Goan Curry on the Braai

September 19, 2013 by Larry Susman in Beef, Big Green Egg, Braai, Curries, Food Websites, Hot & Spicy, Meat, national braai day, Recipes

Goan Curry on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Well, I hope that you have all been braaiing since my last blog, I know I have! Sorry for the long break but I had a bit of a rest and unfortunately my mother passed away during this time so my not blogging was not all due to me enjoying myself, many thanks to those who sent there condolences it was greatly appreciated.

It looks like the fantastic summer we have had, has come to an abrupt end but that doesn’t mean that you have to stop braaiing just because the sun’s not shining. What’s needed is a change of what you cook going forward for the next few months and I’m going to start with a curry that I’ve never cooked before. Goan Beef Curry, which is a dryish curry with strong flavours and I’m going to add some potatoes while it cooks so that I don’t have to make two separate dishes today. You can use any cut of beef but why spend a lot of money on rump or sirloin when you are going to cook this slowly for some time and braising or stewing steak will be even better, when it’s cooked this way. Let jump right in…

SERVES 6: PREP: 15MINS: COOK TIME: 1½HRS

Ingredients:

1kg braising or stewing steak cut into 2.5 cm cubes
4 x Large potatoes chopped into largish pieces
2 x Brown onions finely chopped
6 x Cardamom pods deseeded
1tsp Fennel seeds
½ tsp Fenugreek seeds
½ tsp Ground black pepper
3tsp Coriander seeds
3tsp Cumin seeds
½tsp Ground turmeric
2tsp Chilli powder
8 x Cloves
10cm Cinnamon stick
6 x Garlic cloves finely chopped
10cm Piece of ginger, grated
125ml Olive oil
100g Creamed coconut dissolved in 310ml water, or 310ml coconut milk

Method how to prepare:

Preheat the Braai to 200°C (400°F) Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and grind them in a spice grinder or with a pestle & mortar, along with the fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, fenugreek seeds, black pepper and the coriander and cumin seeds, until they form a fine powder.
Heat the oil in a tagine, potjie pot, heavy-based frying pan or casserole dish over medium heat and fry the onion, garlic and ginger until lightly browned.
Add the meat and fry until brown all over.
Add all the spices and fry for 1 minute. Add the creamed coconut and bring slowly to the boil.
Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until the meat is tender.
Remove the lid and add the potatoes into the curry, push them down below the surface so that they are totally covered.
Replace the lid and cook for a further 45 minutes.
If the liquid evaporates during cooking, add about 185 ml (3/4 cup) boiling water and stir to make a thick sauce.
If the sauce is still too liquid at the end of the cooking time, simmer with the lid off until it evaporates. Season with salt, to taste.

This Goan curry had such a fantastic aroma it just brought a smile to my face to think that I had created this from scratch, no packets or bottles of sauce anywhere. I served it with some plain steamed basmati rice, sambals and a large dollop of Mrs Ball chutney. Give this a go even if you don’t cook it on the braai, it’s really worth the little time it takes and I’m sure it wont be the last time you cook this either.

Until next time keep on braaiing!

P.S. don’t forget that next week is National Braai Day back in SA and now all over the world. So if you decide to have some friends around for a braai take some pics and share them with me and I will post them up on the blog for all to see. Keep well Larry

Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes on the Braai

May 09, 2013 by Larry Susman in Beef, Big Green Egg, Braai, Curries, Food Websites, Hot & Spicy, Meat, Potjiekos, Recipes, Tagine

Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Just a Thought!

Somebody asked me the other day why I keep on promoting the BigGreenEgg, am I on their payroll? I wish!

Well, just to confirm in case I haven’t mentioned it in the past, I'm not. I decided to do this blog after I saw this braai in action, MAN "I thought that this was just the best braai I had ever come across". In fact, just for the record, I struggle to get the BigGreenEggUK or even the USA mother company to recognise this blog. Or in fact even get them to retweet or post this blog on their Facebook or Twitter!!! Not sure why? You guys can help me, please, by retweeting or blogging about this if you want? I think that I'm doing a great job promoting their products.

However, even after my little rant, I must confess that we do sell these braai's and some of their product, just because I personally think that they are great and you can see what we sell by clicking here. I don't think that I'm swayed in anyway because we sell these products but if you think I'm blinkered, please feel free to let me know.

