Balti Dhal Fry

 

Balti Dhal Fry

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 cloves
• Cinnamon stick
• 2 chillies, finely chopped (remove the seeds for less heat)
• 1/2 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 large tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
• Handful of chopped coriander stalks
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 200g of cooked chana dhal (refer to packet for instructions)
• Salt and pepper to season
• Finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish

For the tarka

• 2 tbsp ghee or rapeseed oil
• 3 dried chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Small pinch of asafoetida

Method

Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan.  When hot, add the cloves and cinnamon stick and let them fry for 30 seconds before adding the chopped onion.  Fry for 3 minutes until the onion softens then add the chillies, tomato, coriander stalks, garlic and spices, stir well before adding the cooked lentils, simmer over a low heat whilst you make the tarka.

To make the tarka, heat the ghee or oil in a small pan. When hot add the chillies, cumin seeds and asafoetida and let it sizzle for 30 seconds before pouring over the dhal.  Season with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of coriander.

We enjoyed this dish alongside some basmati rice and chilli paneer with some spicy naan bread, it was so tasty, I hope you enjoy!

Chicken Masala Curry

 

Chicken Masala Curry

• 3 chicken breasts cut into chunks
• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1” piece of cinnamon
• 10 curry leaves (if you have them)
• 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
• 2 chillies, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 400 ml base curry sauce (add link to recipe)
• 200ml coconut milk
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Handful of finely chopped coriander

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan, when hot add the mustard seeds and cinnamon stick and fry until the mustard seeds start to pop, add the curry leaves (if you have them) and fry for 30 seconds or so.  Mix in the garlic and ginger paste and fry for a couple of minutes until it starts to sizzle.  Add the curry powder, tomato purée and half of the base curry sauce, stir through and bring to a simmer, add the chicken and the remainder of the base curry sauce and cook until the chicken is cooked through.  Next add the coconut milk, soy sauce and coriander and cook for a few minutes, season with salt and pepper and serve.

This is a nice creamy curry with just a bit of heat, I served this with rice, poppadum's, pickles and chutney, a really tasty fakeaway to enjoy in the comfort of your own home.  The sauce can be made in advance and just finish off with the chicken once you are wanting to eat, the chicken will cook in minutes!  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Rajma - Red Kidney Bean Curry

 

Rajma - Red kidney bean curry

• 1 cup (240ml) dried red kidney beans
• 5 cups (1 litre 250ml) water to soak the beans in
• 2 large tomatoes, blitzed in the food processor
• 1 tsp tomato purée, mix in small amount of water to dilute down
• 2 dried red chillies
• 2 fresh green chillies
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp asafoetida powder (available in supermarkets)
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1.5 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp Garam masala
• 1 tbsp Katsura methi powder (or dried fenugreek leaves)
• Large handful of finely chopped coriander
• 2 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
• Salt to taste

Method:

Rinse the kidney beans and leave to soak overnight in 5 cups of water, for a minimum of 8 hours.

Switch on your Ninja foodi, add the kidney beans and water, switch lids to pressure cooker, make sure the valve is set to seal and pressure cook on high for 7 minutes.  Once the timer beeps, turn off the keep warm setting and leave for 10 minutes and then do a slow release of pressure.  At this stage the beans will be partially cooked, drain them and keep the water as this will be used later.

Now switch the Ninja to sauté and set it to medium.  Heat the oil, add the cumin seeds, bay leaves, chillies and the asafoetida and leave to sizzle for a minute or so.  Add the ginger/garlic paste and fry off for another minute or so(turn the heat down if getting too hot).  Add your blitzed tomatoes and mix through, add the turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, paprika, chilli powder and good pinch of salt, stir and leave to sauté for another minute.

In the next step, add the diluted tomato purée and the kidney beans, give a good mix then add the coriander leaves, kasturi methi and the garam masala, stir through and leave to sauté for around 5 minutes.  Next add the reserved water to the pan, mix well then return to pressure cooker mode (switching lids) and cook on high for 30 minutes.  Once the time is up do a quick release of steam and check the consistency of the curry, if a bit thin for your liking sauté until it thickens up or if too thick add some water to thin out.

This was my first proper recipe I had tried in my Ninja and I have to say it was so straight forward and the end result was fantastic.  The house was filled with amazing aromas and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in!  We are big chilli fiends in this house so the heat wasn’t a problem for us but if you like your curry a bit milder adjust the ingredients accordingly.

