Recipe corner - a very quick and low point mushroom curry

It is very difficult to make curry look pretty. And, as long time readers will know, I struggle to make food look pretty even when it is actually, you know, pretty. Which is to say, although the accompanying illustration makes last night’s dinner look rather less than appetising (dun is never a colour one wishes to associate with food) I can assure you that it tasted lovely.

The chicken and the lentils I have blogged about before, and have now updated those entries with Pro Point values. But the mushroom curry has yet to grace these hallowed pages which is a shame because it is a fantastic side dish and super quick and simple to throw together.

I would never pretend that any recipe on this blog is particularly authentic to any cuisine other than…well, home cooking. If that even counts as a cuisine (I suspect it doesn’t). As long as a combination of ingredients is tasty, I’m happy to write about it. The use of curry powder may be a shortcut too far for people who like to make truly authentic Indian food – and sure, I always feel more virtuous when flinging together a whole plethora of different spices or whizzing up my own paste, but sometimes, especially when you’ve got two other saucepans on the go and you really want to sit down and watch NCIS, a shortcut is exactly what you need.

Ingredients

Low fat cooking spray
1 onion, sliced
Punnet of mushrooms (I favour chestnut, but any would do), sliced
2 x cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4 tbsp tomato puree
4 tbsp non fat bio yogurt
salt and pepper
½ tsp ground fenugreek (optional)

Serves 4, 0 pro points per person (if you split it in half, as I did, you need to count 1 point to cover the yoghurt)

In a pan lightly coated with cooking spray, soften the onions. A pinch of salt at this stage will help them sweat rather than burn.

When soft, bung in (it’s a technical term) all remaining ingredients. Mix well, then cover and cook over a medium heat for approximately ten minutes.

Remove the lid and cook for a further couple of minutes to reduce the sauce.

Simples!

Recipe corner - Nigella's Christmas Chutney

I didn't go in for homemade Christmas presents until a couple of years ago.  The reason being is that I am one of the least crafty people that you will ever come across - crafty as in Blue Peter, mind, not crafty as in a fox.  Or are they cunning?  Anyway, the point is that although I appreciate pretty things, I can't make them.  I can't draw, my handwriting is illegible and I even struggle to cut in a straight line.  So you can understand why I didn't want to inflict my homemade offerings on my mostly lovely friends and family.

That is, until I cottoned on to the idea of cooking their presents.  At first, this seemed doomed to failure, as biscuits or cookies or chocolates, all your typical gift fare, need to be nicely packaged and that might mean I'd have to try and make boxes or something.  But chutney - now, chutney is a different thing.  Buying a kilner jar is easy enough, and fairly cheap, and even I can just about manage a gift label.

I've experimented with different ones for the past few years.  Piccalilli is a firm favourite, not least because it goes so beautifully with the Christmas cheeses and meats.  And this year, in addition to a jar of that, my nearest and dearest will be receiving a jar of Nigella's Christmas Chutney.

Say what you like about Nigella - but I love her for the way she utterly embraces Christmas.  When I saw the recipe in Delicious magazine a month or so ago I knew it had to be done.  The chutney has currently been quietly maturing away in the cupboard for a week or so now, and already, the flavour is wonderful.  When I gave some to D just a minute ago he said "It tastes like Christmas" - and that is exactly right.  It is a lovely blend of sweet and sour and spice and all the flavours are completely redolent of an English Christmas.

Ingredients

750g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped small
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
500g fresh cranberries
250g soft pitted dates
Grated zest, pulp and juice of 2 satsumas or clementines
400g caster sugar
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
500ml white wine vinegar
2 tsp Maldon sea salt flakes or 1 tsp table salt

Makes roughly 2 ltrs worth - negligible pro points per person


First sterilise your jars - and I tend to do this just by putting them through a hot dishwasher.

Put the apples, onion, cranberries and dates into a large pan.

Add the satsuma or clementine zest, then squeeze in the juice and add the pulp.

Add the sugar and spices then pour the vinegar over and sprinkle the salt.

Give it a good stir then turn on the heat and bring to the boil.  Once there, turn the heat right down and let it sit for an hour or so, uncovered, to bubble away until it is all reduced to a deep red pulp.

Spoon into the sterilised jars and seal.

In the pan, to become an hour later...

...Christmas in a jar!

The longer in advance you make this the better - Nigella recommends about 2 months.  Although I have to say it is already delicious after a week.  Oh, and I should add that I halved this recipe and it still came out beautifully - although I'm now wishing I had made a full batch!