Curried Lamb Casserole

My blog friend, Kikimiss, passed on this recipe for me which we did enjoy.  Next time I would opt for four-quarter lamb chops instead of the neck chops.  I served mine with simple steamed rice.

*Taken from Family Circle's 'Casseroles and Pies, Step-By-Step', page 34*

Ingredients

1 kg lamb neck chops

1/4 cup oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tbs grated fresh ginger

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground chilli powder

2 tbs Madras curry powder

2 cups chicken or lamb stock

1 tbs soft brown sugar

1 tbs tomato paste

3 whole cloves

1 large apples, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup sultanas

Method

Heat 2 tbs oil in heavy based pan.  Cook meat quickly in small batches over medium heat until well browned.  Drain on paper towels.

heat remaining oil in pan.  Add garlic, ginger and onion, stir over medium heat for 3 minutes or until soft.  Add garam masala, chilli and curry powder.  Cook, stirring, over medium heat for 2 minutes.

Return meat to pan, add stock, sugar, tomato paste, and cloves.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer.  Cook covered for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender, stirring occasionally.  Add sultanas and apple.  Cook covered for a further 30 minutes.  Serve with pilaf rice.

(Can add 400ml coconut cream to make a rich creamy curry.) 

Serves 4

Malaysian Chicken Curry

This is a fabulous recipe from Gordon Ramsay.  It is really tasty and even though it looks time consuming, it isn't.  I made this early one morning and re-heated it up for dinner that evening as curries generally taste better 'the next day'.  This recipe made a lot so it served us a couple of good-sized meals.  Will definitely be making this again in the future.  You should too.

*Taken from Gordon Ramsay's 'Sunday Lunch', page 116, published 2006*

Ingredients

For the Curry Paste

5 garlic cloves, peeled & roughly chopped

4-5 long, red chillies, trimmed, deseeded & roughly chopped (I used 3)

3 lemongrass stalks, trimmed, outer leaves removed & thinly sliced

5cm piece root ginger, peeled & chopped

4 large shallots, peeled & chopped

1 tsp ground tumeric

2-3 tbs groundnut oil

For the Curry

1 kg skinless & boneless chicken thighs

2 tbs groundnut oil

2 onions, peeled & thinly sliced

sea salt & freshly ground pepper

4 kaffir lime leaves

1 cinnamon stick

3 star anise

400ml coconut milk

100ml Chicken stock

1 tsp palm sugar (or soft brown sugar)

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 tbs fish sauce

400g green beans, trimmed & cut into 5cm lengths

handful coriander leaves, roughly torn

Method

First make the curry paste.  Put the garlic, chillies, lemongrass, ginger, shallots and tumeric in a food processor and whiz to a paste.  With the motor running, trickle in the groundnut oil and blend well, scraping the sides of the processor several times.  (Or you can pound the ingredients together in batches using a pestle and mortar.)

To make the curry, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.  heat the groundnut oil in a large cast-iron casserole or heavy-based pan.  Tip the curry paste and stir over a medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant.  Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes until they are beginning to soften.

Season the chicken piece with salt and pepper.  Add to the pan and stir to coat them in the spice paste.  Add the lime leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, coconut milk, stock, sugar, soy and fish sauces and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook gently for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is tender.

Skim off any excess oil on the surface of the curry.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.  Tip in the green beans, put the lid on and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the beans are tender.  Scatter the coriander leaves over the curry and serve with rice.

Serves 6

Fragrant Chicken Curry

I'm always on the lookout for a good chicken curry recipe.  I found this tucked away in my cupboard, photocopied from some book.  (I think it might have come from a BBC 101 Recipes type book, but I am unsure which one..)  

It was super easy to make and the result was delicious.  Very tasty indeed.  Just the right amount of heat for my liking.  Instead of chicken breasts I used chicken thighs and I also halved the recipe.  I served it with poppadums and steamed jasmine rice.  It is also very low in fat (something like 4 grams)

Ingredients

3 onions, quartered

4 fat garlic cloves

5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled & roughly chopped

3 tbs moglai (medium) curry powder

1 tsp tumeric

2 tsp paprika

2 fresh red chillies, seeded & roughly chopped

40g fresh coriander

1 chicken stock cube

6 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 x 410g cans chickpeas, drained & rinsed

natural low-fat yoghurt, naan bread or poppadums to serve

Method

Tip the onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder, ground spices, chillies and half the coriander into a food processor.  Add 1 tsp salt to blend to a puree (you may need to do this in 2 batches).  Tip the mixture into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  

Crumble in the stock cube, pour in 750ml boiling water and return to the boil.  Add the chicken, stir, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Chop the remaining coriander, then stir all but 2 tbs into the curry with the chickpeas.  Heat through.  Serve topped with the reserved coriander and the natural yoghurt, with naan bread or poppadums on the side.

Serves 8 

Green Chicken Curry

Always on the hunt for a good Green Chicken Curry recipe, this one came pretty close. Our only complaint was that it was a bit too spicy for our likings (and Lyndon loves spicy foods!) Next time I would minus one of the tablespoons of curry paste, but otherwise this was pretty tasty...

*Taken from Murdoch Books 'Australian Family Favourites'*

Ingredients
250ml (1 cup) coconut cream
4 tbs green curry paste
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts, cut into pieces
250ml (1 cup) coconut milk
4 Thia eggplants (aubergines) or 1/2 purple eggplant, cut into chunks
2 tbs shaved palm sugar or brown sugar
2 tbs fish sauce
4 mukrut (kaffir) lime leaves, torn
1 handful Thai basil leaves
1-2 large red chilies, sliced
coconut milk or cream, for drizzling

Method
heat a wok over a low heat, add the coconut cream and bring to the boil. Stir until the oil separates out.

Add the green curry paste, stir for 1 minute then add the chicken. Cook the chicken until it turns opaque, then add the coconut milk and eggplant. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender. Add the sugar, fish sauce, line leaves and half the basil, then mix together.

Garnish with the rest of the basil, the chilli and a drizzle of the coconut milk or cream. Serve with rice.

Serves 4