Well, on with this weeks recipe, I knew it was too good to last and summer is over here in the UK, lasted a week this year LOL. Well lets hope not but you never know in this country, so I'm going back to cooking some warm winter dish this week, a tagine. Don't worry if you haven’t got a tagine, you can do this in a potjie or just any heavy sauce pan if needs be.

The traditional tagine pot is formed entirely of a heavy clay, a base that is flat and circular with low sides and a large cone or dome shaped lid that sits on the base during cooking. The lid is designed to help the return of all condensation back into the bottom stopping the dish from drying out and producing a fantastic gravy. With the lid removed the base can be taken to the table for serving. However recently manufacturers have made tagine's with heavy cast-iron bottoms that can be heated and cooked on a braai or stove to a high temperature. I wish I had bought one of these as the tagine I used has cracked. So if you haven't got one with a cast iron bottom brown your meat off in a frying pan.

It wasn’t until I started to eat this meal that I realised that all a tagine is is basically a Northern African Potjie! In fact, this recipe is pretty much a curry for all intents and purposes, similar to the Durban Curry’s from home but with a slight twist, it's cooked in a tagine/potjie. In fact, in traditional Moroccan cooking they would even place hot charcoals on the lid, just like we do with a potjie.

Once again this week I will be giving away 2 bottles of Mrs Balls Peach Chutney just to help make you feel at home when you eat this. See the end of the blog for details, now on with the cooking.

SERVES 4-6: PREP: 15MINS: COOK TIME:2-3hrs

Ingredients for the Tagine:

1kg x Blade or chuck steak (I used Blade)
1 x Brown onion, finely chopped
½tsp x Cayenne pepper
½tsp x Ground cumin
1tsp x Ground turmeric
1tsp x Sea Salt
½tsp x Freshly ground black pepper
½tsp x Ground ginger
1tsp x Paprika
2tbsp x Chopped flat- leaf (Italian) parsley
2tbsp x Chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 x Tomatoes large of 4 small, peeled and sliced
500g x Sweet potatoes, orange ones are best for this recipe
3 x Tbsp olive oil for cooking

Method of cooking the Tagine:

Preheat the braai to 180°C 350°F
Trim the steak of any fat, sinew and cut into 2.5 cm pieces. Heat haft the oil in a tagine or frying pan and brown the beef over high heat. Set aside in a dish to be returned to the onions in due course.
Add the onion and the remaining oil to the pan and gently cook for 10 minutes, or until the onion have softened.

Add the cayenne pepper, cumin, turmeric, ginger and paprika and cook for a few seconds, then add the salt and black pepper.
Return the beef to the tagine along with the parsley, coriander and 270ml water.
Cover and simmer over low heat for 11/2hr or until the meat is almost tender.
While this is cooking peel the tomatoes. To do this score a cross on each them using a knife.
Plunge them into a bowl of boiling water for 20 seconds and then straight into a bowl of cold water to cool.
Remove from the water and peel the skin away, this should just slip off easily, then slice.

Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into 2 cm slices and leave in cold water until required, this will prevent them discolouring.
Next drain the sweet potatoes and layer them on top of the beef.
Then place the sliced tomatoes on top.
Cover with the lid of the tagine and cook for a further 30mins.
Remove lid and let the braai get hotter up to 220°c 425°F, cook until the tomatoes and sweet potatoes have browned off a little.

All that remains to do is serve with rice or some couscous a fresh salad and of course some Mrs Ball Chutney South Africans pretty mush eat everything with this LOL.

This week we are giving away 2 bottles of Mrs Ball Peach Chutney so you can try this great recipe out. Once again all you have to do is please leave a comment and you could be 1 of 2 lucky people that get a chance to make this really great recipe. Entries will close on the 24th May 2013, give this a try it's worth the time, promise!

Bunny Chow on the Braai!

February 15, 2013 by Larry Susman in Baking, Beef, Big Green Egg, Braai, Bread, Curries, Hot & Spicy, Meat, Recipes

Bunny Chow on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

This week I'm going to be making a very Durban dish “Bunny Chow” this is comprising of two things that I have made previously to give one very unique dish. The origins of this dish are disputed but one of them goes as follows (which also provides an etymology for bunny chow) it is that a restaurant run by people known as Banias (an Indian caste) first created the scooped-out bread and curry dish at a restaurant-cum-cafe called Kapitan's on the corner of Victoria and Albert streets in Durban. The food was a means to serve take-aways to excluded people. During the apartheid regime, Indians were not allowed in certain shops and cafes and so the shop owners found a way of serving the people through back windows, etc. This was an easy and effective way to serve the workers. The traditional Indian meal was roti and beans, however rotis tended to fall apart as a take-away item. So they cut out the centre portion of the bread and filled it with curry and capped the filling with the portion that was cut out.

