Curry- What more could one want on a cold winter day?

I occurred to me that there is no better meal then a hot serving of curry on a cold winter day.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 clove of garlic (minced)
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 2.5 teaspoons of organic curry powder
• 1 cup of low sodium organic vegetable broth
• 1 cup of organic whole milk
• 2 heaping table spoons of plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons of butter 
• 5 large brown mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of frozen green peas)
• chickpeas (14oz can) or two boneless skinless chicken legs
• salt to taste 
• red chilli flakes to taste
• two to three table spoons of cornstarch 

If you are making a chicken curry you need:

• 1 teaspoon of cumin 
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of butter

METHOD:

1. In a deep heavy bottom pan heat about 2 table spoons of butter. Add 1 medium onion diced. Cook until almost brown.
2. Add minced garlic, curry powder and de-glaze the pan with vegetable broth. 
3. Bring to a boil and add 1 cup of milk and two heaving tablespoons of plain yogurt.
4. Add in sliced mushrooms, chickpeas (or almost cooked chicken- see recipe for chicken below).
5. Let all the indigents cook together for about 20 minutes. Add salt and desired spice.
6. After 20 minutes add cornstarch and frozen peas. Cook together for another 10 minutes and serve on top of basmati rice.

For the chicken:

If you decide to make a chicken curry you have a few added steps.

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and season with cumin and salt.
2. heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy bottom deep skillet. Add bite sized chicken pieces and cook until brown. (don't cook the chicken all the way through.
3. scrap all the chicken bits out of the pan and set the chicken aside. Use the same pan and proceed with method above.

Serve with basmati rice- cook the rice with the ratio of water to rice on the package. When I cook basmati rice I always start with melting butter at the bottom of the pot and saute the rice. Then i add 1/3 vegetable broth to 2/3 water. 

Its nice to serve this with naan bread. Don't worry you don't need to make it yourself! You can buy it at the store and heat it in the oven or the microwave. I however love the recipe for Naan in the 'Mangoes and Curry Leaves' cook book. The only substitute I make is i use instant yeast. I mean who has time to wait for the dough to rise!?

As always I hope you enjoy my food and remember try to make everything from scratch and make it organic!

Pizza!

Most people are intimidated by pizza but when you make it yourself you know exactly what is in your food.

All you need is a bowl and the ingredients and if you are lucky use your kitchen aid mixer, it makes life a whole lot easier.

Recipe:

The Dough

2.5 cups all purpose organic unbleached white flour
1 tablespoon of organic extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of raw cane sugar
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of instant yeast
1 cup of luke warm water

The sauce

one can of organic diced tomatoes (around 400ml)
one can of organic tomato paste (around 156ml)
one teaspoon of fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon of raw cane sugar
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of organic extra virgin olive oil
1/2 clove of organic garlic

The Method:

Dough:

1. in you kitchen aid mixer add the yeast followed by the warm water and mix until it dissolves.
2. Add the sugar, salt and EVOO and continue mixing.
3. Add the flour slowly until it forms a dough ball. If the mixture is too wet add some more flour.
4. Put the dough on a pizza pan (if you have one) and form the crust. Put the crust in the oven by it self for 5-7 minutes before you add the toppings.

Sauce:

1. In a large heavy bottom fry pan add 1tbsp of EVOO and heat. Add the garlic and fry until almost brown (DON'T BURN) 
2. quickly add the tomatoes and tomato paste to deglaze the pan. Turn down to low heat and add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce.
3. Simmer on low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, to allow the flavors to develop.

Now you are ready to dress your pizza!
I always do cheese first and sauce on top!