Thought for Food

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cups potatoes, cubed and boiled
1/2 cup vegetable stock
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Melt butter in large saucepan, over medium heat.
Add onion a cook until transperant, 5 - 7 minutes
Add the potato cubes, and stir until
potatoes completely coated with the butter
Add vegetable stock, curry powder lemon juice,
and salt and pepper to taste.
Cook until all the stock has been absorbed by the potatoes.

Technorati Tags: Cooking, Recipes, Curry, Indian. Potatoes

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup pistachios
• 1/4 cup almonds
• 2-3 dried hot chilies, seeded
• 1 T fresh ginger, grated
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 whole cloves
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom seeds
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 T poppy seeds
• 1 T ground coriander
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 6 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 2 T cilantro, chopped
• 1 T lemon juice

Combine cashews, pistachios, almonds, hot chilies, ginger, and cold water in a blender and blend until smooth. Add cinnamon, cloves, poppy seeds, coriander, cumin, and light cream and blend again until sauce is smooth; set sauce mixture aside.
Melt butter in a large saucepan and brown onions; add chicken cubes and brown. Stir in sauce from above and cook for 20 minutes over low-medium heat. Sprinkle with lemon juice and fresh cilantro a few minutes before serving and serve over cooked rice - basmati or jasmine is best. Serve with condiments such as mango chutney and hot pepper relish.

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This makes the perfect accompaniment to any curry vegetarian or meat based, they are very easy to make and the fresh flavours are very different when you do cook it yourself. Give it go.

Ingredients:

For the Potatoes
* 3 x tbsp sunflower oil
* 1 x tsp mustartd seeds
* 1 x pinch ground cumin
* 1 x tsp turmeric
* 1 x tsp ground coriander
* 1 x tsp garam masala
* 1 x tsp chilli powder
* 1 x knob fresh ginger, peeled and grated
* 6 x potatoes, peeled, parboiled and cut into cubes
* 4 x knobs butter
* 4 x tomatoes, cores removed and flesh diced
* 1 x handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Directions:

To Assemble
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the spices for a few minutes. Add the butter, then the potatoes making sure they are completely coated in the spicy mixture. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes and the coriander. [Jamie Oliver]

Technorati Tags: Recipes, Cooking, Potatoes, Indian, Curry, Vegetable

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ingredients:
* 1 cup red lentils
* 2 teaspoon garlic-ginger paste
* pinch of turmeric
* 1 green chili, chopped
* 2-3 cloves garlic
* 2-3 whole dried chilis
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
* 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
* 1 tablespoon chopped chives

Directions:

Put un-soaked lentils in medium, heavy saucepan, wash with 2 or three changes of water, then drain. Add 2 1/2 cups water, G&G paste, turmeric, green chili. Bring to a boil gradually over medium heat, lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir vigorously with wooden spoon to help break up lentils, cook for about 10 more minutes, until lentils are soft and mushy. Use Pam or good non-stick pan to temper spices. Add garlic, whole dry chiles and cumin seeds to hot pan. As soon as seeds sizzle, and garlic pales to pink, about 2 minutes, pour into lentils. Stir it well and simmer another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with garam masala and chives just before serving. Pull out chilles if you wish.

Technorati Tags: Indian, Curry, Dal+Bhat, Lentils

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Pretty much a standard veggie curry. Aloo is potato and gobi is cauliflower, so you get an idea what it’s like. Serves 3.

• 1 cauliflower
• 3-4 potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 small piece fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 can peeled tomatoes
• 3-4 fresh green chilies, chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons tumeric
• 1 large bunch green coriander, stalks and leaves chopped separately
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
• salt

Quarter the cauliflower, remove the trunk, then cut or pluck into smaller pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut into small pieces.

Put the tomatoes and their juice into a blender, whizz briefly until semi-smooth, then pour into a bowl. Add the coriander stalks, tumeric, chilies, ginger and salt.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok, then fry the cumin and onions until yellowish-golden, but not brown. Add the mixture from the bowl and fry for 3-5 minutes.

Reduce heat, then add the cauliflower and potatoes. Stir well. Add some water if necessary, but not too much or it’ll become watery. Cover and let simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring ocasionally, until the potatoes are done and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Turn off the heat, add the chopped coriander leaves and garam masala; stir carefully, then cover and let stand for at least 5 minutes. Serve with rice and/or chapatis.