This recipe is great, made form left over curry the next day or freeze and use whenever you need a quick snack. If you haven’t got time you don’t need to make the bread yourself but if you can its worth it, take my word for it. However if you cook this from scratch you will not regret it!

PREP:15 MINS – COOK TIME: 2hrs

Ingredients for making Curry :

1 x pack of werners Curry spices, from Mild to Ex-Hot
500g Meat, cubed to bite size
2 x medium potatoes, peeled and chopped to 2-4 cm (I've added sweet potatoes as well)
3 x medium tomatoes chopped or tin if you're lazy like me
3 x large finely chopped Garlic cloves
2-3 tsp chopped fresh Ginger (i like a bit more personally)
1 x chopped red onion
1 x red pepper chopped
Handful of chopper coriander leaves

Method for making Curry:

Put the meat into a bowl and add the dry Powdered Spices from the pack to the meat and stir with a wooden spoon until all the meat is coated and there is no loose power left. Place aside and leave to marinate for a short while.
Add all the Non-Powdered spices to a tablespoon of olive / vegetable oil in a large saucepan or potjie (dutch Oven) over a medium heat and fry off the spices until the aromas from the spices start to smell wonderful.
Add onions and peppers.
Add the meat and lightly brown for a few minutes. Sirt constantly to stop the meat from sticking.
Add the Garlic and Ginger.
Add the potatoes, tomatoes and then pour some water over the whole lot until it just covers all the ingredients.
Leave to simmer for 1-3 hours at 200°C (400°F) if in a oven or on low heat if on a cooker plate, as i said the longer the better.
Depending on how you like your curry, simmer the water until it evaporates away to the thickness of gravy that you prefer.

PREP:15 MINS – PROVE 2-4HRS – COOK TIME: 25mins

Ingredients for the Brown Rolls: Makes 4 large rolls

500 g Mixed Grain Bread Flower flour if you can the Wessex Mill was fantastic
2 teaspoons of dried yeast or 15g or fresh yeast
320 ml of lukewarm water
1.5 tsp sugar
10g or 11/2 teaspoon of salt
2.5 tbsp of olive oil
Flower (to sprinkle on the cooking surface so that it does not stick)

Method for making the Bread

Pre Heat the Braai to 250°C (480°F)
Mix the sugar and yeast into small bowl and stirring in 90 ml of the water. Leave it in a draft free spot to activate. If it doesn't start bubble and ferment in about five minutes, then you are going to have to start again as this is an important part process. Your yeast must be fresh and active as this is what is going to make your dough rise.
Then mix the flower and salt in a bowl or food processor fitted with a plastic blades, do it by hand it's a lot more fun. Add the olive oil and the remaining water to the flour as well as the balance of the yeast mixture and start to stir until it makes a loose crumbly mix, then roll into a ball and empty it onto flat surface covered with flour. Now you are going to have to knead for at least eight to ten minutes, this helps the bread to start to. If you need to add a little more flour or a few drops of water do so as necessary. The final dough should not be sticky but is dry to the touch.
Next rub the inside of a large bowl with some olive oil, place you dough mix into it and then roll the ball around the bowl and coat with the olive oil. Then cut small crossing the top of the dough with sharp knife and cover with a teacloth or put it in a large plastic bag with space to grow and leave in a draft free area for about 1-1 1/2 hours until the dough has doubled in size. Once it has risen quite substantially, to double its original size, you will need to punch it down to reform it to the size it was originally. You'll notice that it seems to be very light and airy (it will be slightly heavier with brown bread) and if it's like this then you're onto a winner.
At this stage you can now store it for up to 4 hours in the fridge to use later, just remember to bring it back to room temperature before you start to use it. Cut your dough into 4 and roll into balls, then using the palm of your hand you are going to kneed the dough for a second time for a minuet or two. Then reshape and cover with a teacloth or put it in a large plastic bag with space to grow and leave in a draft free area for about another two hours to prove again. I suggest leaving it a t this stage on the backing tray or bread peel that you will use to put it in the braai to cook with. This is so that you don’t have to pick the dough up again which will cause you to know the air out of it and this is where it will sink and you will end up with a poorly risen loaf of bread.
Place it in the braai/BigGreeEgg and close the lid, whatever you do don’t be tempted to open the lid for the first 10 mins of the bake. This will only cause the bread to deflate and sink not only that it also stops the yeast from being baked off. If you don’t allow the heat to kill the yeast you will end up with a severe case of indigestion as the bread will still be fermenting in your chest after you have eaten it.
After about 20 mins or so open the lid up and carefully lift up the bread, turn it on its side and give it a tap with your knuckle. If it sounds like a drum then its cooked if not place it back down and give it another couple of mins to bake.

