Bacon & Sausage Savoury Rolls

Sausage savoury pastry, commonly known as Sausage Roll is extremely popular in the bakeries and sandwich shops across the UK. It can also be served as a snack at the parties and can be served either hot or cold. Sausage rolls were already known in 18^th century and nowadays are probably one of the most popular, take-away breakfasts in Britain. However not many people know how easy it is to prepare them at home. Are you a sausage rolls lover? Or maybe you were never allowed to try them before, because of your diet restrictions? Then this is the recipe you’ve been looking for. It’s quick, simple and can be adjusted to everyone’s needs. (Recipe by Chef Clary Wilson)

Ingredients:

340g puff pastry

4 leans slices of bacon

4 Sausages

1 red onion- sliced thinly

50g grated cheddar cheese

Oil- for frying

Egg- for brushing

Method:

1. In a frying pan, fry the bacon and sausages in oil until light brown on low heat.
2. Fry the onions until translucent.
3. Roll out the puff pastry (approx. 3-5 mm thick) and cut into sauces size circle.
4. Wrap a sausage in a slice of bacon and place in the middle of puff pastry circle. Sprinkle with onions and cheddar cheese.
5. Pick up one side of the pastry and fold to the centre. Brush with egg and fold over the other side. Brush with egg all over to give your sausage rolls a nice glaze.
6. Place on greased baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes at 180C until golden brown. Enjoy!

TIPS:

You were never able to try a sausage roll, because of halal or vegetarian diet. It’s not a problem anymore! You can easily change this recipe to create a delicious snack, suitable for you. I was always stuck to cheese and onion pastries until I’ve learnt to make these sausage rolls at home.  For my halal sausage rolls I use sausage shaped kebabs, instead of bacon and sausages. They add more flavours to the snack due to various spices used and also you can experiment with different meat: chicken, lamb, goat, etc. You can also use different spices to marinade the meat. Here is a quick reminder of our best recipes: Sheekh kebabs, Chicken Koftas and Meatball curry. Simply shape a long, sausage-like kebab and prebake it in the oven at 180C, until golden brown. This will assure you the meat is cooked properly and also help to get rid off excess fat from the meat.

If you are vegetarian you can buy meat-free sausages in the supermarket and use them instead. They are usually made of soya and vegetables and they are very healthy and tasty alternative for traditional sausage.

To add more flavours to this tasty party snack I also upgrade the recipe by adding other type of cheese. My favourite is Red Leicester, but you can adjust it to your own preferences. Enjoy!

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Kofta Meatball Curry- known dish, unknown experience...

This is the second attempt to make this delicious Indian dish. If you enjoyed the recipe I posted in March, you should also try this one. It could be good opportunity to observe how spices can change the taste of the dish. Here is another recipe for Kofta Curry: same main ingredients, same preparation method, but totally different experience for your taste buds.  (Recipe by Chef Clary Wilson)

Ingredients for Koftas (meatballs)

300g lean minced beef/ lamb/ goat/ chicken

1 tsp kebab masala

1 egg

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ginger powder

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp tandoori masala

½ tsp black pepper

¼ medium sized onion- chopped finely

1 Tbsp coriander- chopped finely

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and marinade for a while. When the mixture absorbs the flavours, make walnut size meatballs and pre-bake them in the oven (at 180C) until light brown. It will help to preserve the shape of the koftas and prevent them from falling apart when dropped into the curry sauce.

Ingredients for the sauce:

50 ml canned tomatoes

150 ml onion sauce (or 1 medium sized onion- chopped finely)

½ green chilli chopped finely

1 tsp tandoori masala

½ tsp ginger powder

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp salt

1 Tbsp coriander- finely chopped

2 Tbsp natural yoghurt

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Ketchup- to taste

Put tomatoes, yoghurt, chilli, coriander and dry spices in a bowl and mix together to make a paste.

Heat up the oil in a large heavy-based pan. Fry the onion sauce and prepared paste, gradually adding a table spoon at a time and mixing together until the sauce turns lightly brown.  (If you are using chopped onion instead, fry it gently until soft and light brown before mixing the paste in).

Drop pre-baked meatballs into the sauce and shake the pan. Do not stir as it may break the koftas. Keep the lid on and simmer for 25-30 minutes on low heat. Few minutes before taking the dish off the heat add some ketchup to sweeten the sauce and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve with rice or Indian flat breads. Enjoy!

Chiken Tikka Masala- Britain's favourite curry

Chicken Tikka Masala- this beloved South-Asian dish with unclear origin is probably more popular around the world than in India. Proclaimed to be ‘Britain’s true national dish’, it is the most often ordered dish in restaurants and take-aways around the UK. So what is the secret behind this famous curry and where is it really coming from?

The word Tikka means pieces or bits. Masala stands for the spices contained in the curry. Chicken Tikka Masala is a delicious dish in which pre-marinated pieces of chicken are grilled and then cooked in thick, deliciously creamy gravy. The result is a lovely smokey flavour and characteristic orange-coloured sauce.    There is no standard recipe for chicken tikka masala; a survey found that of 48 different recipes, the only common ingredient was chicken; however classic onion, tomato and coriander base seems to be most popular. Also origin of this delicious dish is wrapped in mystery. Some people have drawn comparisons between chicken tikka masala and butter chicken, other creamy North Indian dish. Some people claim Tikka Masala is an accidental product of Punjabi cuisine which was subjected to numerous improvisations. Others argue it was rather invented in the UK, to suit the taste of British curry-lovers.

