The beautiful thing about Spice Fusions is that you CAN make a quick, easy and tasty curry in no more than 1/2 an hour. In that respect its just as easy as popping open a jar, pouring the sauce over and warming it through. But you must know that investing a little bit of time in your cooking always makes the food taste better.... :)
The same applies when using Spice Fusions Masala Blends. For the cost of a little extra time, you can have an even more delicious curry! One where the spices have been given time to properly infuse your meat and seafood, to make it tender and tastier.
Below are 3 ways to tastier curry! They do require time and patience... patience is a virtue I know, but trust me it's one worth having when making a curry!
1. Marinade your meat and seafood.
Yes, it really is as simple as that. At least 4 hours before you cook, prepare your meat/seafood by cleaning it and dicing it. In a bowl, mix the meat/seafood with the Masala Blend. Cover and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, overnight is best. When you are ready to make your curry just follow the recipe.For the barbeque here's a great little marinade for meat/vegetabels/seafood. You can also use this marinade when you ovencook or make a curry:
For 250 g meat/vegetables/seafood, in a bowl mix together a little (>1 tablespoon) cooking oil, 1 x Pot Shot Masala Blend (20g), 2-3 tablespoons natural yogurt (or try Greek style yogurt for a richer creamier taste) and a good handful of freshly chopped coriander. Add the meat/vegetables/seafood, coat throughly in the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, again overnight is best.
If you are cooking your meat in the oven, it is best to cover the meat loosely with foil to retain the moisture of the meat. Once the meat is cooked remove the foil and cook for a further 8 - 10 minutes just to get that great oven cooked browning!
2. Slow Cooking
This is one for meat lovers and the trick is simple: allow your meat or chicken to cook on a gentle heat for about 40 - 45 minutes. If you are cooking meat on the bone the meat should melt away from the bone when you're eating it. This slow cooking gives the spices time to marinate and infuse the meat.
Vegetable and seafood dishes can also be cooked on a gentle heat for longer but as they are more delicate foods you do not need to cook them for too much longer. 5-10 minutes more than is recommended on the Spice Fusions recipes should do the trick!
For those of you that have, get out your slow cooker! When cooking a lamb or beef curry a slow cooker works wonders. For a straight forward curry such as the Spice Fusions Signature Lamb Curry follow this recipe:
Ingredients (Serves 4)
3 Tablespoons cooking oil
1 Finely chopped medium onion
200g Chopped tomatoes, tinned or fresh
2 x 20g Pot Shots Masala Blend for Meat
500g Diced boneless lamb
Chopped coriander to garnish
Method
1. In a non-stick frying pan heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and seal the lamb. Put the lamb in a dish and leave to one side.
2. In the frying pan heat the remaining oil and sauté the onions until soft. Add the tomatoes and the meat masala blend stir and cook for 3 - 4 minutes on a medium heat.
3. Add the sealed lamb and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a slow cooker, add ½ a cup of water and cook on a low heat for 4 - 5 hours.
4. Garnish with the coriander and serve with naan bread, rice and a simple salad cucumber, tomato and red onion salad lightly dressed with olive oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon.
3. Cook (and if you can resist the tempation to eat) leave it to stand.
As simple as it sounds, can you resist?
Once you've cooked your curry, allow it cool, then refrigerate until you are ready to eat. Take it out of the fridge and gently heat the curry through. Add a little hot water to create more sauce if required. Please make sure the food is piping hot before you serve.
Enjoy, and as always, if you have any tips and tricks you'd like to share with us then please drop us a line!
The Recipe of the Month for February was given to me by Andy Bushell, a Loughbrough Uni student who helps us out in the warehouse from time to time. Overhearing that he was going to cook a curry from scratch I threw him a couple of Pot Shots of the Masala Blend for Meat and told him to use them instead.
