Tag: World Cookery


Jun
2020

Cheese-Stuffed Chillies

categories: 1970's recipes, Cheese, Chilli, Good Housekeeping World Cookery

These cheese-stuffed chillies are based on a recipe from the Ceylon section of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery Book.  So…I know a little bit about Sri Lankan cooking and never have I ever heard of a cheese-stuffed chilli.  Never.  Not once.  Just in case I am not being entirely clear – no one in my family, not my grandmothers, not my mother, not my aunts, cousins, no other writers of Sri Lankan cookbooks have ever made or even mentioned cheese stuffed chillies in the context of Sri Lankan cooking. 

Until now.  

cheese stuffed chillies 1

I became a little obsessed with this recipe because I started wondering if this was the original Jalapeno popper.  Turns out the term jalapeno popper came to prominence in Texas in around 1972 so the recipes are definitely contemporaneous in time if a continent or two apart in space.

The recipe was vague about the type of cheese to use.  Mum said that in Sri Lanka when she was growing up the only types of cheese available were Kraft cheese in a tin and Edam.  Neither of which I happened to have on hand.  

I did have some goat’s cheese and I remembered that my friend Leesa once brought an amazing dish to cookbook club that was feta baked with thyme, honey and walnut. Which also accounted for the other thing that was bothering me which was the inclusion of sugar in the recipe.  

Hmm…so goat’s cheese to sub for the cheese in a tin, honey to sub in for the sugar.  Looks like a recipe is coming together!

cheese stuffed chillies 2

These cheese-stuffed chillies were delicious!!!!

There was some heat from the chillis, creaminess and a little bit of salty tanginess from the cheeseand the mustard, sweetness from the honey, crunchy toastiness from the nuts and a hit of herbiness from the thyme.

Perfect drinking snack!!!

I could have eaten a dozen of these with an ice-cold beer on a sunny afternoon.  And I would have been in total bliss!  They were also nice with a glass of red wine on a cold winter’s night too!

A Digression in the World of Major League Eating

Which reminds me.  I found this amazing factoid on Wikipedia when doing some research on the origin of the jalapeno popper.  

“Joey “Jaws” Chestnut holds the Major League Eating record for jalapeño poppers, eating 118 in 10 minutes at the University of Arizona on 8 April 2006.”

This of course took me down a path of Major League Eating.  Turns out our boy Jaws (known on the MLE site as “the greatest eater in history” and “the apex predator” does not restrict himself to the jalapeno.  He also holds records for downing Chicken Wings (both long form and 12 minute),  pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, meat pies, donuts, eggs, asparagus, corned beef sandwiches, pork ribs, Philly Cheesesteaks, funnel cakes, fish tacos, mutton sandwichs, traditional tacos, shrimp wontons, pulled pork,  horseshoe sandwiches (???), pulled pork sliders, long form burritos, short form ramen, gyros, Twinkies, boysenberry pie, tamales, gyoza, gumbo, ice cream sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, poutine, shrimp cocktail..there are more but I lost the will to live whilst typing that lot out. 

Sadly,  the prize for French cut green beans (2.71 pounds in six minutes) went to Joey Jaws arch-rival Crazy Legs Conti.  Shine on you Crazy Legged Diamond! 

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Cheese Stuffed Chillies – The Recipe

Stuffed Chillies Recipe

I also put my stuffed chillies under the grill to melt the cheese, toast the nuts and get some nice roastiness on the chillies.  But you could serve them as is per the recipe if you wanted.

The ultimate verdict on these cheese-stuffed chillies is that they are not at all Sri Lankan but are totally delish!  Just don’t invite Joey Jaws Chestnut over if you plan on making them.  Or make a LOT!  

cheese stuffed chillies 4

Next stop on the good Housekeeping World Cookery Tour is China!  Let’s see what inauthentic food we can find from the land of dragons and emperors!  I’m hoping for some dumplings!

Have a great week!  

 

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Jul
2019

Pakistani Scotch Eggs

categories: 1970's recipes, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Pakistan, World Cooking

Hello, people of the internet!

