April's Top Tips

  This month's free sample is a CHETTINAD CURRY BLEND inspired by Spicery boss James's recent trip to Southern India (which you can read about on our Spice Travels blog!). Chettinad is a dry, dusty area south of Chennai (Madras) and a small community there (the Chettiars) became extraordinarily wealthy during the British rule of India. They acted as traders and middlemen between the British and the Indians, and eventually they travelled and built trade networks throughout Malaya, Burma and Ceylon.   As they travelled they bought back more than just money – they also incorporated some of the ingredients, flavours and knowledge they’d gained overseas into their cooking, meaning their cuisine is pretty unique in India and is renowned for being very aromatic and complex. The typical seasonings used in Chettinad are fennel, mustard, fenugreek, cumin, lentils (which are fried or toasted to give a nutty flavour) and some unique mild round chillies called Goondu Milagai,  and we've used these to create our CHETTINAD CURRY BLEND. One of the most popular dishes in the region is an Anglo-Indian favourite - Meen Molee or Coconut Fish Curry and it's a really easy and quick dish to make using this months free sample:   Meen Molee Recipe (serves 4) 500g diced fish (any firm-fleshed variety is fine) 2 cloves garlic - finely chopped A small piece of ginger - finely chopped to make 1 tbsp 2 tomatoes - finely chopped A handful of finely chopped fresh coriander (optional) 200ml full fat coconut milk (½ a standard size tin or you can buy as a sachet) Rice for 4 to serve 1 1/2 tbsp CHETTINAD CURRY BLEND (your free sample this month)  

• Fry the garlic and ginger in 2 tbsp oil for 1 minute
• Stir in the tomatoes and CHETTINAD CURRY BLEND and cook for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes have just started to break down
• Cook the rice now
• Add the coconut milk, 100ml water and 1 tsp salt. Simmer for 10 minutes then add the fish and simmer for a further 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly
• Sprinkle the coriander over the curry then serve with the rice

  Order more CHETTINAD CURRY BLEND here: