Chiang Mai Noodle Broth – An alternative Boxing Day recipe

6 Comments December 10, 2018 chilliandmint

Before we know it Christmas is upon us, so I thought I would get this recipe out early for you so that you can menu plan in advance. Whilst it is a Thai dish, it’s origin is actually from Burma and is very similar to the Malaysian laksa. I have cooked it for many years and whilst I tend to use boneless chicken thighs, I was thinking it would also work equally well with leftover turkey too. So if you are feeling the urge for some zing and heat on Boxing Day this recipe may just tick many boxes. You can make your own red curry paste (see at the bottom of this post for the recipe), should you want to make it completely from scratch or you can use a bought paste, which will speed up the process and make it pretty hassle free. I find this brand works well. The garnishes are important as they add texture, colour, flavour and taste so don’t hold back when plating up.

Chiang Mai Noodle Broth

serves 4

500ml coconut milk

2 tbsp red curry paste *

500g boneless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces OR turkey leftovers

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

3 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

salt to taste

1 lime, juice only

600ml chicken stock

250g egg noodles (dry or fresh)

Garnish

1 shallot, finely sliced

2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal

fresh red chilli, optional

fresh mint, 1 handful

fresh coriander 1 handful

crispy fried onions – I buy these from this website

In an non-stick pan add one third of the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Move it around the pan, with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes by which time the milk will separate and little bubbles will form on the surface.
Now you add the red curry paste and mix together until smooth with the coconut milk.
Add the chicken and coat completely in the sauce. Move around the pan for a few minutes, before adding the rest of the coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, chicken stock. Simmer gently for 12 minutes. Taste test and add a little salt and/or sugar as necessary. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice.
Meanwhile boil water in another pan and add the egg noodles, and cook according to the pack. Normally only takes a few minutes.
Strain the noodles and then plate up in the following order. Make sure you have deep bowls – or pasta bowls will work well.
Place the noodles in the bottom of the bowl. Next add some chicken/turkey. Next carefully ladle the liquid into the bowl and then scatter the garnishes on top – or place on the table for people to serve themselves.

To make your own red curry paste

You will need:

3 red bird’s eye chillies

2 shallots, peeled

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tbsp galangal or ginger, peeled and chopped

1 tbsp coriander stems, chopped

1 tbsp kaffir lime zest or 2 lime leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp shrimp paste

1 tbsp lemongrass, chopped

Blend all the ingredients together in a mini blender or pestle and mortar to form a paste. You won’t need to add any water as the juice from the galangal/ginger should provide this.

Homemade Gravlax with a Dill, Mustard and Lemon Dressing and Pickled Cucumbers

5 Comments November 21, 2018 chilliandmint

With Christmas fast approaching I thought a homemade gravlax recipe might come in rather useful. Smoked salmon always makes an appearance on Christmas day, but I think a homemade gravlax might make a welcome change. This Nordic dish is very simple to prepare as ultimately you are simply curing the salmon in salt, sugar, fresh dill and gin (or vodka/schnapps).

I tend to use the container that the salmon comes in to cure it, which makes it all very straight forward and fuss free. If you want to add a pink hue to the gravlax, simply add a small grated beetroot when you add the fresh dill to begin with. Sometimes I also like to add juniper berries, which I crush and add to the curing ingredients (no more than 2 tsp). I like to cure the salmon for 48 hours, by which time it has hardened and taken on the wonderful flavours it has been curing in.

The end result can be made into canapés, of presented as a starter in the middle of the table. I like to make a lemony, mustard and dill dressing and for some crunch pickled cucumbers works a treat.

Above gives you an idea on how it would look as a table centre piece for a starter and below as a canapé, or in my case, lunch with a mug of miso soup.

Homemade Gravlax

Serves 4-6 as canapés or starter

500g salmon fillet, skin on (bones removed) this one is perfect

100g fresh dill, finely chopped, leaves and stalks

2 tsp freshly ground white pepper

2 tbsp gin (or vodka or schnapps)

70g flakey sea salt

80g caster sugar

2 tsp freshly ground juniper berries, optional

1 small beetroot, peeled and grated, optional

Using a hand blender (or by hand) other than the salmon, mix all the ingredients together to form a green sugary salty rub.
Using the container that the salmon has come in, or a container that the salmon comfortably fits, add half the rub. Place the salmon on top – flesh side down – and then cover with the remaining rub. Make sure the salmon is completely covered. Cover with a lid or cling film and place back in the fridge for 48 hours, turning a couple of times throughout this period.
Before serving, remove most of the rub by gently running it under some cold water. Pat dry with kitchen paper. You want some of the dill to remain on the salmon.

