Easy Sausage and Bean Casserole...Spring is here!!

Easy Sausage and Bean Casserole...it is officially Spring...the Sun has started showing up at least once a week…Blossom trees and Magnolias are everywhere (seen my Instagram?)…the days are warming up…but the nights are still chilly enough around my neck of the woods and perfect for this no fuss hearty meal…actually, to be honest except for probably thirty days in a year Casseroles always seem like a good idea here! J
 

Easy Sausage and Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

• Good Quality Pork Sausages, any kind you like, 6-8
• Rindless Streaky Bacon, 4-6 rashers
• Onion, finely sliced, 1 large
• Garlic, finely chopped, 2-3 cloves
• Potato, peeled and quartered, 1 large
• Carrots, peeled and each carrot cut into 4-5 even pieces, 2
• Chopped Tomatoes, 1 X 400 gm can
• Chicken Stock, 400 ml
• Butter beans, 1 X 400 gm can (*refer to notes)
• Kidney beans in Chilli Sauce, 1 x 400 gm can (*refer to notes)
• Fresh Rosemary or Fresh Thyme, 2-3 sprigs
• Smoked Paprika, 1 tsp
• Chilli powder or Chilli Flakes, ½ tsp (optional)
• Bayleaves, 1-2
• Worcestershire Sauce, 1 tbsp (optional)
• Brown Sugar, 1 tsp (you can skip if you want but it helps to cut down on acidity from the tomatoes)
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Oil, 1 tbsp

Instructions:

Prick the sausages all over with a fork so that they don’t split open as they cook.

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed casserole and fry the sausages for about 10 minutes, turning often, until nicely browned all over. Remove the sausages from the pan and set aside.

Add the chopped bacon pieces to the casserole and fry till they begin to brown and crisp. Remove and add to the sausages.

Add the chopped onion to the casserole (there should be enough oil in the casserole from the sausages and bacon) and cook over a low heat for 5-10 minutes, until the onions soften.

Add the garlic and fresh rosemary/thyme sprigs and cook for a couple of more minutes until the onions start turning golden brown at the edges.

Add the smoked paprika, chilli powder, chopped potatoes and carrots and stir everything well so that the vegetables are well coated with the oil.

Stir in the tomatoes, stock, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and the bay leaves and bring to a simmer.

Return the sausages and bacon to the casserole.

Cover the casserole and continue to cook on low heat on the stove till the potatoes are cooked through or move to a preheated 180C oven for around 40 minutes or so till the potatoes are cooked through. ( I find the oven easier – I don’t need to check or stir)

Drain the butter beans and rinse them in a sieve under cold running water.

Stir the drained butter beans and kidney beans in chilli sauce into the casserole, and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes or so until the sauce thickens and beans are warmed through.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with rice or crusty bread or just some greens.

Notes:

• Use any beans of your choice.

• If using regular canned beans instead of canned beans in Chilli Sauce you would need to additionally add 1 tbsp tomato puree, ½ tsp cumin powder, ¼ tsp paprika, ¼ tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp mixed dried herbs, 100 ml water or stock per can to the casserole (add all this along with canned tomatoes, stock etc)

• Depending on what you are in the mood for and availability, feel free to play around with any permutations and combinations:

1. Skip the bacon.
2. Skip potatoes and carrots and instead serve with mash and greens.
3. Add chunks of coloured peppers after frying the onions.
4. Add thinly sliced wedges of fennel bulb.
5. Sub potatoes with sweet potatoes.
6. Use only 1 can of beans or completely skip the beans.
7. Stir in chopped fresh spinach or frozen spinach along with the beans.
8. Add about 100 ml wine (red or white) after frying the veggies and reduce the stock amount to 300 ml.
9. Skip Worcestershire Sauce and add a tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar.
10. Top with herb spiked fresh breadcrumbs and grill for a couple of minutes till breadcrumbs are golden crisp before serving.

Chicken Tikka Masala...Celebrating National Curry Week!!

