Indian food

How to cook… Prawn Chilli Dry Fry

Recipes

Serves 4 as a starter

Combining flavours from both India and China this is a very hot, dry dish Indo-Chinese dish. Also known as Hakka Chinese cuisine this should be always be served fresh. Prawn Chilli Dry Fry is a popular Chinese dish but also a favourite in Indian Restaurants that serve Indo-Chinese food.

What you need…
• 1.5 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 400g prawns, peeled and deveined
• 3 Tablespoons oil
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1 green pepper
• 1–5 green chillies (to your taste), chopped
• 1.5 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
• 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 4 spring onions chopped, for garnish
• A few coriander leaves, chopped, for garnish

How you make it…
1. Heat oil to a medium-hot heat and add the green peppers to the pan. Stir-fry until they start to soften (about 3–4 minutes).
2. Add the onions, chillies, pepper and chilli flakes and stir fry for another 2–3 minutes. Add a tiny bit of water if needed but not too much as this is a dry dish.
3. Add the soya sauce and mix in well.
4. Add in the tomatoes and prawns and stir-fry until the prawns are cooked.
5. Garnish with spring onion and coriander and serve fresh.

CHEF’S TIP
Avoid adding salt as the soy sauce already contains a lot of salt.

If you like this you should try our…
Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona • Chicken Feet Curry (Africa)

Prawns often get injured. They are always pulling a mussel.
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How to cook… Kedgeree

Recipes

Serves 2 as a main dish

Kedgeree is an Anglo-Indian breakfast dish from the Raj-era, with fish, rice, a little spice and topped with a poached egg. This recipe is courtesy of breakfast expert Morning Yum.

What you need…
• 2 undyed smoked haddock fillets
• 30g butter
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cardamom pods
• 0.5 white onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1.5cm ginger, minced
• 2 teaspoon curry mix (I used Bart Manipur Masala pre-blended, or make your own using chilli powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon, star anise)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 100g basmati rice, thoroughly rinsed
• 2 eggs
• splash of vinegar
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 Tablespoon coriander, chopped
• pinch parsley, chopped

How you make it…
1. Preheat your oven to 200°C and boil the kettle.
2. Prep the fish to cook en papillote by wrapping in baking paper, with 10g butter, a bay leaf, the cardamom pods and half the lemon juice. Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
3. While the fish is in the oven heat 10g butter in a pan to a medium heat and fry the onion for 2 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, ginger and half the curry and turmeric. Mix and fry for 1 minute, then add the other bay leaf.
5. Add the rice, then cover in boiling water and simmer for until the rice is nearly cooked and the water dissolved (about 8 minutes).
6. Remove the bay leaf, turn the heat to very low and add remaining curry mix, turmeric and butter.
7. Poach the eggs in separate pot with the splash of vinegar.
8. The fish should be ready now. Remove the cardamom and bay leaf and tip the juices into rice mix, along with remaining lemon juice.
9. Stir through rice mix and flake the fish.
10. Serve, garnished with coriander and parsley and topped with the poached eggs.
• Recipe courtesy @Morningyum on Instagram.

CHEF’S TIP
This is great served with mango chutney.

If you like this you should try our…
Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona • Chicken Feet Curry (Africa)

One taste of this dish and you’ll be hooked…
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How to cook… Basmati Steamed Rice

Recipes

Serves 4 as a side dish

The staple addition to most curries, rice comes in various guises but plain white Basmati Steamed Rice is the go-to option for many people. The simplicity of plain rice works well with many dishes, allowing you to taste the flavours of your main dish rather than having the rice competing for attention. There are lots methods out there for rice: this one cooks it until it’s just cooked then lets it steam dry so the rice separates. Simple.

What you need…
• 300g Basmati rice (the best quality you can get)
• water


How you make it…
1. Wash the rice to remove the starch. Keep rinsing it until the water is no longer milky. This may take 8 or more rinses.
2. In a saucepan add enough water so that the rice is covered by 3cm and bring it to a boil with the lid on.
3. Stir and reduce the heat so the water is at a fast simmer. Gently stir every so often.
4. You need to remove the rice and drain it as soon as the rice grains have cooked. If you remove them too soon they’ll be brittle and if you leave them too long they’ll be mush. This takes from 7–12 minutes, depending how quick you are simmering the water, so at the 7-minute mark remove a grain and bite into it. If it’s brittle let it continue to simmer. Check a grain every 30 seconds until the rice is soft to your bite.
5. As soon as the grain you test is soft then drain all the rice in a colander. Sift it around to make sure all the water is removed. Now put the colander to one side and allow it to steam. After 5 minutes the grains will have separated and are ready to serve. If you are serving after this you can transfer the rice to a serving tray and put it the oven on a very low heat to keep it warm.

