Hot Flavours: Spice Box, Masarap, Samosa, Achill Island Sea Salted Nougat & more

If Pork Belly Ribs with Coconut, Mango and Star Anise sounds like your kind of grub, you’re going to love RTÉ and Virgin Media chef Sunil Ghai's brilliant new Spice Box: Easy, Everyday Indian book.

Also the man in charge at Dublin’s very fine Pickle and Street restaurants and the equally fab Tiffin in Greystones, Sunil notes in the intro that, “Indian food isn’t spicy - it’s full of spice. It’s not all about chillies and heat; it’s about building layers of flavour. Contrary to what many people think, you don’t need to buy dozens of spices or make a special trip to an Asian shop to cook Indian food at home.”

To prove that point, he provides three Essential Spice Box, Pantry Staples and Fresh Food shopping lists and a load of essential cooking tips – sample: Add ground spices before adding any liquid – which might sound minor but can completely transform a dish.

Our top tip is to proceed immediately to page 90 where you’ll find his recipe for Keema Pao, AKA Goat On Toast.

You can find an in-depth interview with Sunil in Hot Press’ Best Of Dublin special which is out now, and includes a comprehensive guide to all of the capital’s foodie hotspots.

Also hitting bookshelves this month is Masarap, the latest small but perfectly formed offering from the Blasta Books stable.

The A5 tome derives its name from the Filipino pop-up restaurant run by Richard Castillo and Alex O’Neill whose passion for food jumps out of every page.

Part cookbook/part cultural exploration, the recipes for peanuty Kare-Kare meat stew and sour (in a good way!) Sinigang soup are worth the modest €13 price tag alone.

The stop press news is that the duo are taking over the Warehouse Food Market in Harolds Cross every Friday and Saturday in November and December. See you there!

One of the new eateries making it into the aforementioned Best Of Dublin is Samosa, the capital’s first Somali restaurant which resides at 60 Dorset Street Upper, Rotunda, Dublin 1.

As much of a community centre as it is a restaurant, it’s presided over by the charming Hamza Tahir who’s happy to talk first-timers through the menu. The Maraq soup, Lamb Shank and Sabaayad, a flaky paratha-like bread, are the perfect introduction to this fusion of Indian, Italian, Arabic, Persian, French and East African cuisines.

There are no socials but you can contact them by good old-fashioned phone at 089 402 7959.

Winning Gold at the latest Blas na hÉireann Awards, AKA the Irish Foodie Oscars, was the Achill Island Sea Salted Nougat with Cashew Nuts which somehow manages to taste as wondrous as it sounds.

Tipple Of The Month:

Kinsale 12% Wild Red Mead

Also winning Blas na hÉireann Gold is this delicious fermented off dry mead which is bursting with rich raw honey, Wexford blackcurrant and dark cherry flavours. Designed to be drunk at room temperature, it has the complexity of a fine wine and has been bigged up by MasterChef judge John Torode who recently popped into the West Cork meadrey to pay his respects. If you really want to spoil yourself, there’s a limited-edition aged in Merlot barrels.

Great Irish Things to Eat:

Blake's Always Organic Natural Kefir

Those Blas na hÉireann awards keep on coming with this Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim company also bagging Gold with their magical elixir, which contains 47 strands of beneficial bacteria. Made by adding grains to organic cow’s milk and letting it ferment, this one is not only good for you but tastes awesome in a yoghurt-y sort of way.