Bav's Spicy Drumsticks

Chicken drumsticks are always a popular choice for sticking on the barbecue, a favourite of mine and even children.

With an increasing amount of ready made marinades now available in our stores, its easy to just pop open a bottle and pour over the chicken. Though if you like me and want spice, heat and depth you make your own, here is my Spicy Drumsticks with an Indian Chinese flavour.  

Ingredients 

12 chicken drumsticks

5 fresh basil leaves

1 large red chilli

large piece ginger (20gms) chopped

50ml Teriyaki sauce

25ml mirin sauce

1/2 juice fresh lime

1tsp kasmiri chilli powder

1tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground star aniseed

1tsp salt

Serves 4-6

Instructions

Place all ingredients into a small food blender and whisk a few times until the ginger, chillies and basil have broken down.

Pour over the marinade over the chicken, rub in well using your hands.

Allow to marinate for 3 hours or for best results leave overnight in the fridge.

Either grill, oven or BBQ them

Serve with lime wedges.

Bav's Lamb Tikka's

With summer round the corner, we all hope, one is looking forward to bbq season and more important my favourite bbq dish of all time, Lamb Tikka, chunks of marinated meat, charred and straight in your mouth, who needs sides. 

I like to keep the marinade simple though spicy, typical Indian style marinade with yogurt, herbs and spices, left over a day.

Most important is the quality of meat used, with spring lamb now available, it's a choice of either shoulder or leg meat. Though if you want something soft to melt in your mouth, back chop loins, boneless, cut into chunks, you may have to ask your butcher to prepare this. This particular meat is deeper in colour, hardly any fat on it and cooks in half the time. 

Next time  your making Lamb Tikka's why not try my recipe below, using boneless back chop loin chunks.

Ingredients

500gm boneless back chop loins, cut into chunks. In other words ask the butcher to give you boneless meat from lamb back chops.

2tbsp natural plain yogurt

2tbsp lime juice

1 1/2tbsp crushed garlic

1 1/2tbsp crushed ginger

2-3 green chillies, crushed

1/2tsp ground nutmeg

1tsp smoked paprika

1tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground cumin

1/2tsp ground black pepper

1tsp garam masala

1tsp salt

2tbsp finely chopped coriander sprigs

Serves4

Marinade

First sprinkle the nutmeg over the lamb chunks and rub in with your hands.

Make a paste using the rest of the ingredients, mix the marinade into the lamb and marinate for 3 hours or overnight.

Skewer and either griddle, bbq them, until slightly charred.

Bav's Chilli Prawn Linguine

So here it is my first pasta dish on my blog, who doesn't love spaghetti/linguine, I still remember when I first tried Heinz Spaghetti in their own special sauce almost 30 years ago how much I fell in love with it. Since then spaghetti has increased in popularity throughout the world, whether with tomato sauces, cream sauces, semi dried pesto sauces or combined with different vegetables and meats, the combinations are endless.

I myself cook pasta probably once a week, when you want that change from Indian food, though like all of us I have my own favourite ways of cooking them, whether it be a spicy arrabiata in meatballs or penne with pancetta and garlic.

Below is one of my favourites my Chilli Prawn Linguine 

Ingredients

Herb Mix

20gm fresh basil leaves

20gm fresh coriander leaves

3 tbsp pine nut kernels (without skin)

2 green chillies

1tbsp olive oil

Place all ingredients into a herb mixer and blend into a coarse paste, leave aside.

Sauce

4tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic (crushed)

1 large Bombay onion (or 1 large red onion sliced)

275gm cooked & peeled king prawns

100gm single cream

salt & pepper to taste

Pasta

250gm linguine

1tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add the crushed garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add sliced onions and saute for a further five minutes.

Whilst the garlic and onion are cooking add boiled water to a sauce pan, olive oil and salt. Once the water starts boiling, add in the linguine, lower heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes.

Once the garlic and onion are sauted for 5 minutes add the herb mix and cook through a couple of minutes.

Add single cream, prawns and stir through for 4 minutes on a low heat..

Strain the linguine in a colander and save around 2 tbsp water to add to the sauce.

Add the linguine and 2 tbsp of the cooking water to the sauce mix, stir through well and serve hot.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with some rocket and finally sliced peach, with a little grated parmesan. 

Butter Chicken

One of my favourite dishes of all time..... I could eat this dish, day in day out, with a bit of naan, roti or some rice, as long as it is cooked right, it is the best. No doubt I have tried it in many plush 5 star hotels and small little dabba's across India, the best I've eaten, is mostly defiantly the latter. 

