Red Freezer Masala

The secret to preparing Indian dishes that delight the palate, without a lot of fuss, lies in the masala, or masalas, you use. Any dish may use one, or two, or even three masalas.

The term, masala, is often thought to only refer to combinations of powdered spices, but this is far from the truth.

The science of making a good masala is not exact, but is governed by a few rules:

·         Ensure your spices are clean, free of sticks, leaves and dirt.

·         Never use pre-ground spices; fresh ingredients like garlic and ginger should be super-fresh, smooth and firm with crisp but tender flesh.

·         Test your masala soon after making it. Every batch of masala will be slightly different from the last, depending on your ingredients. The first dish you make will tell you if your masala is strong and hot or weak and too bland.

Prized for its bright colour and vivid aroma, Red Freezer Masala provides important ingredients and flavour required to make an excellent curry in a teaspoon or less. It is the “Master Masala” sometimes used in combination with other masalas. The secret to this masala lies in the quality of the chillies used to make it. I use the ubiquitous mature, red bird’s eye chilli, which provides ample heat and flavour, plus red chillies that have been dried from last season’s crop of red chillies.

When buying fresh chillies, select chillies that are as bright in colour as possible. To test for freshness, break the skin of the chilli lightly with your thumbnail, touch the fluid that seeps out with a finger and lick your finger. This should tell you the firmness and crispness of the chilli and if it has a punch of flavour required to make a good masala. A chilli that packs a good punch should also ‘smell’ hot.

Dried chillies, however, as very potent, provided, of course, they have been made from select, hot chillies. Select dried chillies that are whole, full of seeds and still hold a good colour.

Red Freezer Masala, a homemade masala, is one of the moist pastes that are frequently used. Homemade masalas are always superior to any found in a bottle in the store as you are able to choose your own quality ingredients. A little of this masala goes a long way. Although we now have wonderful machines like food processors and blenders that make producing masalas simple, these masalas have been made for donkey's years. In the past, before electronic technology, housewives made them the hard way using an ancient implement, the pestle and mortar.

Red Freezer Masala should be an even glistening, slightly dark red paste with a strong chilli aroma. This masala can be stored in an airtight container in the deep freeze for up to a year. Because of the masala’s salt and oil content, it never freezes completely solid and may be scooped straight from its container.

Ingredients:

30g garlic

60g root ginger

Water for soaking

50g dried red chillies

25g fresh red chillies

40g fresh green chillies

7.5ml lemon juice

30ml salt

30-45ml sunflower oil

Method:

Soak the garlic and ginger in water for 10 minutes to make the peeling easier. Take the stalks off the dried red chillies and place the chillies into a medium sized bowl filled with lukewarm water, immersing about three quarters of the chillies. Stir to wet them all. Soak for 15 minutes until soft. Remove the stalks from the fresh red and green chillies and soak in a separate bowl for 10 minutes.

Drain the garlic and ginger. Peel the garlic and scrape the ginger clean with a teaspoon. Rinse the ginger and remove any dark spots.

Drain the soaked dried chillies through a colander resting in a bowl to collect any spilled seeds. Return the seeds to the chillies. Drain the fresh chillies and slice into quarters. Mince all the chillies in a food processor to a coarse paste, first pulsing, then on high speed. Add the ginger and garlic and mice to a smooth paste, stirring once or twice to ensure everything gets minced.

Transfer the paste into a mixing bowl, pour in the lemon juice and stir well. Mix in the salt until dissolved and then add the oil, mixing well.

Store the paste in an airtight container in the freezer.

Green Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice

In the combination of coconut rice, a cloud that almost melts in your mouth, with this chicken curry, the mild aromatic flavour of the rice offsets the explosion of spice from the curry.

Use one or two fresh green chillies in this dish, depending on how hot you like your curry. Most cooks remove the seeds and membranes to reduce the chilli burn, but I like to leave them in. Perhaps I’m lazy, but I like the enlivening pizazz from the extra heat.

When using coconut milk, rather than buying it in a 400ml can, a 75g piece of creamed coconut can be dissolved in 400ml boiling water. Again I am too idle and take the easy road by using a can, perhaps because creamed coconut is not always available unless I want to make a journey to the Indian store near the beach front, Spice Emporium.

