lockdown inspiration

Make this your go-to special chicken curry. Straight from the kitchen of London's Kolamba restaurant, this Sri Lankan recipe uses oodles of fresh spices and a homemade roasted curry powder

Kolamba's chicken curry

vegetable oil 2 tbsp

fenugreek seeds ¼ tsp

curry leaves 8

onions 2 medium, thinly sliced

garlic 6 cloves, finely chopped

ginger a thumb-sized piece, finely chopped

turmeric 1 ½ tsp

mild chilli powder 1 tsp

white wine vinegar 2 tbsp

tomatoes 2, peeled and chopped

cardamom 6 pods, cracked

cloves 5, cracked

cinnamon 1 stick

lemongrass 1 stick, bruised

pandan leaf 5cm piece (optional)

chicken thighs 8

coconut milk

lemon juice 2 tsp

rice

pods, seeds extracted and shells discarded

basmati rice 1 tsp

coriander seeds 1 tsp

cumin seeds 1 tsp

black peppercorns 1 tsp

black mustard seeds 1 tsp

fennel seeds 1 tsp

cloves

A seriously punchy whisky cocktail perfect for slow sipping during the winter months

Sloe Sazerac

rye whisky 50 milliliters

simple syrup 10 milliliters

Peychaud bitters 4 dashes

sloe gin 2½ tbsp

absinthe 10 milliliters

lemon

sloe berries, to garnish (optional)

Sloe sazerac

This modern take on roast chicken highlights one of Ethiopia’s signature spices, nigella. When used as the dominant seasoning, nigella’s nutty, earthy notes take centre stage and combine sublimely with sesame seeds

Ethiopian Nigella-Glazed Roast Chicken

chicken 1.4-1.8kg

sea salt flakes

black peppercorns crushed to make 1 tsp

thyme a small handful

oregano

sunflower oil 2 tbsp,

nigella seeds 1 tbsp, roughly ground

red onion 1 medium, halved

carrots 2 medium, peeled and cut in half lengthways and crossways

potatoes

chicken stock 500 milliliters

butter 1 tbsp

black and white sesame seeds 2 tbsp

Ethiopian nigella-glazed roast chicken

Make a vegan Sri Lankan feast tonight, with a jackfruit curry recipe straight from the kitchen of Kolamba in London. You'll need plenty of fresh spices and a tin of green jackfruit

Kolamba's polos (young jackfruit curry)

rapeseed oil 2 tbsp

black mustard seeds ½ tsp

fenugreek seeds ½ tsp

onion 1, finely chopped

garlic 2 cloves, finely chopped

green chilli 1, finely chopped

curry powder 1 tsp

cumin 1 tsp

coriander ½ tsp

mild chilli powder ½ tsp

turmeric 1 tsp

tomato 1 medium, chopped

curry leaves 6-8

pandan leaf 5cm piece, (optional, see notes below)

green jackfruit 500 grams tin, drained

coconut milk 240 milliliters

lime juice 1 tbsp

sugar (any will do) 1 tsp

fine sea salt ​3⁄4 tbsp

crispy onions

This colourful soup is packed with nutritious veggies, pulses and spices for a vegan winter warmer with less than 250 calories

Moroccan veggie soup

vegetable oil

onion, finely chopped

celery,

garlic,

preserved lemons, flesh

red chillis, deseeded and finely chopped

tomato purée

tsp cumin

tsp turmeric

cinnamon

tin chopped tomatoes

(350 grams) potato,

tin chickpeas,

spinach

parsley,

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan and add the onion, celery and a pinch of salt. Put on a lid and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the garlic, preserved lemons and red chillies, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato purée and spices, and cook for a further 2 minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes, potato, chickpeas and 1.25 litres of boiling water.

Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Tip in the spinach, flat-leaf parsley and a little seasoning, and stir for 1 minute until wilted. Add the lemon juice, then spoon into bowls with lemon wedges for squeezing.

Yassa is one of Senegal’s favourite dishes and one of the crowdpleasers at Little Baobab, a pop-up London restaurant that celebrates Senegalese food and music

Chicken yassa

spring onion, roughly chopped

½ green pepper, roughly chopped

ginger, roughly chopped

scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded and chopped

parsley

lemons, juiced

Dijon mustard

chicken legs (skin on), slashed

tbsp red wine vinegar

bay leaf

green olives, (optional)

couscous

In a food processer, blitz together the roughly chopped onions, garlic, spring onion, pepper, ginger, chilli, parsley and a good pinch of salt. Add the juice of one lemon and the mustard, and blitz again.

Put the marinade in a bowl with the chicken legs and thinly sliced onion, toss and leave to marinate for at least couple of hours (or overnight if you like).

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Remove the chicken from the marinade, brushing off any excess, put onto a baking tray and roast for 45 minutes or until deep golden and cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, heat the oil in a large wide pan over a high heat, then stir in the marinade and onions. Add the vinegar, bay, and some salt and pepper, and cook over a medium-high heat for 35-40 minutes, stirring regularly, or until the onions are cooked through, melting and caramelised. Stir in the remaining lemon juice.

