You know the feeling its boxing day youre already sick of turkey, feeling
a little bored, tired and sluggish .. what you need is a way to blow away the cobwebs and use up the rest of the bird ..
this was my solution for last year and it certainly did the trick ..

these quantities are assuming enough for a meal for 4 .. so just adjust to suit if you have more or less ...

boxing day evening: mix these and leave in fridge to marinade (ideally overnight to
have on saturday but you could have it that night i guess if you cant wait)

marinade:

turkey leftovers (try and keep in big pieces to stop getting too dry)
small tub natural yogurt
1 bulb garlic (crushed)
1-2 inch grated ginger
1 heaped desertspoon garam masala
3-4 hot chilli peppers(scotch bonnet/habanero etc..)
1-2 desertspoon/s hot chilli powder
1 desertspoon tomato puree/keptchup
seasoning to taste
*****************************************
main event:

1 bag/portion of your fav base
2 medium onions
1 level desertspoon cumin
1 "     "           turmeric
1 "     "           coriander
1 teaspoon of panch poran (optional but good if you have it)   
1 cardomon pod
1 desertspoon cranberry sauce
all the marinade mixture

i wont tell you all how to suck eggs as to the cooking method etc ... im sure
you can all handle that .. i will just say that as meat is already well cooked separate from marinade and add towards the end of cooking process

anyway enjoy and have a merry xmas ..
and if anyone dares to try it let me know how it went (and if youre still alive  ;D )
im gonna do it again 

This is my own creation homed to perfection over many years , i dont claim it to be authentic just that it tastes delightful....

Ingredients.

1 pack(500g)of beef mince
2 rashers bacon (pref streaky)
2-3 large onions
6 cloves garlic
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
button mushrooms (a good handful)
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1/2 a jar of sundried tomato paste (sacla is best)
good handful of fresh basil leaves
1 large glass of red wine (shiraz or similar)
1 good glug of worcester sauce
1 glug of balsamic vinegar
pinch of oregano
seasoning to taste (plenty in my case)
a good piece of parmegano reggiano

Method.

chop all veg
put a good load of oil in a big pot (i usually use a big wok but whatever)
when oil is hot put in all veg except for the garlic then fry quickly until reduced half size then turn down the heat and add the garlic further reduce down until all veg is soft and about 1/3rd of original volume.
whilst this is doing .. in frying pan fry the bacon until reasonable crispy
take out then seal meat for a few secs on high heat..
then add meat and the bacon(finely chopped)
stir well in, add the seasoning and the tomatoes, paste ,herbs,wine,worcester and balsamic..
let that cook on medium heat for about 15 mins stirring once in a while ..
add some water then leave on very low light or in oven on low
return to skim off the scum on top evey 30 mins or so and top up water, if needed..
for best results cook for as long as possible (at least 3 or 4 hours)

grate over parmesan to taste and serve with pasta of your choice ( i dont like spaghetti with mine its too much hassle to eat .. lol)
and just to make the whole thing complete serve with garlic ciabatta bread
trust me its a winner !

Hi.. been meaning to get around to posting this for a while, it is a result of trial and error over the last few years ..
this latest incarnation produced what to me was the best homemade curry i ever tasted(a rogan josh which i will also post when i get time)..
some of the ingredients and amounts may surprise you but trust me its a goodun ..

the basic stew:

6 large spanish onions
1 jumbo bulb (yes whole bulb) of garlic (or 2 small bulbs, though the jumbo's are sweeter imho)
2-3 inch ginger grated
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
1 carrot
3-4 large mild green/red chillies (de-seeded)
1 tin napolina chopped toms
1 heaped tsp sacla sundried tomato paste (or 2 tspns if normal puree/ketchup)
1 whole coriander plant
2 tspns worcester sauce
2 tspns balsamic vinegar
a few good turns of the salt mill
1 cup (2-300ml) oil
2 tbls ghee butter (if not use double oil)

spice mix:

1 level tbls jeera (cumin)
1 level tbls turmeric
1 level dspn coriander
1 level dspn mild chilli/paprika powder
1 level dspn methi leaves
1 level dspn panch phoran (bengali spice mix)
1-2 level tspns garam masala
1 tbls ghee/oil

method:

chop all ingredients (coloured red) and gently soften in oil/ghee until reduced to about half original size..
add enough water to well cover contents then leave to simmer with lid on for about 30-40 mins.
add the rest of the ingredients (coloured blue) and cook a further 10-15 mins.
mix together the spice mix then gently fry in a separate pan for about 1 min or so (until you get a nice aroma)
DONT OVERCOOK/BURN THEM OR THEY WILL SMELL/TASTE HORRIFIC (it once took 4 days to get rid of the smell from my kitchen when i did this )
add the spice/oil mix to the gravy then cook/mix for about 5-10 mins
then thoroughly liquidise everything
add about a pint or so of water then boil quite vigorously for 30-40 mins until water has reduced and oil separated on top..

Enjoy ... and please any constructive feedback / results most welcome

addendum:



the sacla paste can be found at asda and most good supermarkets


panch phoran can be found here
http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Indian-Food-TRS-Panch-Puren.html
http://www.seasonedpioneers.co.uk/product.aspx?seasid=109

the above stores also sell the methi leaves and the TRS and Rajah spices i use ..

garlic chilli chicken 

I have been to a heck of a lot of restaurants as well as being a keen amateur chef and the food here is the freshest, tastiest i have ever had .. really nice frindly staff and smart interior (quite a new place)
ive included map reference for you ...

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=DE21+7NN&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

its opposite the anglers pub

hello from sunny derby