oliveoilandlemon

recipes for healthy living

Tag: cleansing

November 7, 2012

North Indian Chicken Curry

My time spent at Dublin Cookery School learning both Indian and Thai curry flavors opened the world of great spicing to me and there are some of my favourite cuisines to experiment with. This is one of my favourite home style curries, so named because it is easy to prepare and can be reheated the next day and tastes even better. You just can’t go wrong with this curry. Best cooked with free range chicken and I prefer on the bone, though not everyone likes the skin left on during cooking. The final step of adding the chopped ginger at the end is courtesy of my time spent with Sunil of Ananda, just about my favourite Indian restaurant in Dublin.

North Indian Style Chicken Curry
Serves 4
1.25lbs chicken in 1” cubes or
the same weight in chicken on the bone cut into pieces
100ml veg oil
1 bay leaf
Spice mix made from 5 green cardamoms, 1” cinnamon stock, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 1 star anise, 2 tsp cuimin seeds and 4 cloves – pounded together in your Mortar & Pestle
½ lb onions finely sliced
1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1 ½ tsp each of ground coriander, turmeric, red chilli powder
4oz canned tomatoes, juice drained
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 ½ tsp salt
Enough water to cover

To Finish
1 tsp Garam Masala
2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tbsp finely chopped finely

Heat the oil in a pot and add the pounded spices and the bay leaf. Stir till the spices release their aromas and start to crackle. Be careful not to burn as they will be bitter if they do. Tip in the onions and cook will golden brown then add the garlic ginger paste and stir continuously. Add a little water if it starts to catch on the bottom of the pan. Add the powdered spices and stir quickly, add the tomatoes, the tomato paste, salt and stir to combine. Tip in the chicken and enough water to cover everything.
Cook on a slow heat stirring slowly occasionally.
As the tomatoes melt to form a sauce, add water if you need it to keep everything covered. Cook for about 20 – 25 minutes until the chicken is almost fully cooked.
Sprinkle in the Garam Masala and finish cooking the chicken. Just before serving sprinkle in the chopped coriander and ginger which add a delicious dimension of taste. Serve with some basmati rice or my delicious sweet potato rotis.

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February 6, 2012

2 Potato Vindaloo – Ottolenghi Style

2 Veg Vindaloo

Im not vegetarian but I do eat meat free a day or 2 every week. I love finding new recipes for vegetables and it is to other cuisines I like to look for inspiration. This recipe is from Ottolenghi’s book Plenty and we make it pretty often here. The recipe has potatoe in it – I often substitute Butternut Squash which works just as well and better for you. It seems like it takes a while but actually it just bubbles away once you have in it the pot. Its full of good stuff and I particulary like the circulatory benefits from the ginger, paprika, and chilli. It has an extraordinary flavour- sweet, sour, warming and a nice hit of heat from the spices too..Next time I’m in London I swear I’m going to get to one of the branches to enjoy their version, as well as some of the delicious tray bakes they are famous for.

Serves 4
Ingredients
8 cardamom pods
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp oil
12 shallots (300g in total)
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
25 curry leaves – (From the Asia market and can be frozen if you buy extra)
2 tbsp chopped fresh root ginger
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
50ml good quality cider vinegar
400ml water
1 tbsp caster sugar
400g peeled potatoes or butternut squash cut into 2.5cm dice
2 small red peppers, cut into 2cm dice (I didnt have, make it anyway!)
400g peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 2.5cm dice
salt mint or coriander leaves to serve

Start by making a spice mix. Dry-roast the cardamom pods and cumin and coriander seeds in a small frying pan until they begin to pop. Transfer to a pestle and mortar and add the cloves. Work to a fine powder, removing and discarding the cardamom pods once the seeds are released. Add the turmeric, paprika and cinnamon and set aside. Heat up the oil in a large heavy-based pot. Add the shallots with the mustard and fenugreek seeds, and sauté on a medium low heat for 8 minutes, or until the shallots brown. Stir in the spice mix, curry leaves, ginger and chilli and cook for a further 3 minutes. Next, add the tomatoes, vinegar, water, sugar and some salt. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer, covered for 20 minutes.
Add the potatoes and red peppers and simmer for another 20 minutes. For the last stage, add the sweet potatoes. Make sure all the vegetables are just immersed in the sauce (add more water if needed) and continue cooking until the potatoes are tender.
Remove the lid and leave to bubble away for about 10 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce. Serve hot, some plain yoghurt on the side is good with it.
This dish can be made ahead of time and kept for a few days – It actually gets better!

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