Red Chilli 2, Wakefield

One of the things Wakefield does very well is curry, indeed when I lived in Newcastle as a student I was surprised at how comparatively poor the curry was.

 

I am, with my family, a regular at the Red Chilli 2, to the point that we have a regular table.  We are always made to feel very welcome when we walk through the door (but that may be because there are 6 or 7 of us). They always seem to recognise us, although that may be because my dad’s Scottish, making him something of a local celebrity. Exotic..............

 The service makes you feel like you are in a high class eatery rather than in a converted shop on Kirkgate. The restaurant is clean and warm but the décor is nothing spectacular, letting the food and the service (which can sometimes feel a little over-bearing) speak for its self. The food tends to arrive very promptly, which is a blessing if you have small children or teenagers. It’s a popular family restaurant and children are made to feel very welcome. 

As a vegetarian I am very rarely bowled over the choice when eating out; however, a large proportion of the Indian subcontinent are veggy. I am almost always guaranteed a decent meal in a curry house. I can get vegetarian versions of most of the popular curries as well as a few dedicated veggy dishes such as Paneer Tikka Masala as well. This means that I can have a different dish each time I go.  There is also a choice of milder curried for those unlike me are not a fan of hot food, such as kormas, which I am told are very creamy and full of flavour.

Last time I went I had poppadoms and pickles (a meal in its self) then a Paneer Tikka Masala with a garlic naan. It was as always very tasty and not too hot. The best dish I’ve had there is the hot and sour vegetable dansak, which may be a little too hot for some, but just right for the chilli devil that I am. 

Price wise, it’s extremely reasonable. A main dish comes in at around £6 or £7, though some might be a little more expensive. Last time we went, seven of us were able to eat (and have some drinks!) for less than £90. This included pickles, poppadums six adult and one child’s main, naans……and doggy bags to bring home.

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Mushroom Stroganoff

This is a good recipe for using up leftover cream that would otherwise sit in the back of the fridge. The cream can be substituted with yogurt if you want to make it low fat, but it does curdle so don’t serve it to anyone too fussy. The amounts shown on the pictures are enough for one person; if you want to feed more people add more mushrooms. If you are going out after eating this add less garlic. It is ever so easy and quick to make, so let me show you in the medium of lists and pictures (not dance though… maybe if I start a vlog…..)

Ingredients

Mushrooms

1 Onion

Garlic (as much as you like)

 1 stick of celery

Wine (any colour)

A big splash of cream

Balsamic vinegar

Paprika

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Henderson’s relish (imported at great expense from Sheffield)

Method

Wipe the mushrooms down with a damp cloth or some kitchen roll. Mushrooms have a lot of water in them so you don’t need to add any more.

 

Chop up the veg (chunky as you like) the finer you chop up the garlic the stronger the taste is

 

Heat up the oil in the pan

 

Fry the onion and the celery for about 3 minutes.

Add the paprika, mushrooms and garlic and fry for another 3 minutes

When the mushrooms start to go oozy (let out water, there’s probably a technical term for this but I don’t know it) add the wine. Just a splash mind…. I said a splash

Put in some cream but remember that the mushrooms let out water when they are cooking so add a bit less than you think you need, you can always add more if you need it.

 

Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and a splash of Henderson’s relish. Add salt and pepper then cook for another few minutes (if you have any mustard you can add that as well as it gives it a nice kick.

 

 Eat!

 

It is very good when the  weather is like this

The nettle experiment

The first time I had nettles I was 17 and on a school trip to Wiltshire and I was staying in a reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse (it looked like the tellytubby house). One of my abiding memories of the night other than being freezing cold (it was March) was trying nettles for the first time and quite liking them.

Nettles are one of the new super food fads but not without reason; nettles are full of the vegetarian trinity of iron, protein and vitamin C. They behave rather like spinach when cooked.  I would not recommend eating them raw as they tend to be a little bit...stingy.

I got the nettles from the park over the road but they are available at every good area of wasteland, motorway verges and some gardens. I wore thick gloves and my red rain coat (because I wasn’t conspicuous enough). I got some funny looks, but quite frankly I have got beyond caring about stuff like that. You only want to pick the top few rows of leaves as they are the tenderest.

So without further ado let’s get on with the experiment….

Ingredients

Nettles

Salt

Water

Method

In a colander I rinsed the nettles very well. I found out at this point that some nettles can still sting after  being picked, so keep the gloves on till the nettles are cooked.

Put water on to the boil and add a good amount of salt

 

Put the nettles into the pan then let them boil for a few minutes  

 

Drain well and put into cold water to preserve the colour.

Dry with a paper towel. The nettles absorb a lot of water so be prepared for this.

 

Result

The nettles were quite bland as I may have over boiled them, so I fried then up with lots of butter, garlic, salt and pepper. It was really quite tasty as it absorbed all of the butter . I think nettles may be very good in the place of spinach in dishes such as chilli or as a side to something strong flavoured.