As I cooked this tonight, I was immediately transported to Southern India by the delicious aromas this curry emanated. I think it all came from the coconut oil which has the most amazing fragrance – quite unlike any other oil. It really did remind me of so many places I ate along the Malabar coast when I travelled there a few years ago. This dish is absolutely divine. I used salmon, for the first time in an Indian curry and I must say it worked very well indeed. It’s one of the best fish curries I’ve made in a very long time. Thankfully there was a little left over, so I shall be having that for lunch tomorrow, if not breakfast.

INGREDIENTS:
350g salmon fillets (skin off – cut into large chunks)
350g white fish (cut into large chunks)
12 raw king prawns
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons coconut oil (or peanut oil)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
20 curry leaves
2cm cinnamon stick
1 large red onion (sliced)
4 hot green chilies (left whole, slit down the side)
1 tablespoon grated garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 cup canned chopped tomato
400ml coconut milk
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp (mixed with 3 tablespoons water)
2 tablespoons fresh coriander (chopped)
lime wedges (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt and the turmeric over the fish and set aside.

Heat a wok with the coconut oil over a moderate heat until just smoking. Drop in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon and curry leaves and let them sizzle until the mustard seeds start to pop. Quickly add the onion and chillies and let them cook, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the powdered cumin, coriander, chilli powder and garam masala and stir for 30 seconds. Add the tomato and 1/4 of the coconut milk and bring to a simmer – cook for 3-4 minutes until reduced. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk, another teaspoon of salt and 250ml water and stir well. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Tip in the fish then instead of stirring, shake the pan till submerged. Cook for 5-7 minutes without stirring over a moderate heat until the fish is cooked through. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the tamarind. Fish out the chillies and cinnamon of you like.

SERVING:
Sprinkle over the fresh coriander and serve with lime wedges over plenty of fluffy basmati rice.

Once again, for the third time in as many months, I have a cold! It’s annoying me greatly. I’ve been overdosing on vitamin C all day in an attempt to stave off the worst of it and for dinner I wanted something to get the blood racing – healing food with lots of ginger and garlic normally do the trick and a bit of spice never did anyone any harm. So this Goan vindaloo was a real knockout. Lovely, sweet and spicy in flavour with a vibrant and inviting glossy gravy. It really cheered me up if nothing else – which is half the battle when you’re feeling a little sorry for yourself. The good thing too, is that this curry is pretty easy to make – something I was pretty glad of today. More time left for the sofa in front of trashy TV wrapped in a duvet.

INGREDIENTS:
For the spice paste:
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
3 garlic cloves (chopped)
3cm piece ginger (chopped)

Other Ingredients:
6 small potatoes (peeled and halved)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions (finely diced)
1kg chicken thighs (cut into chunks)
6 cloves
6 cardamom pods
6 black peppercorns
1 large tomato (finely diced)
1 stem fresh curry leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS:
To make the spice paste: Grind together in a pestle and mortar all the spice paste ingredients into a thick smooth paste. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large deep non-stick frying pan or wok. Fry the potatoes for 5-6 minutes until browned. Remove from the pan then quickly add the onions and stir well. Simmer gently for 5 minutes then add the chicken and turn up the heat. Let the chicken, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns and fry for 5 minutes till the pan is nice and hot. Add the spice paste and stir for 1 minute then add the tomatoes, curry leaves, salt, sugar and 125 ml water, reduce the heat slightly and let it simmer moderately for 7-8 minutes to reduce. Add a further 200ml of water and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Return the potatoes to the pan and simmer for a further 20 minutes until they are cooked through. Remove from the heat then finally, add the vinegar and let the curry sit for 10 minutes with a lid on before serving.

SERVING:
Serve with lots of fluffy basmati rice. I tarted my rice up a little by adding a little dried turmeric to the water to give a vibrant yellow rice.

Bhuna curries are amongst my favourites. A fragrant blend of spices with a milder spice count than many Indian curries. The sauce to a bhuna should be fairly dry and glossy and cling to the meat, in this instance pork. Traditionally, the spice paste and onion are cooked in a lot of oil or ghee – I have reduced this, but there is still, quite an amount. At the end of cooking, much of the oil will separate so you can either spoon it off, or blot it up with paper towels; or like I do, stir it in and blot it out of my mind! You can add vegetables to this curry towards the end of cooking to just cook through. This time I added a few cubed potatoes – but have made it with the likes of cauliflower, beans, eggplant, zucchini and even mushrooms.

