Simple Curry with Rice or Spaghetti and Mince.Recipes please !!!

Well I seem to be in a bit of trouble.. I told my SO that I would cook for her tomorrow and as these are her favourite dishes I figured I would give them a bash..
Well 1.. Which dish is the easiest to make? I'm guessing the spaghetti?? But even at that I dont want the mince to be bland so what should I add.. Mrs. Balls? Tomatoe Sauce?

Also not that I've written the curry off but is there a simple way (tasty too to make em??) ??

Also going to make Homemade Custard (the powder stuff lol) and would like some assistance here too.. Is there a secret to making the custard come out just right??

I know I shouldn't have said I'd do it if I'm not really an expert but I do know my way around the kitchen but have not experience with these particular dishes. Please help

Recipes that are tried and tested would be greatly appreciated.

Pho3nix said:

Well I seem to be in a bit of trouble.. I told my SO that I would cook for her tomorrow and as these are her favourite dishes I figured I would give them a bash..
Well 1.. Which dish is the easiest to make? I'm guessing the spaghetti?? But even at that I dont want the mince to be bland so what should I add.. Mrs. Balls? Tomatoe Sauce?

Also not that I've written the curry off but is there a simple way (tasty too to make em??) ??

Also going to make Homemade Custard (the powder stuff lol) and would like some assistance here too.. Is there a secret to making the custard come out just right??

I know I shouldn't have said I'd do it if I'm not really an expert but I do know my way around the kitchen but have not experience with these particular dishes. Please help

Recipes that are tried and tested would be greatly appreciated.

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Youtube will help you out a lot here. It helps if you have uncapped if you wanna keep searching, but otherwise just search for the names of the dishes you need help with.

500g mince - chop 2 onions finely and brown them, add 2 cloves of garlic chopped. brown for a minute or 2 and add the mince bit by bit stirring it over a high heat. then add 1 or 2 small tins tomato PASTE or PUREE (NOT TOMATO SAUCE) and a tin of chopped tomatoes. stir in approximately a tablespoon (more if you like) of italian herb mix (woolworths), maybe some powdered cumin, a dash of lemon juice and about a teaspoon of sugar. salt to taste (can be adjusted later so don't put too much in). put the lid tightly on the pot and simmer slowly over a low heat for about an hour - delish. much easier than curry IMO.

maumau said:

500g mince - chop 2 onions finely and brown them, add 2 cloves of garlic chopped. brown for a minute or 2 and add the mince bit by bit stirring it over a high heat. then add 1 or 2 small tins tomato PASTE or PUREE (NOT TOMATO SAUCE) and a tin of chopped tomatoes. stir in approximately a tablespoon (more if you like) of italian herb mix (woolworths), maybe some powdered cumin, a dash of lemon juice and about a teaspoon of sugar. salt to taste (can be adjusted later so don't put too much in). put the lid tightly on the pot and simmer slowly over a low heat for about an hour - delish. much easier than curry IMO.

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That's how I make it and its great!

Pho3nix said:

Also going to make Homemade Custard (the powder stuff lol) and would like some assistance here too.. Is there a secret to making the custard come out just right??

Click to expand...

Dude, go and buy some Ultramel. I'm not one for packaged stuff but Ultramel is really good.

maumau said:

500g mince - chop 2 onions finely and brown them, add 2 cloves of garlic chopped. brown for a minute or 2 and add the mince bit by bit stirring it over a high heat. then add 1 or 2 small tins tomato PASTE or PUREE (NOT TOMATO SAUCE) and a tin of chopped tomatoes. stir in approximately a tablespoon (more if you like) of italian herb mix (woolworths), maybe some powdered cumin, a dash of lemon juice and about a teaspoon of sugar. salt to taste (can be adjusted later so don't put too much in). put the lid tightly on the pot and simmer slowly over a low heat for about an hour - delish. much easier than curry IMO.

Click to expand...

You probably want to reduce the sauce (simmer without lid), depending on how much liquid there is in your tomato tin. But always season after reduction.

Bolognese sauce for dummies:
Finely chop 1 onion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8m89QqyljM
Chop 1 garlic clove finely. (don't buy packaged garlic, it's not pure garlic)
Chop 1 small celery stalk finely.
Put a pot on a stove at medium heat.
Put a little bit of vegetable oil or olive oil into the pot. Let it get nice and hot.
Put in all your vegetables (mire poix) into the pot and allow to cook until soft, stirring the entire time to prevent burning.
Put in thawed mince (buy from butcher). Stir until meat is brown.
If you want, add some fresh thyme.
Add a tin of tomato purée
--optional--
put stove on low
add a little wine (50ml)
simmer (without lid...) until almost all liquid is gone
add a little milk (50ml..) and simmer until almost all liquid is gone)
--/optional--
Season with salt + pepper.

Pour over cooked pasta. Garnish with a few basil leaves and serve with grated parmesan cheese. Don't use cheddar cheese or something similar.

Pasta for dummies:

With regards to buying dried durum wheat pasta: general rule is the darker it is the lower the quality.
Low quality pasta cooks for longer, high quality pasta cooks shorter.
Boil the water, and add some salt before you put the pasta in the pot.
Don't full close the lid, the water will boil over and there will be big hissy fits.

Custard is very easy to make. Find a good recipe for crème anglaise and have at.
(For a pretty thick anglaise for 2 people ingredients are prob. around 120ml milk, little vanilla essence, 40g castor sugar, 2 egg yolks. Method requires minimal skill, but you have to do it right...)

Anyway, have fun. And clean up as you go along.

If the op is not too good in the kitchen I suggest buying a napolitana pasta sauce for the mince and pasta. Don't add too many spices as it may confuse the taste buds.also keep tasting as you cook to make sure the flavour and salt is right. Best to add salt last.

Oh if you gonna have custard rather get some melva pudding from woolies and throw the woolies custard over it. Awesome!