Turmeric

A Quick and Simple Pakora Recipe

by Hot Juan on December 28, 2011 · 0 comments

in Recipes

These are a traditional Indian Snack, in the UK they are a popular fast food snack, they are quick and simple to make, they are great dipped in you curry.

Pakora

Ingredients

  • 250g (1/2lb) Chickpea Flour
  • 125g (5oz) Onions (chopped)
  • 250ml (1 Cup) Milk
  • 125ml (1/2 Cup) Water
  • 1/2 tsp Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 2 Chillies (Finely Chopped)
  • 2 tsp Coriander (Ground)
  • 1 tsp Cumin (Ground)
  • 1 tsp Turmeric (Ground)
  • 500ml (1 Pint) Sunflower Oil

Cooking Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a deep heavy-based frying pan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it.
  2. Place all the ingredients, except the oil, into a bowl and mix well, then carefully drop teaspoon-sized balls of the batter in to the hot oil.
  3. Fry until browned and repeat until the batter is used up, you can cook a few at a time.

You can always add some extra vegetables to the Pakora batter, I have used part boiled potatoes, peas,  finely cut spinach, courgette, sweet potatoes, sweet corn etc, I  let my imagination run riot and often try things I have found in the freezer on leftovers from the fridge, Pakora is quick and simple to make, so mistakes are quickly be replaced?

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Hot Juan’s – Lemon ‘n Lime Fire Chutney

by Hot Juan on December 6, 2011 · 0 comments

in Recipes

I wrote this recipe down originally for a book, published many years ago “The Hot Book of Chillies“. I am not sure I have ever made it the same way twice, but a few weeks ago I came across a jar from the batch I made back then, and wow does it taste good. I cannot recommend you keep yours so long, this jar dates back to 2005, but it just shows how well things mature.

Lemon 'n Lime Fire Chutney

Yield: About 1.5L (3 Pints of Chutney)

Ingredients

  • 6 Limes
  • 2 Large Lemons
  • 500 g Onions
  • 50 g Salt
  • 500 g Sugar
  • 700 ml Vinegar
  • 2 tsp Mustard Seeds
  • 2 tsp Paprika
  • 2 tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1 tsp Ground Turmeric
  • 10 Hot Thai Chillies (finely chopped)
  • 200 g Raisins

Cooking Directions

  1. Place the Limes and Lemons in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then leave to stand until cool enough to handle.
  2. Cut the fruit into halves and squeeze the juice into a bowl, removing the seeds.
  3. Chop the remaining skin and pulp onto small pieces with scissors or a sharp knife, mix in the onions ans sprinkle with salt.
  4. In a latge pan bring the vinegar and sugar to the boil and simmer until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the chopped lime, lemon and onion mixture as well as all the dry spices, raisins and chillies, mix well and simmer for 2-3 hours stirring frequently until the mixture has reduced by about 50%.
  5. Pour into sterilized jars and seal while still hot.
  6. Your chutney will be ready to eat within 3-4 weeks.

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Project Spice – Habanero Hornet – a sauce with a sting in the tail

by Hot Juan on August 10, 2011 · 0 comments

in Product Reviews

Unfortunately our bottle got shaken before we got to photograph it, so please imagine that that yellow Habanero sauce has been poured over some chilli flakes that have been originally deposited at the bottom of the bottle, the effect was stunning, but it seemed impossible not to shake by anyone who saw it.

Project Spice - Habanero Hornet

Project Spice - Habanero Hornet

Having the dried chillies at the bottom of the bottle (if you don’t shake it) has the effect of making the sauce hotter and hotter the more you use it, this being the sting in the tail mentioned on the label and this sauce defiantly has the sting of the wasp about it (More about that later), it is not at the extreme extract heat level, but it is enough  to make most grown men….

On opening the bottle the sauce smells fruity with a strong hint of Lemons and Habaneros, the sauce is a great yellow colour from the peppers, Saffron and Turmeric, with a nice thick consistency.

