Indian Coconut Rice

Indian Coconut Rice

Ingredients:

1 tbs coconut oil

2 cups of basmati rice

1 cup of coconut milk

3 cups of water

Coconut oil

Star Anise

1 whole cinnamon (crack it a little)

A few Cardamom seeds

A few Mustard seeds

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Soak the rice covered in cold water for at least 20 minutes. Before cooking rinse through sift to get out all the water and the starch.

In a pot on the stove, add 1 tbs coconut oil. Throw in the Star Anise, the cinnamon, cardamom and mustard seeds. Toast until the mustard seeds starts to pop. Add the rice and fry while stirring for a minute.

Add 3 cups of water, 1 cup of coconut milk, tsp salt and bring to a boil. When boiling turn down the heat to low and put a lid on. Let the rice simmer for 20 minutes. Do not take the lid off. After 20 minutes the rice should be done and ready. Remove the Star Anise and cinnamon.

The rice is ready to serve.

Indian Chicken Tikka Masala

Indian Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

4 skinless chicken breasts

Sauce

2 onions

5 cm piece of ginger

Coriander seeds

1 fresh red chili

1 tsp cardamom

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

Coconut/groundnut or vegetable oil

400g tomatoes

½ x 400g tin of light coconut milk

Fat-free natural yogurt (as much as needed to marinate all the chicken)

1 lemon

2 cups of water

Tikka Masala Marinade

1-2 fresh red chilies

2 cloves of garlic

5 cm piece of ginger

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 ts turmeric

2 tablespoons oil

1 tsp salt

Preparing the chicken:

Slice the chicken lengthways into 2cm strips. Put the chicken in a bowl and add the marinade. Mix to make sure all the chicken meat is covered with the marinade. Put in a plastic bag and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour, but preferably over a night (12 hours). The marinade makes the meat really tender.

When the chicken has marinated: heat a frying pan and add a tablespoon of coconut oil. Fry the marinated chicken

Preparing the sauce:

To make the sauce, chop the chilies, then peel the garlic, onion and ginger and finely chop.

Place a frying pan over a medium-high heat and scatter in the cumin, cardamom and coriander seeds. Lightly toast for a few minutes, or until golden brown and smelling delicious than remove from the heat.

Add the toasted spices to a pestle and mortar and grind until fine. If you don´t want to toast and grind your own spices, use grinded.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large casserole pan over a medium-high heat. Add the spices, the garlic, onions, chili and ginger. Cook for a few minutes, or until softened and lightly golden.  

In a food processor, grind the tomatoes and add to the spices and onions.  Add the water.

Add the marinated chicken and heat to boiling point. As soon as it boils turn down the heat and let it simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the meat is tender and the sauce has reduced, stirring occasionally.

When the sauce has cooked down add the salt, lemon juice and at the end the yoghurt.

Indian Naan bread

 Indian Naan bread

Ingredients:

1 (25 g) package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 egg, beaten

2 teaspoons salt

4 1/2 cups bread flour

2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)

1/4 cup butter, melted

Instructions:

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and flour to make the dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls and place on a tray or back in the bowl. Cover with a towel, and allow buns to rise again to double in size, about 30 minutes.

During the second rising, preheat grill or frying pan to high heat. Roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil frying pan or grill. Place dough on grill or frying pan, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. To help the puffing press the Naan with your spatula while in the pan. Remove from grill/pan and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.