1 pie crust (300 grams) – ready to go

3 big potatoes

3 or 4 big red onions

2 tbs honey

40 grams butter (salted or unsalted both work).

1 tbs curry powder

1 tsp thyme

salt and pepper

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 180° degrees.

Clean and slice finely the onions. Peel and slice finely the potatoes.

In a pie tin, melt the honey on medium heat, add the curry and let fry for a couple of minutes, retain from heat and add the butter.

Put all sliced potatoes, when they are all into the tin, season with salt and pepper. Now put all sliced onions. Season with salt and pepper and add the olive oil and the thyme.

Cover with the pie crust (max 2 mm thick), and bake for 40 minutes.

When done, turn it upside down onto the service plate when still hot. Serve warm.

500 grams turky or chicken minced

1 garlic clove

2 cm fresh ginger

3 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tbs corn starch

5 tbs peanut oil

3 tbs green curry paste*

1 or 2 tbs fish sauce

4 or 5 thai eggplants (or 1 full eggplant)

100 grams green beans

3 spring onions

50 grams cashew nuts

400 grams coconut milk

20 leaves of fresh basil

juice of 1 lime

sale

if available: 3 kaffir lime leaves

*you can find it in international food stores or make it yourself with this recipe: Green Curry Paste

In a bowl, mix the meat with 1 tbs of fresh cilantro, minced ginger, minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Mix well and roll the mixture into small balls 2 to 3 cm diameter each.

Heat 3 tbs of peanut oil and fry the meatballs for 8/9 minutes stirring frequently. Set aside.

In casserole heat the remaining peanut oil and add the green curry paste. Fry for 4 minutes on high heat, then add the coconut milk and bring to a boil.

Add the spring onions in small chunks and the green beans cut in smaller pieces. Simmer for 6/7 minutes. Then add the aubergines diced and after 4 minutes, season with the fish sauce (or salt according to taste), and add the lime juice.

Finish by adding the fried meatballs, the cashew nuts and the fresh basil leaves and simmer for further 5 minutes.

Serve sprinkled with the remaining cilantro.

Serves 6

Ready in 1H + 3H marinate

The tandoori chicken

1 kg chicken meat (your choice) in medium sized chunks

Juice of 2 lemons

1 tsp chilli pepper powder

1 tbs salt

Marinade

250 grams yoghurt

1 tbs turmeric ground

1 tbs masala (or curry)

3 garlic cloves (mushed in a mortar of finely chopped)

4 cm fresh ginger root (mushed in a mortar of finely chopped)

50 grams unsalted butter for cooking

The Sauce

You can prepare it in advance, just stop right before adding chicken and cream (the cream has to be added right before serving)

3 cm fresh ginger root

2 garlic cloves

1 onion

1 chilli pepper

6/7 green cardamoms

2 cinnamon sticks (3 cm each)

2 cloves

1 tbs coriander seeds

120 grams unsalted butter

500 grams tomato puree

120 grams fresh cream

10 almonds

fresh cilantro

Dice the chicken. Massage it with the juice of one of the two lemons, add the chilli pepper powder and the salt. Set aside.
Meanwhile put together all the ingredients for the marinade and mix well.

Add the chicken. Let the marinade stand in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

When ready, heat oven very high – (250° C) and put the pieces of chicken on a skewer and put the on a dripping pan coated with parchement paper (or even better if you can barbecue them). Cook them for 15 minutes all water should be gone – in case discard excess water and put back into the oven again. While cooking brush them with a little of butter.

Meanwhile, by mean of a mortar, crush finely the spices separately. Peel the cardamoms and use only the seeds.

Mush the garlic and the ginger (with a mortar or chop them very finely), and chop finely the onion.

Mush the almonds (in case you can also use a tablespoon of ground almonds).

Heat the butter in a pan on medium-low heat, when hot add the cardamom and let fry for a couple of minutes. Now add the cinnamon, the cloves, the coriander and the curry. Fry for 3/4 minutes until the fragrance will emanate from spices.

Now add the chilli pepper, the mushed garlic, ginger and the onion. Fry them for 7/8 minutes.

Add the tomato puree, season with a bit of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. Let simmer on low heat for 15/20 minutes (until the butter will separate from the tomato puree.

Now add the almonds (mushed or ground), add a cup of water and bring to a boil.

Add the cooked chicken and let simmer for 8/9 minutes.

Now add the cream, bring back to a boil and let simmer for other 5 minutes. If it is too liquid let simmer for some more time, if it is too hard add some water.

Adjust to taste. Serve sprinkled with fresh cilantro and with steamed basmati rice.

Chicken Curry

600 gr di petto di pollo / 600 gr boneless chicken

mezza cipolla / half onion

2 spicchi d’aglio / 2 garlic cloves

2 cm di zenzero fresco / 2 cm fresh ginger

mezza banana / half banana

mezza mela / half apple

1 cucchiaio di farina / 1 tablespoon flour

sale e pepe / salt and pepper

3 cucchiai abbondanti di curry / 3 big tablespoons curry

400 ml di latte di cocco / 400 ml coconut milk

acqua (o latte) q.b. / water or milk

350 gr riso / 350 gr rice (Basmati) 

Tagliare il pollo a cubetti.

Cut the chicken into cubes.

Mettere 3 cucchiai d’olio in una casseruola e soffriggervi la cipolla, l’aglio e lo zenzero tritati (l’aglio lo si può anche lasciare intero ed estrarre a soffritto avvenuto).

Put 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a casserole. and fry the onion, the garlic and the ginger (all finely chopped).

Unire il curry e fare ravvivare le spezie nell’olio e negli aromi per un paio di minuti.

Add the curry and let fry a while to make the curry release its essences.

Unire la banana schiacciata con una forchetta e la mela tagliata a piccoli tocchetti.

Amalgamare il tutto.

Add the banana (mashed) and the apple roughly chopped. Mix well.

Unire il pollo velocemente spolverato di farina. Fare insaporire il tutto per una decina di minuti mescolando bene. Unire il latte di cocco e acqua o latte (1 bicchiere) fino a coprire la carne. Coprire e lasciare sobbollire mescolando di tanto in tanto fino ad assorbimento.

Now add the chicken roughly coated with the flour. Mix well and stir for 10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and add milk or water (1 glass) in order to cover the meat. Let simmer for 30 minutes, mixing every now and then.

A parte cuocere il riso. Sciacquare 350 gr di riso (meglio se basmati) sotto acqua corrente. Metterlo in una casseruola e coprirlo con 2 cm d’acqua. A fuoce medio portare a ebollizione coperto. Quando inizia a sobbollire mettere il gas al minimo e lasciarlo cuocere per il tempo necessario (dai 12 ai 15 min), fino all’assorbimento totale dell’acqua.

Aside cook the Basmati rice. Wash the rice in a drainer with running water. Put in a casserole and cover with cold water for 2 cm above the level of the rice itself. At medium-low heat bring to boil, once it starts boiling keep covered, put the heat to minimum and cook for 12-15 minutes until all water is absorbed.

Servire caldissimo.

Serve hot.