Burmese Mutton Puffs

By: Mrs Robot

Ooops, Christmas came and went with no Greedybots. (In case you’re wondering, this year’s trifle was inspired apple crumble, with lightly poached apples, brandy and cinnamon cake in the base, custard, whipped cream and then crumble fragments on top.) BUT you’re getting a post in January, and you had to wait till February last year so…

We’ve accumulated many cookbooks over the past year, and one we’ve used a lot is Mandalay by Mi Mi Aye. We went to the launch of her first book, Noodle!, which we loved, and were invited to the launch of this one, but my job got in the way. I’ll do a proper review of that in coming weeks, but over the last weekend I made something which didn’t make the cut for Mandalay: seik-thar puffs, or mutton puffs in English. The recipe’s online at Great British Chefs.

The method is interesting, as you fry the onions and garlic first in spices, then do the mutton (okay, I used lamb) and more spices separately, adding cornflour and water and thickening it, then adding the onions later. I’ve learned the hard way to make sure I cook onions properly for Asian dishes, and I know the value of properly browned meat. I was a bit dubious about the cornflour stage – mutton in glue? – but it works brilliantly. I had a bit of meat left over, so ate that on its own. Delicious!

The garlic and turmeric made it taste really Burmese to me. There’s potential here to vary the dish. I think a pork mince would be really interesting, or you could use finely-chopped mushrooms, carrot, water chestnut or other veg with a bit of bite if you want a veggie option. Changing the spices would also make a big change.

Anyway, another great recipe from Mi Mi Aye here!

Tasty New Year

By: Mrs Robot

And back to work we go! Back to work, with resolutions to be a bit less fat in 2018 than in 2017. But yesterday we had a day for one more slap-up meal. I was really in the mood for spice, as between Christmas and yesterday we'd kept things fairly British. We'd had roast turkey for Christmas, home-cooked ham, and roast beef, with leftovers of the three used in all sorts of ways, and okay one of those was curry, but curry made with leftover turkey isn't quite the same, even though I made a proper sauce base. (Thinks: maybe I should have got out the curry powder and made a retro-style British 'curry', the sort of thing my granddad doubtless suffered through for 50 years after leaving Asia!) Mr Robot  was definite that he wanted a lamb curry for New Year's Day, not a chicken one, and for some reason the lamb curries in most of my books really weren't grabbing me. I'd been meaning to make one of Bibi's recipes for ages, and Kathmandu-style mutton curry fitted the bill.

I don't have a mixie, so my marinade didn't come out as smooth as I'd have liked, though it still smelled heavenly. And in cooking my curry wasn't as red as Bibi's, but I put that down to not having Kashmiri mirch and making do with paprika and cayenne. Regardless of what you think about how it looks, it tasted utterly amazing; rich and deep and just the sort of thing you want in cold weather. I paired it with Meera Sodha's daily dal (our favourite dal), a cachumber made with cherry tomatoes and shallots, and roti. Is it possible to be addicted to a salad? I almost always do cachumber with curry nowadays as its freshness sets everything off so well. Really should try a different vegetable dish at some point...

I always make a trifle during the Christmas break, and this year left it right to the last minute. I probably wouldn't have bothered as I've been a lazy toad this holiday, but we'd bought all the cream and I'm a skinflint who detests food waste, so it needed to be used and eaten. But how do you make a trifle to follow a curry? With pistachio cake and fresh mango in the base, drizzled with fresh lime juice and triple sec, a luxurious home-made custard (six egg yolks and a pint of extra-thick double cream) flavoured with rosewater and saffron, and whipped cream lightly scented with cardamom, that's how. All those eggs and cream are why I only make trifle once a year - my arteries need 12 months to recover - but it's worth it.

Happy New Year to you! May it be filled with good food, and good company to eat it with.

Recipe Review: Lamb Kebabs with Fried Chickpeas, Butternut & Tahini

From Morito by Sam & Sam Clarke

Lamb Kebabs, roasted squash, fried chickpeas. Perfect sunshine snacking

by: Mr Robot

I deeply love our Riverford vegbox but being seasonal you do tend to get things in gluts. While that can be a burden it's also a great trigger to try something a bit different with the old familiar - always assuming one can be bothered.

Today I could be bothered so I used the third (or perhaps fourth) butternut on the bounce, along with some lamb rump found in the freezer, as an excuse to head in the direction of Southern Spain / North Africa and of course Morito came up with the goods.

Actually two separate recipes (turn to pages 110 and 222 in your copies, please class) I thought they'd go really well together, and how right I was.

It's also - unusually for me - extremely simple and pretty quick.

First up the lamb is marinaded in garlic, paprika, cumin and cinnamon, with a little olive oil and lemon juice to lubricate. 

Give it an hour or so and then just grill / griddle / barbecue / flash fry for a few minutes. 

Gratuitous griddle shot

The book suggests serving in flatbreads with a salad, but I had other fish - or rather pulses - to fry.

So the butternut is diced small and tossed in oil and cinnamon, then roasted for half an hour or so, until soft and slightly coloured.

The chickpeas are drained, dried and deep fried for a few minutes until puffy and golden then seasoned with ground coriander, cumin and (more) cinnamon. This is then tossed with the butternut, some sliced red onion and fresh coriander, with a mix of greek yoghurt and tahini poured on top.

I just piled it all in a nice dish with the kebabs on top and grabbed a bottle of very acceptable Verdejo, then headed for the sunshine.

To hell with elegant plating - this is a pile up and fight for it dish

Unforgivably we were out of fresh coriander (I've long-since learned there's no good substitute, though mint would have gone well here) so we missed that fresh, fragrant element. Even so it was real delight. 

The spicing on the lamb was quite subtle - a background tone to the meat rather than the main theme - and though there's a lot of cinnamon running through the dish it wasn't overpowering. Instead brought a lovely harmony to everything.

Fire up the fryer - it's chickpea o'clock

Fried chickpeas were a revelation and I can't believe I've never come across it before. Crunchy outside and soft in the middle they're like tiny chip-nuggets with the same affection for plenty of seasoning. They worked brilliantly alongside with the soft sweetness of the squash and tender lamb. It would make an outstanding bar snack.

Personally I had mixed feelings about the tahini yoghurt - it was little strong for me and while I can see the benefit of having something sharp and runny going on, I think it would have been fine without. 

Mrs Robot disagreed violently though, stuffing it down by the spoonful, so next time I'd be minded to serve it separately on the side. 

Specifically, her side.

This would (will) make a splendid after-work dinner. The most time consuming element is marinading the lamb but of course you can always do that the day before, or more likely, up the quantities for about 15 minutes. 

Otherwise all the work is done while the squash is roasting and flung together at the last minute. It's a delicious, light meal, very different to what we've been eating lately, and one I'm already looking forward to having again.

"Finished" is the saddest work in cookery

As ever, we're not in the business of giving away other people's recipes so if you want the full details I urge you to buy the book either direct from Morito or the retailer of your choice.

All images (c) PP GETTINS