July 2016 – Ainsworth Family Cookbook

CBWCG + variations

CBWCG = Chicken baked with chilli and ginger

The source of this recipe was Madhur Jaffery’s “Chicken Breasts Baked with Green Chillis and Onions” from her seminal work “Quick and easy Indian cookery”. It’s a great book – buy a copy!

Over the years we have refined the recipe a little by improving the spicing, adjusting the quantities and adding spinach. More importantly we have refined the cooking method. This is a difficult dish to get right, and the way in which it is cooked, greatly influences the end result. However once learnt, never forgotten – its worth taking the time to get it right. The cooking method is described in much greater detail than Madhur ever had space for in her book.

We have experimented with numerousÂ variations – fish, beef steak, chicken thighs, lamb, pork, even burgers. The pictures below show it being made with chicken thighs and sea bass fillets. The receipe refers to makingÂ it with chicken breasts.

Ingredients

For the sauce:

2 tbsp of tomato puree

1 tbsp of water

1 tbsp of smooth dijon mustard

1 tbsp of ground cumin

1 tbsp of garam massala

juice of half a lemon

1/4 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of chilli powder

280 ml of water

140 ml of double cream

Main ingredients:

2 large onions

4cm piece of ginger

3 green chillis

Handful of baby spinach

Two chicken breasts

3 tbsp groundnut oil

1 stick of cinamon bark

15 cloves

15 whole green cardamons

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 clove of garlic

1 tbsp of groundnut oil

Equipment

Heavy-bottomed pan

Baking dish

Measuring jug

Preparation

Sauce:

1. Add theÂ tomato puree to the measuring jug with the water then mix

2. Add the mustard then mix

3. Add the cumin and garam massala then mix

4. Add the lemon juice then mix

5. Add the salt and chilli powder then mix

6. Add the water then mix

7. Add the cream then mix. Put aside for later.

Main ingredients:

1. Half the onions and slice very thinly

2. Slice the chillis very finely

3. Julienne the ginger very finely

4. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180Â°C.

1. Heat 3 tbsp of oil in the pan on the highest heat, when hot add the cinamon stick, cardamons, and cloves, and fry for a couple of minutes.

2. Add the chicken and brown on both sides.

3. Remove the chicken from the pan and place in the baking dish.

4. Add the onions, chilli and ginger to the pan and stir well. Initially the onions will steam, stir occaisionally as they start to reduce in size.

5. While the onions cook (stir occaisionally to make sure they are not sticking) wilt the spinach (50 second in a microwave oven is enough), and top the chicken breasts with it.

6. The onions will eventually stop steaming and start to fry. When the start to fry turn the heat down to medium and continue to stir. You will need to almost stir continually now to stop them sticking and burning onto the pan. They are ready when they have reduced right down and are a deep brown colour, but not burnt!

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7. Spread the onions on top of the chicken and spianch.

8. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the pan and when hot add the mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop. Add the crushed garlic clove and fry until golden.

9. Add the sauce to the pan and scrap the pan with your spatuala as you stri the sauce, until the sauce is simmering.

10. Cover the chicken with the suace and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. (Now is the time to make some rice.)

11. Remove from the oven and serve immediately, garnish with corrainder.

Variations

The original and best variation uses chicken breasts.

We have also tried:

Chicken thighs (off the bone) – very good

Pork loin fillet – good

Lam neck fillet – can be tough

Duck breast – can be too rich

Cod, hake, haddock – good if you like fish

Sea bass fillets – very good, best if shallowed fried first on the skin side until crisp

Rib eye steak – can be too rich

Burgers – never tried it again!

Beef short rib – good but very rich due to the fat

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How to cook rice

This produces perfect rice every time. It uses the absorption method, which means there is just enough water added to cook the amount of rice.

Basically for every measure of rice you need one and a half measures of water.

Ingredients

Basmati rice (we always use Tilda)

Salt

Water

Equipment

A pan with a fitting lid

A measuring cup

A sieve

A kettle

Measure a cup of rice and add it to the pan, then fill the pan with water.
Soak the rice for a couple of hours. Anything less than an hour doesn’t provide much benefit; anything longer than three hours is too much and will produce soggy rice.
Drain the rice into a seive and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
Boil the kettle.
Return the rice to the pan, and add about half a tea spoon of salt.
Put 1 1/2 cups of boiling water into the pan, put the lid on and set over a high heat.
When steam starts to appear, move the pan to the lowest possible heat
Cook for 12 minutes, then turn off the heat. Leave to stand for 8 minutes.
Its ready to serve.

Pan

A cup of rice

Soak the rice

Drain and rinse

Add salt

Add 1 1/2 of boiling water

Heat until it steams

Transfer to the lowest possible heat for 12 mins.

Then turn off an let stand for a further 8 mins.

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Red Curry Fish

The method and ingredients are the same as for Red Curry Duck.

Obviously the main ingredient is fish not duck but you can use any white fish with firm flesh.

There are two different ways to cook the fish.

Remove the skin, cut into 2.5cm pieces and poach in the red curry broth.
Pan fry the fish skin side down untilt he skin is crispy. Then transfer the fish whole to the broth, immersing the whit flesh in the broth leaving the crispy skin above the level of the liquid. This is very similar to the method of cooking duck in Red Curry Duck.

Mum makes best, Recipe

Salami Pasta

Invented by Maria, an all time family favourite. Better known as “SP”.

Ingredients

1 medium onion

Cubed pancetta

1 green chilli (optional)

1 clove of garlic

150g of salami such as Napoli or Milano

2 tins of peeled plum tomatoes

Handful of whole black olives, more or less according to taste

Parsley, finely chopped

Conchiglle (shells) Pasta

Mozarella cheese

Equipment

A heavy bottom pan for making the sauce

A pan for cooking pasta

An oven proof dish for baking the SP in

An oven at 220Â°C

1. Finely dice the onion, finely chop the chilli.

2. Heat olive oil in the pan and when hot add the onion, chilli, pancttea and crush the garlic into the pan.

3. Cook until the onions are well caramelised and reduced in size.

4. Chop the tomatoes very finely and add to the pan and mix well, bringing to the boil

5. Quarter the salami and add to the pan with the black olives, stir well and bring back to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer. If you have time simmer for 20 minutes on a very low heat.