The sauce of the Butter Chicken is key here. Spicy, buttery, silky and full of aroma that, captures every essence of what a Butter Chicken should be. Hearty Indian food, whether served with naan bread or rice it should take you to heaven and beyond with its abundance of velvetiness. The best I’ve eaten is at a beach restaurant called Drupadi on Palelom Beach, Goa. The succulent sauce and the tenderness of the chicken blew me away, that I had to thank the chef personally. 

So being a curry man, what I'm looking for is a rich buttery spicy sauce which has the right balance of spices, herbs and good quality poultry. The sauce should be silky, creamy and not too harsh on the palate and there should always be a little heat as well. 

I have made this dish for many years, trying to get the perfect balance of richness which is associated with a Butter Chicken Dish that I would be proud of and serve to my nearest and dearest.

Here it is....enjoy.

Ingredients

1kg boneless chicken chunks (breast or thigh)

3 medium Bombay Onions, finely chopped

1tbsp garlic paste

1tbsp ginger paste

2/3 fresh green chillies to garnish

6 medium fresh tomatoes, skin peeled and blended

1½ tsp salt

1tsp chilli powder

2tsp ground coriander

1½tsp garam masala

½tsp ground mace

2tbsp almond powder

100ml single cream

75gm butter

Serves 4

Cooking Instructions

Heat the butter up in large pan on a medium heat, once melted add the onions and saute for around 15 minutes.

Add the garlic/ginger paste and saute further for 2 minutes before adding in the chicken.

Stir fry the chicken until all the pieces have turned white.

Pour in the tomatoes, stir, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.

Sprinkle in all the dried spices and almond powder, stir well and cook further for 15 minutes with the lid off.

Pour in the single cream, stir in well.

Best served with Indian Bread and Plain Basmati Rice.

Tarka Dall

The famous spicy lentil soup found in nearly all good south Asian restaurants. Here is my spiced up version, using two different lentils.  

Ingredients

150gm masoor dall (split red lentils)

150gm moong dall (split yellow lentils)

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp fresh garlic crushed

1 tbsp fresh ginger crushed

1000ml water

1 medium onion, finely sliced

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 long dried red chillies

2 tbsp sunflower oil

2 tbsp butter ghee

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp onion seeds (nigella seeds)

1/4 tsp asafoetida

2-3 green chillies

10gms fresh finely chopped coriander

Serves 4

Cooking The Lentils

Place the lentils in a pot and rinse a few times in warm water. Add the correct amount of water and leave to soak for 30 minutes.

Add the turmeric powder, salt, crushed garlic, crushed ginger and stir in well. Place on the hob and bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. I tend to remove the froth which appears half way the cooking process.

Once cooked, either liquidise or sieve through the lentil soup so it becomes smooth, place back in a pan.

The Tarka

In a small frying pan pour in the oil and butter ghee, heat on a medium heat.

Once fairly hot, add the mustard, onion seeds and dry red chillies. Fry until the mustard seeds stop crackling.

Sprinkle in the asafoetida, stir in for a few seconds. Add the sliced onions, garlic and fry until the onions turn golden brown.

Pour the Tarka over heated Dall.

Sprinkle the chopped coriander , chillies in the middle of the Dall and serve hot.

Spicy Prawn Cakes

The perfect lunch dish...... spicy prawn cakes with ginger and chilli.

Ingredients

175gm cooked prawns, chopped

500gm boiled potatoes in 1/2 tsp salt, skin removed

2 stalks of spring onions, finely chopped

2-3 Indian green chillies, finely chopped

1 large tsp finely grated ginger

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 tsp mango (amchur) powder

1/2 tsp ground coriander

100gm white bread crumbs

2 eggs, beaten

Oil for shallow frying, at least 1 1/2 cm deep

Serves 4

Cooking Instructions

Place the boiled potatoes into a medium size bowl and allow to cool. 

Once cooled sprinkle in all the dried spices, herbs, salt and using a fork, gently break up the potatoes into small pieces.

Add the chopped prawns and mix in well.

Make 8 equal size patties using your hands, gently patting all the edges together.

One by one place the patties into beaten egg and then into a bowl of white breadcrumbs, cover evenly and leave aside for 30 minutes.

Shallow fry the cakes in batches of 4 on a fairly high heat for 2 minutes on either side, remove to a plate of kitchen towels to remove excess oil.

Serve hot with a salad and a chilli tangy dip of your choice.

Mung Bean Dal

Mung Beans is one of the most popular beans I sell, various recipes exist, including sprouting these nutritious beauties for various culinary uses. Below is my Gujarati style tomato based Dal.

