The Family Cook Book

This is a nice Atul Kochhar chicken curry that I made recently. Serves 4 Ingredients 5 tbsp Vegetable Oil 2 large Onions, finely chopped 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste (see instructions below on how to make) 1 Green Chilli, finely chopped 2 dried whole Red Chilli 3 Cloves 4 Black Cardomon Pods 6 Black Peppercorns 1 stick Cinnamon bark 1 Bay Leaf 4 tsp Coriander Seeds, ground 800g skinned chicken thighs (on the bone) 1 1/2 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp Salt 400g tinned chopped tomatoes 125ml Water 200g Spinach Leaves 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil 2 cloves Garlic, chopped pinch of Dried Chilli Flakes 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Method Heat the oil in the pan and fry off the onions until browned (about 10 - 15 mins) add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for 2-3 minutes to take away the raw flavour Add the green chilli, whole dried chilli, cloves, bay, cinnamon, peppercorns and cardomon and cook gently for 2 minutes Stir in the ground coriander and cook for 1 minute before add

It's not often you have the opportunity (or the need) to do a standing rib roast. Its beautiful but it's big and it's bloody expensive.That's a shame Well help is at hand, cooking one rib like this means that you can still get that great taste but in a smaller package. It was plenty for the three of us and was really, really, really delicious.  Ingredients  1 x 1+kg fore rib of beef (with 1 bone)  1 bulb of garlic, broken into cloves  a few sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked  sea salt  freshly ground black pepper  olive oil  a knob of butter  Method   Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/ gas 9. Take the beef out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you want to cook it and allow it to come up to room temperature.  Place a large sturdy roasting tray in the oven to heat up.  In a pestle and mortar smash 3 garlic cloves and most of the the rosemary leaves with a pinch of sea salt and a lug of olive oil, then massage all over the beef.  Quickly bash t

The second new recipe of the weekend is a shoulder of lamb courtesy of April Bloomfield. We played golf this morning and I had intended to get it going before we set out but the tee-off was a tad too early, so we are having a late lunch and hoping to squeeze it in before the start of Chelsea v Man  Utd. There's a small amount of work up front but then you can 'clean down' and just let it cook away slowly in the oven. Here's the recipe This not some sort of misguided version of surf and turf. Anchovies, like parmesan and soy sauce, are full of umami, and just a few lend the lamb's braising liquid an amazing saltiness and depth. The little fish melt right into the tomatoes and garlic, the carrots and wine and citrus zest, so your mates might not realise that they're even in there – but everyone would miss them if they weren't. Shred any leftover meat and toss it and the sauce with pasta. Serves 4 to 6 Ingredients 1 bone-in lamb shoulder (about

We love big Tom. In fact Lisa met him at a pop up restaurant at Sonny's in Barnes before xmas, which is why I have the signed copy of the menu beautifully stitched into my copy of his new book  ... And yes Tom, you can be in my blog with pleasure. Last night we cooked his pot roasted pollock, chickpeas and chorizo. I was really interested in particular in how he salts the fish with saffron for an hour before cooking. We all thought that it gave the fish an amazing flavour. I couldn't get pollock so I cooked it with a nice thick loin of cod and it still worked very well. I also cheated and used the delicious cooked chickpeas in a jar that I got from Brindisa, we think that their flavour is a significant step up from your average tinned ones it also cuts out all the faff. We also got our chorizo from the same place, in fact I purchased a big 'job lot' before Xmas and froze them. The recipe requires a bit of work up-front but is very easy and would make a great

