February 18, 2008
The February Chilli Newsletter
G'dayWow, it's the middle of February already.
So, if you're growing your own chillies, you must certainly be harvesting by now and if you're not growing any, you shouldn't be experiencing too much trouble getting some. Which is why there's a section int his month's newsletter about the various techniques for preserving your chillies so you cna enjoy them all year round.
OK, let's get into it;
Araluen Chilli Festival
As I mentioned a few days ago, I will be having a small stand at the Araluen Chilli Festival this year.
Observant reader Russell kindly pointed out that I wrote the 8th & 9th May when, in fact, that should have been 8th & 9th MARCH. Kudos and a free recipe book to him.
I'm not really there to sell anything much, though I will have some T-shirts and recipe book packs to cover the $300 fee for the stand.
Its' more about meeting people and catching up with a number of producers and retailers that I haven't seen for a while - and I'm definitely hoping to catch up with a few subscribers, so if you;re planning to attend, pop in and say G'day.
I'll get the location of the stall to you once I have that information.
Preserving Your Chillies
Well you should certainly be harvesting some chillies by now if you planted them. Or perhaps you've got a friend that gives you a handful or two whenever you see them.
Either way, unless you eat a lot of chillies, you'll be needing to preserve them to prevent them going to waste.
The website has an extensive number of options for doing that and which you use really comes down to personal preference and how you think you'll use the fruit later on.
Drying is a very common method familiar to virtually everybody however, there are a number of different ways of doing this. You may like to dry them in the open air or do as I do and use a dehydrator. If you like using green chillies and want to dry those, you need to use a special technique or they turn out looking fairly disgusting.
My favourite method is freezing them as it's fairly quick and results in minimal flavour loss. Also, we have three fridges and a deep freezer at home, which is at least in part due to the fairly ridiculous number of chilli sauces I have.
Many people like pickled chillies and you can find out how to do that here.
I have on occasion pulled out my mum's old Vacola preserving/bottling kit and use that, though you need a lot of chillies to justify the effort. However, I know many of you do grow large amounts of chillies so I have written up the process for you here.
Finally, you can use the method that Mexican and Central American Indians have been using for a few thousand year and smoke your own chillies. This is a fairly long page as there are a number of ways to do it and several things you need to know.
Whatever method you decide to go with, it will enable you to enjoy your chillies all the way through to next summer.
World Spice Congress
The 9th World Spice Congress has recently been held in Goa, India with buyers, brokers, regulators and suppliers from 33 countries getting together with 225 Indian delegates to discuss business.
Unfortunately they really only discuss international trade of spices and cut a few deals, rather than getting into the interesting stuff of the history behind them and using them. I'm willing to bet that there a few pretty cool food related gigs held in conjunction though !
Spice exports from India are expected to be worth around USD$1 billion in 2008 which sounds like a fair bit, but when you consider they only export 9% of their total spice production it seems insignificant. Also, that 9% accounts for 44% of all spices traded around the world - India really is a spice giant.
Finally - A Links Page
Yes, I finally got around to creating a links page. There's not much there yet, but now that it exists it's a fairly simple matter of adding more links.
The biggest problem, which was also the reason I took so long to do it, is the scarcity of good sites out there.
I do receive a number of requests for exchanging links every month but so many of these sites are, to be blunt, crap. They are riddled with Google ads or have pop-ups on every second page or, most commonly, simply poor content.
However, I am not willing to put these up simply for the sake of getting more incoming links to look good for Google. If the site does not deliver a good visitor experience in a similar manner to what you get at chillies-down-under.com, I'm not willing to put it up.
Anyway, I'll get down off my soapbox and give you the link so you can check it out for yourself. Remember to check back every weeks or so as not that it's there, I'll be adding links whenever I come across a good one.
Click here to go to the Links page.
Curry - The Stageshow ?
The story below caught my eye for some reason. I am currently reading a book on the history of curry so that may have been why.
The Times newspaper in Johannesburg report on a stage show based on curries!
Written and performed by Rani Moorthy of Manchester, England, Curry Tales combines the Khutu-style theatre of south India with actual cooking on stage, which the audience gets to taste.
Moorthy, 46, who plays six characters, from a busy socialite to a vengeful lover, said curry was used as a meta- phor to uncover different personalities.
“For many South Asian women, whose role has traditionally been the preparation of food, the quality of their curry is a source of identity and pride both in the home and within the community,” said Moorthy.
She said Curry Tales explored elements that divided and united us as people. “Taking a journey around the world, from Trinidadian duck curry to Malaysian laksa (another name for curry in Malaysia), the story reveals the role played by the British in the spread of curry through trade, the colonies and ultimately the migration and success of the South Asian diaspora.”
One of the characters she plays is a Delhi socialite, Dimple Melwani, who throws lavish parties at her plush home. “She has the most sought-after dinner table, but the Kashmiri chillies her cross-dressing male cook puts in the curry unleash passion and gossip.”