Arrrgghh, it’s been such a long time between posts due to a long period of lethargy following the flu and a dying,  then dead,  laptop.  But, at long last, we can continue our journey around the world 1972 style as we enter the Indian subcontinent and taste test these delights straight out of Pakistan.  During this leg of the trip, we will visit, Pakistan, India and the country of my birth,  Sri Lanka.  I am very excited about what lies ahead.  But first, let’s talk about these Pakistani Scotch eggs I made…or, more correctly, let’s talk about the Nargasi Koftay I made.

I love Scotch eggs. Not those horrible store-bought things you buy on holiday in England and spend the next few weeks regretting…but proper homemade Scotch eggs.  My mum used to make them regularly when I was a child and like most things, in my mind, mum’s Scotch eggs are the BEST!  But surprisingly, given our Sri Lankan heritage, we never had them with a spicy mince coating the egg.

Let me tell you….mind blown!!!!  Such a good innovation.

That is…until I started to do a little bit o’ digging into the history of the Scotch egg and realised that maybe it is not an innovation at all…

Fortnum and Mason claim to have invented the Scotch egg in 1738 as a luxury travelling snack for wealthy Londoners departing the fog and funk of the city for the fresh and crisp air of their country manors.  The idea being that plain old hard-boiled eggs were far too stinky for these posh folk to have to deal with.

Wow…imagine that world!

I had never thought of Scotch Eggs being posh people’s food.  I would have put money on it originating in a working-class scenario, much like a pastie. The crumb coating protecting the meat from the dirt and dust of a coal mine while the egg was added as a cheap and quick protein boost and to eke out the meat.

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Let’s throw another scenario out there

Way back in 1592, the Moghul Empire was founded…and those dudes had a long history with Persia. How about those Moghuls found a recipe for an egg wrapped kofta from the Persians and,  in turn, and over centuries, that was given to the British in the days of the Raj…

And turned into a lux travelling snack due to its popularity with the returning sahibs and memsahibs?

Not totally out of the realms of all probability I think.

Here’s the recipe!

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Pakistani Scotch Eggs

Print Recipe

A spicy take on a British Scotch Egg.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 eggs, boiled and shelled, aim for soft boiled
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1cm piece of ginger, grated
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 4 sprigs of coriander or mint, finely chopped
  • 500g beef mince
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 cups dried breadcrumbs
  • Sunflower oil to deep fry
  • Kasundi, coriander leaves to serve (optional)

Instructions

  1. Carefully shell the eggs and place aside.
  2. Heat the coconut oil in a pan over a medium heat
  3. Add the onions and cook until translucent.
  4. Add the garlic, ginger, salt, chilli powder, Garam masala, turmeric, cumin and coriander. Cook for 2 minutes until the spices become aromatic.
  5. Put aside to cool.
  6. Once the spice mix is cool add the minced beef and the coriander and mix well.
  7. Wet your hands with water and divide the mince mixture into 6 equal parts.
  8. Wrap one of these around an egg, ensuring that there are no cracks or uncovered spaces.
  9. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
  10. Season the flour with salt and pepper and spread on a plate.
  11. Put the beaten egg in a bowl
  12. Add the breadcrumbs to another plate.
  13. Roll the covered eggs in the flour, dip in the egg and roll in the crumbs.
  14. Repeat for all the eggs.
  15. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  16. Preheat the oven to 170C.
  17. Half-fill a deep-fryer or a large pan with oil and heat to 190°C (a cube of bread will turn golden in 30 seconds when the oil’s hot enough). Fry the eggs, in batches, for 2 minutes or until golden. Place the eggs on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes until the meat is cooked through.
  18. Serve warm or cold with tomato kasundi and coriander leaves.

Nargasi Kofta is traditionally served in a curry sauce. I decided to crumb and fry mine simply because I wanted them to be portable.  Sadly no country manor just a commuter train to work!

I served my Pakistani Scotch Eggs with a tomato kasundi from Kylee Newtons’ The Modern Preserver, which is a book I can heartily recommend.  You can also find the recipe for the kasundi here.

This spicy relish complements the taste of the Scotch Eggs.  If, however, you did not want to go to the bother of making it, you could serve with mayo, or Greek yoghurt – ideally with a swirl of Sriracha through it but plain would also be fine!

Enjoy and have a great week!