Rosemarie's Recipes - A tribute to my wonderful mum

Rosemarie's Recipes - A tribute to my wonderful mum

I feel I should apologise and explain about the lack of posts recently. Those that follow me on twitter will know  this, but I lost my mum in April after a 2 1/2 year battle with bowel cancer. It has been a very difficult couple of months and my distinct lack of healthy eating during this time has shown on my hips with a weight gain of 10lb. I am trying to come to terms with such an enormous loss and trying to get back on track to shift these excess lb but I am not finding it easy.


I am going to make a conscious effort next week to start trying out some new recipes (as this is what I love doing) and hope I can make a start in eating better. After all, a healthy, balanced diet can go a long way to prevent bowel cancer. We are delighted to have raised £890 in lieu of flowers at mum's funeral for Bowel Cancer UK and hope they can continue to raise awareness and help others catch this disease early enough that it can prolong life expectancy.


I feel very lucky to have learnt some of my mum's recipes although I couldn't help but give them my healthy makeover to make them Weight Watcher friendly, and I have given a round up here. Mum's Anglo-Indian upbringing made her cooking very unique and I am so happy to have captured some of these on my food blog. Many of her other recipes exist and I hope to add these in time.  These, and other of mum's dishes will always be favourites of mine and will always continue to remind me how lucky I was to have the most wonderful mother for 37 and a half years. Sleep tight mum.

Chicken Biriyani

Marinated lamb chops / steaks

Devilled kidneys

Chicken and vegetable curry

Tandoori chicken and white bhaji

Leftover Lamb Jalfrezi

What a gastronomic feast I cooked up this weekend!  It was hubby's birthday so thought it only fitting I spoil him by cooking all his favourite things.


Friday night (his actual birthday)
- Starter of roasted butternut squash ravioli in sage butter sauce
- Main of veal Milanese, roasted rosemary & garlic potatoes and sauteed spinach

Saturday
- Freshly made pesto made with walnuts & pinenuts with linguine for 8 of us. It was a good way to line the stomach before drinks in our new favourite pub
- Chocolate birthday cake, iced with white fondant and decorated with black and white stars

Sunday
- Lazy brunch consisting of slow roasted tomatoes with oregano, baked portobello mushrooms, softly scrambled eggs, black pudding & Wiltshire cured smoked bacon
- Supper of slow roasted shoulder of lamb with rosemary & garlic, potato dauphinois, roasted carrots and minted peas.

The black pudding, bacon, veal escalopes and shoulder of lamb were purchased from my amazing local butcher. If you are local to the Woking area, you really must try him out as the quality of the meat is far superior to anything I buy in Tesco or Waitrose and reasonably priced too. OMG, now I have just realised what I cooked I feel quite tired!!  This is an entire blog post in itself!

So onto Monday night's healthy dinner which was much needed after this weekend!  I simply feel obliged to use up leftovers and cannot bear to through anything away. I decided on a lamb jalfrezi which has long been a great way to use up leftover meat. Typically a jalfrezi is a quite dry, thick sauce which includes onions and tomatoes.  After researching online I found that the range of spices differ tremendously from recipe to recipe. So I went with my own concoction after from sound advice from mum, obviously.  I was really impressed with dinner and what's more hubby thinks his birthday celebrations are still going on as he loved it! 

If you have alot of lamb leftover, double up the curry and freeze half for a later date

You'll need for 2:

• 1 onion
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed or grated
• 1 tsp root ginger, chopped or grated
• Half a lemon
• Half a tin of finely chopped tomatoes
• Salt & Pepper
• Green chilli (optional)
• 180g leftover lamb shoulder or leg fat removed. Alternatively use fresh raw meat of your choice e.g. lamb, chicken or pork
• 1 courgette, roughly diced (or any other vegetable/s of your choice)
• 140g dried basmati rice
• 1 heaped tsp mixed of Mustard seeds yellow & black, Cumin Seeds, Fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Mug or so of water
• Handful of fresh coriander (optional)

What to do:

• Rinse the rice in cold tap water for a couple of minutes and then cook the rice in salted boiling water for a good 25 - 30 mins. Once cooked, drain and rinse through with boiling hot water from the kettle. You can do this in advance and re-heat the rice thoroughly later
• Heat the oil in a saucepan or stir fry pan / wok and add the mix of Mustard seeds yellow & black, Cumin Seeds, Fenugreek seeds
• Fry the onions, garlic and ginger, chilli (if using) until soft and slightly golden
• Mix the rest of the spices with some salt in a mug and add some water to stir to a paste. Add the paste to the onion mix with about 2/3 mug of water
• Cook on a high heat for a few minutes to cook out the spices
• If using raw meat add this now to seal, otherwise add the courgette or vegetable of your choice. Red and green peppers are also a good choice
• Add the tinned tomatoes , squeeze of lemin and a little more water if need be
• Cook on a high to medium heat for about 10 - 12 minutes and then add the cooked meat if using
• Taste and season accordingly
• Cook for another 5 minutes until the meat is fully cooked through and the courgette still has a little bite. I also threw in a few leftover peas from yesterday too
• Serve up and finish with a sprinkling of fresh coriander

Chicken Biryani

The Anglo-Indian influence in my family has inspired me to learn the dishes that my parents grew up with.  My mother was largely brought up by her Grandmother in India after losing her mum very young and she learnt to cook from her Grandmother. I love the way families pass down their recipes and traditions and I feel it is absolutely essential we carry on in the same vein. With DH's family being Sicilian we have quite a repertoire of Italian and Anglo-Indian dishes now which we hope will enrich our tastebuds and give our children a sense of worldly cuisines.

