What spices are in a tandoori spice mix?

In supermarkets and specialist Asian food shops you are able to buy a Tandoori spice mix, which is often used to marinate meat, especially lamb. It gives a recognisable Indian taste, but is without too much heat so it can be enjoyed by all.

The spices included in a Tandoori mix will differ depending on the brand you use, but generally the following spices will be present:

Cayenne pepper
Cumin
Coriander
Ground ginger
Paprika
Tumeric

See all my tandoori spice recipes .

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What is Guinea Fowl?

Having enjoyed Guinea Fowl tonight I will shortly post up a short recipe for Roast Guinea Fowl , but before I do, here is a run down on one of the lesser known forms of poultry.

Guinea Fowl (pictured) is considered a fine game bird and is famed for its diet of insects, making it a friend of farmers across the country. However, it is native to West Africa, but the ones on offer is unlikely to come from anywhere so far away.

It is similar to chicken, but slightly gamey, but not to the extent of pheasant for example. It is a lovely roast option for a meal for two and tastes fantastic with a topping of crispy bacon.

The juices given out by Guinea Fowl can help create a lovely sauce or a cider gravy.

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Guide to herbs and spices

I hope to create a guide to herbs and spices in the near future, but in the mean time the link below is a nice brief overview to a great number of ingredients used in cooking, from capers and cassia bark (used in a recipe this week) to poppy seeds and paprika.

Guide to Herbs and Spices from Good Cooking.

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How to roast beetroot

Beetroot has to be one of the most poorly perceived and misunderstood vegetables on earth. It hardly ever comes up on recipes, is rarely on menus and the only time people encounter it is when it has been drowned in vinegar.

This richly coloured root vegetable is however a joy to use as a side dish for roast dinners, while beetroot soups and chutneys are quite delicious.

There are 'rules' that need to be remembered when dealing with a beetroot, such as to leave the skin and undamaged when boiling it, but this recipe deal with simple roasting beetroot to provide an eye-catching side dish for a roast dinner - such as beef.

Ingredients 

4 medium sized beetroots (avoid large beets as they can be tough)
olive oil
dried thyme
salt and pepper

Method

You may find cooks adamant that beetroot should also be roasted with its skin on and then peeled once cooled, but I don't believe that this is necessary as the flavour is retained in this recipe.

1. Carefully peel the beetroot and then quarter each one
   
2. Mix together with enough olive oil to cover the beetroot pieces.
   
3. Add the thyme (roughly 2 heaped teaspoons, but I can't say I measure this) and a pinch of salt and some freshly cracked black pepper.
   
4. Mix the beetroot pieces so the herbs/salt/pepper are evenly distributed.
   
5. Place on a roasting tray and put in a pre-heated oven (200 degrees) for an hour.
   

The beetroot pieces do not ooze too much juice, even to though they've been peeled, but if you use the roasting tray to make a gravy to accompany the roast this will help aid the flavour.

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One chicken can equal three meals

I find it horrifying that many people never consider that they can make their own food and rely on ready made meals, prepared in a microwave. It can be so easy, and so much cheaper, to buy some key ingredients and make your meals.

Those that do attempt home cooking often buy meat that has been prepared for them, such as diced meat. Again, this frustrates me! It isn't cost effective and you are never going to be getting the best meat. A good quality, corn fed, free range chicken can cost £6 or £7, this puts some people off, but it can result in three fabulous and diverse meals. I'll show you how.

The three meals created from one chicken are:

Chicken Soup
Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Chinese Chicken legs and wings

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