I really want to believe that sexist attitudes towards women in India will change. But as a product of that patriarchal society myself, I know only too well how deeply those attitudes are ingrained. It will be a struggle.
I had meant to read this for some time as several people I know recommended it. I was happy when it was chosen as this month’s reading group book. But, disappointingly, it’s a thumbs down from me.
I found roughly the first third quite boring. There are many characters introduced and they all seem very two-dimensional and indistinguishable from one another. The style of the novel reminds me of Dan Brown, but without being quite as sensational and with far less description. I found the solution to the central mystery quite ridiculous. Another aspect I didn’t enjoy was the product placement sprinkled all over the place.
The only part of this book I really enjoyed was the confrontation between the hero and the villain. That was pretty exciting and would be a fantastic on screen. I haven’t seen either of the films that have been made of the book but I’m sure they could be very good indeed; there’s a reasonably engaging plot once it picks up. However, it falls short as a book because there’s nothing there to make the reader sympathise with any of the characters because he/she just doesn’t get to know them. There’s more written about what people eat than about what they are really like.
I don’t know how much of this is down to translation but the style of the writing is very dull and wooden. The book tells you a lot about what happened and what people said but not how they said it or what they felt. Perhaps it’s because SL was a journalist so was used to writing in that style? Whatever the reason, this book just didn’t make its mark on me.
The potatoes are adapted from a BBC Good Food recipe. I made them to accompany homemade smoked trout. I served them together with undressed salad leaves.
Boil new potatoes until they are done (about 10 mins). Drain and allow all steam to evaporate. Place on a greaseproof sheet lightly crush, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and gently toss. Bake on a greaseproof sheet on an oven tray at 175C with fan for 15-20 mins or until there are lots of crispy brown edges. These can be flavoured with paprika and the like.
10 Mar 2013
If the new pots are large enough for it to be practical, after cooking and cooling cut in half and score as you would a mango hedgehog. Cook with the scored side facing downwards for about 10 mins, then turn over to brown the skin side.
The dip was adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe. I wanted a condiment to eat alongside rather than a pate which incorporated the smoked trout. So I put 125g cream cheese, 2 heaped tsp grated horseradish (not sauce), fried onions (I had no chives) and lemon juice into the mixer. I seasoned with pepper. It turned out really well but a little too lemony; you don’t need all the juice of half a lemon so start with half of that.
We were given a Gressingham Spatchcock Poussin today. It came in a four pepper seasoning. I noticed that glucose syrup was listed in the ingredients so I thought, why not go the whole hog and give it a Chinese marinade? So, using a Ken Hom recipe as a template I mixed
minced ginger
1 tsp groundnut oil
dark soy sauce
chilli bean sauce
onion powder
and pushed it under the poussin skin. Then I baked in the oven at 175C without fan, aiming for the temperature of the thickest part of the breast to reach 60C (as per Heston’s roast chicken recipe). It actually got to about 65 so was very slightly overcooked but still very nice indeed, as was the rest of the bird. I will definitely cook poussin again, and will also ask the butcher to spatchcock (and perhaps halve) a whole chicken too.
This was inspired by Nigel Slater’s smoked haddock with potato and bacon recipe. This is what I did with the ingredients I had to hand:
Cut white potatoes into round half-cm thick chunks, boil and leave to cool. Once the steam has gone cover to avoid darkening by oxidation. When ready to eat, saute to brown both sides. These are best served immediately for maximum crunch (like everything involving frying!)
Skin smoked haddock and cut into into large chunks. Poach very gently in water until their internal temperature is 45C.
Make a ham and cream sauce: fry a litle minced garlic just to get rid of its harshness, then add cream, shredded ham and lots of chopped parsley.
Serve with lightly cooked veg.