Well it's not strictly a fish fry, it's actually a fish stew. Martha's out tonight which means we can indulge in some pescatorian love. This recipe is from Lucy Boyd's kitchen memories. It's very similar to lots of Mediterranean fish stews but I make no apology for putting it on the blog. I made it with a combo of prawns (instead of langoustines) cod (instead of monkfish) and sea bass (instead of red mullet) it still seemed to work. The only thing I did differently is that I cooked the potatoes for a bit longer but that might be because I cut them a bit bigger Here's the recipe Fish stew with red mullet For 4 Ingredients 1½ tbsp olive oil 6 waxy potatoes, peeled, rinsed and chopped into roughly 1cm cubes 4-5 garlic cloves, peeled, 1 kept whole, the rest finely chopped A small piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped 3-4 small dried chillies, crushed 1x400g tin of whole peeled plum tomatoes 500ml good quality dry white win250g mo

This post is mainly for Will but also for Peter who knows the need to 'clear down' and for Joel who it appears shares our love of a clean and clear surface. However I know that we are not alone in this, in fact I know for certain that there's an army of blokes out there who suffer from a little kitchen OCD. I also know that we are now being ganged up on. Not only is our condition greeted with a heavy heart and a massive sigh by our respective partners, we are now being ridiculed by our offspring. The preparation of Xmas lunch offers even more opportunities for hilarity at our expense. Take Will, like me, he's a man that likes a plan, preferably a detailed and reliable one. Apparently his xmas day timetable was the source of some amusement so in the same sort of spirit as Aretha Franklin sang 'Sisters are doing it for themselves' I would like to share my list with the world ... yes I too had a list and yes I did have it on my ipad and I did indeed print it out

I said before Xmas that I would try this recipe. I did, and i can confirm that it is an easy to make  delicious and healthy little appetiser. So now I can give it my stamp of approval! Heres the recipe again Ingredients Finely slice the tuna steak then finely chop and slice the other way until you have a good, evenly-chopped consistency. Scrape it into a bowl with half the coriander leaves and all the stalks.   In a separate bowl, mix the lime zest and juice with the ginger, sesame oil, extra virgin olive oil and soy sauce to make a delicious dressing. Have a taste, and tweak with extra lime, oil or soy until you've got a good balance. Pour the dressing over your tuna and gently mix together – as soon as the acid from the limes hits the tuna it will begin to cook it so you only need to mix lightly.   Click off the stronger outer leaves of your little gem lettuces – you want about 16 in total. Wash them and spin dry well, then line them up on a board. The leaves are going to a

Here at krow towers we are a bit obsessed with the soup at next door Nusa . Given the office chat is currently also suffused with a fair bit of discussion around new year's health resolutions, I thought I would share this recipe for one of my favourite soups from Nusa's website. I haven't tried it yet but I can vouch for how delicious the soup is from the shop itself Serves 4 Ingredients - 200gms Onions, peeled - 200gms Ginger, peeled - 500gms Channa Dhall (Lentils) - 1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes - 20gms Tumeric Powder - 20gms Chilli Powder - 10gms Curry Leaves - 15gms Mustard Seeds - 100gms Vegetable Stock - 100ml Vegetable Oil - 50ml Lemon Juice - 1ltr Water - 20gms Coriander Method 1. Wash Lentils, place in pan and and add 1ltr water 2. Slowly boil and add tomotoes, ginger and vegetable stock. 3. Continue to simmer until lentils are soft and then add the lemon juice 4. Add more water if the mixture becomes to

These are unbelievable, I never thought I would rave about a cooked carrot but these are definitely worth raving about. In fact these carrots are so good that they nearly stole the show from the turkey, roasties and pigs in blankets on Xmas day. Impossible I hear you say, impossible but true i'm afraid. This may in some way be connected to the fact that they should also come with a health warning. Big Tom has achieved the incredible taste with the application of an unfeasibly large amount of butter and sugar. However you are only going to eat one and it is technically part of your five a day, just avert your eyes and plough on, I promise that the result will be worth it. Here's the recipe A great way to brush up the humble carrot. Star anise adds a touch of Christmas spice to the sweet buttery glaze. I ngredients medium  carrots , peeled, topped and tailed 250g/9oz  butter 150g/5½oz  sugar 3 tsp  salt 4  star anise Method Use a clean scourer to smooth t