The Big Book of Curry Recipes (78 page)

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp groundnut oil

100ml (2/5 cup) coconut milk

3 spring onions

salt, to taste

Method:

Whisk together the oil, fish sauce and soy sauce in a bowl. Brush this mixture all over the chicken thighs then set them aside.

Wash the sweet potatoes then bring a pan of lightly-salted water to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes, or until tender.

Wash the plantains, place in an oven pre-heated to 180ºC (360ºF) and bake in their skins for 15 minutes.

Halve the papaya, scoop out the seeds and drizzle over a little lime juice to prevent browning then set aside.

Transfer the marinated chicken thighs to a bowl then add the grated garlic and sprinkle over the curry powder. Rub to coat then arrange on a roasting tin and transfer to an oven pre-heated to 200ºC (390ºF).

After 20 minutes of roasting, pour 200ml (4/5 cup) of water into the pan. Peel the sweet potatoes and plantains. After 10 more minutes of cooking add these, along with the papaya to the pan with the chicken thighs.

Bake for a further 15 minutes, basting frequently with the pan juices. After 10 minutes of cooking stir in the coconut milk.

Arrange the curry ingredients on a bed of white rice and spoon over the sauce. Garnish with the spring onion and serve.

Liberian Jollof Rice

Liberian Jollof Rice is a traditional Liberian recipe for a version of the classic highly-spiced West African one-pot dish of vegetables, rice and meat. In one form or another, this dish is made throughout West Africa and each country has its own specific variants. This is just the version I am most familiar with.

Ingredients:

1 large chicken (about 1.2kg [2 2/3 lb]) cut into serving pieces

400g (1 lb, scant) stewing beef, cubed

400g (1 lb, scant) smoked ham, cubed

2 onions, sliced

6 Scotch bonnet chillies

1 tsp freshly-grated ginger

4 tomatoes, chopped

1 small tin of tomato purée

2 small cabbages, quartered

2 carrots, cut into large pieces

1 aubergine, peeled and cubed

salt and black pepper

3 Maggi cubes

240ml (1 cup) cooking oil

450g (1 lb) rice

Method:

Wash the meat and pat dry. Combine the chicken and beef in a bowl and season with 2 Maggi cubes, salt and black pepper. Set aside to marinade for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, pound 2 scotch bonnet chillies, the tomatoes, ginger and a little of the onion to a paste in a pestle and mortar.

When the meat has marinaded add the oil to a large pan or pot and heat until quite hot. Add the chicken and beef mixture and fry until nicely browned all over. Remove the meat and set aside then add the onions and the chilli and tomato mix to the oil. Fry for a few minutes, stirring often, then return the fried meat to the pan along with the ham and the tomato purée.

Gently add about 700ml (3 cups) water (be careful, it may spit) and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 10 minutes then add-in the rice and the vegetables (including the whole chillies) with 200ml (2/5 cup) more water. Stir to combine, then bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible simmer, cover and allow the mixture to cook until the rice is done and the water has been absorbed (about 40 minutes).

Remove the vegetables and chicken from the pot. Spoon the rice and meat mixture onto a large serving tray and layer the chicken and vegetables on top. Serve hot.

Palaver Chicken

Palaver Chicken is a traditional Ghanaian recipe for a stew of chicken and spinach in a tomato and chilli sauce that’s served with hard-boiled eggs.

Ingredients:

900g (2 lb) fresh spinach

350ml (1 2/5 cups) chicken stock

900g (2 lb) chicken breast, cubed

1 large spring onions, minced

salt and black pepper to taste

120ml (1/2 cup) groundnut oil

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

2 green birds-eye chillies, chopped

1 large can red kidney beans

Method:

Wash the spinach and tear into bite-sized pieces then cook in the chicken stock until tender. Remove from the stock and refresh with cold water then set aside (reserve the stock). Add the chicken, spring onion to a saucepan. Season with salt and pepper then cover with water, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Once done, remove from the pan and set aside.

Fry the onion, tomatoes, eggs and chilli in oil for five minutes then add the beans, chicken, spinach and 240ml (1 cup) of the chicken stock. Adjust the seasoning and simmer the ingredients for 45 minutes.

