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Nisha Katona's Home Kitchen Season 1 Episode 7
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00:00I'm Nisha Katona. Over the years I've been a barrister, a restaurateur, an entrepreneur but
00:08always a food lover. Gorgeous. It's a real cockle warmer. It's fantastic. From my home kitchen in
00:16the Wirral I'll show you how to cook simple delicious dishes from all around the world.
00:19Here we go, now it gets exciting. Tasty and fabulous recipes inspired by my heritage,
00:26my family and my northern roots. Now we can lick the pie. I'm also blessed to be part of a
00:34community that shares my passion for big flavours and homegrown produce. Lots of goodies for you.
00:39Look at these. Amazing, amazing, amazing. The potatoes have a real kick. Really tasty. The
00:45beauty of it is these cattle have never been inside. This is about as good as it gets. So
00:50join me and my extended two and four-legged family. No, I knew you would do that. No. For
00:56a slice of my life. Is she trying to feed it to the dog? And some amazing food.
01:02While running a business from the family home, amongst the hustle and bustle of a full house,
01:25well, life is anything but dull. But I wouldn't have it any other way. And although the challenge
01:33of creating delicious, healthy meals keeps me busy, I'm lucky that in this part of the world
01:39there's plenty of help just a stone's throw away from my front door. For me, community is everything.
01:48Neighbours, the people that live in your village are everything. We have the most extraordinary
01:54food and produce community around here. You know, what's incredible is that I can buy veg that is
02:01grown a mile away from my house. Beef that has fed less than half a mile away. You know, fish from the
02:08sea around this area. For me, eating seasonal local food with no mileage is so important. You know,
02:16I build my business. I build my life on those presets. And you get to know these people who've
02:22dedicated their lives to getting this incredible produce to the local area.
02:32And one of those people who I've got to know really well is Andrew, who works the land on the
02:37nearby family-run Claremont farm.
02:49At Claremont, we're really proud that we can still offer locally sourced, fresh produce, you know,
02:55stuff that isn't processed to hell. And it's, you know, it's good for the community.
02:59It's an incredible life that we live here. You know, we're able to work with my mum and dad every day,
03:05work with my brother, pros and cons of working with your family, of course. But, you know,
03:09we have a good life and we get to work with nature and, you know, we get to eat incredible food.
03:19When you've got a trailer load of vegetables like that behind, it does make you proud. It's
03:23proud that we can make that accessible to, you know, our local community.
03:28And luckily for me, Andrew's happy to make a house call.
03:37He's very handy when the weather's on the turn.
03:42I've got some exciting recipes in mind, including a garden herb meatball pork curry with loads of
03:49delicious veg. And I'm hoping Andrew's going to bring me something special for the pot.
03:54And even Dave, the dog, can hardly contain his excitement.
03:59Hello. Andrew.
04:00You doing?
04:00Yeah, I'm good, thank you. Nice to see you.
04:02What have you got for me?
04:07And he hasn't disappointed. I'm going to be spoilt for choice.
04:11What have you got? Can you show me?
04:12Yeah. So we've got, um, homegrown savoys.
04:15Oh, but it's beautiful. Can you get that out?
04:16I can get this out.
04:17Just because I want to look at it.
04:18So it's stunning, isn't it? It's a masterpiece.
04:20That is beautiful. What else have we got?
04:22Uh, we've got the Roman Askew.
04:24Yeah, so pretty.
04:25Another beauty, isn't it?
04:26Yeah, really, really pretty. Such an interesting look.
04:29Uh, we've got the Cavaloneira at the back.
04:30Can't beat it.
04:32Uh, red and green curly kale.
04:33We've got some homegrown broccoli.
04:35Yes.
04:35I know you love the sweetheart cabbage as well.
04:38I just felt that I can hold it.
04:40Gorgeous. So sweet.
04:41It is.
04:42They're so sweet.
04:42I, um, I'm never without two or three of these in my fridge, honestly, with juniper berries
04:46and mustard seeds to die for.
04:49Uh, but I am going to be cooking a meatball and spinach curry.
04:54So what have you got by way of, um...
04:56Well, just so happens.
04:57Yeah.
04:58Pork mince.
04:59Fantastic.
04:59Got some of that.
05:00Yeah.
05:00That's from our butchers in the farm shop.
05:02Good.
05:03Homegrown potatoes.
05:03Yes, I want those because I'm going to be doing some fries with turmeric.
05:08So I'd love those.
05:09Uh, Floury, tell me about them.
05:11These are, they're a little bit waxy.
05:13A little bit waxy.
05:14Yeah.
05:14So they'll hold a form quite nicely.
05:16Yeah, they will.
05:16Okay.
05:17David, uh, likes the potatoes.
05:19Uh, some baby leaf spinach.
05:20Perfect.
05:20I, I would love that for my, um...
05:21I think he's more after the pork mince rather than the potatoes.
05:24Yes, that's quite...
05:25Vegetarian Dave.
05:26I'm a vegetarian Dave.
05:29Spinach, fantastic.
05:30That's great for the, um, meatball curry.
05:31And then a couple of the root veg.
05:33We've got some beetroot carrots.
05:35And I've also got some gorgeous cauliflower.
05:37Look at that.
