Healthy and Delicious Cooking

My daughter, Layla, is a wonderful cook. She bakes her own bread, cooks dinner practically every night, and test her recipes until achieving perfection. For some unfathomable reason, she stresses and frets over making Indian food. This makes no sense, especially considering the fact that it is half her heritage. On returning from India she purchased a good curry paste and curry powder, not knowing which was better. Then she attempted to prepare a curry with her usual fears and trepidations. Layla, this is for you. It is fast and easy, and you need not panic anymore. Both curry paste or powder can be used, and the quality is what counts. I use Bolts Curry Powder and Patel pastes , of which there are many different types. The key to a good curry is to take the time between each step, so that the vegetables can sweat, the spices shed their raw flavor, and the meats simmer on a low flame until soft and succulent. Take it nice and easy and be sure to BREATHE. meat in marinade...

I think my husband is addicted to Chicken Curry. It must have begun  in London, where as a wild teenage boy (well before our acquaintance) he had his first taste of Indian food. As a result, I am constantly on a quest for a new recipe. I was getting stuck in a rut with Chilli Chicken (previous blog), and my mothers' Kerala Chicken Curry. Both are delicious and family faves, but the cook was getting bored. Cardamom Chicken Curry is easy to prepare.A marinade and slow cooking over a low flame, produces a rich, fragrant curry to be enjoyed with simple, boiled white rice, (brown for the compulsively health conscious). I served it with a saute of Pumpkin and Potatoes, and a new family favorite was born. RECIPE SERVES 2-4 2 whole chicken legs 1/2 cup yoghurt 1 teaspoon cayenne powder 1 teaspoon turmeric 6 pods of green cardamom, crushed 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 cinnamon  stick 1 medium onion, minced 1 clove garlic minced 1 serrano chili minced  1 inch piece gin...