Balti without the bowls. Chicken (or Turkey) Chickpea Balti with rice

 

 

I am of that age where, in the past, when you got a house, people bought you those metal bowls with the handles that you serve curry in as a housewarming present. It was either that or a set of Chinese soup bowls with those pretty but huge spoons. These are known to me at least as 'balti bowls' although in reality they are probably dishes and despite the fact that we have a curry here quite often, I never use them. I have forgotten I have them, in truth, and it's only when I have a root through my pan drawer for something that I rediscover them and think to myself 'God, I must use these!' and then I forget about them again, like I did here. In fact it was only when I was thinking about something vaguely alliterative as a title for the blog post (I am an English teacher when not cooking up a storm somewhere) that I thought about the bowls...

 

 

 

Bowls, looking as unused as mine...

 

Anyway, for the uninitiated, I would put a Balti somewhere at the medium/mild end of the scale of things but of course this really does depend on how much chilli you bung into it. This is pretty tame, on account of Lola and Finn and their youthful tastebuds, and of course if you want something with less punch you can add some natural yoghurt to take any heat away, but this is more taste and warmth than just heat.

 

Because I like a bargain and because I am fooling myself that I am actually eating healthily by buying them, I have more chickpeas than I know what to do with, which is why they ended up in this curry. And it was a good idea because it eked out the rest of the ingredients and made the meal feel filling and comforting, and maybe even healthy, relatively speaking...

 

I was going to use chicken thighs in this curry, but I found some bargain diced turkey thigh and couldn't resist. Turkey and curry seems to go together, and not just for Christmas...

 

Turkey Chickpea Balti with Steamed Rice

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad and one other

 

Ingredients:

 

1lb chicken or turkey thigh, diced

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp chilli powder (or more if you want it)

2 tbsp ground coriander

2 tbsp ground cumin

1 can of chickpeas, drained

1 can of chopped tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

 

Method:

 

Heat the oil in a suitable pan.

 

 

 

Add the onion and the garlic and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes until starting to colour but not burn.

 

 

 

Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Add the spices and stir.

 

 

 

Next, add the chickpeas and then the tinned tomatoes and reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning. Remove the lid and allow to cook a little further until the sauce has thickened and reduced to your liking. Taste for seasoning again.

 

 

 

Stir in the garam masala and cook for another couple of minutes. Sprinkle over the chopped coriander and  serve over rice with a little more coriander if you like.

 

 

 

Turkey. Not just for Christmas. Quick Provencale Turkey

 

I’ll be honest, usually I buy diced turkey thigh to hurl into a curry or something because it’s the kind of meat that can carry such a range of flavours quite successfully. And it’s lean. And it’s relatively cheap. But with my just arranging this year’s holiday to France I thought it might be interesting to evoke the smells and tastes of southern France rather than my usual culinary journey to somewhere far flung and far eastern. So, a mixture of peppers, tomatoes, garlic and herbes de Provence (and if I was without Lola and Finn, a handful of olives) were the inspiration behind this slightly ad hoc but very satisfying dish which smelt great whilst cooking and delivered a rich, tomatoey, ‘Provencey’ flavour, approved of especially by Lola and Finn.

In terms of weekday cooking, when I crash into the house with two hyperactive children, a bag for life full of marking and a generally negative outlook on working for a living, I just want something I can hurl together with what I have in the cupboard and the fridge/freezer before crashing on the sofa. This just might be it. And not only does it create a healthy meal for me and my bubs, it’s evocative of the holiday I am so looking forward to.

 

This post is an entry for BritMums’ Summer Turkey Recipe Challenge. You can find plenty of information at here about the versatility of cooking with turkey. You can also visit www.leanonturkey.co.uk for other recipe ideas!

 

Quick Provencale Turkey

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum, Dad and one other

 

Ingredients:

 

400g diced turkey thigh
2 peppers, or a third of a pack of frozen peppers
1 onion diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 heaped tsp of herbes de Provence, or you could use thyme, or oregano
200ml chicken stock made with a bouillon type cube
tin of chopped tomatoes

a squirt of tomato puree
Salt and pepper

 

Method:

 

 

In a suitable heavy bottomed pot or casserole pan, add the olive oil and saute the turkey pieces until they become slightly coloured.

 

 

 

Add the onions and cook until they become translucent and then add the garlic. Cook briefly until the garlic becomes fragrant but take care not to burn it. Add the herbs de Provence and stir, then add the peppers.

 

 

 

Saute until the peppers begin to soften, scraping up the bottom of the pan to get up any tasty turkey bits, then add the chicken stock. Finally, add the tomato puree and stir before finally adding the tinned tomatoes and some seasoning.

