Rasam chef Avinash Mohan'sfavourite Indian recipes
PEPPER CHICKEN CHETTINADU Serves four
4 chicken breasts, cut up
20ml oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 large onion
1 clove garlic
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander powder
Small knob ginger, chopped
Heat the oil and add the fennel seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and half the peppercorns. Then add the chopped garlic and onion and fry until it is golden.
Add the chopped chicken to the pan and sear it well, then add the chopped tomatoes and all the powdered spices and chopped ginger.
Pour a little water into the pot and let the dish cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Add some salt to taste, and the remaining black peppercorns crushed. Heat through thoroughly and serve immediately.
CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
4 chicken breasts
1 tbsp white malt vinegar
Salt and a fresh red chilli, to taste
1 clove garlic
Small knob fresh ginger
2 tsp roast cumin seeds
2 tsp orange powder (dried orange zest)
1 cup double cream
1 cup natural yoghurt
4 fresh tomatoes
1 tsp crushed fenugreek leaves
Cut the chicken into generously-sized pieces and place in a bowl with the vinegar, salt and chilli (using just the flesh or adding the chilli seeds, depending on how hot you like the dish). Marinate for about 15 minutes.
Mash the ginger and garlic into a paste with a little oil and add it to the marinade. Leave for another 15 minutes.
Mix the yoghurt and cream together. Pound the cumin seeds into a powder and add this with the dried orange zest to the yoghurt and cream mixture. Pour it over the chicken and marinate for six to eight hours (ideally 24 hours). Take the meat out of the marinade and put it on a roasting tin with its coating of marinade still on it. Bake it at 190 degrees/gas five for 15 to 20 minutes. This gives the marinade a smokey and nutty flavour. Bring the yoghurt mixture to the boil on the hob and add the chopped tomatoes to it, stirring well to mix.
When the chicken is cooked add it to the sauce along with a teaspoon of crushed fenugreek leaves. Serve immediately with rice or soft naan bread.
Varuval Serves four
1 kg diced lamb
2 small onions
Clove of garlic
Knob of ginger
2 dessertspoons turmeric
1 tsp cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
75ml oil
200g red chilli paste
3 dessertspoons fennel seeds
2 tsp powdered ginger
2 tsp green cardamom powder
100g coconut milk
Peel the onions, slice them thinly and fry them. Leave aside to cool and then mash them into a fine paste. Combine the garlic and ginger together with a drop of oil to make a paste and put this in a pot of water with the turmeric, cardamom pods and bay leaf. Add the lamb and bring to the boil and then simmer for 45 minutes.
Separate the meat from this cooking stock and set the meat aside. Heat the oil in a pan, add the mashed onions and saute for three minutes. Add the stock and all the other ingredients apart from the meat. Cook on a high heat for around 20 minutes until you have reduced the liquid down to a sauce.
Add the meat and cook for a further five minutes. Then stir in the coconut milk, heating it through. Serve immediately.
Rasam is at 18-19 Glasthule Road, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, 01-2300600, www.rasam.ie