Chicken Curry with Rice

 Multitasking level: Medium

Ready in: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredient	Price	Notes
6 Chicken thighs	£2.69	Chicken thighs are cheaper than chicken breasts, but fiddlier to prepare. I get chicken thigh fillets as an in-between measure
2 Onions	20p	Gotta have some onion if we’re making a pan meal
3 handfuls of any raw veg	£1.20	Search Reduced To Clear section for nice things. Here I’m using green beans, mushrooms, sugar-snap peas and a tomato
Rice	1.39 per kilo- probably using about 40p worth here	Not the boil in the bag stuff, that stuff is weird and expensive.
1 lime	23p	Lemon’s alright too
2 Bell peppers	80p	Any colour, but not green (they taste like grass) Buy in ugly-buggers multipacks- these are expensive at the moment
Spices	Start building a collection- steal from back of parents’ cupboards	Basically use what you have and alter proportions as necessary, but here we’re going to use: 1 tsp turmeric 2 tsp cumin 1 tsp coriander 1 tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp ground cloves 1 tsp ground ginger 2 tablespoon coconut powder or desiccated coconut
2-3 tbsp natural yoghurt	30p	I get the Total 0% big packs because it's refreshing and doesn't go off

                                          Total: £5.82
                                            or £0.97 each
Utensils:

• Wok, balti or large frying pan
• Small saucepan and lid for rice
• Chopping board and knife
• Spatula

1.      Rice

a.      Measure: Put some rice in the saucepan. Remember that it will expand to double its size, so work out how much you're likely to eat

b.      Wash: Put cold water in the rice pan and swirl it around with your hand until the water turns cloudy. Block the rice with your hand and drain the water out. Repeat these steps until your water turns clear- about 5-7 times

c.       Water: Place your finger so the tip just touches the rice. Fill the pan with water until it reaches the first joint on this finger. That’s the right amount of water.

d.      Cook: Put on full heat until it boils. Don’t take the lid off, at all. Turn right down to the lowest heat for 10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Start cooking the curry now. After ten minutes, take off the heat WITHOUT TAKING THE LID OFF and leave it to steam itself off the bottom of the pan until you’re ready to eat

2.       Curry

a.        Put 1tbsp oil in the pan. Add sliced onions and cook on medium heat until soft

b.       Chop chicken into pieces no bigger than your thumb. Take off the hard fat at this point, because it’ll taste gross cold. Put the chicken in the pan too.

c.        Add spices: Sniff each spice before you put it in to remind you what it does for the curry. Then when you taste the curry later you’ll know what to add again. Keep stirring things because burned spices are gross.

d.       Add hardy veg: Anything you actually want cooked. This generally means green things because otherwise they taste grassy. Add chillies now if you want to add those to the recipe. Cut up delicate veg.

e.        Add delicate veg: Bell peppers, tomato and mushrooms, in this case. Stuff that doesn’t need much time

f.         Add yoghurt and give a good stir- It should be looking like you’ve completely ruined your curry by dropping a tonne of moisturiser on it, but it’ll soon go brown and delicious with the spices. Add your lime juice. Taste some of the veg and add more spice as required- the yoghurt will make the spice less spicy, so alter as necessary.

3.       Plate up

a.        Give the rice a good fork-through to fluff it up

b.       Shove curry on top and realise that while this curry tastes amazing it looks like hell on a plate

c.        Chow down

SO BRIGHT IT HURTS MY FACE

Avocado eggs with Kale and Feta salad

Ready in: 10 minutes

Multitasking level: Very low 

1. Put grill on the highest setting
2. Cut the avocados in half and remove stone
3. Stare mournfully at the pitiful size of the avocados you bought
4. Slice a sliver off the back of them so they don't roll around on a flat surface
5. Put an egg yolk in the stone-hole (or a bit of egg yolk if your avocados are titches) and add salt and pepper
6. Bake for 5 minutes or until the yolk firms up slightly

Shown here with: Curly kale (put in pan, add boiling water, simmer for 3 minutes, drain),feta cheese, and a slice of parma ham. Gosh but I love parma ham.