CHEF’S TIP
A lot of people leave the rice to do it’s own thing while they concentrate on the main dish, which is why so many people say they always overcook rice. But it’s important to pay attention to the rice for a few minutes as removing the rice at the right time is crucial.

If you like this you should try our…
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Bhundi Shakarkandi) • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona

You’ve got your curry, you’ve got your nan, but sometihing is missing. What do you sing? … Rice, Rice, Baby.

How to cook… Lamb Vindaloo

Recipes

Serves 4 as a main dish

Lamb Vindaloo is for curry lovers who are after some serious heat. The restaurant-style Lamb Vindaloo has heat from the peppercorns and chilli, sourness from the vinegar and includes it’s trademark chunks of potato in a thick, dark sauce.

What you need…
• 1 large potato, cut into 5cm chunks (you should have 6-8 of them)
• 2 Tablespoons ghee
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 800g lamb, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 600ml Base Curry Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup
• salt to taste
• 0.5 onion sliced
• 1.5 Tablespoon vinegar

Spice Mix 1
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns
• 0.5 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

Spice Mix 2
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 4 teaspoons chilli powder
• 1 teaspoons turmeric powder
• 1 Tablespoon garam masala


How to make it…
1. Boil the potato chunks until cooked. Set the potatoes aside once cooked.
2. Heat the ghee to a high heat. Add the Spice Mix 1 and fry for 15 seconds. The spices should sizzle immediately when you add them to the ghee. You can test it is hot enough by adding one cumin seed.
3. Add the garlic paste and cook for 1 minute on a lower heat. You may have to remove the pan from the heat for a while to the paste burning. (If it burns then throw it away and start again.)
4. Add the lamb and stir fry until sealed (about 2–3 minutes).
5. Add the Base Curry Sauce and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed to avoid it sticking.
6. Add the Spice Mix 2 and tomato ketchup, mix well and cook for 20 minutes.
7. Add the salt, onion and vinegar and continue cooking until the lamb is tender (about 5 minutes). Add water, as needed, to maintain the consistency.
8. Finally, add the cooked potato pieces, make sure they are coated in the sauce but be careful not to break the pieces up, and serve.



CHEF’S TIP
Add water to this dish as it cooks to maintain the consistency but don’t overdo it because you want a thick, dark sauce when it is served.
Lamb Vindaloo, extra hot in a dark, rich sauce.

If you like this you should try our…
Lamb Madras • Chicken Phall • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo •Chicken Bhoona

Check out 5 Best Goa Curries

Where do chillies live? … Scoville.

How to cook… Sweet Coconut Buns

Recipes

Makes 5–6 buns

With just a handful of ingredients and a oven and you’ll soon have a batch of these Sweet Coconut Buns (Macatia Coco), a favourite in Mauritius and delicious when warm and with a bit of butter.

What you need…
For the buns
• 250g plain flour
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 120ml warm water

For filling
• 75g dessicated coconut
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Plus
• milk for glaze


How you make it…
1. Mix all the ingredients for the buns, adding the water at the end, bit by bit. Knead the mixture for a couple of minutes. Leave the dough for 1 hour, which will allow it to rise.
2. Heat the oven to 180 C.
3. Roll the dough for a couple of minutes and divide it into 5 or 6 equal amounts.
4. Mix all the ingredients for the filling.
5. Take one of the lumps of dough and push down using your thumbs to create a cup. Fill the cup with some filling and close the cup back into a ball. Roll gently and keep working the dough until it is completely sealed again. It should now be in the shape of a small bun. Place it on a lightly greased baking tray and repeat the process until you have used all the dough and filling mixture.
6. Using a brush coat all the buns with milk.
7. Place the baking tray into the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let the buns stand for a few minutes. Sprinkle a bit of dessicated coconut on the top and serve warm.


CHEF’S TIP You can add a touch of tropical to these buns by swapping the vanilla essence for pineapple essence.

If you like this you should try our…
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Bhundi Shakarkandi)
Medium Chicken Curry
Chicken Madras
Chicken Vindaloo
Chicken Bhoona

How to cook… Hara Jhinga

Recipes

Serves 4 as a main dish

Hara Jhinga (Prawns in a Green Sauce) has all the ingredients of a classic South Indian dish – prawns, coconut milk and chillies. This fresh tasting dish, particularly popular in Goa and Kerala, is quick and easy to make and the green sauce makes a great change from the usual tomato-based sauces.

