curried scrambled eggs

When the day before's cabbage and coconut curry winked at me as I bumbled about the kitchen,  instinctively I made myself a strong cup of tea instead of coffee. I sat a split leftover naan in the toaster on low, to warm, rather than crisp, and got out the non-stick pan and turned on the gas.

The two chickens that remain with us are laying well, considering the variations of the weather and the winter short days - I can only remember one day when there hasn't been at least one egg and mostly there are two. Thank you Ginger and Tallulah.

One recently laid egg went into the pan, preceded briefly by a little butter. On top of that went three heaped tablespoons of the curry, and then I stirred like mad, turning the heat down to low. Result: breakfast heaven, a curried scrambled egg sandwich in a nan, eaten over a plate, so that the cascading contents (each bite at one end spilling something out the other) could be scooped up later. Recommended: gulps of builders tea between mouthfuls.

I almost wished for a hangover, so I could be even more grateful.

This would work with any leftover curry, but I think it's best with a dry curry. The leftovers I used were a my version of an earlier takeaway carrot, cabbage, coriander and coconut curry. I'll post that later.

easy chicken curry

On the way to a friend's house I decided I should whip up a lovely meal for the host. Slightly controlling behaviour, but needs must when visiting someone whose cooking always disappoints and at times may be a health hazard. I armed myself with two chicken legs, some steak mince, a lime, garlic, fresh ginger and a bunch of coriander. I was thinking night one: meatballs. Night two: chicken curry. The basics (onions, tomatoes, olive oil, yoghurt, curry powder, tomato puree) were in the pantry. All the prep could be done at once. 

The chicken is best marinaded overnight and cooks slowly. 

The chicken is tender and the flavours gentle. Very easy to eat. You could make the flavours more delicate by throwing in a couple of cardamom pods, and you could use one of the tandoori mixes to give it that violent red colour. Sometimes it's nice to keep things simple and go with ready mixed curry powder and have done. The garlic, ginger, coriander and lime mix is the key. Or you could use lemon.


This is enough for two people if eaten alone, would stretch if eaten with other dishes.

Recipe

ingredients

2 chicken legs

1" ginger

4 cloves garlic

1/2 bunch of coriander

1/2 pot of yoghurt

1 lime

3 tbsp tomato puree

pepper and salt

method

• take the skin off the chicken
• peel the garlic and ginger and chop finely
• finely chop the coriander, including the stems
• wash the lime, squeeze the juice
• put the chicken in a heatproof bowl with the chopped garlic, coriander, lime juice and both halves of the squeezed lime and yoghurt
• cover bowl with clingfilm and put into the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight

heat the oven to 325/160/3

·        take the chicken out of the fridge and stir in the tomato paste

·        the sauce may separate, to avoid this add 1tsp of cornflour

·        cook for two hours, stirring occasionally

Eat. With rice or naan, and a small salad. 

I like to eat this with dry cooked ginger potatoes and/or dhal.

spinach, lentil and coconut soup

I like soup and I like cobbling things together from the cupboard (and freezer). I occasionally eat a ready made soup, but it never satisfies. I really liked this combination, it was filling and tasty, and great to dip chunks of bread into. The coconut I used was powdered, which lent a good texture, something to chew.

No exact measurements. Only one pot used and a stick blender.

Recipe

Ingredients
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 mug split red lentils
1 mug water
3 blocks frozen spinach
1tsp curry powder
1/4 mug powdered coconut
salt and pepper
2 tbsps oil

Method
Roughly chop onion and garlic, and fry on low heat until onion is transparent
Add curry powder for a moment
Add lentils and stir, adding water and stir
Cook for 20 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally
Add frozen spinach and cook for 10 minutes, adding extra water if it gets dry
Add salt and pepper

Blend with stick blender until smooth.

Check the taste and adjust seasoning.

Eat.

dry fried spicy potatoes

This recipe lets potatoes take centre stage. If you're going veggie it is a lovely main dish with a salad, and of course it can be a great side dish as well. The fried spices give a sweet and nutty warmth, and can give a quick pep to a simple meal.

My source recipe, by Madhur Jaffrey, suggests cooking the potatoes in their skins, leaving them to cool and then peeling them. Being inherently lazy, I like to peel them, cut them into cubes and cook them like that. If you follow MJ's instructions you get a lovely waxy skin, providing you use the right kind of potato. This version allows for all varieties.

Other than the potatoes the main ingredients are ginger and garlic.

Use a non-stick or heavy based frying pan.

RECIPE

Ingredients
1 lb potatoes
1" ginger
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika or cayenne
several pinches of salt
5tbsp oil

Method

Peel the potatoes and cut into 2cm cubes, boil in water for 5 minutes and drain.
Blend ginger, garlic, lemon juice, turmeric, cumin and paprika together with salt to make a paste.
Heat the oil on a medium flame, adding the spice paste and let it sizzle for a moment.
Add the cubed cooked potatoes and turn the heat up a little.
Stir the potatoes around, letting them get well browned on all sides.

Serve.

one pan coconut dhal

Coconut dhal
This dhal is a staple in our house, it is the first recipe I wrote out for my darling daughter, it's cheap and easy to make and delicious. I included the ingredients when I sent a care package after she told me she'd been living on pot noodle alone, along with a savoy cabbage and a cake. 

Ingredients	Equipment needed
Orange split lentils Water/stock 1 onion 1 carrot Garlic Curry powder Fresh coriander 1” Creamed coconut Salt, pepper 1 Tomato Optional extras Potatoes or 1 apple	Wooden spoon Medium sized saucepan Mug Chopping board Knife
Peel onion and chop up roughly Peel carrot and slice up Take one or two cloves of garlic and crush under flat of knife and peel Take 1 mugful of lentils, put in pan Add two generous mugfuls of water or stock to pan Bring to boil and simmer over low heat You may see some scum start to bubble up – just remove it with the spoon – if you don’t everything will still taste fine Add chopped onion and carrot Add 1 tsp curry powder, pinch of salt, pepper and tomato Cook over low heat until the lentils are getting soft, about 15m Add creamed coconut, check that there is still enough liquid, if it’s getting dry add some more water and cook 5m more Add chopped coriander leaves and stir through – check seasoning and add salt if needed You might like to add a squeeze of lemon Eat with rice or on its own.

If you want to make this into soup use three mugfuls of water.

My aunt cooks this and eats it with rice. Any leftovers she puts in a pot and then eats spread on toast as pate. Sounds a bit weird? I thought so, and ate it out of politeness, only to discover it is really delicious. She chops everything up much finer than me. Just a little tip.