I say 'balti' because it isn't properly authentic, but it's that style. Anyway, here goes.
This is a balti-style curry I cook fairly often which is easy and tasty. I cooked it at the Winter Moot last year as it’s really easy to do with limited cooking facilities. Tony tried some and think he was a fan.
This will serve 1 very hungry person or 2 normal, less greedy people. I use 2 chicken thighs cooking it for me and my wife, as she doesn’t like chicken thigh. It gives enough for a decent portion for each of us (her without any chicken).
Ingredients:
1 large onion (Diced)
1 large tomato (Diced)
1/2 red pepper (Chopped roughly into approx 2cm squares)
3 cloves garlic (to your liking, I chop them into big chunks as I love garlic)
2-3 chicken thighs sliced into strips
1 chicken stock pot or stock cube
2tbsp ghee
1tsp turmeric
1tsp Indian chili powder (pure powdered chili pepper, not western Chilli Powder) - This will make it approx Jalfrezi/Madras strength if it’s proper chili powder. If you don’t like much spice, start with 0.5tsp.
1.25tsp Smoked Paprika
1tsp Cumin
1tsp dried fenugreek (methi) leaves
1 large pinch Garam Masala
Salt (to taste)
2tbsp (fairly heaped) Garlic & Ginger paste (or 1tbsp of garlic paste and 1tbsp of ginger paste)
Fresh coriander (to taste, for garnish)
Rice (I use the Tilda Basmati microwave pots)
I like some mise en place for a relaxed evening of cooking, but you don't really have to.
Things Wot You Do To Make It:
Add red pepper slices to a pan on a med-high with a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt. You are just going to sauté these until the red pepper starts to char on each side. Flip the pieces once one side is slightly charred, then char the other side lightly. This should take a few minutes. Turn off the heat and set the peppers aside for later.
Add stock pot/stock cube to a cup (I just use a mug) and fill the mug with water. Dissolve the stock cube/pot in the water by stirring. Set aside.
1tbsp of ghee in a med-hot pan. Once it’s hot enough to create a sizzle, add the onions. Keep stirring regularly until the onions are translucent and soft. Approx 3-5 mins
Once the onions are translucent, add the tomato. Keep stirring until the tomato has started to dissolve and there is a sort of onion and tomato paste starting to form. Add a tbsp of water or two if you need to, you want the tomato to be really soft and mostly disintegrating. Approx 2 mins
Add in the 2tbsp of garlic & ginger paste and keep stirring. It should sizzle for a minute as you mix it in with the tomato and onion. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn/stick.
Add in Smoked Paprika, Turmeric and Chilli Powder and keep stirring. This should take about 30 seconds to become aromatic. Make sure you don’t let it burn to the pan, gently stirring is important.
Add in the chicken thigh and turn the head to approx Medium. Add in the second tbsp of ghee. The chicken should sizzle a bit - you want to get the outside of the chicken browning but you don’t want to burn the other ingredients. Add the chopped/sliced garlic cloves half way through this bit and give it a stir. This takes approx 3-5 minutes. If it gets too dry and starts to burn, add a little bit of water.
(The garlic cloves were added half way through, this photo is before I stirred it all up for the second half of the time)
Once the chicken is cooked on the outside (no translucent or pink bits), add the chicken stock to the pan (be careful as it might spit a bit) whilst stirring and deglazing the pan. Make sure any glaze is removed from the pan, a wooden spoon is perfect for this. You want scrape any 'sticky' bits off the bottom of the pan until it looks clean and you can feel nothing is stuck.
Add in the Cumin, Garam Masala, Fenugreek leaves and a small pinch of salt (you can skip the salt and add more to taste at the end if you like, the stock will often add a bit of salt if you’re being careful about these things). Stir so it’s well mixed and bring up to a gentle simmer, turn the heat down to a low-medium simmer so it’s gently bubbling.
You’ll want to simmer this for about 10 mins until the sauce is thick enough for a medium thick curry sauce. Keep adding water if you want to cook it for longer.
About 5 mins before you’re done cooking, add in the charred red pepper and stir into the sauce.
(This is the consistency I like. I have removed about half the sauce and red peppers here to put on my wife's plate, so the pan looks emptier than yours will at this point)
Cook rice to your liking.
Once the sauce is ready, turn off the heat and let to stand for 1 minute. Stir, and then pour it over rice. Garnish with chopped coriander to taste. Serve with naan bread if you fancy.
If you want to add a bit of an extra kick, you can slice a whole chilli pepper in half lengthways and char it with the red pepper, adding it to the sauce 5 min before the end as well.