What you need…
• 800g prawns, shelled and deveined
• 3 Teaspoons cooking oil
• 0.25 teaspoon cracked pepper
• 1 teapoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 0.5 teaspoon salt

For the green paste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• small handful coriander leaves, chopped
• 10 mint leaves (or 1 teaspoon mint sauce)
• 4 green chillies
• 3 Tablespoons coconut milk

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How you make it…
1. Mix all the ingredients for the green paste in a blender to form a smooth paste.
2. Heat the oil in a pan to a medium heat. Add the prawns, sprinkle the pepper over them using a pepper grinder, and fry the prawns until they turn pink (about 2 minutes).
3. Add the green paste and cook through for 1 minute.
4. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and salt, mix well and cook until the prawns are cooked. Add a little water if necessary but the dish is dryish so the prawns should be coated in the sauce not swimming in it.

CHEF’S TIP If you like your curries with a more more sauce, add more coconut milk but be aware you will lose the green colour.

If you like this you should try our…
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Bhundi Shakarkandi) • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona

Where’s the cheapest place to buy shellfish? … a prawn shop.

How to cook… Sindhi Biryani

Recipes

Serves 4 as a main dish

Biryani is a rice-based dish, where all the spices, meat and vegetables are slowly cooked together over a long period of time. Although Biryani is a popular dish all over the world there are many variations – this is the version from the Province of Sindhi in Pakistani Punjab.

What you need…
• 400g potatoes, cut into 4cm chunks
• 2 drops yellow colouring
• 10 Tablespoons ghee• 2 onions, roughly chopped• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 500g chicken thighs and legs, on the bone
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 250g yoghurt
• 4 tomatoes, cut into halves
• 100g plums
• small handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• 5 mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 5 green chillies, with a small slit in each
• 300g rice
• 3 Tablespoons rose water
• 0.5 teaspoon nutmeg powder

Spice Mix
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamoms (cracked but not crushed)
• 10cm piece cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 Tablespoon chilli powder
• 1 Tablespoon turmeric powder


How to make it…
1. Boil the potatoes in water with a drop of yellow colouring until they are nearly cooked. Drain the potatoes and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Heat 1 Tablepoon ghee to a medium heat and fry the potatoes until they are crisp and starting to brown. Remove the potatoes and set aside.
3. Add 2 Tablespoons ghee and the onions, and fry until golden brown.
4. Add the ginger paste, garlic paste and the chicken, and stir fry for 5 minutes.
5. Add the Spice Mix and salt and cook for 3 minutes.
6. Add the yoghurt and fried potatoes, mix well, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Add the tomatoes, the plums, coriander leaves, mint leaves and chillies, and mix well. Remove the pan from the heat.
9. Wash the rice until the water is clear. This will take 6–7 washes, maybe more. Boil the rice in fresh water, with a little salt, until cooked.
10. Drain the rice andspread it evenly on top of the chicken mixture.
11. Dissolve a drop of yellow colour in rose water and spread it, with the rest of the ghee, on top of rice. Allow this to dissolve for 30 seconds. Sprinkle the nutmeg powder on top of the mixture.
12. Return the pan to a medium heat and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes.
13. Remove the cover, allow the steam to escape for a couple of minutes and serve.
• Recipe courtesy of Zaynub Mahmood. Photo below: Miansari66 CCA.

CHEF’S TIP There are quite a few ingredients in this dish so get everything ready before you start cooking.

If you like this you should try our…
Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona

Never rush a biryani… it’s not a rice.

How to cook… Gateaux Piment

Recipes

Serves 4 as a snack or starter

Gateaux Piment (Chilli Cakes) is a popular street-food snack in Mauritius, and is sold in small shops or from homes of people looking to earn a bit of extra income. It is particularly popular at breakfast time and locals often eat it bread and butter. You may also see these advertised as Gato Pima, which is the Creole spelling of the snack.

What you need…
• half a cup of yellow split peas
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 spring onions chopped
• pinch of cumin powder
• 2 chillies, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoon cooking oil


How you make it…
1. Soak the split peas in water for 12 hours.
2. Grind the split peas to a paste, using a little water if necessary.
3. Add all the other ingredients (except the oil) to the peas and mix well.
4. Form the mixture into small (about 2cm diameter) flat pancakes, using a little water to bind the pancakes, if necessary.
5. Heat oil to a medium heat. Add the cakes, turning occasionally, and cook until golden brown.
6. Drain the pancakes and remove any excess oil with kitchen paper. Serve with bread and butter or your favourite chutney.

