Homebrew Spent Grain Beer Bread

My hubby has been dabbling with making his own beer at home for about a year now. He likes to get his money's worth out of the ingredients he buys. Most beer recipes consist of 4 or 5 cups of a variety of mixed whole grains.

Following on from an idea of another friend of ours who brews, he's been looking for a quality Spent Grain Bread recipe.

He found this one, and it turns our a really good loaf and is quite healthy at the same time.

Ingredients:

1 bottle (12oz) beer (any style or brand, hubby insists on using his own beer)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
3/4 cup dry milk
1 1/2 cups spent grain
2 eggs
1 tablespoon salt
5 cups flour


Directions:

Make a sponge by combining the beer, sugar, yeast, dry milk and spent grain. Cover this and let it sit for a couple of hours.

Add the eggs and salt, and enough flour to make a workable dough. Knead it (working in only as much flour as you need), then let it rise again.

Shape it into loaves, and bake by placing it in a cold oven. Set the oven temp to 400 for 15 minutes, then down to 350 for an additional 20 to 30 minutes.

Fresh Peach Chutney

Ingredients * 1/2 cup cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 large sweet red pepper, seeded, diced 1/4 inch, about 1/2 cup
* 1 small white onion, peeled and diced, about 1/2 cup
* 1/3 cup white raisins
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
* 1 tablespoon grated ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 pounds firm, fresh peaches, blanched to remove the skin, pit removed, sliced into wedges

Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Garam Massala Recipe for Curry.

2 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
3 tsp Ground Cumin
3 tsp Ground Coriander
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp Ground Cloves

Mix spices together and store.

Chicken Curry Recipe

This recipe is an authentic Indian Curry as found in Cape Town, South Africa and other parts of the country where the Indian/Malay Culture is still very strong. This recipe can be made with chicken, lamb or fish, and it carries with it a very robust and aromatic flavor from the myriad of spices used.

The recipe calls for Garam Massala (not to be confused with Italian Marsala), which is itself a combination of complimentary spices. If you cannot acquire Masala, I have included a recipe for this too, here.

If you can, sliced Banana mixed with a Bulgur Yogurt, to lend a sweet and tangy taste as a side absolutely makes this, as does a nice Peach Chutney when used as a condiment, a recipe for peach chutney is included, here.

You can also add 1 cup raisins/sultanas (Sultanas would be more authentic), to the final mix.

It has been my experience that the more fresh the spices are, the more robust the taste is.

Ingredients
* 4.5lbs chicken or mutton or fish pieces, sliced with the grain at about 1/4"
* 4 chopped onions
* 6 peeled and chopped tomatoes
* 6 potatoes cut in rough pieces
* Frozen peas
* 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1 tsp garam massala, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp cumin, 5 cardamom seeds, 1 tsp cinnamon, 5 crushed garlic cloves, 5 whole cloves
* 1/4 cup of sunflower seed oil
* Cayenne Pepper
* Cumin
* Whole Coriander

‘Side dish’
* 3 sliced bananas mixed with Bulgur yogurt, and peach chutney to serve with.
* Jasmine Rice

Directions
1. Mix all spices, except the Cayenne Pepper, Cumin and Whole Coriander.
2. Heat oil, add onions then add spice mixture to the hot oil and stir fry until you smell the unique aroma that is curry.
3. Add the meat, the tomatoes and 9oz of water. Simmer for around 1 hour until the meat is tender.
4. Add the potatoes and peas and cook for another 45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
5. Place 1/2oz of whole coriander into a small hot skillet and sear on high for aprox 2 mins or until you can smell the aroma. Crush with a mortar and pestle and add to the pot
6. Sprinkle Cayenne Pepper in a thin layer, or to taste, over the curry and mix in
7. Sprinkle Cumin in a thin layer, or to taste, over the curry and mix in
8. Serve the curry with the banana dish, rice, sweet chutney and naans on the side.

Serves 6
Enjoy!

Simple Spiced Rice

This recipe is simple yet a flavorful change to any menu.

Please check out my other recipes, I have included many Indian dishes that this would go great with.