Although lemon grass is not frequently used in Indian cooking, its use here gives a more Thai or Bangladeshi touch to this curry. Lemon grass is a perfect partner for coconut, especially when used with chicken.

For an explanation of how to prepare lemon grass, visit: Taste Lemon Grass Preparation.

Ingredients:

For the Green Masala Paste:

4 spring onions, trimmed and roughly chopped

1-2 fresh green chillies, seeded and roughly chopped

2cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled

2 garlic cloves

5ml Thai fish sauce

A large bunch fresh coriander

A small handful of fresh parsley leaves

30-45ml water

For the chicken:

30ml sunflower oil

4 chicken breast fillets, skinned and cubed

1 sweet green pepper, seeded and finely sliced

400ml coconut milk

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Rice:

250ml Thai fragrant rice or jasmine rice

400ml coconut milk

1 lemon grass stalk, quartered and bruised

Method:

To make the green masala paste, put the spring onions, chillies, ginger, garlic, Thai fish sauce and fresh herbs in a food processor or blender. Pour in the water and process to a smooth paste.

For the chicken, heat half of the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the chicken cubes until evenly browned. Transfer them to a plate and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan and stir-fry the green pepper for 3-4 minutes, then add the green masala paste. Fry, for 3-4 minutes, stirring all the while until the mixture becomes fairly thick.

Return the chicken to the pan and add the coconut milk. Season to taste and bring to the boil; lower the heat and with a lid half on the pan, simmer for 8-10 minutes.

When the chicken is cooked, transfer it with the peppers to a plate. Boil the remaining liquid left in the pan for 10-12 minutes, or until it is well reduced and fairly thick.

Meanwhile, cook the rice. After rinsing the rice, put it in a large pan and add the coconut milk and lemon grass. Stir in a little salt and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer very gently for 10 minutes with a lid on the pot. Continue to cook the rice uncovered until it is tender. discard the pieces of lemon grass and fork the rice onto a warmed serving plate.

Return the chicken and peppers to the sauce, stir well and cook gently for a few minutes to heat through. Spoon the curry over the rice and serve immediately.

Serves 3-4

Red Chicken Curry with Bamboo Shoots

This curry is made with a Curry or Masala Paste, which makes a thick gravy or sauce. The bamboo shoots have a lovely crunch, even if you use the tinned ones, which are crisper and of better quality than sliced shoots.

Ingredients:

1 L coconut milk

450g chicken breast fillets, skinned and cut into bite-size pieces

30ml Thai fish sauce (or soy sauce)

15ml sugar

225g drained canned bamboo shoots, rinsed and sliced

5 kaffir lime leaves, torn

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped fresh red chillies and kaffir lime leaves to garnish

Red Curry Paste:

5ml coriander seeds

2.5ml cumin seeds

12-15 red chillies, roughly chopped (seeded if you prefer less heat)

4 shallots, thinly sliced

5ml crushed garlic

15ml chopped galangal (if unobtainable, use ginger root)

2 lemon grass stalks, chopped

3 kaffir lime leaves, chopped

4 fresh coriander roots

10 black peppercorns

2.5ml ground cinnamon

5ml ground turmeric

2.5ml shrimp paste (optional)

5ml salt

30ml vegetable oil

Method:

Make the curry paste. Dry-fry the coriander and cumin seeds for 1-2 minutes, then put them in a mortar or food processor with the remaining ingredients except the oil. Process or grind to a paste. Add the oil, a little at a time, mixing or processing well after each addition. Transfer to a sterilised jar and chill until ready to use. This paste can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Pour half of the coconut milk into a large, heavy pan. Bring the milk to the boil, stirring constantly until it has separated. Stir in 30ml of the red curry paste and cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the chicken pieces, Thai fish sauce or soy sauce and sugar to the pan. Stir well, then cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the chicken changes colour and is cooked through, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from sticking to the base of the pan.

Pour the remaining coconut milk into the pan and add the sliced bamboo shoots and kaffir lime leaves. Bring back to the boil over a medium heat, stirring continually to prevent the mixture sticking. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.

To serve, spoon the curry into a warmed serving dish and garnish with chopped chillies and kaffir lime leaves.

