August Staff Testing

This month, Spicerers Dan, Chris, Elizabeth and Jess got the chance to test out recipes at home to determine any last tweaks before we begin blending, designing and packing for the upcoming Subscription Boxes...

Read on to see how it went!

Dan's Nepali Momos

Meat Free Magic

This month I made Nepali paneer momos. I was really looking forward to trying this kit out as I love Nepalese food and had not yet tried paneer in momos. I’ll warn you now there is a lot going on in this kit so be prepared for a mountain of washing up at the end (however all very worth it!)

In terms of prepping it didn't take long, I grated all the paneer and chopped the veg beforehand to make things that little bit easier.

The momos were really fun to make as they were different to your standard curry recipe. Everything else in the recipe was nice and simple, just be prepared for lots of plate spinning on the hob.

The momos were fantastic and went really well with the tomato momo achar sauce hower the standout for me had to be the dahl! It was so full of flavour and really complimented all the other sides. I also loved the salad, with just 3 ingredients it was so simple to make but went well with all the other dishes. Thumbs up from me!

Chris' Trinidad Fried Chicken

Food Truck

Trinidad Friiiiied Chicken

As frequent post-saturday-night fliers of the local Kentucky Fried Chicken establishment we were pretty excited to give the Spicery Trinidadian-ified(?) KFC a go.

We hatched a plan to accomplish this seemingly poultry dish after work, gathering the egg-sentials (sorry) and, working quicker than Mr Clooney in chicken form (read, Chicken Run, also sorry), set about creating the dish.

As a dish that consists mostly of sides, it was pretty straight forward. The slaw, hot sauce, the bit-heavy-on-the-thyme chickpeas and the coop-de-gras (really sorry) gravy! The gravy really was amazing. Top of the pecking order.

Frying the chicken, while may be an intense undertaking for any newbies, I found immensely satisfying. The classic Spicery tip stopped me trying to wing it and work out my own way of dipping the chicken bits, finally getting to watch the pieces turn golden brown in the oil.

Together with the chips (whose topping spices need to be sold separately for the niche, chip-loving public), the meal was delicious. The timing was on point and didn't fall fowl (last one) to any mass confusion at the end unlike some other Food Trucks I've made. Looking at you Dublin Spice Bag.

Elizabeth's Biryani Night

Indian Restaurant Favourites

I had a really great time cooking this meal - there wasn’t a huge amount of prep needed and once the chicken tikka biryani was in the oven, everything just seemed like little bits and bobs to complete!

My family and I really enjoyed this meal - the biryani had a lovely crunch due to the fried onions added just after cooking and the ginger chutney was a bit spicy but too tasty to resist! The pumpkin curry didn’t turn out as I had imagined it would - not that that’s a bad thing! I had expected it to break down and turn into more of a mash, but it remained in bite-sized pieces once cooked. Although I only used one chilli and removed it before cooking the pumpkin (to reduce the level of spiciness for the family!), the taste still didn’t disappoint.

All in all, the meal was absolutely delish and a great way to end the weekend.

Jess' Turkish Keskek with Shepherd's Salad and Gozleme

World Kitchen Explorer

I read that Keskek is traditionally served at wedding ceremonies so I popped the cork on a bottle of cava (just a £5 bottle, I wasn't actually celebrating after all) and began ...

First up are the stuffed breads known as 'Gozleme'. I scrabbled around at the back of a dusty cupboard for some dried yeast (ta-da) but said yeast was potentially a bit past its best and refused to dissolve in the sweet, warm water mix. Nothing a trusty whisk can't solve ...

The breads turned out wonderfully and tasted amazing stuffed with buttery leeks and red pepper paste - even the toddler loved them as part of her breakfast the next day!

The Keskek itself (a lamb and bulgar wheat stew) slightly resembled a wheaty porridge! Unfortunately, my cinnamon quill broke into a few shards (I can be a bit vigorous with my mixing!), so I had to spend a bit of time searching through the grains to find all the bits! As a vegetarian, I had to pick out the diced lamb and upon reflection, I probably should have replaced the lamb with something else to give the dish a bit of texture.

However, served with Shepherd's salad (chopped salad with walnuts and lemon) it was a hearty meal, well suited to the non-celebratory cava!