Beetroot kofta with tomato and cashew sauce

Kofta = balls

Any questions?

Really, it's a great leftovers dish, especially if you have any cooked potatoes or veg to use up. Don't throw them away! Make kofta's instead!

Serves: 4

Per person: 3 zl (57 p)

For the koftas you'll need:

- some mashed potatoes (could be leftovers)

- 1/2 beetroot grated

- salt

- chopped chives

- 1-2 chopped green chillies

- 1/2 tsp coriander powder

- 1/2 tsp cumin powder

- 1/2 tsp garam masala

- some red chilli powder (optional)

- a handful of almond flakes

- flour to roll

For the sauce you'll need:

- a small handful of cashew nuts soaked
- 2 ripe juicy tomatoes
- 1-2 onions finely chopped
- 2 tsp ginger/ garlic paste
- 1 tsp mustard or kalonji seeds (optional)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder (deggi mirch)
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp fenugreek leaves (kasouri methi)
- oil for deep frying
- salt to taste

Serve with rice - nice!

Let's start with the koftas!

1. Imagine you've got a bowl of leftover cooked potatoes, could have been cooked any way at all. Mashed, roasted, pan-fried, whatever... You could also start from scratch. I'd recommend boiling till just done. Drain. Mash.

2. Grate some beetroot. Place in a sieve. Salt to draw out the liquid. After ten minutes strain thoroughly and extract as much liquid as you can.

3. Now we need to add flavour so... season with a little salt. Then throw in some chopped chives/ spring onion and green chillies.

4. Add the beetroot and spices.

5. Add a little cottage cheese - make sure you've managed to strain as much water as you can out of it. You don't want soggy koftas!! Crumble in a good handful of almond flakes.

6. Roll into balls and roll onto flour to coat. 

7. Lay on a floured plate and freeze overnight. When you want to cook them, don't defrost - they're good to fry from frozen!

Now let's get cracking on the sauce - a wonderfully rich and aromatic concoction of tomato, cashew nut and spices. Yeah!

8. Soak a small handful of cashew nuts for around 30 minutes in water.

9. Blend in a coffee grinder to a smooth paste

10. Skin two tomatoes and blend

11. Prep the onions and the ginger/ garlic paste

12. Get your spices out!

13. Oil in a pan. Hot. Mustard seeds (I couldn't resist!) in. Snap crackle pop.

14. Onions in. Fry down till golden (15 minutes). Add the ginger/garlic paste and cook out the rawness for a minute.

15. Spices in. Mix in real good and briefly cook to get rid of the "powderiness".

16. Tomato in. Cover and simmer on low for around 5 minutes

17. Cashew paste in along with the dried fenugreek leaves. Add the garam masala and check the seasoning. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Add a little water to maintain a good consistency.

18. Ok looks done...

Right. Last part. Frying the koftas!

19. Heat some oil for deep frying. Koftas in on high heat. As soon as you get bubbling, turn the heat down to medium-low and fry for 5 minutes (this is enough to defrost and cook).

20. Whip them out, drain on kitchen paper and enjoy with rice and the sauce!

Cost:

- veg: 2 zl
- cottage cheese: 2 zl
- tomatoes: 2 zl
- rice for 4 people: 2.40 zl
- oil: 2 zl
- the rest: 1.60 zl

Total: 12 zl
Serves: 4
Per person: 3 zl

Keerai Vadai (Spinach and Lentil falafels)

A South Indian classic this time - spinach vada.

Vada (or vadai) are made of soaked but uncooked dal (lentils) whizzed up in a food processor with some additional spices and ingredients (in this case, spinach). They make a great starter or accompaniment to a main meal.

Makes around 12 vadai.
Cost per unit: 0.67 zl (13 p)

You'll need:

- a cup of chana dal (split chick peas) soaked overnight
- a couple of handfuls of spinach
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1-2 green chillies finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger/ garlic paste
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- salt to taste
- oil for deep frying

Let's work!

1. Soak the chana dal overnight and strain.

2. Blend in a food processor to a paste-like consistency. Don't add any extra water if you can help it.

3. Prep your dry spices

4. Grind in a coffee grinder to a fine powder

5. Wash and chop the spinach. Prep the rest of the fresh ingredients

6. Mix the fresh ingredients with the spice powder and the whizzed up lentils

7. Get the deep frying oil good and hot - do the old bread test. When the bread bubbles in the oil, you know you're there... Spoon a portion of the mixture and shape in your hand so they're like small burgers. 

