Cherry Tomatoes in Chicken Curry

I haven't cooked chicken curry for a while. Just today I remember my friend Danny Mc Cubbin (JamieOliver.com editor) because of the chicken curry he prepared the time I was visiting his office in London. I made a chicken curry last night and I added cherry tomatoes for the little sweet and sour kick. I think this one will do justice to a curry recipe as compared to my previous post, which I deleted. The reason why I deleted it? It's because the photography was really bad. Now with my new DSLR I can do more decent food photos.

A lot of things are happening lately in my life. Aside from my regular job as an art director from Mondays thru Fridays, now I also work as Chef during the weekend in a small cafe called GEISHA. I am also progressing with regards to my future culinary course in Italy. I found my school already and now I'm just doing some house hunting in Firenze and some restaurant internship. Then later on I have to apply for my student's visa in Italy. I will probably get another UK visa so I can visit the JamieOliver online team and some friends I gained in London and Liverpool. Since I will be there on that other side of the planet around yuletide season, I hope my student's visa will be the same as Schengen so I can travel around Europe aside from Italy. I am excited to see snow... I have travelled a lot already but I haven't seen one in my life :)

CHERRY TOMATOES IN CHICKEN CURRY

Ingredients:

• Chicken Breast Fillet
• Curry Paste/Powder
• Turmeric
• Cumin
• Paprika
• Salt / Pepper
• Sugar
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Coriander
• Sweet Basil Leaves
• Onions and Garlic (Minced)
• Ginger (Grated)
• Coconut Milk
• Olive Oil
• Butter (of course)

Procedure:

Heat pan in medium temperature then add butter and olive oil. Put garlic, onions and ginger then saute all together. Add chicken and fry it until it gets a little brown. Add curry paste or powder along with other spices. Stir-fry the chicken with cherry tomatoes then add salt, pepper and sugar. Add coconut milk with little water. Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add coriander and basil leaves and simmer for another minutes until the sauce evaporate and thicken. Turn off the heat and serve over Thai Jasmine rice then top it with yoghurt.

Hope all of my mates will like this one...

big hug,
joanie xxx

Celeriac and Halzelnut Soup

Celeriac. Must be THE ugliest vegetable I've ever seen. Just look at its knobbly and twisted surface; it's no wonder most people avoid it. But peel away (actually more like cut. it's got really thick skin) the outer layers, and you have a beautiful cream-coloured inside,that gives off a sweet nutty smell and flavour, a bit celery-like but much milder and without the fibrous texture.

Anyway, I picked this thing up because I like to get the odd vegetables at the Farmers' Markets. There's not much fun in getting something you can see in the supermarkets anyway, is there? When I don't know what to do with a new root vegetable, there are 2 fail-safe ways I usually turn to: roasting, or turning it into soup.

Celeriac and Hazelnut Soup
serves 2-4
Ingredients

1 medium celeriac, peeled and chopped

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped

1 small onion, peeled and diced

small handful of hazelnuts, soaked overnight and skin-off

2 cups vegetable stock

about 1/3 cup whole milk (raw)

sea salt and black pepper to taste (about 1/2-1 tsp)

1 tbsp evoo + 1 tbsp butter

To serve

fresh parsley

couple of hazelnuts, lightly toasted

Method

1. Over medium heat, sweat the onions in the evoo and butter, till translucent

2. Add the celeriac, potato and hazelnuts, and saute for 5 min more.

3. Add the vegetable stock and seasoning, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes (depends how big you chopped the vegetables), or till they're all soft.

4. Remove from heat, and blend, adding in the milk till you get a smooth creamy consistency.

5. Meanwhile, lightly toast a couple of hazelnuts (skinless) over medium high heat in a dry pan.

6. Check soup to adjust the seasoning if necessary, before serving with the toasted hazelnuts and parsley for some freshness!

Garnish with the lightly toasted hazelnuts. (to both add crunch and to hint to the person drinking the soup that there's a secret ingredient inside!)

This soup is really velvety and smooth, with that mild, sweet nuttiness coming from both the celeriac and the hazelnuts. I just love that pretty cream colour too. Funny how a while ago I just said it's the ugliest vegetable ever.

By the way, I saw spinach at the Farmers' Market! Could it be...... spring is coming!

This is part of Weekend Herb Blogging.

Gone Fishin'

Note to self (and Henry):  must remember to stay to the left!

Nope, I'm not in the states.  Anyone want to guess where we are?  Suffice it to say, no snowstorms here.

Cheers!

Cheezburger of the Day

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

SWEET POTATO IN JAGGERY SYRUP ( Vrat Ka Khana )

Ingredients:

Sweet potatoes ..... 2 ( select small ones)

Jaggery ................ 2-3 tbsps.

Salt ............ a pinch

Ghee ......... 1 tsp.

Cardamom powder ... 1/4 tsp.

Method:

1. Wash and cut the sweet potato into half inch circles. Peel the skin ( it is easier to peel after slicing)

2. Heat the ghee and add the sweet potato. Stir fry and add one cup of water, jaggery, cardamom powder and a pinch of salt.

3. Simmer and cook until done.