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Thirty minutes before serving you need to make the pickled cucumbers.

Pickled Cucumbers

1 whole cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced (a mandolin is great for this)

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp flakey sea salt

1 tbsp caster sugar

1/2 tsp coriander seeds, optional

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Squeeze out the excess moisture (there will be quite a lot), and then place in a serving bowl or on the serving platter.

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Whilst the cucumber is pickling, clean out an old jam jar with a lid.

Mustard and Lemon Dressing

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 small lemon, juice only (I like it quite lemony, so perhaps add 1/2 juice of a lemon first and add more once it is all mixed together)

1 tbsp caster sugar

pinch of flakey sea salt

50g finely freshly chopped dill

2 tbsp sunflower/olive oil

Place all the ingredients in your jar, secure the lid and mix thoroughly. Taste test and add more salt/sugar/lemon to taste.
Place in a bowl ready to accompany the gravlax and pickled cucumber.
Store in the fridge if made ahead of time. It will last for well over a week in the fridge.

Rhubarb and Ginger Jam

10 Comments June 5, 2018 chilliandmint

Last year when I attended the Ballymaloe Food and Drink Literary Festival one of the first things I did upon arriving, was to take myself to their beautiful living room and order tea and scones – as you do! Needless to say it set the tone for the whole weekend, but one very lasting memory was that they served their scones and clotted cream not with strawberry or raspberry jam, BUT with rhubarb and ginger jam. It tasted sublime and I made a mental note to try making some at some point back at home.

Now ok it’s taken me a year but I got there and it tastes great so was keen to share it with you. My mother celebrated her birthday the other day and invited some friends over for tea. My youngest daughter and I made cakes (an elderflower and lemon drizzle, in honour of the recent royal wedding and a carrot cake) and scones and some mushroom tartlets with sour cream and parsley. My eldest daughter baked her legendary chocolate cake and my father made a wonderful Victoria sponge and scones with raisins.

As a side note, scones you can make ahead as they are great to freeze – I made around a 100 for my brothers wedding tea – the recipe is here and it works really well. So whilst strawberry and raspberry jam were on offer for the traditionalists, my rhubarb and ginger jam tempted those who wished to try something new and exciting. Hope you like it too.

Strawberry jam (left) my Rhubarb and Ginger jam (right) Mama

Rhubarb and Ginger Jam

1 kg of pink rhubarb, washed and cut into 2cm pieces

1kg of jam sugar

50g stem ginger

1 lemon, zest and juice

4cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

Before you begin you will want to clean and sterilise the jars that you are planning on using.

Place all the ingredients into a large plastic bowl, stir thoroughly and then cover and leave to one side for a couple of hours, stir a couple of times over this period, so that the sugar dissolves and the flavours all harmonise together.
Place a plate into the freezer.
Use a large stainless steel pot – you do not need a preserving pan – and pour all the ingredients from the bowl into the pan. Place on a medium heat and stir so that the rhubarb tenderises and a setting point is reached. This will take no longer than 15 minutes.
To test for setting point, simply remove the plate from the freezer and spoon a little jam onto the plate. Within a minute the jam will have little wrinkles if you move it with your finger. If it is still too runny, leave it to cook a little longer and try again.
If setting point has been reached, remove from the heat and leave for a couple of minutes before pouring into the sterilised jars. Seal immediately and label. I find this easy fill funnel great for jam and chutney making.

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Chettinad Pepper Chicken and Being on Editors’ Picks

8 Comments January 30, 2017 chilliandmint

There has been a wonderful flurry of activity behind the scenes on my blog in the last 48 hours. My phone began to ping – indicating a new ‘follower’ and ‘buzz’ when a new like happened. They were happening more regularly than usual to the extent I began to wonder what on earth was going on. After a little digging around I realised that my blog had been selected as one of the ‘Editors’ Picks’ – The best of WordPress, selected by Editors at Automatic. I am beyond ecstatic as I have watched in awe over the years at the fascinating, motivating and uplifting blogs that are selected across a wide selection of genres.