Chicken Tikka Masala…It's National Curry week in Britain this week and it is but natural that Butter Chicken for this Delhi girl will change to Chicken Tikka Masala ‘cause “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, right? J...a couple of differences between the original Butter Chicken (although there are a million different versions of Butter Chicken floating around, each one claiming to be authentic) and the Brit version of it – mustard oil is skipped  and onions are added (and also added is an extra dose of sugar and cream!!) The one thing I refuse to do is use chicken breast for this – my conscience didn’t allow me to use chicken breast in a curry!! So here goes, my version of the Chicken Tikka Masala…

Chicken Tikka Masala

• Chicken Thighs Fillets, boneless and skinless, 500  gms/ about 6-7

First Marination:

• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt, ½ tsp

Second Marination:

• Fresh Ginger paste, 1 tbsp
• Fresh Garlic paste, 1 tbsp
• Kashmiri Red Chili powder, 1 tbsp (for colour, or use paprika)
• Cumin powder, 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder, 1 tsp
• Tomato paste, 1 tsp (helps with the colour, optional)
• Plain Greek Yogurt, 4 tbsp (or hang normal yogurt/dahi in a cheesecloth for an hour or so to drain out the water and then use)
• Oil, 1 tsp

For the sauce:

• Onions, finely chopped, 1 small
• Tomatoes, finely chopped, 400 gms/ about 4-5 medium size
• Tomato paste, 1 tbsp (you can substitute with 2 tbsp of packaged tomato puree or even some tomato ketchup. If using ketchup, go easy on the sugar or may just have to skip the sugar later)
• Green cardamom, 2-3
• Black Cardamom, 1(optional but gives a nice smoky taste)
• Cloves, 3-4
• Cinnamon, 1” stick
• Fresh Ginger paste, 1 tbsp
• Fresh Garlic paste, 1 tbsp
• Water, 1 cup/250ml + ½ cup or more/less as needed
• Ghee/Butter, 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
• Kashmiri Red Chili powder, 1 tbsp (for colour or use paprika)
• Green chilies, split into two, 1-2 (remove seeds and membrane if you want)
• Red Chili powder, ½ tsp or to taste (for heat)
• Sugar or Honey, ½ - 1 tsp or to taste ( depends on how tart the tomatoes are)
• Salt, to taste
• Garam masala powder, ½ tsp
• Kasoori methi/Dried fenugreek leaves, 1 tsp (dry roast in a pan or microwave for about 20 seconds and crush between your palms into a fine powder)
• Single Cream, 3-4 tbsp
• Lemon juice, if needed
• Fresh coriander and/or fresh green chilies to garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Slash the chicken thighs at an angle 3-4 times to ensure the marinade will seep in. Put the chicken in a non reactive bowl and add lemon juice and salt. Mix well and leave to marinate for about half an hour.

Whip all the ingredients mentioned under the second marinade list in a small bowl. Add to the chicken, stir well to coat, cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 4-5 hours. Bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking.

Grind the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom seeds to a smooth fine powder using a pestle and mortar or a spice/coffee grinder. (If you don’t have either, you can add the whole spices while cooking the onions and fish them out before blending the sauce)

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a large non stick pan over medium low heat. If using whole spices, add now and let them crackle in the oil for about 10 seconds. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and fry till fragrant.

Add the onions and fry until soft and starting to turn golden brown. Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste and the ground cardamom, clove and cinnamon powder.

Mix well and cook down the tomatoes till the release oil on the sides of the pan, about 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring and cook for a further 10 minutes or so till the colour of the tomatoes darkens a little more.

Add in 1 cup of water, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Switch off the heat and let the sauce cool a bit. If you have used whole spices, fish them out of the sauce now.

Using am immersion blender or food processor, puree the sauce until smooth and then pass through a fine mesh sieve to remove any seeds or skin that may have remained. Discard the solids and set the liquid aside. 

Meanwhile, heat your grill/broiler to the highest setting or heat the oven to 240 C. Place the chicken on a foil lined baking sheet and place the tray on the topmost level in the oven. Cook for about 4–5 minutes on each side, until nicely charred at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes before cutting into bite sized chunks. The chicken will still be pink inside – it will be cooked in the curry later.

Heat the remaining 1 tbsp ghee/butter on low heat. Add in the Kashmiri red chili powder and green chilies. Sauté on low heat for about 8-10 seconds – adding Kashmiri red chili powder at this stage in oil gives a deeper colour to the dish but don’t allow it to burn.

