Tag Archives: Indian

June 18, 2013

Chicken and Pistachio Nut Korma

An authentic chicken korma is usually made with a nut paste made up of almonds and cashews, but I thought I’d try making it with pistachios after I was sent some for review purposes. They’re the official snack of the USA Water Polo team, apparently, and gram-for-gram contain more protein than halibut, more fibre than cooked broccoli and more potassium than bananas. Apparently.

But I’m not too interested in the health benefits – I find shelling pistachios is enough of a workout in itself – it’s the taste that floats my boat. So I got my two nimble-fingered sons to shell 100g of nuts for me (a difficult task because they kept eating them) so I could cook this fantastically nutty, aromatic curry. It is one of the best curries I’ve ever made, which is down to the winning combo of the pistachios and cardamoms.

Serves 2-4

Spices

5 whole green cardamoms
3 whole cloves
2.5cm cinnamon stick
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp chilli powder

For the korma

500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
100g shelled pistachio nuts
Golf ball-sized piece of fresh ginger, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3-4 red/green/yellow finger chillies, deseeded
2 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 medium onion, chopped
75ml natural yoghurt
75ml double cream
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

1. In a large frying pan, dry roast the spices for 1 mins, until they give off their aromas. Allow to cool, then grind to a powder in a coffee grinder or pestle and mortar. Put aside.

2. In a food processor, blend the nuts, ginger, garlic and chillies with a 100ml water into a coarse paste.

3. Heat the ghee and oil together, then fry the onion until golden. Add the ground spices and cook for a further minute.

4. Add the nut paste and yoghurt and cook for 10 mins or so.

5. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Simmer for about 45 mins, or until the meat is tender. Add a little water bit by bit to prevent it sticking and drying out.

6. About 10 mins before serving, add the double cream and bring to the boil to reduce a little. Season with salt and garnish with coriander.

7. Serve with pilau rice and naan bread, chapatis or wraps.

1 Comment

Filed under Poultry, Recipe Shed, Reviews, Comps & Sponsored Posts

Tagged as Chicken, Chicken Thighs, Indian, Korma, Nuts, pistachio nuts, Recipe Shed, Recipes, Review

June 3, 2013

Lamb Shank Vindaloo

This lamb shank vindaloo recipe is adapted from Simon Cave’s magnificent Manly Food cookbook. If your fella’s a foodie, then I urge you to have a look at it. Could be just what you’re looking for as a Father’s Day gift.

Simon describes this as an ‘extremely hot curry’ so I’ve toned it down a little from his recipe by leaving out the Kasmiri dried chillies , sieving the sauce and adding some coconut milk to finish.

However, I’ve reproduced Simon’s version from his book here so you can give it a whirl, if you fancy.

Serves 4

Marinade:

1 cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods
5 cloves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
4 tsp Indian hot chilli powder
6 dried Kashmiri chillies
6 garlic cloves
2 cm fresh root ginger
Half tsp sugar
50 ml white wine vinegar
50 ml white wine (optional: can also be replaced with coconut milk)

Vindaloo:

4 lamb shanks
2 star anise
50 ml vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
Salt

1. Combine spices, garlic, ginger and sugar with vinegar and wine and let the ingredients soak for 30 mins before pureeing them in a blender to a fine paste.

2. Put the lamb shanks, star anise and marinade in a large bowl and leave to marinate for at least 4 hours in the fridge.

3. After marinating, heat the oil in a large casserole. Add the onion and fry until soft. Add the lamb along with the marinade paste and let the spices soften and the vinegar evaporate over a high heat for 5 mins.

4. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat and season with salt. Add a little water if necessary to just cover the meat, and let it simmer for about 90 minutes, or until tender. (I actually put my lamb in a slow cooker and cooked it on LOW for 6 hours, until very tender).

5. Serve with basmati rice or with creamy chick pea dhal. I sieved the cooked marinade and then added coconut milk, then brought it to the boil on the hob and reduced it by half to make a spicy sauce.

Atul Kochhar’s Sumatran Lamb Kurma

I’ve adapted this recipe from Atul Kochhar’s wonderful ‘Curries Of The World’ book. His introductory note to this very mild, but tasty, Sumatran Lamb Kurma, goes: ‘The korma, or kurma, is thought to have originated in India but such is Asia’s history that dishes have travelled and been adopted by other countries, where they often take on a new life.

‘So, while this seems to be an Indian-inspired recipe…it is also characteristically Indonesian because of the lemongrass, as well as the coconut, Whatever its origins, it all adds up to a fantastic korma.’

Serves 6

1 kg lean boneless leg of lamb, chopped into chunks
6 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
1 onion, finely chopped
4-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tsp finely chopped lemongrass
5cm piece of cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2 bay leaves
400g potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
250ml coconut milk
Salt

For the spice powder

Quarter tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
4 green cardamom pods
4 cloves
10 black peppercorns

1. First make the spice powder. Lightly toast all the spices, one at a time, in a dry pan until fragrant. When they are cool, grind together to a fine powder in a spice mill or coffee grinder.

2. Mix together the lamb, spice powder and some salt in a bowl. Set aside in a cool place for 20 mins.

3. Heat the oil or ghee in a pan and saute the lamb for 4-5 mins until lightly browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove the lamb and set aside, then add the onion to the pan and sautre for 5 mins until softened.

4. Add the garlic, ginger and lemongrass and saute for 2-3 mins. Remove the mixture with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

5. Discard the oil left in the pan. Return the lamb and onion mixture to the pan. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, bay leaves and potatoes. Pour in enough hot water just to cover the ingredients. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then cover and simmer on the lowest possible heat for 45 mins.

6. Remove the lid and add the coconut milk. Add a little more hot water, too. Simmer, covered, for a further 15-20 mins or until the lamb and potatoes are perfectly cooked.

7. Adjust the seasoning and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Serve with rice, naan bread or chapatis.

1 Comment

Filed under Lamb, Recipe Shed, Slow Cooker

Tagged as Atul Kochhar, Curry, Indian, Indonesian, Korma, kurma, Lamb, Potatoes, Recipe Shed, Recipes, slow cooked, Slow-cooker

May 14, 2013

Slow-Cooked Chicken Do-Piaza

Do- Piaza translates as ‘two onions’ because that’s the number of times they appear in the cooking process. The first stage involves making a puree from onions, garlic and ginger. The final stage is to add lots of sliced onions to the dish. Cook this long and slow, either in a slow cooker or casserole dish, and you will be rewarded with an incredible depth of flavour. The onions become so, slightly caramelised, and wonderfully sweet.

I used bone-in chicken thighs for this dish, but it works just as well with tougher cuts of meat, such as lamb shoulder or beef stewing steak.

Serves 2-4

4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin removed

For the first stage

2 tbsp ghee or sunflower oil
2 onions, finely chopped
Golf ball-sized piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
6 cloves
1 brown cardamom pod
1 tsp cinnamon powder
Half tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
150ml natural Greek yoghurt

For the second stage

3 onions, peeled and sliced
4-6 small tomatoes, quartered
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
Salt, to taste

1. Heat the ghee or oil in a large frying pan and add stage one onions, garlic and ginger. Cook for 10-15 mins until very soft. Add a little water if they start to catch.

2. Add the spices and stir through, followed by the yoghurt. Now add the chicken thighs and stir until thoroughly coated with the sauce.

3. Transfer to a slow cooker or casserole dish. If using the slow cooker, cook on LOW for 3 hours, until the chicken is very tender. If using a casserole, cook in a 160C/Gas 2 oven for 2 hours.

4. After the cooking time, add the stage two onions and tomatoes and cook for a further 30-40 mins, until the second batch of onions are very soft. Towards the end of cooking, add the herbs and season with salt.

5. Serve with chapatis or wraps and chick pea mash, made by mashing together a drained can of chick peas, juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp garam masala, 50g butter and a handful of fresh, chopped coriander.