NATIONAL CURRY WEEK

It should come as no surprise that we have a National Curry Week, curry being up there with roast dinner, fish and chips and the full English as one of the nations favourite dishes.  In my house we don't need the excuse of a special week to sit down to a Jalfrezi or Balti and all the extras that go with it.

It can seem a little daunting sometimes to make your own curries with so many different spices to use.   Using fresh herbs and spices is so important and if you're not using them regularly they can become stale and loose their richness and depth of flavour. To help with this, Sainsbury's have come up with a selection of handy individual Curry Kits with spices ready for you to make your favourite curry dish.  They come with enough spices to make a meal for 4 and list all the ingredients you need along with the method.  They also have suggestions of other dishes you could use the spices for.

I tried the kits for Tikka Masala, Jalfrezi and Bombay Potatoes along with a jar of Mango Chutney and or course no curry is complete without some popadoms.

There are no hard and fast rules when using the kits, I have swapped some ingredients and used some of the packs for completely different recipes from those suggested.

JALFREZI FISH SKEWERS

1 Sainsbury's Jalfrezi Curry Kit, 1 x 320g Sainsbury's Fish Pie Mix, 1 tbsp Oil

Mix the 2 sachets of spices together along with the oil.  Stir in the fish and coat it well.  Push the fish onto skewers and place on a baking sheet.  Cook at 200C for 10-15 minutes.  Drizzle over a little fresh lemon juice and serve.

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

1 Sainsbury's Tikka Masala Kit

8 Boned Chicken Thighs 

1 tsp Salt

2 Garlic Cloves

1 inch piece Ginger grated

1 Large Onion diced
2 tbsp Oil

400g Tin Chopped Tomatoes

1 tsp Lemon Juice

1 x 250ml carton Coconut Cream

Toasted Flaked Almonds to garnish

Mix the contents of the marinade sachet with 1/2 tsp salt and half the garlic and ginger.  Add a tbsp of oil and mix in the chicken cut into bite size pieces.  Leave to marinade for 30 minutes then place on a baking sheet and grill for 3 minutes on each side.  Whilst you do this, cook the onions and remaining garlic and ginger with 1 tbsp of oil.

Once the onions become soft add the second sachet and cook for a minute then add the tomatoes, lemon juice and coconut milk.  Simmer for 10 minutes then add the chicken and cook for a further 10 minutes.  Garnish with toasted flaked almonds.

STICKY MANGO CHICKEN

This is a great recipe hot or cold, the mango chutney caramelises on the chicken giving it a golden sticky coating that's hard to resist.

4 Chicken Drumsticks
4 Chicken Thighs
1 x 340g Jar Sainsbury's Mango Chutney
1 tbsp Oil
4 tbsp Lime Juice
1/2 tsp Nigella Seeds

Use a sharp knife to slash deep cuts into the chicken.  Mix the remaining ingredients and use it to coat the chicken.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment and cook in the oven at 200C for 25-30 minutes till it is cooked through and the juices run clear when pierced.

BOMBAY FLAT BREADS

The brilliant Joanne Wheatley came up with the genius recipe for flat breads that I cannot do without.  It's so simple and quick to make and you can adapt it with different flavours very easily.

300g Self Raising Flour, 1 Sainsbury's Bombay Potatoes Kit, 300g Natural Yoghurt, Oil for cooking

Combine the flour and both sachets of spices.  Add the yoghurt and mix till it forms a soft dough.  Divide the dough into 8 and form into balls.  On a floured surface roll out the dough balls to about 5mm, brush or spray with oil then cook on a hot griddle for roughly 2 minutes on each side.

CORIANDER CHUTNEY

It really does not get any easier than this, you just throw everything into a food processor and blend till smooth, told you!

25g Desiccated Coconut
150g Natural Yoghurt
100g Fresh Coriander
2 Green Chillies
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar