Thai talkin' Jive Turkey

The Olympics are coming! Very soon. Every newspaper and magazine is obsessed with the event and rightly so. I on the other hand, am curious about what our athletes eat! There was an article in the Times recently which talked about how athletes really loved and recommended eating Turkey meat as a performance enhancing protein! Well that got me thinking ... I use turkey all the time but it's not a very popular choice with others. Most of us only ever have turkey at Christmas. Sometimes roasted dry within an inch of its life and only made more interesting by gravy and the trimmings. Then the leftovers get recycled for days later! Over kill! No wonder people don't bother with it for the rest of the year!

Turkey is actually really cheap to buy all year round, when it is not in demand - you can find it in all supermarkets and it's cheaper than chicken! It is a great lean protein that is low in saturated fats compared to red meat and if you know how, you can get huge amounts of flavour into this otherwise boring white meat and make it into a star.

THAI TURKEY BURGERS

Ingredients :

Lean thigh/breast turkey mince [breast is leaner than thigh but gets drier]
Green Beans - sliced into thin rounds
Spring Onions - sliced into thin rounds
Handful of fresh corriander finely chopped
Peeled knob of fresh ginger - grated
Peeled and minced clove of garlic
1 large red chilli - deseeded and diced finely
Zest of half a lime
Juice of half a lime
1 whole egg
Small drizzle of sesame oil
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce [light]
1 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
4-5 tablespoons of ground almonds *

* Ground almonds make a great binding agent and an alternative to wheat/bread based options. So it makes these tasty patties Caeliac friendly [gluten free] and also stops them from falling apart when you cook them. Plus almonds are full of calcium, vitamin E and more protein!

The egg is also for binding the ingredients together but without the ground almonds this mixture would be too sloppy! Use as much as you need to get the mixture dry enough to handle and shape...

Method:

1. Pop every thing in a large mixing bowl and well.. mix!

2.Take a tablespoon of the mixture and roll into meatballs or patties using clean,washed hands.
3. Place them in the fridge [with cling film over the top] to chill and set for a minimum of 30 minutes or longer while you preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

4. Heat a small amount of canola/rapeseed oil in a large frying pan
5. Shallow fry the burgers to caramelise & colour each side[just a couple of minutes on medium heat]
6. Place them in the oven for 8 - 10 min max and then switch it off and allow them to rest [don't over cook them - they should have a small bouce back when you prod them in the middle with your finger - should not be not rock solid or else they might be a bit dry.. in which case serve with sweet chilli dipping sauce and a squeeze of lime!!! ]

I sometimes eat a couple of these as a cold snack at work to keep me going. They really are very filling and they keep you full for ages. As a starter you can serve these with a zingy & cruchy thai salad or you can dish them up as a main with a veggie stir fry & maybe some plain white basmati rice.

Nutritionally* the turkey meat contains
- Protein : essential amino acids like tryptophan which is a mood elevator, sleep enhancer and appetite regulator
- Minerals : Selenium and Zinc which are immune supportive, Phosphorus which is energy enhancing
- Vitamins e.g B3 and B6 which help keep a healthy heart and immunity
- other nutrients include choline which allows nerve to muscle coordination, reduces homocysteine build up [which is a substance the body produces but is bad for the heart], and it also reduces chronic inflammation

* info from World's healthiest food website www.whfoods.com

No wonder the athletes opt for turkey as their protein of choice during training. I reckon everyone should give it a try. Use the mince as an alternative in pasta sauces, pies and meatballs. Grill or BBQ turkey steaks with marinades. Stir fry the shredded meat into Mexican dishes or chinese stir fries. A great alternative during austerity measures - no?

Dahl Darl'

Moong Dahl with peas and corriander

As a brown girl, sometimes comfort food amounts to simple Asian flavours like Dahl [Daal/Dahl is basically a lentil stew]. For me a bowl of hot dahl can be a fulfilling snack, an alternative savoury breakfast option or just a side dish to a curry feast! My recipe can be applied to any type of lentils or pulses and it is a fail safe method to inject the maximum amount of flavour into this nourishing dish.