05:38Come on.
05:38That is stunning, isn't it?
05:39It looks artificial, like we've almost painted it on.
05:42Uh, we've got green, orange and purple this year.
05:44Just having a bit of a play.
05:45Come on.
05:46But they're stunning.
05:46Tell me about the flavour.
05:48Do you know, the flavour is really good.
05:50It's, I feel like it's slightly sweeter than the normal cauliflower.
05:52And the great thing is that our kids are more than happy to eat something that's purple
05:57rather than just plain old white.
05:59Stunning.
06:00When you cook that, does it go white?
06:01No, it holds.
06:02It's better if you steam it, but it does, you know, like the purple sprouting broccoli
06:05tends to lose its flavour, but that one holds it much better.
06:08I mean, you're turning my head here.
06:09I'm only making these two dishes and I want most of this box.
06:13I'm going to see you again.
06:14That is amazing.
06:15Can I grab those off you?
06:16Fantastic.
06:18I'm sure I can find a place for that colourful cauliflower somewhere later.
06:22Spinach, potatoes, mince, amazing.
06:26Can I grab that box?
06:26Perfect.
06:27Fantastic.
06:27I'll grab it for you.
06:28All righty.
06:30Brill, brill, brill.
06:31Let's go.
06:31Let's go.
06:32Come on, Dave.
06:32Come on, Dave.
06:33But for now, it's that wonderful mince, fresh from Andrew's Farm Shop, that's going to
06:38be centre stage in my garden herb meatball pork curry.
06:41A quick but hearty meal full of flavour and healthy ingredients too.
06:47Everyone needs a meatball curry up their sleeve.
06:50This is not something you get very often in India because in India when you have mince
06:55meat, let me get the mince meat, which is very common, you make keema.
07:01But this is all the flavours of the keema, but it's got that charm of kind of an Italian
07:06meatball dish.
07:08And that's what I really love about it.
07:10It's that kind of hybrid.
07:11So I'm using mince pork.
07:13Pork is a lighter meat and it's got a really good flavour, but pork also takes spice brilliantly
07:20well and it takes the herbs that I'm going to use.
07:23I'm going to start this dish by creating a really simple, basic tomato curry sauce.
07:29So we start with a bit of oil in the pan and it's just a, that's the geese leaving.
07:40It's so lovely around here because we've got lots of estuaries and waters and ponds.
07:44We're very water-based around the Wirral and so we get these geese coming in and the geese
07:48leaving and so your year is really punctuated by what's going on in the skies and with the
07:52birds.
07:53I love it.
07:54But we mustn't let the geese distract us from the job in hand.
07:57OK, curry sauce.
08:00Are we ready?
08:03And what I always say is it's as much onion as you could be bothered to chop and you can
08:08chop it as roughly as you like.
08:09I'm, I'm a really bad chopper.
08:12I am a home cook.
08:13But here's the secret.
08:15The finer the onions, the thicker the sauce.
08:19Sometimes you can just put sort of whole silver skins in and you get a good flavour but you
08:23get a nice liquor, a nice light liquor.
08:26So it's as much as you can chop.
08:28We don't use flour to thicken sauces in curry.
08:30We use onions.
08:32So that's your secret.
08:33If you're not a fan of onions, leep can make a good substitute.
08:37And to keep things moving, I'm using my frozen garlic ginger cubes.
08:40One keeper person should do it.
08:44OK, onion, ginger, garlic, we fry those and I want them nice and brown.
08:49And while those are frying, I'm just going to super simply create my meatball mix.
08:56So really simply, pork mince or lamb mince or whatever you want.
09:03You could use turkey, chicken, but I love pork.
09:05I love the way that pork works with kind of the herby spices and in fact the herbs that
09:11I'm going to put in it.
09:12I'm going to put some flavour into this.
09:14A little bit of salt so that they have their own flavour integrity.
09:19So you're eating this curry but you get a meatball and it's a whole other realm of flavours.
09:24That's what I want.
09:24I want this excitement.
09:26So you've got the lovely flavours from the sauce but you've got the meatballs doing
09:29their own talking as well.
09:30You just turn that down.
09:33I'm going to add some coriander powder to give it a herby flavour and then some cumin
09:38powder.
09:39Now this is the kind of nuclear weapon of the Indian kitchen.
09:44If you ever have a curry and you feel it's not got enough oomph, you don't go in with
09:48more chilli, you go in with more cumin powder.
09:51This is giving you that instant curry flavour.
09:54So I'm going to go in with a good teaspoon of cumin powder.
09:59That was my goat sneezing, OK?
10:01That was not me.
10:03I'm going to add a little chopped thyme to give it a little peppery edge too.
10:06So we have got our meatball base.
10:12With that prepared, I can get back to the curry sauce.
10:16And later I'll be finding out if my garden is suitable to re-home a new addition to the
10:20family.
10:32Between my family and my animals, there's never a dull moment and keeping everyone fed and
10:37happy is a full-time job, but it's one that I love.
10:40I'm creating a garden herb meatball pork curry. A wonderful, tasty and healthy hearty meal.
10:50I've prepared the meatball base, so now it's back to the sauce.