INGREDIENTS:
Onion Paste:
2 medium onions (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 heaped tablespoons ginger (chopped)

Spice Paste:
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
3 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
4 dried red chillies
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Other Ingredients:
5 tablespoons peanut oil
700g pork (cut into chunks)
2 tomatoes (peeled and chopped)
10-12 fresh curry leaves
2 medium potatoes (peeled and cubed)
salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Blend together the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor until smooth and set aside.

In a dry frying pan over a hot flame, add the cumin seeds, chillies, coriander seeds, fennel, fenugreek and mustard seeds. Let them cook dry for 1-2 minutes until the mustard seeds start to pop and everything becomes aromatic. Remove to a bowl. When cooled, add to a spice grinder or pestle & mortar and grind the spices into a fine powder. Pour in about 1/2 cup water to form a stiff paste.

In a large pan, heat the oil over a medium temperature. Fry the onion paste for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Add the tomatoes and curry leaves and stir until it forms a pulp, about 3 minutes. Add the spice paste and stir briefly before adding the pork. Cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes, then stir in 400ml water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low. Pop on a lid and cook gently, stirring occasionally for 1 1/2 hours, until the pork is tender. 15- minutes before the end, drop in the potatoes and cook through until just soft. Take off the lid, turn up the heat and reduce the sauce for 5-7 minutes until it’s thick and glossy.

SERVING:
Serve with Indian breads and raita.

Here’s a simple little salad which is great alongside spicy curries. The cooling qualities of cucumber are just the ticket for that panicked feeling you get sometimes when you’ve been a little heavy handed with the chillies. It also adds a great crunchy texture to accompany rich, creamy sauces. Quite delicious.

INGREDIENTS:
1 small bunch radishes (cut into very fine dice)
1 small cucumber (seeded and cut into very fine dice)
2 tablespoons fresh mint (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons fresh coriander (finely chopped)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon cumin powder
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all the ingredients well. Leave for 30 minutes in the fridge to have all the flavours marry. Serve.

SERVING:
Serve alongside curries or spiced Indian style meat or fish.

Todays dinner started off in my head earlier in the day as a fresh fish with salad. However, as I left work on my way to the supermarket I was caught in an almighty downpouring of rain – dripping wet and cold I stumbled into the shop no longer wanting something light and fresh. I wanted something warming and rich – something guaranteed to cheer me up. This curry did just that – a delicious, glossy sauce, bursting with complex flavours from the warm tang of cinnamon to the fragrant cardamom and clove. It’s a fabulous moderately spiced curry – perfect for a cold, wet winters day.

INGREDIENTS:
200ml vegetable oil
4 onions
5cm piece fresh ginger (diced)
6 garlic cloves (peeled)
4 cardamom pods
6 black peppercorns
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 large tomato (diced)
1kg Lamb (1″ cube)
5 heaped tablespoons Greek style yoghurt
200g English spinach (trimmed)
1 cup fresh coriander
1 small lemon (juice of)

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium/high heat until hot. Cut 2 of the onions into thin slices and add to the pan. Let the onions sizzle for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium/low and let them sizzle for a further 20 minutes, stirring regularly until the onions are dark brown and crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Retain 4 tablespoons of the oil and add to a large saucepan and set aside. Strain the remaining oil into a container. It’s great as a substitute for oil in any other curry to bump up the flavour.

Chop the 2 remaining onions into rough pieces and add to a food processor along with the garlic and ginger. Blend into a smooth paste.

Heat the saucepan with the oil over a moderate heat until hot. Add the onion paste and sizzle for 5 minutes until the paste loses its raw smell. Add the cardamom, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt and garam masala and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the lamb and tomato and stir over a high heat for 4 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of yoghurt and cook for 1-2 minutes. Repeat the process adding 1 tablespoon of yoghurt at a time, cooking for 1-2 minutes in between until you’ve used all the yoghurt. Add 300ml water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Simmer gently for 1½ hours until the lamb is tender.

Meanwhile, wash the spinach leaves under running cold water. Don’t shake them dry, just add them to a pan over a moderate heat and cook until wilted. Drain over a sieve then place in a food processor along with the fresh coriander and pulse into a thick, chunky paste. Set aside.

Once the lamb has cooked for 1½ hours, add the spinach and coriander paste and stir well. Let this cook for 10 further minutes then remove from the heat. Squeeze in half the lemon juice, then squeeze in more, a little at a time until you’ve reached the desired sweetness. Adjust the salt if you think it needs more.

SERVING:
Serve with a fresh chutney or salad along with some Indian breads.