Wake up and Cook!

Since it's Monday I decided that you're all gonna need some sort of kick in the pants, so I am posting two Indian recipes which are guaranteed to wake you up! I made them both last night for dinner, and they are our favorite recipes from this cook book I wanna also tell you about......



Chicken and Tomato Balti

4 Tbsp corn oil
6 curry leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 tsp mixed onion and mustard seeds (black mustards seeds taste delicious!)
8 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic pulp
1.5-2 pounds of chicken boneless, cubed
2/3 cup of water
1 tsp fresh sesame seeds, roasted
1 tsp fresh coriander (cilantro)
(*I also like to add some tiny slices of fresh ginger and one sliced up green chili, two if you dare!)

Heat the oil in a deep round bottom frying pan or wok. Add the curry, mixed onion and mustard seeds and stir well. Lower the heat slightly and add the tomatoes. While the tomatoes are gently cooking, mix together the ground coriander, chili powder, salt, ground cumin, and garlic in a bowl. Tip the spices onto the tomatoes.
Add the chicken pieces and stir together well. Stir fry for about 5 minutes. Pour on the water and continue cooking, stirring occaisionally, until the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked through.
Sprinkle the sesame seeds and fresh coriander over the chicken.

(For some reason blogger typed that recipe up there single spaced but this recipe is double spaced. I don't know why...deal with it ok? : p)

Buttery Pullao Rice

2 1/3 cups basmati rice

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

4 cloves

4 green cardamom pods

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

4 cups water

Wash the rice twice, drain and set aside. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, and throw in the cloves, bay leaf, cardamom and salt. Lower the heat and add the rice. Fry for about one minute, stirring constantly.

Add the water and bring to a boil. As soon as it has boiled, lower the heat and cover the pan, cook for 15-20 minutes.

OK, now the book is called The Complete Book of Indian Cooking by Shehzad Husain & Rafi Fernandez, (Hermes House, Anness Publishing Ltd 2001,2005) , and I promise you, this is one excellent Indian cookbook! I love all the recipes iIve made from this book better than any other Indian food I've ever had in my life, and I'm not some beginnner at Indian food, ya know!