Indian food

Madhur Jaffrey’s Chicken in a Fried Onion Sauce

Posted by annauk1 on December 1, 2011

Posted in: Chicken, curry, Indian food, Madhur Jaffrey. 23 Comments

This recipe has got to be my ‘most made recipe ever from a cook book’
In fact, while talking favourite curries on a food group I belong to, I mentioned this Madhur Jaffrey curry, but then after checking this blog, realised that I’ve never actually blogged this recipe, even after mentioning it a few times over the years!

Big mistake.

Quick, blog.
One day someone will ask me for my favourite chicken curry recipe and here it will be. Phew.

The recipe comes from Madhur Jaffrey’s book ‘Indian Cookery’, first published in 1982 by BBC books. My oldest and most loved Indian cook book.

If you’ve never tried making a curry from scratch before, do try this one, I promise you will not be disappointed!

Chicken in a fried onion sauce
Adapted from the Madhur Jaffrey recipe.

Madhur refers to this recipe as her children’s ‘everyday’ chicken.

Serves 4-6.

1 and a quarter kg chicken joints
350g onions, peeled
4cm cube fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
7tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 pint (570ml) water
225g tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped (tinned tomatoes may be used)
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh green coriander.

1. Cut the chicken into serving pieces and skin all the pieces.

2. Chop half of the onions coarsely, cut remaining onions into halves lengthwise and then finely slice crossways.

3. Put the chopped onions (NOT the sliced ones) ginger and garlic into a processor and blend until you have a paste.

4. Heat the oil in a large, wide pot (I’ve successfully made this recipe with much less oil) over a medium flame, when hot put in the sliced onions, stir and fry until they are a deep reddish-brown, remove the onions and set aside, leaving as much of the oil as possible in the pot.

5. Take the pot off the flame and put in the paste blend. Put the pot back on the heat and fry until the paste is brown, about 3-4 mins. (I’ve never had much success browning the paste, I don’t know why)

6. Now put in the coriander, cumin, turmeric and cayenne, stir, now add the yoghurt tablespoon by tablespoon, making sure after each spoon that it has been incorporated into the sauce.

7. Add the chicken pieces and stir well. Por in the water, add the tomatoes and salt, stir to mix and bring to a simmer.
Cover, turn heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.

8. Sprinkle in the garam masala and fried onions , mix and cook, uncovered, for 7-8 minutes more until the sauce reduces and thickens. Skim off the fat, and sprinkle the fresh coriander over the top.

9. Serve with plenty of steaming, hot Basmati rice.

10. Enjoy!

Gordon Ramsay’s Butter chicken

Posted by annauk1 on February 13, 2011

Posted in: curry, Gordon Ramsay, Indian food. 8 Comments

Gordon Ramsay’s Butter Chicken

Saturdays have developed into a kind of curry day in our household.
One Saturday, a few weeks ago, I made curry, took some to the bosses who work downstairs(Because I’m a feeder and that’s what feeders do!!) because I know they too enjoy a good curry….next Friday rolls round and I’m being asked with eager anticipation, and pleading little eyes.. ‘Are you making a curry again tomorrow?’ I don’t like to let people down – food wise or other wise, so that’s how it’s evolved. Saturday’s our curry day.
I was feeling a bit lazy yesterday too, knowing that in between curry making, taking the little daughter to Greek School, picking the big daughter up from Uni, I was also making fiddly-iddly cake pops. I really couldn’t be bothered peeling and chopping (finely!) loads of onions. That’s when Gordon Ramsay’s Butter Chicken recipe came to mind.
I’ve made it before (which is when I took the photograph!) and know that it involves no onions, which I always find unusual. The recipe is from Gordon’s book ‘Great Escape’.

800g boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3-4cm pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
2cm ginger, peeled and finely grated
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp hot chilli powder
1½ tbsp lemon juice
75ml natural yoghurt
½ tsp garam masala
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil, for brushing
For the sauce

1½ tbsp ghee or melted unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 cardamom pod, seeds lightly crushed
2 cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp hot chilli powder, or to taste
275ml tomato puree
1 tbsp lemon juice
40g unsalted butter
100ml double cream
1 tbsp chopped coriander, to garnish
Method

1. Place the chicken in a bowl with the garlic, ginger, salt, chilli powder and lemon juice. Mix, cover with cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Mix together the yoghurt, garam masala, turmeric and cumin and add to the chicken, making sure that each piece is well coated with the mixture. Cover again and chill for 3-4 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Put the marinated chicken pieces on a grill rack set on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Brush the chicken pieces with a little oil and turn them over. Bake for another 10-12 minutes until just cooked through.

3. For the sauce, heat the ghee or butter in a pan and add the garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute or so then add the cardamom, cloves, coriander, garam masala, turmeric and chilli powder. Stir well and fry for 1-2 minutes until they give off a lovely aroma. Stir in the tomato pure and lemon juice and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and stir well to coat. Finally, add the butter and cream and stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce is smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer to a warm bowl and serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander.

my tips are:
1. I used chicken on the bone, not just thighs.
2. I don’t use tomato puree as stated in the recipe, but passatta instead, 275ml of puree sounds a lot! I always wonder if it’s a typo that slipped by un-noticed.
3. there is no water added to the sauce, I like to make sure my chicken is really cooked, so I always add water to the sauce, 1 glassful maybe, and simmer the chicken for an additional 20 minutes.
Serves with lots of steaming, fragrant Basmati rice….and enjoy!