10:54OK, so I'm making a basic tomato curry sauce. And when I say basic, I mean epic and delicious,
11:01but simple. So into this, I'm going to put my spices. All you need are the mother and father
11:06of all curries. They go into everything turmeric and chilli.
11:11Just a small teaspoon of turmeric to give a lovely earthy foundation, followed by half
11:17a teaspoon of chilli to add a lovely smoky background.
11:19And then in with the conductor of all meat curries, and that is garam masala. Now, garam masala,
11:30two good heaped teaspoons. No, I'm going to go three, because I want quite a bit of flavour in this.
11:37But garam masala is a blend of about, oh gosh, any number of spices. Every house blends a different
11:42kind of garam masala. You do not need to be spending the day blending and grinding and roasting
11:47spices if you want a curry. Just go to an Asian grocer's and get a big bag for about a fiver,
11:53and that will last you for ages. Here's what's happening in that pan. I'm just letting those
11:58spices kind of kiss the bottom of the pan where the oil is, because that's what kind of slightly
12:03wakes the spice up. But not for too long, because we don't want that turmeric to go bitter. And in we
12:10go with our chopped, tinned tomatoes.
12:16When cooking with tomatoes, I find it's always good to put a little teaspoon of sugar in to bring
12:21out that sweetness. I'm also going to add some kale from the garden for some added goodness to your diet.
12:28Frozen green beans would work just as well.
12:30Right. I'm now going to drop in my meatballs. So, all of that's nicely combined. Little small meatballs,
12:39so they cook easily. You want a nice vigorous boil for this, because you want them, as soon as they get
12:45in, to start sort of sealing. So just keep the heat up there.
12:52And I'm just going to load these into the pan. I'm not stirring them at all. Don't even think of
12:56stirring them until you've put all the meatballs in and you have put the lid on. And you think,
13:02oh my goodness, they're going to disintegrate. It's going to be a mass of mince. But trust me.
13:08And look at this. This is just mince. There's no flour. There's no egg. There's no binding agent.
13:14The meat is just behaving perfectly. And that's all great, because those are ingredients you just don't
13:20need, you know. OK, I've dropped them in. I'm not poking them. I'm just poking around them. But the
13:28most important thing is to put a lid on, because that's going to help steam them. And then I can
13:33give them a little stir. So let's just get them sealed, give them a stir, and then poach it again.
13:39And that's it. I'm adding a green chilli, not for heat, but for a little fragrance.
13:46And after about eight to ten minutes, it's done. Just a little coriander for a finishing touch.
13:52There you go. So there it is, my garden meatball curry. I'm going to have that with a little bit
13:58of rice. But honestly, 30 minutes maximum. And it uses whatever you have in your fridge.
14:06It's one of those things that's kind of at least once a week.
14:15It's one of those things that you have in your fridge.
14:18It's one of those things that you have in your fridge.
14:20It's one of those things that you have in your fridge.
14:25Those meatballs are popping with flavour.
14:28And that sauce is lovely, and tangy, and sweet, and savoury, and spicy.
14:35It's a real cockle warmer. It's fantastic.
14:47That wonderful meatball curry is a great go-to when you're in a rush.
14:50But sometimes you might want to experiment a little more with different flavours.
15:01Well, one of the reasons I love living here is that it not only provides a wonderful traditional landscape,
15:06but the modern is also just on the doorstep, allowing me the opportunity to travel the world without leaving the postcode.
15:17Sikander runs this incredible international supermarket here on the Wirral.
15:22It's one of my favourite places. And just the spot when you're looking for a little inspiration.
15:29Hey, Sikander. Hello, Lisa. Are you OK?
15:31I'm running low on spices.
15:36I've got a couple of dishes in mind, and I just know I'm in the right place.
15:41I feel like I'm on holiday when I come in here.
15:43Yeah, thank you so much. I love it so much.
15:45Yeah. So, I'm going to make some masala lamb chops.
15:47Oh, good. Nice, huh? Yeah.
15:48And I'm going to make... OK, don't laugh, but I'm going to make a nice spicy hot chocolate.
15:52Ooh, never heard of that. I know, like a kind of a Mayan hot chocolate and some masala chai.
15:58Did you used to have that when you had a cold?
16:01Er... I've been told. Yeah.
16:03I never had it in... Yeah.
16:05But the oldest people told me to do that, yeah.
16:07Yeah, my uncle and my grandmother used to always make it if you had a cold.
16:11They thought it cured you of everything.
16:13You know, I'm kind of hoping that's true.
16:15Nice to see you. You too. I'm going to grab a basket.
16:17Thank you so much.
16:19But I appreciate that when it comes to creating quality curries in your own kitchen,
16:24the sheer number of options can be a little unnerving.
16:27So we're in one of the most intense aisles in an Asian store and it's the spice aisle.
16:36And this is where you could completely come unstuck and think,
16:38I know nothing, and then just leave.
16:40But honestly, I just want you to understand how simple this can be.
16:44And I'm going to show you two basic rules.
16:46Rule number one.
16:47When you are cooking vegetables in the Indian kitchen, you use seed spices.
16:52And I'll show you which spices.
16:53But seed spices govern the way you cook vegetables.
16:57When you are cooking meat dishes, you use powdered spices
17:01because they penetrate the fibres of the meat and get that flavour right the way through.
