Goan Fish Curry

A traditional fish curry from south-west part of India - Goa. Like most of the Goan food, this dish is hot and delicious....especially for those who love shellfish and spicy food.
Fish is a staple food in the Goan cuisine, but also includes all types of meat and vegetables, each cooked in its on unique way. Traditional Goan food is cooked on a wood fire that brings extra, unique flavor which no gourmet chef can duplicate in the modern day kitchen.
Almost all the food in Goa is served along rice. This style of fish curry is tangy and spicy.
Today I will present you my way of doing this delicious dish. I like this curry with large Tiger Prawns but you can use any shell fish or any fish with firm flesh.
Goan Fish Curry Recipe  for 10 portions
Goan  Curry Paste
5 whole red chilies or 2 tbs. crushed dry chilies
2 tsp. coriander powder from
2 tsp. cumin Seeds
2 tsp. turmeric powder
2 tsp. roughly chopped garlic
2 tbsp. roughly chopped ginger
1 tbsp. tamarind paste
To make the paste add all the ingredients to a blender with 5cl of water.

For the curry
1kg of clean mix shell fish (prawns, scallops, baby octopus, mussels)
1kg of large tiger prawns
coconut oil for frying
500gr diced onions
500gr chopped tomatoes
400 ml coconut Milk
4 green chilies deseeded.
500 ml ready fish bullion
Salt to taste.
Heat the coconut oil in a pot or wok. Add onions and sauté well until golden brown. Add the Goan paste to it and then add the chopped tomatoes and cook on low for about 2-3 minutes.
Add coconut Milk and fish bullion and bring to boil. Add salt to taste.
Add shell fish and green chilies to it and let it simmer for 5-7 Minutes.
For the Tiger Prawns
1kg of large tiger prawns
2 tsp. butter
2 clove of garlic crushed
juice from one lemon
Cook the tiger prawns on the grill, brushed with butter, garlic and lemon juice.
To serve
I serve this curry with plain boiled brown rice and some cucumber and yogurt salad with coriander and mint which makes for a balanced satisfying meal.
Garnish the Goan curry with grilled Tiger prawns and fresh coriander.

As well you can serve this with chapatis or popodomus, or simply on its own as a satisfying meal for lunch or dinner.
Enjoy!
You can buy all TRS spices here- www.real-spice.eu

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Prawns, bacon and corn Chowder

When the weather gets cold, I start thinking more about soups….hmm!...Corn Chowder with bacon ...
Anyway, this is one of those recipes that you can make any time of the year.
I am making this corn soup since I purchased my ‘’ The New Basics’’ cookbook back in the 2003. I have altered the recipe a little bit to suit my tastes and I think you are going to love it too because it always wins rave reviews for us.
Corn chowder is a great American dish and a large bowl with some crusty bread makes a welcome lunchtime meal on its own. Chowders can be modified and developed by adding smoked fish, crab, lobster or clams to become a personalize chowder. It should be thick and chunky and full of flavor and you should almost be able to stand the spoon up in it.
To make a good Corn Chowder, really rich, that will keep you coming back for more you need to use homemade stock in place of the water and cream rather than just milk.
This soup is creamy, is fishy and loaded with vegetables - onion, carrot, potatoes, and of course sweet corn. I made garlic croutons with salmon roe to go with the chowder. They were the perfect addition to this delicious meal.
The result? Well, I'll let you be the judge.
Here is my way:
PRAWNS, BACON AND CORN CHOWDER
Ingredients
- 100gr butter
- 300gr onions
- 200gr chopped crisp bacon
- 200gr diced carrots
- 200gr diced celery
- 500gr diced potatoes
- 1 -400gr cans kernel corn
- 20gr chopped parsley
- Salt, pepper,
- cayenne to taste (optional)
- 1 liter of lobster or shrimps stock
- 500gr chopped raw shrimp or small shrimps
- 100gr flour
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp. marjoram
- 500ml cream
-500gr Jumbo boiled shrimp
Directions
Melt the butter and saute the bacon, onions, celery, and carrots.

Stir in flour and cook 3 to 4 minutes.Add lobster stock and water to make a thin sauce.
Add diced potatoes, corn, small shrimps, lemon juice, marjoram, salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Simmer about 40 minutes. Add cream and bring to a boil.Just before serving, add in chopped parsley.
Garnish each serving with 1 jumbo shrimp and a crouton with salmon roe.


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Cream soups - Cauliflower, blue cheese and black truffle soup

Making homemade cream soups is more easier than you think!
On a cool autumn or cold winter day, there is nothing better than a thick, hot soup to warm the body. Our soups conventionally uses a chicken base for flavor, but you can also use vegetable base to make the soup vegetarian friendly( here you can find the recipe for a base).
Making a cream soup will also allow you control fat and salt levels, as you can opt for healthier versions on and with key ingredients.
Soup is easy to personalize and you can use whatever ingredients you have on hand and fridge. Today I will outline some general rules that will guide you to making great soup. Add vegetables at different times, depending on how long they take to cook. Root vegetables, such as potatoes and turnips should usually be added first, tender greens can be added 10 minutes before serving.You can puree all the soup or just part of it. Consider pureeing half of the soup and then mix it with the non pureed soup for a difference in textures.
All herbs and spices can be used to flavor the soup.If use woody herbs such as bay leaves or springs of fresh thyme or rosemary or whole spices...etc, combine in a small piece of cheesecloth (you can also use a tea ball) so that you can flavor the soup while it's cooking, but remove them before serving. You can flavor your soup before serving with a splash of wine, sherry, brandy or lemon juice.Top soups with a dollop of creme fraiche, sour cream or yogurt.