CHEF’S TIP If you are a bit heat adverse then go for a sweet chutney like mango.

If you like this you should try our…
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Bhundi Shakarkandi) • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona

These Chilli Cake are so delicious… they’ll have you in tiers of joy.

How to cook… Roasted Corn with Sea Salt & Spice

Recipes

Serves 4 as a snack or starter

Roasted Corn is a simple street snack you’ll find all over the sub-continent and it’s delicious rubbed with grainy salt and spice. For that delicious roasted taste the vendors briefly finish cooking the corn in the coals, leaving the leaves on the corn to protect it. You can cook on the barbecue at home or try to replicate the taste under the grill. On the street it’s eaten with your hands, of course.

What you need…
• 4 corns on the cob (with leaves still on if you can get them)
• 2 lemons cut into halves or quarters
• 1 Tablespoon Tandoori Masala Spice
• 1 Tablespoon sea salt


How you make it…
1. Heat your barbeque to high heat. Peel back the leaves and cook the corn until they are soft. This will take 30–40 minutes. Don’t wrap them in foil as you want them slightly charred.
2. If you are using real wood or coals you can pell back the leaves and and finish them off directly in the coals for a few seconds. You can use the grill to cook them but it’s impossible to replicate the charred, smokey taste.
3. Put the spice and the salt on a plate with the lemon pieces.
4. Each person should push a lemon slice into the spice and salt and then rub generously over their own corn.
5. Eat immediately, dipping the lemon back into the spice and salt as required.

CHEF’S TIP Once you’ve tried this a couple of times experiment with other spices as your rub.

If you like this you should try our…
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Bhundi Shakarkandi) • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona

Always be noce to the corn… and it’ll smile from ear to ear.

How to cook… Bharwan Mircha

Recipes

Serves 4 as a snack or starter

Bharwan Mircha (Pan-Fried Stuffed Chillies) are ideal street snacks as the banana chillies are perfect ‘plates-that-you-eat’. From Uttar Pradesh in north India, this tasty snack provides a nice kick.

What you need…
• 4 red banana chillies (very large chillies for stuffing)

For the stuffing
• 3 potatoes, boiled and very finely diced
• 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2.5-cm piece ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• few curry leaves, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and very finely diced
• 60g peas, defrosted if frozen
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• salt, to taste
• 0.5 teaspoon garam masala
• juice of 1 lemon
• 30g Cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 Tablespoons mint and coriander chutney


How you make it…
1. Cut the potato into small chunks and boil in water until cooked.
2. Cut the chillies in half lengthwise, deseed and set aside.
3. To make the stuffing: Heat 3 Tablespoons oil in a pan to a high heat. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to crackle for 15 seconds. Turn down the heat and add the ginger, green chillies and curry leaves and sauté for 1 minute. You may need to remove the pan from the heat initially to stop them burning.
3. Add the carrot and green peas and cook until soft.
4. Add the potatoes, turmeric, chilli powder and salt and cook for 2–3 minutes. Sprinkle over the garam masala and lemon juice and salt, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool.
5. Heat a non-stick pan, add the other 1 Tablespoon oil and cook the chillies for 1–2 minutes on each side over a low heat, turning regularly until golden.
4. Stuff the chillies with the carrot, peas and potato mixture plus the grated cheese and mint and coriander chutney.
• Recipe from Food of the Grand Trunk Road by Anirudh Arora and Hardeep Singh Kohli, courtesy of New Holland Publishing.

Large round peppers would provide an good alternative to the banana chillies, although naturally less spicy.

If you like this you should try our…
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Bhundi Shakarkandi) • Sindhi Biryani • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona

Fans of Christmas lunch love this dish… because it’s full of stuffing.

How to cook… Prawn Dopiaza

Recipes

Serves 4 as a main dish

Originally a dish from Persia, Dopiaza means “two onions” and gives it name to this curry because onions are used twice in the recipe (in the Base Curry Sauce and towards the end when the fried onions are added). You’ll need to quickly seal the prawns in butter and brown the onions first, then create the sauce before re-adding the prawns and fried onions again at the end.

