Spicy Chettinad Indian Wraps

Spicy Chettinad Indian wraps

Here’s another in my series of “cheats dinners”, again, this goes to prove that meal kits don’t have to be tasteless and bland, far from it with this street food kit from the lovely Anjum Anand – The Spice Taylor.

The kit pretty much contains most of what you need to make your wraps, 6 soft paratha wraps, curry leaf and tomato stir fry sauce, a spice blend and coconut chutney.  All you need to add to this is your protein of choice, meat, chicken, fish, prawns or paneer and 2 tbs of plain yoghurt.

The meal kit will feed two, my protein of choice was chicken so I therefore used two chicken breasts which I butterflied and cut each half into 3 slices therefore giving 2 nice pieces of chicken per wrap.  Add some vegetable oil to a frying pan, heat and then add your chicken and cook until browned.  Add the stir fry sauce and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and sizzling.  Whilst the chicken is simmering, stir 2 tbsp of plain yoghurt into the coconut chutney.  I got up to this point but I then put amouthfulofmark twist to the dish, which hopefully you will agree adds a bit more to the recipe.

I knocked up a cucumber raita using the remainder of the yoghurt to which I added a tablespoon of chopped mint, pinch of salt, squeeze of lemon and a few slices of cucumber, cut into small pieces and mixed together.  I then quartered a tomato, deseeded it and cut into small pieces  and thinly sliced up a spring onion.

Back to the packet instructions, after heating through the parathas I spread some of the coconut chutney over each one, topped with chicken, sprinkled over some of spice blend then added a good dollop of cucumber raita, some chopped tomato and spring onion and a little chopped coriander then all we had to do was roll up and eat.

I have to say I am a bit of a fan of Anjum Anand, she makes some really delicious products and this just adds to the list of tasty dishes that you can make using them.  We both really enjoyed this and will be making again for sure, maybe next time some fresh chilli will give it a kick, as you know, we do love that kick!  The street food kits are available from most supermarkets so go on, give them a go, you wont be disappointed.

Mexicow Pie with Mexican Style Corn on the Cob

Mexicow Pie with Mexican Style Corn on the Cob

• 2 Mexicow pies from the lovely people at Pieminister
• 2 corn on the cob
• Handful of grated parmesan
• Handful of finely chopped coriander
• 2 lime quarters
• Sprinkling of paprika
• 2 large knobs of butter

Method:

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the corn and cook for 15 minutes.  At the same time put the pies in the oven and cook according to instructions.  Drain the corn and leave to steam dry in the pan.  In a large bowl place the butter and put the corn on top, turning it in order that the butter melts evenly over all of the corn.  Heat a griddle pan and transfer the corn to the pan and cook on high, you want to get some colour to the sweetcorn, this should take about 10 minutes.  Return the corn to the bowl and sprinkle over the parmesan, coriander and paprika, again turning the corn as you go so it is all covered, then transfer to a plate along with the pies.  We served a good portion of chips with this, would be rude not to!

This is another one from my range of cheats dinners as I didn’t make the pie!  The  pie is made by Pieminister and is one of the extensive range which they produce, which includes gluten free pies.  These are available from Borough Market, Boxpark Shoreditch, online, in store at one of their restaurants and cafes and in a number of pubs dotted around the country, so there is no excuse for you not to have either heard of them or be able to get your hands on one of these delish pies (just to clarify, you can buy more than one at a time!). 

The Mexicow is a British beef, kidney bean, cheddar & chilli pie, hence my choice of corn to go with it.  Well, the pie is packed to bursting, there are no half measures and you can actually see the oozy cheese in the pie!  To say this was tasty is an understatement, the pastry is crisp and the filling was spot on!  My only suggestion would be that they come out with a hotter version of this pie as I do like a good bit of heat, especially with my Mexican dishes, perhaps the Mexicow Extreme!