So welcome to all the new followers of my blog. I hope you get the chance to have a good virtual wander around. I have so many recipes in my ‘recipe library’ that I hope to appeal to a wide audience. The common thread with all of them is that they will have herbs or spices working their magic within them. I am passionate about them and adore dishes from across the globe. When I come across a new ingredient I am the first to give it a whirl and see for myself if it is something that I can incorporate in my cooking going forward. In the last year I tried (and loved) kokum, (or as one sweet reader corrected me kodampuli) – see here which has a tangy, distinct flavour, as well as sea urchin which I have been meaning to try for years – it was as delicious as I had envisaged.

To get you started how about having a look and trying one of my Sunday go-to dishes Bengali red split lentil dal or perhaps you are more of a meat eater then try one of my fav Mexican dishes – Mexican chilli beef with butternut squash. Keeping on the theme of butternut squash how about this vegetarian curry using the squash as the star ingredient – butternut squash, lemongrass, coconut and spinach curry . If you have more of a sweet tooth then this one is rather good and even made it’s way into the Telegraph newspaper in the UK – chocolate, chilli and cinnamon fondants with cardamom chantilly cream. If you can’t find what you are looking for just send me an email or leave a comment and I will try and point you in the right direction or will come up with a recipe for you in a future post

Today however I wanted to share a south Indian chicken recipe with you that actually originates from Chettinadu. As Bengal is famous for cooking with mustard, so Chettinadu is renown for using black pepper to heat their dishes. This dish is one with great heat and packs a punch. If you are feeling a bit low with a cold then I can assure you this dish will more than perk you up again. You need to make your own masala, which takes minutes, and is so worth it, and then the actually cooking of the dish is completed within 40-45 minutes max. I have another Chettinadu dish on my blog (which requires more ingredients than this dish), which you may also want to check out if this recipe turns out to be a hit for you. Let me know how you get on in the comments box below.

Chettinad Pepper Chicken

Serves 4-6

3 tbsp olive oil

3 pods of cardamom, opened

1x 3 inch piece of cinnamon bark/dalchini

2 white onions, finely chopped

3 tomatoes, finely chopped

3 tsp ginger-garlic paste

salt

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1.2 kilo of chicken thighs, on the bone (or whole chicken, skinned and cut into 10/12 pieces)

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Masala

4 dried chillies

4 tsp black peppercorns

3 tsp green aniseed *

3 tsp cumin seeds

3 tsp coriander seeds

*if you do not have green aniseed you can add fennel seeds instead.

First warm the oil and then add the cardamom pods and the cinnamon bark. Move around the pan for 10 seconds before adding the onions and move around the pan so that they begin to bronze. Add a little salt at this stage. This will take about 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile heat a large frying pan and when the pan is hot add the masala ingredients and move around the pan for a minute. You will smell their wonderful aromas, but be careful not to let them burn. Take off the heat and then blend in your spice grinder/pestle and mortar. Place to one side
Returning to the main pan, once the onions are lightly bronzing add the garlic ginger paste, tomatoes and the ground masala. You may need to add a little more oil at this stage. Allow the tomatoes to soften completely before adding the chicken.
Now add the chicken and mix with all the ingredients. Add a little water so that a sauce is created and the chicken can cook easily. You will find the chicken naturally releases some water so only add a very little. Place a lid on the pan. Stir intermittently for the next 40 mins, adding a little more water if it becomes too dry. Taste test and add more salt if required.
I often find it useful to let it rest for a while to allow the flavours to infuse and relax.

If you are cooking in advance, allow to cool completely before placing in the fridge. Before eating, remove from the fridge an hour before and then gently warm up. Do not add lots of water as it will naturally loosen up once it is heated up.

Culinary delights and inspiration over the Christmas period

10 Comments December 23, 2016 chilliandmint

So my fridge – my relatively new fridge in fact (still under guarantee phew) – decides to die a dramatic death on 22nd December. Great timing. I mean it could have died in November or in the summer but no it decides to die just as I want to start cracking on with preparations for Christmas.

I will not let my fridge dampen my spirits however. On the bright side I have a freezer and a cold coal cellar so I am going to rise to the occasion and go back in time when freezers did not exist. I now have all the contents of my fridge in storage boxes with ice bags surrounding them. Some jars are in the garden in boxes in the rabbit hutch. Our rabbits passed away recently…..that’s another story….so there is room in the hutch away from prying urban foxes.

