SIMPLE LAMB CURRY

Here in the West Midlands, we got off fairly lightly with the snowfall at the beginning of the week. I know others had a significant amount of snow and it brought lots of things to a grinding halt. The children loved it though, and it was definitely the right sort of snow to build snowmen and have lots of fun.

Curry is always good to eat when the weather is cold and brings with it lots of comfort.

This recipe is by James Martin and was taken from THE COLLECTION - ISNB 978-1-84533-350-8 - Page 146. I found a link to the recipe on the UKTV Food website. Simple this curry recipe may be, but it was totally delicious.

James says to use fresh tomatoes, even in the summer most of our tomatoes are unfortunately tasteless. I replaced these with half a large tin of chopped tomatoes, at least this way you get some tomato flavour.

Chilli powder - now how much, or how little! In the recipe it says one tablespoon of chilli powder - in this house we definitely aren't brave enough for that amount. I'm presuming he means mild chilli powder, still sounds quite a lot to me though. Perhaps some of you have used this amount of mild chilli powder in other recipes and can let me know if you think this sounds about right. Unfortunately, I didn't make a note of how much chilli powder I used, but I mostly use an organic hot chilli powder from Waitrose and am guessing I would have used half a teaspoon.

Coconut powder is a store cupboard essential, I never use canned coconut milk. It works out far better value as you can measure out the powder and then add water to make up the same amount as you would buy in a can. You can buy this at most Tesco Supermarkets.

I've never had takeaway but always make my own curry, for no other reason than I love roasting the spices and smelling the curry as it is cooking.

This recipe is for four people, but if there are only the two of you, make the full amount in the recipe and freeze the rest for a rainy day.

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LAMB KOFTA CURRY

This is one of our favourite lamb curries, it's ridiculously simple to make and perfect for a Friday or Saturday evening meal.

The star ingredient in the sauce is Patak's Korma Curry Paste with coconut and coriander. You can read about Patak's on their very informative site here where they list the ingredients, nutritional information and lots of other useful details about their products.

A couple of comments regarding the ingredients list, I always dry fry coriander seeds and then grind them in the pestle and mortar. Any remaining fresh ginger can be successfully frozen, and then grated into any future recipes directly from the freezer, (there is no need to remove the brown outer layer of the ginger).

I have slightly adapted the amount of sauce from the original recipe, we prefer plenty of sauce to go with our rice and naan bread.

This recipe freezes well and if you only need enough for two, the other half can be frozen for a rainy day.

HOT FOOD

ISBN 1740452259 - Page 146

Serves 4

500g minced lamb, 1 onion (finely chopped), 1 finely chopped garlic clove, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 finely chopped small chilli, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 50g ground almonds, 2 tablespoons chopped coriander to garnish.

For the sauce: 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 finely chopped onion, 4½ tablespoons Korma curry paste, 1½ cans chopped tomatoes (600g), 180g thick natural yoghurt, 1½ teaspoons lemon juice.

1. Combine the lamb, onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, garam masala, ground coriander, ground almonds in a bowl. Shape into walnut size balls with your hands.
2. Heat a large non-stick frying pan and cook the koftas in batches until brown on both sides - they will not need to be cooked all through.
3. To make the sauce: heat the oil in a saucepan over low heat. Add the onion and cook for 8 minutes, or until soft and golden. Add the curry paste and cook until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the yoghurt (1 tablespoon at a time) and the lemon juice, stirring until combined.
4. Place the koftas in the tomato sauce. Cook, covered, over low heat for 20 minutes. Serve over steamed rice and garnish with the coriander.

QUICK CHICKEN CURRY

"A chef called Ben, who used to work with Nick Nairn's good friend Phil Vickery, created this fab curry". The original recipe is apparently from Phil Vickery's book, Simply Food, and Nick Nairn tells us that he makes this recipe "when I'm in the mood for a quick curry fix".

I love home cooked curry and this recipe is full of amazing flavours without being too hot.

Instead of the canned coconut milk, I use powdered coconut milk by Maggi, and all you do is measure an amount out according to the packet instructions, then add warm water and stir to give coconut milk. I buy mine from the Asian stall in my local market unfortunately, I haven't seen it in a supermarket.

NICK NAIRN'S TOP 100 CHICKEN RECIPES


ISBN 0563487046 - Page 108

Serves: 8 (but can easily be scaled down).

You will need:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
900g boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3cm cubes
2 onions, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon grated fresh root ginger
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chilli powder
400g can chopped tomatoes
400g can coconut milk
450ml chicken stock
4 tablespoons mango chutney
250g baby spinach leaves, stalks removed
200g Greek-style yoghurt
freshly ground sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
boiled rice and naan bread, to serve

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large pan and add the chicken cubes. Quickly fry the cubes until lightly browned all over. Remove from the heat and drain on kitchen paper.
2. Add the remaining oil to the pan, together with the onions, garlic and ginger, and cook gently for a few minutes until softened and golden brown. Add the flour and spices and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk and return the chicken cubes to the pan. Add just enough stock to cover them, scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan and stir well. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Lastly, stir in the chutney and add the spinach. Cook for a couple of minutes until the spinach has just wilted, and then stir in the yoghurt and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with some boiled rice and naan bread. Delicious.