Monsoon Coventry

Had a lovely meal last night in the Monsoon, back to its best and arrived within 10 minutes. How can they prepare it that quick?

basic curry sauce

Description

This is the basis for many of the restaurant-style curries you'll find here. The recipe makes between 8 and 9 fl oz of Sauce which is enough for 2 main course curries or a main course and some side dishes. The recipe doesn't work as well if you try to make a smaller portion. It will double nicely if you're making a number of curries but you will need to extend the cooking time a bit. If you have some sauce left over it will keep in good condition in the freezer but only for a few weeks. Even small amounts are useful for making a quick one-portion curry, it goes a long way. Remember to wrap it up well or your ice-cream may take on a strange taste!.

Ingredients 

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion - finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic - peeled and sliced
• 1.5 inch piece root ginger - peeled and thinly sliced (it should look about the same volume as the garlic)
• 2 mild fleshy green chillies - de-seeded and veined then chopped
• half teaspoon turmeric powder
• half teaspoon ground cumin seed
• half teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1 tablespoon concentrated tomato purée  mixed with 4 tablespoons water

Method

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan then add the chopped onion and stir for a few minutes with the heat on high.
2. Add the ginger, garlic and green chilli. Stir for 30 seconds then put the heat down to very low.
3. Cook for 15 minutes stirring from time to time making sure nothing browns or burns.
4. Add the turmeric, cumin and coriander and cook, still very gently, for a further 5 minutes. Don't burn the spices or the sauce will taste horrid - sprinkle on a few drops of water if you're worried.
5. Take off the heat and cool a little. Put 4 fl oz cold water in a blender, add the contents of the pan and whizz until very smooth. Add the tomato and stir.
6. Put the puréed mixture back into the pan and cook for 20 - 30 minutes (the longer the better) over very low heat stirring occasionally. You can add a little hot water if it starts to catch on the pan but the idea is to gently "fry" the sauce which will darken in colour to an orangy brown. The final texture should be something like good tomato ketchup.

Kashmiri Chicken (Kashmiri Murgh)

We use this recipe at home without the raisins, very nice curry

• Serves 4
• Preparation Time 10 mins
• Cooking Time 20 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 400g chicken breast, diced
• 75g onions, sliced
• 300g chopped canned tomatoes
• 2 tbsp Patak’s Kashmiri Masala Curry Paste
• 25g cashew nuts
• 25g raisins
• 100ml single cream
• 75ml water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• salt, to taste

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions for 2 minutes. Add the Patak’s Kashmiri Masala Curry Paste. Sprinkle in some water if the paste begins to stick, and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Add the diced chicken and cook for another 2 minutes.
2. Add the cashew nuts, raisins, chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
3. Add a little water during cooking if the sauce looks a little dry.
4. Add the cream and check the sesoning. Add salt and sugar if required and heat gently for further 2 minutes.
5. Serve with piping hot rice, and garnished with fresh coriander.

Chicken Tikka recipe from the BBC not tried yet, but will soon

Preparation time over 2 hours

Cooking time less than 10 mins 

Don’t let the cheese in the marinade throw you - this is an authentic tandoori recipe. Chefs first introduced cheese to quieten the flavours of the original chicken tikka for the tourists and replaced the strong flavours with more delicate spices.

Ingredients
For the marinade
150ml/5fl oz Greek-style yoghurt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2.5cm/1in piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
¼-½ tsp red chilli powder, or to taste
1 tsp garam masala
generous pinch green and black cardamom seeds and fennel seeds, ground together
¾-1 tsp salt, or to taste
30g/1oz cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1½ tbsp lemon juice
1 free-range egg, beaten
2 rounded tbsp gram flour

For the chicken
400g/14oz chicken breasts, skin and bones removed, cut into 2.5cm/1in cubes
oil, for brushing
2 tbsp melted butter, to baste