So I thought you might need some last minute inspiration of things to cook with turkey leftovers, meals after christmas and before new year and canapés etc. So first up is turkey, ham and leek pie. Very straightforward and a great way to use up the turkey and ham.

On boxing day or 27th I will be cooking my crispy skin cod with white beans, padron peppers, spinach, dill and aioli. You can use monkfish or hake instead, whichever you decide it’s a lovely dish to serve after the filling fare of Christmas day.

This wintery warm lentil and goats cheese salad with a fresh basil dressing will also be making an appearance. Slow cooked tomatoes are a favourite in my household and we are all rather fond of goats cheese. I also like the fact that is vegetarian, filling and incredibly tasty.

Perhaps you have friends or family coming over for a glass of bubbles or mulled wine. Both these canapés are very straightforward and don’t take too much time to prepare. The pastry for the parmesan caraway biscuits can be made in advance and kept in the fridge. When you are ready to cook them you simply slice them thinly, lay them out on a tray and place them in the oven for around 10 minutes, or until they are lightly bronzed. Let them cool slightly and then they are ready to be devoured.

The rosemary spiced walnuts are wonderful to snack on and are not too filling before the main event. We love them and I am sure you will too.

Whilst we are all very fortunate to have the love of family and friends around us at Christmas a great way to give a little back is reserving a place for a homeless person at one of the crisis shelters. £22.32 reserves a place for one person but also allows them to have:

– a health check with a doctor, dentist and optician

– shower, freshen up and clean clothes

– three nutritious meals including christmas dinner

-an introduction to Crisis’ year-round services for training and support for the future.

You can find out more and how to donate here. I think it is a wonderful charity and one that I support each year.

So that’s it from me for 2016. I wish you all a very merry christmas and a happy new year and I hope to be able to inspire you with some exciting recipes in 2017. Thank you for your continued support and readership, it means a lot to me.

Torie xx

The Art of Parsi Cooking and Chicken Badami

7 Comments December 19, 2016 chilliandmint

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be invited to the book launch of Niloufer Mavalvala’s new cookbook ‘The Art of Parsi Cooking’. To be honest, whilst I had clearly heard of parsi cooking, I was not very familiar with the minutiae of the cuisine. Her book focuses on ‘reviving an ancient cuisine’ which she has done by compiling a range of family loved recipes.

Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Niloufer now resides in Canada and has done so for the past 15 years. Her book gives a wonderful overview on the history of the Parsi people and their cuisine that they adapted to their local environs. Originally from Persia, Parsis were followers of the Prophet Zarathushtra. Between the 8th and 10th centuries, many fled Persia and headed for India, landing on the shores of Gujarat, where many of them settled. Interestingly the ‘Pars’ from Parsis means Iran. In many respects the cuisine is an amalgamation of Persian and Indian and does have a very distinct flavours. Niloufer talks about ingredients such as ‘saffron, jaggery, cider vinegar, ginger, cinnamon and turmeric’ are all key ingredients in Parsi cooking along side the trinity of garlic, ginger and chillies.

I love to read cookery books were the recipes have been passed down generations, it’s as if we privy to the inner circles culinary magic. For years I have been after a good korma recipe that holds it’s weight amount curries. I have found them too creamy and often too bland. Niloufer has a wonderful recipe called ‘ Chicken Badami – Almond and Yoghurt Curry’ which will knock your socks off. If you want it less chilli hot then I recommend reducing or taking out the fresh chillies, but for me I like to have a bit of bite within the curry. The Parsi version of this recipe omits excess oil and instead uses ground almonds and yoghurt. It’s very straightforward and whilst mine is not as red in colour as Niloufer’s in the book, it tastes truly wonderful.

Over the christmas period, many of us are with friends and family over the christmas week. Whilst I love all the traditional food, after about day 3 I crave spice and I think this might be a great one to feed your loved ones. I’ve adapted the recipe slightly as Niloufer uses cups for measurements and most recipes in the UK are in grams and I have added a few more tomatoes, despite mine still not being as red in colour as hers. Otherwise I have remained close to her recipe.

Her book is original, refreshing and lovingly compiled and would make a great gift for those seeking out Parsi recipes. It is fairly compact in size with no more than 40 recipes, but that is more than enough to provide interest and intrigue in the cuisine. You can order it online here. It is published by Austin Macauley Publishers . Next up for me is masala na khekra – pan fried crabs with spices.

