Luscious Green Chicken Curry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A meat recipe at last, yay!!! Am really pleased to introduce you to one of my favourite chicken curry recipes. I learnt this from a friend who, in turn, got it from his mum.

There are a couple of unusual things about this chicken curry.

Firstly, it doesn’t require any marination.

And secondly, unlike most Indian non-vegetarian dishes, you don’t add any souring agent like yoghurt, tomato, tamarind, lemon or mango powder. And yet, this doesn’t take away from the taste. In fact, it tastes better sans any tartness.

if you do not eat meat, you can make this curry with paneer

I had cooked this last night for our friend Judith who is sadly moving to another city. So, it was a farewell meal.

We had it with rice but you can have it with roti, naan or even bread.

For some reason, this curry tastes even better the next day so make a little extra.

The following serves 4 people.

Ingredients

1.5 Kilo chicken, skinless but with bone, cut into large pieces

500 Grams onion

4 Packed cups fresh coriander (leaves and stalk)

Fresh ginger, the size of your thumb

2 Heads of garlic

One tablespoon freshly pounded black peppercorns

One tablespoon chilli powder

One tablespoon turmeric powder

One tablespoon garam masala powder

One tablespoon cumin powder

One tablespoon coriander powder

Two tablespoons oil

3-4 Bay leaves

3-4 Black and/or green cardamoms

2 Cinnamon sticks

Salt to taste

Method

1. Finely slice the onions.
2. Make  a paste of fresh coriander, ginger and garlic.
3. In a bowl, mix all the powdered masala: turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder.
4. Heat oil in a wide based pan.
5. Once the oil becomes hot, add the bay leaves, cardamom and cinnamon stick.
6. Add the sliced onions, salt and all the powdered masala (from step 3).
7. Mix well, reduce heat, cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in between to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan.
8. After 10 minutes, the onions should be cooked. Add the chicken and mix everything together. You don’t want to brown the chicken but you want to make sure that it is coated well with the onion mixture.
9. Add the paste of fresh coriander, ginger and garlic.
10. Add 3 cups of water, stir well, cover and let the chicken curry cook for one hour on low heat.
11. After an hour, check for doneness and if the chicken is cooked, cover the pan, switch off the gas and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Here’s Judith and her rum patiently waiting while the rice is being cooked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judith had very kindly baked us a very yummy Linzer cake, specialty of her native Austria. The cake was to die for!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The salad in the above photo is carrots, cucumber and horseradish; the latter is currently in season.

J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ust look at the horseradish with its fresh green leaves. I thought it would be a shame to waste them so I finely chopped them and added to the curry (during the onion cooking stage). They gave it a nice peppery lift.

Related articles

• Spicy Chicken Masala Curry (shanestevenslink.wordpress.com)
• Spicy Pepper Chicken curry (madraasi.wordpress.com)

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Chana Masala/Spiced Chickpeas/Spiced Garbanzo Beans

Chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) are very low in fat, high in dietary fibre and full of vitamins and minerals. They are also versatile – toss them in a salad, puree them for a pate or add them to stews.

In this version of chana masala, boiled chickpeas are cooked in some dry spices.

It is another one of my quick cooking recipes, even quicker if you are using canned chickpeas

Serving Suggestions

1. I like to have a bowl of spiced chickpeas on its own for dinner. Low in fat, high in yummy quota and a little goes a long way.
2. Although Indian in taste, you can serve it as a side accompaniment to any dinner.
3. If there are any leftovers, coarsely mash and add to a baguette, pita or ciabatta bread with some chopped cucumber, tomato, onion, iceberg lettuce and gherkins for a delicious sandwich.
4. Serve as nibbles along with drinks.

Ingredients

1 cup boiled chickpeas (I used this method to soak my chickpeas before boiling)

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon amchur (dry mango powder)

1 teaspoon grated ginger (optional)

1 teaspoon asafoetida

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon oil

Method

1. Heat oil in a frying pan.
2. When hot, turn down the heat and add the asafoetida followed by all the dry spices and salt.
3. Mix well or 10-15 seconds.
4. Add the boiled chickpeas, combine with the spices, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Turn off the burner and let it sit covered for 5 minutes before taking out of the frying pan.

serve with a wedge of lemon and some onion rings

Related articles

• Garbanzo beans or chickpeas? (madhavivaidya.wordpress.com)
• Garbanzo Beans, your best friend (800medigap.com)
• Is hummus healthy? Four reasons to include this tasty dip in your diet (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)

Cooked Sprouted Moong

I tend to sprout whole moong beans at least once in a week and, depending on what I fancy making, let the beans germinate for 2-3 days on my kitchen window platform.

One cup of raw moong multiplies 3-4 times as seen in this plate of uncooked sprouted moong.

Cooked sprouted moong is my go-to dinner when I fancy something simple and fuss-free as was the case last night.

Ingredients

One cup moong beans

1 teaspoon chilli powder (or according to taste)

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin poder

A pinch of asafoetida (hing)

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon oil

Juice of 1-2 lemons (depending on size)

Method

1. Wash and soak moong beans for 8-10 hours.
2. Drain the water and put soaked moong beans in a container with holes so that excess water drains and there is room for air to circulate. Place the container with holes on another container so that its bottom doesn’t touch any surface directly.
3. Cover and leave for 24-48 hours.
4. When you are ready to cook the sprouted moong, heat the oil in a wok like pan.
5. Mix chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt to taste in a bowl.
6. Add asafoetida to the hot oil.
7. Add the dry masala powders from step 5 (keep the heat to minimum so that they don’t burn).
8. Add lemon juice and give everything a good stir for 30 seconds.
9. Add the sprouted moong, stir once again so that everything is mixed well.
10. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
11. Switch off the gas and let it sit, covered, for further 5 minutes before serving.

you can serve this as a side-dish to an Indian meal

Related articles

• Slow cooked sprouted moong curry with tomato gravy (eatingwelldiary.wordpress.com)

Cabbage and Carrot Muthia/Cabbage and Carrot Steamed Dumplings

Muthia is a type of steamed Indian dumpling made with different flours and vegetables.

It is a popular, versatile and healthy Gujarati dish which can be served for breakfast, lunch, dinner, as a side dish or a light snack.

so what kind of muthiya did you cook today

A simple recipe of cabbage and carrot muthia with a slight twist.

Ingredients

1 cup muthiya no lot/muthiya atta/muthiya flour/a combination of wheat and chickpea flours with some semolina

1 cup grated cabbage and carrot

1 spoonful (or according to taste) minced ginger and green chillies

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Handful of quick cooking oats (optional)

Half cup ragi flour (optional)

Salt to taste

Pinch of bicarbonate of soda (Eno)

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients. Do not add water.
2. Roll into oval shaped dumplings. Make sure the dumplings are not hard; shape them with a gentle hand.
3. Put them in a steamer and steam for 30 minutes.
4. Dish them out, drizzle some oil (preferably sesame) and serve piping hot with some chutney or pickle.

oats and ragi flour are optional

you can add any vegetables of your choice (like gourd, spinach, fenugreek)

Tip:

When you place the muthia in a steamer, put something at the base so that the steam doesn’t make them go soggy. I had placed some foil like this.