My Chicken tikka masala

Posted by annauk1 on August 28, 2010

Posted in: curry, Indian food. 3 Comments

I read a story a long time ago, don’t know how true it is, that chicken tikka masala was invented in the UK by an Indian chef, who, trying to deal with a difficult customer requesting a ‘gravy’ with his chicken tikka (which as we all know is a ‘dry’ dish) hit upon the idea of adding a tin of Heinz cream of tomato soup and extra spices to the tikka, thereby creating the famous chicken tikka masala!
I love chicken tikka masala- the sweetness, the coconutiness, the way it’s a match made in heaven with fragrant, plain, steamed basmati rice… Yummy in the extreme!
Here’s my recipe for it. Made up and cooked in my little kitchen today!:
Anna’s (trashy)chicken tikka masala-
Skinless, cubed chicken breasts (3-4)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch piece ginger, grated
1tbsp. Curry powder
1tbsp. Lemon juice
Half a teaspoon chilli powder
1tbsp. Vegetable oil
Half a cup of dessicated coconut soaked in a little boiling water
Half a cup of Greek yoghurt
1tbsp. Ground cumin
1tbsp. Ground turmeric
1tbsp. Ground coriander
5 cardamom pods
1tsp. Ground cinnamon
Salt & pepper
A further quarter- 1 tsp. Chilli powder, depending if you like curry spicy!
1 tin of Heinz cream of tomato soup!
2tbsp. Tomato puree
About 3-4 tbsp. Condensed milk (yes, really!!)
Marinate the chicken in the garlic, ginger, curry powder, lemon juice and oil for at least an hour (overnight would be even better)
Fry the chicken, there is no need to add extra oil. When the chicken is lightly coloured add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, garlic, cardamom pods, salt & pepper and continue frying for a few minutes to cook out the spices.
Add the yoghurt, a spoonful at a time, stirring it around, to incorporate it in. Then add the coconut. Stir around for another minute or two.
Add the tomato soup, tomato puree, then the condensed milk and if you like things spicy, a little more chilli powder!
Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Serve with plain Basmati rice

Gordon Ramsay’s butter chicken better cheer me up!

Posted by annauk1 on January 20, 2010

Posted in: Indian food. 4 Comments

Jane once said to me ‘If food is not the problem, then eating is not the answer’. I love that line, it makes a lot of sense doesn’t it? But sometimes, most times, food does have the ability to cheer me up, keep me going, when all around is cold and dark and grey.
I’ve been watching Gordon Ramsay on TV for the past two nights, his new adventures take him to India. Now, those who know me, will know that I ADORE Indian food. So when I saw his new book, based on this series, in Waterstones, I just had to have it. Butter chicken is the first recipe I’ve tried from it. It’s worked really well and I must say, it’s the first curry I’ve ever made that contains no onions! But really I couldn’t detect that they were ‘missing’ in the final dish.
It’s a two-stage curry, in that the chicken pieces are first marinated and baked before putting into the sauce and cooked for a little longer. Usually that is something that puts me right off a recipe, but today I thought ‘No, I’m not going to let that put me off’. And I’m so glad that it didn’t.
The curry was creamy, spicy, buttery, really delicious.

1½ tbsp ghee or melted unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 cardamom pod, seeds lightly crushed
2 cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp hot chilli powder, or to taste
275ml tomato puree (I used pasatta, not purée)
1 tbsp lemon juice
40g unsalted butter
100ml double cream
1 tbsp chopped coriander, to garnish
Method

3. For the sauce, heat the ghee or butter in a pan and add the garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute or so then add the cardamom, cloves, coriander, garam masala, turmeric and chilli powder. Stir well and fry for 1-2 minutes until they give off a lovely aroma. Stir in the tomato puree and lemon juice and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and stir well to coat. Finally, add the butter and cream and stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce is smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer to a warm bowl and serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander.
Note: I added about 1 glass of water to the sauce.

It did cheer me up, for all of five minutes…..I really need to get a life.

Curry (and crappy carrot cupcakes!)

Posted by annauk1 on September 10, 2008

Posted in: Cupcakes, Family recipes, Indian food. 11 Comments

Today has been a day of cooking and baking extremes…. I’ve probably told you before that my most favourite Indian curry ever is Madhur Jaffrey’s chicken in a fried onion sauce. In fact, I’m sure I’ve told you!
I’ve made it countless times and always make lots of basmati rice in my trusted rice cooker to go with. I didn’t make the chapatis, but bought them in instead.
Usually I start the curry off by frying the onions in 7 tablespoons of oil, today I decided to try it with just a spay or two of cooking oil, this worked a treat and means that my curry is a kind of low-fat one, but definitely NOT low on taste!
Every time I make it I’m astounded by how easy it is to make and how delicious it is.

Today has also been the day that a batch of low-fat carrot cupcakes have ended in the bin. I do want to bake, but I also want to watch my fat and sugar intake, so I adapted a recipe found in ‘Vegan cupcakes take over the world’, by the way, if you don’t already have this book, you NEED it!
My first mistake was halving the recipe and then trying to work out halves of fractions…have you tried measuring an eighth of a cup of walnuts?
My second mistake was using wholemeal flour instead of white, this probably made the mix more dense.
My third mistake was replacing ALL the oil with apple sauce, I guess I should have replaced just half in order to keep the cupcakes lighter.
I also cut down the sugar dramatically,thinking that the sweetness from the sultanas, carrots and apple sauce would be enough (It wasn’t!)