Chicken Badami

adapted from The Art of Parsi Cooking by Niloufer Mavalvala

Serves 6

2 tbsp oil

1 dried bay leaf

1 tsp of freshly grated garlic (paste)

1 tsp of freshly ground ginger (paste)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

10-12 chicken pieces, on the bone and skinned (I find thighs and legs work well)

3 medium sized tomatoes

4 green chillies

230 ml water

245g natural yoghurt with a pinch of salt and sugar

60g ground almonds

1/2 tsp garam masala

Remove the skin from the chicken pieces and place to one side.
In a large deep pan add the oil, on a low heat, and when it is hot add the bay leaf, ginger, garlic, salt, red chilli, cumin, coriander and turmeric powders and move around the pan and then add the chicken pieces. Continue to move around the pan at intervals so that the spices do not burn.
In a blender add the tomatoes, green chillies and blend to form a smooth paste before adding a little water.
Once the chicken has changed colour add the tomato, chilli paste along with the water and bring to the boil. Cover and cook on a medium heat for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook for a further 20 minutes, by which time the chicken will have cooked through and the gravy will have thickened up and reduced. Niloufer recommends cooking until there is about 1 cup of gravy remaining or thereabouts.
Let it cool completely.
In a bowl mix the natural yoghurt with a pinch of salt and sugar as well as the ground almonds.
Once the chicken has cooled add the natural yoghurt mixture.
Gently reheat, sprinkle with garam masala powder and then serve. Serve naan alongside.

Sauteed Chicken Livers with Madeira, Capers, Parsley and Red Onions on Toasted Sourdough

6 Comments December 23, 2015 chilliandmint

Christmas beckons and you are now, most probably, all sorted on what you are going to cook over the coming days, well on Christmas day at least. I don’t know about you but I find the week between Christmas and New Year is filled with feasting and if you have family or friends stopping by you want no fuss food that tastes divine with minimum preparation effort.

This is where my sautéed chicken livers come in. They are so darn tasty and can be rustled up in 10 minutes. Seriously folks, 10 minutes and you have a perfect appetiser or relaxed lunch. If you have a mental block over chicken livers I urge you to put it to side this once and dive right in. Sauteed in Madeira and capers these chicken livers are totally transformed and I love the flavours coming from the crunchy red onions and fresh flat leaf parsley. Served on toasted sourdough and you have yourself a real treat.

If, like me, you adore chicken livers then do try my chicken liver curry here.

I’m going to be checking out now until mid January, but you can find me on Instagram and twitter as I work my way around Kerala in Southern India. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year full of festive cheer, merriment and of course feasting.

I’ll be back in 2016 with lots of Keralan treats to share with you.

Sauteed Chicken Livers with Madeira, Capers, Parsley and Red Onions on Toasted Sourdough

Serves 4

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 banana shallot, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, finely diced

400g chicken livers

salt and pepper, to taste

2 tbsp Madeira or Sherry

2 tbsp capers

1 red onion finely sliced

a generous handful of fresh flat leaf parsley

4 this slices of sourdough bread, toasted under the grill on both sides

Turn on the grill so that it is ready to toast your sourdough bread in a few minutes.
In a frying pan heat the oil and then add the diced shallot and garlic.
After 3 minutes add the chicken livers and a little salt and pepper and let them brown in colour. Gently turn them over so that they heat through evenly. This will take around 6 minutes.
Whilst the livers are browning, slice the red onion and remove the leaves of the flat leaf parsley. Place to one side.
Place the sourdough bread on a baking tray and lightly sprinkle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Grill it so that it is lightly bronzed on both sides. It happens quickly so keep an eye on it.
Add the Madeira and capers and gently moved around the pan. Turn the heat down and simmer for a further couple of minutes.
To plate up cut the toasted sourdough in half and lay evenly on a serving plate. Sprinkle with a few red onions and parsley. Lay the chicken livers and capers over the toast and then scatter with a little more red onions and parsley.

Eat immediately so that it is still hot.

New York Wanderings and a Traditional Bengali Chicken Curry

16 Comments May 11, 2014 chilliandmint

I’ve been doing a spot of travelling since my last blog post, hence the slight delay. Mr B and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary with a long weekend in New York. It’s been a decade since I last visited so was really eager to catch up with friends and immerse myself in a city that has the most wonderful, infectious energy and of course, never sleeps.

