Darina Allen reveals source of her new found Indian inspiration
Maunika was born in Mumbai but came to the UK in 2011 when she was 24. She had so looked forward to living in London but soon craved the enchanting flavours of her mother’s spicy cooking.
So began a correspondence to try to teach herself how to cook the kind of food she had taken for granted at home in Mumbai. Like so many Indian households, the cook in her home peeled and ground the spices and prepared the masala paste so it was a question of starting from scratch to learn the basics. Fortunately she had a keen taste memory.
It was an exciting adventure and now, 13 years later, Maunika is a private chef with a successful website and a huge following. Her butter chicken recipe has had over 1m hits — see maunikagowardhan.co.uk. I can vouch for how delicious (and easy) it is because it was one of the recipes she cooked on her recent course.
She specialises in Indian home cooking, the sort of simple recipes that families enjoy at home, easy to reproduce even when you have a super-busy lifestyle like so many people nowadays.
Maunika emphasised the importance of having a spice pantry to dip into, to add magic to everyday ingredients.
Maunika’s new and first cookbook, Indian Kitchen, also shares lots of nifty hints, tips, and tricks on how to use each spice along with suggested recipes for each one. There’s advice on how to combine the spices successfully, which can be baffling when cooks are beginning their adventure with spices. Indian Kitchen is filled with regional Indian curries that are easy to cook at home.
By the way, she was mightily impressed with the quality of the Green Saffron Spices that Arun Kapil imports from his relatives in Kerala. Check out more on them here
Here are a few recipes we all enjoyed to get you started.
550g (1 1/4lb) chicken thighs cut to bite size pieces
1 tablespoon malt vinegar
4 cloves of garlic ground to a paste
2.5cm (1 inch) ginger ground to a paste
1 1/2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
50ml (2fl oz) double cream
1 heaped teaspoon corn flour
25g (1oz) cheddar cheese grated
1 teaspoon green chilli paste (add a bit less if you prefer less spicy)
1 teaspoon finely chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste
butter for basting
pinch garam masala powder
pinch chaat masala powder or lime juice
mint and coriander chutney (see recipe) and red onion salad (see below)
Marinate the chicken in the vinegar, garlic and ginger paste for 15-20 minutes.
In a separate bowl mix together the Greek yoghurt, double cream with the corn flour well making sure there are no lumps. Now add the grated cheese and mix well. Add the chilli paste, chopped coriander and salt. Add this mix to the chicken and marinate 20 minutes or preferably overnight.
Soak wooden skewers in water. Preheat the grill onto a high setting. Shake off the excess marinade and thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers. Place them on a wire rack on the top shelf. Cook under the grill for 12-15 minutes.
Baste with butter every five minutes and cook until the juices run clear and the chicken is cooked through slightly charred around the edges. Take the chicken off the skewers and rest them over roti or naan. Sprinkle with a pinch of garam masala powder and chaat masala.
Serve with a green chutney and red onion salad.
Gajar ka Halwa
Carrot Pudding with Cardamom, Pistachios and Raisin
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1kg (2 1/4lb) peeled and coarsely grated carrots
300ml (10fl oz) whole milk
200ml (7fl oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
handful of raisins
roughly chopped pistachios to garnish
vanilla ice-cream
In a heavy bottom non-stick pan heat the butter and add grated carrots. Cook over medium heat and sauté till they have softened slightly and have changed in colour to a bright orange for about 30 minutes or so, stirring continuously.
Add whole milk to the pan and reduce the heat to low, cooking till the milk has dried out which will take about 15 minutes.
Stir the pan well to avoid the mix from sticking or burning.
Add the condensed milk and cardamom powder. Stir through getting all the carrots to coat the condensed milk, cooking on a low heat for 20 minutes. Add the raisins and some of the pistachio. The heat of the pudding will also puff up the raisins making them taste even better.
The consistency should be thick, making sure all the moisture has evaporated and the carrots have softened.
Serve warm garnished with remaining pistachios alongside some ice cream.
Mint and Coriander Chutney
One of the most popular of all fresh Indian chutneys. Nut pastes are a common addition to curries and chutneys across India – they help give a thicker consistency to the dish. I have used cashews here, but you can swap them for roasted peanuts if you prefer.
40g (1 1/2oz) cashew nuts
20g (3/4oz) fresh coriander leaves
40g (1 1/2oz) fresh mint leaves
1.3cm (1/2 inch) piece of fresh root ginger, roughly chopped
1 small bird’s eye chilli
1 teaspoon sugar
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste
Soak the cashew nuts in warm water for 20-30 minutes, until softened.
Transfer the nuts to a blender with a little of their soaking water, add the rest of the ingredients and blitz to a smooth fine paste. Season to taste. Add a little more water to make a slightly runny dipping chutney.
Decant the chutney into a bowl, refrigerate and use within a few days.
Goan Prawn Curry with Coconut, Chilli and Coriander
400g (14oz) raw king prawns deveined with tails on
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp Goan vinegar or malt vinegar
pinch of salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
90g (3 1/3oz) onion finely chopped
80g (3 1/4oz) tomato finely chopped
3 cloves garlic pounded to a paste
2.5cm (1 inch) piece of fresh root ginger pounded to a paste
400ml (14fl oz) coconut milk
80ml (3 1/4fl oz) water
1 tbsp tamarind paste
3 green chillies slit lengthwise
pinch of sugar
salt to taste
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Powdered Spices
1 tsp cumin seeds
15-18 black peppercorns
1 tbsp coriander seeds
In a bowl add the prawns and sprinkle over turmeric powder, vinegar and salt. Mix and set aside for 15-20 mins while you get the curry ready.
In a coffee grinder tip in the cumin seeds, peppercorns and coriander seeds. Blitz to a fine powder and set aside.
Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan over a medium heat and add the onions and fry for 5-7 minutes until they start to change colour to a light brown.
Add the chopped tomato and fry for five minutes. As they begin to soften add the garlic and ginger paste and fry for a further minute.
Now add the powdered spices and mix it all together. Fry for 2 minutes and add the marinated prawns. Stir coating them in the spiced sauce for a 20-30 seconds, now add the coconut milk, water and tamarind paste.
Cover and simmer gently for no more than four to five minutes until the prawns turn pink. Add the green chillies and sugar.
Garnish with coriander leaves and check seasoning.
Serve with rice or Indian bread
Basic Rice
Here’s a simple way to cook rice so that it has fluffy, separate grains that will soak in all the flavours of the curries. I like to use good-quality basmati rice, which is a long-grain variety.
300g (10oz) basmati rice
salt to taste
Rinse the rice 3 times under cold running water to get rid of any excess starch.
Bring 600ml (1 pint) water to a boil in a small saucepan.
Add the rice along with the salt, and stir.
As it starts to boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes until all the water has evaporated.
Using a fork, fluff up the rice and serve warm.
Hot tips
A special Christmas gift for the cook and forager in your life: The 2017 calendar from Skibbereen’s Kilcoe Studios features watercolour illustrations of wild foods from the hedgerows, fields, and woods in West Cork plus recipes from Pilgrims Restaurant in Rosscarbery, a favourite haunt in West Cork; kilcoestudios.com. Tel: 028 38946.
Learn to make the perfect Christmas Feast: Join us for an afternoon at Ballymaloe Cookery School on Thursday, December 15, or Friday, December 16. We’ll start with a short demo of a three-course meal — plus extra goodies — then it’s apron on to cook up a storm under the expert guidance of the Ballymaloe staff. At the end of the day, you can sit down and savour your fabulous festive feast. cookingisfun.ie/