Once cooked place on a rack to cool for 20 mins at least now get the curry you prepared earlier.

Once cooled cut the top of the roll off but don’t discard it as this will form the lid of your bunny chow. Take the bottom and scrape all the bread out of it so that you create a bread bowl, this is where you will but the Durban Curry place to top on it and serve to you hungry friends and family.

Please feel free to leave your comments below as I love to hear what you think about my cooking and make suggestions what you would like to see me cook in future.

Chicken Sosaties

December 07, 2012 by Larry Susman in Meat, Braai, Hot & Spicy, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Big Green Egg, Recipes, Lamb, Curries

Chicken Sosaties Braaied on the Big Green Egg

Sosaties (skewered meat) marinated in a curry sauce – traditionally formed part of the rijsttafel of java, an elaborate banquet which always included at least two meat dishes, one fish course and a curry dish, as well as several vegetables, served on cooked rice and mixed with a strong curry sauce. Today we tend to cook sosaties over the coals, and any braai cook worth his or her salt has a 'secret recipe 'for the marinade. Traditionally its made with lamb but you can use any meat that you prefer and I'm going to use chicken today. I will give you my recipe and this is the same recipe that we use in the Sosaties that we sell in out shop. So if you don’t want to make this yourself you can just click here and you can add them to your shopping basket on our website www.biltong.co.uk . You can also buy the ingredients for this recipe from us if you want to make this yourself.

SERVES 4-6: PREP: 15MINS: MARINATE 1HR: COOK TIME:10-15MINS

Marinade for Sosaties

125g smooth All gold or Koo apricot jam

3 x cloves garlic, crushed

1 x piece fresh ginger crushed

2 x bay or lemon leaves

2 tbs Rajh curry powder (choose your own strength) I used hot

25 ml wine vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp milled pepper

1 x Green pepper chopped

1 x Red pepper chopped

1 x medium onions chopped

Ingredients for the Sosaties

1 kg chicken/leg of lamb or any meat you prefer, cut into 2,5 cm cubes
6 x bamboo Skewers
2 x medium onions, quartered and separated
250 g dried apricots
1 x Green pepper cubed
1 x Red pepper cubed

Method for making Sosatie Marinade

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and use a blender to make into a paste. Add the mixture to a saucepan and bring to the boil and boil for 1 minutes, stirring occasionally, leave to cool. Transfer the marinade to a large dish and add the chicken, peppers and onion and marinate for at least 1 hour (or overnight preferably) in the fridge, turning 2-3 times. Remove the meat from the marinade and thread it onto skewers alternating with the peppers, apricots and onion.

Method for cooking the Sosaties

Preheat the Braai to 300°C (570°F)
Pre soak your skewers for at least an hour before hand, unlike myself who forgot ;-) this will stop them from burning.
Braai the sosaties over moderate/hot coals, or grill in the oven, turning frequently, for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked. On the BigGreenEgg believe it or not you only need to cook them for 2 mins on each side. The heat is so intense that it cooks then quickly but leaves them so moist and tender.

Serve with some Tastic rice and a fresh salad and there it is, a fantastic taste of home. Give them a try chicken, lamb, beef or pork they all work really well with this recipe. Enjoy until next week weather permitting, SNOW on the way!!!!

Bobotie
cooked on the Big Green Egg / Braai

Bobotie on the Braai!

November 23, 2012 by Larry Susman in Meat, Braai, Beef, Big Green Egg, Recipes, Curries, Lamb, Potjiekos

Bobotie cooked on the Big Green Egg in storm force winds!