We parked ourselves in The Standard, East Village with it’s fabulous vistas spanning the whole of Manhattan with it’s floor to ceiling windows; I never tired of the view from our bedroom.

The hotel totally lived up to our (high) expectations and the staff made a real effort to make our stay extra special. Would I return? Most definitely.

Sunrise on our first morning from our room

We walked and walked and walked for hours on end, exploring the little streets in the Villages and Soho with it’s stunning wrought ironwork on the sides of the buildings.

To give us bursts of energy we would refuel with fresh juices from the juice trailers parked in the streets. With around 80 different juice combinations to choose from it was hard to decide which one to pick. At around $4 a pop they are great value and ridiculously healthy – a win win.

They cleanse the body and totally refresh the tired wanderer. Competitively priced and they would do so well here in London – a great business idea for a budding entrepreneur!!

The stunning High Line with the old tracks visible

The High Line really impressed us – a great example of urban regeneration. It’s a stunning elevated greenway mile that used to be the New York central rail road spur, known as the West Side Line. It spans the meat packing district all the way up to Chelsea and is cleverly designed with shrubs, plants and trees interspersed with benches and seating areas around and on top of the old tracks. I particularly loved the raised seating, similar to an amphitheatre that looks over one of the roads with a huge glass window.

Clever designs and architecture throughout the High Line

Instead of watching a movie you sit and watch the traffic buzz beneath you. Later in the day when I was passing underneath it in a taxi it almost looked like an advertising poster, and then I saw the people moving around. A clever effect and a fun way to be creative with the old rail road.

Walkways along the High Line

The peace and serenity that the High Line offers is a welcome respite from the manic life that goes on down below. If you are planning a trip my recommendation would be to go early as it definitely becomes crowded as the run rises higher in the sky.

Me sitting on the attractive wooden seating on the High Line

Friends beckoned us over to Brooklyn, a place I definitely want to explore further on my next visit, to an area that is gentrifying and that has become rather hip – called Dumbo. Looking across at Manhattan from the Brooklyn side of New York, gave a new perspective to this sprawling city. The sun was shining and the crowds were out and if the ice cream queue at The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory had anything to go by the area of Dumbo has become hugely popular.

Looking back at Manhattan from Dumbo in Brooklyn

A couple other must-see destinations for foodies is the Italian food emporium of Eataly, which is just by the famous Flatiron building, which in itself is a piece of interesting architecture worth seeing.

The famous Flatiron building

It’s only a matter of time before we’ll see an Eataly in London, having already got branches outside the US in Dubai, Japan, Istanbul and Italy itself. The shop is bursting at the seams with delicious Italian produce, and yet it has a calm serenity that makes wandering around it very pleasant indeed. There are bars and a couple of cafes (the one on the roof is perfect for sunny summer days and has a huge selection of beers) and it’s quite acceptable to browse around the store with a glass of wine in your hand. All very civilised if you ask me.

The other food mecca worth seeking out is Chelsea Market, not far from the High Line, so perhaps the perfect pit stop after a High Line stroll. It’s a stunning food court with a great atmosphere and an incredible choice of eateries, bars and cafes.

strolling through Chelsea Market – loving the exposed bricks

Aside from eating, walking and socialising we managed to squeeze in a little culture with a visit to the ‘The Frick Collection’ . Based in the Upper East Side it gave us a great excuse to explore the neighbourhood and central park. The collection itself is fascinating and housed in the mansion of the wealthy industrialist Henry Frick, one of America’s greatest art collectors who died in 1919. His house contains many masterpieces of paintings, sculptures and decorative art that the public are freely allowed to view and admire. He bequeathed the house and all it’s contents to the public upon his death. It’s a relatively small collection so won’t take too long to amble around so is easy to fit into a quick stop in New York. Go visit.

New York is jammed full of incredible restaurants. A list of some of those we visited is listed below:

The Dutch – happening bar with tasty American food and an exciting wine list. Based in Soho.

Lafayette – sister restaurant to The Dutch (we did not realise this at the time). Larger in size to The Dutch and a little more formal. More French style menu.

Atrium – This Dumbo restaurant is buzzy with a delicious brunch/lunch menu. Mr B found the pulled pork bun too small for his liking – I on the other hand found the size spot on. Interesting foliage structure upon the main wall.

