Courgette Potato And Pea SabziWhether it’s a plate of hearty lamb curry or a scoop of fresh mint ice cream, Indian home cooking is sure to tantalise our taste buds. But while the dishes may be bursting with flavour upon flavour, it turns out that the intricacies of cooking with spice and flavour is easier to create at home than you might think. In her book Chilli and Mint, food writer Torie True is on a mission to help people bring more spice into their life, whether that’s in the form of chutneys, bread or even sweets treats. From pancakes to potatoes, here are four recipes that you can follow step-by-step at home…
Chilli and Mint by Torie True is filled with over 100 recipes to bring more spice into your mealtimes
Chickpea pancakes Makes 5 (more if smaller)
Chickpea pancakes area quick yet flavourful dish
Ingredients 150g chickpea or gram flour 1 tsp salt, or to taste 200ml water 1 tsp ajwain (carom) seeds 1⁄4 tsp ground turmeric 20g fresh coriander, finely chopped 1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped (optional) 1 large tomato 1⁄2 small red or white onion 1 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil Method Place the flour and salt in a bowl and gradually add the water, whisking until it is smooth and the consistency of a normal pancake batter. If it becomes too thin, just add a little extra chickpea flour. Add the ajwain, ground turmeric, fresh coriander and chopped chilli, if using, to the batter and stir in. Roughly chop the tomato and onion, place them in a blender and blitz until smooth. Add this paste to the batter. Heat a non-stick frying pan or tawa and grease with some of the oil, making sure the whole surface is covered. Add a ladleful of batter. Gently smooth it out into a circle using the back of the ladle – aim to make each of the pancakes about 15cm in diameter. Keep the heat low and gently cook the pancake until small bubbles appear on the surface. Use a spatula to make sure the pancake does not stick and to check that it is bronzing nicely. When the underside is lightly bronzed, use a spatula to turn it over. Cook for a further minute while checking that the flip side is also bronzing well. Once both sides are nicely bronzed, remove the pancake from the pan and serve. Repeat the process until you have used up the rest of the batter. Courgette, potato and pea sabzi Serves 4
Courgette, potato and pea sabzi is bursting with flavour
Ingredients 2 medium-size potatoes 2 large courgettes 2 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil 1 tsp black or brown mustard seeds 1⁄4 tsp asafoetida powder (optional) 1-2 dried red chillies, broken in half 10-15 curry leaves 1 small red onion, diced 1 tsp salt, or to taste 1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped 1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric 70g frozen peas 30ml water Fresh coriander leaves, to garnish Method First, peel the potatoes and cut them into 21⁄2cm cubes. Parboil these for 4-5 minutes so they are still holding their shape, then drain. If the potato is too soft it will turn mushy. Cut the courgettes into cubes of the same size. Set both aside. On a low flame, heat the oil in a medium-sized wide, deep pan with a lid. When hot, add the mustard seeds, asafoetida, if using, dried red chillies and curry leaves. Add the onion and salt. Move everything around the pan for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic. You want the onions to be softened, but not bronzed. Add the potatoes and, a minute later, the courgette, followed by the ground turmeric. Stir gently so the spices coat the vegetables. 5. After 5 minutes, add the frozen peas and up to 30ml of water, then place a lid on the pan. Stir intermittently and check the potato has softened sufficiently. It takes about 10-12 minutes if you have it cooking on quite a high heat. Taste the sabzi to check the salt level, then scatter with fresh coriander leaves and serve. Bengali lamb chop curry Serves 4
Bengali lamb chop curry makes for a hearty, warming meal
Ingredients For the North Indian meat masala powder (makes 50g) 4 tbsp coriander seeds 2 tbsp cumin seeds 3 small dried red chillies 10 green cardamom pods 2 black cardamom pods 2 star anise 2 Indian bay leaves (tej patta) 5cm cinnamon bark 10 cloves 1⁄2 a nutmeg 1 small mace flower 2 tsp whole black peppercorns For the curry 2 tbsp mustard seed, vegetable or rapeseed oil 1 tsp panch phoron (Bengali five spice) 2 Indian bay leaves 1 5cm cinnamon stick, halved 4 green cardamom pods 1 black cardamom pod 4 cloves 1 large red onion, thinly sliced 1 tsp salt 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger or ginger paste 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped 1-2 fresh green chillies 8 lamb chops 1⁄2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 1 tsp