Chicken Mulligatawny soup - with thanks to Jo Cooks

I was recently introduced to the terrific recipe blog "Jo Cooks" by another cooking friend.  He certainly is absolutely right about the wealth of interesting recipes on there - and lots that fit within my favourite type of "sit and put things in the pot in order" one pot dinners.

As a first foray, I immediately decided upon giving a go to Jo's recipe for Chicken Mulligatawny soup.  Mainly because it looked so good, but also because I've been looking for a great Mulligatawny recipe for the longest time.  So many Mulligatawny recipes are thin, brothy type of soups and to my mind, a good Mulligatawny needs some body.  I'm sure that back in the days of the British Raj - when the soup first found favour - it wasn't light and brothy, but rich and hearty.  Oh and speaking of the British Raj, the origins of the name are interesting (thanks, Wikipedia!), as the name apparently originates from the Tamil words "millagai"/"milagu" and "thanni" and can be translated as "pepper-water".  Ha!  Cute.  

Everything about Jo's recipe said "yum!" to me.  The fact that it was made with chicken appealed very much as I now have to be careful over my red meat consumption owing to a marked tendency towards gout.  So chicken ticked that box.  The use of the apple cubes appealed, too.  I like a fruity, milder, coconut flavoured curry and one turned into a soup could only be good in these colder early autumnal days.  I loved the simplicity of the cooking method, as well.  None of this "cook this, take it out, cook that, take it out and bring it all together at the end" malarky.  Nope.  Just chuck it into the pan in the right order and cook as described.  Lovely.

I made a few changes to Jo's original recipe - the first being that as I was making just half the original quantity, yet had to buy a 400ml can of coconut milk, was that I used the whole can and reduced the quantity of the chicken stock (broth).  I countered that by using an extra amount of chicken stock powder, so that the chickeny flavour was right up there and not compromised at all.

Secondly, I added a half a large potato, diced.  I just love potato in curry and as I was after a good, thick, hearty Mulligatawny I figured if some dissolved and added to the thick texture of the soup that could also only be good.  It certainly was - good, that is!

Aside from that, I made just small changes such as using 50:50 butter and coconut oil to start with, I used a red onion for its antioxidant properties, I used the full amount of turmeric for the health benefits and the full amount of curry powder because if it's supposed to be curried, let's taste it!  I  also backed off from some of the seasoning as my chicken stock is low salt, but it's worthwhile being cautious and adjusting the salt at the end.  You can't take it away once it's been added!

So I have detailed my version of Jo's recipe below - but my advice to you is to take a look at Jo's original recipe - here - and decide for yourself which recipe to follow.  Oh and for people who don't use cup measurements, mine is expressed in metric.  I know some of you have problems with cup measures!

Personally, I can't wait until tomorrow lunchtime because the leftovers of that soup are MINE, all MINE!  *chuckle*

CHICKEN MULLIGATAWNY SOUP   (serves 2-3)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp butter 

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 large red onion, chopped finely
1 medium carrot, diced finely

1 stalk of celery, diced finely
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely

1 medium potato, peeled and diced finely

sea salt and black pepper to taste
4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized chunks
half a tsp dried oregano
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
500ml chicken stock, made with 1.5 tsp chicken stock powder
150g dry basmati rice
400ml unsweetened coconut milk (1 can)
1 medium Braeburn apple peeled, cored and diced small
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped.

Method :

Using a large saucepan, soup pot, or as I did - a wok -  melt the butter and coconut oil over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and potato to the pot, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, stir and cook for about 5-10 minutes or until the onion and carrot softens and the garlic becomes aromatic.

Add the chicken thigh pieces to the pot and cook for around 10 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink. Don't worry if it's not cooked through - it will finish cooking once the liquid is added.

Add the oregano, turmeric, curry powder and stir well to combine.  Sprinkle with the flour and stir again.

Add the chicken stock, rice and coconut milk, lower the heat to a medium-low and stir through well.  Let the soup simmer for about 10-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked through and you can be sure the chicken is fully cooked.

You may find that you need to add a little hot water every so often to maintain the soupy texture.  It is worthwhile having a little on hand in a jug so that you aren't tempted to swamp the soup!  Just add a small amount and stir through until the texture returns back to being soupy.

