Rather curious one this - again from Rick Stein's India - and time to introduce a new ingredient!
Mustard Oil. This is available online and in the EU at least, you will notice that the bottle specifies for External Use Only. Rick also mentions this in his book, but notes that in a fair bit of research, he can find no evidence that links any major health problems with internal consumption! (I'm still alive too so.....). Therefore, I must responsibly point out the potential issue and hereby instruct you to do your own research and decide for yourself whether or not you wish to use it. If not, you could always take Sunflower oil and warm gently with a good handful of mustard seeds and infuse it. I might try this at some point and then I'll repost this with timings and temps if it works! :-)
So, Once more unto the breach, dear friends......
Ingredients:
The Chicken -
500g Skinless boneless chicken cut into 2cm pieces (thighs or breasts, whichever you prefer)
1 tsp Dried Red Chilli Flakes
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 1/2 tsp salt
8 cloves garlic, crushed
50g Ginger, pulped
The spice mix -
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
1 1/4 tsp black mustard seeds
1 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp garam masala (elsewhere on this blog)
To Finish -
300ml mustard oil (or Vegetable oil - or indeed a mix of the two!)
2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
pinch Asafoetida
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
50g ginger, finely chopped
150ml White Wine Vinegar
To Serve -
Parathas - plus I made Aloo Gobi with Deep fried Paneer thrown in at the end (I needed to use up some paneer and it was also nice to snack on whilst cooking everything else!)
Method:
1. Mix chicken with chilli flakes, turmeric, salt, garlic, ginger and leave to marinate for at least an hour
2. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds, black mustard seeds and fennel seeds, then leave to cool and grind to fine powder. Add the garam masala & mix well
3. Heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add onions and fry for 10-15mins stirring often until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Keep oil in pan hot.
4. Fry the chicken in the oil in batches for 3-4 mins until cooked. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
5. Add the asafoetida to the oil, followed by the spice mix, garlic and ginger. Fry for 2-3 mins then remove from the heat and add the vinegar. Return to the heat, bringing to a simmer, and add the onions and chicken back in. Cook for about 3-5 mins further, then serve with the parathas, and some chopped fresh coriander
(By the way, you did read correctly that this recipe chews 16 cloves garlic! Happy days!)
#chickenpickle
A mini feast created yesterday - Beef Vindaloo; Ferar bataka, Vagareli makai, Lila dhania baath, pickled onion and green chilli salad, Phudino dai!
The Beef Vindaloo comes from Rick Stein India, as does the pickled Onion and green chilli salad, recipe for which can be found on the blog with the Kati Rolls.
The Ferar bataka, Vagareli makai and Lila dhania baath comes, as always, from Kaushy Patel's Prashad recipe book which I always recommend as an essential volume for anyone attempting to explore eastern cuisine.
If you are doing this menu, note that the order of battle is to get the beef in the marinade the day before/ 12 hours or at least 6 hours prior to cooking (variance is due to what type of beef you have selected - see below). Next, get the pickled onion and green chilli salad done.
Assuming you have pre-made your masala for the rice, then you are ready to go on the day, although note that the beef wants to be cooked for 2 hours or so unless you use a pressure cooker.
So, to the Beef Vindaloo. Note this is the proper stuff, and doesn't taste anything like a vindaloo you might get in many Indian restaurants in the UK!
Ingredients:
750g beef - (boneless shin of beef cut into 3cm medallions) - although I simply used diced stewing steak
Marinade:
5cm cinnamon stick
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds (my addition)
1 tsp fennel seeds (my addition)
seeds from circa 12 green cardamom pods
1 onion, roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled
5 cm root ginger, roughly chopped
2tbsp tamarind liquid
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp palm sugar/ jaggery/ brown sugar
2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
5 tbsp white wine vinegar
To cook the vindaloo:
2 tbsp(30g) ghee or vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, sliced
3 fresh green chillies, halved lengthways
100ml water
Method:
For the mariande, grind the cinnamon, black peppercorns, cloves, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cardamom to a powder. Put the onion, garlic, ginger, tamarind, salt, sugar, chilli powder, turmeric and vinegar, and all the ground spices into a food processor and blend to a paste. Mix in thoroughly with the beef in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge for the prescribed time above.
