Nigella Bites Read Free Page A

occasionally, then add the beaten eggs, swirling the pan to help the eggs set underneath.
    When the omelette is nearly set, flash it under the hot grill to finish it off, and serve with chapattis, and fresh coriander or the Green Coriander Chutney which follows.
    GREEN CORIANDER CHUTNEY
    This green and fragrant ointment, for all that it’s called a chutney, is perfect, both spiky and, strangely, aromatically cooling with the omelette, to be dolloped on the side of the plate or smeared onto an encircling chapati. I first came across a version of it, some time ago, in Claudia Roden’s wonderful book of Jewish food; it’s rather poetically a dish of the Jews of India. The main bit of fiddling I’ve done is to replace the vinegar she stipulates with lime juice. It is deeply gorgeous and takes a minute or so to make. I keep whatever’s left over in the fridge but the coconut will harden and thicken there; so remember to take it out to get to room temperature before serving it again. You’ll probably need to whizz it up in the processor again adding a little more lime juice as you do so, too.
    The creamed coconut comes in butter-sized slabs and lasts for ages, so you can keep some in a cupboard, on standby. But to be frank, I’ve never had any difficulty finding it; I even buy it at my local corner shop.
    1–5 green chillies according to taste deseeded and chopped roughly
    2½cm piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
    4 garlic cloves
    75g creamed coconut
    1 large bunch of coriander approx. 200g
    4 sprigs of mint, de-stalked
    ½ teaspoon salt
    pinch of caster sugar
    the juice of 3 limes
    Put the chillies, ginger, garlic and creamed coconut into a food processor and blitz to a paste. Add the coriander and mint and pulse again until the herbs blend. Add the salt and pinch of sugar then, with the motor running, pour the juice of two and a half limes down the funnel, processing again to mix thoroughly. Taste to see if you want the juice of the remaining half lime.
    Put whatever remains into a jar, and keep it in the fridge for up to a month. As I’ve said, it will solidify, but this is easily righted.
    BLOODY MARY – A JUGFUL
    Bloody Mary is the girl for me. A late-morning breakfast, one that oozes into lunch and then into late afternoon, needs liquid accompaniment, and this is what I’d always choose. I steep dried chilli peppers in a bottle of vodka to use just for Bloody Mary, but you don’t have to be as extravagantly specialist.
    A friend of mine who once worked as a barman in Hong Kong introduced me to the trick of adding a little dry sherry to the mix, and I gladly pass it on to you now.
    Makes approximately 3 half-pint glasses, so be prepared to replenish.
    300ml chilli vodka (or ordinary vodka and a few splashes tabasco)
    splash dry sherry
    600ml tomato juice, chilled
    juice of a quarter to half a lemon (to taste)
    few shakes of celery salt
    few dashes Worcestershire sauce
    good sprinkling of Maldon salt, to taste
    celery stick or two
    Pour all the ingredients, except for the celery sticks, into a jug and use a stick to stir, then leave it in the jug: Bloody Mary needs a stir before each pouring.
    APPLE AND BLACKBERRY KUCHEN
    Kuchen may be simply ‘cake’ in German, but what it means in America, taken there by German refugees, is a sweet, but not too sweet, yeasted dough, baked in a slab and topped as desired with fruit, nuts, or both or neither – to be eaten at breakfast or any time with a cup of coffee. This version has a slightly Anglo-taste: apple and blackberry with a buttery crumble topping. It’s unquestionably good as is, but you might consider dolloping over some Greek yoghurt as you eat.
    If making yeast dough at breakfast time seems unfathomably demanding, relax in the knowledge that you can make this before you go to bed in the evening, leaving it to rise slowly in the fridge overnight. That way, all you need to do in the morning is preheat the oven, take the dough out of the fridge, let it get to