Madhur Jaffrey Madras Food

LAMB, PORK OR BEEF MADRAS

Steps:

• Put the coriander seeds, peppercorns, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, cloves and chillies into a small, cast-iron frying pan and set it over medium heat. Stir the spices over the heat until they are a shade darker and give off a roasted aroma. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool, then grind in a clean spice grinder or coffee grinder. Pour the oil into a wide, non-stick pan, and set it over medium-high heat.When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook, stirring, until they turn brown at the edges. Add the ginger, garlic and green chillies and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add the meat and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, ground roasted spices, salt and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Cover the pan, turn the heat to low and simmer gently for 1 hour or until the meat is tender. Uncover the pan and boil away a lot of the liquid, until a thick sauce clings to the meat. Garnish with finely chopped coriander to serve. If you want to use pork, buy shoulder meat and cook it exactly like lamb. If you prefer beef, use good-quality stewing beef, add a little extra water and then cook it for 1½ hours or until tender.

CURRY POWDER - JAFFREY

Steps:

• Heat small, heavy skillet over medium-low heat.
• Add coriander, cumin, peppercorns, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cloves and chilies.
• Stir until spices smell toasted and aromatic, about 5 minutes. (A few of the spices will darken a shade.)
• Add turmeric; stir 10 seconds.
• Turn out onto clean plate to cool.
• Transfer spices to coffee or spice grinder, in batches if necessary; grind finely.
• Use immediately or store in air-tight container in cool, dry place for up to 2 months.

CHICKEN MADRAS

Steps:

• Blitz 1 quartered onion, 2 garlic cloves, a thumb-sized chunk of ginger and ½ red chilli together in a food processor until it becomes a coarse paste.
• Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large saucepan and add the paste, fry for 5 mins, until softened. If it starts to stick to the pan at all, add a splash of water.
• Tip in ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander and 1-2 tsp hot chilli powder and stir well, cook for a couple of mins to toast them a bit, then add 4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks. Stir and make sure everything is covered in the spice mix.
• Cook until the chicken begins to turn pale, adding a small splash of water if it sticks to the base of the pan at all.
• Pour in 400g can chopped tomatoes, along with a big pinch of salt, cover and cook on a low heat for 30 mins, until the chicken is tender.
• Stir through small pack of coriander and serve with rice, naan and a big dollop of mango chutney.

MADHUR JAFFREY'S VEGAN MULLIGATAWNY

Steps:

• Dry roast whole peppercorns in soup pot over medium heat until fragrant.
• Add oil. When hot, add ginger and garlic and stir for 10 seconds or until fragrant. Next add all spices from cumin through cayenne and stir for another 10 seconds.
• Add well-rinsed chickpeas and potato pieces and stir to coat with spices.
• Next, add well-rinsed lentils along with stock and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 45 minutes. If soup gets too thick, add more water or stock to make it your desired consistency.
• Remove from heat. Add lemon juice and coconut milk and puree soup with immersion blender (or blend in batches in blender) to your desired consistency.
• Serve with cilantro garnish.