Category: cumin

Categories
cheese chicken coriander cumin food tortilla

chicken hawaij quesadillas

chicken hawaij quesadillas

Cultures collide in one of my favourite sandwiches: the quesadilla. Hawaij is a Lebanese Jewish spice mix, with a lovely cardamom perfume kick. Wedged into some tortillas with cheese and chicken, I could eat this kind of thing all day.

Chicken hawaij quesadillas:

For the hawaij mix:

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Crushed seeds of 2 cardamom pods (discard pods)

2 chicken breasts, diced

4 flour tortillas

1 red onion, sliced

A couple of handfuls of grated cheese

Chopped coriander leaves

Creme fraiche and salsa to serve

  1. Mix all the hawaij ingredients together and marinate the chicken for at least an hour.
  2. Fry the onion in a pan for a minute, then add the chicken mixture. Continue to stir fry until the chicken is cooked through, then set to one side.
  3. Lay a tortilla out, sprinkle some cheese on it, add some chicken then top with more cheese and a blast of coriander. Sandwich another tortilla on top.
  4. In a dry pan fry the tortilla sandwich, pressing down to glue it together. Keep your nose peeled for burning smells, you want to catch it about a minute before this! Flip over and fry the other side.
  5. Cut into wedges and munch with a scoop each of creme fraiche and salsa, or guacamole if that’s your thing.
Categories
coriander cumin curry food lamb potatoes

lamb keema sag with rosti topping

lamb keema sag with rosti topping

This is a recipe I’ve plucked from the pages of the April delicious magazine. I seem to be drawn to each every curry-style recipe at the moment – I’ve another planned for Sunday! This one seemed utterly irresistible, with spicy, rich lamb combined with a crisp potato topping.

I decreased the chilli for my version – we prefer it a little milder – and I’ve been off sweet potatoes since the awful barefoot contessa persuaded me that combining them with orange juice would be a good idea. Those changes made, the cook was on. I begins as a pan stir-fry, then finished in the oven to cook out the potato topping. The trickiest bit is draining the potato of excess water – I need to think of a way to squeeze them out without scalding myself. That aside, this was enormously satisfying. Filling, savoury, meaty and a dense mouthful on every fork. Very tasty indeed.

Lamb keema sag with rosti topping:

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ chilli powder

2 onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

500g lamb mince

300ml lamb stock

1 tin tomatoes

300g spinach

1 teaspoon garam masala

Juice of ½ lemon

2 maris piper potatoes, grated

  1. Fry the seeds in a dry pan for 1 – 2 minutes until fragrant. Grind to a powder and mix with the turmeric and chilli.
  2. In the same pan fry one of the onions with the garlic and ginger for a few minutes until softened. Tip the ground spices into this.
  3. Fry the lamb until browned. Tip away the excess fat and add the stock and tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes until the lamb is tender and the sauce has thickened. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  4. Wilt the spinach in a colander by pouring over boiling water. Immediately run under cold water and squeeze off excess liquid. Add this to the mince with lemon and garam masala. Check for seasoning.
  5. Back in the colander repeat the boiling water trick with the potatoes and other onion. Tip onto a tea towel and squeeze out the excess liquid. Mix with a little oil and season, then spread on top of the mince.
  6. Put the pan into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until browned in top.
Categories
chilli cinnamon coriander cumin food nutmeg

garam masala

garam masala

Another year, another excuse to rustle up a garam masala. This year, a heavy lean on the aniseed flavours: star anise, cinnamon, chillis, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, bay leaves, a whole nutmeg all roasted in a low oven until aromatic. Blitz to dust.

Categories
coriander cumin food salad steak

cumin and coriander steak salad

cumin and coriander steak salad

It may be a touch early in the year for this dish but I got a real craving for this earthy yet refreshing combination. The citrussy crackle of coriander with the deep earthiness of cumin can’t be beat when matched with a full-on red meat like this rump steak. Couple it with a refreshing and zingy salad and you’ve got something I could eat every day. This is a steak that should definitely be on the rare side, for succulence and fresh flesh flavours. Try and match it with a herby and peppery leaf mix for a very satisfying combination.

Cumin and coriander steak salad:

300g rump steak

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

For the salad:

Mixed leaves

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Dash of soy sauce

  1. Heat a griddle pan to dead hot. Pound the seeds together with a couple of black peppercorns in a pestle and mortar until crumbly (but not dust). Sprinkle this mixture over both sides of the steak and press in with your fingers.
  2. Lay the steak on the pan and allow to cook, unmoved, for 2 – 3 mins. (At this point I like to turn 45 degrees ish for a criss-cross pattern). Turn over and cook for another 2 -3 mins, or until browned but with plenty of give when pressed with a finger.
  3. Remove the steak to a hot plate to rest while you make the salad dressing. Whisk all the liquid ingredients together and toss with mixed leaves.
  4. Sprinkle sea salt over the steak and lay on the salad leaves. Dribble any remaining dressing over the lot.
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