 

 

 

Bring the mixture up to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 20/30 minutes, stirring occasionally so that it does not catch on the bottom of the pan. By this time the mixture should have perceptibly thickened and tomatoey. If you want to thicken the sauce further then increase the heat to a boil for a couple of minutes or so until the sauce is the consistency you desire. Taste and season once again.

 

 

 

I served this with rice, but some other lovely carb like pasta or some potatoes might be good too. Or you could dunk some crusty bread into it and all will be right with the world for a little while.

Al Fresco food: Spanish kebabs with patatas bravas

Food just tastes better outside. I don't know if this can (or should) be scientifically proven and I don't know if it is really down to the food, but there's something about eating outside which never gets old. Even on a cold, cold day, the mug of soup that you hold in your hands to thaw your fingers tastes more like it is doing you the world of good than sat inside drinking it. It's a more satisfying experience, for me, anyway.

Luckily this is not about cold weather food, for Summer was well and truly ensconced chez Lola and Finn (and indeed the whole of Blighty) this weekend. Whilst the neighbours were giving their guests food poisoning at impromptu barbecues, I decided to cook these kebabs on the griddle inside, not because I don't trust Phill and his barbecue skills (for he is really rather good) but because we were woefully ill prepared in the barbecue and charcoal department. Whilst it might have been nice to have had these sizzling away outside whilst I was busy doing other things, I still think these were tasty, and more importantly Lola and Finn agreed wholeheartedly. The fact of the matter is that I will eat most things, and Lola and Finn won't. Clean plates signifies a massive thumbs up.

I am in the process of clearing out the freezer and using up the stuff that has been in there for longer than it probably should have been. A scour of the back of the freezer revealed turkey breast chunks and some pouting fillets. I figured that with a marinade to juzz them up, a nice salad and some accompanying patatas bravas, this would be a meal that would make room in the freezer and make us feel content and very summery. Success all round.

Spanish kebabs with Patatas Bravas

For the marinade:

3 fat garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely

1 tbsp pimenton (paprika). I used 'picante' for a little heat

1 tsp of thyme

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp chopped parsley (I used the stalks - more flavour!)

30ml red wine or sherry vinegar

30ml good olive oil

I marinaded 400g turkey breast chunks and 350g of pouting (cut into chunks) with this amount of marinade. You can obviously pick the meat/fish of your choice

Skewers, soaked in water.

In addition, I used some red onion and cherry tomatoes on my kebabs

For the Patatas Bravas:

500g good quality new potatoes. I used Exquisa, a waxy yellow variety

A couple of glugs of olive oil

salt and black pepper

A tin of chopped tomatoes

a few dashes of tabasco sauce

pinch of chilli flakes (or to taste)

1 tsp pimenton picante

1 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar

Method:

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a suitable non reactive bowl.

Add your marinade to the meat. (I marinaded the different meats separately). Marinade for a few hours at least.

If you are using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for a few minutes to  ensure that they don't set on fire whilst on the griddle.

To make the Patatas Bravas: Peel and chopped the potatoes into even sized pieces, between 1 and 2 cm in size.

Put into a roasting tin and then add olive oil. Coat the potatoes thoroughly in the mix and then liberally apply salt and pepper. Give the potatoes a quick stir once again. Place in a hot oven (220c) for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes yield easily when pierced and are beginning to colour a little at the edges. Give the tin a shake a couple of times during cooking to ensure that the potatoes are evenly cooked.

Start to cook the bravas sauce whilst the potatoes are in the oven. Pour the tinned tomatoes into a sauce pan, add some salt and pepper and cook on a high heat until the tomatoes have reduced a little and the sauce has thickened perceptibly. Add the other ingredients, stir to combine and continue to simmer the sauce for a further 10 minutes or so. Taste for seasoning. The sauce should be tomatoey with a latent kick.

Whilst the potatoes are cooking, assemble and cook your kebabs. Thread the meat onto the skewers, ensuring that each piece of meat is of a similar size so that the kebabs cook evenly.  I alternated by putting meat, then vegetable.

Place the kebabs onto a hot griddle. You might need to add a smear of oil to the griddle so that the kebabs don't stick. Also bear in mind if you have a combination of meat and fish, that fish will cook far quicker and meat will need to rest. Cook the meat ones first, and cook the fish ones whilst your meat kebabs are resting.

Rotate the kebabs to ensure even cooking. My turkey breast kebabs took about 8 - 10 minutes to cook, the fish, about 5 minutes.

Plate up the kebabs, transfer the patatas into a bowl and either pour the sauce over the patatas or, if you have smaller ones, serve the sauce separately. Lola and Finn adore these potatoes without sauce, not unsurprisingly. The bravas sauce is for the grown ups really.

Enjoy!