Malaysian Chicken Curry

I was 19. And it was my first trip abroad. And talking of a cherry on the cake – I was going to travel with a friend, no cautious father, no nagging mother nor a petulant, almost-teenager brother. Of course, we tried to overlook the fact that my friend’s father was travelling with us. We had worked out a plan around this tiny glitch. The destination was South East Asia – of course you already guessed that.

Now my friend was not really interested in food. She was weaving her dreams around designer shops and nightclubs but I was drooling, even in my sleep thinking about all the amazing street food I would wolf down in Bangkok, of Malaysian curries and Singaporean noodles. 

However, Bengalis irrespective of the fact that they are famous for their fabled wander lust, have a tendency to look for their aloo-posto bhaat and machher jhol no matter where they go. Not all of them, but most of them.  And I don’t mean to demean any community; in fact I hear it is a pan-Indian problem, every community has their fare share of such people. No offense meant. For me, it would be a nightmare, no matter how much I love; in fact I am obsessed with it, aloo posto. Anyway, so we were travelling with a tour company who took no chance when it came to food. So in Bangkok we were served chicken tikka and butter paneer, everyday, while in Singapore we ate at a Bangladeshi restaurant and in Malaysia, a South Indian restaurant. They made sure we remained connected to our culinary roots, much to my dismay.

My brother, the same petulant guy I mentioned early, only he is older now. And grouchier, I think, went to Bangkok recently and came back with foodie-tales that had me slobbering and drooling all the while. I cursed my  stars at the thought of my trip to the South East. So I have been pondering over the idea of cooking something Asian and finally got myself to try this Malaysian Chicken Curry.

I usually do not cook Asian food except the occasional Chinese, but to say, I officially turned a fan of cooking Asian food. I already loved eating it of course. The smell of lemon grass and Kaffir lime leaves, the creamy coconut milk and the spices, it is so satisfying! 

And the meal that followed this evening, was even more satisfying. A slavoursome curry, but so light on the palette. Do try it. 

Ingredients

• 1 tbs peanut oil (I used vegetable oil)
• 2 brown onions, cut into wedges
• 8 (about 800g) chicken thigh fillets, cut into 3cm pieces
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 star anise
• 400ml coconut milk
• 1/2 cup (125ml) chicken stock
• 2 tsp grated palm sugar
• 2 tbs fish sauce
• Finely shredded kaffir lime leaves, to serve.

Curry paste

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 long fresh red chillies, seeded, finely chopped (seeds optional)
• 2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, finely chopped
• 1 tbs finely grated fresh ginger
• 4 purple Asian shallots, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 cup (60ml) peanut oil (or vegetable oil)

1. Place all curry paste ingredients in a food processor and process until a smooth paste forms. Season with salt and pepper.
   
2. Step 2 Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion softens. Add curry paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add chicken, lime leaves, cinnamon, star anise, coconut milk and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, or until sauce thickens and chicken is tender. Remove from heat. Add palm sugar and fish sauce; stir to combine. Taste and season with sugar and fish sauce.
   
3. Step 3 Spoon among serving bowls. Top with lime leaves and serve with rice, if desired.
   
   
   

Recipe courtesy Sarah Hobbs http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/19844/malaysian+chicken+curry
Thanks Sarah, wherever you are for such an awesome recipe.

An ode to Calcutta's Continental Cuisine

In the 90s, and I am a 90s kid, typical Calcuttan knew three kinds of cuisines, Indian, Chinese and Continental. Global cuisine, world cuisine, etc were terms yet to enter the culinary fabric of Calcutta, and specialty cuisines like Japanese and Italian were nowhere in the vicinity. And the typical Calcuttan khadyoroshik was pretty happy with the situation. Of course Chinese food ruled the roster, and the ubiquitous chilli-chicken-fried-rice said in one breadth was a perennial favourite and of course the Chow, hakka and gravy (not Cantonese style, but gravy). 

Now coming to Continental cuisine — Chicken roast and prawn cocktail definitely topped the charts, some wopuld say, while others would vouch for the steaks and sizzlers. And Continental Cusine had within its fold everything from the American Tetrazini to the Russian Stroganoff. There seemed to have been a general belief  (except among those who loved it) that Continental food was either bland or had too much cream and cheese. Through my childhood my favourite food was Chicken Tetrazini, and it was BECAUSE of the cream and cheese. 

