Another Indian snack/starter, which I’m a little obsessed with of late. Chunks of chicken are marinated in yoghurt and spices, then roasted quickly in a hot oven. Not as good as those produced by the tandoor, but they taste great. Just like the Seekh Kebab, you could add some red food colouring for that authentic Indian restaurant vibe but it’s not necessary.
Ingredients
- 2 large free-range chicken fillets
- 8 tbsp natural yoghurt
- ½ tsp sea salt
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp of the following: ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, paprika
- 2 tsp garam masala
- ½ chilli powder
- 2 red onions
Method
- Cut the chicken into large pieces, about the size of a walnut, and place in a mixing bowl.
- Add the yoghurt, lemon juice, salt and ground spices and mix well. Cut the red onions into quarters and add to the chicken. Mix again and leave to marinate for an hour.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Thread the chicken and onion pieces onto skewers. If you’re using wooden skewers, remember to soak them in water for an hour first.
- Place the skewers on a grill pan and roast for about 15 mins. You can also use a grill rack on a baking sheet.
- I like to serve these on naan bread with mango chutney and yoghurt.
Serves 2.
This is my new Christmas stuffing recipe, which I adapted from a recipe in GoodFood magazine. Mix sausage meat, herbs, breadcrumbs and chopped chestnuts, then form into patties. Wrap the patties in bacon and roast alongside your spuds. I like this method because the turkey/chicken does not take as long to cook, resulting in moister meat.
Ingredients
- 200g good-quality sausage meat
- 100g white breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp sage, finely chopped
- 1 tsp parsley, finely chopped
- ½ tsp rosemary, finely chopped
- 50g chestnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 apple
- salt & pepper
- 8 slices streaky bacon
- 8 sage leaves
Method
- In a mixing bowl, combine the sausagemeat, breadcrumbs, apple, herbs, chestnuts and egg.
- Remove the core and skin from the apple and grate into the mixing bowl.
- Season with black pepper and a little salt (remember that your sausagemeat will already be well seasoned). Mix well with your hands.
- Form into 8 patties and wrap each patty with a slice of streaky bacon, tucking a sage leaf under the bacon.
- Place on a baking sheet (or alongside your roast potatoes) and roast at 180°C for 45 minutes.
Serves 8.
I can remember my first “proper” curry - a chicken madras in Khan’s Balti House in Donnybrook about 15 years ago. Strange I know, but I tend to remember things like that. I’ve been smitten with Indian food ever since, but some time ago I realised that restaurant style food is difficult to achieve at home. You need a lot of time and vast amounts of ghee, a type of clarified butter. You should also let your food rest overnight before serving; this allows the flavours to mature and the spices to mellow and mingle.
Happily, some restaurant dishes produce better results at home than others. This korma is the perfect example - it’s reminiscent of the restaurant version but includes fresh green chillis, dried fruits and toasted nuts. It tastes spectacular and it’s very quick and easy to cook. Serve with pilau rice and naan bread.
Ingredients
- 4 free-range skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks
- 2 medium onions, chopped (about 200g)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- thumb-size piece of ginger, minced
- 2 tsp curry powder (good quality)
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 150ml single cream
- 65g creamed coconut
- 4 tbsp ground almonds
- 5 tbsp sultanas
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1-2 fresh green chilli peppers, sliced
- 2 tsp garam masala (to taste)
- fresh coriander
- 5 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted
- 2 tbsp flaked coconut, toasted (optional)
Method
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a heavy saucepan and add a knob of butter. Fry the onion gently for about 10 minutes until it’s well caramelised. At this point, add the garlic and ginger and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add the dried spices and stir-fry for another minute.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add 2 cups of cold water. Whizz the mixture with a stick blender until it’s completely smooth.
- Add the chicken pieces and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Add the cream, ground almonds, sultanas and dissolve the creamed coconut then simmer gently for another 5 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and add a little extra sugar if you think it needs it. Stir through the garam masala and fresh coriander. Garnish with flaked almonds and toasted coconut, if using. Serve.
Serves 4.
Salsa verde makes a great accompaniment to fish or chicken. Absolutely addictive. Just blitz the following ingredients (apart from the grain mustard) in a food processor and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Ingredients
- ½ clove garlic
- 1 tbsp capers
- 2 handfuls flat-leaf parsley
- 1 handful fresh mint
- 1 handful fresh basil
- juice of ½ lemon
- extra-virgin olive oil (enough to give a sauce consistency)
- 2 tsp grain mustard