To serve
¾ tsp chaat masala (optional), available from Asian stores and some supermarkets
5 ready-made flour tortillas, wrapped in foil and placed in the oven for the last five minutes of cooking
½ onion, finely sliced
2 tomatoes, finely sliced
1 Little Gem lettuce, finely sliced
150ml/5fl oz Green chutney

You’ll need ten wooden skewers, soaked in water for half an hour 

Method
1. For the chicken, place all the marinade ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Pierce the chicken pieces all over with a fork and add to the marinade. Leave to marinate in the fridge for a few hours, if possible, bringing the chicken back to room temperature before cooking.
2. To cook the chicken, preheat the grill to medium. Brush the grill rack liberally with oil and place some aluminium foil on the oven floor to catch any drips. Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers, spacing them apart so they do not touch. Grill for 6-8 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time. Then baste the chicken with the butter and grill for another minute, or until slightly charred at the edges and completely cooked through.
3. Using a fork, slide the chicken pieces off the skewers and sprinkle over the chaat masala, if using. Divide the chicken into five equal portions and place each portion in the middle of a warmed tortilla. Top with the sliced vegetables and a spoonful of the chutney. Fold over the top of the tortilla and pull in the sides. Cut in half on the diagonal and serve

Tandoori chicken with black lentil sauce and herb pulao, served with rocket and mango salad

Ingredients

For the first marinade
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, from a jar (or cursh together fresh garlic and ginger to form a paste) 
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
For the chicken
4 chicken breasts on the bone, skin removed, scored with 3 or 4 incisions 
melted butter and oil, for basting
1½ tsp lime juice
1 tsp chaat masala (a mixture of dried spices and chillies, available from Asian grocers)
salt
4 Peshawari naan, to serve
For the second marinade
250g/9oz thick plain yoghurt
1 tsp garam masala
100ml/3½fl oz vegetable oil
½ tsp ground cinnamon 
½ tsp red chilli powder
pinch of edible red colouring (optional)
1 tsp salt
For the black lentil sauce
200g/7oz black lentils
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger 
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 whole green chillies 
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (see above)
½ green chilli, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp each red chilli powder, ground coriander, ground turmeric, garam masala and fenugreek leaf powder
30g/1oz butter
2 tbsp single cream
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
salt
For the herb pulao
15g/½oz butter
2 tsp vegetable oil
100g/3½oz onion, sliced
2.5cm/1in cinnamon stick
2 black cardamoms, crushed
1 blade mace
500g/1lb 2oz basmati rice, washed and soaked for 10-20 minutes
1 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp puréed spinach, coriander and mint 
2 tbsp mascarpone or double cream
For the rocket and mango salad
25g/1oz baby rocket leaves 
1 Granny Smith apple, cut into julienne 
1 green (unripe) mango, cut into julienne
vinaigrette made with oil and lime juice

Method
1. Mix together the ingredients for the first marinade. Rub all over the chicken breasts, then leave in the fridge for 20 minutes so the juices can drain.
2. Mix the ingredients for the second marinade. Add the chicken and turn to coat, then leave in a cool place for 2-3 hours. 
3. Meanwhile, make the black lentil sauce. Put the lentils, two tbsp of the oil, the ginger, garlic and whole chillies in a pan and cover with
water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently until the lentils are cooked to a soft texture and the liquid has reduced. Discard the garlic and chillies.
4. Prepare the seasoning for the lentil sauce by sautéing the cumin seeds, ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chilli
in the remaining oil until soft. Stir in the tomato paste followed by all the ground spices. 
5. Add the cooked lentils to the seasoning and simmer for 10-15 minutes. 
6. Add the butter, cream and coriander with salt to taste. Blend with a hand blender to give a sauce consistency. Set aside, and reheat for serving.
7. Next make the pulao. Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan and fry the onions with the cinnamon, cardamom and mace until golden brown. 
8. Add the drained rice, salt and 1 litre/1¾ pints of water. Bring to the boil, then cover the pan tightly and cook until the rice is tender and all liquid has been absorbed. Add the spinach and herb purée and mascarpone or cream just before serving.
9. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
10. While the rice is cooking, thread the chicken breasts onto skewers, place the breasts on a non-stick baking tray and cook in the oven for
three minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 160C/325F/Gas 3 and cook for a further 15 minutes. 
11. Baste the chicken breasts with the butter-oil mixture and cook for a further five minutes or until the
chicken is cooked through (juices will run clear). Remove from the oven, baste the chicken again and sprinkle with the lime juice and chaat masala. Keep hot. 
12. Toss all the ingredients together for the salad.
13. To serve, ladle the sauce onto four plates and spread out to cover. Place a large spoonful of herb pulao in the centre of each plate, set a tandoori chicken breast on the rice and garnish with the rocket and mango salad. Place the Peshawari naan on the side.

