Coconut Curry, Butter Chicken and Creamy Eggplant Curry Recipes

On Fridays Blog Talk Show we talked about our favourite recipes and both Lily and I said that Indian was our number one favourite food so I will share my favourite recipes with you

Coconut Curry

This curry is fabulous!  It's great tasting, great for you and when made with another dish like butter chicken you end up with at least a second meal for a family of four.  You can use whatever vegetables you want in it, whatever you have on hand.  Prepping is super important when making Indian dishes so before you start cooking measure out all your spices into a small bowl, blend the tomatoes and chop up all the veggies.

3 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 cup mustard seeds

5 cloves garlic, finely grated

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

3 teaspoons garam masala

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons powdered turmeric

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 796ml/28oz can diced tomatoes, pureed

1 400ml/14.5oz can coconut milk

1 large sweet potato, peeled, thinly sliced

2 large carrots, peeled, thinly sliced

1 bunch of asparagus or 1 head of broccoli

Warm the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add mustard seeds and cook until seeds pop (2-3 minutes).  Add onions and saute 5-7 minutes until soft and translucent.  Add garlic, ginger, jalapeno pepper, spices and salt and saute another 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes and coconut milk, adding water to the can to get all the milk out.  Mix well.  Add vegetables (if using asparagus wait until the other vegetables are almost done before adding) and simmer over low with the saucepan lid cracked for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Enjoy!

Creamy Eggplant Curry

Poke a few holes into an eggplant and bake in a 350F oven for 1 hour.

3 Tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds

3 small onions

In a small saucepan over medium heat fry mustard seeds for 1 minute lower heat to low and add onions and caramelize the onions while the eggplant is cooking stirring occasionally until golden.  

1/2 teaspoon each fenugreek and salt

1/4 teaspoon each tumeric and corriander

1/8 teaspoon each cumin, ground black pepper and cayenne pepper

Add spices to onions and cook for a minute stirring.  Blend onions, tomatoes and eggplant in blender until smooth.  Pour into a ovenproof dish and bake at 425F for 20 minutes.

And last but not least my favourite butter chicken recipe.

Butter Chicken/Murgh Makhni

I found this butter chicken recipe here.  The first time I made this I thought it was very complicated but so delicious I have made it many time since.  Each time I make this recipe it gets easier and easier.  Below are my notes to make this recipe easier.

Rub for Chicken

500g boneless chicken

50g/1.8oz garlic and ginger paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

65ml/2.2oz natural yogurt

1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masla

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1) Wash and dry the chicken.

2) Season chicken with premixed sauce.

3) Marinate in the fridge no less than 4 hours preferably overnight.

4) Broil for 10-15 minutes.

5) Cool slightly/cut chicken/cover and refrigerate.

Sauce

40ml/1.5oz olive oil
4 sticks cinnamon
5 green cardamon pods
5 cloves
2 1/2 large bay leaves
6 green chilies
15g/0.5oz ginger root
750g/27oz tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
75g/2.6oz raw cashew nuts

1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons ground dried fenugreek
50g/1.8oz butter
60ml/2oz single cream

1) Peel and grate ginger.
2) Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan.
3) Add cinnamon, cardamon, cloves, bay leaves.  Stir for 2 minutes.
4) Add ginger and cook for 1 minute.
5) Add chilies and tomatoes and STIR for 2 minutes.
6) Add 100ml water, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
7) Remove from heat and take out any whole spices and blend until smooth straining out any lumps, adding a bit of water to get everything out the blender.
8) Bring back to a boil.
9) Meanwhile blend cashews (I blend all the cashews contrary to the video as I prefer my butter chicken not to have whole nuts on top), adding a bit of water to make a paste.
10) When the sauce is boiling add tomatoes paste and cashew paste.
11) Add chili powder and honey and stir for 3 minutes.
12) Add butter and stir until melted.
13) Add salt, "a generous sprinkle"
14) Add ground fenugreek and simmer for 20 minutes.
15) Fry chicken in butter for 3 minutes on high heat and add to sauce.
16) Add cream, stir simmering for 3 minutes.

Enjoy!

I will post pictures the next time I make these!