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 10 mins or so until golden. Increase heat to medium high and add the beef and all the marinade. Fry for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomatoes, green chillies and water, cover with lid and cook for around 2 hours until the meat is tender, stirring occasionally to check it isn't sticking or going dry - add a splash of water if so.
Sprinkle with some chopped coriander to serve.
Ferar Bataka
This, I loved. Delicious!
Ingredients:
4 medium red-skinned potatoes
5cm root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped, then pulped
6-8 fresh green chillies, sliced into fine rings
100g unsalted butter
80g red skinned, unroasted, unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 lemon quartered, to serve (I forgot this but hey ho!)
Method:
Cut potatoes into 1.5cm cubes, and boil until just cooked.
Melt butter in large pan, reduce heat to low and stir in the ginger and chilli rings. Continue to stir for a minute or so whilst the ginger and chilli infuse the butter. Stir in the peanuts. Increase the heat slightly. Stir in the sugar and salt.
Gently stir in the potatoes so they don't break up, making sure you coat them all in the spiced butter. Cover the pan and cook for 2 mins or so until heated through.
One from the Prashad book here. I made it along with the Chicken Chettinad and Lila Dhania Baath, both found elsewhere on this blog.
Ingredients then:
3x 400g tins chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Sunflower oil
15g Coriander seeds
8cm cinnamon stick
6 dried kashmiri chillies
8 cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
6 dried Indian bay leaves
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4cm root ginger, finely chopped, then pulped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, then pulped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sugar (I used palm sugar but jaggery or dark brown sugar also fine)
2 handfuls freshly chopped coriander
Method:
Place the chickpeas along with 500ml water in a pan over a high heat, bring to the boil for 5 mins, then remove from heat and set aside (do not drain)
heat 4 tsp oil in a pan over a low heat, add coriander seeds, cinnamon, dried Kashmiri chillies, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves and 1 tsp of the cumin seeds. Fry for 5 mins or so, stirring continuously. Set aside to cool.
Heat about 75ml oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the other tsp cumin seeds and fry until they start to go brown (about a minute tops - make sure you don't let them burn)
Stir in the onions and fry until dark brown, stirring every minute or so.
Stir in the tomatoes, ginger and garlic, salt, chilli powder, turmeric and sugar and increase the heat to high.
Immediately stir in the chickpeas along with their cooking water and an additional 300ml warm water. Cover the pan and leave to simmer for 5 mins, stirring occasionally.
While this is going on, finely grind the cooled roasted spices. Note well: ensure you do not scrimp on this process unless you like pieces of cinnamon bark!
Add to the chickpeas, stir, then remove the pan from the heat.
Sprinkle with chopped coriander then cover the pan and leave to rest for around 10 mins.
Reheat over a medium heat to serve.
Well, this is supposed to be Keema dhai vada...except I had no Lamb at the time and didn't see any reason why it wouldn't work with some pork I had instead.
On balance: it works fine so give it a go!
Ingredients:
For the Koftas
500g pack minced pork/ lamb etc
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garam masala - Garam Masala
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
2 cloves garlic, chopped
handful mint leaves
handful coriander leaves
1 tsp salt
Oil, for frying
For the yoghurt
400ml natural yoghurt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling
Pinch Kashmiri chilli powder, plus extra for sprinkling
Parathas or chapatis to serve.
Method:
Put all the Kofta ingredients except the oil into a food processor and blend until smooth. Get a bowl of water to hand and a platter, and using wet hands each time, take a golf ball sized amount of the mixture and roll to a ball. place on platter.
Heat oil and fry the koftas (in batches if necessary) for 7-10 mins until browned on the outside and cooked through. (be especially careful if using pork)
Yoghurt: mix the whole lot in a bowl! If too thick add some water. Note that my wife and I think that the minted yoghurt sauce elsewhere on this blog works with this equally as well.
Fry up some parathas and server the koftas on top, drizzled with the yoghurt. Sprinkle with extra chilli powder, cinnamon (or my preference.....some chat masala) to taste.
Another from the Rick Stein India book.....with some adaptations.....
Its a delicious sour soup which goes very well as a side dish. It is also extremely easy to make!