Add the apples and simmer for a couple more minutes, to heat them through and bring everything up to a piping hot temperature.

Garnish with fresh parsley and serve in warm bowls with crusty bread for dipping.

Printable version

Curried Vegetable Soup - a lovely winter warmer

We decided, quite recently, to try and have a vegetarian night every so often.  Not so often as weekly, but fairly regularly all the same.  When a vegetarian recipe strikes me as being right for our tastes - that sort of thing.

So, when I saw the recipe for this Curried Vegetable Soup as I was looking for a main course soup, I didn't immediately consider whether to put some chicken in it!

Any vegetarian recipe has to have some kind of "oomph!" for me to consider it for the family.  We are all such confirmed meat eaters that some of the lighter bites that seem to be on offer as vegetarian fare just aren't man enough for us.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of point in having dinner, then finding the menfolk scouring the kitchen cupboards for something to eat just half an hour later.  Seems a poor use of resources, to me!

This is one of the reasons why some of the salad recipes just aren't any good for us.  I'd have to put a whacking great jacket potato with it, just to stop the snacking that would go on later in the evening.  Not that there's anything wrong with a jacket potato per se, it's just that it would probably kill the delicacy of a tender young salad with scallops, for instance.

Yes, we're definitely in the market for manly, hearty vegetarian food.

Food like this Curried Vegetable Soup, for instance.  With its use of butternut squash, carrots and celeriac, you have all your vegetable goodness along with protein from the lentils, warm curry spices to keep the palate interested and lovely coconut milk to give the impression of dairy creaminess.  I also used some of the lovely vegetable stock powder from Essential Cuisine, as their stocks are not only beautifully flavoured but low in salt, too.

I was surprised, when it came to making the soup, that the instructions didn't start with "put the onion pieces into the pan".  For once, especially where a recipe involving curry spices is concerned, there is no onion involved!  It makes a pleasant change.

Now hubby is a man who very definitely - in the ordinary course of events - does not like lentils.  However, this is one of the very few ways in which he will accept red lentils - much like cauliflower.  In this instance, the lentils just melt away as they cook and give the soup some great substance.  With the final go round from the blender, even though I kept some of the vegetables back for added texture, he was perfectly happy to accept lentils.

There's just something about curry spices and red lentils that go so well.  They really are a match made in heaven - and I was pretty sure I'd get away with using them.

I served the soup with some ready made flatbreads from our local Asda.  These flatbreads are "Coronation" flavour, so think Coronation Chicken.  They have some gentle curry flavours, along with coconut and sultanas - and are just perfect for dipping into this soup.

To be honest, I think just about anything (except maybe a marshmallow - euk!) would be great to eat alongside this soup.  You could go down the Indian route and serve onion bhajees, or hunks of warm crusty farmhouse bread and butter for the more traditional route.  Either way, I know the cockles of your heart will be thoroughly warmed.  You can't ask for more than that!

CURRIED VEGETABLE SOUP   (serves 4-5)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and diced small
200g carrots, peeled and diced small
a quarter of a celeriac, peeled and diced small
1 tbsp curry powder
half a tsp turmeric
100g red lentils
700ml vegetable stock (I used Essential Cuisine Vegetable Stock powder)
400ml tin coconut milk
a handful of green peas, defrosted if frozen
2-3 sprigs of fresh coriander, chopped plus some for garnish.

Method :

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the squash, carrots and celeriac.  Cook until the vegetables are beginning to brown and soften a little, then stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute more.

2.  Add the turmeric, lentils, stock and coconut milk and bring up to a low boil.

3.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the lentils are cooked.

4.  Remove a few ladlefuls of the vegetables to a jug.  Add the chopped coriander to the remainder of the soup and using a hand blender, blitz the soup to your preferred consistency.  Add the vegetables back in and include the peas.

5.  Bring back up to heat and continue to simmer until the peas are cooked - around 2-3 minutes.

Serve.

Printable version

Tamil Coconut Chilli Chicken - a revelation!

Prior to cooking this recipe, I've not had a great deal of cause to pay much attention to the Tamil Nadu area of Southern India.  However, since tasting this amazingly gorgeous dish, I've been on a bit of a "seek and ye shall find" exercise.  So now I still don't know much about the place - as there is just so much to know - but I know a bit more than I did and can at least picture its wonderful carvings and temples!