17:05Seeds delicate, powders strong.
17:10Next, every curry has a mother and father spice.
17:13The mother spice of every curry is turmeric.
17:16It gives you that earthy foundation.
17:19It makes a casserole turn into a curry.
17:23It's that kind of sun-kissed earth flavour that it brings into every dish.
17:28The father of all curries is chilli powder.
17:32Chilli powder is there not for heat.
17:34It is there to give you that background of smoke.
17:36With curries, you're building layers of flavour.
17:38You need a layer of earthy smoke.
17:41That is what chilli powder does.
17:43If you like your curries mild, put less in.
17:46Or get Kashmiri chilli powder, which is more about colour and less about heat.
17:54And of course, there's perhaps one spice that no kitchen should ever be without.
17:59There's no such thing as curry powder in the Indian kitchen.
18:01Honestly, we don't even know what that phrase means.
18:03What we do know is garam masala.
18:06Garam masala is like an entire orchestra of flavours, right?
18:10So within this can be like 30 ground spices.
18:14Garam masala, turmeric, chilli, those are the three spices that are honestly going to recreate
18:18any of those meat dishes that you love from the curry house.
18:21And here's something that's close to my heart.
18:25Let's turn to these mustard seeds.
18:28I'm Bengali and that's our favourite spice.
18:30Bengalis love to cook with mustard seeds.
18:33When you eat them raw, they are just hot and acrid.
18:36But when you fry them, they are the most miraculous spice ever because they turn into the flavour of popcorn.
18:42They explode, so you've got to be careful.
18:44They go grey and they taste utterly divine.
18:47These work particularly well when you're cooking brassicas, like cabbage, like broccoli.
18:54And of course, there's this little pocket rocket too.
18:56One of the most fascinating spices for me is fenugreek.
19:01Fenugreek comes in many forms. This is the seeds.
19:03When you fry fenugreek, your entire life will smell of curry for about a fortnight.
19:09But oh my word, it is so delicious.
19:13It's kind of the smell and the taste of instant curry house.
19:18And you know, in my view, it's kind of a very easy way to get that curry hit.
19:24But it's one thing you need up your sleeve.
19:26If you want to supercharge a curry, fry some fenugreek and throw it in.
19:30And people will never forget what they've tasted.
19:39There's a whole world of options in just this small aisle.
19:43And hopefully, I've given you the confidence to jump in and explore.
19:49You will always have shopkeepers and shop assistants in shops like this
19:53that are passionate about their spices.
19:56So don't think twice about going up to them and saying,
19:58what do you do with this? This is like alchemy.
20:01You know, frying these little dormant seeds and bringing them to life
20:05so that they can transform the most humble British ingredients
20:09is one of the reasons I have literally dedicated my life to curry.
20:14That's enough for now.
20:15Well, that little lot should keep me busy for a while.
20:22I can't wait to get back into the kitchen to try them out.
20:25My home and garden are such a haven for my family and our animals
20:45that it sometimes feels a struggle to leave.
20:47But my visit to sample the spice aisle in town has not only got me excited for the dishes I can create,
20:55it's also sent me on a personal trip down memory lane.
20:58I want to make a couple of drinks that speak to my childhood.
21:03A masala cha and a chilli hot chocolate.
21:07And I've got just the location in which to make it.
21:10As the evenings draw in and it starts to get cooler, I love to come out of the greenhouse
21:16and use my old stove for whatever I can.
21:19I'm going to show you two hot drinks that are thousands of years old
21:24and that are delicious but are really, really contemporary.
21:28At the moment, everyone loves a good chai and everyone loves a good hot chocolate.
21:35So I'm going to show you the Indian chai first because this is something I grew up with.
21:40My ancestors have made this drink for generations.
21:43It's an ancient, ancient Indian way of making tea.
21:50The wonderful thing about this drink is that it's not only delicious,
21:54but it's warming to the chest, so it's great for colds too.
21:58A little pan on the hop.
22:00So to make this tea, I'm going to use leaves just because it's nice
22:03and because you get a lot more flavour, Indians do love leaf tea.
22:07And we put a big heap teaspoon in per person, so let's go three teaspoons.
22:13Gosh, it's gorgeous.
22:15Next, in goes some green cardamom.
22:17So I just give those a little crush in my fingers like that to open them up
22:21and four of those go in.
22:23The next thing that's really important, cloves are what you use if you've got toothache.
22:27If you put a little clove over the area of toothache, it really helps numb that area.
22:32But these are very good for that kind of medicinal, lovely, aromatic hit.
22:39In goes three cloves and a cinnamon stick for company.
22:43One of the most important ingredients in an Indian tea is ginger.
22:48Sometimes we just do ginger in tea.
22:50You should try that.
22:51But ginger needs a little bit of a smash up.
22:53So you get some chopped ginger root into a mortar and pestle,
22:57but I'm just going to give it a little bash.
22:59You want to just release a bit of that flavour.
23:03The ginger goes into the pot to boil.
23:06Not too frantically, just a nice bright simmer until all the flavours
23:09and the tannins have come out of the tea.
23:13While that's simmering, I can tend to some other hungry mouths.
23:17This has been simmering away beautifully, and you can see
23:21that the tea leaves have given all their goodness.
23:26They are nice and open.
23:26In India, they will boil this and boil this and boil this and boil this.
23:30But you don't need to boil it to that point of potency
23:33if you don't like your tea that strong.
23:34But what we do need to think about is whether you want a bit of sweetener in it.
23:37And I do like a bit of sweetener in it, so I'm going to put a good teaspoon of brown sugar.
23:42You could use honey. That's a lovely thing.
23:44And I'm going to stir that in.
23:47And ordinarily, you would strain this and put it in a cup and then add milk.
23:52But in India, we always cook the tea with the milk in,
23:55so I'm going to add it to the pan.
23:58Splash of milk.
24:00I'm going to give it all one last blast on the hob while I get my cup and strainer.
24:07And in we go.
24:13I've poured that and it just looks like a normal cup of tea.
24:16So to tell people that what they're dealing with is something ancient and spiced and delicious,
24:23I'm just going to pop a cardamom pot on the top and a clove.
24:27That is lovely.
24:36That is so delicious.
24:38Honestly, it tastes of my childhood.
24:39It tastes of the childhood of my ancestors.
24:42This is an ancient way of warming your cockles.
24:45It's such a brilliant drink and so popular at the moment.
24:50And there's another traditional drink that's come back into fashion.
24:53And I want to put my own modern twist on it.
24:56So this is a Mayan hot chocolate.
24:58And this is the ancient way of making hot chocolate, but brought up to date.
25:03Do you know what I love about hot chocolate?
25:05It seems to be the new drink a favour and it's coming back.
25:09And it's coming back because we can do really clever things with it.
25:12So simple this.
25:13So into a pan, let's start with our milk.
25:17It's a milk based drink.
25:18So we're going to go any kind of milk.
25:21This is cow's milk, whatever your milk of choice.
25:25Into that.
25:25And this is what makes it my own.
25:27We're going to put in a big bar of good quality dark chocolate.
25:33We are also going to add to that teaspoon of vanilla extract.
25:38So let's do that.
25:40And that's just going to enhance that sweetness because it's dark chocolate.
25:44We want a bit of that sweetness.
25:46In goes two teaspoons of honey.
25:50And then allspice.
25:52Allspice is a fascinating berry.
25:57It comes from Mexico originally.
25:59And so it is native to where this hot chocolate was born.
26:04It's not a mix of spices, as many people think it is because it's called allspice.
26:08It's one berry, one kind of peppercorn that simply tastes of all the flavours of cinnamon,
26:16nutmeg and cloves.
26:17So it's a brilliant spice.
26:20I'm going to pop that on the hob while adding a red chilli.
26:24Not for heat, but to provide a smoky warmth to the flavour.
26:29And the last little hit of warmth comes from a little bit of orange there.
26:36So I'm just going to put a bit of that in there.
26:38Look, you don't have to do this, but if you're a fan of a orange chocolate, which I am,
26:43this is a great addition.
26:47I'm getting that lovely, rich chocolate colour.
26:50But the point is, all the chocolate's melted.
26:53And so there is nowhere else for this chocolate to go.
26:57So I am going to decant it into a jug where I can make a big mess like this.
27:03So there you have it, my own take on a traditional recipe.
27:07All I need now is someone to help me taste it.
27:11Time to grab a passing husband.
27:13Ah!
27:14Excellent timing, Zolly.
27:18So here we go, your hot chocolate.
27:21Tell me what you think.
27:22Does it need more sweet?
27:22Do you like it?
27:25Do you actually like it, really?
27:26Delicious.
27:27No, do you actually really like it?
27:28I do, you love it.
27:29Do you? Why?
27:32I can taste the dark chocolate and I love dark chocolate,
27:34but it's still sweet and smooth.
27:37What about the spice?
27:40This is a hint of chilli, I think.
27:41Oh, this is what I'm like with him at home.
27:44I need to know everything.
27:45It's very little.
27:46Yeah, yeah, exactly.
27:48Spot on.
27:49Do you like the cinnamon?
27:49See, you can stir it with the cinnamon.
27:51It's a really nice little addition.
27:52And I can see the orange, I see.
27:54There must be orange in there.
27:54Can you taste the more?
27:55I see now, it just took your eyes,
27:56so that means I need a bit more orange zest.
27:58But this is exactly why he's such a good tasting.
28:00Tiny bit more orange.
28:01I'm very critical.
28:02Because there's always something that we can do a bit better.
28:07A bit better.
28:08It's nice though, isn't it?
28:11It was such a treat cooking in the garden,
28:13a place that is so full of life you can't help but be inspired.
28:17The garden's also home to my animals,
28:19and although they can take up a fair bit of space,
28:22I always feel there's room for one more,
28:24especially if they're endangered.
28:26Hedgehog numbers in the UK are declining at a rapid rate.
28:32Stapley Grange is run by the RSPCA and is dedicated to rescuing sick or injured hedgehogs,
28:38and then releasing these beautiful nocturnal creatures back into the wild.
28:42Hello. Hi.
28:48Hiya.
28:49Hiya.
28:50My good friend Mel works here alongside Lee,
28:53and I'm hoping my garden could become a perfect haven for one of their recuperating rescues.