Serves 4-6:

Punjabi Chana Masala Powder

This delicate masala is used for chickpea curry or for spicing up other dhal or lentil dishes.

Ingredients:
30ml Cumin Seeds
15ml Caraway Seeds
5 Dry Red Chilli
5ml Turmeric powder
15ml Coriander Seeds
7.5ml Ground Black Pepper
5ml Ground Cloves
15ml White Sesame Seeds
10 Green Cardamom

4 Black Cardamom
7.5ml Dry ground Ginger
15ml Dry Mango Powder - Amchur

10ml Ground Cinnamon
2 Bay Leaves
1 Star Anise
2.5ml Ground Nutmeg
15ml Rock Salt


Method:
Dry roast all the whole spices one by one and allow to cool.

Cool all the ingredients and grind into smooth powder using spice mill. Cool powdered masala, and store in air tight container.

Achar Masala

Achar masala - Indian pickle masala - A blend of aromatic spices roasted and blended together to make a rich and spicy masala that can be used to dress many vegetables to transform them into instant pickles.This Achar masala can be used to pickle mangoes, carrots, green beans, cabbage, or what ever vegetable you like to pickle. Achar masala should be dry and crumbly. Extra oil is added as required when making the pickle.

Ingredients :

125ml red hot chilli powder
2.5ml turmeric powder
125ml fenugreek (methi )seeds
12 black peppercorns
2.5ml mustard seeds
1ml asafetida
60ml salt
30ml olive oil, sunflower or peanut oil

2 red dried chillies

Method :

Dry roast the fenugreek seeds in a frying pan and dry grind them coarsely and keep it aside.

Heat oil in a pan, and add the mustard seeds,black peppercorns, red chillies and asafetida . Keep aside to cool slightly.(I f you add hot oil to chilli powder it will burn it and discolour)

To the ground fenugreek add the chilli powder and salt and turmeric mix well.

Add the warmed oil to the fenugreek mixture and mix well. Leave to cool.

Transfer the achar masala to sterilised jar and use as required. 

Chicken Tikka Masala

When we came to the UK, we found that curries were given some strange names here, 'Chicken Tikka' being one of them. Not wanting to appear ignorant, I asked a Hindu friend back in Durban what a tikka was. When she indicated her forehead, I was totally nonplussed. I thought she was indicating brains, and I wasn't into eating chicken brains; they are too small to be of any significance and who wants to eat brains? Not me, that's for sure!

When she figured that I was asking her about food she laughed and explained: A tikka is the mark worn on the forehead by a Hindu married woman and, simply translated, it is a 'piece'. But when referring to food, it is pieces of meat. So a chicken tikka masala, I surmised, is pieces of chicken in a spiced paste or masala - well that's a curry isn't it? So why the fancy name?

With a bit more investigating I found that this description - pieces of chicken in a spiced paste - needed more elaboration: small cubes of chicken marinated in a yoghurt spice mix, then threaded on skewers and grilled over coals, or more particularly in a tandoor oven. Well, in my book, that's called 'Tandoori Murgh'. However, it seems this is still not quite what the dish has evolved into here in Britain, perhaps because it's not so easy to live an outdoor lifestyle in a cold, wet and miserable place like the UK is.

The first time we went to an 'Indian' in England - by that I refer to the British way of speaking about eating in an Indian restaurant - I decided I had to order Chicken Tikka, more out of curiosity than anything else. I was sorely disappointed though as what I was served I would have called a simple yoghurt-chicken curry - chicken pieces in a yoghurt-curry sauce - no skewers, no grilling, just big chunks of chicken in sauce! Go figure!

To cut a long story short, it appears that everyone has their own idea of what 'Chicken Tikka', supposedly the nation's favourite curry, should be. So I thought the best way to tackle it was to share a few recipes under their relevant names and you can make up your mind how to make a

'Chicken Tikka Masala'

Charga or South African Chicken Tikka (Chicken Braai)

Ingredients:
2 whole chickens
15ml chilli powder
5ml chopped ginger
5ml chopped garlic
15ml green pawpaw pulp (unripe papaya)
30ml yoghurt
salt to taste

Method:
Cut each chicken into four portions and make cuts across, but not through the thicker parts of the meat. Smear well with chilli powder, ginger, garlic and salt. Allow to marinade for 34 hours.