Garnish soups with crumbled bacon, chopped herbs or croutons.
Here is one of my favorite recipe:
CAULIFLOWER, BLUE CHEESE AND BLACK TRUFFLE SOUP
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4
1 medium cauliflower, trimmed and cut into small pieces, stalk included
50g butter or olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
1L chicken stock
250g blue cheese
100ml cream
50g crumbled blue cheese
10g fresh slices of black truffle
2 tablespoon white truffle oil
Melt butter in a large pot, add onion and celery and sweat over medium heat for a few minutes until softened and transparent. Add cauliflower, garlic and thyme and season lightly with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Add chicken stock and bring to the boil. Simmer covered for about 20 minutes or until cauliflower is soft.
Add cream and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, cool, then blend until really smooth and check the seasoning.

Serve in Martini glasses with crumbled blue cheese on top and garnish with fresh slices of black truffle and small drizzle of the white truffle oil. For a nice presentation, before serving add a small crouton made from tortilla and black salt.

Here are some other soups I made.

 Spicy tomato soup with mozzarela and anchovies foccacia.

 Lobster cream soup with salmon pate and salmon  roe.

 Roast pepper soup with fresh pesto bruscheta.

 Green peas soup with crisby bacon and sage.

 Smoked tomatoes soup with spicy popcorn.

Roast pepper soup with black truffle cheese and salmon roe.
Enjoy!

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Sorbet and Granita

Sorbet is a frozen dessert made from a syrup flavoured with fruits, juice or fruit puree, wine, tea, coffee, liqueurs or strong alcohol. Any type of fruit can be turned into a puree for sorbet, and can be sweetened with honey, syrups or sugar. I like to play with the texture and flavors in sorbets by making combinations such as lavender or green tea or chili vodka with chocolate pieces. As a chef I like to make my sorbets to complement the meal, so many times I use rosemary, tomato, beets or basil to make savoury sorbets. I serve sorbet between courses as a way to cleanse the palate before the main course or as a refreshing dessert in the summer. The good sorbets must have a soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture that comes from tiny ice crystals. The tiny crystals are achieved by getting just the right balance of sugar syrup to fruit juice or fruit puree and then constantly turning the mixture as it freezes. For these sorbets that I present you today you don't need an ice cream maker, for that I will use alcohol in these recipes (alcohol lowers the freezing temperature, resulting a soft texture). You need about 3-4 tablespoons of alcohol to 500ml of liquid sorbet for a soft-set style. Sugar and alcohol lower the freezing point, keeping the mixture from freezing into a rock-hard block of ice. For regular sorbets with no alcohol I recommend to use an ice cream machine. If you don't have one, mix the sorbet regularly with a fork as it freezes, or process it in a food processor once frozen. Many recipes suggest beating in egg whites to improve the texture of sorbet, but then you need to be sure of the eggs quality or to use pasteurised eggs (raw eggs may contain salmonella). My sorbets are made with no animal products, so are lower in fat and is suitable for vegetarians. Because sorbet are dense and intensely flavored, serve them in small scoops, so that it does not overwhelm the dinner. If the sorbet is too hard, a small amount of alcohol may be added to the mixture to soften it. Here I share with you some pictures of the sorbets I made this summer and the recipe for Margarita Granita, by far the best seller sorbet cocktail in the restaurant. Please fell free to experiment with your favorites flavor.

Margarita Granita

Ingredients for 20 nice portions

500ml water

250gr sugar

3-4 lime juice and zest

600ml fresh orange juice

2,5kg fresh or frozen strawberry

600ml gold tequila

450 ml brandy

Preparation

Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan, stirring mixture constantly until dissolved. Pour into a large bowl; add lime juice and zest, orange juice, strawberries, tequila and brandy. Blend until smooth puree with an hand blender or in a liquidizer.

Pour the mixture into a plastic container, and freeze until slushy, about 3 hours, then break up the mixture by running a fork through it several times.

Repeat every 2 hours or so, until the Granita is icy throughout, about 8 hours. It will not freeze hard, as alcohol has a very low freezing temperature.

To serve, scoop the Granita into martini glasses and garnish with a fruit slice, or mint leaves if desired. Serve quickly - its melts fast!

Or try this:

Mango Sorbet with pasion fruit.



Trio Sorbets; Mango and pasion fruit, raspberry and lemon.

Mellon sorbet with summer fruits.

Mojito Sorbet with white rum, lime and mint.

Gin Tonic and cucumber sorbet.

Water melon and Tequila Sorbet. Enjoy!

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