ANANAS KI CURRY (Chilli and Mustard Flavoured Pineapple)

Here in Australia, we tend to think of pineapple only as a food that goes in desserts, fruit salads, and (yuk!) on top of pizzas. But in regions of South-East Asia, pineapple is used to make a fine curry. I make this both as a main meal, and as a side dish for other main dishes. It’s pretty fantastic, actually. This is a Southern Indian dish.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small fresh pineapple – not overripe
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ½ teaspn ground turmeric
• ½ teaspn chilli flakes or dried chillies, crushed
• 1 teapsn salt
• 2 teaspns sugar (granulated), white or raw
• 1 Tablespn peanut oil (or canola)
• 1 teaspn black mustard seeds
• ½ teaspn cumin seeds
• 1 smallish onion, finely chopped
• 3 dried red chillies, broken
• 8 curry leaves (pref fresh, but dried is OK)

METHOD

Quarter the pineapple lengthwise. Peel these boat-shaped segments, remove the eyes and cut out the central core. Cut into bite-sized pieces.

Put the pineapple pieces into a wok, karahi or large pan, along with the water, coconut milk, turmeric and crushed chillies. Bring to a slow simmer over low heat, cover, and cook for 10 minutes or until the pineapple is soft, but not mushy.

Add the salt and sugar. Cook, uncovered, until sauce thickens.

Heat the oil in another pan, add mustard seeds and fry for a few seconds. When they start to pop, add the cumin seeds and onion. Fry for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion is soft.

Add the chillies and curry leaves. Fry for another couple of minutes and pour the oil and seeds and onion over the pineapple. Stir well, carefully, and set aside.

This dish should be eaten at room temperature, but is great hot as well. If refrigerated, it tends to lose flavour.

Simple Spiced Noodles

This is probably anathema to traditional Asian cooks, but it’s something I did last night that went down really well with the rest of my family. Noodles is not one of my fortes and I was in a bit of a rush, so this is what I did, and it was delicious!

Take a couple of bundles of dry egg noodles and break them into small pieces (break the nest – bundle – up about 4 times) into a bowl. Bring plenty of water to the boil and toss in the noodle pieces and boil for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain. Tip noodles into a broad (warm) bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, a pinch of garam masala, a pinch of roasted sesame seeds and a few drops of Chinese sesame oil. Add a pinch of sugar if you like.

Put onto individual plates or serve in the bowl with chopped coriander or mint leaves as a garnish with a small sprinkling of deep fried shallots (the store-bought kind) or deep fried chillies (again, the store-bought kind).

A whole lot easier and quicker than going through the drama of stir-frying the noodles in oil, this is simpler, delicious and healthier, complementing many main dishes. Try it.

 AN EDIT….

I was wrong. I discovered that there’s a Chinese dish very much like this; so I’m not the big inventor I thought I might be.

But here’s a great additional treatment to the above. Instead of adding oyster sauce and sesame seeds as I’ve said above, make a “dressing” for the noodles, put the cooked noodles in a warm bowl, and just add the dressing and lightly toss….

 Here’s the dressing.

Mix together 2 Tablespoons of sunflower (or veg) oil, 1 Tablespoon sesame oil, 1 crushed garlic clove and 3 teaspoons smooth peanut butter. Stir until smooth.

Add to this, 1 chopped green chilli, 2 Tablespoons roasted sesame seeds and 2 Tablespoons light soy sauce. Mix.

Add a splash (few drops) of fresh lime juice and season with salt and pepper.

You can carefully warm this dressing if you like, but be careful; just warm it, don’t heat it too much, and it’s not absolutely necessary if the noodles are kept hot.

Pour the dressing over the noodles, add 2 Tablespoons chopped coriander and mix.

Voila!

RICE SALAD (Yoghurt Rice)

As with so many recipes around the world, there are many different versions of this rice salad – also known as yoghurt rice. I’ll give the more simple version here and add a note about “boosting” it at the end.

Rice Salad

I’ve never been big on rice salads or pasta salads, but last night I prepared a cool rice salad to serve UNDER a chicken tikka tandoori (of course, using the paste that’s part of our hamper). It was great! Recipe is in “recipe” category.

Tender Chicken for Stir Fry

This is a response to Megan, who asked me about my little secret re keeping chicken breast pieces moist when stir-frying.

Chicken & Cashews

Anybody who’s ever had one of my hampers or read one of my booklets knows that if I had a mission statement, it would be to “keep it simple.” I base my intention on the fact that a lot of younger people would LIKE to cook great Asian (and in this case, Indian) meals, but are too afraid to step up to the line. So, I’m big on using already prepared pastes and mixes that I’ve researched and “proven” seriously easy and successful.

But last night I made a slightly simpler version of a fairly complex Indian dish, Murgh Roghni (chicken in cashew sauce) and it was so goooooooood, I am posting the recipe in the recipe section. Give it a go. Not so complicated, just a little more in the preparation of the sauce. Go to the “recipes.”

MURGH ROGHNI (Chicken in Cashew Sauce)

This is a simplified version of the complex Roghni. Still super-delicious. The traditional dish is not so fiery hot, but I tend to use more chillies than indicated here.

This makes about 6 servings. Use a large pan, as this is a “plenty” dish.

CARAMELISED BASMATI RICE

I promised I’d post this recipe. So, here’s a way to prepare rice quite differently to what we Westerners know. Traditionally, in India, this is most often served with dhansak, a Persian-introduced dish that seems to use just about every vegetable you can get your hands on. It requires the caramelisation of sugar in the hot oil before cooking the rice. It’s particularly nice as an accompaniment to any curry, though.

INDIAN FRIED RICE (Ghee Bhat)

Fried rice is not usually associated with India, but the following is an authentic dish that is relatively easy, if you take the time to cook the rice first and let it cool and dry. It’s important to know that all fried rice dishes require that the rice be previously cooked, and is cold and dry when it’s fried.

This recipe calls for ghee – the Indian clarified butter – rather than cooking oil, and it’s the ghee that gives it its distinctive taste. Use ghee.

When you’ve initially cooked the rice, spread it out on a flat, relatively large plate, and put in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.

OUR HAMPERS

I just posted a pic of the contents of my Indian-influenced hamper. I’ve already admitted to you bloggers that I’m a new learner in the field of blogging, soon to graduate to proper training wheels.

So, I’ll leave that pic there for the time being and go on here to chat about the hamper.

These are for those of us who perhaps have not had the interest or maybe the courage to venture into the interesting realm of the sub-continent of India. We know we like Indian food, as long as someone else slaves over the task of finding the right ingredients, roasting the spices, slicing the herbs, grinding the lot into a paste, add the main ingredients and finish it all off on a plate that shouts that it’s from Kashmir, Kerala, the Malabar Coast or somewhere exotic.

In these hampers, all that cumbersome stuff has been done for you. The pastes and mixes in my hamper are guaranteed easy, and all that’s required to