Chicken Kashmiri (not used this one yet)

A Kashmiri dish, flavored with chillis and almonds.

Ingredients:

4 chicken Drumsticks, Skinned
4 chicken Thighs, Skinned
5 oz Natural Yogurt
4 tb Tikka Curry Paste
2 tb Sunflower Oil
1 md Onion, Peeled, Thinly Sliced
1 Clove garlic, crushed
1 ts Ground Cumin
1 ts Chopped Fresh Ginger
1/2 ts Chilli Paste
4 tb chicken stock
2 tb Ground Almonds
Salt

Garnish:
Toasted Flaked Almonds
Coriander Leaves

Method
Slash chicken at intervals and place in a bowl. Mix together yogurt and
curry paste, then stir into chicken, coating evenly. Cover and Chill
for 1 hour.

1) Heat oil in a large pan and fry onion and garlic for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in cumin, ginger and chilli and cook gently for 1 minute.

2) Add chicken and fry gently, turning occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

3) Stir in any remaining marinade with stock and ground almonds. Cover
and simmer for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Add salt
to taste.

4) Scatter flaked almonds over chicken and garnish with coriander.

Chicken Curry With Cashew Coconut Sauce

Another chicken recipe (I do like my chicken curries), this time from F

Aziz, with a creamy coconut and cashew sauce. This is another recipe
that seems to share Indian and Thai flavours.

Ingredients
3-pound chicken
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons fennel
2 teaspoons cumin
0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2.5 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon raw rice
2 tablespoons desiccated, unsweetened coconut
2 whole cloves
3 cardamon pods
2 tablespoons raw cashews
4 tablespoons corn oil
0.5 teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds
1 stick of cinnamon
2 cloves garlic, splintered
5 tablespoons splintered shallots
2-inch fresh pandanus leaf
1 fresh green chili, chopped
1 cup peeled and chopped tomato
0.5 cup fresh coconut milk

 

Method
1) Skinned the chicken and cut into serving pieces. Put them in a large
bowl. Add the cumin, fennel, cayenne pepper, coriander and 1 teaspoon
of the salt. Rub those spices all over the chicken and leave them for
about 20 minutes.

2) Put the rice in a cast-iron frying pan, set over medium-high heat
and stir well until it turns golden. Add the coconut and stir it until
it turns golden.

3) Withdraw it and let it cool. Take this mixture with the cardamon and
grind them with the spices. Empty into a bowl, continue mixing and
slowly pour 0.5 cup of water along the way. You have yourself a paste
now. Put it aside for a while.

4) Put the corn oil into a lidded pan and set over medium-high heat.

5) When the oil is hot, add the pandanus leaf, chili, garlic, shallots, fenugreek seeds and cinnamon. Stir for about 3 minutes.

6) Add the chicken and brown lightly, don’t stop stirring. Put in the
the remaining 1.5 teaspoons of salt, 2.5 cup of water and the tomato.
Stir in the spice and nut paste. Wait until it boils, cover it, reduce
the heat to low and cook gently for about 30 minutes.

7) Stir in the coconut milk and heat through.

Serve it for 4.