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Chef for many years, also knife hobbyist and collector and prolific gardener
Random bits and bobs ..

How to rescue a knife

This was knife found buried in the garden for God knows how long
After

We found this knife buried in the garden. When I say We it was actually my friend “Alana Williams”. She was digging a hole in the huge backyard to replant the ginger we had brought back from Dural.

I said we must try and resuscitate/ rescue this as I’ve done before so many times. The first step was to take off the old plastic bakelite kind of handle and I was able to use a chisel for that.

The next part of the puzzle was to find in my stash of wood ( mostly all recycled) a suitable piece to make a new handle.

once the wood was chosen then I cut it to the right size and marked a cross on the back to drill for the rat tail tang.

Cleaned blade and rat tail tang

Then I had to get a special extra long drill bit to be able to accommodate for the tang . Drill as straight as possible and check if it fits . Fill hole with epoxy and fit it up.

next was to shape the handle with my Shinto rasp and then sanding waxing and using burnishing oil

Cooking indian

Moilee

.

this is a creamy coconutty sauce that’s traditional with fish. We can also use it with prawns.

But tomorrow I’m doing this for my friend Gautam Kotwal ,with crabmeat wontons/ravioli.

That recipe is for another time though. Today we just make the sauce. or rather you make the sauce and can add some fish or prawns to cook in the sauce.

Oil -15ml.

Mustard seeds-1/4tsp about 1g

Onion brown/ yellow depending on the country you are in just not red -1 medium sized one about 200g.

Curry leaves -fresh only please 1sprig

Asafoetida/hing -small pinch.

Green chilli- 1-2 slit length wise.

Ginger – 1 small piece maybe 5 g sliced vey thin or cut in julienne

  • Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds until they crackle.
  • Add in everything else on list above and saute till onion is transparent, do not brown.
  • Then add in half a tin of coconut cream or 3/4 of a full one (400 g) usually and a pinch of turmeric , and salt.
  • Simmer with pescado/ fish for those of you who do not speak spanish of your choice and eat with rice , appams or thick dosas( there is recipe for that here).

Turmeric- pinch

Coconut cream -1 can – use maybe 3/4th. hard to say without seeing how good your coconut cream is.

Salt – to make bland things better and increase your blood pressure if you eat too much

Cooking indian

Chicken or not 65

This i first ate on the streets on Hyderabad, and was great as a starter, snack to munch on. This is my version of it..

Make a fritter batter with
flour -25 g
cornflour – 40 g
chicken stock powder- 2 g/ ½ tsp
pepper – .5 gm ¼ tsp
water .. to form a thin batter
Paprika- 5 g/1 tsp
.Mix with raw sliced chicken/ paneer/ canned baby corn or mushroom, approximately 250 g , and deep fry…we never said was going to be healthy.

Then
Heat 10 ml oil add some curry leaf ,1 sprig
sliced chili – ½ or more if you want to be a fire breather
and chilli powder. -5 g/ 1 tsp
Whisk
yoghurt -1T/ 25 g
coriander -½ t/ 2 g
cumin powder – ¼ t/ 1 g
Ginger and garlic paste- 10 g/ 2 t

Add to the curry leaf and chilli mix and saute with the fritters till dry and coated with the mix..

Garnish with crunchy spring onions.

Best eaten with warm beer..yes i like warm beer.

Cooking indian

Ram Baan or

One ring to rule them all,
one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them.

After that rather theatrical name we must get down to brasstacks. The first part of the name comes from King Ram from the great indian Ramayan and baan the arrow or missile he used to vanquish the great demon / Rakshasa , Ravan. This term was used for a base onion and tomato gravy in my hotel company many many years back which used to go into allmost all the Indian food and thus the second part of the Tolkien title from the One Ring.

heres how we do it

oil -10 ml
butter15 gm
cumin -¼ tsp
cardamom green-2
cinnamon- 1 small pc

cloves 2-3
Heat oil, add butter and whole spices
then add 500 gms chopped onions and saute on low heat till light brown.
Add ¼ tsp coriander pdr, 1/8tsp cumin powder, pinch turmeric powder.
Add in about 20 gms of ginger and garlic paste. continue to saute.
Add in 400 gm tin of chopped tomatoes , and slow cook till the oil starts to separate out.

Cooking indian, Cooking international

Barbacoa with roasted coconut and chettinad spice rub

This version of meat comes from a transmogrified version of a Barbacoa, but flavoured with traditional south Indian spice mix where they would shudder at the mere thought of the holy cow tainting the spices .Never mind the fact that the neighbouring state Kerala has plenty of Beef Pepper fry .

But never mind we must go boldly where no man has gone before . We will then take it further and serve this rich spice laden stupedous concoction and put it in a bao or a sourdough bun or even a dosa .Our recipe serves 4 hungry people or more if you only serve it as finger food

Beef rump or similar-600 g
For the marinade
Yoghurt- 2 TB/55 gms approximately
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp , 2 gms
Ginger and Garlic paste- 2 t /10 gms
Salt- 1
For the gravy
Oil- 1T /20 gm
Curry leaves- 1 sprig/ 1 gms
green chilli- 2 ea/ 5 gms
Onions brown peeled and chopped-250 gms
Tomato crushed/ Tomato passata – 75 gms
coriander powder- 1 t/ 5gm
cumin powder- 1/2 t / 2 gm
chipotle chilli – 5 gms-
coconut cream- 100 ml
For the dry spice mix
Cardamom green- 3 ea
Cloves- 2
cinnamon stick – 1 small
Bayleaf- 1/2- The indian bayleaf is actually a cassia cinnamon leaf called tej patta, if you dont have that then use bay,
dessicated coconut- 1T/ 15 gms
peppercorns- 8-10
star anise/anasi poo- 1/2
fennel seeds- 1/2 t
Dagadphool/Kalpasi- 1-2 gms this gives it a unique aroma
Toast all in the microwave and then grind to a coarse mix
Method.
Marinate beef, ideally overnight, if pressed for time then atleast a few hours.
for the gravy, heat oil add curry leaves , and green chilli and then the chopped onions, sand saute till brown
add the powder spices and tomato and cook till the oil starts to separate from the mix.

Garnish with toasted sliced coconut ..