Chicken Curry with Yogurt

It was one of those evenings, when I hadn’t planned anything for dinner. I couldn’t be bothered to head off to the supermarket, so was left to rummage through what groceries I did have in the house.  The usual staples in my pantry were there, rice, potatoes, onions, spices and tinned tomatoes etc.  After some digging I also found some chicken fillets in the freezer and also a single chicken breast that had been in the fridge for what I thought was a few days. Although I also had the fresh ginger, garlic, whole spices and chillies, I decided that this should be the simplest chicken curry ever and was going to use the ginger/garlic paste and ground spices.

So I measure everything out, make the curry paste, chop what needs chopping and get to cutting up the chicken.  Yikes! that chicken breast could have re-grown its legs and made a run for it!  Thankfully it was so beyond fresh that there was no chance of it getting in our curry and giving us all a nasty bout of food poisoning!!

Oh well I headed off to the supermarket anyway!

Chicken Curry with Yogurt
Murghi Dahi

1kg chicken pieces (diced)
2 onions (diced)
2 tbs garlic and ginger paste
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground fennel
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 black cardamom pod (seeds only)
2 green cardamom pods (seeds only)
2 whole cloves
1 tsp sugar
200g natural yogurt
200g diced tomatoes (can)
2 new potatoes (not peeled, diced)
1/2 cup of water
Salt
coriander leaves
bran oil
ghee

Directions:
Heat a tbs of bran oil in a pan and fry off one of the onion, cloves and caradmom seeds, until golden. Then add all the dry spices and mix through the onions. Remove the onion mixture and place in a blender along with the natural yogurt, blend to a smooth paste.

Fry the remaining onion until golden and then add the diced chicken pieces, cook until the meat is sealed. Add the blended yogurt mixture, half a cup of water, the tomatoes and sugar and cook for approximately 20 minutes (cooking time depends on the cuts and size of chicken pieces). Then add the diced potatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes.

To finish add salt and a dollop of ghee. If the curry still tastes quite acidic, you may wish to add more sugar. Sprinkle with coriander leaves and extra yogurt.

Approximate cooking time: 40 minutes

Rajma

I find it way too easy to fall into the trap of always making a meat based curry, but there are plenty of wonderful vegetarian dishes that can form the major part of your meal.

This dish is exceptionally versatile and can lead to some interesting fusion ideas.

*** for image of finished curry refer to Easter Banquet post ***

Rajma
Kidney Bean Masala

1 1/2 cups of dry kidney beans
1 tbs ghee
1 tbs oil
1 large onion
2 tsp grated ginger *
2 tsp chopped garlic *
1 cup thin tomato sauce/passata
2 tbs of natural yogurt
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tsp besan flour
1 tsp coriander seeds**
1/2 tsp cumin seeds**
1/2 tsp garam masala
pinch of nutmeg

* substitute with ginger/garlic paste
** dry roast and grind

Directions:

If using dry kidney beans you will need to soak them overnight and then boil them for 1hr until they are tender and cooked through. Alternatively you can use canned kidney beans, rinse well and add at the end of cooking.

Slice onions add 1 cup of water and cook in the microwave for 5 minutes and cook until soft. Once cooled drain off the water and blend the onions with the garlic and ginger to make a paste.

Heat ghee and oil in a large pan. Add the onion paste, turmeric and salt and cook through for 10 minutes. Add in all the dry spices and besan flour, stir through and add the tomato sauce. Simmer until the tomato mixture thickens to a soup like consistency (the time will vary depending on the consistency of the tomato sauce.

To finish cooking add the kidney beans and yogurt and simmer for 10 minutes until the beans are heated through.

Special note:  This recipe lends itself to accommodating ingredients you may already have in the cupboard. You can adapt as necessary using ground spices and pastes. Sour cream or even cream (with a little lemon juice) could be used if you don’t have any natural yogurt.

