Nonya Chicken Curry

by Trisha Vaz
Growing up in Bombay and spending most of my summer breaks in Goa, I have had more than my fair share of curries. My Mum and my Aunt were great cooks and both could whip up a mean curry with great ease. So whether it was a meat (Chicken, mutton, beef or pork), seafood (fish, prawn or crab), lentil or vegetable curry, they were all really good. The best part is, they could do a lot of this without looking at a recipe. Now I haven’t reached the ‘no recipe’ stage for some of the more intricate curries, but I do know a thing or two about them.



So, a while ago, when I saw this episode of Poh & Co, where Poh (one of my favourite TV chefs) whipped up a Nonya (a type of Malaysian) Chicken Curry, both, my husband and I knew we had to try the recipe out. The recipe does call for a few specialty ingredients, but the first time I made this curry, I didn’t have them and so I left them out. Even then the curry was a great one. But I knew I wanted to try the recipe with all of the ingredients. So I picked up the Pandan leaves and the Shrimp Belachan at a local Asian grocery store and made the curry again. This time with all the ingredients. The result was a mind-blowing curry. Now I don’t often refer to a curry as mind-blowing. A cake, maybe, but never a curry. But this curry is all that, and then some. It is one of my favorite chicken curries. And today I’m going to show you how I make mine. I have altered the method a tiny bit, to make the recipe more convenient and I hope you try this out the next time you want to make a chicken curry.

I tried to serve it up like a Nasi Lemak, but with plain rice instead of coconut rice. I added some fried baby anchovies, peanuts, boiled egg and some cucumber slices.

This curry also goes really well with roti or even bread. If you can get on hands on some Roti Canai, even better.

If you’ve never made a curry before, don’t let the idea scare you. It is easier than you think. I’ve put together a video to walk you through the process.

Let’s move on the the detailed recipe for this Nonya Chicken Curry.

 

Nonya Chicken Curry
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Nonya Chicken Curry

Recipe by Trisha VazCourse: MainsDifficulty: Medium
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes

A few special ingredients, a spice-blend thats made from scratch, makes a truly well balanced curry comes together quite easily and is so very delicious.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp Coriander seeds

  • 1 tsp Cumin seeds

  • 1 tsp Fennel seeds

  • 15 dried red chillies

  • 2 onions, roughly chopped

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 20g toasted Belachan

  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

  • 8-10 curry leaves

  • 2 tbsp oil (I use olive oil for all my cooking. You can use whatever oil you normally cook with.)

  • 1 star anise

  • 3 cloves

  • 1 inch cinnamon

  • 1 1/2 kilo chicken pieces

  • 2 potatoes, cut into large cubes

  • 2 birdseye chillies, slit lengthways

  • 1 can coconut cream (400 ml can)

  • 2 pandan leaves

Directions

  • Deseed the dried chillies and soak them in hot water till they’ve rehydrated and softened.
  • In a dry pan, on medium heat, roast the coriander, cumin and fennel seeds till fragrant. Take them off the pan and set aside to cool.
  • Take the skin off the chicken, cut into pieces, trim the fat off and set aside.
  • Using a blender or food processor (you can also use a mortar and pestle if you dont have one), grind the roasted coriander-fennel-cumin seeds mix, drained red chillies, onion, garlic, belachan and turmeric to a fine paste, adding a little water as needed.
  • Heat oil in a large pot / pan over medium heat.
  • Add the star anise, cinnamon and cloves and let them fry till fragrant about 20-30 seconds.
  • Add the spice paste (rempah) to the pan and saute for 6-8 minutes till the sauce is very fragrant.
  • Tear the pandan leaves into 3 strips lengthways and knot them together. Add the pandan and curry leaves to the spice mix.
  • Add the chicken to the pan and stir to coat with the spice paste. Saute for 1-2 minutes or till the chicken pieces start to look opaque.
  • Add the coconut cream and stir well.
  • Add the potatoes, salt and sugar. Add a little water to thin down the sauce a little to reach the desired consistency. Let it come to a boil.
  • Add the slit birdseye chillies, lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer till tender.
     
  • Check after 5-7 minutes, add more water if needed, stir to make sure the curry doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Cover the pot and continue cooking till the chicken and potatoes are cooked.

    Serve hot with rice.

    Enjoy!!!

Recipe Video

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Chicken, Mains, Recipes

Quick and Easy Cole Slaw Salad

by Trisha Vaz
So what’s all the fuss about making things from scratch? you ask?
 
I, for one, like knowing what I’m eating and feeding my family. Now, from time to time I do buy ready to eat food, but those instances are very few and far between. We enjoy eating out and that’s not what I’m referring to here. I’m talking about frozen meals, ready sauces, spice pastes from a jar, canned pie filling, that kind of stuff. There are a few things that I will use, like tomato ketchup, mustard, wasabi / horseradish and that kind of stuff. I have found that for a little effort, you can make all of these things at home. They may take a little experimenting but almost always, the home made versions turn out so much better than the store bought ones. And once you try it out for yourself, you’ll know what all the fuss is about. 
 