I was attracted to this recipe because it struck me as having all the hallmarks of an interestingly flavoured dish as it contained chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, chilli etc., all the traditional base flavours to a curry.  However, thereafter it went off on a different tangent, involving black peppercorns, coconut milk and lime juice.  In fact, there was no mention of curry powder or curry leaves and although the spices included coriander, cumin and turmeric, it still wasn't saying "curry" to me.

In addition, the recipe spoke of using two tablespoonfuls of flour mixed with some of the coconut milk, as a thickener at the end of the dish's cooking time.  Well, of course, I've used flour as a thickener at the beginning of a recipe (as in a beef stew) for the same reason, plus I've used cornflour at the end of a recipe as a thickener (although I'm not keen on the texture of cornflour).  I was a bit concerned that the flour wouldn't cook out in the time it had available and the sauce would wind up being quite floury tasting.  However, it was quite the opposite.  The mix was bubbling away in the pan - quite obviously requiring thickening - and so (being on the cautious side) I added half the mixture and stirred like crazy.  Wowser - instant thickening.  I gave it a couple of minutes to cook out and tasted the sauce - as gorgeous as it had been and with no sign of any flouriness.  What magic was this?  As the sauce still wasn't thick enough, I added the last spoonful.  Again, instant thickening and no trace of flouriness.  Well.  You learn something new every day!

Now I've seen a technique where a very thick roux (just the butter/flour mixture - no milk) is made and stored in the fridge.  Pieces are broken off and used to thicken gravies and soups, so I assume this is very much along the same lines, except that the flour isn't cooked out until it hits the wet sauce.  In my head, this uncooked flour method shouldn't work - but it quite categorically did.  I've tucked the method behind my ear and shall try it out on other sauces that require thickening.  If it works on an assortment of different sauces, then it might be the key to hubby's "pond water" problem with sauces!

As for the method of making this wonderful revelation of a dish, it doesn't get a lot easier.  Hubby very kindly acted as my sous chef on the day, however, it really only requires you to chop three or four ingredients.  After that, it's just an assembly job accompanied by varying degrees of heat!  For me, that equates to a perfect recipe.  I'm not required to move around the kitchen much (as I can really only stand for 2-3 minutes at a time) and I can just park my chair by the cooker and get cracking.  Perfect.

Oh yes, there's a difference in the cooking method for the spices too.  Every other "curry type" dish I've made involved your frying off the onion, followed by the garlic and ginger, then adding the toasted spices, whatever meat you're using, followed by the liquid.  This one did everything the other way around!

You begin by toasting off the spices in a dry frying pan, which is usual, except for the fact that you include the ground turmeric - which has always previously been added at the stage when you add some liquid to the pan.  In this instance, the toasted turmeric changed colour to a much deeper gold and tasted amazing.  Cooking the onions in butter that is mixed with the toasted spices created such a mouthwatering aroma, too.  In fact, the dish just went on getting better and better the more stages you followed.

One point that is well worth making, is the decision to use butter, ghee or peanut oil.  I wound up using 50:50 butter and peanut oil.  I reckoned that the onions would be lovely cooked in butter and it would give the dish a nice richness.  After that, I used the peanut oil, which will give the dish a subtle sweetness and the nuttiness of the oil will only blend well with the coconut milk.

I was very curious as to how to the lime juice would interact with the sauce and - long before the lime juice was due to be added, I cheated and put a little sauce on a teaspoon, along with a teensy tiny bit of the lime juice.  Oh yes!  I understood where the entire dish was going, after that - and felt much more confident about it.

You know, there are recipes that are successful in that they deliver what you are anticipating.  Then there are recipes that are successful because everyone enjoys them.  Then, there are recipes that deliver something so delightfully surprising - and everyone loves it - that they just transcend successful.  This is one of those.  If you can cope with curry spices (and the dish wasn't so spicy hot, not even with black peppercorns, ginger and two green chillies in it.  Although, having said that, I only put 1 tsp of ginger in, as hubby can be sensitive to ginger), then please give this recipe a go.  I promise you, you won't regret it.

TAMIL COC0NUT CHILLI CHICKEN   (serves 3)

Ingredients :

4-6 tbsp butter or peanut oil (I used 50:50 butter and peanut oil)
2 onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
5 cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated (I used ready prepared ginger - 1tsp)
2 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
3 skinless chicken breasts, diced into chunks
250ml boiling chicken stock or water
450ml canned coconut milk
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp plain flour
a large bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
salt

Roasted spices:
1 tsp crushed dried chillies, bruised
1 tbsp coriander seeds, bruised
1 tsp black peppercorns, bruised
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp ground turmeric.

Method :

1.  To roast the spices, put the dried chillies, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds and turmeric in a dry frying pan and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until aromatic.

2.  Push the spices to one side.  Add a good knob of butter to the frying pan and as that melts, add the onions and sauté for 4-5 minutes, mixing in the spices as you go.

3.  Add a little peanut oil to lubricate the mix, then add the garlic, ginger, the green chillies and the chicken. Stir-fry for about 8-10 minutes on a high heat - alternately stirring and resting to allow the chicken to brown - until the chicken is nicely golden.

4.  Put the flour into a small bowl and add around 5ml of the coconut milk to it.  Stir to make sure all the lumps are gone, then set aside.

5.  Add the stock and the bulk of the coconut milk to the pan.  Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about about 20-30 minutes, depending on how big you've cut the chicken.

6.  Stir in the lime juice, then add salt to taste.

7.  Stir a good teaspoonful of the flour mixture into the sauce and stir like crazy, increasing the heat if necessary, until the sauce thickens evenly.  If the sauce needs more thickening, just repeat with the remaining flour mixture.

8.  Stir in the chopped coriander leaves and serve with other Indian dishes such as coconut rice or chapatis.

Source: Chicken from Maryland to Kiev by Clare Ferguson (Ryland, Peters & Small)

Printable version here.

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Chicken & Cauliflower Tandoori Curry

I'll come right out and say it before I mislead anyone - the only "Tandoori" part of this curry was the label on the front of the spice mix jar!

So, having said that, I have to hang my head in shame and admit that yes, the poor old Caribbean Curry hit the skids again and STILL hasn't been made.  You see, the recipe has been hanging around waiting to be made for so long that I'd quite forgotten that it required to be marinaded for 5-7 hours prior to cooking.  The meat, that is, not the recipe.  ~rolls eyes~

There I was with half an hour to go before I needed to start cooking - and no marinading having taken place.  This sort of situation demands you know what you've got in your cupboards!

The first thing that came to mind was I knew that I had a random can of coconut milk that we'd picked up cheaply.  So - chicken & coconut milk sends my head down one of two routes where a curry is concerned - Thai or sweet Indian.

I knew I didn't have the wherewithall to make a Thai curry, but the sweet Indian was immediately showing promise.  I had onion and garlic, plus a selection of curry powders - including a Tandoori mix that I hadn't really had a serious play with.  So, with Chicken Tikka Masala in mind, I set off down that kind of route.

Needless to say, the curry didn't resemble a Chicken Tikka Masala in the slightest - but that was the flavour that I had in mind and that I was aiming at, if not for!

Part way through, I began to think that some other kind of note would be good where the main ingredients were concerned and found myself hankering for some okra.  Then I remembered that I had best part of two thirds of a cauliflower in the fridge - perfect!

Even though the Tandoori spice mix isn't really intended to be used in the way I used it, the curry came out as being very acceptable.  The coconut milk, having been reduced, lent the sauce a slightly odd glossiness and made the whole extremely rich.  I was very glad I'd included the cauliflower, as it provided a lightness that eased the palate against all the rich flavours.

So, as a "spur of the moment" curry, I reckon it worked very well indeed - and I'd happily make it again.

CHICKEN & CAULIFLOWER TANDOORI CURRY  (serves 3)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp vegetable oil
10g butter
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 red chilli, seeds removed, chopped
3 tsp Tandoori curry powder
3 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 can coconut milk (I used the light version)
half a small cauliflower, cut into same sized florets
a handful of fresh coriander, chopped.

Method :

1.  In a deep frying pan, heat the oil and melt the butter, then add the onions and fry on a medium heat until softened and beginning to colour.

2.  Add the garlic and chilli and continue to cook for another minute or so.

3.  Add the curry powder and tomato puree.  Stir to combine and cook on a medium to low heat until the oil is beginning to separate.

