Big Curry Night

Vegeterian Balti Curry, Dahl, Steamed Rice and Rotti

The vegeterian Balti was an adaptation from an episode of 'The Cook and the Chef' on ABC television.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s2500737.htm


The Balti paste was so simple to make. The quantities below make 1Lt of paste. Freezes very well, so half in the freezer for a quick curry another night.

Balti Paste
Ingredients
3 tbs oil
2cm ginger, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3 onions, peeled
3 spring onions, peeled
1 tin Italian tomatoes
2 tsp ground corriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cardamom
salt to taste
250Ml water

Method
Place ginger, garlic, onions and spring onions in thermomix and finely chop on speed 8 for 5 seconds. Add oil and cook on 100 degrees for 4 minutes on reverse speed 2. Add water and heat on 100 degrees for 5 minutes reverse speed 2. Add remainder of ingredients and cook on 100 degrees for 15 minutes reverse speed 3. When cooked puree mixture on speed 9 for 5-10 seconds.
Reserve 1/2 the mixture in a bowl for the Balti curry. Freeze the remainder for later.


Balti Vegeterian Curry

Ingredients
1 bunch silverbeet, washed, stems removed
3 medium potatoes, diced and par boiled
1 bunch green beans, halved
1 tin corn kernals, drained
3 tbs oil
1/4 cup dried shallots/onions
500Ml Balti curry paste (above)

Method
Sweat the silverbeet in a saucier to wilt. Squeeze out extra moisture.
Heat oil in Saucier, when hot add potatoes and brown. Add Balti paste and stir through. Add remainder of ingredients and heat through. Beans will take approx 5-7 minutes to still be a bit on the crunchy side. Keep warm in the termomix food keeper.

Dahl

Ingredients
200g red lentils
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tbs oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 onion, peeled
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp chilli flakes
water
salt

Method
Place lentils and 750Ml water into thermomix and cook on 100 degrees for 8 minutes on reverse speed 2. Add tumeric and cook on 100 degrees for 15 minutes on reverse speed 2. Pour into container to keep warm. Without cledaning bowl place onion, garlic and mustard seeds to bowl and chop on speed 8 for 5 seconds. Scape down bowl and add 1 tbs oil. Cook on 100 degrees for 4 minutes on reverse speed 2. Add cumin, corriander and chilli and cook for further 2 minutes on 100 degrees reverse speed 2. Add lentil mixture back to thermomix bowl and add 150Ml water. Cook on 80 degrees for 5 minutes on reverse speed 2.
Pour into serving bowl and cover. Dahl will thicken in a couple of minutes.

Rotti
Best accompaniment for the curry.

Ingredients
3 cups plain flour
2 tbs oil
1 egg at room temp
water
oil for cooking
1/2 tsp salt

Method
Place flour and salt into thermomix and mix on speed 4 for 3 seconds. Add oil and mix on speed 4 for 5 seconds. Add 250Ml water and egg. Knead for 2 minutes. Turn onto bench and form into a ball. Place in a bowl lightly coated with oil. Cover with clear wrap and rest for 1 hour.

After 1 hour divide the mixture into 12 portions. Shape each piece into a small disc shape about 12-14 cm in diametre. Coat in flour to avoid sticking and keep aside in a single layer. Once all are shaped heat oil in fry pan and fry for 1 1/2 minute. Turn and fry for 1 minute. Press down with egg flip while cooking to promote bubbling and colour on bread. Keep warm in the oven while cooking the rest.

Rice
Easy thermomix rice.
400g of rice in the basket, cover with water, Set on 100 degrees for 16 minutes speed 4. Never fail.

Wash it all down with a beer of choice. This made enough for about 5 adults to be mighty full.

Pasta with Napolitano Sauce

The Pasta dough was made with Semolina flour my wife purchased during the week The result was a nuttier taste with Spaghetti that held together very well.

Ingredients

3 free range eggs at room temp

300g Semolina Flour

10g Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method

Place all ingredients into the Thermomix bowl and knead for 2 minutes on Interval speed.

Place in glad wrap and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Use the trusty pasta machine to roll out to level 5, sit for 10 minutes to allow to slightly harden, run through Spaghetti blades and drop straight into boiling water.

Cooking time about 8 minutes.

Napolitano sauce

Ingredients

1 carrot diced

1 stick celery diced

I onion

6 cloves garlic

2 spring onions diced

Salt and pepper

2 tins Italian tomatoes of 800g fresh Roma tomatoes

2 fresh mild chilli

Olive Oil

8 olives

Method

I prefer to chop the carrot, celery and spring onions into 1cm cube chunks to get an even spread through the sauce. If you do this chopping in the Thermomix the pieces come out a bit irregular. If I was in a hurry I would use the Thermomix to do this.

Place onion, garlic and chilli into bowl and chop on speed 7 for 5 seconds. Add 10g olive oil and cook for 5 minutes on 100 deg. on speed 2 reverse. Add the tomatoes, diced veg and olives. Cook for 12 minutes on 100 deg. speed 3 reverse.

We served this with some home made garlic bread. The bread was left over from a baguette lunch on the weekend. The garlic butter was made in the Thermomix as follows.

Ingredients

30g butter

3 stalks parsley

4 cloves garlic

Method

Place garlic and parsley into bowl and chop on speed 7 for 5 seconds. Add butter and mix on speed 3 for 5 seconds. Slice cuts into bread and butter between slices. Wrap in alfoil and bake in 180 deg oven for 20 minutes. Open up the alfoil for last 5 minutes to crispen top of bread.

Banana Bread 2

With school 1 week in the house is empty of snacks. Banana bread is a great way to use the old bananas that no one wants to take to school.

Ingredients
100g SR Flour
50g Butter
75g Brown Sugar
50g Sultanas (substituted with dates)
15G Walnuts
1 Egg
225g Banana flesh

Method
Chop the dates and walnuts on speed 7 for 15 seconds. Put these aside to add later.
Add flour and butter to bowl and crumb on speed 5 for 5 seconds. Add the sugar, walnut and date mixture, egg and bananas.
Mix on speed 7 for 10 seconds.
If the mix looks too runny add a tbs of extra SR flour at this point.

Pour into the new silicone loaf pan purchased by the wife and bake in a preheated 180 degree oven. Cooking time 35 minutes. Rest in pan before turning onto wire rack.

My mix was a litttle over wet (hence the suggestion to add more flour) and the loaf did not hold it's full baking height once removed from the oven.

School Snacks

With the new school year less than a week away it was time to stock the pantry with yummy snacks for the first week back.

First on the list was Banana Bread with date and Walnut. Very easy to prepare... the thermomix blades make chopping dates and walnuts a 15 second job. Following the recipie in the thermomix cookbook it was in the oven in just under 2 minutes from getting all the fixings on the bench. Best off all with this bread is grinding your own wholemeal flour from wheat grain.

Second on the list was Anzac biscuits. We find the thermomix instructions leave the oats too fine. We add half the amount required as per the instructions and then hand mix in the remaining amount of oats at the end before baking.

Both will be lucky to make it to the first day of school. I am sure more baking will be required on the weekend.