Ingredients:
1 tbsp ghee (or 25g unsalted butter and 1tbsp sunflower oil)
1 tsp black/ brown/ red mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 dried kashmiri chilli, broken/ ripped into pieces
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1 tsp curry leaf powder or small handful fresh curry leaves
4 large tomatoes, chopped (or can of quality plum tomatoes with some chopped baby plum fresh tomatoes)
3 green chillies chopped
3cm root ginger, very finely chopped
3 tbsp red lentils
50 ml tamarind liquid
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
500ml water
Handful coriander chopped to garnish
Method:
Heat ghee/ oil over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and Kashmiri chillies - fry until the mustard seeds pop.
Stir in the black pepper and asafoetida, fry for 30 secs, then add the curry leaf powder/ curry leaves, tomatoes, green chillies, ginger, red lentils, tamarind, turmeric, salt and water and simmer for 20-25mins or until lentils are tender.
Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve.
One inspired from the Hairy Bikers Curry book here, but also because it is one of the wife's favourites in Wagamamas.
Its a tasty dish, with nice contrast between the sticky glutinous rice and the crisp panko breacrumbed moist chicken, with the curry sauce alongside.That said, it isn't a fiery one so good to try on the kids and those who aren't into massive heat.
For those of you who like a little more muscle, you will readily see where you need to add or increase ingredients, or you could do as I did and simply apply large quantities of chat masala sprinkled over the top!
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
Skinless chicken breasts - 2x large ones/ 4x smaller ones
50g or so plain flour
1 large egg
150g Japanese Panko breadcrumbs (widely available in supermarkets and makes all the difference, although stale white breadcrumbs can be used in a pinch)
200ml Sunflower oil
For the sauce:
3 tbsp sunflower oil
2 medium onions or 3-4 banana shallots, roughly chopped
30g piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1-2 tbsp "medium" curry powder (see above plus previous post)
2-3 star anise, ground up in mortar
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
20g plain flour
500ml chicken stock - made with good quality organic stock cube is fine
2 tsp tomato puree
Freshly ground black pepper plus S&P to taste
Method:
Firstly, start with the chicken: Put the breasts between cling film and bash the thicker part with a rolling pin until you have flattened chicken pieces about 2cm thick all around.
Sieve the flour onto a plate large enough for the chicken pieces. Beat the egg into a shallow bowl and finally put the breadcrumbs onto a large platter and spread around.
Dredge the chicken pieces one by one through the flour, then into the beaten egg to coat, and finally into the breadcrumbs, patting them down onto the chicken, turning and ensuring its properly coated.
Place the chicken on a platter carefully, and transfer to the fridge to help the coating "set" onto the chicken. This needs about 30 mins to an hour, during which you can make the sauce and get the rice ready to go.
Sauce: heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat and add the chopped onions. Put the lid on and gently fry for about 8 mins, stirring occasionally until fully softened and pale gold in colour. take lid off and increase heat slightly, cook for another 3 or so minutes until the onions reach a darker gold colour, then decrease the heat and add the ginger and garlic and simmer gently for about 5 mins, stirring every so often.
Stir in the curry powder, star anise, turmeric and some ground black pepper, cook for 2 mins, stirring regularly, then sprinkle over the flour, continuing to stir. Gradually incorporate the chicken stock, stirring all the while, until the mixture is incorporated. Stir in the tomato puree and bring to a simmer; cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Whilst this is cooking, commence the rice - just make plain sticky jasmine rice according to instructions. Remove sauce from heat.
Take a stick blender and blitz. Or tip into food processor.Blitz/ process until you have reached the desired consistency. Cover and set aside whilst you get the chicken.
In a deep frying pan, heat the oil and once hot, carefully place the 2 pieces of chicken in the oil to fry. Keep an eye on it but you want about 4-5 mins each side (but make sure its properly cooked of course)
After you have turned the chicken, put the sauce back on low heat to return to simmer.
Slice the chicken thickly and serve on warmed plates, with scattering of fresh coriander and some sticky rice, with a bowl of the sauce so your guests can help themselves.
The receipe I am about to post required curry powder. So clearly I had to make some.