On the WeightWatchers plan, a typical restaurant Biryani would cost you an entire day's worth of ProPoints and it would certainly bust any calorie controlled diet. I now know why biryani dishes are such a no-no on a diet as there is virtually no portion control on the rice and they are laden with fried potatoes!  My aim in making this an Eat Healthy But Tasty dish was to get a fulfilling, flavoursome and authentic tasting meal. I was going to have to ensure not too much rice was used and find a way of roasting the potatoes with minimal fat.

I chose a day when my parents were visiting to make this, ensuring I got the spice mix down correctly. I should have expected mum would have a thing or 2 to say about my version...

Mum stated that "double the rice should be used for that amount of chicken curry". I explained to mum that using double the rice, plus the potatoes would make it a right old carb fest and just way too ProPoint /calorie /fat heavy. Mum also stated that Biryani is meant to be a dry dish and the way I was doing it would result in the dish being too "wet".  The thing is I actually prefer a bit more sauce in my Biryani and, dare I say it, feel mum's way is a bit too dry (eek!).  Much to my mother's disgust, the problem was resolved, for me anyway; less rice + more curry = moist, tasty, healthy, Biryani.

You'll need for 4:

• 1-2 garlic clove, crushed or grated
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil plus 1tsp extra
• 1-2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 level dsp cumin
• 1 level dsp paprika
• 1 level dsp garam masala
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 2 dsp Pataks Biryani paste
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 3 dsp fat free natural yogurt
• 450g chicken breast, cut into chunks
• 300g charlotte potatoes, halved lengthways then cut into 4 or 6 pieces each half
• Salt
• 285g basmati rice
• Good pinch of saffron
• Half a pack of green beans, halved
• 2-3 tbsp frozen peas and sweetcorn or frozen mixed veg

What to do:

This is an ideal meal for preparing in advance. There are a few steps to complete when creating this dish: roast the potatoes, make the curry, boil the rice, bake the lot together...

In a non-stick roasting tray or dish place the potato chunks. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle over a 1-2 tsp vegetable oil. Using your hands rub the oil in thoroughly and place in a hot oven (200c fan) for about 20 -25 minutes until the potatoes are soft on the inside and crispy and brown on the outside.

For the curry, 2-3 tsp sunflower or vegetable oil in a saucepan.  Add the cinnamon stick, broken, the cardamom pods and cloves. After a minute or 2 add the onion and fry on a medium heat.  Mix the other spices and paste together in a mug with a bit of water and when all mixed together, fill to the top of the mug with water. Add to the pan and allow the spices to cook out for a few minutes.  Add the ginger, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and a few dashes of lemon juice too, stirring occasionally.

Next add the chicken and coat thoroughly. Add the yogurt, vegetables and another mugful of water, less if you prefer the curry 'dryer'.  Cook on a medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the potatoes to the curry.

Meanwhile rinse the rice thoroughly in a sieve. Add to boiling, salted water. Add a good pinch of Saffron and cook as per packet instructions. Usually 10 minutes. Once cooked, drain into a sieve and pour over boiling water to rinse through.  Allow to cool.

In a oven-proof dish, lay some rice on the bottom followed by 1/3 of the curry. Repeat twice finishing with some curry on top. All of this can be prepared in advance. 

Cover with a lid or foil and bake in the oven at 190c fan for about 40-45 minutes.

Serve up!

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 13

Chicken Balti

My love for a chicken balti started some 16 years ago whilst I was at university in Birmingham.  Monday or Tuesday night was partaay night!  Drinks in our uni flat, followed by student night at The Dome which invariably ended up in one of Birmingham's many curry houses.  My usual, was a chicken balti and naan bread and I am quite ashamed to admit that this is still my curry of choice when eating out 16 years later!

I'm not great with too much chili so this mild to medium curry is perfect for me and I'd much happier go for the sweetness of tomatoes in a balti over a creamy korma any day.  This bodes well when you are trying to Eat Healthy But Tasty as cooking a creamy curry with all that coconut cream is simply out of the question.  I'd hate to even try to work out the ProPoints on a korma or a chicken tikka masala.

You'll need for 2:

• 1 tsp sunflower or vegetable oil
• 385g chicken breast, cut into large chunks
• Half an onion, finely diced
• Red pepper, chopped
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• 2 tsp Pataks Balti curry paste
• 1 fat garlic clove, grated or minced
• 1 thumb piece ginger, grated or minced
• Half a lemon
• Seasoning
• 1 tsp soft brown sugar
• 140g dried brown basmati rice
• 1 tbsp fat free natural yogurt
• Handful fresh coriander

What to do:

Spices cooking out

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onions and fry until soft.  Add the curry paste a cup of water.  Stir to mix in and allow to bubble furiously to cook out the spices.  Add chili if you like it medium - hot and grate or crush the ginger and garlic.  Give it 3-4 minutes and then add the chicken.  Keep stirring to coat the chicken.  Add the red pepper and any other vegetable you fancy.  You could add cauliflower, spinach, green beans or even tenderstem broccoli.