Mark made a pasta soup for me last week which I enjoyed very much. It inspired me to make one for myself. When I was given some very salty, thinly sliced ham to use up, I seized the opportunity. I made a pasta soup adapted from this bacon, bean and pasta soup with the following ingredients:
1 onion, chopped finely – no salt when frying
1 tbsp minced garlic
120g dry pasta
1 carrot halved lengthway (just to flavour broth)
1 tin flageolet beans
0.5 pack green beans, sliced lengthways
chicken stock from 0.5 cube (no more as ham was v salty)
bay leaf
2 tbsp tomato puree
3 large handfuls sliced ham, sliced and torn into bite size pieces
lemon juice
pepper
Note: My soup was a bit cloudy, I think it was caused by the tomato puree.
20 Feb 2013
I made a veggie version of this for my uni friends, replacing the meat with chestnut mushrooms, swapping chicken stock for veg stock and leaving out the tomato puree. I served it with a small bowl of harissa and creme fraiche for them to blend in if required and a sliced giraffe loaf from Sainsburys. They loved it.
1 Feb 2013
Kale disintegrates in this soup – don’t use again.
I made these using the recipe in the Primrose Bakery book. I’ve made them several times before but this time I used the food processor for everything: finely grating the carrot, beating the eggs and sugar, mixing the carrot and raisins into the batter and beating the cream cheese icing. I didn’t think it would but it made a big difference to the end result: the cake was very light and the icing very smooth. That I didn’t end up with aching arms also made the experience far more enjoyable. I am a food processor convert.
This is brilliant; it’s scathing, farcical, satirical and ultimately satisying. Such a well woven tale. I can’t put it better than John Mullan, who spotted way more connections and hints than I did when the book was discussed for the Guardian Book Club.
This is Orwell’s own radio adaptation. It’s bloody amazing. Sent shivers down my spine.
I found a Waitrose roast chicken thighs & potatoes recipe online which suited the ingredients I’d got to hand. It wasn’t a bad meal considering the minimal amount of effort and lack of planning. The thighs turned out well with lovely crispy skin – before putting in the tray I sprinkled the skin with salt and leaving to draw the moisture out, then dried with kitchen roll. I did find it necessary to take the thighs out and then return the potatoes to the oven to brown. The potatoes are a little bit dry too so might be nice to serve with something to counter this such as gravy.
6 March 2013
I watched an episode of Perfect (Roast) in which Mark Sargeant made a similar dish but he cooked his potatoes beforehand.
What I did
Preheat oven to 175C.
Peel 2 very large Maris Pipers. Cut into roastie size chunks. Parboil in UNsalted water for 5 mins. Drain and allow all steam to escape.
Tenderise the 4 large chicken thighs a la Jamie i.e. put them between greaseproof and smack with a rolling pin, then spread a mix of 1 tsp fennel (ground), 1 deseeded chopped fresh red chilli, salt and minced garlic under the skin. Then salt the skin to draw moisture out – leave for about 5 mins – and dab dry with kitchen roll.
Cube half a peeled celariac. Toss that and the potatoes in olive oil, garlic salt and a little powdered chilli. Arrange in large baking tray lined with parchment along with thighs. Put lemon segments from 1 large lemon in as well. Give the potatoes and celariac an extra dab of oil with a brush then bake for 40 mins.
Switch to grill to crisp up chicken skin and brown the celariac and potatoes.
Serve with green veg.
Verdict
The chicken was overcooked though the skin got nice and crispy under the grill. The potatoes were better than last time for being parboiled and the celariac was underdone. Nothing was inedible but overall it was a disappointment.
What I should have done was take the chicken out when it got to 60C (this would have been after 20 -25 mins) and let it rest until the rest of the meal was ready; it wouldn’t have done it any harm.
I think this is the problem with one tray bakes: you can’t get everything done as well as doing it all separately. Next time I will cook the chicken in the small oven at 175C with the flavourings and lemon segments until they get to 60C, and rest under loose kitchen roll and foil. I will make wedges and roast celeriac in the large oven at 175C + fan. Finally I will grill the chicken skin only to crisp it up.