Easter Banquet

Where do I start with this one!  So much cooking going on that I forgot to take photos of each dish as it was completed. Unfortunately I only remembered to take some photos after everyone had started devouring the meal, so not quite showing the dishes off at their best.

The theme was to cook a few South Indian curries, one hot, one mild and a few vegetarian options/sides. With 8 people to feed, I hope everyone found something that they enjoyed.  My favourite was the Rajma, a really simple dish, that would be perfect for a vegetarian main.  It is so versatile and will be great if you like experimenting with fusion cooking.

Easter Menu

STARTER
Indian Inspired Lamb Dumplings

MAINS
Mutton Kulambu
A Spicy South Indian style curry from Tamil Nadu

Chicken Korma
A fragrant South Indian mild curry with nuts and coconut

Aviyal
A light Kerala curry with vegetables and coconut milk

SIDES & ACCOMPANIMENTS
Rajma
Red Kidney Bean Masala

Dhal
Red split lentils in spices

Raita
Cucumber and Yogurt

Naan

I’ll post the recipes in separate blogs, but it might take me some time to get myself organised!

Naan with Coconut Yogurt and Manuka Honey

I’m preparing another Indian feast for some friends at the weekend and have been trying to decide what delicious treats to make. I was thinking back to some of the wonderful places I have been in India and what dishes helped create that memory and got stuck on Kashmir. Staying on one of the amazing houseboats we were served every morning with fresh Kashmiri breads with butter, honey and dried fruits.

So this morning I decided to start my day with a brunch of fresh Naan with coconut yogurt and Manuka honey. Very yummy and satisfying.

Naan with Coconut Yogurt and Manuka Honey
Kashmiri inspired breakfast

Makes: 4 loaves

1 sachet dried yeast
1/2 cup luke warm water
2 tsp sugar
1 tbs natural yogurt
1 egg
1 tbs melted ghee
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of atta flour

Directions:
Prepare the dough following the directions for Naan bread, but this time instead of baking in the oven, cook each loaf individually on a dry frying pan. Each loaf with take approximately 30 seconds each side and makes for a lighter and softer naan than the oven baked variety.

Serve with natural yogurt mixed with shreaded coconut and Manuka honey. Dried fruits such as apricots and raisins will also add extra sweetness if desired.

Chicken Dopiaza

It’s a long time since I made a Dopiaza, but it use to be one of my favourites.  Dopiaza comes from the words do (two) and pyaz (onion) because onions are added twice while cooking.  If you have difficulty digesting onion this probably isn’t the best dish for you, but it is a tasty, medium heat curry which is a good introduction to basic curry preparation.  This is also a good curry if you are looking for something that isn’t packed with coconut milk and cream as it is more a dry bhuna style curry.

Chicken Dopiaza
Chicken with Twice Cooked Onions

Serves 4-6

1kg Chicken Thigh Fillet
700g Onions
1 tsp grated ginger
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp cummin seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tbs ground coriander
2 tbs coriander leaves
2 tbs natural yogurt
6 cardamom pods
Ghee or Oil for cooking

Directions:
First we have to prepare an onion mixture to create the sauce for the curry. Chop half the onions and place in a blender, thinly slice the remaining onions and fry off until browned. As the onions are browning, prepare the onion sauce base, by blending all the other ingredients (except the cardamom pods and garam masala) with the chopped onions.

Cut the chicken fillets into large chunks and brown in batches, remove from pan. Once all chicken is browned, add a little more oil or ghee to the pan and fry the blended onion sauce for 5 minutes until you feel the onion is cooked and releases a fragrant aroma. Return the chicken to the pan and add the cardamom pods, stir, cover and cook on a low temperature for approximately 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Then add the browned onions and garam masala, replace the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes. If the curry becomes too dry add a little water.