Add the roasted chicken and olives (if using) to the pan, cover and cook for 5 minutes on a low heat to let the flavours combine. Sprinke over a little extra parsley, if you like, and serve with rice, couscous or vermicelli.

Bake a batch of our decadent vegan chocolate brownies for an indulgent treat. Our unique recipe is super chocolaty so vegan and non-vegan friends and family will all love it!

Vegan brownies

tbsp ground or milled flaxseeds, (see notes below)

dark vegan chocolate

vegan butter

plain flour, sifted

cocoa powder, sifted

tsp baking powder

caster sugar

tsp vanilla extract

almond milk

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a 23cm x 23cm square brownie tin with baking paper. Mix the ground flaxseeds with 6 tbsp of cold water in a bowl, then set aside to thicken.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a microwave or a bowl set over (but not touching) a pan of simmering water. Cool slightly to room temperature.

Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a separate bowl.

Whisk the caster sugar into the chocolate mixture until smooth and fully combined. Add the flaxseed mixture, vanilla extract and almond milk, and stir to combine. Finally, fold in the dry ingredients until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and smooth the top. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is cracked but the middle is just set. Cool completely, then lift out of the tin and cut into squares.

Bake the perfect sourdough bread loaf at home with this step-by-step guide from olive's deputy food editor and ex-baker

Easy sourdough recipe

levain (recipe above)

water,

strong white bread flour

wholewheat spelt flour

fine sea salt

Start by putting the levain into a large mixing bowl and then pour in the warm water. Mix well with your fingers to distribute the levain, then add the flours and mix really well with your hands. You will learn most about the different stages of your bread by getting your hands on the dough. Even professional bakers who mix dough in 50kg dough mixers, reach in and touch, stretch and feel the dough. Open up your fingers and use your hands like whisks to really mix the flour, levain and water together well. Leave this to rest for between 20 minutes and 1 hour, covering the bowl with a clean tea towel. This stage is called the autolyse and comes from the Greek for ‘self-digestion’. This is why sourdough doesn’t have to be kneaded, as the gluten structure forms itself here, doing all of the hard work. If you’re particularly short on time, even a 15-minute rest will make a difference.

Tip in the salt (adding it after the autolyse ensures the dough develops better elasticity) and, with wet hands, mix the dough really well. Breaking the gluten bonds now will allow them to reform even stronger.

The next step is called the bulk fermentation. Leave the dough covered with the tea towel and, every 45 minutes, ‘stretch and fold’ the dough. Wet your hands, take one side of the dough, stretch it up (being careful not to tear the dough) and fold it over on top of itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat, doing this six to eight times. The dough will ‘tighten’ and become less slack. Repeat this every 45 minutes for 3-4 hours (so 4-5 times in total). Every time the dough is turned it should have more air bubbles and also, toward the end, feel noticeably lighter.

Next is the bench rest. This is when the dough can be encouraged into a regular shape, creating tension so that it has the strength to stay ‘bread shaped’ when baked, as opposed to flattening into a pancake. Flour a clean worksurface really well and tip out the dough. Using a dough scraper, fold the dough up and over on itself, similar to the stretch and fold method but just folding this time. Do this 4-6 times, and again the dough will tighten and hold its shape better. Add more flour to the worksurface if the bread is sticking. The dough should be relatively round now, so leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes – expect it to flatten a little.

olive's deputy food editor and ex-baker shares his bread-making expertise. Learn how to create your own sourdough starter (no yeast needed) with his expert tips

Best sourdough starter recipe

rye flour

warm-to-the-touch water

Mix 25g strong white bread flour, 25g rye flour and 50g warm-to-the-touch water (weigh it for accuracy) well, and leave, loosely covered, for 24 hours at room temperature. There may not be too many bubbles at this stage.

The next day, add 15g more of each flour to the starter and 30g of water. Mix well and, again, leave loosely covered at room temperature for another 24 hours.

Repeat this second step every day for the next four days and the starter will begin to bubble and rise more with each feed.

Before you want to make your first loaf, you will need to discard all but 4 tbsp of this starter (you can use it to make, crumpets, muffins, pancakes), feed again with the same amounts of flour and water and leave for 8 hours. This will then be the starter you will use to make loaves with – just remember to keep some of this back every time you bake to make loaves next time.

Top 9 lockdown inspiration recipes from across the web

The most viewed lockdown inspiration recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Kolamba's chicken curry

Sloe Sazerac

Ethiopian Nigella-Glazed Roast Chic...

Kolamba's polos (young jackfruit cu...

Moroccan veggie soup

Chicken yassa

Vegan brownies

Easy sourdough recipe

Best sourdough starter recipe

Top 9 lockdown inspiration recipes from across the web

The most viewed lockdown inspiration recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Kolamba's chicken curry

Sloe Sazerac

Ethiopian Nigella-Glazed Roast Chic...

Kolamba's polos (young jackfruit cu...

Moroccan veggie soup

Chicken yassa

Vegan brownies

Easy sourdough recipe

Best sourdough starter recipe

The most viewed lockdown inspiration recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine