Knobbly Stirfry

I've named this Knobbly Stirfry, because it's sort of a veriation on Knobbly Mince variation - I made it up as I went along at dinnertime tonight, and it turned out pretty well!

Ingredients:
Zucchini - I used one large (almost-marrow) size, but 2 regular-sized would work just as well
Carrots - I used two small-ish ones
Crushed garlic - 1 tsp
Crushed ginger - 1 tsp
Stirfry beef - I used two pieces of schnitzel, cut into stirfry strips

Method:
1. Grate carrots and zucchini
2. Cook meat with garlic and ginger
3. Add vegetables and cook until the mixture is dry (zucchinis have a lot of water in them!)
4. Enjoy!

Bacon Spinach Dip

Have you ever seen those dips in a hollowed-out loaf of bread? This is one of them - sounds great, so now I'm just looking for an excuse to make it!

Ingredients:
1 loaf bread with solid crust
Olive oil
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 lb. bacon, cooked crisp & crumbled
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed & well drained
2 medium tomatoes, ripe & chopped

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Carve out center core of bread within one inch of bottom and sides, keeping bread intact.
Cut reserved bread horizontally into 1/2-inch layers.
3. Brush both sides of layers with olive oil. Use cookie cutters to cut bread layers into fun shapes; place on foil-lined baking sheet.
4. Brush inside of bowl lightly with olive oil.
5. Place bowl on separate baking sheet.
6. Bake bowls and bread shapes for 11-13 minutes, until golden brown.
7. Blend mayo and sour cream together in a medium bowl. Add bacon and spinach; mix well. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.
8. Just before serving, stir in tomatoes; salt and pepper to taste.
9. Transfer to bread bowl and serve with toasted bread shapes.

Farmer's Casserole

Thanks to Pinterest for this one - sounds like a tasty dish for winter.

Ingredients:
3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers or shredded cheddar cheese (3 ounces)
1 cup diced cooked ham, cooked breakfast sausage or Canadian-style bacon
1/4 cup sliced green onions (2)
4 beaten eggs or 1 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed
1-1/2 cups milk or one 12-ounce can evaporated milk or evaporated fat-free milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
add ingredients to list

Method:
1. Coat a 2-quart square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with cheese, ham, and green onions.
2. In a bowl combine eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over potato mixture in dish.
3. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.
4. Make-ahead directions: Prepare as above through step 2. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
5. Farmer's Casserole for 12: Prepare as above, except double all ingredients and use a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for 45 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Makes 12 servings.

Baby Chimichangas

These sound pretty cool - more of an American food (via Mexico) than NZ perhaps, but I'm thinking it'll be quite yummy.

Ingredients:

Filling:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ red onion, diced
½ poblano pepper, seeded and diced
1 corn on the cob, kernels removed from cob
2 medium, cooked chicken breasts, shredded
¼ cup prepared salsa (of your choice)
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

16 (5 inch) flour tortillas
2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

Sriracha dipping sauce:
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 lime, zested and juiced
¼ teaspoon salt

Method:
1. Preheat oil to 375°F.
2. Pour olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic, onion and poblano for 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add corn kernels and continue to sauté for 3 minutes.
3. Pour mixture over chicken and toss together. Add the prepared salsa and cheese and fold together until fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Place a small amount of the filling into the center of each tortilla and fold up like a burrito and place onto a baking sheet, seam side down.
5. Holding the chimichangas together with tongs, carefully place and hold in the oil, for 2 minutes. Gently release the chimichanga from the tongs and continue to fry for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
6. For sauce: Place the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together until fully incorporated. Serve with hot chimichangas.

Pepperoni Pizza Monkeybread

This looks too good not to include a photo - I'm definitely going to be trying it out, and soon!

Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp butter
2 lbs pizza dough
6 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (you'll need ~48 pieces)
48 slices of Turkey pepperoni (from 1 package)
2-3 cups marinara sauce, warmed, for serving

Method:
1. Heat garlic and butter over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and let sit.
2. Lightly brush the inside of a bundt pan (or other oven-safe dish) with garlic butter.
3. Pull off large marble-sized balls of dough and flatten (a kitchen scale makes this very easy). Top with a slice of pepperoni and a cube of mozzarella.
4. Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread Wrap the dough around the pepperoni and cheese, pinching well to seal.
5. Very lightly brush the pizza ball with garlic butter and place into the bundt pan (I dabbed the pizza balls on a butter-dipped silicon brush to keep butter use low - there will be 1+ Tbsp leftover - and my hands butter free. Buttery hands make it hard to get the pizza balls to seal).
6. Repeat until all of the dough is used.
7. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes, while preheating the oven to 400.
8. Bake for ~35 minutes, until the top is very brown.
9. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.
10.Turn out onto a platter and serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Okonomiyaki

I love okonomiyaki - Japanese pizza/omelette - I remember my host family feeding it to me when I went to Japan on a school trip, and it's been my favourite Japanese meal ever since.

I usually make my recipe up when I do it, and include a bag of seafood marinara, but here's a recipe I found online.

Ingredients:
2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup dashi soup stock or water
4-6 eggs
1 - 1 1/2 lb cabbage, finely chopped
4-6 Tbsp chopped green onion
1/2-3/4 cup tenkasu (tempura flakes)
12-18 strips of thinly sliced pork or beef
vegetable oil

For toppings:
ao-nori (dried seaweed powder)
okonomiyaki sauce
mayonnaise
katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) *optional
beni-shoga (pickled red ginger) *optional

Method:
1. Put flour in a large bowl. Pour dashi and mix to make batter.
2. Rest the batter for about an hour in the refrigerator.
3. To make one sheet of okonimiyaki, take out about 1/2 cup of the batter in another bowl. Mix about 1/4 lb of chopped cabbage, about 1 Tbsp of chopped green onion, and about 2 Tbsp of tempura flakes in the batter.
4. Add an egg in the batter and stir.
5. Heat an electric pan or skillet and oil lightly. Pour the batter in the pan and make a round shape. Cook for about 5-7 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, fry a couple slices of meat on the side and place the meat on top of the okonomiyaki. Flip the okonomiyaki and cook for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. Flip the okonomiyaki again and spread okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise on top.
7. Sprinkle aonori over the sauce. Sprinkle katsuobushi and beni-shoga if you like.

Chinese BBQ Pork Buns

Hubby's been telling me for a while that he wants us to learn to make these at home, so here's a recipe that we're going to try out.

Ingredients:
1 cup char siu, chopped finely
1 green onion, sliced finely
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon xiao hsing wine
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 batch dough (see below)

Method:
1. Mix the char siu, green onions, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, xiao hsing wine, sesame oil, Chinese five spice.
2. Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 12 equally sized pieces.
3. Roll each piece into a ball, flatten and place a tablespoon of filling into the center. Pinch the dough on both sides then pinch the dough on the top and bottom. Pull the four pinches up to the center and given them a little twist.
4. Place the balls on squares of wax paper, cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
5. Place the balls into a steamer, without touching each other, and steam for 10 minutes.

Char Siu Bao Dough
A dough to make light and airy buns whether steamed or baked.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup water, lukewarm
1/3 cup flour
1 package active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon oil
~1/2 cup water (lukewarm)
1 teaspoon baking powder

Method:
1. Mix the water, flour, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes.
2. Add the flours, baking powder, salt, sugar and oil.
3. Mix while slowly pouring in the water until it just forms a dough.
4. Knead the dough until smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 3-4 hours.
6. Sprinkle the baking powder over the dough and knead it well.

Falafel

This recipe is borrowed from Closet Cooking, which is quickly becoming one of my favourite recipe sites!

Ingredients:
1 cup dried chickpeas/garbanzo beans, soaked in cold water overnight
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 lemon, zest
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
cayenne to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Pulse the drained chickpeas, onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, coriander, cumin and lemon zest until it forms a coarse meal.
2. Sprinkle in the flour and baking soda and pulse a few times to combine, then test the mixture to make sure that it holds together adding more flour until it does.
3. Refrigerate the mixture in a covered container for a few hours.
4. Form the mixture into balls or patties.
5. Heat oil in pan to 350F, fry the balls in small batches until golden brown, about 4-6 minutes and set aside on paper towels to drain.

Knobbly Mince variation

For those of you that got the wee beef and lamb recipe book when your littlies started on solids, this is a variation on the Knobbly Mince recipe that's in there.

