Artificial meat in a-bun-dance

Tabloids have branded it the Frankenburger, but there is nothing scary about the new chem-lab crafted patty that could potentially solve all of the world’s hunger problems – except of course the cost. Bankrolled by billionaire Sergey Brin, co-founder of website Google, the ultra-gourmet beef burger will set you back a super-sized £250,000, a whopper of a price tag!

The theoretical idea for synthetic (or in vitro meat as it’s known) goes way back. Winston Churchill as far back as 1936 stated: 

“We shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium”. 

That’s one heck of a preparation time....

Dutch scientists created the 142g burger in a lengthy process straight out of science fiction. Stem cells taken from cows were cultivated in a nutrient broth inside a petri dish.  Next they were combined with elastic collagen and attached to velcro 'anchor points’ and bulked up using electrical stimuli. Finally the 20,000 tiny meat strips were minced together with 200 pieces of lab grown animal fat and the hamburger was ready for cooking and consumption.

Red beetroot juice and saffron were also added to the mix to create that authentic burger taste. However, elected taster Ms Ruetzler still stated 

“It's close to meat. It's not that juicy. The consistency is perfect (but) I miss salt and pepper!” 

We at Chaat! think that adding a little spice to the mix may have given it that extra kick to turn it from a labby meal into a happy meal (yes that’s a terrible pun, we know.)

Scientists say the next step may be manufacturing artificial chicken or fish. So with that in mind maybe we’re not too far away from creating a man-made madras or a test-tube tikka masala!

Celebrating Eid with a little chilli seed!

Eid is one of the greatest Muslim celebrations, all centred on the subject of food and the family construct. Marking the end of Ramadan The Feast of Breaking the Fast has to be a pretty spectacular culinary occasion!

Participants of Ramadan all come together in unity with one enthusiasm, to revel in beautifully flavoursome foods! With taste buds feeling slightly neglected, the banquet must really employ some kick and excitement to remind Muslims what they have been missing out on. The sacrifices they have made throughout the month seem a million miles away on the first taste of that spicy dish.  

Chillies are an essential component to the feast with an attempt to put the spice back into life and return to a normal eating and sleeping patterns. Chillies reboot the system, releases endorphins that leave you feeling energised and fulfilled.

They say that chillies stimulate the circulation as well as the appetite, kindling the flow of saliva. The body illustrates its own love for chillies and possess a craving that doesn’t solely intrigue the taste buds but the whole body.



A friend of Chaat!, Joanna Plumb, had dedicated her life to the chilli plant. Her guest appearance on the cookery show Sunday Brunch last week illustrated just how much we all love chilli! Joanna owns the UK’s first ‘Pick Your Own’ chilli farm and thrives off of our daring streak to taste the hottest of the hottest. Her Chilli Nursery in Bedfordshire hosts a plethora of chillies, all ready and waiting to blow the palate away!

If you are putting on a spicy spread take a look at Joanna’s advice:

 

 

 

As you would expect, we love cooking here at Chaat! And whilst we reckon we'd be pretty great alongside Gregg and John on Masterchef's Invention Test, we've never experimented with anything other than food ingredients...

Imagine our delight when we came across this little gem on YouTube! Beat boxing genius Beardyman has become a chef for this video, cooking up an amazing audio delight. Grab a cuppa, and be sure to let us know what you think!

We can't help wondering what a few chopped chillies and a teaspoonful of garam masala added into the mix, would have done to alter the end result? Maybe we'll ask him to do a beatbox video for us...

Pat Chapman: Curry Magic

It’s a fact: curry is the nation’s favourite dish. Curry connoisseur Pat Chapman has been instrumental in educating the UK on the delicate ins and outs of this spicy cuisine for over 20 years, having written over 30 critically acclaimed books on all things spicy. He’s also the founder of the “curry club” (not to be confused with Chaat’s British Curry Club). His latest book Curry Magic, focuses on bringing modern curry dishes found in Indian homes and restaurants to the kitchens of Britain.

