DRINK Spicy rolls and classy gin

TRY THESE DELICIOUS INDIAN BREAD ROLLS!

By Khrishma Preston, The Alternative Indian

This year COVID has been a sheer rollercoaster of a ride. I don’t know what challenges 2022 will bring but I also write this in contemplation of all I have managed to accomplish in the year gone: from starting pop-ups in West Coker, Bridport and Sherborne, to taking on private chef experiences.

January is a hard time of year for everyone so I’m giving you a cheap, nutritious and filling recipe. Once again this can be adapted to your personal taste and dietary requirements. These Indian bread rolls are crispy with a spiced, savoury, tangy mashed potato filling. Makes for a delicious snack or part of a main meal and is a winner for kids. The recipe below is vegetarian but can easily be made vegan or gluten free with your choice of bread. If you are a meat lover, add some left-over finely chopped meat. The rolls can be batch made, and stored unfried for about two weeks in the freezer. Freeze them (keeping them apart) on a baking tray or in a freezer-safe dish, before packing them together in an airtight container. Once ready to use, thaw them overnight in the fridge and fry immediately. Alternately you can refrigerate them overnight or up to 12 hours before frying. If you leave them in the fridge for too long, they get soggy.

Indian bread rolls

Makes 10-12 Cooking Time 35 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 3-4 boiled potatoes or approx 420g mashed potato • ½ tsp mustard seeds • ½ tsp cumin seeds • 5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped • 1 green chili, finely chopped, (optional) • 1½ tsp salt • ½ lemon, juiced • ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper • ½ tsp garam masala (optional) • ½ tsp cumin powder

METHOD

Start with cooled boiled potatoes. I always cook mine in a pressure cooker, but they can be cooked in any fashion. Peel and mash by hand rather than using a potato masher, to keep some lumpiness and to avoid making the mash too starchy. If you start with mashed potato, make sure it’s not too wet, otherwise the roll will not form properly or crispen up. In a small pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil and add mustard seeds. Once they start popping, add cumin seeds, garlic, chili, salt, and lemon juice. Fry off on low heat until the lemon juice has evaporated and garlic is cooked through. Take it off the heat and allow it to cool completely before adding to the mash. Incorporate the rest of the ingredients. Remember to adjust the lemon juice, if you don’t have either dry mango or dry pomegranate seed powder. If the mixture is too soggy, for example, if you’re using left-over mash or powdered mash, add the crusts (crumbed) from the next step to your potato mix. Taste and adjust your salt and pepper levels. With a small fist-size ball of spiced mash, form little fat sausages, just under the width of your bread slices. • 1 tsp dry mango powder or add to taste – dry pomegranate seed powder can be used instead (if you don’t have these, you can use the juice of an extra half a lemon) • 1 cup carrots and broccoli, finely chopped (this can be adapted so you can use any veg or already cooked meat) • Salt and pepper, adjust to personal taste once mixture is combined • ½ cup coriander, chopped, (optional) • 10-12 slices of bread – of your choice or dietary requirements • Rapeseed oil, for frying

Next prepare your bread slices by removing the crusts. In a flat-bottomed bowl or plate, add some water. With the first slice, dip it flat in the water briefly to dampen it then remove it. Placing the bread between the palms of your hands, flatten the bread whilst squeezing out any excess water. Be gentle, the idea is to keep the bread intact whilst making it flexible to roll. Once damp and flattened, place on a board or tray. Repeat.

In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat your oil: I shallow fried these, but deep frying or air frying also works. They can also be cooked in the oven at 200C fan but brush them with a little oil or butter and bake for 10-12 minutes.

To make the rolls, place your mash-mix filling on one side of a moist bread slice. Gently roll the bread and join the edges. Press the edges together to seal, as well as the top and bottom seams. The filling should be completely encased in the bread. Seal any splits by just pulling ripped edges together gently or using another small bit of soaked bread as a plaster. Just make sure the joins are all smoothed out. Repeat for each roll.

By the time you have made the first 2-4 rolls, your oil should be heated up. Add 2-4 rolls at a time to the oil depending on the size of the pan. Do not over crowd. If the oil is not hot enough, the moist bread will absorb a lot of oil. If the oil is very hot, the bread will brown quickly and unevenly, leaving the inside not cooked through. Fry until crispy and golden before turning over in the oil. Fry until uniform in colour, then using a slotted spoon remove from the oil and place on kitchen paper to remove any further excess oil. Serve the bread rolls hot or warm with your condiment of choice.

GIN PRODUCTION: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BOTANICALS!

GIN

@viper_gin @viperlondondrygin

By Carl Hankey

Following on from last month and having met many readers at local markets since, I wanted to give you an insight into two of the principal botanicals that are used in gin production.

There are numerous types of gin available on the market today, however, there is one botanical that all gin distillers have in common – juniper. All gins must contain juniper in order for it to be called gin. The variation in strength of a juniper note in gin is down to each individual distiller.

There can be many other variances between gins of course. This could be higher or lower ABV (strength of alcohol), or type of alcohol used. At Viper we use English wheat grain spirit but alcohol from grapes can also be used. Distillers can use also different methods to make gin but all have one thing in common- the use of the brilliant juniper berry.

