Students' Curry 2

Here's the second in the series of curries which anyone can make anywhere with basic ingredients from any supermarket without a long list of 10 zillion ingredients.

Let me introduce you to: Chole Masala

Chole = chick peas
Masala = mix

It's a variation on a North Indian classic, sort of imagining a Punjabi chef arriving in a Lidl in Poland and having to do his worst!

Serves: 4
Per person: 3.75 zl (68 UK pence, 8.25 Swedish Kronar)

Ingredients:

Everything was from Lidl, bar one item - the chick peas! Sometimes you can get cans of them there, sometimes not. However, they're usually available somewhere. If not, though, just use a can of different beans (not baked beans - that would be revolting). If you want to save a bit of money, buy them dry. Soak a couple of handfuls overnight in plain water then drain. Cook in a fresh batch of water for around 2 hours or until soft.

- 2 onions very finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 inch of ginger minced
- 1 can of chick peas
- 2-3 chillies chopped
- 1 can of tomatoes blended
- 1 good tsp of cumin seeds (yes, you can get them in Lidl - I checked!)
- 1 tsp turmeric powder (ditto)
- veg oil
- salt
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- handful of finely chopped coriander (optional, but yes - it was from Lidl)

Let's crack on!

1. Prep the ingredients - chop what needs to be chopped and blend what needs to be blended. Mince what needs to be minced (I used a fine grater)

2. Get some oil into that pan (don't be shy with the oil). Cumin seeds in. 30 secs.

3. Onions in. Add a pinch of salt. Cook down on low-medium heat for around 10 minutes.

4. Chillies in. Saute for a further 5 minutes. Maybe you're thinking "Whoah! That's a lot of chilli!" Indeed. Taste them first. If they're mild, don't be shy - chuck them in! They're packed with vitamin C and give good flavour as well as heat.

5. Ginger/ garlic paste in! Saute for a further 2-3 minutes.

6. Turmeric in. 30 secs.

7. Tomatoes in

8. Chick peas in. Cover. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.

9. If you're using coriander, now's your chance to pluck and chop it.

10. Coriander in. Add a squeeze or two of lemon. 

11. Give it one more minute. Turn off the heat. Done!

Serve with basmati rice.

Cost:

- chick peas: 4 zl
- tomatoes: 2 zl
- Onions, garlic, ginger, chillies: 3 zl
- coriander: 2 zl
- basmati rice for 4 people: 3.20 zl
- spices: 0.80 zl

Total: 15 zl
Per person: 3.75 zl

Students' Curry 1

So, the challenge was: show us a curry that's dead easy to make with ingredients readily available at most basic supermarkets. NO LONG INGREDIENT LISTS allowed!

So, here goes. This is the most basic that I can do while still tasting (and I was a bit surprised) pretty damn good!

The supermarket de choix was Lidl so I trundled along there and bought the following ingredients (oops, forgot to include the vegetable oil and rice in the photo...) but ended up not using the lemon so imagine it's not there, although it does look nice on the photo, doesn't it?

Serves: 4
Per person: 3.20 zl (60 UK pence, 75 Euro cents, 90 US cents)

Ingredients:

- 2 onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 2 fresh chillies
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 1 20g pack of curry powder
- 1 pack of frozen veg
- some veg oil
- basmati rice to serve (80g per person - 1 Lidl pack serves 5)
- salt

A couple of things. Firstly, the frozen veg - go for mixes that contain carrots, green beans, peas, cauliflower, potatoes. These work well in a curry. Secondly - curry powder. You shouldn't really use it in the sense that authentic curries use individual spice mixes, But, here we're going for simplicity and this is as simple as I can make it.

So, on with the show:

1. Prep the onions by chopping very fine. Mince the garlic and ginger finely to make a paste. Chop the chillies. Blend the tomatoes.

2. Cover the bottom of the pan with vegetable oil. Medium heat.

3. Onions in plus a pinch of salt. Cook down for around 15 minutes.

4. Ginger/ garlic paste in. Chillies in. Saute for a further 5 minutes.

5. Curry powder in

6. Stir in for a minute to cook out the rawness of the spices - this improves the flavour

7. Frozen veg in. Stir to cover with the spice mix. 

8. Add the blended tomatoes. Cover and cook down on low heat for around 15-20 minutes. Check if it's ready by tasting the most problematic (in this case, green beans - they don't taste good unless cooked just enough but not too much) vegetable - if that one's done, then the whole thing's ready. Check the seasoning - add a pinch more salt if necessary.

9. Serve with rice

Costing:

- onions, ginger, garlic: 2.00 zl
- tomatoes: 2.00 zl
- chillies: 1.50 zl
- veg: 2.50 zl
- rice: 3.20 zl
- curry powder: 1.50

total: 12.70 zl
Per person: 3.20 zl

Spanakopita (spinach, feta and filo pie)

A Greek classic! Crispy filo pastry with a cheesy spinach filling. Groovy!

