What to cook in hot weather - Butter Chicken method and other choices

The simplest recipes are the best and this is no exception.

Butter Chicken Method

Put the tomato paste in a clear measuring jug. Add water slowly, mixing as you go, to make up 8fl oz (225ml) of tomato sauce.

Add the ginger, cream, garam masala, salt, sugar, green chilli, cayenne, green coriander, lemon juice and ground roasted cumin seeds. Mix well. At this stage you can box and fridge until the finishing touch below completing the sauce.

**Heat the butter in a wide sauté pan or a large frying pan. When the butter has melted, add all the ingredients in the measuring jug. Bring to a simmer and cook on a medium heat for a minute, mixing in the butter as you do so.

Now you're ready to add your chicken.

Once again you have chicken choices. I slow cooked chicken breast ahead – one per person plus an extra two for good luck, and then froze. All that remained was to pull it all together and finish off on the day – not forgetting to defrost the chicken in the fridge overnight.

Madhur Jaffrey has another suggestion and that is to add tandoori chicken.

That suggestion gave me an idea for a spot of fusion – of culinary minds that is.

Dipna Anand is co-owner of “Brilliant” restaurant in London. The tandoori chicken is taken from a larger Tandoori Chicken Tikka Salad recipe from Dipna. This is an hommage to Madhur Jaffrey and Dipna Anand. It also proves that recipes that are 40 years old work just as well with “now”!

Chapter and verse to follow

What to cook in hot weather – the curry choices

Before I begin a small tip you may find helpful. I have this habit of re-visiting a menu plan the following day, which again might sound strange, sometimes I miss an element or there'll be an element that doesn't quite fit. In this case I didn't make any tweaks at all so I'm good to go.

I chose Butter Chicken because quite simply it's very popular and always seems to disappear. The Rendang choice is personal to me because I'm a huge fan of sweet and sour flavours. Rendang is Indonesian in origin although it has spread to Malaysia, among other countries in Southeast Asia. It's perfect to put with veggies.

It might seem pointless talking about the intense heat and what to cook after the event but I have a feeling that it will not be the last time we experience it and it's good to have an idea or two in reserve or, you might just fancy a curry in the summer.

There are heaps of Butter Chicken recipes out there – the one I use comes from my favourite Indian cookery book Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery – there was a television series too. I can't believe it's 39 years old!

Here it is :

Chicken in a butter sauce

Makkhani murghi

The sauce in this dish should be folded into butter at the very last minute as it tends to separate otherwise. However, you can combine all the ingredients except the butter up to a day ahead of time and refrigerate them until they are needed.

This is a wonderfully simple but spectacular sauce to which you add chicken.

Serves 4-6

4 tbsp of tomato purée

water to mix

1” (2.5cms) cube of fresh ginger, peeled

and grated very finely to a pulp

½ pint (275ml) single cream

1 tsp garam masala

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp sugar

1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp very finely chopped fresh green coriander

4 tsps lemon juice

1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds

4oz (110g) unsalted butter

Coming up – the method and your chicken choices continued

What to cook in hot weather …

Cast your mind back to last weekend and Sunday 19^th July in particular when, during soaring temperatures exceeding 30 degrees plus in the UK, it was the British Grand Prix and we were expecting friends to watch and then eat afterwards. Many of us don't look forward to entertaining generally but in recent times getting back into the swing of it has been hard work!

It suddenly struck me that I had to plan a menu to serve relatively quickly after the race which didn't involve me melting in the process and take into account other nightmare considerations - like serving food that is difficult to control temperature-wise in extreme heat - as an example - a prawn salad is not a good idea!

I made two decisions – a flash of inspiration me thinks – the first – definitely no salad and second it's going to be curry. You might not think it but curry is an excellent choice in hot weather – eating hot to stay cool – the heat of the spices makes you sweat - or should I say glow - and sweating cools you down. The science bit – circumin in turmeric helps promote good circulation helping to speed up your blood flow and cool your body down.

I always plan my entertaining with the dessert and then work backwards – strange I know but it works for me. The extreme hot weather actually helped my decisions. Two courses, straight into the main and then dessert. I took advantage of seasonal fresh fruit, in this case bowls of strawberries and cherries, together with a bowl of crushed Amaretti crumb, everyone helps themselves. My final element was a lemon pot – zingy, chilled and a perfect palate cleanser too after curry.

I decided on two curries – here's my final main menu :

Butter Chicken

Rendang with potato, onion and peas

Pilau rice

Naan breads

Mango chutney

Raita

I could make both the curries in advance and fridge. Each of the curries “stood alone” if preferred or together if you like a combination of flavours. The rendang catered for the veggie – me! Served in bowls at the table everyone, once again, could dive in and take whatever they fancied.

Okey dokey, lets get organised!

New Year in July - MWM curry - there's more …

… and a few hints and tips.

If you want to serve the curry on the day you slow cook it then make it as early in the day as possible – the longer those aromats get to do their thing the better it'll be - set it aside in a cool place, in the slow cooker (covered of course) and then re-heat gently when required. If you want to spread your workload you could of course make it the day before and fridge it.

Alternatively if you cook this curry ahead in readiness for your bash or just for a Saturday night treat you can “box” it into portions to suit and freeze it – you shouldn't have to cook on a Saturday!

How to make the most of your time and effort. I've made this curry with half the amount of chicken fillet but with the quantity of sauce as the recipe states. I separated half the sauce and froze it to use at a later time. Thank you freezer – again.

You don't have to use chicken – as I've already mentioned use Quorn pieces for a veggie alternative or you could use fish or prawns.

You could just make the curry sauce on its own and freeze it – again, preferably in amounts that will suit you. Don't forget the curry flavours will continue to develop whilst frozen – it's a win win!