28:58So tell me about this centre. I didn't know you were here, I know Mel,
29:02and I knew of where you were, but tell me about it.
29:05How was this set up? What do you do here?
29:06Stapley Grange was one of four RSPCA centres in the country,
29:11and our catchment area is south of the Scottish Borders,
29:14down to south of Birmingham, across Mid Wales, and then up towards the Norfolk Wash.
29:17So we've got massive catchment areas.
29:19Obviously, there's lots of other rehabbers out there that can take in local wildlife,
29:23but we will take in more specialised stuff from further afield,
29:27like otters, foxes, badgers, deer will come in to us.
29:30So we can pretty much take anything and everything in here.
29:32And then, on the most part, we will rehabilitate and release back to the wild.
29:38Talking to Mel for a little while, about whether I can have them released into my garden,
29:42if you've got poorly or whatever, homeless hedgehogs.
29:46Yep.
29:46Because we have quite a few, and they seem like a happy tribe of hedgehogs around ours.
29:52So how does it work? How does it work when you're assessing whether a place is suitable or not?
29:56Critical things are predators, badgers in particular.
29:59So if there are any known badgers around your garden or within, like, a kilometre,
30:05and then we might not select you. But in your case, it's all good.
30:08And what predators are we talking about? So there's badgers, what else?
30:11Just badgers, that's the...
30:12That's it?
30:13Obviously humans, yeah.
30:14You mean cars?
30:15Strimmers, cars, machinery...
30:18Netting.
30:19Netting, yeah.
30:20Really?
30:20That kind of thing, yeah.
30:21What do they come to you with, generally? How come they end up here?
30:25I would say the main reason for admission would be sick. So they've been found out during the day,
30:31um, and unless it's a pregnant mum or a mum that's just given birth,
30:34it's just out in the day looking for more food, and it's an indication that there's something wrong with it.
30:39So if you see a hedgehog out in the day, something's not right, is that the thing?
30:44Generally.
30:45Yeah, generally.
30:46And then what do you do? Go and get it to a vet?
30:48Yeah, preferably.
30:49Any vet?
30:50Any vet will take it in, or any vet will see it, and then it can be transported to us.
30:56We'll take it in, care for it, rehabilitate it, deliver it back to yourselves.
31:00They're amazing. Can I see some of these things?
31:03Absolutely.
31:05Wendy's in charge of making sure the hedgehogs are ready for release.
31:09I'm hoping there's one looking for a new home today.
31:13So this is Wendy. Hi, Wendy.
31:16Hi.
31:17This is still under veterinary care at the moment, so it has been poorly,
31:20so we're just going to get him out, check him, weigh him, just see how he's doing.
31:24Generally put him on his back, which is fine, yeah, because it keeps him curled up and it keeps him still.
31:28Obviously, we won't leave it there, but just gives it an accurate way.
31:32Some of them, most of them are quite compliant, but some of them will uncurl until we have to resort to different.
31:37Is he afraid? Is that why he's in a ball?
31:40It's a defence mechanism, yes, for them to curl up. It's how they protect themselves.
31:45It's the same muscle as your eyes and your mouth, you scrunch it up, as they have all the way around their body.
31:51So when they scrunch it, it closes up completely.
31:53That's a brilliant way of understanding it.
31:58To uncurl him, Wendy has a special trick.
32:01I'm just going to bounce him a little bit.
32:03Some will be quite receptive to it, others will be very difficult, as we know, don't we?
32:09So if we just bounce, gently, and then what I do is keep my finger under the chin so we can't curl up,
32:15and then all we do is just kind of lift up so we can see.
32:21And now we can be properly introduced.
32:24And these are not spiky spikes?
32:26They are spiky, some of them, yes, so you'll feel.
32:29They vary so much.
32:32Some of them can be quite soft, others are really prickly.
32:34I mean, I'm quite hardened to them now, but there's some that are really prickly.
32:39I call all the male ones spike, just because, you know, they're spiky.
32:43Yeah?
32:44So, spike.
32:44You've put a lot of thought into that.
32:46I've done so much thought.
32:47I'm glad you recognise that, thanks, Nisha.
32:49How are you doing well?
32:50What do you call the girl ones?
32:52The girls get called Erin, because the scientific name for a hedgehog is Erinaceous Europaeus,
32:57so a bit of a nerdy twist to the girl names.
33:00Boys get a spike, girls get Erin.
33:02So what am I going to feed him?
33:04He's been used to dry mix, so we'll give you some cat biscuits to take away.
33:09Cat biscuits are the smaller ones.
33:10We won't give them dog because they're bigger.
33:13Some of them prefer meat, so we would ask, you know, just support feed them.
33:18Sometimes you'll take them and they'll just go in the first night
33:21and you may not see them again.
33:22Yeah.
33:23Other times, you know, they'll keep coming back.
33:25If they are juveniles, we do like them to be support fed.
33:30And if you've got a hog house or somewhere that you can put them,
33:34adults will just do their own thing if they're going back.
33:36That's fine. They'll know the sort of territory there.
33:38Yeah.
33:38But as the youngsters, or if they've been quite poorly,
33:41then we will ask, you know, just to support feed the first couple of days.
