Monthly Archives: April 2014

Apr22

rogan josh

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Another Womens Weekly recipe – I love curry but I really loved this one.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did…

Ingredients
1 kg diced lamb
1 cup yoghurt
1 tbsp malt vinegar
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 cm piece fresh ginger grated
2 tbsp ghee
4 car domain pods, bruised
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 medium brown onions, chopped finely
3 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground fennel
1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
3/4 tsp chilli powder
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp fresh mint

Method
Combine yoghurt, vinegar, half the garlic and ginger in a large bowl and mix well. Cover; refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
Heat ghee in a large frying pan, add cardamom,cinnamon, and cloves, cook stirring until fragrant.
Add onion, remaining garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add lamb mixture, stir to coat in spice mixture.
Add stock, bring to boil; reduce heat,simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and simmer for another 15 minutes or until is tender. Just before serving stir in garam masala. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve with basmati rice.

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Apr21

Gary Mehigan’s Desi Murgh

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This curry was cooked in a  Master Chef  Australia master class by Gary Mehigan.  It has become one of my favourite curries to cook because it is full of flavour and if you follow the recipe you just cannot go wrong.  I sometimes cook this using chicken thigh fillets and it still works a treat.

Ingredients

  • 80ml (1/3 cup) peanut or grape seed oil
  • 1 small chicken (1.2kg) jointed into 8 pieces
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp finely chopped garlic
  • 2 tsp finely chopped ginger
  • 4.5 tomatoes, seeds removed, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 4 green cardamom pods
  • 6 cloves
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds 
  • 1/4 cup Greek-style yoghurt
  • Coriander sprigs, to garnish

Tempered spices:

  •  80ml grape seed or peanut oil
  • 1/4 cup curry leaves
  • 6-8 dried chillies
  • 6 green cardamom pods

Method

For the curry, heat oil in a large, deep-frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for about 5 minutes until lightly golden.  Remove and set aside.  Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes or until golden, scraping the base of the pan with a  wooden spoon.  Transfer onions to a small food processor and blend to a paste.  Set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium.  Add garlic, finer and stir fry for about 20 seconds before adding tomatoes, stirring well to combine.  Cook for 2 minutes, then add turmeric, and chilli powder, and stir to combine.  Meanwhile pound cardamom, cloves, coriander and cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle until ground then add to pan, cook for 5-6 minute, stirring regularly.  Add onion paste and yoghurt, and stir well to combine.

Add chicken piece to pan with about 250ml (1 cup) of water, or more to taste. Cover with a lid, and cook for 30-35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and tender, adding more water if  necessary, throughout cooking.

For the tempered spices, add oil to a frying pan over high heat.  Add remaining ingredients and swirl pan until spices pop and are fragrant. Turn off heat, and carefully tip spice mitre over the curry.

To serve, divide curry among bowls, garnish with coriander.

 

Apr15

Pastitsio

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This is the Greek version of lasagne- a rather rich dish and definitely in the comfort food list.

Ingredients
250g macaroni
2 eggs lightly beaten
3/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan
2 tbsp stale breadcrumbs

Meat Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium brown onions, chopped finely
750g beef mince
400g can chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup beef stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg beaten lightly

Topping
90g butter
1/2 cup plain flour
3 1/2 cups milk
1 cup coarsely grated Parmesan
2 egg yolks

Method

Preheat oven to moderate 160 deg C fan forced. Grease shallow 2.5 litre oven proof dish. Add pasta to a large saucepan of boiling water, boil, uncovered until just tender, drain.
Combine warm pasta, egg and cheese in a bowl and mix well. Press pasta over base of dish.
Make meat sauce. Make topping.
Top pasta evenly with meat sauce, pour over topping, smooth surface and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake, uncovered, about 1 hour until browned lightly. Stand 10 minutes before serving.

Meat Sauce: Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onion; cook , stirring until beef is browned. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, wine and cinnamon; simmer, uncovered, until thick. Cool 10 minutes; stir in egg.

Topping: Melt butter in medium saucepan, add flour, stir over heat, until bubbling. Remove from heat, gradually stir in milk. Stir over heat until sauce boils and thickens; stir in cheese. Cool 5 minutes; stir in egg yolks.

 

Apr14

Chorizo, chickpea and saffron soup

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I got this recipe from an Aldi pamphlet – absolutely divine with a  piece of toasted sourdough.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 chorizo chopped
  • 1 large brown onion chopped
  • 2 celery stalks chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 can Italian diced tomatoes
  • 1 litre Chicken stock
  • 1 can chick peas
  • 1 handful of fresh parsley chopped
  • 1 pinch saffron threads

Method

Combine saffron threads and 2 tbsp boiling water in a small bowl and set aside. Heat 1/2 tbsp over high heat and fry chorizo until browned. Drain and set aside.
In the same pan heat remaining olive oil, adding onion,garlic and celery and cook until soft. Add saffron, tomatoes and stock, bring to boil. Simmer for 10 mins and stir in chickpeas. Remove 2 cups of the soup mixture and blend using a stick blender. Return puréed portion and browned chorizo to the main batch of soup and stir to combine. Season with pepper to taste. Add chopped parsley and serve hot.