As usual there are thousands of methods, mixes etc out there so feel free to make any adjustments you like to the below:
Ingredients:
3 tbsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp coriander seeds
3 tbsp brown mustard seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 1/2 tsp Ajwain seeds
3 tsp ground mace
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
5 ground cloves
2 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder (see below)
2 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp ground paprika
1 1/2 tsp dhania jeera Dhania Jeera spice mix
Method:
Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius (300F)
Combine the coriander, cumin, mustard, fennel, ajwain, mace, turmeric & cloves in a glass baking dish and mix up well.
Bake for 30 mins, stirring/ shaking around occasionally
Cool completely
Stir in the chilli, ginger, paprika, pepper, paprika and dhania jeera
In small batches, grind to fine powder in Pestle & Mortar.
The above makes a standard Jam jar amount.
Kashmiri chilli powder - I make this in fairly large quantities - take 60 or so dried kashmiri chillies, roast off for about 5 mins in a large pan, tossing regularly (every 30 seconds or so). Be warned, the aromas coming off these chillies can be quite overpowering, so ensure you have adequate ventilation and ideally no pets, children or guests around! (If you have a gas BBQ, this would be ideal to do outside!)
Allow to cool completely. Rip the stalk off each chilli, ensuring you don't lose all the seeds, and transfer to food processor. Pulse to break up the chillies, then transfer in small batches to a mortar or spice grinder to form a powder.
Careful using a spice grinder here - you can overheat the chillies and burn them....
Pho Bo ~ Vietnamese beef noodle soup - Rick Stein Far Eastern Odyssey
I shall start by saying this is sublime. Possibly because I ignored some of the recipe and added something else from the Stein stable - but frankly if you like it hot with deep flavour, this has a seriously addictive quality and I shall be making this again!
The first thing to mention is that the recipe calls for an Asian beef broth. This is a long'ish process involving shin of beef and marrow bone, neither of which I had at the time and moreover, I was hungry. So effectively, I have "topped and tailed" the broth recipe process by utilising good quality beef stock (cubes or Kallo "pots" work), dovetailing that with the original process and deciding to add some Nam Prik Pao for good measure (you can find the recipe for that under the Tom Yam entry)
Asian Beef broth (which I guess I should now call David's beef broth!)
Ingredients:
3 beef stock cubes/ stock pots. I used Kallo stock pots, mixed with 1.5L boiling water and kept simmering.
40g fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into about 6 pieces
350g shallots, sliced
4 star anise
2x 7.5cm cinnamon sticks
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
8 cloves
1 tbsp Nam Prik Pao paste (optional)
Method:
Using a dry pan, roast off the fennel seeds, cinnamon and star anise and set aside
Bash the ginger and shallots a bit with a pestle or rolling pin.
Fry the ginger and shallots in a little oil until softened, then add to the roasted spices
Add the roasted spices, ginger and shallot to the simmering beef stock
Add the peppercorns, cloves and Nam Prik Pao paste (if using)
Simmer for as long as possible, then strain and return the strained stock to the heat, keeping on simmer.
Pho Bo
Ingredients:
Asian broth - see above
Nice piece of fillet steak - say about 200g, very thinly sliced. (I rolled in cling film and put in the freezer for about an hour before slicing. Bring back to room temperature before assembly)
300g Rice noodles
10g each of the leaves of; Thai basil (sweet), mint and coriander
5 red birds eye chillies, thinly sliced
2 limes, cut into wedges
8 spring onions, sliced on diagonal, white and green parts separated
4 tbsp Nam Pla (fish sauce)
100g bean sprouts
Method:
Take a pan of unsalted boiling water and drop the noodles in. Remove from heat and sit for about 10 mins or until the noodles are softened
Put the basil, mint, coriander, limes, green parts of the spring onion and red chillies on a platter for your diners to help themselves
Add the white part of the spring onion to the simmering broth along with the fish sauce.
If you have used Nam Prik Pao, I suggest adding some sugar to taste here, along with some lime juice
Bring to a gentle boil
Assembly:
Drain the noodles and heap in the bottom of deep soup bowls
On top of the noodles, place some beef, chillies, basil, mint, coriander, spring onion and beansprouts.
Ladle the stock into the bowl
Squeeze some lime to taste.
Enjoy!