Serves 8



Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 cups uncooked basmati rice
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 4 cups water
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 2 whole cinnamon sticks
* 1 large bay leaf

Directions
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook and stir the basmati rice and onion until the rice kernels are coated with butter and the onion is translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. The rice will give off a slightly toasted fragrance. Pour in water, and mix in salt, cinnamon sticks and bay leaf.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the saucepan, and simmer the rice until all the water has disappeared and the rice appears dry, about 18 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.

Curried Corn - 2 Variations

Here is a nice vegetable side dish recipe to serve with any curry or alone.

Because many Indian religious practices limit or forbid the eating of meat, Indian cuisine abounds with vegetable and lentil dishes, along with rice and delicious yogurt- or cream-based sauces.

Enjoy!


Ingredients
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 2 cups frozen corn
* 2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper
* 2 tablespoons chopped onion
* 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* salt and ground black pepper to taste


Directions
1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat; mix the corn, green pepper, onion, and curry powder into the melted butter, cover the skillet, and cook until the vegetables are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir the sour cream into the vegetable mixture, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking until hot, stirring continually, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.


Sauteed Curried Corn


This veggie side dish serves 8 and is a great accompaniment to any Indian dish or American cuisine looking for a nice change in taste.








Ingredients
* 1/3 cup butter
* 1/2 cup diced onion
* 2 (15.25 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained
* 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Melt butter in a large skillet over high heat.

2. Add the onion and corn. Cook, stirring frequently until the corn begins to brown at the edges, about 7 minutes.

3. Season with curry powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Cucumber Raita

This cool creamy sauce is great with meat dishes or any lentil, rice or vegetable side.

Make the salad early in the day and keep in the refrigerator to let the flavors blend and intensify.

Add more mint to taste, but do not substitute dried mint; the flavor is just not the same."



Ingredients
* 2 hot house cucumber - peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
* 2 cups Greek yogurt
* 3 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
* 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt


Directions
1. Stir together the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, mint, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

Serves 12

How to Thicken Curry Sauces

Curry sauce is the basis for many Indian and Thai dishes, and these sauces are often very thick and creamy. Most of the time, the ingredients in curry sauces thicken the sauce properly without the need for additional thickening agents. Sometimes the vegetables and other ingredients in the curry add too much moisture to the sauce, making it runny. There are many different ways to thicken a curry sauce that has become too thin. It's important to choose a method that will not negatively affect the flavor of the dish; this can be achieved by either selecting a flavor-neutral addition or adding more of an ingredient that's already present in the dish.


Difficulty: Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need:

* Food processor Plain yogurt Coconut milk Raw cashews or almonds Unsweetened peanut butter Flour Vegetable oil Skillet Whisk

1. Make sure the curry is allowed to simmer for the recommended amount of time before tampering with the sauce. Curry sauces take time to set up and often can appear runny or watery until the very last minute. Let the curry cook for the full amount of time listed in the recipe, stirring constantly to make sure it doesn't burn.

2. Scoop some of the curry sauce and vegetables into a food processor and blend it until smooth. Add the blended curry back to the main pot, stirring to combine. This is the best way to thicken a sauce without affecting the flavor of the curry, but it won't work for extremely thin sauces.

3. Add a spoonful of yogurt or 1/4 to 1/2 cup of coconut milk to the curry sauce and let it simmer, stirring constantly, for a few minutes. As many curries already contain one of these ingredients, this addition won't affect the flavor in many recipes.

4. Put a handful of raw, unsalted cashews or raw almonds in the food processor and pulse until they're a paste. Stir the paste into the curry sauce. If you don't have any cashews or almonds on hand, adding a spoonful of unsweetened, smooth peanut butter to the sauce works as well. This method will leave a distinct nuttiness in the sauce.

5. Put equal amounts of oil and flour in a skillet and, stirring continuously, cook the mixture over very low heat until it's lightly browned. Add about a cup of the thin curry sauce to the flour mixture and whisk until combined. Stir the mixture into the rest of the curry.