Team Galmere is thrilled and fortunate to be working with the award-winning Jess Murphy of Kai Restaurant on a brand-new series of monthly blog posts.

Jess brings her passion for bold flavours, quality ingredients, and creative cooking straight to your kitchen. From budget-friendly recipes to inspired food stories, get ready for a delicious journey with one of Ireland’s most celebrated chefs.

Spicy not Pricy

IKR potato, potato, dry January, try January, Veganuary, like pass me my espresso, this is making me despresso… thankfully we’re near the month end. What we want is some kind of Scandinavian Hygge mixed with a ruthless Martha Stuart vibe of nonchalant me, myself and I. The ultimate self-care is not the ice baths, or the viral memory foam mattresses (which I bought btw because Instagram told me to – feed back – they’re amazing), we need to be romanticising economy and the simple things like the wild garlic coming up in the woods, a hot bowl of soup and a satisfying cup of milky tea.

Getting all spicy on these winter nights, soup is the new over-the-counter drug we can rely on; ladies and gentlemen it’s our new Netflix and chill, our Tik Tok dances. Here’s some hot and spicy news and views for you, I am doing a monthly blog that will have you whipping up some stunning meals in less than 25 minutes. This month it’s my ode to Southern India, working with wonderful Galmere Foods, who make a lot of great food for supermarkets and brands right in the heart of Galway. Here we’re using their own brand The Galway Kitchen as well of some of their fab soup. We’ve come up with a stunning plan to make the most out of your big shop classics.

My Indian(ish) Masala

Cook time 25 mins

Feeds 4 to 6 (four adults and two kiddies)

Ingredients

For your Paste:

30 grams of fresh ginger

30 grams of fresh garlic

For your Masala:

2 tsp of vegetable oil (not olive or anything)

6 green cardamom pods

10 black peppercorns

3 cloves of garlic

2 tsp of cumin seeds

2 cinnamon sticks

1 bay leaf

500 grams of diced onions

1 tablespoon of ginger and garlic paste

1 tsp of garam masala

Salt to taste

1 tub of tomato soup

120 mls of water

50 grams of cashews

Method

Prepare your ginger and garlic paste, blend with a few drops of water and freeze the rest to use again.

To make your Masala sauce, heat your base oil in a large frying pan, add your whole spices (cardamom, black pepper, bay leaf, cumin seeds and cinnamon). Fry until they start to crackle, then add your onions.

Cook your onions for around 20 mins until they go golden brown.

Add your ginger and garlic paste, then your dry spices, followed by the tomato soup, water and cashews. Cook until the oil floats to the top, for around 10 mins on low, cool down and then blend. I’ve left all proteins out of this because it’s all about that sauce – you can use chicken fillets or thighs, Paneer, Halloumi and/or Monkfish or even chickpeas to this, it’s magic!

To make it a real feast were going to add some amazing Galway Kitchen Green Lentil Dahl and shop bought naan and rice. I’d chop some fresh coriander over it with some salted peanuts and green chilli, and get on with my favourite street snack – the potato pakora that I’m serving with The Galway Kitchen Red Pesto just for a big red pepper kick.

Gora the explorer, and her Potato Pakora

Ingredients

250 grams of precooked potato (left over boiled ones are perfect)

120 grams of gram flour

20 grams of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves (or fresh coriander)

150 mls of water

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 pot The Galway Kitchen Red Pesto

Oil to fry

Method

First is first, take your gram flour, mix with your water, garlic powder, fenugreek leaves and baking powder making a thick paste. Dip your potato in the batter and proceed to deep fry until golden brown (my deep fryer temp is always 180 for these) and serve with your fresh red lush pesto.

Jess Murphy