Add the pureed sauce back into the pan with about ½ cup of water, bring to a boil on high heat and then allow to simmer for 4–5 minutes.

Check for seasonings and add salt, sugar, and red chili powder (and more Kashmiri red chili powder if needed to get the colour you want).

Add in the chicken chunks, half of the cream, fenugreek leaves, garam masala powder and simmer stirring often for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked and the sauce consistency is to your liking.

Stir in the remaining cream. Taste and adjust the balance if needed by adding more salt, sugar, lemon juice or cream. 

Garnish with chopped coriander and/or fresh green chilies and serve hot with naan or paranthas.

Notes:

• The amount of Kashmiri Red Chili powder you need to use will depend on the tomatoes and the final colour of the dish you are looking for. Please do adjust to your liking.

Chili Con Carne...when in Rome!!

Chili Con Carne…The British Chili Con Carne is exactly like the British Chicken Tikka Masala…if done right – delicious! But if you have eaten the original stuff you end up confused…very, very confused!!  Thanks to my erstwhile job, have had the good fortune of gorging on both the TexMex and the Texan Chili plenty of times (and have a couple of mean recipes for both) so I was all curious to try the British version…and did so within a couple of weeks of landing in London…decided that neither the chili nor the chicken tikka masala was for us (not enough depth, overly sweet and not cooked enough)…until I decided to give it a try myself...read up on a whole lot of different recipes and the one below is a mish-mash of all that…have made it a few times now and the man always complains that I don’t make enough…so I guess it is worth sharing as well J (more on that Chicken Tikka Masala in another post) 

Chili Con Carne

Ingredients:

• Beef Mince, 500 gms
• Onion, chopped, 2 medium large
• Garlic cloves, finely chopped, 2-3
• Cumin powder, 2 tsp
• Coriander powder, 2 tsp
• Fresh Red chili, finely chopped, 1-2 or to taste
• Cayenne Pepper or Red chili powder, 1 tsp
• Paprika or Kashmiri red chili powder, 2 tsp
• All spice, ½ tsp
• Bayleaf, 1
• Red Kidney Beans, canned 400 gms, drained and rinsed  or about  1 ½ cups of boiled/cooked kidney beans ( ½ cup dried kidney beans will result in approximately  1 ½ cups of cooked kidney beans)
• Chopped Tomatoes, canned 400 gms, or 5-6 tomatoes chopped with their juices or 2 cups of chopped tomatoes with their juices
• Tomato paste, 2 tbsp or 4-6 tbsp of packaged tomato puree (1 tbsp of tomato paste = 2-3 tbsp of packaged tomato puree, start with less and then add more as required)
• Beef stock, 400 ml (made with 1 beef stock cube mixed with hot water)  plus more stock or hot water if needed
• Sugar, 1 tsp
• Balsamic Vinegar, 1 tbsp
• Dark bitter chocolate, grated or chopped, 1 small piece
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Oil, 1 tbsp

To serve:

• Steamed Rice or Crusty bread
• Sour cream (recipe here)
• Coriander leaves
• Lime  wedges

Instructions:

Heat the oil in deep heavy bottom pan on medium heat.  Add in the chopped onions and fry till onions go soft.

Add in the red chili, garlic, cumin powder, coriander powder, cayenne pepper, paprika and all spice. Stir and fry on low heat for 4-5 minutes – stir continuously and don’t let the spices burn.

Increase the heat to high and tip in the mince. Stir and keep breaking up the mince till it is well browned.

Add in the bayleaf, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Stir and mix well and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add in the stock and let the mix come to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat, cover the pan and leave to simmer for about 40- 45 minutes. Stir intermittently to ensure the meat doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. After simmering the sauce should look thick and moist.

Add in the kidney beans, chocolate and let the sauce simmer uncovered for another 20 minutes or so.

Adjust consistency – simmer uncovered if too saucy to your liking, add more stock/water if too thick.

Let the chili rest for at least an hour before serving to let the flavours develop (I keep mine in the fridge overnight and reheat to serve the next day. I keep it a little saucy when cooking and adjust consistency the next day on heating while serving)