remove it from the tandoor.

The tandoor paneer tikka on a countertop ready to serve. — Lay it all out on a clean surface and dig in.

Panner and vegetables on a chapatti. — One way I like to serve these skewers is to wrap them in chapattis.

Paneer tikka, roasted vegetables, cold salad vegetable and hot sauce on a chapatti. — You can top your wrap with sauces and/or raitas with additional salad vegetables. Really good!

Paneer tikka wrap. — Wrap it all up and enjoy!

Top Tip

For the best flavour, marinate your paneer and vegetables for at least an hour (or overnight if you can). This lets the yoghurt and spices soak right in, giving you that authentic smoky tandoori taste even without a tandoor.

FAQ

Do I need to use the Doori Tandoor to make paneer tikka?

No, you don’t! You can pan-fry, skewer and oven-bake, or use any alternative tandoor-style oven. You’ll still get a delicious char and flavour.

Why does my paneer sometimes turn rubbery?

Overcooking is usually the cause. Paneer only needs a few minutes on each side — cook it until golden, not brown, to keep it soft and juicy.

Can I use other vegetables?

Absolutely. Mushrooms, courgettes, and cherry tomatoes all work beautifully alongside the classic peppers and onions.

Why not try substituting your paneer tikka for the meat in one of these famous curries?

Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Korma, Lamb Rogan Josh, Chicken Madras, Chicken Dhansak, Lamb Vindaloo, Chicken Chilli Garlic, Chicken Patia , Lamb Bhuna

I also have a category that is specifically for the BIR style sauce you get at the best Indian restaurants. These recipes are designed so that you can add any protein of choice. Check out the category below.

See more BIR Curry Sauce Recipes →

If it is Indian vegetarian you are after...

You might like to try one of these Indian vegetarian recipes too...

See more Indian Vegetarian Recipes →

Yield: 8

Paneer and Vegetable Kebabs

This paneer tikka recipe is great served as a starter course. The paneer can also be used in curries as it adds another layer of flavour.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

600g (21 oz.) paneer, cut into cubes
1/2 red bell pepper, roughly cut
1/2 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 medium sized red onion, roughly cut
3 tbsp Greek yoghurt, whisked
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp madras curry powder
½ tsp amchoor (mango powder)
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Juice of one lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Mix all of the marinade ingredient together.
Place the paneer tikka and vegetables in the marinade and allow to marinate for 30 minutes or overnight. The longer the better.
When ready to cook, light your tandoor or barbecue. When your coals are hot and/or your tandoor is flaming hot, you’re ready to go. Skewer your paneer and vegetables and cook for 10 to 15 minutes turning regularly until the middle of the paneer is hot and soft and you have a good char on the exterior.
You can serve these on a hot plate or wrap a chapatti around the skewer and pull the hot paneer and vegetables off. Top with your favourite raita or hot sauce. The paneer tikka can also be used in any curry house style curry sauce.

Masala Chips are most definitely one of the best snacks out there.

About this recipe

Make this recipe your own

What do you serve masala chips with?

Masala chips or fries?

Do I have to use frozen chips/fries?

Ingredients

Instructions

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Is chocolate kulfi the same as chocolate ice cream?

Can you use other flavours besides chocolate?

Taste for the perfect flavour.

How do you freeze the chocolate kulfi?

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Ingredients

Instructions

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Yield:

Serving Size:

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About this chickpea salad recipe.

Ingredients

Step by step photos

Popular Variations

Useful Equipment

Nutrition Benefits

What do you serve with this chickpea salad?

How do you cook the chickpeas?

Storage

Final Thoughts

Top Tip

Make it ahead – The salad actually improves after sitting in the fridge for a few hours.

FAQ

Try this salad as a side dish for one or more of these!

Pairing

Have you tried this chickpea salad recipe?

Ingredients

Instructions

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Yield:

Serving Size:

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Make curry base sauce in minutes using a multi-cooker!

About this multi cooker base curry sauce recipe.

Is cooking base sauce in a pot better than using a multi-cooker?

Ingredients

Is it important to stick exactly to the recipe?

Step by step photos

Here are more curry house curry favourites that require a base sauce you might like to try!

Storage

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FAQ

Try out your multi-cooker base sauce in one of the following curries...

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Pairing

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Have you tried this recipe?

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Yield:

Serving Size:

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These baked apple samosas are a great way to finish off your curry feast.

How to you prepare apple samosas?

This recipe is very convenient for a curry feast with friends.

What do you serve apple samosas with?

How long with these samosas keep in the fridge?

Can you freeze apple samosas?

Can you fry the samosas?

Where is this recipe from?

Step by step photographs.