What you need…
• small knob of butter
• 800g prawns, shelled and deveined
• 3 Tablespoons ghee
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 600ml Base Curry Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup
• small handful fresh coriander (chop up the stems to add to the curry and set aside the leaves for garnish)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• salt to taste

Spice Mix 1
• 1 Tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon vinegar


How to make it…
1. Heat the butter to a medium heat. While it is heating up mix the Spice Mix with the vinegar and enough water to form a sloppy paste.
2. Add the prawns to the butter and stir fry until they are pink. This should take about 2 minutes. Remove the prawns from the pan and set aside.
3. Heat 1 Tablespoon ghee to a medium heat and stir fry the onions until they are starting to brown. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
4, Heat the rest of the ghee to a high heat. While it is heating up mix the Spice Mix with the vinegar and enough water to form a sloppy paste.
5. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 15 seconds. They should sizzle immediately. You can test the ghee is hot enough by adding one seed.
6. Add the garlic paste and cook for 1 minute on a lower heat. You may have to remove the pan from the heat initially to stop the paste burning. (If it burns then throw it away and start again.)
7. Add the Spice Mix paste and cook for 2 minutes. It should now be thick and gloopy.
8. Add the Base Curry Sauce and the tomato and cook for 2 minutes.
9. Add the prawns, mix well and cook for five minutes.
10. Add the garam masala, salt, coriander stems and prawns and cook for 2 minutes.
11. Add the fried onions and continue cooking until the prawns are fully cooked.
12. Serve, garnished with the coriander leaves.


CHEF’S TIP
Caramelising the onions creates a sweet and slightly sticky dish so it’s complemented nicely with a spicy chilli pickle or tart lime pickle on the side.

If you like this you should try our…
Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona

Last time I was in a fruit and veg shop the owner told me that his onions could sing a Bee Gees song. I had to stay a bit longer to listen but then I noticed it was just the chives talking.

Curry Quiz Phall (difficult)

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Curry Quiz Vindaloo (difficult)

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Curry Quiz Madras (medium difficulty)

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Curry Quiz Bombay Aloo (easy)

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Curry Quiz Korma (very easy)

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How to cook… Chilli Paneer

Recipes

Serves 4 as a main dish

Chilli Paneer is a popular and spicy Indo-Chinese dish, combining flavours from both cuisines and with Indian cheese as its main ingredient (make your own paneer). These dishes are emerged in states that border China and India and also from a group of Hakka Chinese people who moved to Calcutta.

What you need…
• 4 Tablespoons cornflour
• 1 Tablespoon red chilli powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 Tablespoons cooking oil
• 500g paneer cheese, chopped into small, evenly sized chunks or strips
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 each of red, yellow and green capsicum peppers, chopped into bite-sized chunks
• 20g garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons chilli sauce (try Baj’s Blazin’ Original Hot Sauce)
• 1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 4 green chillies, sliced down the middle and cut into chunks (don’t deseed)
• small handful of coriander to garnish


How you make it…
1. Mix the cornflour with 20ml of water, the chilli powder and some salt and pepper. Coat each piece of paneer in the cornflour mix.
2. Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a frying pan to a medium heat and shallow fry some of the paneer for a 1–2 minutes until just turning golden. Set aside on kitchen towel. Repeat until all the paneer has been cooked.
3. Add the onions and peppers to the remaining oil and cook for 3–4 minutes on a medium heat.
4. Add in the garlic, the chilli sauce, soy sauce and brown sugar to the onions, peppers and garlic and cook for 2 minutes on a medium heat.
5. Add in the paneer and cook for 3 minutes, then add in the chillies, salt and pepper to taste, then stir well and ensure everything is warmed through,
6. Serve, garnished with coriander leaves.
• Recipe courtesy Baj’s Blazin’ Sauce in Greenwich.

CHEF’S TIP
This recipe uses strips of paneer but you can use cubes if you prefer.



If you like this you should try our…
Make your own Paneer • Sag Paneer • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona

Some may warn you that this dish is very hot but it’s really quite chilli.

How to cook… Prawn Rogan

Recipes

Serves 4 as a main dish

Prawn is excellent for the restaurant-style Rogan with the saltiness of the shellfish providing a counter to the tartness of the tomatoes. A medium-strength dish, it’s based on a classic curry with the addition of the extra tomatoes and red pepper added to the Base Curry Sauce to mimic the redness of the authentic lamb version.