Ingredients:
Mince - I use around 400g of the good quality (less-fatty) mince
Beef stock - 1 cup (or 1 cup water with 1.5 tsp of stock powder)
Tomatoes - 1 can of diced (I used Italian flavoured tomatoes)
Veges - anything, but I can recommend the following combination:
* 1 orange kumara, grated.
* 1 parsnip, grated
* 1 large carrot, grated
* 1 onion, diced
* 1 cup of mushroom pieces (I used 4 small flat mushrooms, cut into 8ths)
* 2 cups silverbeet, chopped into small pieces
* 1 or 2 courgettes (zucchinis), grated

Method:
1. Fry the onions up in a wee bit of oil, until cooked. Toss the mince on top, and again, fry up until cooked.
2. While the mince is cooking, put all the grated veges in a microwave bowl, add the stock, and microwave for around 4 minutes (basically, until the veges are soft).
3. Add the grated veges and stock to the mince/onion. Cook for a while, stirring everything together. Add the mushrooms, silverbeet and canned tomatoes. Stir, cook.
4. At this point, there tends to be quite a bit of liquid in the pan, so you have two choices - leave it to simmer and let it soak up all that liquid, or drain it off with a large spoon.

Lentil Loaf

I'm not normally one to go for lentils, but this recipe caught my eye.  I might give it a go next week, and see if it's as good as it sounds.

Ingredients:

Tomato Topping Mixture
1 6oz Can Tomato Paste
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1/2 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Onion Flakes
1 Teaspoon Garlic Salt

Lentil Loaf
1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats or Gluten Free Oats
1/2 Block Extra Firm Tofu
1 Cup Chopped Onion
1/2 Cup Chopped Green Pepper
1/2 Cup Chopped Red Pepper
1 Tablespoon Tomato Topping Mixture
3 Tablespoons Plain Yellow Corn Meal
3/4 Cup Cooked & Drained Lentils
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 Teaspoon Thyme
1/4 Teaspoon Cumin
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Dried Parsley
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Onion Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Dried Mustard

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix the tomato topping mixture together first because you will need a tablespoon to mix into the lentil loaf. The rest will be set aside to coat the loaf when completed.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to a skillet on medium heat, add chopped onions, red and green bell pepper and let cook until onions are transparent (about 5 minutes), stirring frequently.
4. In a food processor chop oats for 5 quick pulses.
5. Drain tofu well and press with hands until all excess water comes out. In a mixing bowl mash tofu with a fork or use grater to coarsely grate.
6. In the same mixing bowl combine, cooked onions and peppers, 1 tablespoon of tomato mixture, oats, corn meal, lentils, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme, cumin, chili powder, parsley, salt, sugar, garlic and onion salt, dried mustard and mix until well combined.
7. Spray a large sheet of tin foil with cooking spray to form loaf on, place on cookie sheet. On top and in the middle of tin foil form loaf mixture into loaf that is 2 1/2 inches tall and 4 1/2 inches square. Coat top and sides with tomato mixture (you will probably have some left over to spoon on later).
8. Cook loaf for 20 minutes, then cover with tin foil and cook for another 10 minutes. After cooking let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into it.

Greek Pita Pockets with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

This sounds like a yummy and healthy meal during the summer - will be trying this one out this week!

Ingredients:
Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
ground low-fat beef, 1-1 1/2 lbs
whole-grain pita bread pockets
plain Greek yogurt- 16 oz.
cucumber- 1, peeled
garlic salt with parsley- 1 tbspn.
cumin- 1 tspn.
dried basil- 1 tspn
lemon pepper- 1 tspn
onion powder- 1 tspn

Method:
1. Brown beef in a skillet over medium-high heat until cooked thoroughly; season with garlic salt and cumin. Drain any excess fat.
2. Chop cucumber
3. In a mixing bowl, combine yogurt, chopped cucumber, basil, lemon pepper and onion powder; mix well
4. Serve beef in pita pocket bread and top with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

Antipasto Platter

I love antipasto platters, so thought I'd just pop this recipe up here, so I know what to put on my platter, next time I make one.

Ingredients:
8 marinated artichokes
200g kalamata olives
16 slices chargrilled kumara (orange sweet potato)
24 slices chargrilled zucchini
280g jar chargrilled mushrooms, drained
150g semi-dried tomatoes
16 slices double smoked ham
16 slices mortadella
16 slices prosciutto
rocket leaves, to serve

Ingredients for garlic bread:
150g butter, softened
2 garlic cloves, crushed
5 cup basil leaves, finely chopped
1 large French stick

Method:
1. Make garlic bread: Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine butter, garlic and basil in a bowl. Cut bread into 1.5cm-thick slices. Spread butter mixture on both sides of each slice. Wrap in foil. Place onto a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes or until hot.
2. Place artichokes, olives, kumara, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, ham, mortadella and prosciutto onto a large platter. Serve with rocket and hot bread.

