Spiced Lemon Rice

A typical southern Indian favourite, this citrus-flavoured rice dish is a perfect accompaniment to plain grilled fish, lamb stew or chicken.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

200 g basmati rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bay leaf
12-14 fresh or dried curry leaves
1 dried red chilli
2,5 cm cinnamon stick
3-4 cloves
4-6 cardamom pods
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
8-10 black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon turmeric
juice of 1 large lemon
450 ml boiling water
salt

Method:

1. Place the rice in a sieve and wash it throughly under cold running water. Drain well and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a nonstick saucepan; when it is hot add the curry leaves, chilli, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, bay leaf and turmeric. Stir-fry for 20-30 seconds and add the rice. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the lemon juice and the measured water.

3. Bring to the boil, cover the pan tightly and reduce the heat to low.

4. Cook for 10-12 minutes, remove from the heat and allow to stand undisturbed for 10 minutes. Fluff up the rice with a fork and season before serving.

Healthy tip:

Lemons are an excellent source of vitamin C, which is important for boosting the immune system, healing wounds and protecting against heart disease. Vitamin C also helps the body absorb iron.

South Indian Pepper Chicken

 

Spiced with peppercorns rather than chilli, this creamy curry will be popular with the whole family. Fresh ginger and garlic give it a warming, spicy aroma. Serve with a refreshing salad to complement the rich sauce.

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
½ teaspoon crushed cardamom seeds
2 teaspoons crushed black peppercorns
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh root ginger
2 teaspoons finely grated garlic
625 g (1 ¼ lb) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
150 ml water or chicken stock
½ teaspoon turmeric
350 ml low-fat natural yogurt
salt

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan and when hot add the bay leaf, cloves, crushed cardamom seeds and peppercorns. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the ginger, garlic and the chicken.

2. Stir-fry over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes before adding the water or stock and the turmeric. Season.

3. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked through.

4. Remove from the heat, drizzle over the yogurt so that it is partially stirred in and serve.

Healthy tip:

Adding low-fat yogurt gives this dish a rich creaminess, with none of the fat that comes with cream, ground almonds or coconut - which are all popular ingredients in many Indian curries.

Chicken Biryani

Biryani is a meal itself and needs no accompaniment, except for a raita and some poppadums. It is a dish that is equally at home on the family dining table or as a dinner-party centrepiece.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

275 g basmati rice

10 whole green cardamom pods

½ tsp salt

3 whole cloves

5 cm cinnamon stick

3 tbsp vegetable oil

3 onions, sliced

4 chicken breast fillets, each about 175 g, skinned and cubed

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp hot chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp finely chopped fresh root ginger

juice of 1 lemon

4 tomatoes, sliced

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

150 ml natural (plain yogurt), plus extra to serve

5 saffron threads, soaked in 2 tsp warm milk

150 ml water

toasted flaked (sliced) almonds and fresh coriander (cilantro) sprigs, to garnish

Method:

1. Wash the rice well and leave to soak in water for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Remove the seeds from half the cardamom pods and grind them finely, using a pestle and mortar. Set aside the ground seeds.

3. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Drain the rice and add it with the salt, whole cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon stick. Boil for 2 minutes, then drain, leaving the whole spices in the rice. Keep the rice hot in a covered pan.

4. Heat the oil in a karahi, wok or large pan, and fry the onions for 8 minutes, until softened and browned.

5. Add the chicken and the ground spices, including the ground cardamom seeds. Mix well, then add the garlic, ginger and lemon juice. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes.

6. Transfer the chicken mixture to a casserole and arrange the tomatoes on top. Sprinkle on the fresh coriander, spoon the yogurt evenly on top and cover with the drained rice.

7. Drizzle the saffron milk over the rice and pour over the water. Cover, then bake in the oven for 1 hour. Transfer to a serving platter and discard the whole spices. Garnish with the toasted flaked almonds and coriander sprigs and serve immediately.

Madras Beef Curry

Although Madras is renowned for the best vegetarian food in India, meat-based recipes such as this one are also extremely popular.

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
3-4 cloves
4 green cardamoms
2 whole star anise
4 fresh green chillies, chopped
2 fresh or dried red chillies, chopped
3 tbsp Madras masala paste
1 tsp ground turmeric
450 g lean beef, cubed
4 tbsp tamarind juice
granulated sugar, to taste
salt
a few fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped, to garnish.

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a karahi, wok or large pan over a medium heat and fry the onion slices for about 8 minutes until they turn golden brown. Lower the heat, add all the spice ingredients, and fry for a further 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the beef and mix well. Cover and cook over a low heat until the beef is tender and fully cooked. Cook uncovered on a higher heat for the last few minutes to reduce any excess liquid.

3. Fold in the tamarind juice, sugar and salt. Reheat the dish and garnish with the chopped coriander leaves. Pulao rice and tomato and onion salad would make excellent accompaniments for this dish.

Chicken Dopiaza

Dopiaza translates literally as "two onions" and describes this chicken dish in which two types of onion - large and small - are used at different stages during the cooking process.

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil
8 small onions, halved
2 bay leaves
8 green cardamom pods
4 cloves
3 dried red chillies
8 black peppercorns
2 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2.5 cm fresh root ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp salt
4 tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
120 ml water
8 chicken pieces, such as thighs and drumsticks, skinned
plain rice, to serve

Method:

1. Heat half of the oil in a large heavy pan or wok and fry the small onions for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and set aside.

2. Add the remaining oil and fry the bay leaves, cardamoms, cloves, chillies and peppercorns for 2 minutes. Add the onions, garlic and ginger and fry for 5 minutes. Stir in the ground spices and salt and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes and water and simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add the chicken and cook for about 15 minutes.

4. Add the reserved small onions, then cover and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Spoon the mixture onto a serving dish or individual plates.
Serve with plain boiled rice.

Pears in Spiced Wine

Familiar Indian spices, infused in a red wine syrup, give pears a lovely warm flavour. The colour is beautiful, too.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 bottle full-bodied red wine
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
½ tsp grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
8 peppercorns
175 g caster (superfine) sugar
thinly pared rind of ½ orange
thinly pared rind of ½ lemon
8 firm ripe pears

Method:

1. Pour the wine into a heavy pan into which the pears will fit snugly when standing upright. Stir the cinnamon stick, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, peppercorns, caster sugar and citrus rinds into the wine.

2. Peel the pears, leaving the stalks intact, and stand them in the pan. The wine should only just cover the pears. Bring the liquid to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer very gently for 30 minutes or until the pears are tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pears to a bowl.

3. Boil the poaching liquid until it has reduced by half and is syrupy. Strain the syrup over and around the pears and serve hot or cold.

Cook's tip:

Serve the pears with a mascarpone cream, made by combining equal quantities of mascarpone cheese and double (heavy) cream, and adding a little vanilla essence (extract) for flavour. They also taste good with yogurt or ice cream.