Two hours before cooking, mix yoghurt, green pawpaw pulp and lemon juice and smear over the chicken. Leave to marinade. Cook under the grill, on a cast iron grill, or best of all, on a braai.


Tandoori Murgh

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
30ml oil
30ml melted ghee
1 green chilli, chopped fine
5ml ginger, chopped
5ml garlic, chopped
5ml salt
5ml ground cumin
5ml ground coriander
2ml ground white pepper
30ml single cream
juice of 1 lemon
1 pineapple cut into 6 wedges

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C.

Butterfly the chicken. Mix the oil and ghee together. Make a paste of the spices with cream, lemon juice and about 15ml oil/ghee mixture to make it sticky. Smear this paste over the chicken and allow it to marinate for 2-3 hours.

Place the marinated chicken in a deep-lidded roasting pan and bake covered in the oven for half an hour. Remove the lid and place the pan directly under the grill. Pour 15ml oil/ghee mixture over the chicken at 5 minute intervals until the chicken juices have evaporated and the chicken is cooked through. To check that the chicken is done, cut between a leg and breast; there should be no pinkness and any running juices should be clear.

Place wedges of pineapple around the chicken and braise under the grill for a few more minutes, removing before the pineapple looses colour. Serve immediately.


Makhan Murgh or Butter Chicken

Ingredients:
For the Tikka Marinade:
15-20ml lemon juice
100-120ml Greek yoghurt
2-3 cloves of garlic, made into a paste
1 inch root ginger, grated
2ml red chilli powder or tandoori masala
2-3ml paprika
10ml ground cumin
15ml vegetable oil
5ml salt

For the chicken curry:
6 deboned, skinless chicken thighs, cut across, but not right through the thicker parts of the meat.
2 inches root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
30ml vegetable oil
80-100g butter
2 black cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
8 green cardamom pods
1 inch piece of cassia bark
500g tomatoes, pureed
15ml tomato paste
2-4 small green chillies, whole but pierced
80-100ml single cream
10ml sugar
1-2ml red chilli powder or tandoori masala
5ml paprika
5ml garam masala
chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:
Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade, add the chicken and leave in the fridge to marinate for 3-4 hours, or overnight if possible. Bring to room temperature before cooking.

In a mini blender, blitz together the ginger and garlic for the curry, using a little water to make a paste. Meanwhile heat the oil and half the butter in a large non-stick saucepan. Add the whole spices and, once they start to sizzle, add the ginger and garlic paste and cook until the moisture has evaporated and the garlic odour is mellow and it looks grainy.

Add the tomatoes and tomato paste to the pan and cook down for about 20 minutes until the resulting paste releases oil. Reduce the heat and brown the paste for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. The paste should darken considerably. Pour in 250ml of water and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and pass the paste through a sieve, pressing the pulp to extract as much liquid as possible from the tomatoes and spices. Discard the solids and set the liquid aside.

Heat the oven to 240C, with the grill on as well if possible. Place the chicken in a foil lined tray on the uppermost level of the oven and cook for 8 minutes or until slightly charred. Remove from the oven. Cut the meat into large chunks.

Heat the remaining butter and add the green chillies, the prepared sauce, some salt and a good splash of water and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Mix in the cream, sugar, chilli powder, paprika and garam masala. Add the chicken to finish the cooking. Simmer, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is lovely and creamy. If the sauce starts to get dry, add a splash of water and mix in. Test for seasoning. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and sprinkle over with the chopped coriander leaves.


Chicken Tikka Pineapple Skewers with Masala Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Marinade:

750g chicken breasts, cut in 1 inch cubes
3ml turmeric
juice of half a lime
100g Greek yoghurt
2ml garam masala
5ml ginger, grated
5ml garlic grated
5ml ground cumin
5ml ground coriander
5ml red chilli powder
10ml tomato paste
20-25ml vegetable oil

For the Skewers:

wooden skewers, soaked in water
5-6 x 1cm slices pineapple cut into quarters
50ml light brown granulated sugar
3ml red chilli powder
2ml garam masala

For the masala sauce:

2ml ground cumin
15ml butter
2 inch piece root ginger, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 x 1cm slices of pineapple, shredded
15-20ml chopped fresh coriander

Method:

To make the marinade, Put the chicken cubes in a bowl and mix in the turmeric and lime juice, blending well. Set aside for about 30 minutes. Mix the remaining ingredients for the marinade with the chicken and season with sea salt. Cover the bowl with cling film and put in the fridge for at least 6 hours, overnight if possible.