It is slightly misleading to call juniper a berry as it is actually a seed cone with flesh that makes it look like a fruit. Juniper is a member of the Cupressaceae family. The trees or shrubs take three or four years to grow to maturity and two to three more years before the berries are ready for harvesting. A juniper plant holds berries in every stage of ripeness so the berries have to be picked several times a year. info@viperspirit.co.uk www.viperspirit.co.uk

Juniper gives gin a sharp, piney and resinous flavour that carries a hint of citrus. The juniper plant is native to the UK but unfortunately due to the loss of wild habitat the UK’s juniper is in short supply. A conservation charity, Plantlife UK, is working hard to save England’s junipers through conservation and habitat restoration.

Most gin distilleries currently purchase juniper from countries such as Macedonia, Italy and Bosnia-Herzegovina who produce several hundred tons of juniper berries a year.

There are many ways to incorporate the juniper flavour into gin. We choose to add our high strength alcohol to the pot of the still and reduce with water before the botanicals are added. The alcohol is reduced this way as pure spirit could damage and harden the skins of the botanicals and make the extraction of the oils more difficult. We then gently preheat the still and leave the alcohol and botanicals to macerate for a number of hours to impart flavour to the spirit and soften the botanicals, allowing them to readily give up the essential oils during the distillation.

The second botanical we always consider when making gin is coriander. Coriander is the second most-used botanical after juniper. It is very rare to find a gin which doesn’t use coriander seed in their botanical mix. Coriander seed has a complex flavour when distilled and imparts a citrusy, nutty flavour with a little bit of a spicy character.

Coriander in gin presents itself towards the heart or end of a gin, whereas citrus notes from peels such as lemon and orange will present at the beginning of the flavour journey when tasting gin.

Coriander in gin leads to an interesting play of ‘citrus meets floral meets spice’ character in gin and also adds a dryness to gin, which is very important especially in a London dry gin recipe. Coriander also plays a very important role of lightening and balancing the heavy, oily and piney notes of juniper with citrus and subtle spice.

If you’re looking for some local gin or a brilliantly crafted cocktail inspiration, visit us at the Viper Cocktail Bar, recently opened at Kingland Crescent in Poole, Dorset. We stock a range of wines and locally sourced gins for sale in our shop and to try at the bar. We also offer a great cocktail menu using the finest gins and spirits.

Our winter menu is now available with cocktails such as a cherry Bakewell martini, caramel apple hot toddies and festive White Russians available, among many more.

Opening hours:

Tuesday: 11:00-20:00

Wednesday: 11:00-20:00

Thursday: 11:00-20:00

TALES FROM THE TRADING POST

By Kate Forbes

After the season’s festivities it’s time to take a bit of time out to look after yourself this year.

At the Trading Post Farm Shop, you can find a beautiful range of locally produced self-care products including bath bombs, essential oils, handmade soaps, deodorants and skincare products which will help soothe tired hands, aching muscles and overindulged senses this January.

We would love to introduce you to some of our very favourite suppliers who are all based in the West Country and some of them just a stones throw from the Trading Post. The lovely Tam Mason creates the most amazing Sugar Scrubs here in Somerset. Tam’s interest in natural ingredients, her love of design and passion for exceptional quality have resulted in the most amazing products that our customers come back for, time and again. Tam’s Sugar Scrubs make the most amazing gift but at this time of year it’s always nice to be able to treat yourself too. My absolute favourite is the mint and cedarwood that is not only perfect for dry hands, but after a day on my feet at the shop the scrub can also revitalise tired toes.

Pamper Moose Cosmetics only arrived at the Trading Post mid-way through 2021 but have been an instant hit with customers and staff alike. The range of Pamper Moose products grows with every delivery and we are thrilled to stock their boutique range of bath, beauty and grooming cosmetics that rid the need for single use plastics. The range of little Mooses, including body butters, body scrubs, lip balms, solid shampoo, solid conditioner and bath bombs, are all designed to make an ordinary bath or shower time into a relaxing mini spa treatment.

But it’s not just for the ladies - their men’s grooming range includes a shave cream, post shave razor balm, working man’s hand salve, beard balm and lip balms. All made to the same high standards and in recyclable packaging. Amour Natural based in Glastonbury has been a firm favourite at The Trading Post for what seems like forever. The fabulous Faye, James and their team at Amour Natural offer a range of aromatherapy and natural products suitable for use by therapists, enthusiasts and beginners. They are committed to providing our customers with superb quality products that, depending on the source and availability, are organic and/or 100% pure and natural. We stock most of their huge range including essential oils, aroma jewellery, burners and diffusers, and we are always on hand to offer advice and give you more information about the oils and their uses.

Finally, for now, the amazing Alice at Pit-Tastic! certainly has a story to tell. Back in March 2019 Alice suffered a stroke, it took her speech, understanding, reading and writing but this incredible lady has bounced back and handformulated the ultimate PitTastic – a range of deodorant bars to suit everyone’s needs.

Pit-Tastic! today is highly recommended by many people ranging from breastfeeding mothers, sports people, menopausal women, those who travel (no need for liquids) and just about anyone who desires fresh armpits without the nasty ingredients on their body. After the last two years – we all have realised we need to make more time for ourselves.

Make time for you in 2022

New deli brings the Amalfi coast to Yeovil

A little bit of Italy has come to Yeovil town centre in the form of a new Italian delicatessen.

Tramonti, on Westminster Street next to the Nat West Bank, sells genuine Italian flavours and is named after the town on the Amalfi coast where the shop owner, Francesco Fierro, lived before moving to Yeovil.

All the products in Tramonti are sourced from Italy and include a variety of meats, pastas, quality olive oils and plenty of sweet and savoury snacks.

The new delicatessen was officially opened in December by Yeovil Mayor, Councillor Evie Potts-Jones, watched on by eager shoppers.