Red Lentils result in a thick pureed soup

Yelow split peas result in a nutty stew with a bite

Lentils are high in protein, low in calories with virtually no fat and they are full of fibre. They are basically legumes i.e. they grow in pods like seeds and there are a huge variety available. They are low GI foods in that they release their energy slowly and keep your blood sugar levels from rising rapidly/dropping rapidly after a meal. They contain both soluble and insoluble fibre which keeps you fuller for longer and helps keep a healthy gut. They are also known to help reduce cholesterol levels.

Here is a list of nutrients, minerals and vitamins that are in lentils and what they are important for...

1. Molybdenum : Good for loads of Enzyme systems and Iron metabolism
2. Foltae : Used in Blood formation, Coenzyme systems and Amino acid metabolism
3. Magnesium : Enzyme systems, Enhances antioxidant defenses, Important for heart health
4. Iron: Carries oxygen to cells, Part of muscle myoglobin, Releases energy by oxidising enzymes
5. Copper: Collagen formation, Enhances Haemoglobin synthesis and involved in Enzyme systems
6. Potassium: Protein & glycogen synthesis, Fluid pH, Nerve impulses and Muscle contraction
7. Vitamin B1 [Thiamine]: Energy release, DNA formation, healthy nerves
8. Tryptophan [essential amino acid]: Appetite regulator, Sleep enhancer, Mood elevator
9. Fibre: Gut health, Fullness, reducing cholesterol

Ingredients for my recipe:

1 cup of pre-soaked lentils thoroughly rinsed in cold water and then drained*
1 large brown onion - peeled, finely sliced
3 cloves of garlic - peeled, one sliced thinly into rounds and 2 left whole
1 level teaspoon of powdered tumeric
1/2 a level teaspoon of garam masala
1/2 a cap full of white vinegar [about a teaspoon]
Paanch [5] paran spice mix ** [pinch of fenugreek, cumin, fennel, black onion and mustard seeds]
2 very small dried red chillies whole or a pinch of dried red chilli flakes
Salt

** this dry 5 spice/seed mix can be bought in Asian shops pre-assembled or you can concoct your own batch - I use it in lots of vegetarian dishes and it's a store cupboard essential for me

*Most Lentils don't usually require pre-soaking BUT I tend to do it for 2 reasons:

1. I have found that soaked lentils cook faster and
2. If you get rid of the water that you have been soaking the lentils in, then you tend to get less or virtually no flatulence that can sometimes result from eating them!! - Top Tip !!!

So soak them overnight or even just for 20 minutes but get rid of that water and rinse them well in cold running water before draining and setting aside!

So here's what you do ...

• Put the drained lentils, the sliced onion and the 2 whole garlic cloves in a deep sauce pan
• Add the tumeric powder
• Put in 3 times as much cold water [like a pint or so]
• Bring this to the boil being careful that it does not froth and bubble over the pan
• Simmer for 30min then check if the lentils are soft when you squeeze one inbetween your thumb and forefinger
• If they are not ready continue to cook - if the water is almost gone add some more boiled hot water from the kettle, if there is loads of liquid just continue to reduce
• When they are cooked add 1 teaspoon of [Maldon Sea] salt***
• Add the vinegar and allow to continue to bubble away gently while you heat a frying pan
• Add 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil and throw in a pinch of the paanch paran seeds, the dried red chillies and the sliced garlic - heat the oil till the garlic starts to become golden and then pour the hot tempered oil over the dahl.
• Add the garam masala and stir
• Check the seasoning
• At this stage if you want you can add a cup of frozen peas/fresh chopped tomatoes/fresh chopped corriander.
• Stir and then cover and leave to sit

This method of tempering the oil is an old Bengoli method resulting in 'Tarka Dahl' and it somehow flavours the dahl onto another level.

***Another top tip: With all lentils and pulses, don't add any salt until they are cooked - otherwise they stay hard/too nutty.

You can eat the dahl with rice/chappatis/rotis with a dollop of cold yogurt or chutney/pickles. I like to chop fresh green chillies onto it and tuck in!