Curries and Murray’s

Chicken Tikka Masala and Murray’s Icon 2 IPA

I made Chicken Tikka Masala and rice with Minted Yoghurt (Raita)
It’s really easy to make…

You can play around with making curry pastes, but to be honest I find it  a lot easier to buy a decent packaged one and add some extras to it. The following recipe makes enough for 2-4 people (2 if you’re both super hungry).

Peel and slice a large brown onion

Start frying it off in some ghee (or oil ) and then add 2 heaped Tbs of Tikka Masala Curry paste

Throw in a decent chunk of grated ginger and 2 diced cloves of garlic

Add some diced chilli if you like it hot

Fry this off for about 10 minutes

(It’s best to marinade the chicken in tandoori paste overnight but it is not necessary. To marinate just rub the paste into the chicken and place it in a covered bowl in the fridge)

Add 400-500g of sliced free range chicken breast or thigh fillets

After browning the chicken a little, add a cup and a half of diced tomatoes and a small tub of yoghurt

Add some sliced red capsicum 

Simmer for 25-30 minutes

Stir in some cream and chopped fresh coriander leaves

Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper

Serve with Rice and Raita

(Raita : 1 cup yoghurt, some grated peeled and de-seeded cucumber and a handful of finely shredded mint)

And how could you eat curry without a bit of garlic Naan?
Now while I don’t have a tandoor to make proper naan, I can share with you an easy cheats way to make some thats almost as good.

 Naan Bread:

1 cup plain flour

1/2 tsp dried yeast

1/3 tsp salt

1/3 tsp sugar

1/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup yoghurt

1tbs oil

Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl

 whisk the warm water and yoghurt together

make a well in the flour mixture and combine wet and dry ingredients
(you may need to add a bit more flour to make a nice dough)

Knead the dough and place it back in the bowl

Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave to proof for 40-1 hour

Place on a floured bench and knead the mixture

Cover again in the bowl and leave for 20 minutes

Break the dough into small balls and roll them out on a floured bench

I use a super hot cast iron pan (it needs to be at smoking point)

Place a small amount of ghee or vegetable oil in the  pan and cook Naan for a couple of minutes on each side

Paint a mixture of melted butter and garlic on your cooked naan

DONE!
(Don’t be intimidated by Naan, it looks like a lot of steps but most of them are just letting the dough sit and kneading it)

We drank Murray’s Icon 2IPA with the curry.

Kris: IPA’s are a great match for curry, Murray’s worked really well with the creamy, tomato based sauce of the Tikka Masala. Murrays’s Icon 2IPA is one of my favourite Australian craft beers from NSW. It is a great example of a Double or Imperial IPA.
It’s really malty with an amazing hop aroma and massive hop bitterness. I try not to make the curry too spicy as the hop bitterness tends to intensify the chilli.

Caroline: I loved this beer (and not just because it’s an american style Imperial IPA). It might be the the hoppiest beer I’ve ever tasted! And even though it had huge flavor it was still really easy to drink (I could easily finish off a few myself). It was delicious with the curry, thirst quenching but still holding its own flavor-wise. Kris’ curry was also delicious, if i do say so. I’m a sucker for a spicy, creamy curry.

Duck Rillettes and Kriek

Tonight we ate duck rillettes with lemon myrtle chutney and drank Lindeman’s Kriek

What is  Kriek I here you ask?

Kris: People know what  Kriek is.

Caroline: I didn’t. Don’t you want to explain what it is?

Kris: No, maybe tomorrow.

Caroline: Kriek is a Belgian Beer made from fermenting Lambic with sour cherries. In fact, Kriek is the Dutch word for the type of cherry used. Side note: for those who don’t know what a lambic beer is either (also like me), it is a belgian beer produced by ‘spontaneous fermentation’: it is exposed to wild yeast and bacteria as opposed to controlled brewer’s yeast.
Ok then, moving right along…

 

We sipped Kriek and ate Duck Rillettes on crusty bread with my homemade Lemon Myrtle Chutney.
Lemon myrtle is a native Australian rainforest tree and the leaves have a beautiful sweet lemon/lime taste when used in cooking or marinating.
(it is delicious in iced tea as well)

Kris’ Lemon Myrtle Chutney
makes approximately 2 jars

sweat off 1 large onion in oil

add 1 1/2 cups of raw sugar 

crush a handful of lemon myrtle leaves in your hand to bruise them and release the flavour and drop them in the pot

dump in 2 tins of diced tomatoes
(or fresh tomatoes if you have them, I used canned because they were cheaper)

simmer for up to 2 hours on LOW

the longer you simmer it the thicker it will become

MAKE SURE you stir every few minutes so the bottom doesn’t burn

Ta dah! you have delicious lemon myrtle chutney!

Rillettes is a preparation of meat, similar to a pâté, wherein the meat is salted and slow-cooked in fat for a LONG time. It isn’t too hard to make, just a bit time consuming. It is worth the effort though.

Kris: I have to say, I love duck, in anything really. We tend to eat fairly rich foods in winter; which is nearly over, so I am making the most of it. Lindeman’s Kriek is a bit sweet for me. I prefer Liefman’s Goudenband and Cantillion Kriek as they are a lot more tart and acidic. They would really cut through the richness of rillettes.

Caroline: YUM. Any meat cooked in its own fat is ok by me. The lemon myrtle chutney cut the saltiness of the rillettes really nicely for me. I think they’re both delicious on their own as well. The Kriek was a bit sweet for me, I would never be able to drink one by myself, but it was nice to sip. I thought it matched nicely with the rillettes and chutney. It was sweet and a bit tangy and not too heavy.