Anyway, this dish, is my ode to Continental Cuisine of Calcutta. I made it with fish last night, you could do it with chicken too, while sipping on a glass of rum and coke. It had been a tiring day and I wanted to whip up something simple, and was itching to use the block of Parmesan I had brought home the day before.

So what you have is perfectly cooked, tender and flaky pieces of fish in a creamy sauce under a crisp, beautiful golden crust. I love it. Yet to think of a name for this one.

Ingredients

Bekti (fillet, cut in 2 inch cubes) - 1kg
Plain flour - 1 tsp 
Garlic paste - 1 tsp 
Fresh cream - 100g
Parmesan cheese (grated)- 1/2 + 1/2 cup 
Fresh chopped parsley - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Fresh coursely ground pepper - 2 tbsp
Bread crumbs - 2 tbsp (approx)

Method 

Season the fish well and line them the pieces to cover the bottom of your baking tray.

In a bowl, mix together the fresh cream, grated Parmesan (one part), garlic paste, flour, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley (leave a little for garnish). Pour the mixture on to the fish so that it covers the fish.

In the meantime preheat oven at 170 degree centigrade. 

Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top so that it covers the dish more or less evenly. Do the same with the rest of the Parmesan.

Bake the fish at 170 degree centigrade for 20 minutes.

Garnish with parsley and eat it piping hot. Yes I said eat and not serve.

Rocket and Orange salad with Grilled Five Spice Chicken

 

A few days ago one of my friends asked me to toss up and share the recipe for a good salad that spelt winter. She is one of the people who have followed and encouraged my blog since I started a couple of months (three actually) ago and I had to keep her request. 

In fact, I had visualised this salad as and while I was speaking to her, promising her to share a recipe soon. She said winter and she uttered salad and images of luscious oranges, green rocket and, well....meat. It's crazy how I always want meat in my salad. I think it has something to do with my unnatural aversion for healthy everything. 

Anyway, so this is a simple salad with orange and rocket leaves and some grilled chicken. I have used a vinaigrette, a pretty simple one. Just a  little honey, mustard and orange juice. I had thought of tossing in some fresh parsley but decided against it at the last moment. However, its the chicken which gives the twist to the salad. Chicken marinated with some orange juice, garlic and five spice powder. Now I was initially a little apprehensive whether five spice and Dijon Mustard would go together...but they hit it off right from the word go. As for rocket. they are my favourite salad greens, I don't do salad without those in. 

This recipe however is more of an idea. I think salads should be an informal affair. Something you could toss up while sipping on some wine and listening to Adele (I am currently in Adelle mode, in fact Rolling in the deep playing right now) without a care. Although this one is not exactly the toss up and go deal, still I wanted to leave the space for you to do it your way, just how you like it. Pour in as much or as little of each ingredient as you wan, to give yourself a salad just like you like it. What I can vouch for is the combination of flavours. 

Hope you guys like the recipe and please let me know how you find it if and when you toss it up.

Making the chicken

Boneless chicken  

Garlic paste

Orange juice

Honey  

Salt

Paprika

Five spice powder

Oil

Method

Marinate the chicken with the above ingredients and keep aside for about half an hour.

Pre heat oven at 200 degree centigrade and grill the chicken at the same temperature for 25-30 minutes.  If you don’t want to use the oven, grill the chicken on a griddle.

Keep the chicken aside, juices intact.

 

For the dressing

Ingredients

Orange juice

Honey

Dijon Mustard

Garlic paste

Red wine vinegar

Salt to taste

Method

Blend the honey, Dijon mustard and garlic paste well.

Add the orange juice, red wine vinegar, salt, beat and blend well.

 

 

For the salad

Ingredients

Rocket leaves

Orange (pips removed)

Salt and pepper 

Getting it together

Break the chicken pieces with your fingers into smaller pieces. Toss in the rocket leaves, oranges into the chicken (the juices and all) and toss well. Ladle in some dressing or serve it on the side. This one’s one helluva salad!

