Lessons in frying squid



Breaded Squid (some not) with Garlic and Saffron Mayonnaise

If you like seafood you probably love fried calamari. It's a beach holiday classic. Deep frying calamari sounds simple enough. It really isn't. Ask me. I've just had a less than perfect experience. I had a bag of frozen squid rings in the freezer which I was quite keen to dispatch. So straight from work, into the kitchen.

Now there are quite a few ways you could go about deep frying calamari. You could use a tempura style batter, with egg, iced water and flour, spices. You could bread the stuff. You could make a beer batter, just the way you would for battering fish. The beer, with all its bubbles makes the batter crispy and light. You could make a simple batter and replace the beer with a tad of baking soda. Hell, you could even use a dry batter. Simply a concoction of seasoned flours to toss the squid in before frying.

I remember seeing a recipe where the squid had been first dunked in the thick batter, then breaded before frying. Now, I am a sucker for extra crispy squid and this seemed like the way to go.

For the wet batter:

1. Plain flour
2. Maize flour. This was my addition. Thought the course grain would give a bit more of a bite. It is the yellow flour in the picture, if you were wondering quantities.
3. Salt and pepper
4. Some crushed paprika
5. A little baking soda for some lift
6. 2 cloves of crushed garlic

You can pretty much put whatever you want into your batter. Within reason of course. A bit of 5 spice would be great for that oriental flavour. Maybe even a bit of peanut or sesame oil. Add a little water to the dry mix and whisk to make a thickish batter. I think this is where I made my first mistake. My batter wasn't thick enough. But do as I say, not as I do. Too watery and the crumbs won't stick like they ought to.

On a plate spread out some breadcrumbs. Using stale bread is the best. You'll get nice, dry crumbs. Second mistake. I used fresh bread and put the crumbs in the oven to dry a bit. Not good enough. I had used dry crumbs when I had fried goat brains some time ago and I know how good it can be. A little tip - mix a bit of crushed up rusk with the bread crumbs. The crunch will reverberate in your cranium for a second or two.

Heat some oil in a heavy bottomed utensil. I used sunflower oil. Use anything that will not leave a smell. When the oil gets to 190'c - yes there is a right temperature too. I checked with my newly acquired meat thermometer if you should know - dip the squid in the wet batter, coat with the bread crumbs, and pop them into the oil. Keep one hand dry to handle the crumbs. Wet the crumbs and you'll have lumps the size of melons. Silly mistake number three.

Fry the squid for only a few moment and pull them out onto kitchen paper. Too much and you rather eat the sole of your shoe.

The mayonnaise was ready-made, with added crushed garlic and saffron. Works wonderfully.

Getting your greens down

Broccoli is effectively nothing but glorified cauliflower, but when you have tried to grow some of your own and failed, a successful harvest is nothing short of green gold. My broccoli this year was a resounding success. There was quite a lot of it. Some got distributed to friends and family, some got pureed and put in the freezer for soups, some got cooked and some got boiled until kingdom come and murdered! I have learnt that I have to get the broccoli in me or in the freezer as soon as I can as the stuff doesn't keep well at all in the Indian weather.

One of the lots

I got back from work the other day and thought this one up in the shower. I remember ordering a bowl of chili broccoli at a restaurant in London - I can't remember which one though - and getting a disappointing bowl of what seemed like Blue Dragon Sweet Chili Sauce drenched greens. So here's my attempt at doing my hard earned veg some justice.

I broke up one broccoli into flowerettes and sliced up the stems. I keep all of the stems. Its all good.

Chop up some garlic like you are French, some dried red chillies, and some lemon rind. Finely chop the lemon rind. Don't go by the picture otherwise you'll be brushing your tongue for a week.

In some extra virgin olive oil fry off the chillies and lemon rind followed by the garlic. Throw in the part steamed broccoli. I steam mine for only about 2 minutes. There's absolutely no point if you are going to cook the living daylights out of the damn thing till it turns a sickly fungus green.

Toss the broccoli around in the pan and trickle on a spoonful of honey. The honey gave it a nice glaze of sweetness and balanced the deep heat of the dried chillies quite well.

