This is an incredibly easy and extremely quick, from-scratch Indian-influenced dish that I have honed over the years, perfect for those occasions when you feel like proper food (or are obliged to feed it to others) with minimal effort.
Another of my deeply non-authentic dishes. Mixing my culinary metaphors, it leans heavily towards the Mughal cuisine I adore but also has South Indian (via South Africa's east coast) influences.
One of it's main benefits is that you can knock up the whole bizz in under 30 minutes, impressing whomever is on your case or avoiding unnecessary custody battles because of its irrefutable nutritional values — five-a-day in just over 20 minutes, need I say more?
And, if you think this might be something that is "too hot" for kids, don't. Simply scale down the spices (and chillies) if you're scared. Yet, even at these quantities, the creaminess of the coconut and sweetness of the fruit sambal has had poor kiddies entrusted to my cooking pulling an Oliver Twist and asking for more. One tip with kids I've noticed: stick to vegetables they can identify and they're less tentative.
For those without child-centric concerns, if anything, I advise you to scale up the paste if, like me, you like a bit of spice.
The version below is for 2 (adult) diners. We've already been through that thing about how you all have calculators on your phones if you can't do the maths in your head to make it work for a larger group...
Shopping list
For the paste
3 garlic cloves, crushed, grated or very finely chopped
3 x 5cm pieces of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
3 to 4 red hot chillies (red of green), roughly chopped, to heat preference
2 tbspns garam masala
2 tspns madras curry powder
½ tspn mace
4 generous tbspns tomato purée
A quarter of a cup of almonds, finely milled in a mortar or ground
The juice of half a lemon or lime
A pinch of salt
For the dish
3 tbspns peanut oil or vegetable oil or ghee
1 large white or brown onion, diced
2 chicken breasts cut into large chunks
2 yellow bell peppers cut into fairly large, irregular chunks
something rooty - 3 medium carrots or the equivalent volume of sweet potatoes, parsnips or even potatoes; cut into chunky, irregular pieces
something green - about 100g green beans, runner beans or mange tout or okra if you're feeling cool, whole or cut into fairly long lengths
3 heaped tbspns coconut cream
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tbspns roughly chopped fresh coriander
2 tbspns roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
40 to 50ml single cream or plain yoghurt*
For the mango sambal (optional)
Ripe fresh mango cut into small cubes
finely chopped fresh coriander and fresh flat leaf parsley
Fresh lime zest
Achar or lime pickle to flavour
Very finely chopped red chillies (optional)
Cooking Method
For the paste:
Make sure all of the larger ingredients are first grated, chopped or ground as relevant
Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl using a fork. If necessary, add a few drops of oil to lubricate if the lemon juice is insufficient. I personally find that this paste works better if not mixed in a blender. It should remain fairly coarse in texture
For the dish
Heat the peanut oil in a wok, saucepan or karahi pan on a medium heat. Add the diced onion and sweat until it softens and turns golden
Add the chicken pieces, stirring regularly, adding a little more oil if necessary. Even before all of the surfaces of the chicken have sealed, throw in the paste, stirring continuously with a wooden spatula or spoon so that nothing sticks. Allow all of the ingredients in this relatively dry paste to fully cook into the chicken
Add the yellow pepper pieces ensuring that they too become entirely sealed by the paste and oil, adding a little more oil as needed. It won't need more than a few minutes of cooking: don't wait until the peppers turn soft
Add the tomato purée, stirring vigorously so that it coats the contents of the pan. As soon as it's evenly distributed, add water and stir vigorously. NB, there is no fixed quantity here because the size of pots vary. But, it should afford no more than 1cm of liquid in the bottom of the pan. Turn up the heat and allow the ingredients to bubble in the reddish liquid for 3 or 4 mins
Add the coconut cream and stir in evenly. Add enough water to take into account the vegetables you've added. They will not need to be completely submerged, but merely have enough liquid in the pan to cook, comfortably without sticking
Once the liquid begins to bubble, add the beans and carrots (or your alternative choices). Cover and bring to the boil and allow to boil vigorously for no more than 3 or 4 mins, then turn down the heat and allow to simmer until the newly added vegetables are entirely tender. Even if using sweet potatoes or potatoes, this should take no more than 12 to 15 mins. More importantly, it shouldn't be longer than that: this is not a dish that benefits from being overcooked
Add the cream or yoghurt* and stir it into the mixture and stir in completely, adding the coriander, black pepper and flat leaf parsley as you do so
Allow to simmer for no more than a few minutes, then cover, turn off the heat and allow to settle before plating or decanting to a serving dish
In the meanwhile, make the mango sambal by simply combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl and gently mixing together. This really is a suck-it-and-see affair. Essentially you will need no more than a tablespoon or two of the sambal per diner. How much achar, fresh green herbs or chopped chillies (if you use them) you need is a matter of personal taste. But, I do strongly recommend you do accompany the dish with this sambal. The fresh mango, added to the hot dish at table as a condiment, is exquisite
Accompaniments
This is a fairly "thin" curry; more on the liquid side than thick since it involves not using any traditional thickening methods (and is better off without them, trust me). So it's best accompanied by simple boiled or steamed basmati rice or pilau rice rather than naan bread.
Alternatively, you can take it in the other direction: I have really enjoyed this dish laksa-style by increasing its liquid content and adding rice noodles at the last stages and enjoying it more as a meal-soup dish.
Variations
This dish is perfectly suited to making as vegetarian. I've not tried it with tofu or Quorn pieces, but my favourite veggie version is to substitute the chicken with whole small-to-medium chestnut mushrooms. If doing this veggie version, skip the chicken step and add the mushrooms after the yellow peppers. Stir in as in the recipe above, but immediately move on to the step of adding the coconut cream as soon as the mushrooms start to soften. Don't wait for them to fully sautée.
Pescatarian options also work well, but need a little more fundamental change to the cooking method. Basically, follow all of the steps above, skipping only the chicken step. Do not add your king prawns, fish or scallops at this stage, unless you enjoy fishy chewing gum in your curry. Rather, cook your fish, giant shrimp, king prawns (shell-on or shell-off) or scallops in a separate small frying pan with a little oil and crushed garlic and/or root ginger. Add these only in the last few minutes of the cooking; just enough time to be fully heated and integrated, because they overcook so easily.
* A note on yoghurt - Not all yoghurt works, nor is it very predictable. Whichever yoghurt you use, add it only in the very last few minutes of cooking. It has a tendency to separate and/or curdle and this is a dish that already does that to some extent. I can't tell you which are guaranteed to work. Basically, if you use yoghurt instead of cream, it's pretty much Russian roulette. Sadly, I can tell you, my svelte weight watchers, that fat-free yoghurt is almost certain to turn to funny flaky bits instead of flowering into a delicious creaminess.
Pairings
Well, Karel recently told me good and proper when it comes to green beans and wine. So until he comes back with some wine pairings that have the official seal of approval, I'm suggesting sticking to beer or, as I usually love with it, a combo of mango, fresh orange and sparkling mineral water.
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