I've always ridiculed advice to wear gloves when working with fresh chillies (on the assumption that you wash your hands afterwards and remember not to put your finger in your eye!).
Yesterday however finely chopped about 50 chillies as a re-stock exercise for masalas and to freeze and I have the following revision to my opinion - don't chop this many in one sitting!
not only is my left hand still tingling 12 hours and several washes later, but I've also noticed that my chopping board has been bleached white in the centre.......!
The Beauty of this meal is that the chicken requires no lengthy or overnight marinades, yet still packs a wallop of flavour!
Both the Chicken and the Tarka Dal come from Rick Stein's India; the Lila Dhania Baath comes from Prashad and should be familiar by now to anyone who has cooked anything on this blog, as I usually make it with everything!
Assuming you have some staples at the ready (such as the masala for the rice) this is a great one for a weekday evening meal and you won't be eating at midnight!
Read through the recipes before you start noting the timings so everything is ready at the same time if you are doing all three dishes - you start with the Dal, the rice and chicken starts at around the same time (the rice can remain resting for as long as you like after its finished), and finally its the tarka for the dal which is done as the chicken is in its final phase.
Chettinad Chicken
There's another interesting ingredient addition here: dagarful (a.k.a Kalpasi or stone flower), which is a lichen. You can get it online or, as I have done here, simply use more cinnamon
Spice blend ingredients:
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
Chicken ingredients:
50ml or so sunflower oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
cinnamon stick - circa 8 cm (or 5cm cinnamon and 1 tbsp roughly chopped dagarful)
150g shallots, diced
Handful curry leaves (if you don't have fresh, try some curry leaf powder like I did - seems much more effective than dried curry leaves - I used a heaped teaspoon or so)
Skinless chicken - about 700g - cubed
4 or 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 cm or so root ginger, grated or crushed
1 tsp sugar/ jaggery/ palm sugar
1 tsp salt
100ml water (plus extra if required)
Method:
Spice blend: put all the ingredients in a spice grinder or mortar and create a powder.
Heat the oil in a heavy pan and add the fennel seeds, cinnamon and dagarful (if using), and fry for a minute. Add the shallots, curry leaves or curry leaf powder and fry until the shallots are softened. Add chicken and fry for a couple of minutes, then stir in the garlic, ginger, sugar, salt and all of the spice blend. Fry for 2 mins then add the water and cook for 10 or so minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking, and adding more splashes of water if required, until the chicken is cooked and the sauce is reduced and sticking to the chicken (This is quite a dry "curry"). Sprinkle some chopped fresh coriander to garnish.
And that's it - enjoy with the rice and the tarka dal.
Hope you all noted my new "mise en place" trolley! :-)
So, to the Tarka Dal
I shall list Rick's ingredients here, but note that I used the Prashad Tarka dal mix of 150g masoor dhal (Split red lentils) and 150g mung Dhal (yellow split mung beans), mixed together and rinsed at least 4 times in warm water then drained.
Ingredients:
For the Dal -
200g Yellow tur dal or chana dal, soaked in cold water for 1 hour, drained
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (I used about 12 baby plum tomatoes)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 green chillies slit lengthways, seeds in (I had no whole chillies left so used about 2 tbsp chopped green chilli)
4 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
2 tsp curry leaf powder (or small handful fresh curry leaves - don't use dried!)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
For the tarka - (spiced oil)
50 ml sunflower oil
1 tsp black/ brown mustard seeds
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 dried kashmiri chillies, ripped up
15 fresh curry leaves (or another 2 tsp curry leaf powder)
Handful of chopped fresh coriander to garnish
Method:
Put the dal into a medium saucepan and cover with about 4 or 5cm water
Add all the remaining dal ingredients and bring to the boil, then lower the heat to medium/ low and simmer for about 45 mins to an hour until the dals are soft but still have a little bite. Use a potato masher to roughly break up the dals and other ingredients but leave plenty of texture
For the tarka, heat the oil over medium heat and add the mustard seeds. When they start popping, add the shallots, kashmiri chillies and curry leaves/ powder and fry for 2-3 mins until the shallots are softened. When you are ready to serve, pour or spoon the sizzling hot oil directly on top of the dal, sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander and serve.