I think I must be nearly more English now than South African because all I do is go on about the weather it seems! It's been one of those weeks again, if you live or lived in Cape Town during the winter on a really bad day you might have experienced this. But it nearly 5 weeks now and I think we might have seen the sun only a handful of time and I have to braai again. So its more of that home comfort food this week “Bobotie” and I've never made this either. It's been a great learning curve so far this mad thing I decided to do after a few dop's and Jan is loving every bit of it.

We are going to be using one of Weners's Original spice packs again and we will have 5 free packs to give away again this week, to 5 lucky people who leave a comment at the end of this weeks blog.

This dish is a very traditional one and contrary to what is widely believed, bobotie did not come with the slaves from Indonesia. It was actually brought from Holland by founding father Jan van Riebeeck in 1652. Why then are the spices, so typical of Indonesian and Sri Lankan cooking? Because through the Dutch East India Company who sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, the Netherlands had a lively spice trade with the East in those days. However we can assume that the original dish was probably much simpler and that the slaves who brought with them their distinctive and popular way of cooking must have improved on the Dutch recipe … The final result should be soft but firm, spicy and with just a hint of curry but this is not a curry dish.

I am going to make this with a beef mince, mainly because I haven’t got any lamb in lol. This dish is quite quick to prepare and cook and the end result is fantastic, it just reminds me so much of times back home in SA. Ok lets crack on....

SERVES 4-6 - PREP: 10 MINS - COOK TIME: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients for the Bobotie and topping

500g / 1lbs beef or lamb mince
1 x medium onion chopped
1 x large slice of stale bread
25g / ¼ cup seedless raisins
1 tbsp apricot jam / chutney
1-2 cloves of garlic chopped
25g ¼ cup flaked or chopped almond (optional)
½ tsp grated fresh ginger (optional)
250ml / 1 cup milk
2 x eggs (3 would be better I think)
juice ¼ lemon

Method for cooking Bobotie

Preheat the Braai to 180°C (360°F).
Soak the bread in the half the milk.
Butter a 25cm / 10” casserole dish.
Gently squeeze the milk out of the bread but don't throw it away keep and add back with the rest of the milk.
Crumble the bread with your hand or a fork and mix into the mince.
Lightly fry of the onions, garlic and ginger in some olive oil stirring continually.
Add the mince and brown off.
Add the main pack of spices from the Werner's kit and mix in well, cook for another couple of minutes and remove from the heat.
Beat up one of the eggs and mix into the meat mixture along with the raisins, lemon juice apricot jam / chutney and almonds.
Add ½ the milk and add pepper to taste.
Mix thoroughly and then spoon into the casserole dish.
Finally smooth off the top of the mince so that it really flat.

Method for cooking topping

Beat the two remaining eggs (I only used one but I think two would be better) and add the balance of the milk. Don't be tempted to add more milk otherwise it will not set properly.
Gently pour onto the top of the meat mixture.
Lay the cinnamon bark in the middle and push it just below the mixture.
Float the bay leaves on the top
Bake in the braai / oven for 30-40 minutes or until it golden and brown.

Unfortunately I'm afraid that we had to carry out the first part of this recipe inside on the stove as the wind was blowing so hard the fire just could not be controlled with the lid open. However I did put it in the braai to cook as you can see and it was just magical. To be honest as a laaitie I never really liked the look of this dish but I remember that aroma and it was exactly as I remembered. But as I'm now grown up now (Jan doesn’t think so) so I thought I better try it tonight, especially as if I did not eat it there was “niks anders om te eet” nothing else to eat. Serve this with some yellow (saffron) rice and a fresh salad and man that's great, just add a dollop of Mrs Balls Chutney and your set to go.

Amazing “Ongelooflike” it's was truly great, I had been missing out on this fantastic dish for the last 50 years what a doos! If you have never tried to cook this don’t be scared, if I can do it then I promise you will be able too, give it a go.

5 Free Packs of Bobotie Spice to be won

If you would like to win one of the Werner's Bobotie spice packs then please leave some feed back and you could be 1 of 5 lucky people that get a chance to make this really traditional South African recipe (entry closes 7th December 2012). Also I love to hear what you think about what i'm cooking, feel free to leave suggestions what you would like to see me cook.

All the best until next week “Alles van die beste tot volgende week” Larry