First taste is a bit of a WwwooowwW moment, as it does not smell like it would be that hot. It starts my lips tingling almost straight away,an effect I tend to get from sauces with Lemon in them. After the  first burst of heat my mouth starts to acclimatize things start to cool down a bit and the flavours start to come through. I really love the light touch of White Wine Vinegar, its it there but not overwhelming,  and it works well with the lemon giving it a clean finish with no unpleasant after tastes.

Ingredients: Roasted Peppers, Habanero Chilli, Chipotles de Naga, Dried Chilli, Onion, White Wine Vinegar, Lemon, Saffron, Turmeric, Garlic, Ginger, Sugar & Salt.

Bottle kindly supplied by www.projectspice.co.uk

This sauce would go so well with some BBQ roast chicken, I’m kind of reminded of Nando’s sauce, but with a much better hit of heat, a kind of Nando’s extra extra extra EXTRA hot.. what about buying a bottle and taking it with you? Maybe we can get Nando’s to adopt this as a special! I will be taking mine and letting them try it

At £3.95 for a 125ml bottle this sauce is a one you should have on your list of must try sauces, but put a big label on it don’t shake me so you can see the unique arty look and try an ever increasing heat.

Flavour
(9/10)
Heat
(7.5/10)
Packaging
(6.5/10)
Value
(8/10)
Overall
(8/10)

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Kitchen Guru – Chicken Tikka Masala

by Hot Juan on July 11, 2011 · 0 comments

in Product Reviews

The origins of the Chicken Tikka Masala are not completely clear, there are two stories, the most popular in the UK is that it was created in an Indian restaurant in London’s Soho district during the 1970, it is also claimed to have been invested in the Pubjab some 50-60 years ago, while Glasgow also has some claim to this dish and British MP Mohammad Sarwar put forward an early day motion in 2009 campaining for Glasgow to be given European Union Protected Designation of Origin for what is probably the most popular curry served in the UK.

Kitchen Guru - Chicken Tikka Masala

Kitchen Guru - Chicken Tikka Masala

So this little pack from Kitchen Guru has a lot to live up to.

The pack contains some small packets of :- Paprika, Cordamons, Cinnamon, Red Chilli Powder, Turmeric and a Cumin and Coriander mix.

We have to add to this :- 700g boneless Chicken, 250g Natural Yogurt, 2 Medium Onions, 2 Medium Tomatoes or 200g tinned Tomatoes, 2 tbs Tomato puree, 2 small green Chillies, 1 Inch root Ginger, Handful or fresh Coriander, 4 Garlic Cloves, 2 tsp Lemon Juice, 5 tbs cooking Oil and some Salt to taste.

The process was simple, first we cut the chicken into bite sized pieces, chopped the onion, garlic, ginger in the food processor and finely sliced up the chillies.

Then we put the Yogurt in a bowl, and then added the little pods of Turmeric, Cumin/Coriander mix and Paprika, then the sliced chilli, a little salt and the chicken and mixed well.

Then the mixture was placed in an oven proof dish and grilled for approx. 7 minutes until it starts to brown.

The we sizzled the cardamom pods in a little oil in a frying pan, then added the onion, ginger and garlic and cook until golden brown, then add the Chilli powder and Cinnamom and stir well, then add the tomatoes (we used tinned chopped tomatoes) and Tomato puree and then cover and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes.

Finally add the chicken and yogurt marinated  and stir well cooking for a further 10 minutes.

What has happened to the Garam Masala.. well this is used with the fresh coriander and some lemon juice just before serving.

Well it turned out OK, the family liked it, in other recipes I have done the Chicken is marinated overnight in the yogurt mix, but I am not sure that made a big difference, for me I would have added a little more chili for both colour and heat.

At £1.99 it is an easy way to collect just enough spices to make your own Chicken Tikka Masala, I have all these spices in my cupboard, so I am not the target market, but it is well packages and the instruction are simple to use with the list of what else you will need on the outside of the pack so you can purchase them as the same time.

Flavour
(7/10)
Heat
(2/10)
Packaging
(8/10)
Value
(7/10)
Overall
(7.5/10)

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