Yorky's Special Curry Recipe

Curry Sauce Ingredients 3 tblsp Vegetable Oil 1 Medium onion, chopped 4 Garlic cloves, crushed (or 4 tsp Pureed garlic *1) 40 mm Cube ginger, grated (or 4 tsp Pureed ginger ^1) 4 Fresh green or red chilies, chopped 1/2 tsp Ground turmeric 1/2 tsp Ground cumin seeds 1/2 tsp Ground coriander seeds 300 gm Tomatoes, skinned and chopped Method Heat the oil in a wok or heavy frying pan and fry the chopped onion on a medium heat until golden brown (about 5 minutes). Add the ginger, garlic and fresh chilies and fry for 30 seconds. Turn the heat down to very low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the ingredients burning. Add the turmeric, ground cumin and ground coriander  and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes stirring continuously. Add a little warm water if the spices start to burn. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Add the mixture together with 125 ml of water to a blender and blend until very smooth. Add the chopped tomatoes and blend a second or two longer. Return the mixture back to the wok and cook for at least 30 minutes over a very low heat stirring occasionally. Add a little warm water if the sauce dries out. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Curry Ingredients 4 tblsp Vegetable oil 700 gm Chicken breast, cubed 30 mm 10 Whole dried chilies 1 Medium onion, chopped 2 tsp Chili powder 2 tsp Ground cumin seeds 2 tsp Ground coriander seeds 1 tsp Paprika 125 gm Thick set natural yogurt Salt (to taste) 1 tsp Fennugreek seeds, crushed 1 tsp Garam masala 2 tblsp Coriander leaf, finely shredded 2 hard boiled eggs, quartered Method Heat 1 tblsp oil in a wok or large heavy frying pan and stir fry the chicken pieces over a medium heat until the meat changes colour (about 2 or 3 minutes). Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the rest of the oil to the wok and stir fry the whole dried chilies over a medium heat until they swell. Add the onions and stir fry until golden brown (about 5 minutes). Turn the heat to low and add 2 tblsp of the curry sauce. Stir a few times then add the chili powder, ground cumin seeds, ground coriander seeds and paprika. Stir fry very gently for 1 minute. Add the remainder of the curry sauce, the chicken pieces and salt and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little hot water if the sauce dries out. Now add the yoghurt. Take one tblsp of the yoghurt and add to the curry. Stir until the yogurt blends in. Add a further tablespoon and stir until it blends in. Add all the yogurt in this manner, 1 tblsp at a time. Add the crushed fenugreek seeds and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked, stirring frequently. Add the garam masala, stir for 30 seconds and remove from the heat. Stir in the shredded coriander  leaf and serve with the hard boiled quartered eggs.

Notes: *1 - To have a regularly available supply of garlic/ginger, I make a puree  which will freeze  for months. Peel around 10 heads of garlic or 5 ginger roots, roughly chop and place in a liquidiser with a little water. Blend to a smooth paste. Freeze in small plastic containers or better still, ice cube trays so that small quantities may be easily defrosted. The curry sauce may be made with double or triple the quantities and the excess will keep for a few weeks if frozen Beef, lamb or goat meat may be used in lieu of chicken. However, the simmering time after adding the yogurt should be increased to 60 minutes if cooking lamb or goat meat and  90 minutes if cooking beef.

Hot and Sour Potatoes Ingredients     * 700 gm Potatoes, firm waxy     * 1 Medium onion, finely chopped     * 4 tblsp Vegetable oil     * 1 tsp Whole black mustard seeds     * 1/2 tsp Whole cumin seeds     * 20 mm Cube ginger, grated (or 2 tsp pureed ginger     * 3 fresh red or green chilies, finely chopped     * 1 1/2 tsp Ground coriander seeds     * 1/2 tsp Ground turmeric     * 1/2 tsp Chili powder     * 1 1/2 tsp Lemon juice     * 1 tsp Salt     * 1/4 tsp Garam masala Method Boil the potatoes and allow them to cool. Break the potatoes by hand until no pieces are larger than 10 mm cube. Heat the oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and as soon as they begin to pop, add the whole cumin seeds. Sir for a couple of seconds and then add the chopped onion. Stir fry until the onion is golden (about 4 minutes) then add the ginger and chilies. Stir for a few seconds until the ginger changes colour then add the ground coriander seeds, ground cumin seeds and chili powder. Stir once then add the broken potatoes and stir fry for 1 minute. Add 125 ml of warm water, lower the heat and stir gently for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice, salt and garam masala and cook for a further 1 minute, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat.

Aromatic Yellow Rice Ingredients 4 cups Basmati or long grain rice 1 1/2 tsp Salt 1 tsp Ground turmeric 4 Whole cloves 3 Whole green cardamoms 25 mm Cinnamon stick 3 Bay leaves 3 tblsp Unsalted butter Method Wash the rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs clear. Cover the rice with cold water and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Drain the rice and put in a rice cooker with the specified quantity of water. Add the salt, turmeric, cloves, green cardamoms, cinnamon and bay leaves and stir once. Turn on the rice cooker and cook as per the manufacturers instructions ensuring that the cooker is in the 'warm' mode for at least 10 minutes after cooking is complete. Add the butter and stir very gently until mixed. Remove the whole spices before serving.

Oven Baked Naan Bread Ingredients 450 gm Plain white flour 1 tsp Salt 2 tsp Sugar 90 gm Clarified butter 450 ml Milk 8 tsp Extra clarified butter Flour for dusting Method Put the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and add the butter. Rub the ingredients together and then add 300 ml of the milk, very slowly, kneading until a ball is formed. Knead until the dough is soft and smooth. Put the dough in a clean bowl, cover and leave for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 240 degC with a baking tray inside. Divide the dough into 8 balls. Flatten each ball and put aside, covered. Take out a patty, leaving the rest covered, and roll out until it is about 150 mm diameter. Prick all over with a fork. Open the oven and slap the bread on the heated tray, bake for 2 minutes , and then sprinkle with a little milk. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Take out the bread and put under a pre-heated grill for 10 seconds. Wrap immediately in a slightly damp cloth. Make the remaining bread in the same manner.

Note: The number of chilies or the quantity of chili powder given in the above recipes may be adjusted according to taste and the type of chilis used. The recipes are based upon the Thai "hot" chili (not the prik kee noo) and will result in a medium firey taste. Check the Scoville Scale if you are using other varieties of chili.