I served the curry with basmati rice, naan breads, coriander and mint sauce, onion bhaji, vegetable pakoras and pickles. 

Dinner was a huge hit, the flavours were amazing, I will definitely been doing this again, the recipe serves 4 comfortably.  I hope you enjoy as much as we did, now what to cook next!

Chilli Paneer

 

Chilli Paneer

• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 200g cubed paneer
• 2 bell peppers cut into chunks
• 3 spring onions roughly chopped
• 1 chilli finely chopped

For the sauce

• 250ml tomato ketchup
• 3 tbsp hot sauce (of choice)
• 4 minced garlic cloves
• 2 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• Big pinch of salt
• Good few grinds of fresh black pepper

This is a great dish to prepare ahead, firstly put all of the ingredients for the sauce into a measuring jug/bowl and whisk together, it’s as simple as that!  Leave to one side until ready to cook the rest of the dish.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the paneer and cook until browned.  Add the peppers, spring onions and chilli and fry until cooked through but still retaining some crispness.  Add the sauce, stir through and cook until heated through. 

If you are not a fan of too much chilli you can leave out the chilli and reduce the amount of hot sauce or add more if you are a heat fiend! 

 This is a great dish to have with rice, it makes enough for 2 people or more if serving alongside other dishes.  This dish is quick and easy and a great meat free Monday dish. 

Chilli Paneer

Season by R food review

 

Season by R

I was contacted yesterday evening by the lovely Vish from Season by R, a new local Crawley business, providing simple, authentic, Indian cuisine, all freshly cooked by his lovely wife. Vish wanted to know if I would like to sample some of their food, silly question, anyone who knows me will know I love Indian food, and most recently I’m getting a real passion for vegetarian Indian food, so I of course jumped at the chance.

Season by R

This afternoon Vish dropped off portions of vegetable kebabs, matar mushroom, saag aloo, rice and mint chutney for us to try, these dishes being featured on today’s menu.  

The dishes were packed in a brown paper bag with a hand written note attached, "Enjoy Your Meal, Best Wishes, Team Season by R", a nice little touch.

Vegetable kebabs from Season by R

Straight away on unpacking the cartons you were hit by the amazing aromas which gave a promise of what was to come.  I’m the first to admit I wouldn’t ordinarily order vegetarian dishes but of late I am growing to love the variety of vegetarian Indian cuisine I have been lucky enough to try and boy this did not disappoint.  

Vegetable kebabs from Season by R

The vegetable kebabs were packed full of flavour, bit spicy but not enough to put off anyone who isn’t a spice fiend, dipped in the mint chutney, they went down very well.  

Saag Aloo from Season by R

The saag aloo had a good few flavours going on and I have to say outside of India this was by far the best I have tasted.  

 Matar mushroom from Season by R

The real star of the show was the matar mushroom, a dish I have never tried before but one I will certainly be having time and time again.  Packed full of flavour and a good hit of spice, my mouth was tingling a good while afterwards, wow, the flavours were awesome, I really can’t rave enough about this dish, even if you are not a lover of mushrooms, you won’t even notice they are there, I had at first thought this was some sort of spicy pea dish, I hadn’t even realised there were mushrooms!

Season by R provide a daily menu which changes with each day and for the bargain price of £6.99 per meal, you get to enjoy some freshly cooked, delicious and authentic Indian cuisine.  The portion sizes are good so you won’t be left hungry by any means.  

Check them out, support local and give them a go, you won’t be disappointed -  Season by R on Facebook

Whilst the meal was provided by Season by R, all views are my own.

Indian style spicy chicken with rice noodles

Indian style spicy chicken with rice noodles

• 4 chicken breasts

For the marinade

• 1 tsp hot chilli powder (or 2 of mild)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 2 tbsp vinegar

For the sauce

• 2cm stick of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 4 cloves
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 3 tbsp water

For the noodles

• 100g dried rice noodles
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 10 fresh curry leaves
• 2 green chillies, cut lengthways 
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced

Mix together the marinade ingredients and rub over the chicken breasts then set aside for 30 minutes.

For the sauce, mix together the spices and roast them in a dry frying pan until they begin to colour.  Using a pestle and mortar, grind the spices to a fine powder.  Heat the oil in the pan and fry the garlic until it starts to turn golden.  Add the onion and cook until softened, then add the spices, make sure you stir briskly to stop them from burning.  Add the tomato purée and cook for a further 2 minutes, stir in the water and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, place the chicken onto a baking try and cover each breast with the sauce, cook in the oven for around 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions.  In a large pan heat the oil then add the curry leaves and mustard seeds.  Once they start to crackle add the chillies and turmeric, stir and cook for a couple of minutes.  Drain the rice noodles, add to the pan along with the sliced pepper, stir through for a couple of minutes and then serve with the chicken.