Preheat the grill with the door shut to make it as hot as possible. Mix together the sugar, red chilli pepper and garam masala and sprinkle this over the pineapple pieces. Thread the chicken cubes on the prepared skewers, putting a piece of pineapple between each cube. Lightly grease a baking sheet and lay the chicken skewers on it, leaving space between each skewer. Grill until you have charring on the edges of the chicken and the sugar on the pineapple is caramelising - about 4-6 minutes. Make sure the chicken does not overcook or the chicken will be too dry. Remove, cover with foil and set aside in a warm place wile you make the masala sauce.

Heat a large frying pan and add the ground cumin and butter, moving the spice through the melting butter all the time so as to not let it burn. When the butter begins to froth, stir in the ginger, garlic and green chillies and fry until the garlic changes colour. Stir in the chopped onion and fry until soft. Add the shredded pineapple and stir into the onion. When the pineapple softens into the onion, add the chopped coriander, season to taste and serve with the chicken skewers.

Isipingo Fish Curry

Isipingo is a predominantly Indian town south of Durban on the Kwazulu Natal Coast, named for its meandering river, the Siphingo, at the mouth of which there is a magnificent beach frequented by many fishermen, especially during the sardine run.

Kingklip is an elongated fish of the eel family found off the coast of South Africa, although it doesn't much resemble an eel as it is compressed on the sides like a normal fish, but still fairly rotund. It has firm, succulent white meat, delicious in flavour, normally cut into steaks, which lends itself to almost all methods of preparation, but especially to curry. Although it is caught mostly by deep sea fishing off the west coast of the Cape, it may also be caught up the east coast as far as the north of Kwazulu Natal and is a favourite fish in restaurants in the province. If you are lucky, you may even catch one off Isipingo Beach.

Ingredients:
For the fish masala:
40ml coriander seeds
15ml cumin seeds
5ml fennel seeds
2-3ml fenugreek seeds (methi)
2 inch stick of cassia (tuj)
3-4 cloves
2-3 green cardamom pods
6-8 whole black peppercorns

For the fish curry:
1 inch cube of tamarind pulp
100ml boiling water
4 x 225 g kingklip steaks
30ml sunflower oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8-10 curry leaves
2 dried bay leaves
2-3ml turmeric
5ml hot chilli powder (tandoor masala)
30ml Fish Masala
tin of plum tomatoes, drained, deseeded and chopped
400ml can coconut milk
5ml salt

Method:
For the Fish Masala, simply grind everything together to a fine powder in a spice grinder or by hand with a pestle and mortar. Usually the seeds are roasted for a masala, but for fish curry I don't roast them as the unroasted spices give a more delicate flavour to the dish. Store in an airtight container.

Put the tamarind pulp in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Leave to soak until the water is cool enough to put your hands in, then work the tamarind pulp with the fingers until the pulp has broken down and the seeds are released. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a cup and discard the pulp remaining in the sieve.

Rinse the fish steaks under cold water and dry on kitchen paper. Heat the oil in a large shallow pan. Add the onion, garlic and curry leaves and fry gently over low heat for 8-10 minutes until the onion is soft and lightly coloured.

Add the bay leaves, turmeric, chilli powder and 30ml of fish masala and fry for 1-2 minutes until the aroma begins to build from the spices. Add the tomatoes, tamarind liquid, coconut milk and salt and simmer gently over low heat for about 15 minutes.

Now your sauce is made and it;s time to put in the kingklip steaks. Gently transfer them into the pan and spoon over the sauce. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, then cover the pan and set aside in a warm place for half an hour. The fish should now be sufficinetly cooked, but if not, return it to the heat for a few minutes.

Serve with steamed rice, chutneys, sambals and naan bread.