'The Curry Guy Easy' cookbook: Recipes from bhaja mackerel to spiced mussels

Dan Toombs shares the secret to fuss free curry in a hurry so you can spend even less time cleaning up and more time eating

Dan Toombs
Friday 01 June 2018 08:29 BST
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Perfect the art of British-Indian takeaway favourites with Dan’s new book
Perfect the art of British-Indian takeaway favourites with Dan’s new book

Bhaja mackerel

Serves 2

This is a nice one for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack time. It can be made in minutes and is delicious spread over naans or French bread. This recipe has been adapted from a recipe sent to me by my friend Eshan (Mo) Miah, owner of Zaman’s in Newquay. When I tried it, I knew it had to be in this book!

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 10 mins

2 tbsp rapeseed oil
½  onion, finely chopped
3 green chillies, finely chopped
200g fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 egg
250g smoked mackerel
½  tsp ground cumin
½  tsp paprika
½  tsp ground coriander
3 tbsp finely chopped coriander 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the rapeseed oil. Throw in the chopped onion and green chilli peppers. Fry, stirring from time to time, until the onion is soft and light brown in colour. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and stir to combine.

Now add the egg and smoked mackerel and stir into the other ingredients, breaking the fish fillet as you do.

When everything looks good and scrambled, add the cumin, paprika, ground coriander and fresh chopped coriander (cilantro). Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Bangladeshi vermicelli

Serves 4

This is Bangladeshi comfort food that is delicious as a starter or snack. You can find Asian vermicelli at Asian grocers and online.

Feel free to use Italian vermicelli if you have trouble finding the Asian stuff. Asian vermicelli is quite a lot finer. When cooked, the fine pasta tends to clump together, but that is one of the things that makes it more interesting and different from the Italian.

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 10 mins

150g Asian vermicelli
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp curry powder
2 eggs
3 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro)
Salt

Lemon wedges, to serve

Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the vermicelli. It only needs to cook for 3-4 minutes as it is so thin. When cooked, pour it into a colander and rinse with cold water.

Heat the oil in the pan you used to cook the vermicelli over a medium-high heat. When visibly hot, add the chopped onion and fry until soft and lightly browned. Add the green chillies and garlic slivers and fry for a further 1 minute or so.

Add the turmeric and curry powder followed by the eggs and fry it all up until good and scrambled.

Tip in the cooked vermicelli and toss it around until well mixed and heated through. Season with salt to taste, sprinkle with the coriander (cilantro) and squeeze lemon juice, to taste, over the top to serve.

Spiced mussels cooked in coconut milk

Serves 4

Mussels are on the menu at so many restaurants, Indian and other, but I think this simple recipe is right up there with the best of them. It just goes to show, recipes don’t need to be difficult to be amazing. Many people are afraid to cook mussels because of all the horror stories out there about becoming ill from a bad one. Be sure to clean and de-beard them. When you run cold water over the mussels, they should close tightly. If they don’t, discard them along with any mussels that are broken. I like to serve these mussels with freshly baked naans, but French bread is a good substitute. For a gluten-free side, try plain white rice. Adding cream is nice but not essential.

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 10 mins

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
20 curry leaves 
4 shallots, finely chopped
3 fresh green chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp mixed garlic and ginger paste*
400ml can thick coconut milk
175ml dry white wine (optional)
1kg live mussels, de-beaded and cleaned
100ml double cream (optional)
A pinch of saffron, soaked in a little warm milk
A pinch of ground turmeric
1 tbsp sugar or jaggery
1 small bunch of coriander, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bread or rice, to serve

Melt the butter in a large pan that has a tight-fitting lid over high heat. When the butter has melted, throw in the mustard seeds. They’ll start to pop in about 30 seconds. This is your cue to reduce the heat to medium-high and toss in the curry leaves and chopped shallots. Fry until the shallots turn soft and translucent.

Now add the chopped chillies and the garlic and ginger paste and stir to combine. Pour in the coconut milk and wine, if using, and bring to a rolling bubble. Tip in the mussels and cover with the lid to let them steam for about 4 minutes. They are ready when the shells open. Discard any shells that don’t open or are broken.

Add the cream, if using, saffron milk, turmeric and the sugar. Check for seasoning, sprinkle with the chopped coriander (cilantro) and serve immediately with bread or rice.

Mixed garlic and ginger paste

Garlic and ginger paste is so easy to make. Simply peel equal amounts of garlic and ginger and blend with just enough water to make a paste. If this sounds like a bit too much work, you can also purchase it ready-made at Asian grocers and most supermarkets. You can also substitute grated or finely chopped garlic and ginger for the blended paste. Some stores only stock garlic paste and ginger paste in separate jars. Just take equal amounts of both out and mix them to make the garlic and ginger paste needed for most recipes in this book.

‘The Curry Guy Easy’ by Dan Toombs (Quadrille, £12.99)

Click here for Just Eat discount codes

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