Friday, April 17, 2009

I love Calamari!

Five minutes away from my former residence, and across the 'Constitution Beach' in Boston, lies a simple but excellent place to eat. At 'Royal Roast Beef and Seafood', I expectantly order the fried calamari platter, served with your choice of fries or rice pilaf and coleslaw, which I am sure will tantalize my taste buds.

If you've read my other entries, you know that whenever I try something new, and I love it, I have to attempt to recreate it (or something similar). So... when I stumbled upon a really affordable bag of frozen calamari rings at the grocery store, the challenge was on!

My first attempt at friend calamari fell a little flat. The flour did not stick to the calamari, and although I was not 100% sure, I suspected that I had figured out what I had done wrong - the calamari needed to be patted dry before they were tossed in the flour.

A few weeks later, I embarked on my second attempt. This time, with a huge smile on my face, I had my 'eureka' moment. As a salute to 'Royal Roast Beef and Seafood', that evening, I enjoyed a scrumptious meal of fried calamari, herb roasted potatoes and sweet corn on the side.

Fried Calamari : Pat dry the defrosted calamari rings with a paper towel; Grab a bowl, and mix in some flour, salt and cayenne pepper; Heat up some cooking oil in a pan; Toss the calamari in the seasoned flour; Shake off the excess flour and dip individually in the heated oil - don't overcrowd; Cook on each side for about two minutes/until golden brown ; Drain on a paper towel.
Herb roasted potatoes : Wash medium sized red potatoes in a bowl; Cut up into bite sized pieces; Spray an oven safe dish with cooking oil; Place potatoes in the dish and season with Italian seasonings, black pepper and salt (use only about half of desired amount of seasonings); Mix properly and place in a 450degree Fahrenheit oven; Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes; Remove from oven, add the other half of seasonings and coat with cooking spray, then toss carefully; Place back in the oven for another 20-25 minutes or until cooked(starts to brown).

Serve the fried calamari with the potatoes and some heated up canned or frozen sweet corn or whatever vegetables you like. Enjoy!

* I served my meal on a paper plate to mirror the takeaway box I usually eat my fried calamari out of... lol!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Best Chicken Curry

I made my first chicken curry when I was about 15 or so. My mum had these British cooking books at home, and I often went through them imagining being able to prepare each and every meal some day.
However, my ability to actually prepare most of these meals was limited, as the ingredients that you can pick up from your local grocer in England are not quite the same in Nigeria or Cote d'Ivoire.
On one bored afternoon, as I was looking through the cookbooks one more time, I stumbled upon the chicken curry recipe and discovered that we actually had all the ingredients at home. Thanks to my dear mum, who indulged all my cooking experiments, starting that day, I added one more dish to my repetoire.
The recipe in the book included a few ingredients like diced apples, which acted as a thickening agent of sorts, which after years of experimenting, I have decided to leave out. Depending on my mood, I add ingredients such as diced red and green peppers, or carrots; and sometimes leave out flour, tomatoes or even coconut milk. However, the following is a simple and well tested recipe which will be a crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
Diced up chicken (preferably dark meat, although white meat is excellent too)
Spices (curry powder, cayenne pepper, salt, thyme, mixed spiced (seasoned salt), ground garlic, ground ginger)
Onions (diced)
Diced tomatoes ( 1 small tomato for 6-8 thighs)
Coconut milk (1/4 a cup)
Flour (about a leveled tablespoon)
Oil (about a tablespoon)
Water (1/2 a cup)
Preparation
Season the chicken with the combination of all spices and leave to marinate for at least an hour
Heat up pan and add oil
Add chicken and brown on all sides until tender (make sure completely cooked to your liking)
Add diced onion, cook until tender
Add tomatoes (optional), cook until tender
Add about a tablespoon of curry powder, mix thoroughly
Add coconut milk, stir
Dissolve flour in water and add to chicken
The curry sauce will start to thicken.... add more water if necessary
If necessary add salt, pepper and other spices to taste
Allow to simmer on low heat for 10 - 15 minutes continuously stirring.

Serve with white or brown rice and enjoy!

*I used chicken breast and added diced carrots to the one in the picture.
** I have used other recipes which pretty much involved tossing all of the ingredients in a pot and simmering on low heat, until the chicken is cooked.... works well for goat and lamb but not the best with chicken.