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Basque paella and Indian curry


Genuine Basque Paella

Paella as it should be...

On a boat that we sailed in tandem with from Tahiti to Darwin, "Ragaine II", was a man called Egoi, a real Basque.

If you look Basque up in the dictionary, this is what you will get:
Basque n
1) Member of the European peoples: a member of a people of unknown origin living in the western Pyrenees, in northwestern Spain and southwestern France
2) Language of Basques: the language spoken by the Basques, having no known relationship with another language. Population about 700,000.

So basically Basques don't know where the hell they or their language came from - but they do know how to cook and Paella is one of their traditional recipes (NOT Spain's). Below is how Egoi taught Mark, who sailed with me from Fiji to South Africa, to make Paella the Basque way.

Note: Paella is "made from the heart" so quantities and ingredients are not exact - you may have to experiment a little to get it just the way you like it.

Ingredients:
   Olive oil - enough to cover the bottom of a large(ish) pan.
   6 to 8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
   2 medium onions, mediumly chopped.
   1 Green/red/yellow pepper cut julienne style.
   1 cup sliced mushrooms.
   1 cup rice.
   2 cups water.
   Salt and pepper to taste.
   Spices of choice (paprika, cayenne, chili, curry etc.)
   1 or 2 tins each - smoked mussels, shrimps, flaked tuna or...
   Fish, chicken or meat as required.

Basic Paella Method:
Step 1. Heat enough olive oil in a large(ish) deep frying pan (or a cast iron skillet) to simmer the garlic, onion and spices in for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2. After 10 or so minutes, add the smoked mussels, shrimps, tuna and mushrooms. Simmer for a further 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more olive oil if necessary.

Step 3. Then add the rice and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the water and bring the whole lot up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to a light simmer and add the julienne cut peppers.
Don't stir any more.

Once the water has evaporated completely turn the heat off and let the paella rest on the hot plate for 5 or so minutes. This gives you enough time to pour the wine and butter some bread...

Serves 4 people. Enjoy with bread (baguette is best).

Notes:
You can go to town with this one. From the basic paella you can add or substitute a variety of vegetables as well as fish, chicken, or meat.

You don't have to pre-cook fish but chicken or meat needs to be cooked before going into a paella. This is a great way to use leftover chicken or meat for example.




Mark's Curry

Curry ready to go...
The secret to a good curry is to get the curry spices and seeds aromatic before adding the rest of the ingredients...

Ingredients:
   Enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a pot or deep frying pan.
   1 or 2 teaspoons Indian curry powder.
   ½ teaspoon each - sesamme seeds, cumin and mustard seeds.
   ½ cup fine coriander.
   8 to 10 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
   1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh ginger.
   2 or 3 onions mediumly chopped.
   3 medium carrots, finely chopped.
   2 cups par boiled potato cubes.
   1 eggplant (aubergene / brinjal) thinly sliced.
   A cup or two of finely sliced cabbage.
   1 or 2 thinly sliced green/red/yellow peppers.
   Pineapple and/or green mango to taste.
   Other fruit if desired (apricots and raisins work well).
   Salt and pepper to taste.
   Meat/chicken/fish already cooked.

Method:
Step 1. Heat the olive oil in the pan/pot/skillet and add the curry powder, salt, pepper, sesame, cumin, coriander and mustard seeds.
Stir until aromatic - I.E. just before they burn.

Step 2. Now add the garlic, ginger, onion, potato and carrot and simmer until the onion starts getting soft. Add more olive oil as needed.

Step 3. Next, add all the remaining ingredients, except the fish/meat/chicken, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Step 4. Now add your choice of pre-cooked meat/chicken/fish and a tin of coconut cream and let simmer for 10 to 20 minutes.

If you need to thicken the sauce, dissolve a heaped teaspoon of corn flower (Mazina) in a little cold water and add slowly to the simmering pot until the desired consistency is reached.

Notes:
Steps 1 and 2 should remain as is but from step 3 onwards you can pretty much do your own thing.
Serve with rice (basmati is best) or cous-cous.







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