Indian Fish Curry

Recipe adapted from Coles Magazine, July 2013 page 55

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 brown onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
½ teaspoon ginger, grated
2 bird's eye chillies, chopped
750g white fish fillets, cut into 3cm pieces
500g jar Patak's Korma simmer sauce
¼ cup water
200g Perino tomatoes
1 cup frozen baby peas
¼ cup flaked almonds, toasted, to serve
¼ cup coriander leaves, to serve
Naan bread, to serve

Method

1. Cook rice following packet directions
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add almonds and toss or stir for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
3. Add the oil to pan and increase heat to medium-high. Add the onion, garlic, chillies and ginger. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until onions are soft. Add fish, simmer sauce and water. Cook for 5 minutes or until fish is opaque. Add tomatoes and peas. Cook for 2 minutes or until soft.
4. Top curry with almonds and coriander and serve with rice and naan bread.

Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals Beef Kofta Curry Fluffy Rice, Beans & Peas

I couldn't find the ready to eat Puy lentils in this recipe so I substituted with 3/4 cup green lentils which I soaked overnight. I also added 1 grated onion and halved the quantity of the rice ingredients. Below is my modified recipe.

Recipe adapted from Jamie's 15 Minute Meals page 66

*Ingredients out *Kettle boiled *Large frying pan, high heat *Medium lidded casserole pan, high heat *Liquidizer (blender)

Ingredients
Curry
¾ cup green lentils (soaked overnight)
1 heaped teaspoon garam masala
500g lean beef mince
1 onion, grated
olive oil
3 ripe tomatoes
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger (1 teaspoon grated ginger)
2 spring onions
1 fresh red chilli
1 bunch of fresh coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon runny honey
2 heaped teaspoon Patak's rogan josh curry paste
270ml tin of light coconut milk
4 tablespoons fat-free yoghurt, to serve
1 lemon

Rice
½ mug of 10-minute wholegrain or basmati rice
5 cardamon pods
100g green or yellow beans
100g frozen peas
2 uncooked poppadoms

Method

Put the lentils into a bowl with salt, pepper, the garam masala, mince and onion, then mix and scrunch together with clean hands. Divide the mixture in half, then with wet hands quickly squeeze and mould each half into 6 fat fingers. Put them into the frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, turning when golden.

Put ½ mug of rice, 1 mug of boiling water and the cardamon pods into the casserole pan, then halve and add the beans and put the lid on. Squash the tomatoes into the liquidizer, add the peeled ginger, trimmed spring onions, half the chilli, the coriander stalks, turmeric, honey, curry paste and coconut milk, then blitz until combined. Pour into the kofta pan, bring to the boil, then simmer and season to taste.

Take the lid off the rice, add the peas, mix it all up and give it just a few more minutes. Crack up the uncooked poppadoms and pop them in the microwave (800W) for a minute or two to puff up. Finely slice the remaining chilli and the coriander leaves and scatter them over the curry, dollop with yoghurt, then serve with lemon wedges, poppadoms and the rice, beans and peas.

Thai Red Duck Curry with Pineapple & Lychees

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-2 tablespoons red curry paste
250ml chicken stock
270ml coconut cream
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown or palm sugar
1 small red capsicum, seeded and chopped into 2cm pieces
¾ cup chopped fresh pineapple, cut into 2cm pieces
½ cup fresh or canned lychees, halved
10 cherry or grape tomatoes
2 duck breasts, trimmed
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 tablespoons whole Thai basil leaves
½ teaspoon finely shredded Kaffir lime leaves
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the curry paste and stir fry for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken stock, coconut cream, fish sauce and brown sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Add the capsicum and cook for 2 minutes then add the pineapple, lychees and tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook the duck breasts for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden brown and cooked to your liking. Remove from heat and drain on paper towel. Cover and keep warm. (Rest the duck)
3. Thickly slice the duck. Stir lime juice through red curry mixture and divide among serving bowls. Top with duck and sprinkle with basil leaves and kaffir lime leaves. Serve with rice.