On the face of it you may think there are a lot of ingredients but most of these will probably be in your store cupboard, the fresh curry leaves are widely available in a number of leading supermarkets.
This is a spicy dish but you can always use a milder chilli powder if you prefer.  There should be plenty of sauce on the chicken to incorporate into the noodles so it isn't a dry dish.  Who needs to go out for an Indian or even get a takeaway when you can make this quick and easy dish in the comfort of your own home?  I hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Indian style pizza

Indian styles pizza

• Portion of  Hairy Bikers Style Beef Rendang curry
• 2 naan breads
• 1 pack of paneer cheese, cut into bite sized cubes
• 1/2 red onion, cut into thin slices
• 1/2 pepper cut into thin slices
• 2 tomatoes cut into chunks
• Pinch of cumin
• Handful of chopped coriander
• Handful of rocket leaves
• Mint and cucumber raita
• Mango chutney
• Rapeseed oil

Method:

Last week I made a beef rendang curry, it was a big portion so I decided to do something a little different with the leftovers.  Everyone loves Indian and Italian food so why not an Indian pizza!

Obviously this dish will work with any curry that you have made, I am just using the beef rendang as an example as that is the last curry that I made and is what I used in this recipe.

Warm your curry up in a small saucepan and pre heat your oven to 180 degrees.

In a small frying pan warm a dash of rapeseed oil and then  add the tomato chunks, paneer and a pinch of cumin and fry for around ten minutes, by which time the tomato will have softened and make a sauce.

 On an oven tray place your naan breads and sprinkle with a small amount of water (this will keep them moist when heated in the oven).  Once the curry has been warmed through spread half over each of the naan breads, top with the paneer and tomato sauce and cook in the oven for around 10 minutes. 

 Once done, top each pizza with the red onion, pepper slices, rocket and the raita and mango chutney.

A quick and easy dinner which is tasty and filling.  I prefer to add my vegetables after the cooking process to keep them fresh and crunchy but you can add them to the pizza when you place them in the oven.  This is a great alternative to the traditional Italian pizza and one that I hope you will love as much as we did

Spicy Chettinad Indian Wraps

Spicy Chettinad Indian wraps

Here’s another in my series of “cheats dinners”, again, this goes to prove that meal kits don’t have to be tasteless and bland, far from it with this street food kit from the lovely Anjum Anand – The Spice Taylor.

The kit pretty much contains most of what you need to make your wraps, 6 soft paratha wraps, curry leaf and tomato stir fry sauce, a spice blend and coconut chutney.  All you need to add to this is your protein of choice, meat, chicken, fish, prawns or paneer and 2 tbs of plain yoghurt.

The meal kit will feed two, my protein of choice was chicken so I therefore used two chicken breasts which I butterflied and cut each half into 3 slices therefore giving 2 nice pieces of chicken per wrap.  Add some vegetable oil to a frying pan, heat and then add your chicken and cook until browned.  Add the stir fry sauce and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and sizzling.  Whilst the chicken is simmering, stir 2 tbsp of plain yoghurt into the coconut chutney.  I got up to this point but I then put amouthfulofmark twist to the dish, which hopefully you will agree adds a bit more to the recipe.

I knocked up a cucumber raita using the remainder of the yoghurt to which I added a tablespoon of chopped mint, pinch of salt, squeeze of lemon and a few slices of cucumber, cut into small pieces and mixed together.  I then quartered a tomato, deseeded it and cut into small pieces  and thinly sliced up a spring onion.

Back to the packet instructions, after heating through the parathas I spread some of the coconut chutney over each one, topped with chicken, sprinkled over some of spice blend then added a good dollop of cucumber raita, some chopped tomato and spring onion and a little chopped coriander then all we had to do was roll up and eat.

I have to say I am a bit of a fan of Anjum Anand, she makes some really delicious products and this just adds to the list of tasty dishes that you can make using them.  We both really enjoyed this and will be making again for sure, maybe next time some fresh chilli will give it a kick, as you know, we do love that kick!  The street food kits are available from most supermarkets so go on, give them a go, you wont be disappointed.