33:44And Mel, you're going to show me where to put him and stuff.
33:46I absolutely am. Yep.
33:47Well, with Spike safely wrapped up, it's time for me and Mel to see if he'll take to his new home.
33:54My garden is a haven for my animals, both large and small.
34:08And today, my newest recruit, Spike the Hedgehog, is about to make his appearance.
34:14Mel from the Stapley Grange RSPCA Centre has been helping get him back into shape before his release.
34:19And he's come well prepared.
34:23The ideal is that, as a wild animal, we don't want to feed him at all.
34:28But we know that he was an adult when he came in to us about six weeks ago,
34:32and he knew how to feed Fen for himself at that time.
34:34So the ideal is we're just going to offer him some supplementary feed just in case he needs it.
34:39Now, as this is your house and a foodie atmosphere, I have prepared
34:49a picnic for him. That is amazing.
34:53Oh my gosh.
34:53So we have some crunchies, some cat stuff, we have some snacks,
34:59there's the mealworms, we have some wet food, and then we have a beverage, should he want.
35:04And so that it doesn't get wet, I mean, is that a brawling?
35:08No! That is amazing.
35:11You are hilarious.
35:13Oh my...
35:16So this is...
35:18Is that even a hedgehog thing?
35:19No, of course not.
35:21I just made it.
35:22Did you?
35:24So we're going to put that down somewhere.
35:28Well, at least I know he's sorted for a bit of midnight feasting.
35:32He's huge. I know, his little cute face.
35:37And luckily, my own dogs are so used to sharing the garden with others,
35:41that Spike will be free and safe to explore.
35:44Fantastic moment. So our happy, healthy hedgehog has been released.
35:48And the way he just scurried off as though it was home, you know,
35:50the minute he came out of his box and he could smell the fresh air,
35:54and he was going home. And that's the best that I could do,
35:57is maintain a piece of the Wirral, a corner of the Wirral,
36:02where animals like this that are so endangered and in such decline
36:05can be safe and healthy. And I'll just keep doing it.
36:09So for me, it's stupid, but it's a big moment.
36:12I've got so many domesticated animals,
36:13but to be of any use to the wild ones, I find it very moving.
36:17As hedgehogs are shy creatures, it's going to be hard to know if Spike is settling in well.
36:27But that's where Chris and Olivia come in.
36:29They're from Chester Zoo and they run a hedgehog watch scheme.
36:35They're putting cameras in my garden to monitor my new nocturnal friend.
36:39So we're putting this trail camera here. It's quite a wooded area.
36:45And it's on looking to a log pile. So we're hoping to find lots of things using the log pile.
36:51It's motion-sensored, so as soon as an animal will walk past this front bit here,
36:58it'll trigger and hopefully we'll catch some nice footage.
37:02All we can do now is wait and see what the cameras produce.
37:06And to say thank you to Chris and Olivia for all their hard work,
37:10I'm going to make them a very special meal.
37:12I'm going to make tandoori lamb chops along with a spiced paneer kebab with turmeric chips.
37:21It's such a simple, delicious meal made with the vegetables from Andrew's farm
37:25and my garden, so it's super healthy.
37:31Let's start with the lamb chops. Out of the fridge.
37:37Fat on. I don't like them trimmed. I like them with the fat on,
37:40because especially when you barbecue them and you get that little burn to the fat,
37:44that's the most delicious part. So lamb chops to the side.
37:47And I'm going to create the marinade. And this is so simple. This is a real important hack.
37:54And I don't think many people sort of know about this particular spice,
37:57but the spice is tandoori masala. You can get it cheaply in any Asian supermarket
38:03and it's worth its weight in gold. It's got paprika, it's got cumin,
38:07it's got all of those aromatic ground up, a bit like garam masala.
38:11But then on top of that, it's got things like garlic powder and onion powder,
38:15and all of those things that you wouldn't necessarily have in your kitchen.
38:18Honestly, get a bag of that. And if you smother chicken thighs or chicken breasts
38:24or whatever you want, lamb chops in this, a bit of oil, a bit of yogurt,
38:28you're already there. You've got the most delicious tandoori dish.
38:32I'm going to start by heaping three generous spoonfuls into a bowl.
38:36I'm also going to put some turmeric in there because I love that pop of yellow to come through
38:41on a marinade, especially with the vegetables. You know, turmeric makes those vegetables look really
38:47golden and summery. There's a nice lot of spice in there now, but I feel there's room for more.
38:52So I like a little bit of green cardamom, especially on the barbecue because it's particularly fragrant
39:01and the scent floats around the garden. In goes the salt and the juice of a whole lemon.