What You Need…
• small knob of butter
• 800g prawns, shelled and deveined
• 2 Tablespoons ghee
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 600ml Base Curry Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup
• small handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoons garam masala
• salt to taste
• 2 tomatoes, cut into segments

Spice Mix 1
• 1 Tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon vinegar

How to make it…
1. Heat the butter to a medium heat. While it is heating up mix the Spice Mix with the vinegar and enough water to form a sloppy paste.
2. Add the prawns to the butter and stir fry until they are pink. This should take about 2 minutes. Remove the prawns from the pan and set aside.
3. Heat the rest of the ghee to a high heat. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 15 seconds. They should sizzle immediately. You can test the ghee is hot enough by adding one seed.
4. Add the garlic paste and cook for 1 minute on a lower heat. You may have to remove the pan from the heat initially to stop the paste burning. (If it burns then throw it away and start again.)
5. Add the Spice Mix paste and cook for 2 minutes. It should now be thick and gloopy.
6. Add the Base Curry Sauce, tomato ketchup and coriander, and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add the red pepper, mix well and cook for 5 minutes.
8. Add the garam masala, salt and coriander stems, and cook for 3 minutes.
9. Add the prawns and cook for 2 minutes.
10. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking until the prawns are fully cooked. The tomatoes should be soft but not broken down.

CHEF’S TIP
Avoid overripe tomatoes for this dish or they will break up too easily.
Prawn Rogan, plump shellfish with extra tomatoes and red peppers.

If you like this you should try our…
Medium Prawn Curry • Prawn Korma • Prawn Vindaloo • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona

I knew this polieman who used to do everything by the book when he ordered his food. That’s all changed and he’s gone Rogan.

How to cook… Chicken Dopiaza

Recipes

Serves 4 as a main dish

Dopiaza is the restaurant favourite for onion lovers. Originally a dish from Persia, Dopiaza means “two onions” and gives it name to this curry because onions are used twice in the recipe (in the Base Curry Sauce and towards the end when the fried onions are added).

What you need…
• 3 Tablespoons ghee
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 600ml Base Curry Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup
• 800g chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• small handful fresh coriander (chop up the stems to add to the curry and set aside the leaves for garnish)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• salt to taste

Spice Mix 1
• 1 Tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon vinegar


How to make it…
1. Heat 1 Tablespoon ghee to a medium heat and stir fry the onions until they are starting to brown. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
2. Heat the rest of the ghee to a high heat. While it is heating up mix the Spice Mix with the vinegar and enough water to form a sloppy paste.
3. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 15 seconds. They should sizzle immediately. You can test the ghee is hot enough by adding one seed.
4, Add the garlic paste and cook for 1 minute on a lower heat. You may have to remove the pan from the heat initially to stop the paste burning. (If it burns then throw it away and start again.)
5. Add the Spice Mix paste and cook for 2 minutes. It should now be thick and gloopy.
6. Add the Base Curry Sauce and the tomato and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add the chicken, mix well and cook for five minutes.
8. Add the coriander stems, garam masala and salt, and cook for 2 minutes.
9. Add the fried onions and continue cooking until the chicken is fully cooked.
10. Serve, garnished with the coriander leaves.


CHEF’S TIP
If you really want to go for it with the onions you can place a couple of slices of raw onion to the top of the curry as a garnish instead of the coriander leaves.

Chicken Dopiaza, strictly for onion lovers.

If you like this you should try our…
Prawn Dopiaza • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona • Chicken Dhansak

I told my friend an onion is the only vegetable that can make me cry. So he threw a coconut at my head.

How to cook… Chicken Tikka

Recipes

Serves 4 as a starter


So popular is Chicken Tikka that you can now find it in everything from sandwiches to pastas and wraps to pizzas. But still nothing beats a beautifully cooked chicken, served with crunchy salads and your favourite chutneys and pickles.

What you need…
• 400g chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
• juice of 1 lemon
• 0.5 recipe of Tikka Marinade



How to make it…
1. Squeeze the lemon over the chicken, rub it in well and leave for 15 minutes. This will degrease the chicken and also helps the chicken absorb the marinade.
2. Shake off the excess lemon and coat the pieces in the Tikka Marinade. Leave for at least 15 minutes but preferably 24–48 hours.
3. Preheat your oven to 170 C. Place the pieces on a baking tray, ensuring all the pieces are kept well apart and cook for 15 minutes, turning once. Check one of the largest pieces to ensure it’s cooked. If not return to the oven.
4. Serve with salads, chutneys and pickles.

CHEF’S TIP
Chicken Tikka is the perfect for the barbeque, including getting those blackened edges achieved by the tandoor oven.
Chicken Tikka, just add salads and pickles.

If you like this you should try our…
Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona • Butter Chicken

What’s a curry lover’s favourite Abba song? … Tikka a Chance on Me.