Chef Martin Anderson
The Saturday night fake away……..
A phase often used by many fitness trainers, slimming clubs and folk that Love to have a takeaway but make the same food at home therefore making it a healthy option.
For some reason the Saturday night takeaway or even a Friday night takeaway is a great treat. Maybe it’s because you’ve worked and cooked hard all week and you deserve to have dinner cooked for you by a local takeaway representative.
I will admit to indulging in the odd takeaway and I find it difficult sometimes to go for a healthy option but then again sometimes a wee bit of Junk food does no harm .
We opened Sonder last week and then worked there all day Sunday on my own preparing and getting ready for the busy week ahead ,I took a serious craving for fast food even though I was surrounded by good food all day I just had to get it out of my system.
I made the horrific mistake of ordering a quarter pound burger with cheese & salad a portion of onion rings , bag of chips , can of diet Coke and coleslaw.
How’s that for a tight feed? I ordered this in an establishment that was better known for pizza than burgers but I just couldn’t face the the thought of having to wait that long for a pizza .
I was firstly asked what is coleslaw !! At this stage I should’ve known that it was going to be down hill all the way.
After explaining what coleslaw was I was told sorry we don’t do that. That’s fine if it’s not on the menu. That’s okay by me I’m a chef I know the rules , I was informed “we have lettuce and tomato ketchup, would that be okay for the salad?” I just nodded and said lettuce is fine.
I placed my order with great enthusiasm and ran to the shop nearby in the hope of finding a wee bit of ropey coleslaw that had travelled a vast distance in a food service lorry for my soon to be demolished burger ……. no joy there either .
On my return to the said establishment my order was ready; I paid my bill and headed home.
Firstly it’s amazing how we are willing to pay a premium price for fast food but when asked to pay for real food in a restaurant we think that it’s expensive , you don’t even get a real knife or fork with fast food.
Secondly if you are going to offer a menu option then at least cook it fresh. I know it’s fast food but the burger I discovered when I got home was cooked at least two hours in advance , a floppy disc ( who remembers them ) of burnt meat, a soggy bun with a bit of melted plastic cheese and lettuce .
Cold chips and the onion rings were pre-formed deep fried rings of puréed onion , each one the same size the same shape and the same horrendous taste. I couldn’t even bring myself to eat them what a waste of food and money.
The Diet Coke was chilled to perfection! Did you ever eat fast food & a half hour later think to yourself I’m flippen hungry again? Well that was me after my gourmet meal.
If you are not going to serve the food properly then don’t put it in the menu , I’ll not be making a return visit and that’s for sure…. should’ve ordered pizza .
So this weeks recipe is for chicken korma a Saturday night takeaway special , served with basmati rice this is a wonderful simple recipe.
Make sure you soak the basmati in cold water for half an hour finding it off a few times, this removes some of the starch and prevents the rice from sticking .
Chicken korma
Allow 1 fillet of chicken per person, cut into strips.
You will need. (For 2 covers)
2 Chicken fillets.
500mls of chicken stock .
Tablespoon of Ghee or Rapeseed oil for cooking.
100g Ground almonds.
100mls of Coconut milk.
1 medium diced onion
1 tsp cumin.
1tsp coriander.
1 tsp gararm masala.
½ tsp cardamom.
½ tsp of cloves.
100mls of natural yogurt.
1 chopped chilli.
1 tsp of garlic paste.
1 tsp of ginger paste.
Chopped coriander .
Method.
Seal off the chicken in a little oil or ghee, add the onions, ginger, garlic, chilli and cook for a minute.
Add the spice’s and cook again.
Finally add the almonds and stock , stir well and allow to simmer until the chicken is cooked and the sauce thickens , you may add a little diluted cornflour if you wish ( all the best Chefs have an emergency bag if cornflour in their kitchen !! )
Add the yogurt at the very end and stir in a little coriander .
For the rice .
Allow 100g of raw rice per person .
Wash the rice well rinsing off the starch . Bring a pot of water to the boil to which you have added a little salt , add the rice and simmer until cooked , it only takes basmati rice 10-12 minutes to cook so keep an eye on it .
Drain your rice and serve onto your plates spooning the Korma over the rice , you may serve it separate if you don’t want the sauce to soak through the rice (I hate that )
So there you go a Saturday night fakeaway you can be proud of and not a ropey burger in sight !!
Please return to Sonder!
We opened Sonder this week to great acclaim. It has been a lifelong goal of mine to have my own food premises and although the Crest Catering Company has been a great success it is very seasonal.
I’ve worked hard over the years building a client base for my food in various establishments across the northwest but this is the first time it’s for me and my team. I do hope you will continue to show your support and as always I appreciate and thank everyone that has helped me achieve my dream .
Chef Martin Anderson.
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