Serves: 2
Cost per person: 6 zl (1.13 GBP, 12 Norwegian Kroner)

You'll need:

- a good old bunch of spinach
- around 80g of feta
- one egg
- a handful of parsley
- 2 chopped spring onions
- around 200g (or 4 sheets) of filo pastry
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- a pinch of cayenne (optional)

Let's boogie!

1. Wash the spinach and de-stalk. Blanch for 1-2 minutes in a minute quantity of water. Refresh with cold water and drain. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Beat an egg

3. Chop up the parsley and spring onion

4. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the spinach

5. Chop the spinach

6. Add everything (including the seasoning) into the bowl and mix up. Crumble in the feta

7. Oil an oven proof dish

8. Take a sheet of filo pastry. Brush with olive oil. 

9. Place centrally in the dish. Don't worry about the extra pastry overspilling - you'll fold it over later. Repeat from step 8. Get around 4 layers of pastry in the dish at slightly different angles.

10. Add the spinach and feta mixture

11. Fold over the sides layer by layer to enclose the pie.

12. Give the top a final brush of olive oil

13. Bake till brown on top. Enjoy!

Cost:

- spinach: 3 zl
- feta: 2.8 zl
- filo: 4 zl
- egg: 0.8 zl
- the rest: 1.4 zl

Total:12 zl

Lobia (classic black eyed bean curry)

Cheap, easy and tasty - let's go!

Serves: 4
Cost per person: 2.25 zl (45p)

You'll need:

- a cup of dried beans or a tin of ready-cooked
- water
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- a handful of fresh coriander leaves
- 2 medium onions
- 1 big fat clove of garlic
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 piece of cinnamon
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- salt to taste
- veg oil

1. Soak the beans overnight (if using dried beans) and boil in unsalted water for around 2 hours or until soft.

2. Get your spices ready!

3. Chop up the onions fine

4. Finely chop the garlic

5. Skin the tomatoes and puree in a blender. Get the coriander ready

6. Heat up some oil. Cumin and cinnamon in. Fry for a minute.

7. Onions in. Fry halfway (around 7 minutes) on medium heat then add the garlic.

8. When the onions are golden (around 15 minutes), add the spices and give them a quick fry.

9. Tomatoes in. Cover and simmer for around 5 minutes. Salt to taste.

10. Add the coriander leaves.

11. Add the beans and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

12. Enjoy with rice!

Costing:

- beans: 3 zl
- tomatoes: 2 zl
- rice to serve four: 2.50 zl
- the rest: 1.50 zl

Total: 9 zl
Serves: 4
Per person: 2.25 zl

Sabzi (vegetable) Korma

Let's bust a few myths first of all:

"Korma" doesn't mean "slightly sweet, mild curry for wimps". It actually refers to the cooking style and means "braise".

Braise: fry first and simmer in liquid in a closed vessel.

Vegetable Korma: braised vegetables.

And yes, I am going to use chilli powder and it won't be extremely mild. So there!

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

You'll need:

- an aubergine
- 1/3 of a cauliflower
- a sprinkling of peas and green beans
- 2 small-medium onions
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 fat clove of garlic
- a handful of fresh coriander leaves
- 4 tsp almond flakes soaked and blended
- 100g of cream
- some black pepper and salt to taste
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 4 green cardamons
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp paprika 
- some water
- some veg oil

Let's prep and go!

1. Cut up the aubergine, salt and leave for 30 minutes

2. Meanwhile, dry roast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cardamons. 

3. Blitz in a coffee grinder

4. It's lonely so get the other spices ready on the same plate.

5. Chop up the cauliflower and get the coriander ready

6. Chop those onions real fine and get ready to mince the garlic and ginger into a paste.

7. Fry the aubergine until golden brown along with the cumin seeds. Season with black pepper.

8. Remove from the pan when golden (around 7-8 minutes) using a slotted spoon so that most of the oil remains in the pan for frying the onions in.

9. Fry the onions until golden (around 15 minutes) with some salt then add the ginger/ garlic paste. Fry for another minute.

10. Add the spices and fry for half a minute to make a paste.

11. Add some water and the cauliflower.

12. Finely chop the coriander and add along with the peas and green beans. Cover and simmer for around 10 minutes.

13. Almond cream in.

14. Aubergines in. Cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Check the seasoning. 

15. Turn off the heat. Stir in the cream. Done!

Cost:

- Veg: 5 zl
- Rice to serve: 2.50 zl
- Cream and almonds: 1 zl
- Spices and coriander: 1 zl
- Rest: 0.50 zl

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