Thali thali thali!

I have to be honest, Indian subcontinent food is my favourite food of all.  In my family, we eat more home cooked Indian food than anything else.  I love cooking it and eating it.  Simple as that really.  My children often caused a small furore with their chilli eating while we were travelling.  People were so surprised to see such young children adore spice so much.  But if you grew up on dal and rice instead of bangers and mash, it's not that surprising really.

So we've been enjoying lots of lovely recipe testing in our house in preparation for thali night.  And here it is.  The first draft of the menu...

Cauliflower & chard pakoras

Paneer & cashew koftas in yoghurt curry

Kali daal (creamy black lentils)

Baigan ka bharta (roasted aubergine mash)

Pappu dosaki (dudhi gourd with channa :)  

Stir fried lotus root

All served on a banana leaf, with steamed rice, salad and pickles.

Well all that's certainly made me hungry! The evening is now fully booked, but if it goes well, we could be looking at v2....

Something to spice up the New Year...

I had a little epiphany the other day whilst carefully preparing lemongrass skewers for my dining club.  I had been thinking about how the higher costs of fine dining are often in the time it takes to apply multiple (and sometimes complex) processes as well as the cost of ingredients.  I know many people, myself included, are feeling the financial squeeze these days and the post christmas excesses are more than likely going to make us all feel that even more.

So I had a think about what kind of food I could make that could be delivered in a more cost effective way.  For me this would be Indian food every time.  The ingredients are accessible and affordable, especially for vegetarian food.  The other key component is the number of guests.  My usual dining club is set in a beautiful open plan Edwardian dining room and contemporary garden room.  Expensive and complex dishes that require meticulous presentation then limits the number of guests it's feasible to cater for (not to mention sets of relatively expensive plates).

By now I had moved onto trimming banana leaves, and that's when it hit me.  Traditional thali cafes across the Indian subcontinent, and indeed in parts of SE Asia, are usually pretty cramped affairs with stools and benches around ramshackle tables, serving AMAZING food on banana leaves.  Well I could certainly do that!  I adore Indian food, both cooking and eating it, especially the more traditional regional dishes (rather than what you see in most restaurants these days).  I will cook some mouth watering delights from Punjab and Mumbai, as well as from more far away corners such as Orissa and Tamil Nadu.   

We have plenty of room to double the number of diners for one evening (I'm not sure I could cope with doing this on a regular basis in my own house).  And that's if you don't mind sitting on benches, Indian cafe style, and eating delicious thali served on banana leaves.  Thali normally consists of several curries and dals served with rice, flatbreads and pickles. Allowances would also need to be made for mismatching glasses, cutlery, chairs and the like.  But I can guarantee you an evening of exceptional traditional Indian food for this one off event, and a New Year treat at half the price of the usual dining club (so that's £15 per person).  I reckon it will be a rather fun evening.  Email to book Jackie@thehungrygecko.com

 

Check out the lovely new dining club menu... yum yum!

I'm looking forward to cooking my new menu for the dining club from next weekend.  Places available for Fri 18th (2 left) and Sat 19th November.  To make a booking, send an email to: thehungrygecko@gmail.com 

Amuse bouche
Sweet & sour popcorn tofu

Starter
Buddha’s Delight, noodle soup with exotic mushrooms & bean curds, served with vegetable crackers & chilli cashews

Main
Balinese satay sticks, lemongrass skewers of smoky tempeh, served with spicy candlenut sauce & sticky rice

Pre-dessert
Duo of jackfruit & mango sorbet and lime sorbet

Dessert
Pear & frangipane tart with vanilla & star anise ice cream, served with salted almond praline & goji berry sauce

There are several highlights for me with this menu, but I am most proud of the dessert.  I think it sings and my dessert loving daughter agrees.  She says it's the best dessert I've ever made.  Slightly biased I suspect.  I'll post some photos when I get the chance.  

I made the Balinese satay sticks during the fine dining challenge week on MasterChef.  Posh Bertie said it wasn't posh enough, but JT said he 'missed a trick'.  I know who's opinion I'd trust! 

The starter is based on a rather ubiquitous noodle soup from China that uses a variety of beancurds and fungi, including lily buds, wood ears and black moss.  Some versions have over 19 ingredients.  My version has 16.  It's also delicious.  But then I would say that, wouldn't I  :0) 

The truth about a life changing decision

I've had an odd week.  After being laid low by a severe bout of tonsilitis, I probably spent too much time in my own head, admittedly in a somewhat fever addled state at times.