Spice Market – based in the Meatpacking District across the road from Soho House. Old kid on the block but still going strong. Large restaurant so not intimate and filled with locals, but seriously tasty Asian food.

Noho Star – Neighbourhood cafe in East Village. Highly recommend the spicy Mexican Huevos Rancheros. Deeeelish.

Cafe Standard – Within the Standard Hotel East Village, this hip eatery is always buzzing and has a great menu with delicious juices.

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Back in London we craved spicy Indian food so rustled up one of our favourite chicken curries. We tend to cook it on the bone (seriously it tastes much better this way), but if the thought of cooking and eating off the bone doesn’t appeal simply cook the curry with breast and boneless chicken thighs instead.

Eating nourishing, homely food also really helps with jetlag ;0)

Traditional Bengali Chicken Curry

Serves 4-6

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 chicken, cut into 10/12 pieces and skin removed

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

4 cloves

5 cardamom pods, split open

1 pieces of cinnamon bark, split into three

2 tsp salt

8 garlic cloves, kept whole

2 tsp of fresh ginger paste

4 medium potatoes, chopped in two

2 or 3 large carrots, chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 tbsp natural yoghurt

2 tbsp of tinned chopped tomatoes

1. In a large deep pan heat up the oil. Place the onion in the oil and gently fry until the onion becomes translucent and soft. This should take around 5 minutes.

2. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and allow them to whiten completely. Turn them at intervals so that all sides of the chicken pieces are white. This will take around 10 minutes.

3. Once whitened add all the spices and salt followed by the potatoes, garlic cloves, carrots, tomatoes and yoghurt. Stir in well so that the chicken and vegetables are completely coated in the spices.

4. On a medium heat allow the curry to cook through, stirring at intervals. No extra water is needed as the chicken pieces release plenty of water during cooking.

5. After 40 minutes the curry should be completely cooked. Using a knife make sure the carrots and potatoes are soft. If they remain hard, stir into the sauce and cook for another 10 minutes.

Serve with rice or Indian bread. As it is on the bone it is easier to eat the traditional Indian way – with your right hand -but I’ll leave that for you to decide.

Cinnamon, Sea Salt and Chilli Chocolate Truffles

22 Comments January 29, 2014 chilliandmint

Foodie gifts are always the best. Not only do they show effort and thought but are guaranteed to bring a smile to the receiver and a warm fuzzy feeling to the giver. Recently friends who came for supper bought along four bags of spices from Turkey that they had picked up on a recent business trip. So I now have bags of sumac and spice rubs – you can imagine how overjoyed I was.

Time permitting, I like to take food gifts, sometimes homemade sometimes not, to friends who are hosting suppers. I find my chipotle sauce always goes down well, or in fact any of my chutneys under the chutney section in my recipe library. Chocolate truffles are always a crowd pleaser and are also perfect for bringing out at the end of a dinner. They take minimal effort to make and you can make them a few days in advance and then store them in the fridge.

I am more partial to milk than dark chocolate so I have double the amount of milk chocolate to dark, I find this ration works really well. You can do the opposite if you prefer dark. You can also get creative with these truffles and instead of adding cinnamon, sea salt and chilli flakes, who can add just one or perhaps another spice such as cardamom, or perhaps fresh mint, coconut, ginger, nuts, raisons, bacon – the possibilities are endless.

Personally I love the combination of cinnamon, sea salt and a pinch of chilli flakes. Give them a try and leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Cinnamon, Sea Salt and Chilli Chocolate Truffles

200ml double cream

100g Green & Black milk chocolate 37% cocoa with sea salt

50g Green & Black dark chocolate 70% cocoa

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1 pinch of sea salt

1 pinch of chilli flakes

1 tbsp cocoa powder – for dusting

1. Place the milk and dark chocolate in a freezer bag and seal. Use a rolling pin to bash the chocolate into small pieces.

2. Gently warm the cream in a saucepan. When hot take off the heat and pour the broken up pieces of chocolate into the saucepan along with the cinnamon powder, sea salt and chilli flakes. The chocolate will melt within a couple of minutes. Give a good stir and taste to see if you like the flavour. Add a little more cinnamon powder, sea salt or chilli flakes as your taste requires.

3. Place into a bowl and place in the fridge for an hour and a half, by which time the chocolate will have become firmer to handle.