Notes & Tips

You can substitute duck breasts with ½ Chinese barbecue duck. Remove skin and bones, shred the flesh and place on an oven tray. Place in a 180°C oven and cook for 10 minutes or until duck is warmed through.

To help release the fat from duck breasts, prick skin all over with a fork before adding to the pan.

Thai Green Chicken Curry

I love a good curry- it's sweet, rich, spicy and warming to the belly. Making curry from scratch makes the best tasting curry but if you don't have the time, using a good brand of pre-made curry paste and coconut milk can still taste just as good.
Curry is also great to prepare the night before to allow the flavours to build up and intensify. Just make sure that when you reheat it, do it slowly so that you don't allow the coconut milk to boil or you'll end up curdling it- which is what happened to mine when I made this curry for a family dinner on Xmas day! It doesn't affect the flavour too much but doesn't make your curry look very attractive since you'll have small uneven lumps floating on the surface.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1-2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
1kg boneless & skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into 3cm pieces
4 tablespoons fresh basil leaves
6 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
400ml coconut milk
250ml chicken stock
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown or palm sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 small baby eggplant- halved lengthways, cut into 2cm pieces
1 small carrot, coarsely chopped or 1 large zucchini, coarsely chopped
1 small broccoli, trimmed, cut into florets or 100g beans, topped
50g baby corn- halved lengthways
Sliced red chilli, Thai basil leaves & finely shredded kaffir lime leaves to garnish
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over a high heat, add onions and cook for 3 minutes or until golden. Stir in curry paste and cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
2. Add chicken, basil, lime leaves, lemongrass, coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce, brown sugar and lime juice and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, add all the vegetables and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until chicken is tender and sauce is thick. Serve garnished with chilli, basil and kaffir lime leaves. Serve with steamed rice

Notes & Tips

Depending on the brand of curry paste you use it can vary in heat and flavour intensity. I've used anywhere between 1 tablespoon to half a jar! It depends on how hot you like your curry and how familiar you are with the brand you use. Experiment until you find the right one for you.

I prefer to use the Maesri brand green curry paste but it's very, very hot! So use no more than 1 tablespoon if you like your curry mild.

Make ahead tips:

If making the curry the night before, do not add the lime juice until right at the end when ready to serve

Add the chicken and vegetables during reheating to keep chicken moist and vegetables crisp

Reheat the curry over a low temperature to avoid coconut milk from curdling

Curry Puffs

Makes 48

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
500g chicken mince
1 large potato, peeled, cut into 1cm cubes
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
1 teaspoon ground chilli powder (½ teaspoon if using the hot variety)
2kg puff pastry,
1 egg, lightly beaten (for brushing pastry)
Sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Method

 Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft. Increase heat to high. Add mince and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up mince, for 4 minutes or until browned. Add potato and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Combine soy sauce, water, curry powder and chilli powder in a jug. Add to mince mixture. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes or until liquid has almost evaporated. Set aside to cool completely. (If possible, cool overnight in the refrigerator as the mince should set or harden to allow for the assembly of curry puffs the next day).

Using a 10 cm biscuit cutter, cut rounds from the puff pastry. Spoon 1 tablespoon mince mixture into centre of each pastry round. Fold pastry in half to enclose mixture and crimp the edges to secure the filling. Brush the curry puffs with egg wash and place on a greased baking tray. Bake in pre-heated oven at 200°C for 15 minutes or until golden.

Serve either hot or cold as a snack or starter

Vietnamese Chicken Curry

I've always wanted to try and make Vietnamese Chicken Curry at home. So when a Vietnamese friend of mine offered her mum's recipe for me to try out, I was very excited and couldn't wait to start cooking. Unfortunately with many Asian mum recipes, quantities of ingredients and timing can vary since a lot of them don't use measuring cups or spoons and don't follow a step by step recipe when they cook. Instead they often adjust taste as necessary or prefer to look at the consistency of the dish as they are cooking. So when I got my friend's mum's recipe, there were a few steps I wasn't too clear about, nor could I locate all the ingredients written in the recipe. So instead I have modified her recipe and incorporated principles from other Vietnamese curry recipes to make the following recipe below:

Ingredients

1kg chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, cut into small cubes

Marinade:
1 tbsp mild curry powder
2 tbsp Vietnamese curry granules added to 100ml hot water
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
4 birds eye chillies, chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, crushed
4 curry leaves
1 brown onion, chopped
½ tbsp instant coffee granules added to ¼ cup hot water

1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
400ml  Yeo's Singapore hot curry sauce
1 x 375ml can coconut juice
1 lemongrass stalk, outer leaves removed and lower two-thirds of the stalks (the whitish bits) cut into roughly 2 inch pieces and bruised with the back of a knife
Vegetable oil

Method

Add all the marinade ingredients together with the chicken into a mixing bowl. Mix well then place into a large ziplock bag. Leave in the fridge to marinate overnight to allow the flavours to develop.

Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large heavy based fry pan and shallow fry the potatoes over high heat until brown (it is not necessary to completely cook the potatoes at this point, only to brown them). When well browned, remove from the pan and set aside until ready to cook the curry. This helps to keep their shape when added to the curry.

Add some more of the vegetable oil (approx 2 tbsp) and fry the marinated chicken until it is golden brown on all sides. (You may want to do this in several batches to avoid steaming the chicken). Set aside on a plate lined with paper towels.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, over low heat, add the can of Singapore hot curry sauce and coconut juice. Transfer the chicken and lemongrass stalks into the curry sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the root vegetables to the curry. Replace the lid and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve with rice

Notes & Tips

Whilst it may seem odd that instant coffee is added to curry, it's not that uncommon in Asian curries, since it adds a more robust flavour to the dish.

Thai Prawn & Pumpkin Curry

Recipe adapted from Super Food Ideas magazine, May 2008 edition, page 37

Serves 4

Ingredients

Olive oil spray
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 large brown onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
400g butternut pumpkin, peeled, cut into 3cm pieces
1 tablespoon fish sauce
270ml can light coconut milk
1 long red chilli (or 2 Birdseye chilli), deseeded, thinly sliced
¾ cup cold water
800g medium green king prawns, peeled, deveined, tails intact
100g green beans, trimmed, cut into 4cm lengths
1 small broccoli, cut into florets, steamed or microwaved
steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Arrange the pumpkin in a single layer, in a large roasting pan. Spray some olive oil and toss to coat. Bake in oven for approx. 8 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat. Cook onion and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes or until onion is softened. Add curry paste. Cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
3. Add pumpkin, fish sauce, coconut milk, half the chilli and cold water. Simmer for a few minutes or until pumpkin is just tender and sauce has thickened slightly.
4. Add prawns, broccoli and beans. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes or until prawns are cooked through and beans tender. Top with remaining chilli. Serve with rice.

Peach and Mango Chicken Curry

A super tasty alternative to Apricot Chicken.

Ingredients

1 kilo chicken drumsticks or chicken pieces on bone (approx. 8 drumsticks)
1-2 onions, sliced finely
1 x 800g can peaches in mango syrup
1½ tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon Moroccan spice
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon coconut essence
2 cubes chicken stock
1 tablespoon corn flour
¼ cup water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150⁰C
2. Using a pan that can be placed in the oven...
3. Fry up the chicken drumsticks with some oil until they are browned all over, then set aside on a plate lined with paper towels.
4. Fry onions until soft and transparent. Add the curry powder, Moroccan spice and stock cubes and cook for 1 minute to release flavour. Return chicken drumsticks back into the pan.
   
5. Add in the whole tin of peaches in mango syrup (including the mango syrup) and stir to mix.
6. Add a pinch of salt and the coconut essence.
7. Put lid on pan and place in oven to casserole for 1 hour.
8. After 1 hour, mix the water and corn flour together in a cup, remove casserole from oven and stir in water and flour mixture to thicken the sauce.
9. Serve with steamed veggies and rice.

Notes and Tips

Adjust the amount of curry powder to your personal taste.
Adjust the amount of thickening needed to suit dish.
Remove the skin from the drumsticks if you would like a healthier version.