This recipe shows how to prepare it the classic way- marinating the chicken first and then cooking it in the curry sauce. (Recipe by Chef Clary Wilson)

Ingredients for Chicken Tikka Marinade:

250g chicken breast- diced 2.5 cm

2 Tbsp plain yoghurt

2 Tbsp double cream

2 Tbsp mustard or vegetable oil

25g onion- finely chopped

1 green chilli- finely chopped or ½ tsp chilli powder

½ tsp ginger puree or powder

½ tsp garlic puree or powder

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp Kashmiri masala paste

½ tsp Tikka masala paste

Put all above ingredients in a bowl and mix well together. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

When the chicken is ready, place it on a lightly greased baking tray and bake at 180C (in preheated oven) for approx. 15 minutes. Turn it over once.

Alternatively place it on metal skewers and cook in Tandoor oven for 10-12 minutes.

Masala Sauce:

100g onion masala- curry base sauce

2 Tbsp mustard or vegetable oil

½ tsp ginger puree or powder

½ tsp garlic puree or powder

½ tsp tandoori masala

½ bell pepper (green)- diced finely

½ bell pepper (red) – diced finely

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

2 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

½ tsp garam masala

2 tsp tomato puree

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and blend together until smooth to make a paste.

 Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the masala sauce gradually a tablespoon at a time until the sauce turns light brown.

 Add cooked chicken, mix together and simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes. If required add some Yakni stock (two tablespoons at a time).

Take off the heat and cool slightly. Mix in some plain yoghurt and single cream (ratio 1:1) to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander. Serve with Indian flat breads or rice. Enjoy!

Mint raita yoghurt dip

Finally here comes the time to post famous Mint raita recipe. This rich and fresh yoghurt sauce is a staple in Indian homes as it can be served with almost every dish.  It is essential especially during the hot weather or as an accompaniment for hot and spicy curries as both mint and yoghurt are known for their cooling properties. It balances the richness of Indian dishes and tastes particularly good with stuffed Parathas (flatbread) and Biryanis and Pulaos (rice dishes), but also as a dip for popular starters, like samosas or onion bhajis.

Same as many other Indian recipes, there is no defined formula as such. Raitas are very flexible and depending on your needs adjust the ingredients below to create the taste that suits your personal preferences and various dishes.

(Recipe by Chef Clary Wilson, comments and tips by meJ )

Ingredients:

150g natural yoghurt

1 small piece of cucumber- chopped finely

1 sprig of fresh coriander- chopped finely

½ tsp dried or fresh mint- chopped finely

½ medium sized tomato- chopped finely

2 slices of onion- chopped finely

1 radish grated

½ tsp cumin seeds- dry roasted and grinded into powder

½ fresh chilli- chopped finely

¼ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp mango (amchoor) powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Enjoy!

TIPS:

 Take the fresh yogurt and pass that through a sieve so there are no lumps in it. This should create a perfect consistency of your raita.

As I mentioned earlier you can experiment with ingredients ratio. You can also omit some ingredients. If you decide to use more vegetables your raita will gain a salad consistency. You can decide to reduce the components to make it more sauce like.

I find that cumin might be slightly overpowering, so don’t rush with adding too much of it, unless you really like its strong flavour.

Usually I also replace fresh chilli with hot chilli powder, which adds spiciness and works perfectly if raita is served as a dip for milder snacks in example: pakoras. But if you want to achieve opposite effect and tame the heat of curries with cool raita, you should rather be careful.

If you like strong minty flavour make sure you are using fresh mint leaves. Before mixing them with yoghurt, using mortar and pestle, grind them to a fine paste with a few drops of water.

Onion masala- curry base sauce

This is the foundation for most of tasty curries served in British Indian restaurants. . Indian gravies need to cook for some time in order to develop their flavour, so preparing a proper Indian dish can be really time-consuming. For that reason all restaurants and take-away businesses usually rely on this secret recipe.  Instead of preparing everything from the beginning they will use a ladle or two of “base sauce” and add extra ingredients to customise the dish. It allows the restaurant to produce curries in no time at all. This can be used with any meat, poultry or vegetables you want. The substance, flavour and texture of the sauce only rely upon fresh and natural ingredients: onions, ginger and garlic. There are many recipes for the curry gravy, but unlike its plain variants this sauce is also very tasty on its own. Onion masala can be prepared in greater amount and easily frozen to be used when you need it. (Recipe by Chef Clary Wilson)

Ingredients:

500g onions- peeled and sliced

100g canned tomatoes

½ bell pepper or chilli pepper- chopped

1 Tbsp fresh coriander- chopped

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp tandoori masala

1 Tbsp Kasoori Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

½ tsp ginger powder or 1” piece fresh root ginger- peeled and finely chopped

½ tsp garlic powder or 3 garlic cloves- finely chopped

600ml water

Salt to taste

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a heavy based pan and boil on medium heat for about 40 minutes, until onions soften and absorb flavours. Take off the heat and cool down to the room temperature. Place the mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. Your base sauce is ready. Now it can be portioned into airtight containers and stored in the freezer until needed. Otherwise you can place it back in the pan, adding more ingredients to prepare a delicious curry of your choice.

TIPS:

If you want your sauce to have more flavour and aroma use fresh ginger and garlic instead of the powder.

Capsicum present in bell peppers or chillies is responsible for spiciness of your sauce, so you can adjust it to your own preference. Bell peppers won’t be as hot as red or large green chillies, while finger chillies will add the extra kick to the basic recipe.

Obviously you can prepare more sauce by simply multiplying the ingredients, but there are some special considerations. Salt and any of the stronger spices (such as black pepper, chilli and garam masala) need to be added judiciously or else they may dominate the base sauce. It’s best to tread carefully with these items and adjust the flavours before serving the finished dish.