Serve hot over rice or with plantain and yam mash.

Spicy Pepper Soup

Spicy Pepper Soup is a traditional Nigerian recipe (from the Eastern region) for a classic soup (a stew to be served with pounded yam) of beef, chicken or fish, onion and African blue basil in a stock base flavoured with a mix of native and hot spices.

This is a classic pepper soup from the Eastern region of Nigeria, which uses African blue basil (effirin), the ingredient that makes Nigerian pepper soups different from many other West African equivalents.

Ingredients:

1kg (2 lb, 3 oz) beef or chicken or freshwater fish

1 small sprig of effirin (African blue basil [also known as saint leaf])

1 onion

1 tbsp Scotch Bonnet chilli

powder (or to taste)

1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground uyayak pod [Aidan fruit]

1/2 tsp ground tamarind pulp

1/4 tsp ground Ashanti pepper (uziza)

1/2 tsp ground Senegal pepper pods (the thin, smoked black ones)

1/4 tsp Njangsa

1/4 tsp alligator pepper

6 uzazi peppercorns, ground (optional)

1 tsp ground African Nutmeg/Calabash Nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

2 Maggi cubes

1.5l (6 cups) water

Method:

If using beef, then use cow leg or oxtail. Cook whole and cut the meat into pieces after cooking (oxtail gives a particularly good stock). If using chicken, cut the fowl into serving pieces before cooking. Wash, scale and cut the fish into steaks before use.

Combine the meat and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for between 30 and 50 minutes (depending on the meat), or until tender. If using beef, cut the meat into pieces after cooking.

Add the spices and simmer for 10 minutes then add the effirin and season with the Maggi cube, salt and black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes more and serve hot, accompanied by pounded yam and a chilled drink.

Nigerian Groundnut Soup

Nigerian Groundnut Soup is a traditional Nigerian recipe for a classic mixed meat stew in a tomato, peanut and chilli sauce.

Ingredients:

500g (1 lb) assorted meat, washed

1 medium-sized smoked fish (washed)

225g (1/2 lb) stockfish

225g (1/2 lb) bushmeat (or game)

500g (1 lb) roasted peanuts

600ml (2 1/2 cups) stock or water

100g (3 1/2 oz) ground crayfish

25g (1 oz) iru (this is a condiment made by fermenting locust beans (carob) — omit if not available)

2 fresh tomatoes, pounded to a paste

100g (3 1/2 oz) hot chillies, pounded to a paste

1 onion, chopped and pounded to a paste

3 hot
tatase
(habanero) chillies

salt to taste

Method:

Add the meat to a pot and add a little water or stock. Season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper and boil for 30 minutes (or until tender). Add the smoked fish and stockfish and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add the remaining stock, bring to the boil and add the tomatoes, chillies, onions, habaneros, iru (if using) and peanuts. Cook for 20 minutes (or until the stock thickens). Sprinkle with ground crayfish and stir-in. Simmer for a further 10 minutes, check the seasoning and serve hot on a bed of boiled rice.

Ceebu Jën (Rice and Fish)

Ceebu Jën (Rice and Fish) is a traditional Senegalese recipe for a classic one-pot stew of fish, vegetables and rice that’s layered on a tray before serving.

This Ceebu Jën (also spelled Tiébou Dienn or cheb-oo-jen and pronounced ‘Chubby Jen’) is a classic Senegalese dish that begins with fish stuffed with herbs and onions. The stuffing for the fish itself is called
roof
(or
roff
).