Next add the juice of half a lemon and some seasoning.  Add the tomatoes a little more water so everything is nicely covered.  Add the sugar and stir well. Simmer on a medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Stir in a tbsp of fat free natural yogurt.

Serve with brown basmati rice and a sprinkle of fresh coriander.

I was fortunate enough to have some of my mother's white bhaji in the fridge tonight so I didn't add any green veg to my balti. 

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 13

Kedgeree

I love kedgeree and my favourite version is with salmon.  Whilst the oily fish has undeniable health benefits it also does add ProPoints, so in my book if I am cooking this mid-week, I will use a simple white fish like haddock or Pollock.  I could also save on Propoints by not adding egg or peas, but to me it’s not kedgeree.  This version is a compromise but if you did try my ultimate version with salmon and peas it would total 16 Propoints!

So here is my WeightWatcher friendly Kedgeree, a perfect mid-week meal that comes in at just 12 ProPoints.

You’ll need for 2:

• 2 white fish fillets approx 120g each

• 1 small onion
• Handful of green beans, chopped
• Small pack of baby corn, sliced into discs
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil or rapeseed oil
• 140g dry weight brown basmati rice, cooked then cooled
• 2 medium eggs, hard boiled
• 2 teaspoons mild curry paste, Pataks is good
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Handful of fresh coriander finely chopped
• A cupful of water
• Seasoning

What to do:
It’s best to cook the rice in advance so it’s cooled thoroughly before you stir fry it to prevent it going mushy.  Everything is cooked quite separately so it is just an assembly job at the end, but this also means you can prep a fair amount in advance based around your busy day.

Place the fish on a foil lined baking sheet and season.  Fold the foil up to create a loose parcel and bake for approx 7-10 minutes until just cooked through

At the same time, in a sauce pan boil your eggs for 7 minutes, drain and then cool in cold water.

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan or wok and sauté the onion.  Add in your veg and continue to cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the curry paste and the water to help loosen the paste.  Cook on high for a minute or two.  Add some seasoning. Add the rice to your wok and stir continuously to coat and heat the rice through.

Everything ‘should’ come together at the same time.  Serve the rice mixture onto a plate.  Remove the fish from the oven.  I like to break the fish up into chunks and stir lightly through the rice but you can serve it as a fillet on top of the rice if you prefer.  Scatter some coriander, chop up and add your egg and finish with a squeeze of lemon.

Weight Watchers ProPoints: 12

Chicken, Spinach & Green Bean Curry

I often cook a curry on Monday nights as I tend to spend the afternoon at my parents house and get home late.  I literally have to haul the kids from the car to their beds and need something that can easily be re-heated.  Making curries at mum's is great because

a) I can stick mine in the microwave whilst I tuck the kids in to bed upon arriving home

b) DH plays football on Monday nights so he can re-heat his at 9.30pm while I am generally falling asleep on the sofa

c) Mum's array of spices is better than mine

d) If I dawdle around too much, mum will take over and make it for me

My parents were born and raised in India and their Anglo-Indian heritage means I was raised on a certain type of Indian cuisine that you just don't see in our English style curry houses.   Mum's cooking naturally doesn't require loads of oil or ghee.  A tablespoon of vegetable oil is more than sufficient making it very diet friendly.  Over the years I have learnt a few of my mum's recipes which will feature on here at some point.  For now though, enjoy Monday nights curry for just 12 propoints.

You’ll need for 4 people:

• 500g chicken breast cut into big chunks
• Bag of fresh spinach
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pack of fine, trimmed green beans, cut in half
• 300g dried brown basmati rice or white if you prefer
• 150g pot of low fat or fat free natural yoghurt
• Handful of chopped coriander
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 dsp ground coriander
• 1 dsp cumin
• 1 dsp paprika
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 dsp garam masala
• 1 tsp lazy garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp mild curry paste (try Pataks, cumin & coriander)
• Squeeze of lemon or a few drops of fresh concentrated lemon juice from a bottle

What to do:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy based saucepan and add the onions
• In a mug add all the spices, curry paste, garlic, ginger and lemon juice and fill with water to the top to form a runny cream like consistency
• When the onions are soft, add the spice mix and fry on a high heat for a few more minutes.  It is important to cook out the spices and you can tell when they are cooked as the oil with rise to the surface of the mixture
• Next add the chicken, stirring thoroughly.  Add some more water, rinsing out the cup you used for the spices to cover the chicken
• Add the natural yoghurt, season and turn down the heat slightly
• Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, Add the green beans and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the spinach a couple of minutes before the end of cooking
• Serve with cooked basmati rice and a sprinkling of fresh coriander

Weightwatchers Propoints: 12