Potato and Pea Curry

Serves 4-6

3 Tb corn or peanut oil
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp whole, dried, hot red chillies
generous pinch of asafetida
450g boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 /4 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp sugar
285g frozen peas, defrosted
1.5 tsp salt
3 medium tomatoes, grated on the coarse side of the grater

Pour the oil into a medium, lidded pan and set over a medium-high heat.

When the oil is hot, throw in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chillies and asafetida.
As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, a matter of seconds, add the potatoes.
Stir and fry until the potatoes brown a little.

Now add the cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander, tumeric and sugar.

Stir once or twice and put in the peas. Stir a few times, then add 250ml water and 1 tsp salt.

Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and cook gently for 15 minutes.
Stir in the grated tomatoes and remaining salt.
Simmer gently, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes.

Grublover comment
Jess, Eve and I made this the other day but 10x the recipe for a party. It was a great success and tasted delicious but it was a bit watery - I would suggest adding 1/4 cup water and see how it goes, then add more if needed. It is not a dry curry, but you don’t want it to be watery either.

One dish chicken korma and rice

Serves 4

Prep and cook time 30 mins

2 tablespoons Korma Curry paste (I used Pataks - Korma Curry Paste - Coconut and Coriander, Mild - from Woolies)
800g Chicken thigh fillets (cut into 2cm pieces)
1 cup (200g) white calrose medium grain rice
1 1/2 cups (375ml) chicken stock
100g baby spinach leaves
Heat sauce in medium saucepan. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add chicken and brown.
Add rice and stock - bring to boil.
Reduce and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes (keep an eye on it to make sure that rice cooks before all the liquid evaporates). Remove from heat and stir well. Cover dish and stand for 5 minutes.
Add spinach and stir to combine. Add pepper to taste and serve with a slice of lemon.

Enjoy!!

Recipe contributed by Nicole Stallard.

Sweet Potato Thai Green Curry Pastry Puffs…recipe by Jill Anderson

1 small red onion
Olive oil
1-2 tablespoons Thai Green Curry paste
1 large diced sweet potato
Coconut milk or coconut cream
6 sheets Puff pastry - each sheet cut into 9 squares

Egg wash - 1 egg, 1 tablespoon water

Yoghurt Mint Dip
Plain Greek Yoghurt
1/2 freshly squeezed lemon
black pepper
a large bunch of fresh mint leaves finely chopped

Dice a small red onion and fry in a small amount of olive oil.
Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of Thai green Curry Paste (start with 1 tablespoon and add more depending on how hot you like it)

Add a large diced sweet potato. Coat and fry gently for a few minutes to absorb flavours.

Add enough coconut milk or coconut cream to cook the potatoes until soft, then mash gently with a fork.

Add about 1 teaspoon of cooled mixture to the centre of each pastry square.
Fold into triangles, fork the edges and coat in egg wash.

Bake in fan forced oven 180 C, or normal oven 200 C until golden brown.

Serve warm with Yoghurt Mint Dip.
Plain Greek Yoghurt, 1/2 freshly squeezed lemon, black pepper and a large bunch of fresh mint leaves finely chopped.

Could also be good with a Chilli sauce, fresh lime juice and chopped fresh coriander dip!

Enjoy - and we’ll come to help you eat them!

Beef Vindaloo…recipe by Eve Clarkson

½ kg meat – pork, beef or chicken
Turmeric
Vinegar
Salt
Curry Leaves
2 small red onions, sliced
2 tomatoes (roma), chopped
1 Tbsp sunflower oil
Small handful of curry leaves

Masala
1 Tbsp garlic
1 Tbsp ginger
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp black mustard seeds, heaped
½ tsp pepper (white is preferable to black)
5 cloves
1½ tsp cinnamon sticks
10 dried red chillies (15 is usual)
1 Tbsp white sultanas, heaped

1. Marinate meat in turmeric, vinegar, salt and curry leaves for 1 hr
2. Grind masala ingredients together
3. Heat sunflower oil in pot
4. Add onions, fry until light brown
5. Add masala, lower the heat and cook for 3 mins
6. Add the curry leaves
7. Cook until the water evaporates and the masala is dried out
8. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the water evaporates
9. Add the meat and cook until tender

Grublover comment
Eve says: Please put this recipe up on Grublove. I have just made it and it is fantastic. I did it with Pork but I think it is better than beef.