And there you have it. A bowl of Sweet Chili Broccoli that will be remembered for all the right reasons.

Watch this space to see what becomes of my Gujarat record breaking turnip.  

Thank you for smoking

The only agenda this Sunday was food. Food that roams free, frolics in the forest, food you need a keen eye and a keen shot to pot. Food that got away. Again. There is an old shikaari protocol of taking some potatoes on a shoot for times exactly like these. But we weren't too far away from the comforts of a fully loaded kitchen and frugality could be foregone.

There was some talk with a fellow cook about smoking fish a weekend ago and I had been itching to try my hand at that. Not exactly Scottish Smoked Salmon or a Mackerel Kipper, but the first attempt was most definitely worth the effort. Decided to go with a fatty sea fish. Fat's a great carrier of flavour, the best, and keeps the fish from drying out. Managed to lay my hands on 2, 1.5 kilo Groupers. Head removed, gutted, finned and scaled.

The one for the smoker was rubbed down with salt and garlic granules. I can't imagine smoked fish without buckets of salt and besides, it draws out the moisture and leaves you with a nice crunchy skin. Not exactly pork scratchings, but if you like piggy fat, you like fish fat. And trust you me, there is more fat in a nice sized grouper than you would imagine. The fish was left to lie over night.

Ready for the smoker

To hot smoke the fish we dug a pit in the ground, fired up some coal till they were white hot and laid on some water soaked logs. An assortment of logs. Some mango, others I didn't recognise. Next time I am tempted to use some packing wood, pine. I am told pine soaks up water and keeps flames at bay. The smoking pit was then covered with the top-slotted drum, courtesy of  a well-meaning oil company. They are just misunderstood. A little like Hitler. We did have trouble with flames here and the fat dripping off the fish did not help. The drum had to be lifted a few times to kill the fire. Who needs fingers anyway!

The fish was lowered into the drum for about an hour, head side down because that'll get a lot more heat. To be entirely honest with you. The fish was even a little grilled, having failed to keep the flames dead. But you live and you learn eh? Next time I am tempted to try a cold smoker where the smoke pit is further away from the smoking chamber. Might even pass the smoke through a pipe buried in the ground to cool the smoke before it reaches the meat. Then I could leave the fish to really pile on the flavour over a few hours, even a day.



Smoked Garlic Grouper

Cover the drum with a wet sack and watch the sinister contraption steam. I let the smoked fish cool before digging in. Will stay in the fridge for a few days and superb in sandwiches. I am already planning the next smoking. A ham maybe. Maybe even a humble chicken. Watch this space. 

One fish good. Two? Great. The second Grouper was barbecued. Masala style.

For the marinade:

• Green chilies
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Lime juice
• Salt to taste
• Turmeric

That's all I think. I did not marinade this one. I was in charge of the grilling. I charred the fish on both sides for a few minutes each and then popped it into the oven for about 10 minutes at 180 C. Again the fat made the barbecue flame like hell and after failed attempts of raising the grill modern technology was resorted to.

Whacking the fish in the oven made the skin go a little soggy. But on the plus side all the juices weren't lost. The fat drenched gravy would have gone great with some bread. I just drank mine!

Curry in a hurry

Here's a quick chicken curry for those days when you feel like cooking something that isn't overly complicated. I am not a big fan of the curry powders that come in little packets, but I have to admit that I have used them in the past. But no more! If you are medically fit to hold a knife - do not have Parkinson's - you can do this one with no bother whatsoever.

1)

Throw some curd onto 6 pieces of chicken. With bone preferably.

2)

In a little bit of water soak what you see. If you can't identify the contents and roughly count then please abort at this stage. Wash the chicken and put it back where it came from. Quitely.

3) 

Fry 2 small onions till they are brown and set aside.

4) 

Fry another 3 small onions (very finely chopped) till golden brown and then add garlic and ginger paste. About 2 tablespoons of each. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Keep stirring.