Ingredients:

2 green bell peppers, de-seeded and chopped

2 leeks, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped

salt

1 hot chilli pepper, finely chopped

250ml (1 cup) groundnut oil

2 onions, chopped

1 piece salted, dried or smoked fish such as stockfish

1.2kg (2 2/3 lb) white fish fillets (eg hake, sea bass, haddock, sea bream, grouper etc) cleaned and kept whole

tomato paste

4 ripe tomatoes, whole

2 carrots, chopped

2 red bell peppers, whole

1 squash or courgette, peeled and chopped

10 okra with ends removed

550g (1 lb, 3 oz) short-grained rice

Method:

First prepare the
roof
by combining together the green bell peppers, leeks, garlic, parsley, salt and chilli and grinding to a paste (add a little oil if too stiff). It’s traditional to add a Maggi cube at this stage and you can add a fish bouillon cube along with a few pinches of cumin and coriander to get the same flavour. Cut deep slits in the fish and stuff with the
roof
mixture.

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions and dried/salted/smoked fish in this for a few minutes. Now add the fresh fish and fry for a few minutes on each side. Remove the fish and set aside then add the tomato paste and 240ml water to the pan. Add the root vegetables along with the chilli. Pour in sufficient water to just cover and simmer for about 35 minutes. Now add the bell peppers, courgette and okra. Place the fish on top and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the fish and all the vegetables and place in an oven to keep warm. Reserve about 400ml (1 3/4 cups) of the cooking liquid and adjust the volume of the remaining liquid so that it comes to just over 1l (4 cups). Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and simmer on low heat until the rice is done (about 25 minutes). Don’t worry if the rice sticks a little on the bottom of the pot. This is normal.

Add the reserved cooking broth to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow the sauce to thicken a little then pour into a sauce boat.

When the rice is done, spoon onto a large serving plate and scrape the crust on the bottom of the pan over the rice (this is called
xooñ
in Wolof). Arrange the fish and vegetables over the rice and garnish with parsley and sliced limes. Serve with the sauce.

Serve with hibiscus tea (jus de bissap).

Blanquette d’Agneau au Curry (Curried Blanquettes of Lamb)

Blanquette d’Agneau au Curry (Curried Blanquettes of Lamb) is a traditional Ivorian (from Côte d’Ivoire) recipe for a classic dish of cubed lamb stewed gently in water with carrots, leeks and an onion that’s finished in a thick curry sauce made with crème fraîche and containing fried onions and mushrooms.

Ingredients:

1kg (2 lb, 3 oz) lamb, cut into large cubes

2 carrots, scraped

1 leek, washed and trimmed

1 onion

1 clove

200g (7 oz) shallots

250g (9 oz) button mushrooms

250ml (1 cup) crème fraîche

50g (2 oz) butter

50g (2 oz) plain flour

2 tbsp groundnut oil

1 stock cube

2 tbsp curry powder

1 bouquet garni

salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Place the lamb in a large pan with the whole carrots and leek. Crumble in the stock cube then add the bouquet garni and the onion, stuck with a clove. Season to taste with salt and black pepper then cover the ingredients with water and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, over low heat for about 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender.

Peel the shallots. Heat the oil in a frying pan and use to fry the mushrooms and onions over low heat for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Melt the butter in a pan, scatter over the flour and mix together to form a smooth roux. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes then scatter over the curry powder and turn off the heat. When the roux is completely cold pour in the hot stock from the lamb and whisk until smooth.

Bring to a simmer then add the cream, the onion and mushroom mix and the lamb cubes.

Adjust the seasoning to taste and continue cooking for 15 minutes (do not allow to boil). Serve hot, accompanied by plain rice.

South Africa

South African cuisine is very varied, having native, Afrikaans and British influences along with a strong Malay influence as well, particularly in the Cape and Durban. The Malay population came to South Africa as indentured labourers to work in the sugar plantations in Natal in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Malay settlers brought with them their own styles of cookery and the British also brought with them Anglo-Indian dishes. As a result curries, particularly of the Cape Malay style are a significant part of South African cuisine.

Bobotie (Curried Meat Loaf)

Bobotie (Curried Meat Loaf) is a traditional South African recipe for a beef-based meatloaf flavoured with curry spices.

Ingredients:

2 thick slices stale white bread with crusts removed, processed into breadcrumbs

30ml (2 tbsp) sunflower oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 tsp
South African Curry Powder

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

500g (1 lb) steak mince

2 eggs

30ml (2 tbsp) hot water

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

30g (3 tbsp) sugar