Tag: spicy (Page 3 of 4)

Best Chilli (easy)

13/03/2017 / Neville / 0 Comments

Found this on the Internet and it is a good one.

450g minced beef
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 tbs chopped jalapeno
400g tin chopped tomato
400g tin red kidney beans
400g tin black beans
1 pack passata
125ml water or stock
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tbs ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
dash of cooking oil

Heat oil in an iron casserole. Chop the onion and green pepper. Heat in the oil to soften. Add the mince and stir around until the pink has gone. Add the spices and jalapeno. Cook for 1 minute more. Lob in everything else and simmer for an hour. Keep checking and if it looks like drying out add more water.

Server with rice or tortillas, plus grated cheese, sour cream, avacado and beer.

Instant pot method:

Press “Saute”. Fry onion, pepper and beef as above.
Chuck the rest in.
Cancel Saute and put on “Chilli” for 30 minutes.

Burritos

12/02/2017 / Neville / 0 Comments

Easy Mexican. Serves Four.

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed and chopped
400g lean beef mince

Heat a dash of oil in a pad and fry onion and garlic gently for a few minutes. Add the beef and continue frying and stiffing until all the pink has gone.

1 tbs chipotle paste
1 can red kidney beans
1 can chopped tomatoes plus a teaspoon of minced chilli or 1 packet of Passata and minced chilli or 1 tub of bought tomato and chilli sauce

Add to the pan, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Heat the oven to 200C

4 tortilla wraps
100g cheddar cheese (or more if you like cheesy)

Spoon a quarter of the meat mix into the centre of each wrap. Top with cheese. Roll up into a neat parcel and place in an oven-proof dish (like a lasagne dish). Sprinkle with more cheese. Bake 10 minutes until golden.

Serve with tomato rice, shredded lettuce, avacado, diced tomato, jalapenos, sour cream – in fact all the Mexican add-ons you fancy! Like a Sol…

Lamb Keema (Balti)

30/11/2016 / Neville / 0 Comments

This is from “This Muslim Girl Bakes” and is an authentic Pakistani recipe. We tried it and want to try it again! Serves four with sides. Start with a frying pan or wok.

Oil
1 onion chopped

Heat the oil and fry the onion until just starting to brown

3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2cm of fresh ginger, grated

Add to the onion and fry one more minute

500g minced lamb

Add to the pan and brown

1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder (for mild, more if you want)
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup water
2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

Add these to the pan mix in a bubble away, covered for 30 minutes. Add more water if it needs it

handful of frozen peas

Add the peas and cook for another five minutes.

Serve with rice, naan or paratha and Josh’s Dhal like so:

Quick Thai Fish Curry

16/11/2016 / Neville / 0 Comments

You can use any white fish for this, preferably firm and chunky. Serves four but easily divided down to two or even one.

450g white fish skinned, boned and cut into bite sized chunks
25g seasoned flour
1 clove garlic crushed, or paste
2 tbs red Thai curry paste
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tin coconut milk
handful cherry tomatoes
20 Thai basil leaves or our own if they are not available
Oil

Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Toss the fish in the flour to coat and fry in hot oil for 3-4 minutes turning to seal. Remove the fish and keep warm. Mix the coconut milk, fish sauce and curry paste. Stir fry the garlic then add the sauce mixture. Bring to a simmer then add the fish back in, with the cheery tomatoes. Simmer for five minutes. Meanwhile stir fry some fresh vegetable and cook some Thai Jasmin or Basmati rice. When all is done, add the basil leaves to the curry and serve.

Chilli by Hairy Bikers

10/11/2016 / Neville / 0 Comments

There are many, many different variations on this. True Texans would not want chilli adulterated with what we regularly put in it but this is a good version for every-day. You can make a big mix of chilli and keep the leftovers to make a tortilla grill or toppings for jacket potatoes. The following is for four hungry people.

2 onions
500g mince beef
3 cloves garlic
splash of oil

Fry these up in a pan until all the pink has gone. Add

1 or 2 tsp chilli powder. Olwyn likes it at level 1. I like it at level 2. You can always add but you can’t take away
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbs plain flour

Fry another minute. Then add

450 ml beef stock (Oxo cube is fine). You could use part red wine and part stock.
3 tbs tomato puree
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin red kidney beans
1 bay leaf
1 tsp caster sugar
salt and pepper
1 tsp dried oregano

Bubble up and simmer 45 minutes, covered. Stir from time to time so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Add a bit more water if it looks too dry. Serve with cornbread, rice, and if you need to ramp up the heat, some chopped jalopenos.

Thai Pesto Noodles

09/11/2016 / Neville / 0 Comments

A bit fusion but it works. Takes about 5 minutes. The photo above was taken in Thailand where we went to cookery school for a day. First we were sent on a shopping trip to buy authentic ingredients in the market! This recipe did not come from that school but I thought the photo was appropriate for the ingredients anyway.

4 slabs of dried egg noodles
400g raw prawns
1 bunch of basil
1 bunch of fresh coriander
75g peanuts
1 red chilli
1 lime – zest and juice
2 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs olive oil.