5) 

Lay on the chicken. Leave the excess curd in the bowl. One and a little tablespoons of coriander powder, half a table spoon of turmeric and one table spoon of red chili powder. Heaped? Why not. I'd recommend going heavy handed on the spice. Put in the browned onions from step 1.

6)

Mix like your life depends on it.

7)

Put in the soaked spices with the water, turn the flame to medium and cover. If you have an electric hob, abort at this stage. Bin the contents of the pan and jump out the nearest window. Your life is worthless and no body loves you.

If you have a gas hob, stir occasionally. Put a little salt to get the water in the chicken on its way. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

8)

Add some warm water, the remaining curd and one decent sized tomato (chopped) and cover. Simmer till tender. adjust seasoning. A little fresh coriander goes a very long way.

9)

Eat left-overs cold, with white bread, for breakfast.

Multi-cuisine. No, really!

I haven't been getting as much time as I used to to cook, let alone to write about food. Still eating well though. A lot of time is spent reminiscing about the good grub of the near past. And given that despite being technologically backward I went and got myself a BlackBerry, I thought it might be a good idea to use my thumbs while on a flight to Bangalore. Speaking of which - I haven't had a good Dosa in a while. Pretty fed up of the Shiv Sagar type nonsense. Before that though I have a reheated meal out of a plastic container to look forward to!

Anyway, the past - one of my long held food beliefs was challenged in Goa recently. I am generally quite sceptical of food in multi-cuisine joints. May have something to do with all those road side laaris that  read - Punjabi and Chinees/Chines (or something to that effect) Food. In this country Chinese and Punjabi seems to cover 75% of what can possibly come out of a kitchen.

If you've been to Goa, seen a typical menu at a shack and have the same apprehensions as I do, you wouldn't think of a shack as a place you'd go to for a meal - more like a place to go eat when you are slightly incapacitated by all the drinking. There are plenty of good, proper, restaurants in Goa. Many a portion of fried and quite a few Veg Manchurians later (thanks to my vegetarian friend) we chanced upon Bay View, in Candolim. The shack spots  on the beaches get auctioned every year and Bay View has been around for 15. The menu is very typical, but order your food, from all over the world, and you'll know why I give the little joint special mention and a solid recommendation.

The ordinary shack with an extra-ordinary kitchen

I did'nt hold back and ordered a Prawn Vindaloo (pronounced Vind-Aaloo I am told by a trusted beef griller), a Goan Prawn Curry and a Goan Sausage Curry. All with rice and rotis.




Prawn Vindaloo

 

fore - Prawn Curry, following - Goan Sausage Currry

The prawn dishes were superb, but it was the Goan Sausage Curry that really did it for me.  The Goan Pork sausage was cooked in a spicy gravy with potatoes. Quite full-on on the flavour front. Garlic, paprika, quite like a Chorizo. Very much like a Chorizo in fact! Now a lot of people will turn their nose away from a Goan sausage. Something to do with eating something that eats something  that's already been eaten. - don't care. The damn thing is delicious. So Bay View scored on the Goan cuisine. And it should. It's in Goa after all.

And then came the surprise. Surprises rather. The Paneer Pasanda that the friend (he isn't really) ordered. Fantastic. Better than what I've eaten at most Punjabi or Muglai places. The richness of the cashews really came through. Its wasn't cooked in a hurry and you could tell. Another  friend ordered a Spaghetti Bolognese. Brilliant again. Pasta was al dente, the tomato sauce was subtly flavoured (not something we Indians do well) and richly tomatoey!

Truly a multi-cuisine joint. A must go next time you are around during the season.

The Catholic Coronary

Sitting at Curlies on Anjuna beach in Goa, as hungover as Jesus after the last supper, I didn't even bother looking at the menu. If I was in Goa, I had to eat a Sorpotel. I have heard about this Catholic Goan dish, made with pork and vinegar. A curry, quite like a Vindaloo (also a Portuguese import)  - if you are British, it's nothing like the Indo-British crap you are thinking of. Don't know when you'd eat a Sorpotel, but I am pretty sure its not a breakfast item. Just thought a curry would do the system some good, and a beer of course. And trust you me, I don't think you will find an oilier curry.


