The top picture is the Peppercorn chicken with shredded ginger, and the bottom photograph is the Paneer cheese with spinach. It was a bit of a shot in the dark as I've never attempted curry before and to be honest I was a bit aprehensive about how it would taste, my main concerns were 1. whether the chicken would actually be cooked through properly and 2.whether the cheese would be edible (I think it was the description of curdling it which made it sound a bit dodge). I was presently surprised and so far so good no signs of food poisoning :o)
The peppercorn chicken, Peneer cheese and the spinach recipes are from
Chef's favourites Anjum's Indian Food: Anjum Anand
Chicken Ingredients:
* 1kg chicken joints, skinned with all visable fat removed
* 3 tbsp vegetable oil
* 1 small onion peeled and finely chopped
* 1-2 green chillies
I only used half of one chopped as didn't want to make it too spicy
* 15g ginger peeled and sliced into think shreds
* 1tbsp coriander powder
* Salt to tasted
* 1 tbsp black peppercorns coarsely ground I probably used about half a tablespoon as again didn't want to make it too hot
* 1/2 garam marsala
* 2 tsp lemon juice
* 2 handfuls of chopped fresh coriander leaves and stalks
Chicken Marinade:
* 30g garlic approximately 10 cloves, peeled and grated
* 10g fresh ginger, peeled and grated
* 1 tsp garam masala
* 1 chicken stock cube, dissolved in 3tbsp hot water I use Knoss stock cubes as they are gluten free
Chicken Method:
1. Make a paste with the garlic, ginger, garam masala and chicken stock. tip into a non-metallic bowl, add the chicken, stir to coat well and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or for as long as possible. Return to room temperature before cooking.
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick saucepan. Add the onion and saute for about 8 minutes or until brown. Add the green chillies, ginger, coriander powder and salt and cook for 30-40 seconds.
3. Add the chicken with the marinade and sear on all sides, about 3-4 minutes. Add the water and black pepper and bring to a boil
Make sure to keep stirring so that the mixture doesn't catch and burn on the bottom. Then lower the heat cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes
(I actually did it for about 40 minutes and think maybe it could have even done with a bit longer) until the chicken is tender. stir the pan occasionally, adding splashes of hot water if necessary.
4. Increase the heat and stir the chicken for at least 3-4 minutes to reduce the gravy to just a few tablespoons. Stir in the garam masala, lemon juice and coriander just before serving.
Paneer Ingredients:
* 2 litres of full-fat milk
* 200-250ml fresh yoghurt or:
* 2 tbsp lemon juice
Paneer Method:
1. Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-based saucepan. Once the milk starts to boil and rise up, stir in 200ml of the yoghurt or all the lemon juice
woops just re-read this, I put in both yoghurt and lemon juice. Keeping the milk on the heat, stir gently to help the milk curdle - it should only take a minute or so. if it does not separate, add the rest of the yoghurt and keep stirring. The curds will coagulate and separate from teh watery whey. Remove from the heat.
2. Line a large sieve with a muslin or cheesecloth and place over a large bowl or saucepan. Pour the cheese into the lined sieve Be really really careful doing this, the steam coming off burnt my fingers! and run some cold water through it. Wrap the cheese in the cloth and hang it from the tap over the sink to allow the excess water to drain for 10 minutes. Then, keeping it fairly tightly wrapped, place on your work surgace with a heavy weight on top (can refill the same saucepan with the whey or water and place it on top) for 30-40 minutes or until it is flattened into a firm block. Then cut into cubes or crumble, depending how you want to use it.
3. Store and unused pieces of paneer in the refrigerator in water in a covered container. You can also freeze it in an airtight container. Defrost thoroughly before use.
Paneer with spinach ingredients:
* 750g baby spinach leaves, washed
I didn't check the packet and grabbed one that was only 250g which was enough for us, but only realized after I had cooked the other ingredients and so the garlic balance was completely out
* 3 tbsp vegetable oil
* 1tsp cumin seeds
I used cumin powder as didn't have the seeds
* 1 large onion peeled and chopped
* 15g ginger peeled and sliced into long julienne
* 1 1/2 tbsp chopped garlic I found this way way way too much and a bit unpleasant but again that may have been because my ratio to spinach was all wrong
* 1-2 green chillies left whole
* 2 tsp coriander powder
* salt, to taste
* Paneer cheese from recipe above
* 1 tsp garam masala
* 6 tbsp full-fat milk or 4 tbsp double cream I went for the milk
* 1-2 tsp lemon juice, or to taste
Peneer with spinach method:
1. Blanch the spinach leaves in hot water for 3 minutes or until well wilted. Drain into a colander and run under cold water until they cool. Blend to a smooth paste and set aside. I didn't blend the spinach but left the leaves whole as I didn't have the time or really see the point!
2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan. Add the cumin seeds and fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the onion and fry over a mild heat for about 6 minutes or until soft. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and cook for 1 minute. Add the coriander powder and salt to taste. Cook for another 30 seconds, then add the spinach and a splash of water if necessary. The mixture hsould be loose but not watery. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Add the paneer cubes, garam masala and milk or cream. Stir and cook for a few minutes or until the spinach is creamy. Before serving, stir in the lemon juice to taste.
Cook the rice and Poppadoms according to packet instructions
Review:
I was pleasantly surprised with this meal, I must admit I am a bit of a woss when it comes to spice and heatness as black pepper was an exotic spice when it came to my dads cooking! The chicken had a really nice depth of flavour without being too hot; although I think my husband (who was raised in a Malaysian kitchen) found it a bit tame, but that could easily be adjusted by adding the amount of chillies and pepper recommended in the recipe. The gravy with chicken with thick enough to coat the chicken and also provide sauce for the rice.
The spinach was pretty gross to be honest. The cheese its self was actually quite nice and I found myself picking at it as I was clearing the table; it kind of had a texture of feta but a taste more like halloumi; very mild and slightly creamy. The spinach mixture was all a bit slimy and but then the hard and I think maybe undercooked slices of garlic and ginger were just unpleasant. The flavour of the spinach was nice but the texture was all wrong.
Urgh I still need to work out how to use my rice cooker as well, I'm not sure if I'm not using enough water or if its because I leave it on the warming function for too long but the bottom of the rice always seems to end up dry and crispy as if its not been cooked. Phone call to the mother in law me thinks, although not sure if I can bring myself to admit that after 7 years I still don't know how to properly cook edible rice that isn't boil in a bag (it has to be admitted this is sneakily done on her visits and the bags quickly hidden).
Oh yeah and this seemed to take forever to prep and cook. In the end I had to get hubby to assist me with cutting onions etc whilst I did the cooking, I think I really need to get more in the mind set of prepping everything first before I start cooking!
In conclusion I think I will definitely make the cheese again and maybe dry fry it with spices as a side on its own. I would also make the chicken again and very please that I have left overs for tomorrow's lunch, but there's no way on earth I'd touch that spinach recipe again; proper yuk!