39:07The lemon will start tenderizing the meat. Adding some nice light acidic yogurt will also help the
39:14process. Then another way of bringing a lovely sweet acidity to something and that little bit of
39:22tang is tomato puree, not tomato ketchup that makes a barbecue sauce. Tomato puree is something that
39:32can happily go in to a tandoori sauce without skewing the flavor. Now give that marinade a good mix,
39:40adding a little more yogurt if you feel you haven't got enough. Okay, so I've got a good paste here,
39:46but there are two finishing ingredients that are really important for a good tandoori marinade. One is
39:53oil because the oil is going to make this into kind of the ultimate moisturizer and help that meat cook
40:01really well. So you don't get that scolding, you get that lovely charring. The final ingredient is a
40:07little extra fresh garlic, four fat cloves to complement the garlic powder that's already in the
40:12tandoori masala. So now all those ingredients are completely combined. I'm going to start constructing
40:18the vegetarian kebabs. I'm going to put a bit of paneer into this. I don't know if you've ever used
40:22paneer in your cooking. It's not something you'd put on toast. It's not something you'd use as you would
40:28use any kind of a western cheese. It's what you put in curry. So it's a great meat substitute. It's almost
40:35like cottage cheese that's been compressed. That's all it is. So it's great to put into curries, but it's also
40:41really good because the structure is so firm and robust that it barbecues really well.
40:50With those chunks prepared, it's time to get those lamb chops ready. Spoon your marinade generously and
40:56combine them together. Those can then go in the fridge while I prepare the paneer kebabs. So let's put
41:03some of our paneer into this bowl. Okay, so let's get the squashes in. Some peppers. Whatever you've got
41:11veg-wise, cut it nice and chunky and toss them in and we can start to thread these things together.
41:18There we go. Beautiful summer colours these. And done on a barbecue, they are fantastic.
41:24Okay, time to construct the kebabs. Some paneer, courgette, pepper, onion, whatever order you like,
41:34and paneer again at the end. And while those are resting, I can think about the other important part
41:40of this meal. With the lamb chops and the kebabs, the thing that goes so well are chips. But I'm going to
41:47show you what we call aloo bhaja, which are Indian chips. Indian chips are parboiled potatoes. I'm
41:53doing them in a kind of wedge shape like this. You don't have to have them flowery. They've just got
41:57to be par-cooked. I am then going to toss them with a little bit of the ultimate potato ingredient,
42:08and that is ground turmeric. That turmeric will bring out the earthiness of the potatoes and make
42:13them a little bit sweeter. I'm adding a little bit of oil so that the turmeric can rub in properly
42:19before they go in the frying pan. You can see I'm not deep, deep frying them. I'm just shallow frying
42:25them. I'm not a deep fryer. And when you parboil potatoes, the cook's done okay. The oil is going
42:32to go nice and yellow. So while those are frying, I'm going to get my kebabs on because they're not going
42:37to take a heck of a long time. Let's get the veggies out like that. There we go.
42:44Let's get my lamb chops out. Here we go. Okay. It doesn't take long for those chips either.
42:55Look at that. That is my dream chip. But you can see these are ready because they've gone nice and
43:00ready gold. Let's get these out. So there you go. A little sprinkle of salt. A bit of rock salt on that
43:07of course. And then let's get the barbecue going. So vegetable kebabs. Fantastic. It's not going to take
43:13long at all. Okay. Then we go in with our lamb chops. This is the meat zone down here.
43:29Okey dokey. Let's shut that. I'm ready just in time for my guests, Chris and Olivia,
43:35who brought along the footage from the camera they set up in my garden.
43:39Thank you very much for coming. So the least I could do is cook for you. Thank you. No,
43:44I appreciate it. It's an excuse for me to eat really well though. So here we go. Temeric chips.
43:49I've got some vegetable kebabs. So we've got paneer and courgette and peppers and onions,
43:54all in tangerine masala. Lamb chops, same kind of marinade. So please, will you just grab
44:00and do you want me to help you? Amazing. Oh yeah. Thank you. Okay. Grab one of those.
44:03Appreciate it. Wow. Okay. And hang on a second.
44:08It's really good. Do you like the spice? How do you like the flavours within this spice? It's perfect
44:18for me. Thank you. Really? I'm not a big spicy fan. So yeah, it's good. Thank you. Are you getting
44:25any heat through or not? I think it's perfect balance for me. Thank you very much. This food's gone down
44:31well, but I'm hoping Chris and Olivia have got something exciting for me too. So I can't wait to
44:37hear about what animals we might have here and whether our hedgehog has taken to life in our garden.
44:45So what have we found? I think we've got some great sort of hedgehogs. Do you want to have a look?
44:51Mmm. Show me everything.
44:55That is one healthy hedgehog. Yeah, they have to be like the size of a watermelon to survive the winter
45:00when they hibernate. Is that right? Yeah, yeah. So this is really healthy, which is great to see.
45:05Do you know what's so crazy? Look how long and agile his legs are and he moves at quite a pace. That's not
45:11fast forward. It's not double time, is it? No. This is under our hay pile here, the camera there.
45:17So is that a nest? This is incredible and I've been going through footage like this for two and a
45:21bit years now. Are you kidding? No, yeah. Thank you. Thanks so much for that footage. I'm going to tell
45:26the Wildlife Hospital because if there are any other hedgehogs that need a nice home, this might be the
45:31right place, you know, and that kind of is a testimony to that. So I'm so pleased about that. It means the
45:36world. Thank you very much. It was so nice to see you. Thank you. Thank you for cooking for us.
45:40It's the least I could do. Have another chip. Finish it off. Thank you.
45:52It's great to know that Spike's settling in well and hopefully we'll see him on our next adventure.
46:13I'm
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