Having some time to stop and think about my where I am up to now, what my next steps might be, well to be perfectly honest, it was fucking terrifying. Like staring into an abyss that I have already leapt into, and feeling most unsure about myself.  I've had so much wonderful support from friends and even strangers, telling me how great it is that I am following my dream in food.  And it is.  But for all those people who dream of making life changing decisions, there's a reason so many don't.  It's scary to think about doing it and even more so when you actually take the leap.

I've worked pretty hard since MasterChef to make this transition and find the path I want to take with food.  But it's one of the steepest I've ever tried to climb and I think it's worth a truthful blog about the experience of the journey in making such a big decision to quit everything and start a new career.  Self employment in itself is a tough place to be right now.  Add to that working in a highly competitive arena where few actually succeed in the long term, makes for quite a scary place to be.  There are moments where I wonder if I have made the right decision.

 

I know some of this comes from my own self doubt that I have unfortunately been plagued with since childhood.  I had a tough father.  I can write that here as I know that he would never read anything I had written.  He didn't even watch me on MasterChef.  So me being riddled with doubt and worried about the future and the pressure this all puts on my family, well it's not exactly helpful to have close family members also think you are making a terrible mistake.  The thing is, he thought it was waste of time to study social science, and yet I had a successful career as a researcher.  He thought I was crazy to take the children out of school and go travelling for a year.  So yes, he could well be wrong.  It wouldn't be the first time!

I also cannot lie and say I don't remember how much negativity I received during the airing of the programme.  People who think they know me and can define me from watching the output of smoke and mirrors.  That backlash rocked my confidence a little too.  Only because it's echoes my critics who may be closer to home.  I met a troller face to face once.  In that moment, it took all the power out of anonymous critics right there.  I will leave you to figure out why. 

And then there's me, with my fever and head full of doubt, thinking what the fuck have I done.  I have worked my backside off for the last few months and for every few steps forward, I take more than the odd one backwards, not least financially.  The impact of me quitting a full time grade 8 NHS post is huge.  The impact on my family is evident and the pressure it puts on my husband immense.  Being skint again after years of middle class comfort is no fun whatsoever I can tell you. 

I spend a day in the kitchen, and I remember why I am doing this.  That isn't in doubt.  But is it enough?  I know I have a long steep path ahead.  But I also believe that I'm going in the right direction.  It's a bit painful right now and I'm going to have to dig deeper than I probably ever have before.  For now it's about stamina, with more sweat and tears to come I suspect.  I do need to take more time to develop myself as a cook and my future business.  So I think I'm just going to have to ride this one out....

The Hungry Gecko dining club is now open!

I thought I'd have a quick blog about last night while it's still fresh in my mind.  I thoroughly enjoyed cooking for 12 guests.  Such a perfect number to make beautiful plates of food and I have to say, feedback on the service was great, so my husband seems to be a natural.  The lack of stress was a joy and I think the bliss of cooking like that showed in the food.  I was really happy with what I produced, and to be fair, it's not often I say that about my own dishes.  I've been trying to keep a quote in my mind...  it makes me feel better about my food and that can only be a good thing.

“When you acknowledge as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving towards perfection becomes clear….to make people happy. That’s what cooking is all about” – Thomas Keller

The dinner guests were lovely people too and it was nice to see new friends being made.  The garden annexe room is a delightful setting for a table for four and the adjoining main dining room was kept more spacious for eight guests.  I think it worked really well.

So I didn't get the best pictures of the food - too busy cooking obviously, but we managed to get a few....

The menu included an amuse bouche I have been trying perfect the flavour in (and the construction of) soy infused tempeh with wasabi sesame seeds.

I've been working on my paneer shashlik too.  I don't have the space to make my own paneer at the moment and the packet stuff is very rubbery and lacks flavour (I'm really selling it here :)  But I managed to find an awesome supplier of fresh paneer in Rusholme, so I've very happy with this dish now.  It's a shame the nasturtium season is almost over, but I'm excited to be working on a new menu for next months dining club dates. 

I made this pudding 3 or 4 times before I perfected the recipe.  For a start, I find most recipes for Banh Gan (Vietnamese coconut creme caramel) are much too sweet.  If you're using good quality coconut milk, there's a natural sweetness that needs to come through I think.  Then there's the cooking method and times.  I found the water bath technique was too much for the custard.  A nice long steam bath is what was needed.  By now it was half one in the morning but I held my patience and was justly rewarded in the end.  I love that the dining club gives you the opportunity to strive for perfection! 