Cook the noodles. Stir-fry the prawns in the olive oil. Blitz everything else except the sesame oil in a blender. Drain the noodles, stir in the sesame oil, stir in the prawns and pesto and eat.

Lamb in Palava Sauce (African)

09/11/2016 / Neville / 0 Comments

For some reason this really appeals – probably because African recipes are fairly rare. For four, you need:

1 red chilli
2cm root ginger, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
300ml lamb, chicken or vegetable stock
1 onion, chopped
1tbs tomato puree
400g can chopped tomatoes
6tbs palm oil (boo hiss, I know, but it is authentic and makes it a great red colour)
500g lean lamb cubed
200g spinach
2 eggs beaten

First make a sauce by blitzing the chilli, ginger, garlic, puree, tomatoes and half the onion.

Stir-fry the other half of the onion and the lamb in the red oil. Add the sauce and stock, bubble up and simmer, covered, for 40-50 minutes. Stir in the spinach and let it wilt. Drizzle in the egg and simmer two more minutes. Serve with rice or flatbread.

Josh’s Dhal

06/11/2016 / Neville / 0 Comments

Son Josh has decided to be vegan. Apparently he has halved his grocery bill! I find vegan food often lacks a bit of substance, but not this recipe. I call it Josh’s Dhal because it is always a hit when he comes home and it is great alongside a curry. So easy.

1 cup yellow split peas
4 cups water

Boil for 40 minutes

1/2 cup red lentils

Add to your split peas and boil another 20 minutes more. Keep an eye on it, because it will probably dry out and catch. Just add some more water if it getting too thick too soon. While that is boiling, take the following:

1 chilli, copped
1 inch of root ginger, grated
1 tsp cumin seed
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 tsp turmeric
Ghee or oil

Gently fry all these to create a browned topping to put on your dhal to serve. Finally:

250g spinach

Add the spinach and cook until it wilts. Add

1 tsp salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon

When the spinach has wilted and the dhal cooked to a gloopy consistency, put it in a serving bowl and top with the spicy garlicky mix. Serve as a side for a curry or a main course with rice or Indian bread and chutney. For a vegetarian rather than vegan meal you could top with quartered hard boiled egg.

There are several variations you could take for making dhal (even the spelling, daal, dahl!) . Try a simple and quick version with two cups of red lentils and five cups of water, cooked for 25 minutes with the lid off, stirring occasionally. Add salt and lemon juise to taste. You can also fry up onion, garlic, chilli, cumin seeds and mix in before serving to add a bit more interest to the dhal base.

Try dhal served with wedges of aubergine and wedges of shallot or red onion, which have been tossed in a mixture of oil, lemon juice, garlic puree, salt, ground cumin and ground coriander and oven baked for 20 minutes at 200C.

Quesadillas – snack or meal

24/10/2016 / Neville / 0 Comments

This can be a quick and easy warm snack or a meal in itself, depending what you put in it or on it. For a snack, omit the chicken, or just add a few slithers of ham.

Ingredients (For One) – easily multiplied up for more people.

2 flour tortillas
1 small chicken breast or a couple of mini fillets
grated cheese
1 teaspoon of Taco seasoning mix
Taco sauce
Oil for frying

Step 1: Slice up the chicken. Stir about in a bowl with the taco seasoning to coat.

Step 2: Heat your oil in a frying pan and stir fry the chicken, it will cook in a couple of minutes.

Step 3: Lay out your tortillas. Spread one tortilla with Taco sauce. Spread the chicken over. Sprinkle with cheese, use as much as you like. Lay the other tortilla on top to make a giant sandwich.

Step 4: Quickly rinse out your pan and dry it. Put it back on a high heat. Put the tortilla sandwich on the pan and after a minute flip it over. Hopefully the cheese will have melted and help glue it together. Give it another 30 seconds and you are good to go.

Cut into quarters and either eat on the run like street food or make a meal of it with sour cream, jalopenos, lettuce, tomato, refried beans, guacamole and a Corona.

Cheat’s Nasi Goreng

20/10/2016 / Neville / 0 Comments

Purists will say this is not authentic, I will say quick, easy and near enough! Here are the ingredients for one person, you can easily scale it up.

60gm basmati rice, cooked then well drained
I carrot, grated
1/4 small head of sweetheart cabbage or Chinese leaves, sliced thinly
1/2 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove or paste
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs fish sauce
1 egg beaten
oil for stir frying

Cook your rice and leave it to drain well. If it is too wet it makes the stir-fry a bit clumpy. Meanwhile, fry the onion gently until soft. Add the garlic, fry 30 seconds then add the carrot and cabbage. Whack up the heat and stir fry the vegetables. After a couple of minutes add the rice and keep stir frying on a high heat. Add the sauces and stir again. Now shove the mix to one side of the pan to make a space on the bottom to fry your egg. If the pan is a bit dry add a splash more of oil. Now trickle streams of egg only the pan base. It will cook into a mini omelette almost immediately. Lift onto your rice pile and repeat until your egg is all cooked. Job done! I like to serve with a zingy chilli sauce.