Manjula's wonderful Indian vegetarian cookery site is full of inspiration for great home-cooked food. One section I really like is the breads; it's so easy to spend time making a low sodium curry from scratch, but then mess up the meal by eating it with salty supermarket naans.
Making fresh Indian breads is really easy - especially the roti, which I can now knock up in about 10 minutes, having watched the easy step-by-step video on Manjula's site, and a bit of trial-and-error. I don't have a US cup measure, but use a little rammekin instead. Of course I leave out the salt :-), and they are fine without, but I found some black onion seeds at the market which are great for making salt-free naans more interesting.
Showing posts with label curry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curry. Show all posts
Friday, 13 November 2009
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Which? Report on Takeaways
Which? have just done a report on the nutritional value of takeaways, with few surprises in the results.
There is some useful info there too though, on how to choose a healthier takeaway. One thing I would add, is that we have found that, although our local curry house uses pre-prepared sauces, they add more salt when they cook the dishes, and are happy to refrain from doing so when we ask.
There is some useful info there too though, on how to choose a healthier takeaway. One thing I would add, is that we have found that, although our local curry house uses pre-prepared sauces, they add more salt when they cook the dishes, and are happy to refrain from doing so when we ask.
Saturday, 7 June 2008
Low Sodium Lamb Rogan Josh
Another yummy curry. This is a lamb recipe, although I have also done it with chicken (and once with chickpeas, which didn't quite work for some reason!). The lemon juice gives it a nice underlying sourness. Adapted from a Sainsburys recipe.
Serves 4-6
juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoonspoons olive or sunflower oil
875g Tenderlean boneless lamb joint, cut into 2.5cm cubes
1 large onion, sliced
2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger, grated (or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger)
2 teaspoons garam masala, or to taste
1-2 teaspoons chilli powder, or to taste
4 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon tomato puree
400g can of chopped tomatoes
150ml low salt veg stock
150g carton of low fat natural yogurt
freshly ground black pepper
1. Mix the lemon juice, garlic and together in a bowl and stir in the lamb. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight if possible, but if not then for at least a couple of hours.
2. Place the lamb and marinade in a large pan, add the onion and ginger and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the garam masala, chilli powder, cardamom pods and seasoning. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
4. Stir in the tomato puree, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Carefully stir in the yogurt.
6. Check the seasoning and serve straight away, garnished with chopped coriander.
Serves 4-6
juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoonspoons olive or sunflower oil
875g Tenderlean boneless lamb joint, cut into 2.5cm cubes
1 large onion, sliced
2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger, grated (or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger)
2 teaspoons garam masala, or to taste
1-2 teaspoons chilli powder, or to taste
4 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon tomato puree
400g can of chopped tomatoes
150ml low salt veg stock
150g carton of low fat natural yogurt
freshly ground black pepper
1. Mix the lemon juice, garlic and together in a bowl and stir in the lamb. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight if possible, but if not then for at least a couple of hours.
2. Place the lamb and marinade in a large pan, add the onion and ginger and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the garam masala, chilli powder, cardamom pods and seasoning. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
4. Stir in the tomato puree, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Carefully stir in the yogurt.
6. Check the seasoning and serve straight away, garnished with chopped coriander.
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Raita
A quick raita recipe:
250ml natural yoghurt
Half a cucumber, chopped into smallish pieces
A handful of mint, chopped (this is dead easy to grow)
Simply mix it all together. Add some finely chopped green chilli if you want more of a kick.
250ml natural yoghurt
Half a cucumber, chopped into smallish pieces
A handful of mint, chopped (this is dead easy to grow)
Simply mix it all together. Add some finely chopped green chilli if you want more of a kick.
Pizza Stones
I got a pizza stone a few weeks and haven't regretted it. It's basically a big slab of stone-like stuff that goes into your oven, and gives you a crispy base like a proper pizza oven. Ours was £10 which isn't bad considering how much you would spend on one takeaway pizza. It also doesn't need washing up which is a bonus - you just scrape it clean.
Of course, the other great thing about pizzas is you can put anything you find in the fridge on them, so they're great for using up leftovers. The only tip I'd give is to use the little mozzarella balls, as they won't have a watery middle like the large ones.
The one I got comes with a metal stand and a pizza slice - I think it's this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Craft-Pizza-Stone-12in/dp/B000SM0AS2
We have used it lots for pizza, but also for naan bread too. I need a few more tries until I get the naan right (I'm trying to do it without sodium bicarb) - fresh homemade bread is always delicious, even when it goes a bit wrong, but the recipe could do with more work before I post it here!
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Low Sodium Quick Chicken Saag
This is quick enough to do midweek after work, and sounds like it'll be low in fat as well as low in sodium. You'll need all sorts of spices in your cupboard to do it, but once you have them you'll be able to do lots of other recipes too (and to be honest, you can get away without one of them, I did it without coriander last night and it still tasted great). Serve with basmati rice.
Serves 2
2 skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced (or more if you really like garlic)
400g ish of frozen spinach, or fresh
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp
1 whole clove
1 cardamom pod
red chilli to taste
a little milk, or yoghurt
black pepper
Saute chicken cubes in a little oil until slightly browned. Set aside. If you're using frozen spinach, cook it as per instructions - fresh spinach won't need pre-cooking.
Saute onions in a little oil until clear, add the garlic for the last minute or so. Add tomatoes, turmeric, ginger, coriander, clove, cardamom pod, pepper and cook for a few more minutes. Add spinach, a splash of water and milk, garam masala, chillies and cook for 10 minutes until nearly all the fluid has gone (or simmer with a lid on until you're ready to eat, I left it on for half an hour and it was fine). If it's too hot for you, add a little yoghurt. If not hot enough, add more chilli :-)
Serves 2
2 skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced (or more if you really like garlic)
400g ish of frozen spinach, or fresh
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp
1 whole clove
1 cardamom pod
red chilli to taste
a little milk, or yoghurt
black pepper
Saute chicken cubes in a little oil until slightly browned. Set aside. If you're using frozen spinach, cook it as per instructions - fresh spinach won't need pre-cooking.
Saute onions in a little oil until clear, add the garlic for the last minute or so. Add tomatoes, turmeric, ginger, coriander, clove, cardamom pod, pepper and cook for a few more minutes. Add spinach, a splash of water and milk, garam masala, chillies and cook for 10 minutes until nearly all the fluid has gone (or simmer with a lid on until you're ready to eat, I left it on for half an hour and it was fine). If it's too hot for you, add a little yoghurt. If not hot enough, add more chilli :-)
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