4.  Add the chicken and toss well to cover it in the curry mixture.  Cook until the chicken has all changed colour and is beginning to caramelise.

5.  Add the coconut milk and stir gently but well to amalgamate with the curry spices.

6.  Add the cauliflower pieces and simmer until the cauliflower is tender and the sauce has reduced to your preference.  If the sauce appears to be reducing too much, add a little chicken stock to thin it slightly.

7.  Prior to serving, add the chopped coriander and stir through.

Serve with white rice.

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Beef Rendang - the slow cooker version

Beef Rendang, Saag Aloo & white rice : double yum factor!

I'd had this recipe, the original of which was put together by the wonderful Atul Kochhar - and who we have to thank for the inspired spicing of the dish - in my "to do" folder for some weeks.  I'd been waiting for a moment when I felt brave enough to tackle it, you see.

Having done so, I really don't know what I was worried about - as it was the easiest recipe to follow (even with my deviation into cooking with the slow cooker and taking two days over it).  The "two day" thing was purely by accident.  However, I really think that I might do that again with a curry, because they seem so much nicer the day after.  The spices all seem to mellow out beautifully the longer you leave it.

So what were my concerns?  Well, firstly, the recipe demanded fresh lemongrass which (*blush*) I hadn't ever cooked with before.  Add that to the fact that lemongrass isn't my favourite flavour - nor is it hubby's - and you can probably understand that concern.

Secondly, the recipe demanded Kaffir Lime Leaves - another ingredient that would be a first for me.  I was fairly confident that we'd enjoy the inclusion of these, however.

Thirdly, as the recipe was for a Beef Rendang I had the problem of how to cook the beef well enough to ensure that it didn't retain any "bounciness" (hubby hates chewy meat), whilst not racking up the electricity bill by using the cooker for hours on end (which sometimes is unavoidable, but can be offset by the meals around it being easy on the electricity consumption), and working out how to use the slow cooker (the best way to ensure non-bounciness and economy) to advantage, without spoiling the recipe.

Well, I'm very pleased - nay, relieved - to say that I achieved it.  Even with the deviation from the plan which was caused by hubby spotting a Flying V Guitar for sale in the local small ads, (which son & heir would have given his eye teeth for) then ringing up for it and arranging to go and view, which meant we would have to have had dinner half an hour early - which as you know, is impossible when the slow cooker is involved!  

Click to open the picture up - it's worth it!

So we made the executive decision to leave the curry until the following day (but let it do its slow cooker thing, then refrigerate until tomorrow) and have a Tuna Pasta Bake instead.  Of course, as sod's law would dictate, having made that decision we got a phone call from the seller of the guitar, saying "terribly sorry, but someone's bought it already".  *sigh*  C'est la vie.

Hence the two days' preparation.

The following day, while I was cooking the Saag Aloo (see next blog posting!) to accompany the Rendang, I separated the meat from the sauce and reduced the sauce by simmering it until it achieved the desired consistency.  I then added the meat - which served to dilute the sauce a tad as the juices combined - and continued to reduce as the meat warmed through.  I was a bit worried that the meat would begin to fall apart as the sauce reduced, which is why I separated the two to begin with.

That plan of action worked perfectly and we were left with a beautifully soft, mysteriously spiced, deep and rounded curry with wonderful flavours.  The lemongrass just disappeared into the general melange (I suspect that the blitzing it received in preparation of the original paste helped with that) and even the blisteringly hot bird's eye chilli that I used along with a red chilli, was tempered and controlled by the sugar and sweetness of the coconut milk.

The recipe I detail below is the recipe that I prepared - using the slow cooker.  If, however, you don't have one or alternatively don't want to use yours, then the original recipe can be found on the UKTV Food website here.  I also used a piece of galangal (who thinks of these names?) in my version of the recipe, purely because it came with the shallots and lemongrass.  I tasted it beforehand and it seemed to have a similar effect to ginger, so I halved the amount of ginger and included the galangal.  Certainly didn't do the recipe any harm!  If you don't have galangal, just double the amount of ginger you use.

