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Curry Pies & Sprout Bhaji

Curry Pies & Sprout Bhaji

Well as I posted on Facebook while I was cooking this Monster “Tonight we are having Chicken, Chorizo and mushroom Madras Pies. The Saag Aloo is reasonably traditional. But Sue has been wanting Spouts - So Sprout Bhaji has been invented” - Yes Monster, but an unexpectedly good tasting Monster.

Behind every recipe I’m sure there is a story. In our case often a little insanity as well. We had ½ a roasted Chicken from Friday and ½ a stick of Chorizo in the fridge. The Chorizo was beginning to get a bit dry at the cut end and chilled roast Chicken is best used sooner rather than later. So that was the foundation. But Sue has been fancying Sprouts for a while now. We try to stick to our budget of £4 per day (Including a little plate for Smooh the cat) but at £1.50 for about 6 sprouts they have been out of the question until yesterday. 60P for 500g seemed more reasonable….

I’ll not bother with the recipe for the Curry Pie as such. Basically I Chopped the Chorizo into 5mm crescents added a chopped Onion and at good shake of Chilli flakes to a 49p Madras sauce. I simmered it for 20 minutes and then added the cubed Chicken. Once heated through I lined the cast Iron glazed skillets we got from a charity shop for £1 each with Gluten free pastry and spooned the filling in. Add a top of pastry and an Egg wash and in the oven with it!  It was really tasty, but not the star of the show. Spout Bhaji – Really these were supposed to be a joke, but it’s unlikely we’ll even have a plain boiled Sprout again…..

Sprout Bhaji

Ingredients:-

200g of Sprouts, boiled and drained to soften
100g Gram flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp Chilli powder
Juice of ½ a Lemon
Garlic Salt
Onion Salt
½ tsp Turmeric
Salt

Method:-

(1) Mix all the dry ingredients with just enough water to make a thick batter.
(2) Pre heat a deep fat fryer to 180c.
(3) Coat each Sprout in batter and fry in small batches.
(4) When they pop up and the batter is golden brown drain on kitchen paper.
(5) When you are ready to plate up drop them all back in the fryer for 20 seconds and drain again.

We served this concoction with Saag Aloo and home brewed Kimchi. Because at this stage any semblance of food tradition respect had clearly been forsaken!!!!!

On Facebook

Christmas Pie recipe, eat well on universal credit

Well it looks a lot like our experimental Christmas Pie worked! We’ll be having a bit of a ‘Leftovers buffet’ later today. Our £5.01 Turkey Crown is still feeding us, there’s a Turkey Curry planned for tomorrow….

Ingredients:-


Filling:-

Roughly sliced cooked Turkey & Bacon.
A Chicken Stock Pot
2 Tsp of Cornflour
100g of Water

Hot Water Pastry:-

110g of Lard
280g of Water
500g of Plain Flour (Gluten free in our case)
2 tsp salt
Egg, beaten

Sage & Onion Aspic:-

10g of powdered Gelatine
2 Tsp of Onion Salt
2 Tsp of Dried Sage
Fresh ground Black Pepper
200ml of boiling Water.

Method For the Pastry:-

(1) In a pan add the Water, Salt and Lard and bring to a simmer.
(2) Turn the heat off.
(3) Add the Flour a little at a time and mix thoroughly as you go.
(4) Once all the Flour has been combined transfer your still hot dough to a floured surface and roughly roll out.
(5) Add dough to your pie casing and using your hands press into shape.

Method for the filling:-

(1) Make sure your have your pastry in your casing ready.
(2) In a jug add the Cornflour to the Water and mix well.
(3) Add to a pan and simmer.
(4) add the Stock pot and stir until it has dissolved.
(5) Turn the heat off and stir in the cooked Turkey and Bacon.
(6) Spoon into your casing while still hot.

Filling and cooking your Pie:-

(1) Add the filling allowing a little space around the sides.
(2) make a lid with remaining dough and press a hole through the middle.
(3) Use a fork to press the joint firmly together.
(4) Brush generously with beaten Egg.
(5) Cook in a pre-heated oven for 45 minutes at 180c. If you have a probe you are looking for an internal temperature of 80c.
(6) Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Method for the Sage & Onion Aspic:-

(1) Once the Pie filling has cooled mix all the ingredients in a jug.
(2) Pour through the hole in the top of the Pie to fill all the remaining spaces.
(3) Place the completed Pie in the fridge for at least a couple of hours to allow the Aspic to set before cutting.

I’d set myself up to potter with this invention thinking the the major shops would be open on Boxing Day – Wrong! So I had a bit of a wander for the bits and bobs we didn’t have in. Gelatine from one Continental Shop and Lard from another. The Sage & Onion Aspic tasted like liquid Stuffing when we were assembling the pin, which is exactly what I intended. We’ll see what the finished Pie tastes like later today, but it looks pretty good so far!
 

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