A Curry Odyssey Episode 8: Chicken Masala

The Great Curry Odyssey continues!

I'll have to tell the truth here. All that hard work with the spices and the grinding and the frying and the blending and all that was never going to catch on. I think it's like Marmite or Chicken & Waffles; you really have to be brought up with it for it to make sense. That's not to say I've given up, mind you, or that I won't plunge into the hard work of real curry again. But for now, I'm not ashamed to say that I'm going to be looking for some shortcuts.

(Yes, you're right, I am ashamed. I'm weak and broken and deserve to be given the task of grinding coriander seeds and lemongrass to paste by hand for a thousand years with tennis elbow, but hey, that's not going to happen, is it?)

So for my first stop on the road to curry-shortcut-ville, I took the Garam Masala turnoff. I know that this is a vagary, but it is also a redemption of sorts. Garam Masala can be as unique as the person blending it. You can either pick it off the shelf at a supermarket, buy it pre-ground from your local Indian or Asian grocer, or, if you have the talent and the tastebuds, you can grind your own. Essentially Garam Masala is a blend of ground dried spices, and can include anything from coriander seeds to turmeric to cinnamon to cumin.

I got a nice pre-blended one from the little Indian grocer who used to be across the road, but which went out of business some months ago. It's probably going a wee bit stale, but it still suits us, and that's the one I used in this recipe.


Gluten-Free Casserole Chicken Masala

(Serves 6)
Ingredients
3kg Chicken Pieces, thawed, skin on
Freshly Ground Pepper and Salt
4T Potato Flour
2T Garam Masala
1/2 a whole bulb of Garlic, minced
4T Avocado Oil
2t Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil for frying
1/2 C White Wine
150g Tomato Paste
3 Onions, sliced
1 400g tin Chopped Tomatoes

Toss the chicken in the salt and pepper, flour, Garam Masala, garlic, avocado oil, and vinegar.
Fry in batches in a heavy pan.
Place the browned chicken in an oven dish.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine, then add the tomatoes and onions. Pour over the chicken.
Bake, uncovered, at 200C for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
The meat should be falling off the bone. Serve with rice and steamed veges.

Baked Pineapple-Dukkah Chicken

I've just realised that while I pretend that this is a foodie blog, it's been a month since I actually posted a recipe!

I'm sticking to the excuse that it's been the holidays and that there's been a lot going on. It seems that I've also had a lot of other things to write about, and I've been flat tack with other writing work, including completing a submission to Firebrand Literary Agency. Fingers crossed that that is well received, but if not I won't be worried. It's just the first step on what can be an even harder process than writing a book in the first place: getting published.

We also finished painting the house and with a lot of help from Obi, we got the roof painted too, as well as tidying up the garden, cleaning out the tool shed, putting up shelves in the garage, and nurturing the pumpkin patch. It was while we were painting the roof that I had this thought:

In ten thousand years, when the archeologists of the future are digging up the ruins of our ancient civilisations, what will they learn from the DNA and stomach contents of insects stuck in paint on our rooves and walls? Because there sure are a lot of them.

Anyway, without further ado, let me roll up my sleeves, roll out the orange ink, and present to you...

Baked Pineapple Dukkah Chicken

Serves 2 - increase quantities to suit

Using whole chicken legs, slice open the skin, gently prise away from the meat, and slot in 1 slice of tinned pineapple, cut widthwise (ie, to make it skinnier), per leg.

Toss the chicken in Dukkah (usually available from most ethnic groceries or in Wellington, Christchurch, Kapiti and Nelson, from the MFW) and semolina flour. Dukkah is a spicy and fragrant rub made with a hazelnut base, and is delicious on many things, but especially on chicken. There are plenty of recipes online if you'd like to make your own, too.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the chicken on one side until brown.

Add 2T soy sauce to the pan, shaking vigourously until the liquid has been absorbed. Turn the chicken over and repeat, sprinkling over any leftover dukkah and flour you might have.

Add quarter of the pineapple juice from the tin, repeat shaking until the liquid is absorbed, turn the chicken over and repeat. Cook for 10 minutes, being carfeul not to let the skin cook away from the chicken.
Place the chicken in an oven dish. Add the rest of the pineapple juice and about 1/8 Cup of water to the pan to deglaze it, and drain this liquid over the chicken legs. Place into an oven preheated to 220C and bake for 1 hour, turning twice during the cooking time.
Serve with Jasmine Rice cooked in Chicken Stock and a fresh garden salad. Delicious summer food. It's making me hungry, and I only just had dinner!