BEEF RENDANG  (feeds 3-4)

Ingredients :

3-4 large finely diced shallots
1 stem of lemongrass, chopped
3 cloves garlic, cut into halves
a thumb-sized piece of Galangal, peeled and chopped roughly (optional)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp red chilli paste - or 2 red chillis, chopped finely (I used a red chilli and a green bird's eye chilli)
1½ tsp muscovado sugar
2 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely shredded (I used ready-prepared ginger - 1 tsp)
1½ tsp turmeric
800g beef brisket, trimmed of all fat and cubed
3 Kaffir lime leaves
400ml tin of coconut milk.

Method :

1.  Put the shallots, lemongrass, garlic and galangal into a small food processor, add a splash of water and blitz until a paste.

2.  Heat the vegetable oil on a frying pan and fry the shallot mixture for about 5 minutes or until you can catch a fragrant toasted garlic and lemony aroma.

3.  Blitz the chillis in the same way and add them to the pan, along with the sugar.  Continue frying for another 5 minutes or until the mixture darkens and the oil separates from the paste.

4.  Add the beef and cook until lightly browned, taking care not to let the spice mix catch on the bottom of the pan.

5.  Add the ginger, turmeric, lime leaves (crushed lightly) and enough water to half-cover the meat.  Cook, uncovered, until the masala clings to the meat.

6.  Decant into the slow cooker and turn on to High.

7.  Add the coconut milk and stir to combine.  You may need to add a little more water at this stage as the sauce shouldn't be covering the meat, but be very much in evidence.

8.  Leave to cook for a minimum of 3 hours.  If cooking for longer, turn the slow cooker down to medium.

9.  It is at this stage that you can leave the curry until the following day.  Simply refrigerate once it has cooled down.

10. Remove the meat using a slotted spoon and retain.  Decant the sauce into a frying pan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

11.  Simmer until the sauce has gained the desired consistency - one of thickened double cream.  Return the meat to the sauce and continue to simmer so as to heat the meat through and reduce the sauce back to the desired consistency.

12.  Serve.

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Prawn curry with tomato & coconut

This curry represents my first dabble into using Tikka spice mix.

Now, before you all raise your hands in despair and start telling me how much better it is to mix your own spices (which I agree, it can be), let me explain.  Tikka is a very different kettle of spices to your standard curry.  The mix is different, it contains different spices.  Now, before I start trying to formulate my own mix, I like to play around a little with a commercially prepared spice mix, just so that I can get the flavours, aromas and textures set in my head.  It's a bit like covering other people's songs before you record one of your own.  Or maybe not - but that's what it feels like, anyway.


I began this curry with an idea, a goal, in mind.  I wanted it to be creamy without being heavy, kind of middling-hot (enough to satisfy hubby's chilli tastebuds, but not so much as to make us gasp) and not just prawns.  I wanted there to be something else in the curry sauce, but not necessarily a vegetable like potato, or okra.


Now bear in mind that this was a Monday curry - which means that the fridge and larder are at their leanest for little bits of this and that, leftovers which could be press-ganged into use.  However, I had a tin of coconut milk specifically for the curry and part-way along the recipe I suddenly remembered the two vine ripened tomatoes that made all the difference.


The end result was a delightfully light curry which made a real change from the heavy, rich, dark curries that we're used to.  We ate it with some peppered poppodums which went with it perfectly.

PRAWN CURRY WITH TOMATO & COCONUT  (serves 3)

Ingredients :

a knob of butter

2 onions, chopped fine

2 cloves of garlic, grated

3 tsp of tikka curry powder

half a tsp of cumin

2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped fine

200ml fish stock or water (if you're concerned about the salt content)

400ml can of coconut milk

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp plain yoghurt (I used Greek)

a handful of fresh coriander, chopped

sea salt & ground black pepper

300g frozen prawns (defrosted)

Method :

1.  Melt the butter in a deep frying pan and add the onion.  Cook gently until softened and golden.

2.  Grate in the garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes then add the Tikka powder and cumin.  Stir to combine and allow to cook down for 1-2 minutes.

3.  Add the tomatoes and stir to combine.  Increase the temperature a little, so that the tomatoes start to soften.

4.  Add the stock or water, mix it in, then add the coconut milk, tomato puree, yoghurt, coriander and sugar.  Season, stir well and bring to a boil.

5.  Allow to reduce until you are happy with the consistency, then add the prawns and allow to heat through.

Serve with white rice and puppodums.

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