Update: I forgot to mention that I hate cauliflower, but I absolutely love Aloo Gobi. [Horst Prillinger: The Aardvark Cooks]

Technorati Tags: Indian, Curry, Recipes, Vegetable, Potato, Cauliflower

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1 cup lentils, red
3 cups water, plus more to rinse lentils and add to soup
1 bay leaf dried
1 slice ginger, fresh, unpeeled, sliced quarter-size
salt & pepper
3 small red potatoes scrubbed
2 medium carrots, scrubbed
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Pinch ground cayenne
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
cilantro, for garnish

Rinse the lentils well. Put lentils into a large pot, cover with the water, and start heating the pan over medium heat. Add the bay leaf, the slice of ginger, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Skim the white foam from the top as the mixture comes to a boil.

Peel and quarter the potatoes and thinly slice the carrots. Add these to the lentils, along with some salt, pepper, and another quarter cup of water to replenish the water we skimmed off.

Reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered for about 20 minutes.

Heat the canola oil in a saute pan and add the onions. Cook on medium-low for about 5 minutes until translucent. Then add the minced ginger and continue to cook for a few minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Next, add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne, and cook for another minute. De-glaze the pan with a tablespoon of water.

Remove the bay leaf and ginger slice from the lentils and add the onion spice mixture. Cook on low heat for another 15 minutes. Finish with lemon juice, and taste for salt and pepper.

Garnish each bowl with cilantro and serve immediately.

recipes, Curry Red Lentil Soup

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 600g boneless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• 1 capsicum (green bell pepper), deseeded and cut into 1/2” rings
• 5 fresh green chilies, chopped
• 1 small piece fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 can tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons tumeric
• 3 teaspoons coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon hot chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 large bunch green coriander, stalks and leaves chopped separately
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
• salt

1. Heat 1 tablespoon ghee (or oil) in a large frying pan or wok and fry the chicken pieces until white all around (and slightly yellowish), then remove from the pan and put aside.
2. Add the second tablespoon ghee, put in the chopped onion and fry until brown. Then add the capsicum, ginger and chilies and fry briefly for about 1 minute.
3. Whizz the tomatoes in a blender, then pour the purée into the pan; add the tumeric, coriander powder, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and coriander stalks. Stir well and cook over high heat for a few minutes. Then add the reserved chicken pieces, reduce heat, cover and let simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Turn off the heat. Stir in the coriander leaves and garam masala. Let stand for a few minutes, then serve with rice and/or chapatis.

Horst Prillinger: The Aardvark Cooks

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. ginger root, lightly scraped washed and cut into chunks.
• 4 oz. garlic, peeled.

Directions:

• Put ingredients in a blender with a very little water, just to help grinding.
• Spoon into airtight jar and store in fridge, or freeze it.

Technorati Tags: Ginger, Garlic, Recipes

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is a quick variation of a Chicken Madras. Nothing particularly special, but you can’t get a decent hot curry any faster than this (well, you can, but I wouldn’t recommend it). Takes about 30 minutes total and serves up to 4.

* 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 600g boneless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
* 1 capsicum (green bell pepper), de-seeded and cut into 1/2” rings
* 5 fresh green chilies, chopped
* 1 small piece fresh ginger, chopped
* 1 can tomatoes
* 2 teaspoons turmeric
* 3 teaspoons coriander
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon hot chili powder
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 large bunch green coriander, stalks and leaves chopped separately
* 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
* salt

Heat 1 tablespoon ghee (or oil) in a large frying pan or wok and fry the chicken pieces until white all around (and slightly yellowish), then remove from the pan and put aside.

Add the second tablespoon ghee, put in the chopped onion and fry until brown. Then add the capsicum, ginger and chilies and fry briefly for about 1 minute.

Whizz the tomatoes in a blender, then pour the purée into the pan; add the turmeric, coriander powder, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and coriander stalks. Stir well and cook over high heat for a few minutes. Then add the reserved chicken pieces, reduce heat, cover and let simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Turn off the heat. Stir in the coriander leaves and garam masala. Let stand for a few minutes, then serve with rice and/or chapatis. Horst Prillinger: The Aardvark Cooks

Technorati Tags: Recipes, Chicken Madras, Curry, Indian, Poultry, Main Dish, Cooking

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 03:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)