Jamie’s Chicken Tikka Marsala

Serves 4







6 cloves garlic, peeled
7.5cm/3 inches fresh ginger, peeled
2-3 fresh red chillies, deseeded
olive oil
1 Tb mustard seeds
1 Tb parprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
3 Tb garam masala
200g natural yoghurt
4 medium chicken breasts, skinned and cut into large chunks
1 Tb butter
2 medium onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 Tb tomato puree
small handful of cashews or almonds
sea salt
115ml double cream
handful of fresh coriander, chopped
juice of 1-2 limes

Grate garlic and ginger and put to one side in a bowl.

Chop chilli as finely as you can and mix them with the ginger and garlic.
Heat a good splash of oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add them to the ginger and garlic mixture along with the parprika, cumin, ground coriander and 2 Tb of the garam masala.

Put half of this in a bowl, add the yoghurt and chicken, stir, leave to marinade for ½ hour or so.

Melt the butter in saucepan the mustard seeds were in and add the sliced onions and the remaining half of the spice mix.
Cook gently for 15 minutes or so without browning too much – it should start to smell fantastic!

Add the tomato puree, ground nuts, half a litre of water, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Stir well and simmer gently for a few minutes.

Let this sauce reduce until it thickens slightly and place to one side.
Put the marinated chicken on a hot griddle pan or bbq and sear until cooked through –you can also do this on a preheated grill if you like.

Warm the sauce, add the cream and the other Tb of garam masala. Taste and correct the seasoning if necessary. As soon as it boils, take off the heat and add the grilled chicken.

Check the seasoning once more and serve sprinkled with the chopped coriander, and the lime juice.

Jamie's Chicken Tikka Marsala

Serves 4







6 cloves garlic, peeled
7.5cm/3 inches fresh ginger, peeled
2-3 fresh red chillies, deseeded
olive oil
1 Tb mustard seeds
1 Tb parprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
3 Tb garam masala
200g natural yoghurt
4 medium chicken breasts, skinned and cut into large chunks
1 Tb butter
2 medium onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 Tb tomato puree
small handful of cashews or almonds
sea salt
115ml double cream
handful of fresh coriander, chopped
juice of 1-2 limes

Grate garlic and ginger and put to one side in a bowl.
Chop chilli as finely as you can and mix them with the ginger and garlic.
Heat a good splash of oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add them to the ginger and garlic mixture along with the parprika, cumin, ground coriander and 2 Tb of the garam masala.
Put half of this in a bowl, add the yoghurt and chicken, stir, leave to marinade for ½ hour or so.
Melt the butter in saucepan the mustard seeds were in and add the sliced onions and the remaining half of the spice mix.
Cook gently for 15 minutes or so without browning too much – it should start to smell fantastic!
Add the tomato puree, ground nuts, half a litre of water, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Stir well and simmer gently for a few minutes.
Let this sauce reduce until it thickens slightly and place to one side.
Put the marinated chicken on a hot griddle pan or bbq and sear until cooked through – you can also do this on a preheated grill if you like.
Warm the sauce, add the cream and the other Tb of garam masala. Taste and correct the seasoning if necessary. As soon as it boils, take off the heat and add the grilled chicken.
Check the seasoning once more and serve sprinkled with the chopped coriander, and the lime juice.

Jamie’s Best Aromatic Curry

2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
3 fresh green chiles, seeds removed and thinly sliced
A handful curry leaves, ripped into small pieces
2 thumb-sized pieces ginger
3 onions, peeled and chopped
6 tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 or 2 wineglasses water (about 10 ounces)
14 fluid ounces (400 millilitre) can coconut milk
Salt

Fish version:
4 (8-ounce/225 gram) haddock fillets, skinned and pin-boned
1 knob (1 tablespoon) tamarind paste or 1 teaspoon tamarind syrup
A very large handful baby spinach, optional

Chicken version:
4 chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2-inch (1 centimetre) strips
A few cashew nuts, toasted and crushed

Vegetarian version:
1 3/4 pounds (800 grams) mixed vegetables, chopped (potatoes, zucchini, peppers, onions, sweet potatoes, spinach, chard, cauliflower, lentils, beans)

Heat the oil in a pan when hot add the mustard seeds. Wait for them to pop, then add the fenugreek, green chile, curry leaves, and ginger, stir and fry for a few minutes.
Using a food processor, chop the onion, add to pan, and continue to cook. When brown and soft, add the chili powder and turmeric.
Using the same food processor, blend the tomatoes and add to the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes, add 1 or 2 wineglasses of water and the coconut milk. Simmer for about 5 minutes until it has the consistency of thick heavy cream then season carefully with salt. Take this sauce as a base.
To make the fish curry, add the fish and tamarind to the sauce and simmer for about 6 minutes. Feel free to add some baby spinach at the end of the cooking time.
For the chicken version, stir-fry the chicken strips, and cashew nuts until lightly coloured, then add the sauce and simmer for ten minutes.
For the vegetarian version simply add all the vegetables to the sauce at the beginning when you add the onions. Continue to cook as normal and simmer until tender.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Medium

Grublover comment
This recipe is really fun to make and pretty easy. It takes a while the first time but it is really impressive. Serve with a nice salsa, some raita and some steamed rice. I like to steam my rice (use basmati for indian curries) with a pinch of saffron to give it extra flavour and that beautiful, rich saffron colour.

Tim's Spicy Mutton Curry

1/2 kg mutton (or goat) cubed
1 tspn tumeric powder
1 tbspn ginger-garlic paste
1 cup oil
8 cloves
1 tspn coriander seeds
8 peppercorns
1 tspn poppy seeds
1 tspn aniseeds
1/2 coconut grated
3 tomatoes
1 cup coriander leaves
6 red chillies
2 large onions, chopped
4 potatoes, peeled, halved
Salt to taste

Marinate the meat pieces in salt, tumeric and ginger-garlic paste for 1 hour.
Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a pan. Add cloves, peppercorns, coriander seeds, poppy seeds, aniseeds and red chillies. Brown the spices mixture.
Add onions and brown them.
Add coconut, tomatoes and brown.
Remove from stove and cool.
Grind to a paste. Keep aside.
In a pressure cooker, heat the remaining oil. Add meat and potatoes. Stir-fry until brown. Add the masala paste and salt. You may need to add water. Heat under pressure until meat is soft.
Remove from the cooker, Garnish with coriander leaves and yoghurt.
If you do not have a pressure cooker then cook the meat slowly for a long time in a big pot with the lid on.

Grublover comment
My good friend Tim made this for us last week at his goodbye dinner. It is absolutely delicious - the slow cooking makes all the flavours come alive, and the meat is tender and melts in your mouth. An absolute winner.
And while you’re at it, check out tims site Soup Toys: www.souptoys.com

The Best Rendang Curry

Serves 4

250ml coconut cream
1/3 cup shredded cocounut
50ml coconut milk
4 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
800g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 5cm pieces
1 Tb shaved palm sugar
2 Tb fish saucepinch salt

Curry paste
8 dried long red chillies
4 cloves garlic
8 thai shallots
1 lemon grass stalk, white only, sliced
30g chopped fresh ginger
25g sliced fresh galangal
pinch salt

To make paste:
Soak chillies in hot water until just softened; remove stem and seeds; roughly chop.
Place all curry paste ingredients in a mortar and pestle or food processor and blend to a smooth paste; add a little water if necessary.

To make curry:
Pour coconut cream into saucepan and bring to the boil.
Boil for 5 minutes or until oil separates from solids.
Add curry paste and cook, stirring, for about 7 minutes or until fragrant.
Add the coconut, coconut milk, lime leaves and spices; simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to a third and chicken is tender.
Rendang should be quite dry, but if it becomes too dry, add a little water.
Sprinkle with extra toasted coconut. Serve with steamed rice.