THE BETEO COOKBOOK

Zardoz · **Posted:** Wed Oct 14, 2009 13:28

I'm going to make a pizza from scratch this weekend.

sinister agent · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 7046

Chisps are Malabar's as much as mine. Grumble, complain.

But yeah, olive oil is expensive even when you buy larger amounts. It goes further than cheese, though, and there's a kind of minimum standard - I don't think I've ever had olive oil that was less than adequate, whereas I've had plenty of horrible, flavourless, plasticky or just plain nasty cheese. It's bloody tricky getting cheddar that actually has any flavour for a good price in most places - doubly so when three quarters of the ones touted as mature or extra mature are bald-faced liars.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

If only we had a cookery thread. Then, in months to come when I want to make pizza, I could find all this invaluable discussion.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Wed Oct 14, 2009 14:02

That would be awesome.

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49232

Merging in pizza discussion

Zardoz · **Posted:** Wed Oct 14, 2009 14:21

Fuck it Craster, I'll get a Dominoes.

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49232

Lulz.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

I am confused by the merging of chips and pizza discussions. If only we had a thread for each. And then some means of keeping all the threads about food together. Like a forum, but, somehow, smaller, or beneath.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Tonight I am making chicken dhansak

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 to 3 Chicken breasts depending on preference, chopped to preferred size
1 medium onion
4 ladles of curry base (about 250ml)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
juice of 1 large lemon
1 green chilli
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 heaped tablespoon mango chutney, chopped into smaller pieces
1 cup split red lentils, drained and washed
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 bunch fresh coriander

Method

1. 3/4 fill a medium size pot with water and bring to boil, add the lentils and crushed garlic. Boil lentils until soft, skim any scum from top of boiling water during cooking. When lentils are soft use a hand blender to blitz into preferred consistency. Strain the excess water away through a sieve and reserve the cooked lentils

2. While the lentils are cooking chop the onion finely. Squeeze the lemon juice into a small mixing bowl and add the curry powder and chilli powder and mix.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok or similar and fry the onion until golden brown ( was advised by the local BIR that the onions need to look like this for ultimate flavour ), not burnt though add the lemon, curry powder and chilli powder mixture to the wok and fry for about 30 seconds. Add chilli.

4. Add the chicken and fry until chicken is sealed on all edges. Add all the base sauce and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Add the strained lentils, the mango chutney and the pineapple juice, cook for a further 10 minutes making sure to never let the lentils stick to the base of the wok.Add most of the chopped coriander

6. 1 minute before serving stir in the garam masala. Serve with fresh coriander as garnish.

with pilau rice

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

250g Basmati rice
30g Unsalted butter
500ml Water
2 Cardamon Pods
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
2 Cloves
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Bay leaf

Method

Wash rice thoroughly in a bowl until water runs clear, this takes a while then leave to soak in cold water for 30 mins.

Drain rice really well and shake off as much water as you can.

Melt butter in a large-ish saucepan and add salt, spices, bay fry for a few seconds, add rice and fry gently for a minute or two on a medium heat. Add the water and bring to the boil stirring just once.

Cover the pan with a A3 size piece of foil and place the lid on top, Turn the heat down to no2 electric or halogen, if gas use simmer, and cook undisturbed for 8 mins.

Turn off the heat and remove lid and foil, add a few drops of red/yellow/green colouring to different sides of the pan(I use the inside of a Bic as a little pipette or a straw, finger over the top)

Preheat oven to 100c, once the rice has sat for 10 mins, gently transfer into a lightly oiled oven proof dish and cover well with the foil you used earlier, making a few steam holes.

Put in the oven, the longer the better gently folding every 20-30 mins and the rice grains will be lovely and separate.

kalmar · **Posted:** Wed Oct 14, 2009 14:53

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

I am confused by the merging of chips and pizza discussions. If only we had a thread for each. And then some means of keeping all the threads about food together. Like a forum, but, somehow, smaller, or beneath.

Don't go all built in breakfast bar on us.

kalmar · **Posted:** Wed Oct 14, 2009 14:56

sinister agent wrote:

flour + milk + a little sugar. Make a batter (consistency of thin porridge - slightly melted mcdonalds milkshake) and dip tinned pineapple in it. Fry on both sides for a cheap, tasty and relatively nutritious dessert / snack

On the strength of this I went down to Asda at lunchtime with the express intention of buying a mini deep fat fryer and a tin of pineapple, but fortunately they didn't have one.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Wed Oct 14, 2009 14:57

Quote:

Put in the oven, the longer the better gently folding every 20-30 mins and the rice grains will be lovely and separate.

Seems like it's cooking for a long time, Doc. Is that right?

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Zardoz wrote:

Seems like it's cooking for a long time, Doc. Is that right?

I've only done it for 1/2 hour in the past, which was fine, but it's really just keeping warm -- the oven is at 100 deg C. It'd probably stick eventually. I don't transfer it to a dish either; I use a 26cm frying pan with a lid, and once I've finished simmering it the whole thing goes in the oven. Much easier. Also, I don't dye it three different colours.

kalmar wrote:

Don't go all built in breakfast bar on us.

