Laccha - Red Onion Cucumber and Tomato Salad
This sharp salad cuts through the richness of the Vindaloo nicely. Also very good with a piece of simply grilled mackerel!
Laccha - Red Onion Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 red onion, finely sliced into rings
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon chilli powder
Juice of a lemon
Sea salt and Pepper
Method:
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Dry roast the cumin seeds in a small pan over a low heat, until aromatic and starting to pop. Grind the seeds to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar or coffee grinder.
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Put the onions in a bowl, add the chilli and cumin powders, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Mix well and leave to infuse for about 10 minutes.
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Arrange the sliced tomotoes on a plate, then top with a layer of cucumber. Season and sprinkle with some lemon juice. Place the marinaded onions on top and season once again with sea salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.
This month we welcome back Chitra Pullen.
With the cold permeating into your bones why not try these traditional and authentic Indian dishes to warm you and excite your taste buds at the same time.
Pork Vindaloo & Coconut Rice
The Vindaloo, a curry from the region of Goa in south west India has its roots in a Portuguese stew called ‘Carne de vinha d’alhos’ - meat with wine and garlic - which was introduced by Portuguese colonists to the region. The addition of Indian spices and chilies has transformed this dish into a quintessential Indian dish and a staple of Goan cuisine.
An authentic Vindaloo is a subtle blend of spices, hot and tangy in taste, and nothing like the fiery meat and potato version served up in curry houses in the UK. Traditionally, the meat used in a Vindaloo is pork, favoured by the Christian community in India, but as the dish gained popularity in India, versions using different meats such as lamb, beef, chicken, prawns or just vegetarian, sprang up. Feel free to experiment with your favourite!
Pork Vindaloo
Serves 4 - 6 persons
Ingredients:
800g of pork shoulder, cubed into bite size pieces
2 large onions, quartered and sliced
50ml of red wine vinegar
4 tbsp colza or sunflower oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2cm piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbsp muscovado/brown sugar
Masala ingredients:
6-7 dried kashmiri chilies (quite mild, so if using a different sort of dried chilli, reduce/increase accordingly)
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
4cm cinnamon sticks , broken
5-6 cloves
3-4 green cardomon pods
1 tsp peppercorn
1 dried bay leave
½ tsp brown/black mustard seeds
Method:
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Begin by making the ‘masala’. Gently roast the masala spices in cast iron pan over a low heat, swirling the pan occasionally to prevent the spices from burning. Once the spices have taken some colour and start popping (about 2 minutes), take off the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes before grinding to a fine powder in a coffee grinder or with a pestle and mortar. You will need about 3 tablespoons of the powder.
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Next, put the ginger, garlic and red wine vinegar in a food processor and blitz to a fine purée.
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In a large glass bowl, combine well the pork with the purée and the masala powder (about 3 tablespoons). Cover and marinade in the fridge overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
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Heat the oil on a medium flame in a deep frying pan or wok (or karahi, if you have one). Add the onion and fry for about 10 minutes until golden brown.
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Add the marinaded meat, mix well, cover and cook over a medium/low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent the meat sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. If it looks like the dish is drying up, add a little water.
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Add the turmeric and sugar, stir well and leave to continue cooking for another half an hour or so.
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Remove from heat once the meat is tender. There should no water left in the pan (this is a ‘dry’ curry) and the mix should have started to exude oil.
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Serve with steamed rice or coconut rice.
Notes:
This dish tastes even better served the next day, as the vinegar and spices soak into the meat and improve the flavour.
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Whilst you can serve the vindaloo with plain rice, I prefer Coconut rice because the sweetness of the rice contrasts well with the tanginess of the Vindaloo.
COCONUT RICE
Serves 6
Ingredients:
300g basmati rice, rinsed well until water runs clear
250ml coconut milk
About 7 whole peppercorns
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon chopped coriander
Salt to taste
Method:
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Place the rice and other ingredients in a saucepan.
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Add enough cold water to cover the rice up to the first joint of your middle finger*.
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Bring the rice to the boil on a high heat.
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Immediately turn down the heat to low and put a lid on the saucepan, so that the rice steam cooks, for about 15 minutes. Check once towards the end of the cooking time, adding a little water if necessary.
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Take off the heat as soon as the rice is cooked.
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Fluff up the rice with a fork and garnish with chopped coriander before serving.
*When you place your middle finger vertically on the top of the rice, the liquid should come up to the first joint of your finger.
Coconut and Rosewater Burfi
Indian meals do not include desserts as such; a meal is usually finished with fresh fruit rather than a dessert. However, Indians are great lovers of sweets, called ‘mithai’ which are served at festive occassions or as snacks with a cup of chai ( spiced tea ) . Colourful and jewel-like and often extremely sweet, I like to serve them at the end of a meal as petit-fours, with a strong cup of coffee or mint tea.
Coconut and Rosewater Burfi
Makes about 25 pieces
Ingredients:
200g caster sugar
about 100ml water
200g fresh grated coconut, or dried coconut, rehydrated (see note below)
½ teaspoon cardomon seeds, ground to a fine powder
5 tablespoons of rosewater
a drop or two of red food colouring
handful of shelled pistachios, roughly chopped (optional)
Method:
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Grease a tray with a little sunflower oil or butter.
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Next make a syrup by boiling the sugar and water together in a saucepan, until the syrup is at single strand consistency *
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Add the rose water and colouring to the syrup, stir well to combine, then add the coconut.
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Mix well and keep stirring until all the water is absorbed and the mixture comes away easily from the pan (around 30 minutes).
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Quickly tip it onto the prepared tray, smooth the top with the back of a spoon or piece of foil.
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Whilst warm, cut into squares/diamonds. Place a pistachio on each piece and leave to cool.
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Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to a week, or longer in the fridge.
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Single strand consistency - if you put a drop of syrup between your index finger and thumb, it should form a single strand between both fingers when they are pulled apart slightly.
Notes:
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To rehydrate the dried coconut, soak in 250ml of coconut milk for at least half an hour to about an hour. Then purée the mixture in a blender or food processor.
You can buy rosewater at Grand Frais (Narbonne) or any Arab grocery shop.
