Cardamom and Chili Chicken and Dal

Cardamom and Chili Chicken with Dal

Dal never looks good in photos (or in real life). No amount of vibrant coriander will make it pretty.  It is the ugly duckling of Indian food. But look past its unfortunate appearance (I think its problem lies in its texture... and maybe colour), and you will find a delicately spiced rough diamond.  This unsung hero of Indian cuisine is surprisingly easy to make - no fancy ingredients and no labourious cooking methods (hurrah!).

If fact, the Cardamon and Chili Chicken skewers are also super easy to make too.  You can leave the chicken marinading for up to a day and then just thread it on to skewers when you're ready to cook.   Superb grilled or cooked on a BBQ they can be eaten hot or cold.  Spicy and fragrant, the bashed Cardamom pods release a wonderful scent that perfumes the chicken.

Whoever said Indian cooking was hard, time consuming and labourious was fibbing.

On a side note, Cardamom also goes amazingly well with chocolate.

Cardamom and Chili Chicken

Makes enough for two

INGREDIENTS:

4 Chicken Breasts diced

For the Marinade

2 Garlic Cloves crushed

1 Tablespoon finely chopped Ginger

Large pinch of Black Pepper

5 Cardamom Pods, bashed

2 Green Chilies, finely chopped

1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/4 Teaspoon  Ground Turmeric

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cumin

4 Heaped Tablespoons of Plain Natural Yoghurt

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil or Olive Oil

Juice of 1/2 a Lemon

Wooden Skewers

Lemon, for squeezing over the cooked chicken

1. In a bowl (not a metal one), combine all the ingredients for the marinade , then add the diced chicken.
2. Cover with cling film and leave to marinade in the fridge for a least two hours (but up to 24 hours).  
3. Using the wooden skewers, thread on the chicken.
4. Set your grill onto its highest setting, and grill the chicken skewers until cooked and nicely charred on the edges.  Alternatively, BBQ these bad boys.  Squeeze over a generous amount of lemon juice and serve with rice, dal, naan bread, dips, poppadoms and any other Indian accompaniments that take your fancy.

Dal - Makes enough for two.
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Teaspoon finely chopped Ginger
1 Teaspoon of Ground Coriander
1 Teaspoon of Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon of Cayenne
1/4 Teaspoon of Ground Turmeric
1/2 Onion finely chopped
2 Medium Tomatoes chopped
100g Red Lentils
500ml Chicken or Vegetable Stock
Handful of Fresh Coriander, chopped

1. In a pan over a medium heat, fry the Onions for two minutes, then add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further two minutes
2. Add the spices and stir well, cook for a further one minute
3. Add the tomatoes, stir and cook for another four minutes
4. Next, add in the lentils and the Stock.  Stir and bring to the boil.  Then turn down the heat to low,  and cover with a lid, for 15 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes, take off the lid and stir.  The lentils probably won't be done, so leave them uncovered for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add more stock or water if the lentils seem to be drying up. Test the lentils, they will be cooked when they are completely soft.  If not done, leave cooking for another 10 minutes and test again.
6. Once cooked, stir in a handful of fresh coriander and serve. 

Spicy Moroccan Lamb Stew

Spicy Moroccan Lamb Stew

This stew is essentially a Tagine, albeit without the fancy cooking pot. It takes very little fuss to prepare, a bit of chopping, the opening of some tins and a gentle bubbling in a pan for a few hours.  It all results in a meltingly tender lamb, fragrant, spicy and wonderful. 

The cut of lamb used is fairly important; it needs to have a bit of fat on it, so I use Lamb neck fillet.  The fat eventually melts after a long cooking, but too much fat is not good, so any large bits of fat need to be trimmed off. 

I use typical Moroccan spices to flavour the tagine, such as cumin, coriander, ginger and cinnamon, along with three spices - cayenne, chili flakes and the brilliant Pimenton de la Vera (Smoked Paprika) to give a hot smokey kick to the stew.  Leave out the chili flakes if you prefer a milder flavour.  

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2 plus leftovers):
2 Tablespoons oil
350g Lamb Neck Fillet, trimmed of unnecessary fat and diced into inch cubes

1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne

1/2 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika (Pimenton de la Vera)

1/2 Teaspoon Chili Flakes

1 large Red Onion, thickly sliced
1 large Carrot, peeled and cut into inch cubes
2 Fat Garlic Cloves squished
500ml Chicken Stock
1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Tomato Puree
1 Tin of cooked Chickpeas, washed and drained
Lemon Juice
Couscous to serve with the stew
Fresh Coriander chopped

1. In a large pan, heat the oil until hot.  Add the trimmed and cubed lamb, and fry until browned all over.  
2. Add in the spices (Cumin, Coriander, Ginger, Cinnamon, Cayenne, Smoked Paprika and Chili Flakes) and stir the lamb so that the pieces are fully coated.  Continue to fry for 2 minutes.  
3. Add in the squished garlic cloves, onions and carrots, turn the heat down and cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.  
4. Add in the chicken stock, tomato puree and the tin of chopped tomatoes, stir and turn the heat down low.
5. Cook for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more stock or water if the stew becomes too dry.
6. About 20 minutes before you want to serve, add in a can of drained chickpeas. 
7. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.  
8. Scatter with chopped fresh coriander and serve with a mound of fluffy couscous

Thai Pork Burgers and Lettuce and Lime Salad

Thai Pork Burgers and Lettuce and Lime Salad

These Thai inspired beauties are the new favourite in the house, lighter than a classic beef burger, they are beautifully fragrant and spicy.  They are also a doddle to make, and most of the ingredients for the spice paste were already lying around in my kitchen, so no long searches for obscure ingredients.

These little burgers go superbly well with chunks of roasted sweet potato and/or fragrant Jasmine rice,  and the lettuce and lime salad.  This salad is crisp, bitter, refreshing, salty and zesty, a cleansing balance to the meaty spiciness of the burgers and is pretty delicious.  Close your eyes and you could be in Bangkok.... 

INGREDIENTS:

Thai Pork Burgers (makes enough for 2 greedy people):

500g Minced Pork

Thumb sized piece of Ginger, peeled

4 Garlic Cloves, peeled

2 Chillies

1 Fresh Lemongrass Stalk, outer skin peeled off

1 Small Red Onion

Zest and Juice of one Lime

1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce

1 Small bunch fresh Coriander, stalks and leaves roughly chopped

1. In a food processor, blend the ginger, garlic, chillies, lemongrass, red onion, soy sauce and lime zest and lime juice until it becomes a paste.
2. Add this to the pork mince with the chopped Coriander and mix with your hands until thoroughly mixed.  
3. Form into small burgers and fry in a little oil until brown and cooked.  Serve with Jasmine Rice and/or roasted Sweet Potato chunks, and the Lettuce and Lime salad.  

Lettuce and Lime Salad

Crisp white lettuce, washed and roughly chopped

Small handful of Coriander, leaves and stalks

10 (or so) Mint leaves

Juice of half a lime (or to taste)

1-2 Spring Onions finely sliced

1 Green Chili, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)

Good pinch of Salt

1. Roughly chop the lettuce and place in a large bowl
2. Finely chop the Coriander, Mint, Spring Onions and Chili and toss with the lettuce leaves.  
3. Squeeze a generous about of lime juice over the salad and a good pinch of salt.  Taste and add more lime juice or salt as necessary.  Serve with the Thai Pork Burgers