Dry Chicken and Coconut Curry

In Asia, coconut is used extensively in cooking. It add an exotic flavour to a multitude of dishes. Although it is normally used to create a sumptuous creamy sauce, here it creates quite a dry sauce, which richly coats the chicken. Serve with the ubiquitous rice and chutneys or sambals of your choice.

Ingredients:
500g chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces on the bone
400ml tin of coconut milk

For the curry paste:
1 inch piece of root ginger, peeled and chopped
grated zest of 1 lime
1 piece of salted anchovy
6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 bunch of fresh coriander stalks and leaves, reserving some leaves for garnish
3 shallots, chopped and peeled
1 stalk of lemon grass, chopped
2 fresh long thin green chillies, chopped
3ml caraway seeds, crushed
3ml coriander seeds, crushed

Method:

Put all the ingredients for the curry paste into a mini-blender ad whiz to a smooth paste.

Heat the coconut milk in a heavy-based saucepan and add the chicken. Bring to a simmer and gently simmer until the chicken is tender. If during this process the coconut milk gets too thick, add a little water.

When the chicken is nearly cooked, stir in the curry paste and continue cooking gently until the chicken is coated with the sauce and is really quite dry.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with accompaniments of your choice.

Fruit and Vegetables in April

April heralds the blossom of spring. With the daffodils in full bloom, buds bursting on the trees and the days growing longer, it makes for an exciting month of change with longings for the outdoors, alfresco meals and the first braai or barbecue of the year.

Where vegetables are concerned, nothing much changes from the supply situation of March: Broccoli, including the purple sprouting variety, carrots, leeks, new potatoes and sweet potatoes are regularly available. Cauliflower may be available and English spinach will become available as the month progresses. Another vegetable that appears now is Asparagus, but not the local variety, which is only available in May. Imported varieties of asparagus may be available from as far afield as Peru, but the one to look out for is the superior quality Spanish asparagus, which are invariable available from early April. Good courgettes and chicory are also available now, both great components of salads. Another salad vegetable not to be forgotten this month is delicious watercress, which can also be used in cooked dishes.

A dark green leaf with a distinctive peppery, pungent flavour, watercress is an incredibly versatile and healthy vegetable, which can be included in recipes instead of spinach. Look for dark, green leaves and avoid any that are wilting or yellowing. Often eaten raw in salads, watercress can also be cooked. It takes very little cooking and is often used in soups and sauces, in cheese or egg dishes, or served with fish, such as salmon, or as a filler in pies and tarts.

Fruit supplies in April are dominated by imports. Oranges are past their best, although still available, but other citrus fruits are good, for instance you may be able to use grapefruit in place of oranges for some recipes. Lemons and Limes are also still available.

The main UK fruit of the month, although not truly a fruit, but considered as such, is the first of the outdoor rhubarb, which makes a great accompaniment with apple in crumbles and sweet pastries.

Lime and Mint Panna Cotta

Panna cotta comes from the Italian and means 'cooked cream'.

This desert is believed to have originated in the Piemonte region of northern Italy.

Normally cream and milk are simmered together and mixed with gelatine.

The mixture is then put into molds and allowed to set before serving,

topped with fruit, caramel, chocolate or nuts and served chilled.

.

Ingredients:
60ml cold water
15ml powdered gelatine
250ml boiling water
125ml sugar
15 fresh mint leaves
grated zest of 1 lime
30ml lime juice
500ml cream
5ml vanilla extract
Fruit compote of your choice

Method:

Combine cold water and gelatine in a small saucepan and allow the gelatine to soak. Add boiling water, sugar, mint, lime zest and juice. Bring just to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and gelatine. Remove from heat and stand for 10 minutes to allow flavours to infuse.

Strain the liquid into a bowl and discard any solids. Whisk in the cream and vanilla. Divide between 6 serving glasses or cup moulds. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for about 4 hours until set, or chill overnight until required. Panna cotta can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Serve topped with a fruit compote of your choice.

Pumpkin and Seafood Curry

In keeping with "National Curry Week"

I have another curry for you,

one with a Thai influence.

I don't get to make this very often

as my husband does not eat pumpkin and,

I confess, I'm not crazy about sea food,

so this is a bit of a 'Jack Sprat and His Wife' dish for us.

I eat the pumpkin and he eats the fish.

If you don't like it hot, vary the amount of curry paste.

The recipe for my

"Yellow Thai Curry Paste"

can be found in my e-book,

"Herbs and Spices",

Which will be available soon.

Ingredients:

1 can of coconut milk

30ml Yellow Thai Curry Paste

250ml fish stock

20ml Thai fish sauce

10ml white or light brown granulated sugar

5ml turmeric

3-4 lime leaves, snipped into strips

1 stem of lemongrass, bruised

1 kg pumpkin (or butternut), peeled and chopped into large chunks

500g salmon, or other firm fish like cod or monkfish, cut into 1 inch cubes

100-200g prepared raw prawns

2 small pak choy, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

.

Method:

Put the creamy top half of the can of coconut milk into a large saucepan with the curry paste and mix well.

Add the rest of the coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, sugar, turmeric, lime leaves and lemongrass into the broth and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer.

Add the pumpkin chunks and cook until tender.

Add the fish and prawns and cook for about 5 minutes before adding the pak choy and lime juice. Simmer for a few more minutes to just wilt the greens.

Serve with rice or noodles, garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

.

If you are making this for a special dinner,

prepare the broth up till the pumpkin is cooked.

The broth can then be set aside

and warmed again when ready to add the fish.

To make a vegetarian version,

omit the fish and add a tin of chick peas or beans of your choice.

These will need to be cooked in the broth

for about 15 minutes to absorb the flavours.

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Lobster Braai with Lime Chilli and Coriander Butter

We can't get Crayfish here in the UK

like the one's we caught on the Natal coast,

so we have to make do with Lobster.

They are great on the Braai or Barbecue.

Live lobsters can be killed humanely

by putting them in a plastic bag in the freezer for half an hour,

then piercing them between the eyes with a sharp knife.

Ingredients:
20-30ml chopped fresh coriander
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 lime, zest only
½ lime, juice only
1 red chilli, finely chopped
75g butter, softened
2 live lobsters, about ½kg each

Method:
Light the braai 30 minutes before you want to eat.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together the chopped coriander, garlic, lime zest, lime juice and red chilli.
Beat in the softened butter until well combined.
Once the lobsters have been killed, cut each in half lengthways.
Discard the matter in the head section.
Remove and discard the sac behind the eyes.
Remove any green liver and the roe in the body section and discard.
Remove the claws, crack them and set aside.
When the flames have died down and the coals are ash-white, place the lobster claws onto the grill and braai for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until the claw meat is completely cooked through.
After turning the claws over to cook on the second side, add the lobster halves, cut-sides down, to the grill.
Braai the lobster halves for 3-4 minutes, then turn them over and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes, or until the lobster meat is cooked through. When the lobsters are cooked through, spoon the lime, chilli and coriander butter over the lobster meat.

NB: The lobster meat is cooked through when the flesh is firm and opaque and the shells have turned from dark blue to bright red.

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