This cute little pudding is making an appearance next week, alongside some gorgeous accompaniments, for my collaboration with Tampopo at the Manchester Food & Drink Festival.  

Tickets are still available, from Tampopo Albert Square or the Triangle, or via their website http://www.tampopo.co.uk/five-course.htm

There are also still a couple of places remaining for my dining club on Friday 18th November.  New dates will go on my website soon
http://www.thehungrygecko.com/

Cookery classes, collaborations & a lack of concentration perhaps...

I've been such a a busy bee lately.  So many irons in the fire.  Which is good, but I do think I need to focus.  Focus on what I want, the food I want to make and who I want to work with.  Unfortunately all this activity has meant a week away from home, but it makes me appreciate it all the more now I'm back (apart from armies of the teenagers that appear to have moved in).  

With the inmminent launch of my dining club (aka supperclub, underground restaurant or whatever you want to call it) we've been working hard to get the set up just right.  Lee's working on some dining music while I blog.  I'm very excited about the launch night and been working hard on perfecting dishes.  Both dates are now booked up, but I will post some new dates to the website soon.

I had an enjoyable evening last week with a Cracking Good Food cookery class, a local social enterprise company that aims to give people the skills to cook seasonal, nutritious and cost effective food from scratch.  The enthusiastic students did a fantastic job of their cauliflower stuffed parathas.  I hope to do another new class with them again early next year.

This weekend I spent a day teaching a Streetfood Masterclass at The Vegetarian Society's Cordon Vert cookery school.  Again, great fun although a long day for a Sunday and I forgot to give them a break!

I've also been busy working on the menu with Tampopo Co-founder David Fox for the Manchester Food & Drink Festival dining event, Tuesday 11th October.  More details can be found here: http://foodanddrinkfestival.com/event/festaurant-presents-mekong-beyond-an-east-asian-food-odyssey/
  
We've come up with a really exciting East Asian feast, in between sharing travel stories.  Not surprisingly we have a lot in common when it comes to travel and food.  The menu includes Tampopo classics and some travel inspired dishes with a fine dining twist.  I'm VERY excited.  Not least to be working with such an experienced team.  Tickets can be booked online via the MFDF website or at Tampopo Triangle, Exchange Square or Tampopo Albert Square.

 

Mekong & Beyond

5 Course Tasting Menu:

£39 pp (including ½ bottle wine or equivalent)

Asian Cocktail

With Thai prawn crackers

Vietnamese Lettuce Wrap

Mint, Asian basil, coriander, cucumber,

with a chilli, ginger and garlic sambal

Asian Dumplings

Trio of dumplings including gyoza stuffed with exotic mushrooms,

glassy steamed dumpling filled with fresh crab or smoky tofu,

& crispy wonton filled with chilli squid or Asian vegetables.

All served with Asian pickles & dips.

Singapore Laksa with Lobster & Clams

Yellow noodles, lobster & clams in a fiery coconut broth,

with mint, cucumber, red onion, tofu & lime

or

Singapore Laksa with Smoky Tofu (v)

Yellow noodles, crispy smoky tofu in a fiery coconut & macadamia broth,

with mint, cucumber, red onion & lime

Malaysian Rendang served three ways

Rich coconut curry served with beef, tempeh & jackfruit,

served with lime rice and snake bean & watercress fritters

Vietnamese Creme Caramel

Coconut caramel pudding served with caramelised pineapple & ginger wafers

Harvest Festival at Jimmy's Farm

We had the a fabulous weekend at Jimmy's Farm.  So many highlights...  an amazing array of food (the 2011 British Streetfood awards so not too surprising), Ravinder Bhogal's demo with Jay Rayner was entertaining, catching up with Tim Anderson and my new favourite sauce (miso mayonaise) and meeting Jimmy's pigs, the happiest little critters on the farm it seemed, and clearly not knowing what's in store for them... sausage anyone ;0)

My favourite dishes of the weekend, unsurprisingly, came mostly from the award winners. First, the understated but superbly scrumptious crispy artichoke dish from Street Kitchen (you can find them in their AirStream trailer at Liverpool Lime St) and the Buddha bowl from Veggie Heaven.  I also loved Jalopy's pizza and of course churros and chocolate from the Churros Bros.  The overall winner was one of the unique seashore wraps from Pembrokeshire based Cafe Mor, trading for the very first time outside of their native Wales in a shack built a couple of days before by a boat building mate.    

Harvest at Jimmy's - enjoy the photos!