Tandoori Chicken

Here's how to make tandoori chicken, a British....I mean Indian favourite

Ingredients

1 cup natural yogurt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garam massala
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon tumeric powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
Juice of 1 lemon
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1 inch of grated ginger
Few drops of red food colouring
4 pieces of skinless chicken on the bone
Melted butter for basting

Method

• Mix all of the spices together in a bowl and add the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and ginger.
  
• Add the red food colouring until you get a bright red colouring.
• Score the chicken every 2cm and place in the marinade, massaging it into the chicken and sit for at least one hour.
• Grill until cooked and juices run clear, basting with the melted butter in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
• Serve with rice and roti.

...and that's how to make tandoori chicken!

...A Bit of Ramdom Food History - The Pavlova

Yet another Aussie/Kiwi dispute on the Great Russian ballet legend Anna Pavlova, and her antipodean legacy (sigh, eye roll and exhale)...it seems that this time, we really can claim the coveted Pavlova tiara...

According to Professor Helen Leach, culinary anthropologist at the University of Otago, New Zealand, gives 1935 for the first Australian pavlova recipe, and 1929 for the recipe in the rural magazine NZ Dairy Exporter Annual. She has compiled a collection of cook books and recipes of 667 different pavlova recipes.

A claim was made that Bert Sachse originally created the desert at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, Australia in 1934, but according to Leach there have been no known publications in any cookbooks in Australia until the 1940s.

Kiwi Pavlova

Here's how to cook a perfect pavlova, a Kiwi and Aussie favourite.

Ingredients

3 egg whites, at room temperature
3 tablespoons cold water
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 teaspoons cornflour
Slices of kiwi fruit, strawberries, passion fruit pulp, raspberries, blueberries

Method

1. With an electric beater on highest setting, beat the egg whites until they are stiff and form mountain peaks.
2. Add the cold water and beat again, gradually adding the caster sugar while still beating.
3. Gently fold in with a plastic spatula the vinegar, vanilla essence and cornflour.
4. Place on greased paper on a greased tray and shape into a circular shape, building up a shallow mound in the middle and bake at 150 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes, then leave to cool in the oven.
5. Top with whipped cream and fruit.

...and that's how to cook pavlova!

...A Bit of Ramdom Food History - Nam Pla (Asian Fish Sauce/Salt)

This pungent southeast Asian fish sauce is usually made from anchovies, salt and water. The fish is fermented in wooden boxes or barrels, then pressed to produce intensely flavoured salty and fishy liquid "salt".

There are many similar versions and variations which are used throughout Southeast Asia: Indonesian trasi, Cambodian prahok, Malasian Krill, belacan and budu, and the Filipino Indochinese patis. Nam Pla is used instead of table salt to complete the Thai combinations of salty, sweet, hot and sour and as well as used as a cooking ingredient, can also be used as a dipping sauce or condiment with the addition of chillies, which is called Nam Pla Prik in Thai.

Interestingly, the Classical Romans had their own version, called garum or liquamen, and there are other deviations mixing with either vinegar or honey. The Romans used a variety of fish including tuna, mackerel, moray eel, and anchovies. A much later development transformed into Worcestershire sauce.

Tom Yum Talay

This is how to cook Tom Yum Talay, similar to Poh, a favourite in Thailand and other parts of South East Asia.

Ingredients

• 5 cups fish or chicken stock
• 1 stem of lemon grass, sliced diagonally into 2.5cm pieces and crushed
• 8 kaffir lime leaves, whole
• 2.5 cm piece of galengal, sliced
• 6 tablespoons lime juice
• 4 large red whole dried chillies
• 1 cup straw or button mushrooms, quartered
• 1 teaspoon red dried chillies crushed
• 2 teaspoons peanut oil
• 4 green lipped mussels, shell on, beard removed and cleaned
• 12 king prawns, shelled with tail remaining and deveined
• 150 gram fillet of snapper (or other firm white fish), sliced into 4 even pieces
• 150 gram squid hoods, scored and sliced into 2.5cm pieces
• 1/2 cup thai basil, torn
• 6 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons coriander, torn

Method

• Bring stock to the boil and add the lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lime juice, whole chillies and mushrooms and lightly simmer for 20 minutes.
• Mix crushed chillies with peanut oil to form a paste. Add to stock.
• Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, but discard any muscles that have not opened.
• Serve in individual bowls, evenly distributing the seafood.

...and that's how to cook tom yum talay!

...A Bit of Ramdom Food History - Carrots (they weren't always orange you know)

The origins of the carrot are a little obscure as there is no documented archaeological findings of any root remains, making it difficult to know the precise moment of domesticity difficult to pin point. The carrot we are familiar with today, or "domestic carrot" started out being either purple or yellow, from Afghanistan, about 5000 years ago. Mutants and natural hybrids developed, merged with the wild varieties and produced the orange carrot of modern times.
Thousands of years ago carrots were used for medicinal reasons and were small, tough, bitter and spindly and gradually evolved into the fleshy, sweet root it is today.

There is still a variety of wild carrot co-existing in the modern world with the domestic carrot, which is indigenous to Europe and some areas of Asia. There is some archaeological evidence to support that seeds found date back to the Mesolithic times, dating some 10,000 years ago.

Russian Salad

Here's how to make Russian Salad, popular around the world and also part of a common tapas selection "ensalada russo".

Ingredients

2 medium sized carrots, peeled and boiled until tender
6 medium potatoes, peeled and boiled until tender
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 cup peas, boiled for 2 minutes
3 small gerkins, diced
1 cup shrimps
3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of cayanne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1 hard boiled egg, chopped

Method

1. Dice carrots and potatoes into 1 cm cubes and put in a large mixing bowl.
   
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Serve chilled as a tapa, side dish or main with crusty bread.

...and that's how to make Russian salad!

...A Bit of Ramdom Food History - Kale and Collards

Kale and collards (or nonheading cabbages) are primitive cabbages that have survived through thousands of years.
The Greeks cultivated kale and collards, and before the Christian era the Romans grew several varieties and were later referred to as Coles, described in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 13th centuries by European writers.
It might appear that the Romans carried the coles to Britain and Europe, since the plants were so well known to the Romans and the species has been popular in those countries for so long. On the other hand, they may have been taken there somewhat earlier by the Celts.
The first mention of the kales (coleworts) in America was in 1669; but because of their popularity in European gardens it is probable that they were introduced somewhat earlier.
In Portuguese and Brazilian cuisine, collards - known as courve galega accompany meat dishes such as feijoada and the popular soup caldo verde.

Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup)

This is how I make Caldo Verde, a very popular soup in Portugal. You can omit the linguica or chourico to be a lovely vegetarian pottage.

Ingredients

1 onion, roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
6 tablespoons of olive oil
6 medium sized potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 litre water
200 grams linguica or chourico sausage, sliced very thinly (alternatively use a strong garlic flavoured sausage)
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
200 grams couve galega, very finely shreaded into strips (alternatively use kale or turnip greens)
Salt to taste

Method

1. Heat olive oil in large pot and sweat onion and garlic, with the lid on for 10 minutes on a low heat.
2. Add water, then add potatoes, and carrot.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Take of the heat and blend.
5. Return to the heat and add the greens, sausage and salt to taste. Simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.
6. Serve with warmed crusty bread and a drizzle of olive oil.

...and that's how to make Caldo Verde!