I just love being able to produce food, unflustered at any time, but especially in this case, for your New Year in July celebration.

In conclusion three “cook ahead and freeze” dishes for a New Year in July get together – all you have to do is take them out of the freezer – oh and decide on your choice of sides and they are coming up!

New Year in July – Dish 3

Here's my final contribution for your New Year in July bash - a creamy chicken curry :

I first came across a version of this recipe years ago by Madhur Jaffrey, here's mine :

Dish 3 - Malai wali murghi

(aka MWM)

1.35kg/3lb chicken fillet, diced

*1½ tsp salt

*2 tsps cumin

*2 tsps coriander

*½ tsp turmeric

*½ tsp cayenne pepper

ground black pepper

6/7 garlic cloves or equivalent paste

2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled

and chopped finely or equivalent paste

300ml water

6 tbsp vegetable oil

110g onion, chopped finely

175g passata

1 tsp garam masala

200ml double cream (heavy USA)

If you are using raw garlic and ginger then blitz them in a blender, add a drop or two of the water and blend until smooth. Alternatively mix both the garlic and ginger pastes together.

Mix the spices marked * above.

Using a large frying pan add the vegetable oil and heat. Seal the diced chicken on both sides and set aside in the slow cooker.

Fry the onion for 2/3 minutes and add black pepper. Add the garlic and ginger paste then the spices and fry for 2/3 minutes. Mix the passata with the remaining water and add to the mixture, bring to the boil and transfer to the slow cooker – cook for 2/3 hours.

15 minutes before the end of cooking time add the garam masala and the double cream to complete the dish.

If you prefer a vegetarian or vegan version you can use Quorn pieces. If you use Quorn pieces they take 12 minutes to cook from frozen. Cook the sauce on the hob for 30 minutes, adding the Quorn after 18 minutes, with the garam masala and cream at the same time, simmer for the remaining 12 minutes.

You'll not be disappointed – there's more …

Curry sauce for a pie anyone?

If this curry sauce recipe has a downside it's the time it takes to produce – I can only say that it's definitely worth it and now you have the time!

It not pretentious - it's a typical chip shop curry sauce, more usually found in a Chinese chippy. If you have stock (or liquid gold as I prefer to call it) in your freezer from a slow cooked chicken with star anise, then it is perfect for this curry sauce and would make an excellent partner for a pie filling.

Chip Shop Curry Sauce

50g unsalted butter

2 large onions, finely sliced and chopped

1 tsp of ginger paste

4 roasted garlic cloves

3 tbsp mild curry powder

3 tbsp malt vinegar

½ tsp star anise powder

500ml of the slow cooked star anise chicken stock

2 tbsp slaked cornflour

2 tbsp lemon juice

160ml coconut cream

Using a large saucepan melt the butter and add the onions, garlic and ginger. Fry gently until soft – about 15 minutes, make sure there's no colour. Add the curry powder, star anise powder and vinegar, fry for another minute. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stir occasionally, you don't want it to stick.

Add two tbsp of water to the cornflour, mix and pour into the sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes, stir until you've got a silky, thickened sauce. Blitz with a hand blender until smooth, add the lemon juice.

You will get approximately 630g of thick curry sauce - I'd divide in half - 315g into two boxes and deposit in the treasure chest!

The sauce freezes well and I'd suggest you might want to do so in portions you know will suit you best. Remember, you can always take out more than one box, infinitely better than wasting part of a larger one.

Defrost the sauce in the fridge, then tip into a medium saucepan and warm it through. If you want to loosen the thickness but enrich the sauce add 160ml of coconut cream and stir until thoroughly absorbed.

It's difficult to get the right balance of “heat” and “spice” in a curry sauce and inevitably you can't please everyone. Chip shop curry is not as strong as traditional curries. To give you an idea of “heat” and “spice” I'd say it's not as hot and spicy as a rendang and not as mild as a korma, so middle for diddle, suitable for everyone.

By the way, you don't have to use the anise chicken stock, ordinary chicken stock is fine or vegetable stock if you want a veggie version.

I do love a useful sauce, especially one that can be used in different ways. The purists out there may sneer and would never set foot inside a chippy – it's their loss – I don't care – there's a place for any recipe made with love and care, particularly when it's part of a pie!

Before we continue with the pie fillings here's a sweet treat.

Lip Smackingly Good (LSG) Sauces

Before we carry on with the remaining working week suppers I think the time is right for two more LSG sauces.

I do love a useful sauce, especially one that can be used in different ways. The following is a curry sauce – in particular meant to resemble what I'd call a “chip shop curry”. To explain, the chip shop curry is not as strong as traditional curries. For those who eat curries, to give you an idea of “heat” and “spice” I'd say it's not as hot and spicy as a rendang and not as mild as a korma, so middle for diddle, suitable for everyone.

Here's the recipe :

Curry Sauce

50g unsalted butter

2 large onions, finely sliced and chopped

1 tsp of ginger paste

4 roasted garlic cloves

3 tbsp mild curry powder

3 tbsp malt vinegar

½ tsp star anise powder

500ml of the slow cooked star anise chicken stock

2 tbsp slaked cornflour

2 tbsp lemon juice

160ml coconut cream

Using a large saucepan melt the butter and add the onions, garlic and ginger. Fry gently until soft – about 15 minutes, make sure there's no colour. Add the curry powder, star anise powder and vinegar, fry for another minute. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stir occasionally, you don't want it to stick.

Add two tbsp of water to the cornflour, mix and pour into the sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes, stir until you've got a silky, thickened sauce. Blitz with a hand blender until smooth, add the lemon juice.

At this point, decant into boxes. You will get approximately 630g of curry sauce and I divided between two. I froze one box and fridged the other.

I was using one for this evenings meal.

Hold that thought ...