Seekh Kebabs

The next dish for our Week 5 Indian cooking class. At the top of our recipe, our tutor wrote:

Kebabs are an important class of meat preparation.  They are prepared from minced meat.  Cooking it for too long, however, makes it tough.

Ingredients: 
500g minced lamb or beef
2 Tbsp crushed ginger (I used garlic instead of ginger)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
4 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
2 tsp garam masala
2 Tbsp coriander or parsley, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped (optional)
1 egg
1 tsp oil (to grease the tray and hands)
10-12 wooden or steel skewers
a pinch of red/orange food colouring (optional) - this is a powdered colouring, and it makes the kebabs a nice reddy colour, instead of that murky brown/grey look that cooked mince has!
Tin foil (for cooking with)

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients with the mince in a mixing bowl.  Add the chopped coriander/parsley and chilli to mince.  Grease the oven grid and keep aside.  Mix well and divide into equal parts and roll them with greased palm and fingers on wet skewers.  Place the skewers in the greased grid.
2. Fill the oven tray with hot water and keep the grid on top.  Place the skewers on the grid and cover it with aluminium foil.  Roast them in the oven for about 8 minutes on 200ºC, and then turn them over and roast for another 7 minutes or until cooked.

Serve hot with freshly cut salad of lettuce, onions, tomatoes and celery.  Kebabs can also be served with onions and cumin seed rice.

Murg (Chicken) Makhmali Kebab

This is a recipe from Week 4 of the Indian cooking class I'm taking - it is lovely, once you can get over the curdled cream/yoghurt texture!  Next time, I'd probably make it with a lot less white pepper, as it was quite overpowering.

Ingredients:
400g boneless chicken thigh
2 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
4 Tbsp thickened cream
4 Tbsp natural yoghurt
1 tsp white pepper
4 Tbsp green coriander
2 green chillies
pinch nutmeg (optional)
1 egg white
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
½ Tbsp lemon juice

Method:
1. Clean chicken pieces and cut them into 2-3 inch pieces
2. Mix ginger, garlic, lemon juice and salt, and mix it with pieces and set aside.
3. Chop green chillies and coriander fine, or liquidise it in a chopper.
4. Mix cream and yoghurt with white pepper, green chillies, nutmeg and egg white, and half of the chopped coriander.
5. Now mix the chicken pieces with this mixture and leave it for 2 hours.

{We did all of the above before we attended our class, left the chicken to marinate overnight, and then took it along to our class to carry on with the rest of the method...}

6. Preheat oven for 5 minutes on 180ºC
7. Prepare tray with aluminium foil and grease it with butter or oil nicely and then place marinated chicken pieces on this and cover loosely with tin foil.
8. Bake at 180ºC for 8-10 minutes. Turn the pieces and bake again for 5 minutes or until done.
9. Remove, put in a serving dish and garnish with the rest of the coriander and thin carrot/cucumber sticks in side.

Serve hot.

{An alternative way to cook this is in a wok on medium heat, stirring constantly}

Keema Mutter (Mince and Peas)

This recipe is from Week 3 of my Indian cooking class - this can be made with or without gravy. I made mine with 1 cup of water, and by the time I got home with it (half an hour after making it), the mince was moist but not exactly gravy-like.

Ingredients:
350g lamb or beef mince
1 large onion, finely diced
1 tsp ginger, finely chopped or grated
1 tsp garlic
½ tsp tumeric
1 green chilli (optional)
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 Tbsp oil
2 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp chilli powder
3-4 tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped (or 4 Tbsp tomato puree)
100g green peas
½ tsp garam masala powder
2 eggs, hardboiled and sliced
A few coriander leaves, freshly chopped
1 tsp salt
Water as required

Method:
1. Heat oil over medium heat, add cumin seeds, let them splutter and then add onions. Fry for five minutes until the onions turn golden brown, then add ginger and garlic paste. Fry for another minute.
2. Reduce heat and add tumeric, coriander powder, salt, chilli powder and finely chopped green chilli.
3. Add tomatoes and cook for 40 seconds, and then add mince.
4. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently (break lumps of mince, if any) or until oil is separated from mince.
5. Add fresh or frozen green peas, add water and simmer for 6-8 minutes on medium heat.
6. Add garam masala powder and remove from heat.
7. Transfer onto a serving dish and arrange sliced eggs on top. Garnish with green coriander leaves.