8. Fry for around 5 minutes on a medium heat or until golden 

9. Scoop out and drain on kitchen paper

10. Enjoy!

Costing:

- spinach: 4 zl
- chana dal: 2 zl
- the rest: 2 zl

Total: 8 zl
Makes: 12
Per unit: 0.67 zl

Butter Chicken

Butter chicken is the dish that eventually would be transformed by the British into Chicken Tikka Masala, so if you want to find the roots of this classic dish, then check this out!

The concept is to use the remains of tandoori chicken along with a sauce to create an excellent left-overs dish.

So, we'll be as authentic as we possibly can by using around half of the tandoori chicken from the previous post. We'll be swilling out the baking tray to retain those nicely cooked onions and spices - this will be our stock to which we will add tomatoes, blend and strain. Some more spice and a dash of cream will finish off this superb creation.

Ready?

Serves: 4
Cost per person: 2.50 zl (50p!)

You'll need:

- around 300g of tandoori chicken (see previous post)
- stock made from the remains of the tandoori chicken cooking process
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 tsp ginger/ garlic paste
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder (deggi mirch)
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp kasouri methi (fenugreek) leaves
- 2-3 tsp of cream
- a little butter or vegetable oil
- salt to taste

Let's groove!

1. Swill out the baking tray you used for the tandoori chicken into a pan.

2. Add the chopped tomatoes

3. Cook for around 10 minutes until the tomatoes soften. Blend.

4. Strain.

5. Prep the spices and other ingredients for the next stage

6. Heat up some oil or butter (it is "butter chicken" after all...) in a pan. Fennel seeds in. Fry off the ginger/ garlic paste for around 1 minute.

7. Add the sauce you whizzed up and strained a few minutes ago.

8. Spices in (hold back the garam masala and the fenugreek leaves). Cook for a few minutes.

9. Chicken in. Check the seasoning.

10. Garam masala in

11. Fenugreek leaves in

12. Stir in the cream and turn off the heat. Enjoy with rice!

Cost:

- Chicken: 4 zl
- Tomatoes: 2 zl
- Rice to serve: 2.40 zl
- Rest: 1.60 zl

Total: 10 zl
Per person: 2.50 zl

Tandoori Chicken at home

A traditional tandoor will cook meat quickly at a temperature way higher than you can achieve using an ordinary oven at home, therefore hard to replicate. So, a home version of any tandoori dish will be just that - a version. The guiding principle is, though, to get the oven up as high as it will go and cook till the meat just starts to brown.

Tandoori chicken is very easy to do once you've got the marinade right - there are basically two steps: marinade and bung in the oven. I like to do 2 separate marinades, but you don't have to if you're in a hurry.

Oh, and one last tip: skin the chicken! If you don't, the marinade won't permeate. Skin is waterproof!

Serves: 4
Cost per person: 2.50 zl (50p!)

You'll need:

- 500-600g of chicken legs/ thighs
- the juice of a lemon
- 1 tsp turmeric
- salt
- 4-5 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
- 2 tsp ginger/ garlic paste
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
- 2 finely chopped green chillies (optional)
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Leave the chilli powder and chillies out and you'll have a child-friendly version.

Really nice served with potatoes and salad.

Let's go:

1. Make the first marinade with lemon juice, turmeric and salt in a bowl. Slit the chicken in 3-4 places to really let those spices permeate! Leave the chicken in for around 30 minutes.

2. Make the next marinade with the yoghurt and the rest of the spices and the ginger/ garlic paste.

3. Hey, if you like it a bit hotter and the kids don't mind then throw in some chopped green chilli and chilli powder! Transfer the chicken to this marinade and leave for at least 4 hours.

4. Get the oven whacked up to full. Put some sliced onions in the bottom of a baking dish - this will prevent the chicken from burning at the bottom and will also impart good flavour.

5. Add the chicken and roast in the oven for around 20-30 minutes or until the meat just starts to brown on top. 

Cost:

- chicken: 8 zl
- the rest: 2 zl

Total: 10 zl
Serves: 4
Per person: 2.50 zl