ground turmeric 1 heaped tsp North Indian meat masala powder (see below) 750ml water Fresh coriander, to serve Method First prepare the North Indian meat masala powder. Put a heavy-based pan over a medium-low heat and when hot, add the coriander, cumin and dried red chillies. After 30 seconds, add the rest of the ingredients and move them around the pan for a couple of minutes to release all the wonderful aromas. Be careful the heat isn’t too high as you don’t want the spices to burn. Transfer the spice mixture to a bowl and leave to cool, then use a spice grinder or pestle and mortar to grind it into a fine powder. Store the masala powder in a labelled glass jar, secured firmly with the lid. Use within 3 months. To make the curry, heat the oil in a deep cast-iron pan. Add the panch phoron, Indian bay leaves, pieces of cinnamon stick, green and black cardamom and cloves. Move the spices around the pan for a minute before adding the onion and salt. Keep on a low heat and gently bronze the onion, which will take 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, followed by the chopped tomatoes and green chillies. Simmer for a few minutes before adding the lamb chops. Stir all the ground spices, including the North Indian meat masala powder, into the pan and mix well. Let this simmer for a couple of minutes before adding the water. It will seem like quite a lot of liquid, but this will thicken and reduce to virtually nothing over the course of 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, after which you’ll end up with a delicious curry. Gently simmer on a medium heat, with the lid on, stirring intermittently. Taste test to check salt levels. If there is still a lot of liquid, simmer until you have a thick gravy. Serve the curry with a scattering of fresh coriander. Chilli and mint choc chip ice cream Makes 1 tub
Chilli and mint choc chip ice cream is a great way to finish off a meal
Ingredients 600ml full-fat milk 600ml double cream 1 vanilla pod, split open lengthways 80g fresh mint leaves, stalks trimmed 1-2 fresh green chillies, split open lengthways 8 medium egg yolks 200g caster sugar 1-2 tsp green food colouring (optional) 70g dark chocolate drops or broken-up chocolate Method If you have an ice-cream maker, place the bowl in the freezer the night before. The next day, gently heat the milk and double cream in a heavy-based pan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod. Place both pod and seeds in the pan. Add the freshmint leaves and green chillies, including the seeds. Use a spatula to stir the mixture intermittently as it simmers gently for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mint, chillies and vanilla to infuse for 1 hour. Strain and discard the mint, vanilla pod and chillies. 5. Inacleanbowlandwithan electric whisk, mix the yolks and caster sugar until smooth. Gently reheat the infused milk and cream in the pan, then pour the hot liquid slowly into the egg and sugar mixture. Whisk continually until it has combined. Return the mixture to the heavy-based pan, keeping the heat low. Do not let the mixture boil or your eggs might curdle. Allow the temperature to gently rise and the custard to thicken until it coats back your spatula. This will take about 8-10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately place it in a sink full of iced water so it is partly submerged. Allow to cool completely. Once the mixture is cooled, whisk in the green food colouring, if using – this won’t affect the flavour – then stir the chocolate through. Pour the mixture into your chilled bowl and churn with the ice-cream maker. This usually takes about 20-30 minutes or until it has come together in a soft-scoop consistency. You can eat the ice cream immediately or place it in a freezer-proof container to harden further. Cover with cling film, if it doesn’t have a lid, to prevent frosting. If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container with a lid and place in the freezer for 45 minutes. take it from the freezer and give the ice cream a good stir, removing any crystals that may have formed at the side of the container. Return to the freezer and leave for another 30 minutes, then stir again. Repeat this process until the ice cream has frozen. Recipes taken from Torie True’s Chilli & Mint: Indian Home Cooking From a British Kitchen (RRP £20, Meze Publishing) available from Amazon READ MORE Click here for today’s top showbiz news Boost energy levels and sleep quality with The Imperfect Nutritionist’s dishes Olympian Tom Daley’s essential Coronation recipes – blue cheese scones to lemon tarts ‘I’m a Royal chef – here are my top Coronation spread recipes’ Showstopping Coronation-inspired recipes that chocoholics will drool over Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterMore OnFood