Pieminister have pies to suit all tastes and they all have funky names, Kate & Sidney, Chicken of Aragon, Feta Attraction, SAAG Pie-Neer just to name a few, I dare you not to find something you don’t like!  In the world of pies, it certainly seems like they are taking over, I was staggered to learn that they have their own cafes and restaurants, there was me thinking they sold them off the back of a truck down at the market, they even cater for weddings!  Is there nothing these people cant do?  Oh, and if you are not a fan of pastry, you can get a Pie Pot, this basically is the pie filling topped with potato, they really have thought of everything. 

I had been aware of this brand but it was only after spotting them and following them on Instagram did I then realise what a range they produced.  Having seen the Mexicow I kept pestering Scott to pay them a visit at Borough Market to get us a couple to try, eventually he dragged himself down there and boy was he glad he did (as was I), I’ve never seen anyone happier eating a pie lol. 

I would definitely recommend you make a purchase so you an see how good they are for yourself, also check out the website it makes for interesting reading, these award winning pies are award winning for a reason and these guys do lots for charity as well, buy a pie and support a good cause.  They can be found online at www.pieminister.co.uk

Cheats Beef Massaman Curry

Cheats Beef Massaman Curry

• 1 jar of store bought massaman curry paste
• 500g cubed stewing/braising steak
• 1 400g tin of coconut milk
• 1 large potato peeled and cut into medium sized cubes
• 60g unsalted peanuts
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• Small sprinkle of chopped coriander
• White rice
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

In a casserole dish heat the vegetable oil, add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened then add the beef and brown all over.  Add the jar of curry paste, coconut milk and peanuts, stir together and  then put into a preheated oven (160 degrees) and cook for 3 hours until the meat is tender.  Check on the curry after each hour and stir, you don’t want the sauce to dry up completely, if needed add some water but you probably won't need to do that until nearing the end of cooking. 

After the curry has been cooking for 2 hours, bring a pan of water to the boil, add some salt and boil the potatoes for around 7 minutes, it needs to be on the verge of having cooked but not too soft that they fall apart, drain and set aside.  After 2.5 hours add the potatoes to the curry, stir through and cook for the remaining 30 minutes.  Serve with white rice (cooked according to packet instructions) and a garnish of chopped coriander.

Not everything has to be cooked from scratch to be delicious, and this is a prime example. If you find a good sauce packed with flavour then why not use it?  That said, there is something satisfying about making a curry from scratch!  We both really enjoyed this, the peanuts gave a nice bit of flavour and texture to the dish, very hearty and definitely hit the spot.  Have to say on the jar it suggested 20g of peanuts but that isn’t a lot hence I used 60g!

Do you have a tried and tested sauce that you use, then let me know?

Kankun Cochinita Pibil

Kankun Cochinita Pibil 

• 1 jar Kankun Pibil sauce
• 500g pork shoulder cut into bite size chunks
• Small amount of crumbled feta cheese
• Teaspoon of diced jalapeno
• 2 radishes thinly sliced
• Couple of dollops of sour cream
• Teaspoon of finely diced coriander
• ½ cup of orange juice
• Lime slice to garnish
• White rice

 Method:

The day before you are going to cook the recipe, place the pork into a container, add the pibil sauce and mix thoroughly until the pork is fully coated then pace into the fridge to marinade until the next day.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.  Place the marinated pork into a small casserole dish with a lid and cook for 1 hour.  After an hour check the consistency of the pork, it might start to dry out at this stage, if it has, add a few splashes of the orange juice to loosen up the mix, give it a good stir and return to the oven for a further hour by which time the pork should be fully cooked, remove from the oven and set aside.

Cook the rice according to packet instructions and then top with the pork (which should be falling apart, if not shred it slightly with two forks).  Serve with the sliced radishes, jalapeno, feta and coriander and garnish with the lime.

Unlike the tinga sauce that I previously used which has a bit of bite to it, the pibil sauce has quite a sweet and earthy flavour, one of the reasons I added some jalapenos as I do like a kick with my Mexican dishes!  A great dish as we head into autumn as it’s getting chilly, this is a good Mexican comfort food to warm your cockles! Pibil sauce from Kankun Sauce