Spicentice

Those clever people at Spicentice have come up with a new idea, which is along the same lines as their excellent spice kits. The Spicentice Rubs range covers most enthusiastic eventualities of the adventurous kitchen dweller – in the collection of seven are Peppery, Tandoori, Harissa, Barbeque, Ras el Hanout, Italian and Herby Fish Rubs. All are priced at £3.99 and have already received a Great Taste Gold Award. Now rather than being too prescriptive about how you use them they just give suggestions. This, as a follower of recipes (at least the first time I try them!) was a bit unusual and does encourage one to move out of that all too familiar comfort-zone. It’s a healthy thing for us to do every once in a while.
When I say suggestions they have come up with ideas like Rub, Sprinkle, Paste, Crumb, Baste, Marinade and Glaze. So it’s really down to you, they are versatile and easy to use, they can be mixed with oil or butter making a paste and rubbed onto meat or vegetables or be even more adventurous and combine with honey or balsamic vinegar to make a wonderful glaze.
I thought I’d have a crack at the Tandoori Rub on some chicken. I mixed one large pot of natural yoghurt with half a tin of Tandoori Rub and placed it in a bowl (if you would like to make a simple mint raita then hold back a little of the yoghurt). Then I added four chicken thighs and four chicken legs, making sure everything was well covered in the marinade. Then it was covered with clingfilm and left in the fridge for a few hours. I must say that even uncooked the aroma was appetising. Then I transferred the marinated chicken to a large ovenproof dish and placed in the oven at 180c uncovered for about 30 minutes – it was just starting to go brown at this stage, then I covered the dish with foil to stop it burning and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Checking that the juices were running clear it was ready to serve. To make the raita I mixed some fresh mint (but dried will work), yoghurt, salt, black pepper and a little lemon juice together – that’s it!
This was a meal for the whole family and comfortably fed the four of us. I made some Basmati Rice and added a quarter of a spoon of Turmeric to the water to turn it yellow (something my children think is wonderful and makes it look like ‘real’ Indian food) and as a side we had some Bombay Potato also made from a Spicentice spice kit. With the raita added especially for my youngest who is still learning how to appreciate hotter food this was an exotic feast that really took no time at all to prepare and would happily replace a Sunday lunch as that special meal that you can all join in with and chat over. If you were feeling really brave you might try to make a few Nan bread to go with it? Look out for Spicentice Rubs and Spice Kits at Asda, Ocado, Amazon and Budgens. For more info go to www.spicentice.com