"Eat my dust Deep Fried Mars Bar"

Even though it was my first Sorpotel, I am pretty sure it wasn't a very good one. Now, I am all up for grease but when there is more oil than curry, not good. But devour it in record time, get a few beers in you and lie in the sun, and you have the perfect cure for a sore head!
Sorpotel is one of those dishes that each family has its own recipe to. I am told pork is used with offal, pork liver mainly. Couldn't taste any liver in mine though. The meat is sauteed in a tangy vinegar sauce and the thing is said to get better as it gets a little older. True for all curries this! Had mine with rice. May not have been the best of sorpotels but a solid breakfast nonetheless. Hangover cured and stomach lined for another day in Goa.

Roast Venison on Creamed Wild Mushrooms with Rosemary & Garlic Tatties and Snowpeas

I normally let the meat dictate what I cook. The sauce, condiments, even the presentation follows. At the Borough Market, in the vegetable section we spotted a mushroom stall that looked as welcoming as anything that doesn't bleed can possibly look. A sniff of the mushrooms and I was sold. I was having some even if only for a sauce. I recognised the Oysters (my grandmother used to grown some) and the Chanterelles. The other two I did find out about but my bird brain now fails me. So this dish started with half a brown paper bag-full of an assortment of these four types of fungi and then the search for the meat was on.

Considered fish, duck, even pigeon but finally settled on some venison. Wild venison if I might add (to make it all sound overly posh). Got the butcher to cut us a portion out of a rolled haunch. Had settled on Creamed Wild Mushrooms as the side and though game would go down a treat. Could have done some beef. There was some great looking Highland beef on the counter, but hadn't had venison in a while. Part Christmas indulgence too.

Preparing the venison to roast:-
The venison was rubbed down with some olive oil and pepper and then rolled around in a generous slug of red wine. Put with it a bay leaf and let sit for a bit. I refrained from putting any salt in at this stage should it draw moisture out of the meat while it stood.

For the Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes:-
Half some new potatoes and part boil them, leaving them just a little crunchy. To finish these heat some olive oil, with some butter for added richness and gleam.  Put into the pan some rosemary, fresh or dry, and some cloves of garlic, smashed but skin intact. The skin will prevent the garlic from burning crisp and imparting a bitter flavour to the potatoes. Without much further ado add the potatoes. Skin side down if I may recommend. I find that nicely browning the skin first will preserve the structural integrity of your tatties.

Cooking Bambi:-
Heat some oil in a baking tray, on the hob. Once smoking, seal off the rolled venison joint. As the meat hits the hot oil you'll get a lovely sweet smell from those sugars in the wine. Once sealed off nicely, pour into the tin  the rest  of the wine from the marinade. I like my meat rear, blue even, and I put the 380 gram joint into a oven at 220'c for about 17 minutes. Lay the cooked meat on a chopping board and cover with foil to rest for about 5.

For the Creamed Wild Mushrooms:-
DO NOT wash the mushrooms. If you don't have a mushroom brush then use a clean basting brush. Wash nice mushrooms in water and you lose some of the goodness. In a pan heat butter, introduce the mushrooms and add a pince of salt and pepper. Just as the mushrooms begin to soften add a few tablespoon fulls of double cream. Till the cream coats the shrooms. Taste and adjust seasoning. Do not cook the crap out of the mushrooms. A little texture goes a long way. Do all of this while the meat rests, should not take more than 4-5 minutes.

Oh yes, blanched some snowpeas to add a touch of green to the dish.

I did not want to drench the mushrooms in cream and the venison in cream sauce. I arranged nice chunky slices of venison on the Creamed Mushrooms, with only a very little drizzle of cream on the meat. Seasoned the meat once plated with coarse sea salt. The tatties and greens on the side.

Now I could go on about how everything worked so well, but I am not going to. But I will say this - it was all damn bloody good!

Roast Venison on Creamed Wild Mushrooms with Rosemary & Garlic Tatties and Snowpeas