Another character she plays is a Trinidadian mixed-race woman who cooks a revenge curry for her unfaithful boyfriend.
Sounds great !?!
Photo/Story Competition Update
Well, the response to the photo/story competition continues to amaze me with a total of 14 submissions so far.
So far we have the following entries;
So, get in and vote/rate for the ones you like or, post your own. Remember, the competition closes at midnight on 29th Feb, Perth time.
Gold Membership
Over the past six months I have frequently (read: very frequently) been asked when I would be conducting my Chilli Sauce Appreciation Course again.
Given that the last one was held in 2005 it's a fair question, however, with the growth of the site and the number of subscribers I wanted to find a way to be able to share this with all subscribers.
So, I eventually came up with is the Gold level Membership, to be opened up in the next couple of weeks as I find the time to put the finishing touches to the material.
What is it ? Think of it as a Chilli Sauce of The Month club where, every month, express mailed to your door you will receive;
- a bottle of the sauce for the month (the range will be international)
- detailed tasting notes and an overall review of the quality and flavour
- an analysis of the style of sauce and the history behind it's development
- a history of the company/people producing the sauce
- recommended uses and recipes incorporating the sauce - these recipes are exclusive to Gold Members
- Gold Member discounts and offers where I am able to negotiate these with the manufacturer or a supplier.
Please note here that this will have to be a paid subscription service as the time and effort involved every month is considerable, as well as the cost of buying the sauce and postage.
Also, the number of members will be very limited as there's only so much extra work I can squeeze into a month.
If you think you may be interested, please let me know at nigel@chillies-down-under.com, to enable me to get an idea of numbers.
Anyway, as I said, I have a lot of details yet to tidy up, so I will let you know soon when the release actually is.
February's Recipes
Keralan Special Seafood Curry
The below recipe is a true Keralan classic as indicated by the presence of Kudampuli in the ingredient list. This is difficult, but not impossible, to obtain if you have an asian store that has an Indian bent to it.
Kudampuli, othwerwise known as Keralan tamarind, is the dried rind of the fruit of the Gambooge tree and is used in Kerala fairly exclusively for giving a sour taste to fish curries.
If you can't get it, substitute in some tamarind pulp as it is sort of the same.
- 500g fish fillets
- 200g prawn flesh, raw but peeled
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 teasp tumeric powder
- 2 teasp coriander seed powder
- 1 teasp ground black pepper
- 3 green cayenne chillies (or similar), de-seeded and coarsely chopped
- 2 teasp chilli powder (choose your preferred heat level>
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2-3cm piece ginger, thinly sliced
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups coconut cream
- 4 pieces Kudampuli, or substitute in 2 teasp tamarind pulp(no seeds)
- 1 teasp yellow mustard seeds
- 1/2 teasp fenugreek seeds
- 6 curry leaves
- salt
- 2 tasblesp vegetable oil
Heat vegetable oil on high and add the mustard and fenugreek seeds and let them pop.
Add the onion and garlic and saute on medium until the onion is clear.
Then add the ginger and when this becomes fragrant add the salt, tumeric, coriander seed, chilli powder, and black pepper and stir for few seconds.
Add the tomato, kudampuli (or tamarind pulp) and one cup water and one cup of the coconut cream and simmer until the tomato is cooked.
Then add fish fillets, prawns and the remaining 1 cup coconut milk. Cook till it is done on a low heat.
When the oil begins to float on top, place the green chillies and curry leaves over it.
Keep the lid closed and remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
Serve with rice and I'd also suggest a glass or two of chilled riesling.
>br>Gambas al Pil Pil (Spicy Pan-Fried Prawns)
makes 8 serves
No tapas bar would dare to open without some version of garlic prawns on the menu.
- 500g medium prawns, peeled and deveined (any size prawn is good as long as it's not the horrible little cocktail ones out of the tins)
- 4 whole garlic cloves plus 1 teasp minced garlic
- 2 tablsp lime juice
- 2 tablsp butter
- ˝ teasp ground paprika, preferably smoked
- ˝ teasp crushed piquin chillies
- 1 tablsp sea salt
- 2 tablsp dry sherry
- 3 tablsp olive oil, virgin
In a medium bowl, stir the salt into 1 cup of water until it has dissolved.
Add the prawns and soak them for 5 minutes, then drain and pat them dry.
Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan over moderately high heat with the whole garlic until hot but not smoking.
Add the prawns and cook for a few seconds to seal in the flavor and then remove.
Pour out all of the oil and discard the garlic. Return the prawns to the frying pan and reheat over medium-high heat.
Pour the lime juice over the prawn and add the butter, minced garlic, paprika, piquins, and sherry.
Simmer until the prawns have turned pink, which will only take a couple of minutes.
Take care to not overcook them as it ruins both the flavour and the texture of the prawns.
Serve with your favourite white wine or rose, chilled, and watch a sunset with some friends.
OK, that's it for this month.
I truly look forward to travelling through the food and flavours of 2008 with you.
Wishing you a life full of flavour
Nigel