SPLITTER FORUM FORMING UP. TO THE LIFERAFTS! beexcooking.co.uk IS GO GO GO!

Zardoz · **Posted:** Wed Oct 14, 2009 15:11

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Also, I don't dye it three different colours.

Ricist.

parm · **Posted:** Wed Oct 14, 2009 19:35

If you're making pizza at home, it's really, really worth buying a pizza stone. Put it in the oven whilst you're pre-heating the oven, and it'll crisp up the base like nothing else. Also ace for making things like pita and naan bread.

(and *obviously*, make your own dough. Extra-strong bread flour, and preferably using a pre-ferment started the day before. I am a Pizza Snob, and I don't care)

ETA: Oh, and for curries, go here - they specifically concentrate on British indian restaurant style curries, which are quite unlike most "authentic" curries, and are generally quite hard to find recipes for. Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Bible is a decent reference on other types of curry, too.

BikNorton · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 10078

parm wrote:

(and *obviously*, make your own dough. Extra-strong bread flour, and preferably using a pre-ferment started the day before. I am a Pizza Snob, and I don't care)

Starters should be started days before at least. I've not got round to a sourdough starter. One of these days...

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

parm wrote:

ETA: Oh, and for curries, go here

That's where that curry recipe is from! I have a Word document my mate (and fellow poster here) The Egg compiled from that forum that we are working on.

And it was absolutely triumphant. I made it hotter (using 1.5 teaspoons of curry and chilli powder, and three roughly chopped chillis rather than one whole one) and cooked it a little longer (during the 20 minute "simmer chicken" step, we were distracted by wall-mounting an LCD monitor in my drum room so it had more like 30 minutes -- and it was on quite fast simmer, so it reduced a bit during that period). I highly recommend this recipe, it was delicious and I'll be making it again.

I have a lot of red split lentils now. I was thinking of making beef stew tonight. Any reason I shouldn't put some in there? I don't have much experience with pulses.

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49232

No real reason. I tend to prefer either beans or pearl barley in stews/casseroles, but lentils will work.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:29

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

I have a lot of red split lentils now. I was thinking of making beef stew tonight. Any reason I shouldn't put some in there?

No problem there. Won't add much taste, but great at bulking stews up.

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

I don't have much experience with pulses.

Always figured you were a necro.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Craster wrote:

No real reason. I tend to prefer either beans or pearl barley in stews/casseroles, but lentils will work.

I do need to go to the supermarket at lunchtime (I need some Worcester sauce) so I might get some pearl barley, which from my limited knowledge is what I would reach for for a winter beef-and-root-veg stew.

parm · **Posted:** Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:16

Yeah, they'll be fine in a stew, or something. Or, presuming they're dried, they keep forever, basically, so don't worry about having to use them up.

Also, tarka dal:

Lentils
Onion
Turmeric
Chilli
Spice mix (garam masala, curry mix, anything you like, really)

1. Slice onion.
2. Put half of the onion, along with the lentils, half a teaspoon of turmeric and enough water to cover the lentils to a depth of about 2cm into a saucepan.
3. Bring to the boil, skim off the crap from the surface, reduce to a boil and cook for about 40-50 minutes until everything turns to mush. Hopefully enough water has boiled off to make it sort of gloopy.
4. Add salt to taste, and use a potato masher to mash everything into a uniform consistency.
5. In another pan, fry a whole dried chilli or two in a tablespoon of oil until they start to go black (you can use fresh chillis, but pierce them before putting them in the pan or they'll explode)
6. Add a desertspoon of your spice mix and fry for a second or two.
7. Add the remaining onion, and fry until the onion starts going golden.
8. Add the fried spices to the lentil much, stir and put a lid on until you're ready to serve.

Serve with either pilau rice (as above) or chapattis, or both.

DavPaz · **Joined:** 27th Jun, 2008 **Posts:** 38464

Top tip, when following a recipie, make sure you have all the ingredients before you begin. Rosé is a poor substitute for red in pasta sauce.

Still nommy though

kalmar · **Posted:** Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:40

parm wrote:

Yeah, they'll be fine in a stew, or something. Or, presuming they're dried, they keep forever, basically, so don't worry about having to use them up.

Also, tarka dal:

Right, I'm making that next curry night, thankingyou.

By the way, I recently found you can get little boxes of chana masala spices, just add to a tin of chickpeas and some fried onion and simmer for a while and it's pretty authentic.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

I have everything I need to make chilli jam tonight except apple pectin, of which there was none. I bought gelatin instead. Anything I should be aware of using that instead?

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49232

Uh - yeah. It ain't gonna make jam.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Thu Oct 15, 2009 15:18

parm wrote:

Also, tarka dal

I'll try making that for Mrs Z, she normally has kormas but she's willing to try something a little otter.

DavPaz · **Joined:** 27th Jun, 2008 **Posts:** 38464

Zardoz wrote:

little otter.

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49232

Aww!

Also, nice boots.

DavPaz · **Joined:** 27th Jun, 2008 **Posts:** 38464

Craster wrote:

nice boots.

Thanks. They're stampy.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Craster wrote:

Uh - yeah. It ain't gonna make jam.

Oh. Why? It sets, doesn't it? Off to Sainsbury's after work then.

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49232

So does superglue, go use that.

Wullie · **Joined:** 27th Jun, 2008 **Posts:** 6183

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Anything I should be aware of using that instead?

I'm not sure how well it'd work, but if it's setting too firm add more water & if it's not setting at all there's either too much water or you've spoiled it with too much heat.

Personally I'd hang on till I sourced some pectin.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Craster wrote:

So does superglue, go use that.

You should write a cook book.

Zardoz · **Posted:** Thu Oct 15, 2009 15:57

Boil down DavSpaz I'd imagine it would be as dense as pectin.

DavPaz · **Joined:** 27th Jun, 2008 **Posts:** 38464

Zardoz wrote:

Boil down DavSpaz I'd imagine it would be as dense as pectin.

At least I'd taste good. Nicely marbled, me.

The Egg · **Joined:** 16th Aug, 2008 **Posts:** 412

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Tonight I am making chicken dhansak

I am massively jealous, I haven't tried that recipe.

How did it work out? How did the pilau rice come out? I found that particular pilau rice method was really forgiving if you had overcooked the rice, the bit of time in the oven helps dry it out should it be going a bit stodgy.

And the big question, did you save me some? Did you? You'd better have, you mo fo.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

The Egg wrote:

How did it work out?

Absolutely splendidly. I made some modifications though: http://cookbook.eggwan.com/index.php/Chicken_Dhansak

(hey, look at that URL! What's that, I wonder?!)

Quote:

How did the pilau rice come out? I found that particular pilau rice method was really forgiving if you had overcooked the rice, the bit of time in the oven helps dry it out should it be going a bit stodgy.

Spot on. That's the recipe I used last time you were over -- when we nearly went to see Inglorious Basterds at 11pm.

Quote:

And the big question, did you save me some? Did you? You'd better have, you mo fo.

Get fucked. "Serves 2-3", me and Toby nommed the lot. Come over this weekend and I'll make it again.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

My chilli jam didn't set. Well, it was still runny this morning, which I'm guessing is wrong.

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49232

Yes. When I looked at the picture, it didn't look right. How long was it simmering for, and did you follow the recipe?

BikNorton · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 10078

Whoever it was said they were going to make pizza this weekend - if you were planning on following my dough recipe, note I've just fixed the water quantity. It would've been a bit dry before (it was 30ml short).

Made it yesterday - 2.5tsp of yeast, 6 hours in the fridge, and 30-45 minutes rising in a slightly warm oven (with tea towel draped over to keep moist) gave a pair of very nicely risen, crisp, tasty bases. After taking the bases out, remember to pre-heat your oven to the very highest setting it has before whacking the sauced-and-topped pizzas in to bake.

Also, when tearing the freezer bag post-fridging, don't immediately stick your nose in and take a deep inhale. Not a pleasant experience.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Craster wrote:

Yes. When I looked at the picture, it didn't look right. How long was it simmering for, and did you follow the recipe?

1.5 hours, and yes, I followed the recipe. 12 chillis, one red pepper, fry, blend, water, 400g sugar, simmer, pectin, cool, jar.

It's still tasty (and rather lively). Just runny.

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49232

Oh. Jam's weird.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Craster wrote:

Oh. Jam's weird.

I suppose I could warm it back through and add more pectin as it cools again?

Rodafowa · **Posted:** Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:28

I'm giving pizza a go this weekend. I am excited. The family is terrified.

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49232

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

Craster wrote:

Oh. Jam's weird.

I suppose I could warm it back through and add more pectin as it cools again?

Yep. Might be worth adding more sugar and simmering for a bit longer.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Craster wrote:

Yep. Might be worth adding more sugar and simmering for a bit longer.

Roger.

I am going to try this pizza malarky too. It's the wave of the future.

Goddess Jasmine · **Posted:** Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:40

I bought pizza base ingredients yesterday too.

Can anyone recommend a breadmaker? I know a couple of people said that Panasonic were the best?

BikNorton · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 10078

My Russell Hobbs one can be a bit bad during the initial mixing. I will often be seen leaping in 1) scrape oily bits off the basket walls with a spoon and 2) tipping the entire machine at various steep angles so the dough bundle drops into the corners to collect stray flour. It hasn't got a tilt sensor, thankfully.

That and the basket has quite a small floorplan but is very tall (they all suffer this to varying degrees). Slices of bread are enormous. I want a split-tin so I can have very long*, narrow, shallow loaves instead. No-one sells them.

* Yes, long loaf is long.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32619

Goddess Jasmine wrote:

Can anyone recommend a breadmaker? I know a couple of people said that Panasonic were the best?

Which? are all over the Morphy Richards models:

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49232

I've got the Panasonic SD253, and it's fucking brilliant. Works flawlessly every single time, no matter what oddities I throw at it.

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THE BETEO COOKBOOK
Lush Spanish Omelette first!