Curried Chick Pea and Potato - around 70 cents a serve!

It’s time to put up one of the easiest dishes that I know and love - Curried chick pea with potato is one of many snack dishes from India that fall under the collective name of “chaat” (pronounced chart).  I cooked it up as part of a lunch meal for 5 during my week-long challenge to Live Below the Line.  A group of my colleagues and I got together to cook for each other while sticking to a budget of eating for no more than $2 a day - that's all meals and snacks - all day!  It's towards a good cause to raise money for people in extreme poverty in countries like Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.  The money will help fund education and skills training to break the cycle of poverty in such countries.  Check out my page on the Live Below the Line website for all the details of this worthwhile charity and also to see how our team went each day.  Feel free to donate generously as the site will be accepting donations until July 31^st 2013.

No more chatting, now back to the “chaat-ing”.  This dish was very inexpensive to say the least and has a surprisingly good kick of flavour too.  The dish costs just $3.06c – so that is a microscopic  61 cents per serve add 10 cents worth of flatbreads - and our bellies are nourished and filled thoroughly.
I have given the costs that incurred against the ingredients in the list that follows.  Try it, you won’t be disappointed – if anything, this dish is proof that we can cook up some really inexpensive meals, that don’t break the budget, and can still be nutritious and sustaining.

Ingredients, to serve 5

2 tbsp x Canola oil = 0.06c

4 x medium Potatoes = 0.40c

2 cans x Chick Peas, washed and drained (You can choose to use the dried ones but for the sake of time I have used the canned ones) = $1.79c

3 x onions, sliced = 3 x 0.5c (I got these at 60c for a kilo – so really cheap!)

2 x Garlic cloves, crushed = 0.10c

1 inch x Ginger. grated = 0.10c

3 tbsp x Tomato paste = 0.12c  

2 tsp x Coriander powder = 0.08c

2 tsp x Cumin powder = 0.08c

1 tsp x Turmeric powder = 0.04c

½ tsp x Chilli powder = 0.01c

1 tsp x Salt = 0.04c

3 Fresh chillies, deseeded and chopped = 0.02c

2 tsp x Coriander leaves chopped = 0.25c

Water as required.

TOTAL curry cost = $3.06

We ate these with home-made flatbreads which costed 0.50c for 500g of Wholemeal flour

TOTAL Meal = $3.56c

Directions

Place 1 tbsp of the oil into a heavy pan and heat on medium

Add the sliced onions and fry for 5 minutes until soft 

Place enough water to cover the potatoes into a saucepan and boil until potatoes are done
When cooled, peel and chop potatoes into rough cubes, reserve for later

Once onions are softened, add in the garlic, ginger and tomato paste and fry for 3 minutes, stirring constantly 

Place the cooked down mixture into a blender and allow to cool slightly
Process to a thick smooth paste - this is the curry paste
Clean out and dry the pan then return to the heat with the remaining tablespoon of oil
Add the dry spices and chick peas stirring well to combine 

Now add in the curry paste and a little water 
Stir through to completely coat the chick peas  

Add in the cooked potatoes from earlier

Stir through and allow to simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes
Add extra water as required to ensure that a thick gravy remains
Do not let the curry dry out
To serve place the curry into a bowl and garnish with chopped chilli and coriander

In India this dish is usually enjoyed with deep fried "purees" which are basically made up from plain flour mixed water into a dough then rolled flat and finally fried nice and crispy.

For the more frugal (as this week has been for us) I highly recommend flatbreads or "chaapatis" with this dish as they go together perfectly

Ingredients and directions

Take 500g of wholemeal flour (atta) and combine with boiling water into a workable dough - use a wooden spoon to do this

Knead the dough into a 25 equal balls

Use a rolling pin to roll these out to as flat as possible - thin but not see through

Heat a heavy frypan (unless you have an Indian "tawa" as in my pic) on medium to high heat 

Cook the flatbreads for a minute on each side but do not allow to burn

Eat them fresh with any curries or dahl dishes 

They are light and delicious and at 50 cents for the entire batch - a very cheap alternative to regular carbohydrate accompaniments - especially the ones that cost so much from a Indian restaurant!     

Korean Style Fried Chicken...just add beer!

Now anyone who knows me well enough knows that "I love me some fried chicken". But not just any fried chicken will do, I'm afraid. Some time back I made the fortunate discovery of Gami Chicken & Beer - a little restaurant not far from the office that fast became "the place" to have our team gatherings. What could be better than Korean Fried Chicken and beer?  Gami was definitely an instant hit, and still is by many folk who have succumbed to deep fried goodness bathed in sweet chilli sauce. 
So it was high time to try and replicate Korean fried chicken at home, as I have done before with so many other dishes.  Surprisingly, my home-made rendition, more than suffices and could actually pass for the real thing - it's all in the sauce. This is definitely not the traditional Korean recipe and it's not to be confused with the colonel's concoction as it has nowhere near 11 herbs and spices - believe me it doesn't need it! 
Ingredients - serves 2
4 x Chicken thigh fillets, boneless, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 scant tsp x salt
1 scant tsp x chilli powder (use the Japenese kind if you can get it)
1 tsp x lemongrass powder (optional but so flavoursome)
1 tsp x sesame oil
2-3 tbsp x Korean flour (substitute for cornflour if unavailable)
Oil for deep frying
For the chilli sauce
3 tbsp x Kouchujang chilli paste (Korea's finest) - definitely a must have
1 tbsp x Sugar
1 clove x Garlic, crushed 
1 tsp x Sesame seeds
1 scant tsp x Sesame oil
Water, to dilute
Directions
Place the salt, chilli and lemongrass powders in a large mixing bowl
Add the chicken and sesame oil and mix to combine ingredients

Allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours
Dust in the Korean flour and mix through ensuring the chicken pieces are well coated
Add a little more flour if necessary
Heat a wok with enough oil to deep fry

Fry the chicken in batches until the pieces are golden brown and crispy

To prepare the sauce thoroughly combine ingredients in a bowl 
If sauce is too thick, stir through a little water until a slightly runny texture is achieved
Drizzle the sauce generously over the fried chicken pieces and serve hot!

Did I mention fried chicken goes great with beer?

You can stop drooling now!

        

2013... Starts with Khao Soi Gei

Back again for another year and I tried sneaking in a blog post just before January came to an end but couldn't.  So February it is and the year is flying already. Last year finished up with a bang and turkeys and fruit mince pies are a faded memory along with any holiday time off, that I had. Yes indeed, it was back to work with all systems go on a most busy start to the year. 
As previously mentioned, I moved house in December last year and have been equally busy at home settling in. The kitchen has had a workout over the last few weeks and rightfully so, as we customised it to be a highlight of our house and essentially-my world. 2012 was farewelled with a cracker of a feast of TexMex delights that definitely impressed. And if chowing down on Nachos at 4am to cure the alcohol induced hunger pangs is anything to go by, then I say it was a feast well deserved.  

 But on to a recipe and one that has been a long time coming - Khao Soi Gai. I made this on my birthday last year alongside my mum's Burmese/Anglo Indian style Pantay Khao Soi and although the votes were very close, I'm pretty sure that my mum's dish won the battle. To be fair, she has been making it for many years now and is only allowed to do so on my birthday - so perfection is a prerequisite. This version is my own take on this Thai style spicy curry noodle soup that just sings with flavour in a balanced harmony of heat, sweet, sour and salt. This dish is very reminiscent of a good curry laksa and I love the flavour combination of curry powder and red curry paste that sets it apart from the well known northern Thai curries. I think I have employed as many cheats into this recipe to make it a quick and easy dinner dish using chicken breast, which cooks fast and also ready made Thai Red Curry paste (of course you could make your own!). The garnish could also be a myriad of other ingredients from pickled cabbage to fresh red onions and more.  I have kept it really simple with ready made fried noodles and shallots and humble spring onions and chillies for colour.
Ingredients
2 large x Chicken breast pieces, marinated for 30 mins in a tbsp of Thai Red Curry paste
2 tsp x Malay curry powder
4 heaped tbsp x Thai Red Curry paste
1 inch piece x Ginger, sliced thinly
1 quill x Cinnamon 
2 sprigs x Curry Leaves, picked
200 ml x Coconut Cream
400 ml x Coconut Milk
2 cups x Water
1-2 tsp x Fish Sauce
2 tbsp x Palm Sugar
2-3 x Red Chilli, sliced finely
Lime juice to taste
Vegetables of your choice. I used:
250g x Eggplant, sliced
100g x Green beans, topped and tailed
2 x Baby Bok Choy, washed and segmented
For the garnish:
2 x Spring Onions, sliced finely
Fried shallots
200g x Crispy fried noodles, available from most Asian groceries
Extra Red Chilli
To serve:
250g x Rice or Egg noodles, cooked
Directions

Place a large wok on medium heat and dust in the curry powder
Toast the curry powder for a few seconds until it starts to darken and become fragrant
Stir in the curry paste followed by the ginger, cinnamon and curry leaves
Now add the coconut cream and combine well to form a thick sauce
Pour in the water plus half of the coconut milk and stir to combine, then bring to the boil

In a separate pan heat a little oil and pan fry the chicken breasts turning every 2 minutes until cooked through
Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and rest on a chopping board

Back in the wok add the vegetables that you have chosen in two minute intervals, starting with the hardest to softest (i.e. Eggplant,  Beans then Bok choy)   
When the veg has cooked through add the fish sauce, palm sugar, chillies and some lime juice
Stir gently and taste for a good balance of salt - sweet – hot and sour flavours – add more seasoning to taste, as required
Add the rest of the coconut milk and stir through gently
Slice the rested chicken breasts into ½ cm slices and add to the wok

To serve, place a generous serve of cooked noodles in a deep bowl and ladle in the soup with the veg and chicken
Now garnish with spring onions, fried shallots and a big heap of crispy fried noodles
Add some extra sliced chilli for colour and heat and serve