Cooking Tips.....
There are a few simple things that you can do to make cooking just a bit easier and a bit quicker without compromising on the quality of the end result.
Onions
The most time consuming thing when making a curry, is peeling and cooking the onions. Take a short cut by buying frozen onions but make sure you cook them until they are lovely and soft and browning. Giving the onions some time really adds to the flavour of the curry and is one of the most essential parts! Make sure the oil in the pan is hot before adding the onions, so they don't soak up all the oil.
Garlic
Crushing garlic is quicker than chopping. You can also buy frozen chopped garlic if you are short on time.
Ginger
Grating ginger is quick and easier than chopping! I find the best way to peel ginger is with a teaspoon- there is less wastage and it's quick. I freeze ginger in small pieces and simply grate directly into the pan, without defrosting. You can also buy frozen, chopped ginger.
Store cupboard
Our recipes use very basic ingredients and if you have the following in your store cupboard, you can always make a gorgeous curry with Spice Pots.
Tins of Tomatoes
Tins of coconut milk (quality is important)
Red Lentils
Gram Flour (chickpea flour)
Stock
Batch cooking
Always make more than you need and freeze in portion sizes that suit your household. Perfect for those nights when you are too tired or too busy to cook. It takes very little extra time to cook for more!
Freezing
Many of our recipes freeze very well including:
Lamb Bhuna
Beef Goan
Satay Sauce
Raita
Carrot Salad
Marinated Chicken Breast or Drumsticks (raw)
Making a day head
If you have time, make your curry or salad or marinade chicken or prawns the day before. The flavours develop and it's even better.
Tender chicken
Cutting your chicken in the correct way makes a HUGE difference on how tender it will be. Cut ACROSS the grain so that each piece of chicken only has short fibres.
Holidays and camping
If you are going on a self-catering holiday or camping, take the time to make up dressings or marinades before you go and remember to pack Spice Pots!