Containing 150 different recipes, Curry Magic attempts to make Indian cooking simple and bring authentic Indian dining into your homes with a variety of time-saving techniques.  This fantastic book even allows you to recreate the creamy magic of a Lamb Korma in just 45 minutes! Chapman has managed to give the traditional dishes we know and love a new lease of life with easy cooking methods, making tasty, spicy food accessible to anyone.

Curry Magic contains all the necessary recipes to create a spicy feast fit for a king. The recipes are separated into sections – starters, main courses (meat, chicken, fish, vegetables), rice and bread, accompaniments and deserts, allowing easy navigation to the tantalising treat you wish to cook. As well as these delicious recipes the book also contains some fascinating information on the essentials of cooking curry, as well as some fail-safe recipes for all of your traditional curry pastes.

It would appear, therefore, that Curry Magic has something to tickle everyone’s fancy. All the recipes are provided by the finest national Indian restaurants, all of which feature in ‘The National Curry Guide’ – so if you follow the rules there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to create some curry magic of your own! 

WIN a copy of Madhur Jaffrey's memoir!

We've got copies of Madhur Jaffrey's memoir 'Climbing the Mango Trees' to give away! You can enter by either: following us on Twitter and re-tweeting our competition post, or 'liking' our Facebook page and sharing our competition post. Easy! Winners will be announced on the 12th of August 2013.

For the T&Cs, see our About page: https://www.facebook.com/ChaatMagazine/info

Good luck!

Spicy Lemon Cocktail

Hurray, it’s Friday! And nothing makes the Chaat! team happier during happy hour than an attractive looking cocktail with a chilli in it.
For more delicious recipes and mouth-watering pictures visit Tokyo Terrace


The Spicy Lemon

Makes 1 cocktail

3 oz. gin or vodka
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
teaspoon honey
1 small slice of red chilli pepper (I used a scotch bonnet pepper, but you can chose a more mild pepper if you’d like as long as it’s flavour infuses the alcohol easily)
Slice of lemon and dried chilli pepper for garnish
Ice

Combine the ice, lemon juice, honey and pepper slice in a cocktail shaker. You know what to do…shake it!

Use the strainer to pour the drink over ice in a highball glass. Garnish with the lemon slice and dried chilli pepper. Enjoy!

Let’s say bonjour to beautiful vegetables and au revoir to those much apprehended frog’s legs.

The French are renowned for possessing a certain je ne sais quoi in regards to the culinary arena. The French Market Cookbook is no exception and reiterates all of our affections towards the country’s cuisine and culture.

French food blogger, Clotilde Dusoulier, has collated her knowledge of the industry, revealing her inspirations to progress into the cookbook genre. Displaying art that captures the beauty of the French streets, the reader can study the context in which the dishes and delicacies arose from. The author caters to all readers featuring everything from high end Caviar dishes to wholesome broths and stews. The book is multidimensional to say the least.

Clotilde reflects on her early twenties and teaches how she designed every meal around the vegetables that were in season at that time. Each vegetable dictated the whole meal and was used as the focus of each dish.

The book is segmented into seasons, providing a notion of tradition and simplicity, taking us back to a time where the vegetables that were in season were the only food choices available.

The French Market Cookbook delves into the Parisian kitchen with an agenda to promote and rejoice in the produce of the earth. This displays honesty and endearing qualities, making it a delight to read. Vegetarianism is celebratory and far from a substitute for meat dishes. The ethos is to encourage a flavoursome and vibrant eating path through the glories and attraction that the recipes inspire.

This history of food provides snippets into French culture, allowing this publication to take you on a journey through literature and through the history of French food. Clotilde’s well-travelled personality can be located through her recipes.  Although a French publication a sense of multiculturalism is peppered throughout with dishes such as curried leak tart tatin and Lebanese Coffee Dessert Jars.

*Star Recipe* Peach, almond, and cardomam clafoutis – Pg 93