Preparation Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 40 mins

Butter Chicken

I’ll be honest, I had never realised the popularity of Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) until I moved to Melbourne and because of it’s creamy, high calorie ingredients it’s not one I’d be drawn towards. In the UK we had Chicken Tikka Masala which is similar and was for many years the UKs No.1 curry. However, it’s popularity inspired me to order it one day at a local Indian restaurant and I really wish I hadn’t. Everything about the dish highlighted what I dislike about lazy restaurants that skip corners and pour flavourless gravy onto pre-cooked meat. I personally couldn’t eat the sweet, condensed soup casserole and sadly customers were enthusiastically convinced that they were eating Butter Chicken.

Not to be dissuaded by this experience and convinced that this could be a great curry, I trawled my recipe books and the great wisdom on the Internet and tried out lots of recipe variants for this curry. My one rule of thumb with any curry though is not to use pre-made sauces of any kind, so this ruled out quite a chunk of the recipes out there.

Last night one of my son’s friends came over for a sleep over and just as I was about to throw together some pasta for dinner, the boys came running downstairs asking if we were having curry? How could I resist trying out my recipe on a young connoisseur of Butter Chicken!

Butter Chicken
Murgh Makhani

Serves 5

1.2kg chicken thigh fillets
1kg tomatoes quartered
7 green cardamom pods (bashed)
1/8 teaspoon of ground mace
1 tbs chopped garlic
1 tbs chopped ginger
1/4 tsp ground fenugreek seeds
4 red birdseye chillies
1/2 tbs Kasmiri red chilli powder
1 1/2 tbs garam masala
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp runny honey
100ml cream
50-75g butter
Salt (approx 1 1/2 tsp)

Chicken Marinade
200ml Greek yogurt
2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbs garlic paste
1 tbs ginger paste
Salt

There are 4 steps to making this curry:

Step 1: Marinate – Quarter the chicken thigh fillets and marinate for an hour if possible

Step 2: Tomatoes – Heat 25g of butter and tbs of oil in your pan and heat the cardamoms and mace for a minute, then add the garlic (careful not to burn), cook for a further minute and then add the quartered tomatoes. With the lid off, simmer the tomatoes until they turn pulpy. Cool the mixture and blend.

Step 3: While the tomatoes are cooling, use the same pan to seal the chicken. Add a little butter and oil. Set aside.

Step 4: Add the remaining butter to the pan, heat and add the chopped ginger, red chillies and ground fenugreek seeds. Cook for a minute or two until the ginger softens. Strain the blended tomato mixture through a sieve directly into the hot cooking pan, push the pulp through the sieve to remove all the juices until only the seeds, skin and cardamom pods are left. Continue to simmer and add the chilli powder, salt and 1 tsp of sugar and the sealed chicken. Place a lid on the pot and cook for approximately 30 minutes. Remove the lid and add the garam masala, cooking for a further 15 minutes until the chicken is tender and the sauce has reduced to half the consistency. To finish take off the heat and add 1 tsp of ghee, 2 tsp of runny honey and the cream. Stir through and garnish with coriander leaves.

Preparation 30 mins
Cooking time 1hr

Special note: It might be tempting not to strain the tomato mixture, however this is what gives the curry its silky consistency. Also you may want to reduce the amount of butter in the recipe, but this is Butter Chicken, so don’t skip it.

Beef Saag

This is a curry that I have recently started to make on a pretty regular basis. Most of the ingredients are something that I always have in the kitchen and aside from the beef I don’t have to go shopping for extras. For example if you don’t have cream or don’t want to use it, you can omit it quite easily and have a healthier curry.

As the majority of the India does not eat beef, this recipe is an adaptation of a Saag Gosht (Lamb with spinach). Black cardamon is a key ingredient, it is a unique flavour in this recipe and while you could substitue double the amount of green cardamon pods, it would taste quite different. Black cardamon has a smokey, earthy flavour and as you become familiar with the taste you may wish to add a few extra pods.

Beef Saag
Beef with Spinach

Serves 6

1kg chuck steak trimmed & diced
250g frozen chopped spinach (1 box)
1 cinnammon stick
6 cloves
1 tbs cummin seeds
3 black cardamom
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tbs grated ginger
3/4 tbs ground cummin
1 1/2 tbs ground coriander
1/2 tbs turmeric powder
3 chopped green indian chillies
1/2 can of diced tomatoes
8 curry leaves
1 1/2 tbs garam masala
100ml yogurt
50ml cream
1 tbs Bran oil
Salt to taste

Directions:

In an hob and oven proof dish fry off the cummin seeds, cinnamon stick, bashed caradamon pods and cloves in oil until the aroma is released. Add the chopped onions and fry until transparent and then add the garlic, ginger and chopped green chillie for a further minute. Now add the cummin, coriander and turmeric powder, stir through the onions and then add the meat and seal. Once the meat is sealed add the tomatoes and curry leaves and bring to a simmer. Place in the oven at 185 degrees for 1.5hrs

After 1.5hrs add the garam masala, stir and cook for a further 15 minutes, add a tablespoon of water if the curry is getting dry. After 15 minutes you add the spinach, which adds moisture to the dish and return to the oven for 15 more minutes, so that the spinach is heated through. To finish stir through the yogurt and garnish with cream as desired.

Cooking Time: 2hrs

Special note: I choose not to defrost my spinach, but I do remove it from the freezer to the fridge at the start of cooking. By adding semi frozen spinach this brings the temperature of the curry down and I have found helps stop the yogurt from separating when stirred through.

Mughlai Murgh

Last night some friends joined in the tasting for CurryGirl, so I decided to makes some currys from North India and Kashmir, one favourite and a few new ones to try out on my guinea pigs.

My tried and tested recipe Mughlai Murgh is probably my favourite creamy chicken curry and is one of the most popular chicken dishes in India. Mughal cuisine evolved from the royal kitchens of the Mughal emperors and has a strong touch of Persian and Turkish food, so in true regal fashion it uses luxurious and rich ingredients and is best kept for special occassions.

Mughlai Murgh
Mughlai Chicken

Serves 4

1kg chicken thigh fillets
2 medium onions
3 tbs ghee
3 cloves garlic
3 iIdian green chillies
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp saffron strands
1/4 cup boiling milk
1/2 cup fresh cream
1/2 cup hot water
2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp kasmiri garam masala
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs ground raw cashew nuts
coriander leaves to garnish

Directions:

Prepare the chicken thigh fillets by removing any skin and trimming off any remaining cartilage and sinew. Cut the fillets into large chunks (about 3 inches) and rub in the garlic, green chillies, ginger and turmeric. Set aside. Boil the milk and soak the saffron in it until it is ready to be added to the chicken. Dice 1/2 of an onion and finely slice the remainder.

Heat 2tbs of ghee and fry the onions until golden, remove from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining tbs of ghee and seal the chicken lightly brown, but don’t overcook as you want the chicken to remain tender. You may have to do this in batches. Once all the chicken is sealled return to the pan and mix in both types of garam masala, the black pepper and salt. Stir to ensure that the garam masala evenly coats the chicken. Pour the saffron milk mixture, the hot water and 3/4 of the onion over the chicken. Cover and cook for approximately 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, checking to ensure the chicken doesn’t boil dry. Add the ground cashews and cream and heat through. Garnish with the remaining cooked onion and coriander leaves.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Approximate Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I’m pleased to report that all plates were empty at the end of the evening

Tandoori Chicken

If you enjoy cooking, you will know that sometimes you have so many recipes for one dish that it’s difficult to keep a track of which one is your favourite or even which one it was that you made last time. I thought I’d have a bit of fun doing a blind taste test on the family, although it was a little extra work it made our dinner a lot more entertaining and really made everyone think why they liked one dish more than another. As you would expect we don’t all judge things in the same way, too hot, too cold, smaller chicken piece etc, so it was difficult to pick an absolute winner. Although I do know my favourite, you might have a tasty time trying this one out for yourselves!