  

 

PS: Be careful with the oranges. Check how they taste before you jump into the act. Go easy with the orange juice too, you want the flavour, but you don’t want the salad to be too acidic.  

Adana Kebab

It goes without saying that if you're in Turkey brace yourself for the most amazing assortment of kebabs you just can't have enough of . And while in Istanbul, it was my sworn agenda to try as many different kinds as I could. For months, before the trip, I had dreamed about, drooled over and craved those morsels of deliciousness and how.

Once in Istanbul, I wasted no time.

So, there was the Iskender Kebab, a heap of sliced grilled lamb, doused in a subtly flavoured tomato sauce, served with generous dollops of fresh curd. And some restaurants serve a side of potato wedges too! I had my share of the Iskender Kebab at The Pudding Shop, off Sultanahmet Square. The lamb melted in my mouth laced with the flavours of the tomato sauce. And the spoon of thick, creamy yogurt that followed was oh-so soothing on the palate. This was my kind of goodness.

But I was too full to finish the dish and at the end I got to simply fishing the lamb pieces out of the sauce only to be admonished by one of the managers of the restaurant, who told me how I was missing out on the best part of the dish. Which is? Cleaning out the tomato sauce, infused with the juiced from the meat, with some bread. "Scoop it up, scoop it up," he hollered, (yes hollered). I did just that at the risk of an exploded tummy.

Again, though it might sound odd but the best meatballs I have had during my stay in Istanbul were at the Sultanahmet FISH House. So, you have the usual meatballs, KOFTE, served in a light gravy and then you have the grilled ones, soft and smokey, served with a buttery pilaf loaded with pine nuts and an enormous portion of chips — my favourite. I have had grilled kofte in  at least five places during my four days in Istanbul and the most flavourful were the once in Sultanahmet Fish House. And the owner (or manager, I am not sure) Oktay bey turned out to be quite a man, hospitable and helpful.

Then there was the ubiquitous doner, and yes the icli kofte, which I didn't get to taste until the last day and only by chance, just when I had given up on finding it. But that's another story. But one kebab that was a surprise for me, I hadn't heard or read about it before going to Turkey, was the spicy Adana Kebab.

We tasted the Adana Kebab at the Buhara Kebab Restaurant, Sultanahmet. The restaurant was in the same building as the hotel we were staying in and during the first three days of my stay I had completely ignored it. Mostly because we assumed it was not worth a gander and definitely not one of the legendary kebab places we were on the look out for. In fact, I hadn't even noticed the name. But it happened that my brother (also my travel companion) made friends with the guys at the restaurant over an iPhone charger and he insisted we dine at the restaurant on the day we were leaving Istanbul for Cappadocia. I agreed reluctantly only to find out that this place was in fact rated No 1 Kebab Place on Trip Advisor. I had read about it too, just that the name had slipped my mind. And there it had been...all this time.

It was a a great experience made even better by the staff. The young guys who man the restaurant are extremely friendly and add a special note to your dining experience. And I was smitten by the Adana Kebab. The Adana Kebab originated in Adana, one of Turkey's famous Kebab towns, the other being Urfa.  It is spicier than most of the other kebabs we tried and we loved it. The recipe I am sharing is not from any one place, it has bits and pieces from different sources, including little tips from my friends in Istanbul.  It turned out great. I made mini versions though, the real thing it longer.
 

Ingredients

Lamb minced - 1.5 kg
Onions (minced) - 1 cup
Red Bell pepper (minced) - 1 large 
Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Ginger  paste- 2 tbsp
Curd - 150 g 
Finely chopped parsley - 3/4 cup
Finely chopped coriander leaves - 1/4 cup (optional)

Sumac - 11/2 tbsp
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Cumin powder - 2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tbsp
Red chili flakes - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil 1/2 cup

Method: JUST 2 STEPS REALLY

Marinate the meat overnight with all the other ingredients and refrigerate.

Make croquet shaped kebabs with the spiced mix or use skewers and grill it on a griddle or slip it into a preheated over (220 degree centigrade) for about 15-20 minutes or until kebabs are soft and succulent. Serve it with a side of buttered rice or Turkish pilaf (recipe posted earlier) and some salad.

CHEERS!!!
PS: You can order for sumac online if you do not get it in your town/city.