This is a balti-style curry I cook fairly often which is easy and tasty. I cooked it at the Winter Moot last year as it’s really easy to do with limited cooking facilities. Tony tried some and think he was a fan.
This will serve 1 very hungry person or 2 normal, less greedy people. I use 2 chicken thighs cooking it for me and my wife, as she doesn’t like chicken thigh. It gives enough for a decent portion for each of us (her without any chicken).
Ingredients:
1 large onion (Diced)
1 large tomato (Diced)
1/2 red pepper (Chopped roughly into approx 2cm squares)
3 cloves garlic (to your liking, I chop them into big chunks as I love garlic)
2-3 chicken thighs sliced into strips
1 chicken stock pot or stock cube
2tbsp ghee
1tsp turmeric
1tsp Indian chili powder (pure powdered chili pepper, not western Chilli Powder) - This will make it approx Jalfrezi/Madras strength if it’s proper chili powder. If you don’t like much spice, start with 0.5tsp.
1.25tsp Smoked Paprika
1tsp Cumin
1tsp dried fenugreek (methi) leaves
1 large pinch Garam Masala
Salt (to taste)
2tbsp (fairly heaped) Garlic & Ginger paste (or 1tbsp of garlic paste and 1tbsp of ginger paste)
Fresh coriander (to taste, for garnish)
Rice (I use the Tilda Basmati microwave pots)
I like some mise en place for a relaxed evening of cooking, but you don't really have to.
Things Wot You Do To Make It:
Add red pepper slices to a pan on a med-high with a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt. You are just going to sauté these until the red pepper starts to char on each side. Flip the pieces once one side is slightly charred, then char the other side lightly. This should take a few minutes. Turn off the heat and set the peppers aside for later.
Add stock pot/stock cube to a cup (I just use a mug) and fill the mug with water. Dissolve the stock cube/pot in the water by stirring. Set aside.
1tbsp of ghee in a med-hot pan. Once it’s hot enough to create a sizzle, add the onions. Keep stirring regularly until the onions are translucent and soft. Approx 3-5 mins
Once the onions are translucent, add the tomato. Keep stirring until the tomato has started to dissolve and there is a sort of onion and tomato paste starting to form. Add a tbsp of water or two if you need to, you want the tomato to be really soft and mostly disintegrating. Approx 2 mins
Add in the 2tbsp of garlic & ginger paste and keep stirring. It should sizzle for a minute as you mix it in with the tomato and onion. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn/stick.
Add in Smoked Paprika, Turmeric and Chilli Powder and keep stirring. This should take about 30 seconds to become aromatic. Make sure you don’t let it burn to the pan, gently stirring is important.
Add in the chicken thigh and turn the head to approx Medium. Add in the second tbsp of ghee. The chicken should sizzle a bit - you want to get the outside of the chicken browning but you don’t want to burn the other ingredients. Add the chopped/sliced garlic cloves half way through this bit and give it a stir. This takes approx 3-5 minutes. If it gets too dry and starts to burn, add a little bit of water.
(The garlic cloves were added half way through, this photo is before I stirred it all up for the second half of the time)
Once the chicken is cooked on the outside (no translucent or pink bits), add the chicken stock to the pan (be careful as it might spit a bit) whilst stirring and deglazing the pan. Make sure any glaze is removed from the pan, a wooden spoon is perfect for this. You want scrape any 'sticky' bits off the bottom of the pan until it looks clean and you can feel nothing is stuck.
Add in the Cumin, Garam Masala, Fenugreek leaves and a small pinch of salt (you can skip the salt and add more to taste at the end if you like, the stock will often add a bit of salt if you’re being careful about these things). Stir so it’s well mixed and bring up to a gentle simmer, turn the heat down to a low-medium simmer so it’s gently bubbling.
You’ll want to simmer this for about 10 mins until the sauce is thick enough for a medium thick curry sauce. Keep adding water if you want to cook it for longer.
About 5 mins before you’re done cooking, add in the charred red pepper and stir into the sauce.
(This is the consistency I like. I have removed about half the sauce and red peppers here to put on my wife's plate, so the pan looks emptier than yours will at this point)
Cook rice to your liking.
Once the sauce is ready, turn off the heat and let to stand for 1 minute. Stir, and then pour it over rice. Garnish with chopped coriander to taste. Serve with naan bread if you fancy.
If you want to add a bit of an extra kick, you can slice a whole chilli pepper in half lengthways and char it with the red pepper, adding it to the sauce 5 min before the end as well.
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