chicken

[ChaCha]

The butcher cut up a whole chicken so have a bag of frozen chicken pieces.
What to make?
Have most herbs and spices, potatoes, onions, peppers and I think a bag of frozen veg, not much else.

Any suggestions?

[waterfalls]

Cassorole??

[doormat]

curry

[ChaCha]

Have only a lamb curry recipe that is easy enough to follow. Would it work with chicken do you think?

What kind of casserole?

[saadia]

I think it would work but I've always been told that you shouldn't put turmeric in chicken curry so I would leave that out.

So, I would fry onions, add chicken let it go brown, add garlic paste and ginger paste and coriander powder and chili and stir it round a bit, then stir in a bit of yogurt and let it cook.

HTH

[ChaCha]

Thanks Saadia. Is that the only ingredients that you suggest? No bayleaves, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, chopped tomatoes etc...?

Sorry for so many questions but since i've taken the chicken out to defrost must do something with it .... thanks

[saadia]

Yes, sorry I'm never sure which of those things to add so I leave them out, but I wouldn't add tomatoes, and of course don't forget the salt.

I've actually found a recipe which does say to add:

bay leaf and fresh coriander.

[Sai]

How come you don't add tomatoes? I cook all chicken/meat curries with tomato. I'm sure its lovely without it and it sounds good but I just wondered?

[saadia]

I do like to add tomatoes to most things but for some reason never to chicken, although I do sometimes cook chicken with red and green peppers. When you add tomatoes to chicken do you also add yogurt? I think it might be a case of one or the other but not both.

[allhallows]

I think the yogurt would curdle.

[Sai]

You're prob right as I don't add yoghurt to chicken curry. I always have yoghurt on the side. Its funny how recipes vary, maybe by region, because if I cook curries with yoghurt I never add onions - just garlic, spices etc. Anyway, they're all delicious and it would be too boring if everyone cooked exactly the same!

[saadia]

Yes, it's amazing how much variation there is, every region has it's own way of doing things. On the same subject just thought I'd mention dh recently bought a very interesting book called Curry by Lizzie Collingham which looks at the historical background to Indian cooking and how dishes came about - it's fascinating.

[allhallows]

it's just that tomatoes, like lemons, are quite acid and would therefore curdle any milk-based ingredient.

[Sai]

Thanks - sounds like a good book. Def something I would read. Theres always such an interesting historical background to a country's cuisine and its various influences etc I'll have a look out for it.
(Does your dh cook then?!)

[saadia]

Oh yes he loves to cook, always sniffs my cooking before actually eating it. He's very inventive and thinks up his own recipe ideas, but only on weekends unfortunately..

[saadia]

allhallows that does make sense, don't think milk/dairy with tomatoes/lemons would taste very nice either.

[fullmoonfiend]

but what about rogan josh? That has tomatoes and natural yoghurt? (I know cos I was trying to cook it before I realsied I had no yog, so had to resort to a sort of lamb, tomatoe and potato curry

[saadia]

that's interesting, I suppose there are ways of combining all ingredients but it probably has to be at different stages of cooking.