Making your own food from scratch is a good habit to get into. And once you try your hand at it, you’ll want to learn more. It is addictive. I hate to come across as a snob, but I recently realized that in a pinch, I’d rather do a breakfast for dinner (fry up some eggs with toast) kinda thing rather than buying ready meals. If ready meals are your ‘go to’ option, try and keep an open mind to ‘made from scratch’. You can control the sugar and salt in your food. And it is so much easier on your budget too. 
 
Where am I going with all of this? A while ago, I’d shared my recipe for Homemade Mayonnaise. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make a batch. Okay, so you’ve made a batch of it. Now what? One of the ways, I use my homemade Mayo, is as a dressing in a Cole Slaw Salad. This salad couldn’t be simpler. A few ingredients get thrown in a bowl and tossed together and you have yourself a yummy salad perfect for a barbecue or to serve with batter fried fish or fried chicken or even in a sandwich.
 
 
 
I have posted a recipe for Cole Slaw before, but this one is a step up from that version with the addition of horseradish and mustard.

And if I’ve piqued your interest about food made from scratch, take a look around my blog. You’re sure to find recipes to try out.  

Quick and Easy Cole Slaw Salad
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Quick and Easy Cole Slaw Salad

Recipe by Trisha VazCourse: SaladsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

2

servings
Prep time

10

minutes

An easy and delicious Salad that makes a perfect side at a Barbeque.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp Homemade Mayonnaise

  • 1/2 tsp grated Horseradish, or to taste

  • 1/2 tsp Wholegrain or Dijon mustard, or to taste

  • 1 carrot, grated

  • 1 cup cabbage, finely sliced cabbage

  • A few slices of onion (finely sliced) or 1 spring onion, sliced

  • Salt, to taste

  • Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

  • Lime juice / lemon juice, to taste

Directions

  • In a bowl, mix the mayo, horseradish, mustard and freshly cracked black pepper. 
     
  • Add the carrots, cabbage and onion and mix well. 
  • Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
     
    Your Cole Slaw is ready to serve. 
     
    Enjoy!!!

Recipe Video

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Salads

Goan Beef Cutlets

by Trisha Vaz
I have always had a love affair with food. Even as a kid, both my brother and I, were never picky about food. I guess we had Mum to thank for that. She was, and to this day is a fantastic cook. Given, now because of her health, she cannot do as much as she used to, back in the day. But when we were growing up, every meal was home cooked. I don’t remember eating out till much later, when I was in college. Right from breakfast, through to lunch and dinner, snacks and desserts, she made everything. And a great variety of it too. I’m happy that now, I can proudly say, I try to do the same. I still have a lot to learn and experiment with, but I owe my love for cooking and good food to my Mother.

These Beef cutlets have got to be one of my favorite recipes. When we were kids, my brother and I would wait for Mum to make a batch of these cutlets at home. It wasn’t made very often, but when it was, it was a real treat. I have, for the most part, stuck to my Mum’s recipe, with just a few tweaks.

These cutlets are very versatile. Make them smaller in size and serve them up with some tomato ketchup or Barbecue Sauce as starters or Finger food, make them larger and use them as patties in Burgers or make a medium size and serve it up with some Mashed potatoes / Roasted potatoes / Fries and a salad .

I have posted a beef cutlet recipe before, but that was a really long time ago. This recipe is the same, with just the addition of some Worcestershire sauce. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to take some new pictures. After all, its been a long journey from ‘My Hobbie Lobbie’ to ‘The Aspiring Home Cook’. I’ve also filmed a little video with some handy dandy tips too. I will link the video at the end of this post.

Goan Beef Cutlets
(Makes about 14-15)


500g ground beef (beef mince)
1 large or 2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 birdseye chillies, finely chopped (optional)
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2″ ginger, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 egg
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4-1/3 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Salt, to taste
2 slices of bread
Bread crumbs, to coat the cutlets
Olive oil, for frying (You can use whatever cooking oil you have on hand)






Soak the slices of bread in water for a few seconds, drain out all the liquid and crumble. Mix together all the ingredients except the bread crumbs and vegetable oil.


Make sure all the ingredients are well mixed and evenly distributed.


Shape into cutlets.


Coat with bread crumbs.


Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Carefully place the cutlets in the pan and let it cook on a medium heat till its done to your liking. Turn over and cook the other side as well.





Repeat till you’re done with the meat mix, adding more oil to the pan as and when you need to.


Serve hot.



Enjoy!!!

Here’s the video –

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Beef, Goan Recipes, Mains, Recipes, Sides, Snacks, Starters / Appetizers