I have chosen to use 3 very different tandoori recipes, to see if there really is any difference in the outcome. In each recipe I also used a 1/8 tsp of powdered red food colouring. I normally prefer not to add colouring into my food, but for this taste test, it helped keep all the chicken looking the same.

Tandoori Chicken 1
image above cooked chicken

4 x boned chicken thigh fillets left whole (500g approx)
1/4 tsp freshly dry roasted and ground cumin seeds
1/4 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground dried fenugreek
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup yogurt
1 tsp grated ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 tbs ghee

Mix all the ingredients (except the ghee) into a marinate and leave overnight. After the chicken has been cooked and rested baste with ghee and put in the oven uncovered for 5 minutes to heat.

Tandoori Chicken 2
image above uncooked chicken

4 x boned chicken thigh fillets left whole (500g)
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/8 tsp ground mace
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp fresh chopped ginger
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
1/3 cup yogurt

Create the marinade by blending the onion, garlic, ginger and lemon juice into a paste. Add in the yogurt and remaining dry ingredients. Marinate the chicken overnight.

Tandoori Chicken 3
image below

Using 4 x boned chicken thigh fillets

The 3rd recipe was kindly shared by a friend, who makes the most amazing chicken tandoori in his own portable tandoori oven. While it wasn’t possible for me to cook it in a tandoor this recipe is also wonderful, cooked on the bbq. You can find this recipe on his website as Tandoori Chicken 2# Highly Recommended!

http://www.tandoorliving.com.au.

I was lucky enough to see the tandoor oven in action and taste the delicious food created. If you love cooking indian food, you’ll be very tempted to get your hands on one of these ovens, they are incredible!

Cooking Method:
All of the recipes were cood on a hibachi, but could easily be cooked on a bbq, oven or under the grill. I won’t be specific on the cooking time as it will vary on how you choose to cook it. My chicken took about 15 minutes to cook on the hibachi.

Once cooked on the hibachi, I transferred the chicken to an oven dish and covered in tin foil and allowed to rest for 5 minutes. I then popped the chicken into the oven for 5 more minutes uncovered, just to heat.

Indian Inspired Rice Pudding

Rice pudding has to be one of my favourite comfort foods and it is no surprise that it’s origins possibly come from India, it the dish called Kheer or Payasam. Kheer a very rich sugary rice pudding, garnished with almonds, cashew, raisins and pistachios and no special occassion is complete without it.

Traditionally kheer is a stove top pudding and would be made with an Indian basmati rice. I like to make my rice pudding in the oven, so I’ve combined my rice pudding recipe with kheer recipes and toned down the sweetness.

Indian Inspired Rice Pudding
Oven baked Kheer

Serves 4

4 1/2 tbs of arborio rice
3 cups milk
3 tbs sugar
3 cardamon pods
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cardamon
1 tbs rose water
1 tbs blanched almond slivers

Place all ingredients (except the rose water and almonds) in a large oven proof dish (with a lid), stir and place in the oven on a baking tray at 160 degrees for 2 hours. Check the rice isn’t boiling dry or bubbling over during cooking, if it does go dry add a little extra milk. Once the rice is cooked and the pudding has a creamy texture stir through 1 tbs of rose water and spoon into serving dishes.

If you are making the pudding for a special occassion you might like to try caramelising or browning the the top. Unfortunately my blowtorch didn’t work so I simply sprinkled with raw sugar and popped my dish under the grill for a few minutes. Garnish with nuts or dried fruit as desired.

Cooking Time: 2hrs
Oven Temp: 160 degrees

Special Note:  Cleaning baked on rice pudding, can be a chore.  There is an easier way….. Soak the dish with 1 tbs of biological washing powder and leave over night.  All the baked on bits fall away, no scrubbing required.