4. Roll in the palms of your hands to form small bite sized balls. I prefer them to look a little uneven compared to beautifully neat balls, but it’s a personal preference. Please note this part can become a little messy!

5. Roll in the cocoa powder and store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to eat. They will last for up to a week.

Instead of rolling the truffles in cocoa powder you could roll in pistachio, hazelnuts or coconut. Experiment and see what works for you.

Rainbow Layer Cake

5 Comments December 8, 2012 chilliandmint

I really hadn’t planned on making a blog post out of a rainbow layer cake, hence the rather limited, and not particularly styled photos, but the outcome was somewhat unexpected in that it looked and tasted rather good and definitely had the appropriate wow factor (from a child’s perspective!). I have never really been a big cake maker, or eater of cake for that matter, largely due to the fact that I don’t have a sweet tooth and by and large I tend to cook what I like eating – mainly savoury dishes that have herbs and spices in them of course!

However, when it comes to children’s celebrations a cake is very much required and so I tend to step up (well actually perhaps that is a little lie as I sometimes pass the buck to my mother, father, or cousin who are far better cake makers than me!) and usually opt for a Victoria sponge, chocolate or banana and walnut cake or maybe even some little cupcakes.

This time however, I thought I would give myself a bit of a challenge and try making a rainbow layer cake. Hey even if the cake were to taste bad, the looks alone would make up for it – well that’s kind of what I was thinking anyway.

Thankfully the cake ticked all the boxes and was surprisingly fun to make. It really felt like creating a cake from an artists colour palate. I was also intrigued by the fact the recipe required soya milk. I don’t know why but I have never really had the need to drink soya milk, what with being a huge cows milk drinker (I need it when eating very spicy food). The taste of soya milk, however, completely surprised me as it was deliciously sweet and a genuinely lovely drink in its own right. I spotted soya milk with hazelnuts in the shops so will definitely be picking up a carton of that very soon.

So when you have a big celebration to prepare for try making this cake to wow the crowds, it won’t let you down.

This cake had been slightly ‘child’ handled by the time this photo was taken, however, I assure you it looked a lot more pristine to begin with.

So here is what you need to do.

Rainbow Layer Cake

Adapted from Kitchen Tested

(Melinda has some great step-by-step photos so check out her blog to get more of an idea)

325g plain flour

4 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

225g margarine (I always use Stork for cake baking)

475g caster sugar

365 ml soya milk

5 egg whites

2 tsp vanilla extract

purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red gel food colour (I use Dr Oetker’s food colours)

approx 550g cream cheese style icing (if you are not making your own and want to save time Betty Crocker’s tastes good – 2 pots should be enough, but it depends on how much icing you like in and on your cake)

vegetable spray/oil

1. Preheat your oven(s) to 180 degrees. If you have just one you will need to cook the sponges in batches but this will not take long as they are quick to cook!

2. Line six 9 inch (round) baking tins with baking parchment. Spray or rub in a little oil into each tin so that the sponge will easily come away from the parchment after cooking.

3. Ideally mix the margarine and sugar together in an electric mixer if you have one, or by hand, to form a cream.

4. Gradually add the egg whites to the cream along with the vanilla extract.

5. In a separate bowl mix the sieved flour, baking powder and salt and then slowly add the flour mixture and the soya milk to the margarine cream, alternating as you do so. (eg: flour, milk, flour, milk etc). The mixture will seem fairly runny at this stage but do not worry as it will firm up nicely when cooking.

6. Pour the mixture equally into six individual bowls and then add one food colour per bowl. I tend to use the whole gel packet per bowl so as to get a bright, vivid colour. Mix in thoroughly and pour into the six baking tins.

7. Place in the oven for 15 minutes and then leave to cool on a wire rack before gently turning out and removing the baking parchment.

8. The purple sponge needs to be at the bottom. Gently smooth the cream cheese style icing on its surface before adding the blue sponge and repeat by adding the cream cheese style icing. Then add the green, yellow, orange and red, repeating the same process as you do so. It does not have to be particularly neat as you will be covering up with the outer rim icing! Once all the sponges are in place continue to evenly spread the icing over the sides of the sponges so that no sponge is showing. You could make this outer icing any colour you fancy, but I thought white worked well and showed off the rainbow effect within perfectly.

Sprinkle with edible glitter or hundreds and thousands and serve to your guests.

CHILLI & MINT

Torie True's cooking with herbs and spices and a sprinkling of travel

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