Serve with chapati or rice and potato raita.

Palak Meat (Meat in Spinach Gravy)

This is from Week 2 of my Indian cooking class - we had a weeks' break due to snow in Wellington, but we still get 6 classes, which is great.

Ingredients:
300-400g diced lamb
1 tsp cumin seeds

Coarsely grind the next three spices together:
2 green and 2 black cardamoms
4 cloves
2" stick of cinnamon (note - just a thin piece, not an entire curled up piece like you buy at the supermarket - break it up into pieces of bark)

1 bay leaf
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 tsp crushed ginger-garlic (one of each, or two of either one)
2 large chopped tomatoes or 4 Tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste
300-500g frozen spinach
1 Tbsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder

Method:
1. Cook spinach in ½ cup of water until well cooked.
2. Add a little salt to the spinach
3. Blend it or churn in food processor to make a thick paste (we used a stick blender). Keep it aside.
4. In a large saucepan, pour 3 Tbsp oil. When hot, add bay leaf and cumin seeds. Then add onions and saute until golden brown.
5. Add ginger-garlic and saute.
6. Add tomatoes and saute until the oil leaves the masala.
7. Add tumeric, chilli powder and salt.
8. Add meat and the coarsly ground cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon. Saute meat for 10 minutes until you see the oil separating from the meat.
9. Add 2½ cups of water and let the meat cook on a medium heat.
10. When the meat is well cooked, add the spinach puree and cumin/coriander powders and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Serve with roti or rice.

Scrummy Sausages

This recipe is one that I love - it came from my Form 1 cooking class, back at Bohally Intermediate.  You Blenheim folk may remember it!

Ingredients:
8 precooked sausages
1 onion, diced
1 apple, grated
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp vinegar
4 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp tomato sauce

Method:
Cut sausages in half lengthwise, or into bite sized rounds, and place into a baking dish.
Mix all other ingredients and pour over the sausages.
Bake at 200°C for 15-20 minutes.
Serve with mashed potatoes and green vegetables for a simple and simply scrummy meal!

Murg Masala (Spicy Chicken)

The second recipe from Week 1 of my Indian cooking class - this is delicious, but I have to admit that I only put in ¼ tsp of chilli powder, and no fresh chillies, as I'm a bit of a wuss! It was delicious though, and I'll happily make it again for myself and someone that wishes to join me (it won't be a regular in our house, due to the number of onions, and hubby's intolerance of onions).

Murg Masala:

Ingredients
• Boneless chicken 500g cut into bite-sized pieces
• Coriander seeds 1 Tbsp, roasted lightly and coarsely crushed
• Fenugreek seeds ½ tsp
• Cooking oil 7-8 Tbsp
• Onions 2 large, cut into slices
• Garlic paste 2 tsp
• Tomatoes 3
• Tomato puree 8 Tbsp
• Salt 1 ½ tsp
• Fenugreek leaves (dry) 4 Tbsp (aka Kasoori Methi)
• Red chilli powder 1 tsp
• Coriander powder 1 ½ tsp
• Cream 4-5 Tbsp
• Milk 1 cup
• Green coriander 3-4 Tbsp, finely chopped
• Green capsicum 1, finely sliced into long thin slices
• Ginger 2” piece, cut into match sticks (optional)
• Green chillies 1-2, cut into long thin slices (optional)

Method
1. Dry roast whole coriander lightly in a pan, crush with a rolling pin.
2. Heat oil in a wok, reduce heat. Add fenugreek seeds and stir for a few seconds until they turn golden.
3. Add onions and cook on medium heat until light brown.
4. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute.
5. Add tomatoes, cook for 2 minutes. Add fenugreek leaves.
6. Add crushed coriander, chilli powder and coriander powder.
7. Add chicken and fry for 10-15 minutes on medium heat, stirring well to mix everything together.
8. Add salt. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally.
9. Add tomato puree and chopped coriander. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until dry.
10. Reduce heat, add milk and cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat, stirring constantly.
11. Add capsicum, ginger sticks and chilli slices (deseeded). Mix well.
12. Reduce heat and add cream. Mix well and remove from fire. Serve hot with rice or chapatti.