Serve with fried bacon and feta cheese if you really want to give two fingers up to a low-fat lifestyle

NB: Avocados are quite often found in Reduce To Clear because when they've (finally) ripened they've got a matter of hours before they become squishy and brown

Corresponding bento for tomorrow:

I am quite glad that I am young enough to not care about my fat intake 

PS: If you had to crack a new egg for this, be aware that leftover egg-whites are the most useful thing ever. You can use them for meringues, macaroons, marshmallows or just really light omelettes. I'll post recipes for these things soon, because eggs are great

Simple side dish: Garlic-y Green Beans

          1. Chop heads and tails off the green beans and chop 2 cloves of garlic

          2. Put 1 teaspoon of olive oil, or the same of butter, in a small saucepan on a medium heat

          3. Add the green beans, stir fry for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic (so it doesn’t burn)

          4. Stir fry until lightly bendy

          5. Add salt and plate up

 For a fancier side dish, serve on a slice of Parma ham
Really good with pasta and grilled chicken

Grilled Mackerel with Tomato Couscous and Tartar Sauce

Ready in: Under 20 minutes

Multi-tasking level: Very Low

Feeds:  4, and goes well in lunch-boxes. Scale down as necessary

Ingredient	Price (approx.)	Notes
2 butterfly fillets of mackerel	£3.51	These ones came in a packet, but keep checking fish that are reduced at the counter. It can be intimidating, but those people are there to help you- always ask to have your fish descaled and gutted by the person serving you, or descaled and filleted if you don’t want to use the whole thing. It’s free, and they’re very happy to do it. Also, you can ask for the bones back to boil up for stock if you so please. Don’t be intimidated just because you have to talk to someone
1 lemons	25p
3 teaspoons mayonnaise	15p	I use light mayo because I’m a girl and therefore like to trick myself into thinking mayo isn’t just oil and more oil
Couscous	60p a bag- we’re using about 30p’s worth here	Wholegrain couscous is tasty. Remember couscous works really well cold/reheated- cook more than you need
1 can value chopped tomatoes	38p	Sainsbury’s basics ones are actually the best. Nice red colour, come in a carton not a jar. Edit: They now sell versions with herbs in them. Cool story, Sainsbury’s.
Splash of red wine	15p	Don’t bother with fancy wine here, it’s really just to give it some depth
1 tablespoon capers	30p	Capers are delicious. Keep them in your fridge. The jar is pricey, but will last for months, even a year
4 handfuls baby spinach leaves	Bag costs about 75p, we’re using about 30ps worth	Delicious go-to salad because it doesn’t have a disappointingly airy texture like other salad bits
Chopped basil and lemon thyme	30p	Growing herbs (of the culinary kind) in your student digs will make it look prettier and disguise generic student smells. Also you can eat them

                                         £5.94
                                           Or about £1.48 each

Impressive bang-for-your-buck

Utensils:

·       Small saucepan for couscous

·       Grill pan (or roasting dish with a cooling rack inside)

·       Chopping board and knife

·       Small bowl and spoon for tartar sauce

·       Spatula

·       Possibly a pastry brush, if you have one (NB: Buy a silicone pastry brush. You can get them from supermarkets. Ones with actual hairs will leave actual hairs on your food and your friends will question your personal hygiene)

      Method:

        1 .  Couscous

a.        Put a third as much couscous as you want to eat in a saucepan

b.       Add 1 ½ times as much liquid as there is couscous in with it. In this recipe, put a tin of chopped tomatoes on it, a splash of red wine, a squeeze of lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons of sugar (otherwise it will just dissolve your face when you try to eat it) – and some chopped basil if you’re feeling fancy

c.        Put on the hob on a high heat and stir frequently with a wooden spoon. Just make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom. Sort the mackerel out now

                                                                       i.       Cooking the couscous will require some attention. It ought to look a bit frogspawny after about 5 minutes- if it starts sticking to the bottom at that time, put a splash more water in it

                                                                     ii.       After 10-14 minutes it should be done

        2.  Mackerel

a.        Turn the grill on high

Delicious baste

b.       Take out your mackerel fillets and admire their value for money

c.        Make a baste

                                       i.       Put the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of olive oil, chopped lemon thyme and basil (optional) and half a teaspoon of salt in a bowl

                                       ii.       Mix together to emulsify (stop the water and oil separating and make it thicker)

d.       Paint the baste onto the fish skin with either a pastry brush (if you’re cool) or your fingers (if you don’t bake enough pies and therefore have no pastry brush)

Crispy deliciousness

e.        Put the mackerel under the grill, skin side up, for 5 minutes. Start making the sauce

f.         Take out- Drain any lemon juice from on top and add lots of salt- this is going to make the skin all crispy. Cook for 4 minutes more

g.        When the skin looks delicious, flip and cook for about 1-2 minutes flesh side up

Tartar bits

       3.  Tartar sauce (we’re not making the mayo. Shop-bought mayo is just fine.)

        a.        Put 3 tablespoons of mayo in a bowl

        b.       Chop up 1 tablespoon of capers as finely as you can and put them in

        c.        Add a squeeze of lemon. If you want it to taste homely and familiar, add a teaspoon of sugar

        d.       Mix together

       4.  Plate up

a.        Flop the couscous into a sieve if there’s any water lurking about still, then back in the pan, then a bit on your plate

b.       Put spinach leaves on top because layers are so "now"

c.        Put half a fish on top of that- admire that crispy skin

d.       Slop a little tartar sauce on the side

e.        Chow down

Look how fancy this looks. Hella fancy, that's how fancy

Also: Is anyone else's mind blown by the techno-awesome pattern on mackerel? Click on the picture of the fillets to get a good look- I cannot believe that actually happens naturally...

PS.

How tartar sauce should look,
for the uninitiated 

                                             Seriously impressed with
                                                          The size of these babies...

Delicious Vanilla Pancakes

Cheesy photo from whatscookingamerica.net

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour
• Milk
• An egg
• Vanilla essence

Utensils:

• Frying pans
• Large jug (or just a bowl)
• Spatula
• Whisk
• Ladle (optional)

Method:

1. Mix batter
1. Put some flour in a large jug/bowl- quantity: about half the amount of batter you want. Consider hunger levels now
2. Add an egg and mash it to oblivion with the whisk so the whisk goes all clumpy
3. Add milk GRADUALLY (whisking in between doses) until the batter has the same thickness as delicious double cream
4. Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract/essence
2. Cook
1. Put 1 dessert spoon of oil in the pan and get it HOT- Should shimmer like Edward Cullen
2. Pour a little of the batter in the pan and immediately start swirling it around- if you used the jug, you don't have to use a ladle for this part
3. Flip pancake when you see tiny bubbles in the middle/when the edges start crisping

Tips:

• Make sure there's oil in the pan for each pancake, and that the oil is super hot, or the pancake will stick and burn and you will be a disappointment to us all
• Add fancy stuff- rasins, chopped apples and chocolate chips all work well

Tomato couscous with Foolproof Chicken Stir Fry

                               

                           

Ready in: fewer than 30 minutes
Multi-tasking level: Low
Feeds: 6 for this version, cut down accordingly

Ingredient	Price (approx.)	Notes
5 Chicken breasts	~£5.00	Thigh fillets are cheaper, but fiddlier to cut up. Evaluate whether you can be bothered.
2 lemons	50p
3 cloves garlic	10p
Couscous	60p a bag- we’re using about 30p’s worth here	Wholegrain couscous is tasty. Remember couscous works really well cold/reheated- cook more than you need
1 can value chopped tomatoes	38p	Sainsbury’s basics ones are actually the best. Nice red colour, come in a carton not a jar
Splash of red wine	15p	Don’t bother with fancy wine here, it’s really just to give it some depth
1 tablespoon soy sauce	10p	Only buy from Chinese supermarkets if you can- it’s a staple there, so it’s MASSIVELY cheaper than supermarkets (and the bottles look impressive)
1 tablespoon cornflour	3p	Cornflour is the best for thickening sauces and soups. Buy a box and it will last forever.
About 4 fists of chopped veg	~£3	Seasonality keeps it cheap, otherwise check reduce to clear. Try to get lots of pretty colours in there. Here I used: 1 white onion, a bunch of asparagus, a few mushrooms, two handfuls of baby spinach, three bell peppers (two red, one orange. Never green. Taste like grass.)

                                          Total: £9.58
                                         (Or about £1.60 each)

Utensils:

·       Small saucepan for couscous

·       Large frying pan/ wok/ balti

·       Chopping board and knife

·       Small bowl and spoon for cornflour

·       Plastic bag

Method:

       1.  Marinate the chicken- this is a really good thing to do if the chicken’s on its last legs/ bought from reduce-to-clear but it looks a bit funky

a.        Cut the chicken breasts into bits as tall as your thumb- remove sinew (stringy white bits) because they will never taste nice

b.       Put the chicken in a plastic bag with the juice of 2 lemons and three chopped cloves of garlic

c.        Leave it for between 5 minutes and 12 hours, depending on how funky your chicken is looking/how hungry you are

       2.  Couscous

a.        Put a third as much couscous as you want to eat in a saucepan

b.       Add 1 ½ times as much liquid as there is couscous in with it. In this recipe, put a tin of chopped tomatoes on it, a splash of red wine, the last squeeze of lemon juice from the skins of the lemons you used in the marinade, and 2 teaspoons of sugar (otherwise it will just dissolve your face when you try to eat it) – and some chopped basil if you’re feeling fancy

c.        Put on the hob on a high heat and stir frequently with a wooden spoon. Turn it down after 2 minutes. Just make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom. Start cooking the stir fry now.

                                                                       i.       Cooking the couscous will require some attention. It ought to look a bit frogspawny after about 5 minutes- if it starts sticking to the bottom at that time, put a splash more water in it

                                                                     ii.       After 10-14 minutes it should be done (right)

RAW BUT WITH POTENTIAL

COOKED TO PERFECTION

      3.  Stir fry

a.        Put a tablespoon of oil in the pan. Wait until it’s hot (it will be shimmering like a poncy vampire), then add the chicken, but not the marinade. When water hits hot oil it spits, so watch out. Drain water off it when it starts to bubble or they’ll never cook

b.       Start chopping veggies quickly. You want to add the veggies in descending order of how cooked you want them, and then chop the next sect of veggies, so here it goes:

                                                                       i.       Onions

                                                                     ii.       Mushrooms (clean dirt off them with kitchen towel, chop in quarters)

                                                                   iii.       Asparagus (chop and discard two inches from the end to avoid woody stems)

                                                                   iv.       Bell peppers (speed-chop the way Gordon tells us)

                                                                     v.       Baby spinach leaves (add these once the stir fry is cooked and off the heat)
4.        Sauce:

                       a.       Pour the remaining marinate over the stir fry

                       b.       Add 2 tablespoons of sugar (look, I know this sounds weird, but just do it. You just added a bunch of acid, this will make it all sweet-and-sour)

                       c.       Put 1 tablespoon of cornflour in a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and mash all the lumps out with a spoon

                       d.       Take the stir fry OFF THE HEAT and add the cornflour mix- stir in well to avoid weird gloops

Delicious cornflour slop makin'

 your sauce all thick and tasty

       5.  Plate up

a.        Flop the couscous into a sieve just in case there’s any water lurking about still, then back in the pan

b.       Precariously balance the stir fry on a blob of couscous because you’re trying to imitate the food-in-tiny-towers they do on Masterchef

c.        Chow down

THIS IS WHY WE USE ALL THE COLOURS

Edit: Tomorrow's corresponding Bento lunchbox
Top box: This meal
Bottom box: Salad of spinach leaves, spring onions,
peppadew sweet chillis and crystallised ginger