Ingredients 

500gms large mung beans

2500ml water

10tbsp sunflower oil

1tsp cumin seeds

2"inches cassia bark

5 whole cloves

1/4tsp asafoetida

2 whole red chillies

2 medium onions, finely chopped

700gm fresh tomato pulp

1tbsp crushed garlic

1tbsp crushed ginger

4-5 Indian green chillies

1tsp chilli powder

1tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground cumin

1tsp ground turmeric

2tsp garam masala

1tsp amchur powder

3tbsp fresh coriander

2tsp salt

Serves 4-6

Cooking

Soak the mung beans in water for 12 hours overnight.

Place the soaked mung beans in a large pot with 2500ml water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, until cooked. Leave aside.  

In a large wok heat up the oil on a medium heat, once hot throw in the cumin seeds, cassia bark, cloves, whole red chilli and stir fry for 15 seconds.

Sprinkle in the asafoetida, stir quickly and throw in the finely chopped onions and allow to brown, stirring throughout. 

Once brown, add the crushed garlic, ginger, green chillies and saute for 2 minutes.

Pour in the fresh tomato pulp, stir in well and simmer for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle in the dried spices and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Pour the tomato sauce into the pot of mung beans, stir well, put back on a low heat for around 20 minutes.

Serve hot with warm Indian breads and rice.

Spiced Grilled Salmon

A quick and easy recipe for succulent fillets of salmon, spiced up with herbs and spices, char grilled for a perfect healthy dish.

Ingredients

500gm salmon fillets

3 garlic cloves

1 1/2 inch ginger piece

2 fresh whole red chillies

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

4tbsp olive oil

1tsp ground coriander

1/2tsp ground star aniseed

1/2tsp ground fennel powder

1tsp kashmiri chilli powder

1/2tsp ground black pepper

1tsp ground turmeric

1tsp salt

Serves 2

Marinade

Place the garlic, ginger, chillies into a small food processor and blend a few times.

Pour in the olive oil and fresh lemon juice and blend again until you have a smooth paste.

Sprinkle in the rest of the dried ingredients, blend to form a marinade. 

Apply the marinade to the salmon fillets and allow to marinate for a few hours.

Cooking Instruction

Place under a medium pre-heated grill for around 10 minutes, until slightly charred. 

Serve Hot.

Chicken Masala

My take on a classic, not to be confused with Chicken Tikka Masala. Chicken morsels cooked in butter, selected spices, herbs and single cream for added richness.

Ingredients

750gm fresh boneless chicken chunks, either breast or thigh meat,

2 medium red onions, finely chopped,

5 garlic cloves,

1 large piece ginger,

2-4 green chillies,

20gm fresh coriander, washed and chopped,

6 medium fresh tomatoes,

1tsp garam masala,

2tsp ground coriander,

1tsp turmeric powder,

1/2tsp ground black pepper,

1tsp chilli powder,

1tsp salt,

4tbsp olive oil,

50gm butter,

100ml single cream,

Serves 2-4

Cooking Instruction

Place garlic, ginger, chillies, fresh coriander in an herb mixer and blend a few times, until all ingredients have broken down and you have a herb mixture.

Take the tomatoes and either blend in a food processor until smooth as is or place in some boiling water for a few minutes, remove and allow to cool. Remove the skin and then blitz in a food processor, this removes the little bits of tomato skin which some people do not like.

In a fairly large wok or deep frying pan, one which has a lid, heat up the olive oil and butter on a medium heat, once the butter is melted throw in the onions and saute until they start turning brown.

Add the herb mixture and stir fry for a further 2 minutes, add the chicken chunks in and stir fry until all pieces of chicken turn white.

Pour in the blended tomatoes, stir in well, cover and simmer on a low heat for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle in the dried spices, salt and cook for a further 10 minutes with the lid off.

Pour in the single cream, stir and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Serve hot with some naan bread and rice.

Mushroom Bhajee

A succulent dish of sauted mushrooms in butter and infused with herbs and ground spices.

Ingredients

200g Chestnut Mushrooms, halved and sliced
3tbsp Olive oil
50g Unsalted Butter
1tbsp Garlic Crushed
2 Green Chillies, finely sliced
2 Spring Onions, sliced
2 tbsp Fresh Coriander, finely chopped
1/2tsp Ground Coriander
1/2tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/4tsp Ground Star Aniseed
1/2tsp Salt
1tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

Cooking

In a wok heat the olive oil and butter on a medium heat.

Once fairly hot, add the crushed garlic, sauté for around a minute.

Throw in the mushrooms and sauté further for another 8-10 minutes, until their juices evaporate.

Sprinkle in the dried spices, spring onions, chillies and lemon juice and stir in well for a few minutes.

Serve hot, by itself or accompanied with other dishes.