Indian make-away...

...or in other words home made Indian meal!

My husband said earlier that he fancied an Indian takeaway, but with the job situation being as it is we really can't justify spending £25 on a takeaway when there is plenty of food at home.

Clockwise from in front of the poppadoms, in the little green jug minty yogurt sauce, "mock" Pilau Rice, Tandoori Fish Curry, Onion Bhajis' (or onion budgies as we call them ; D )  Bhuna Chicken.

The recipe for the bhuna chicken is from a book by Kris Dhillon called The Curry Secret . I highly recommend this book if you want to make Indian curries similar to those you get from the local takeaway. The other recipes are my own which I have given below, just in case I tempt you to make your own.

"Mock" Pilau Rice

Less of a recipe really than a cheat to get my dear husband to eat boiled rice! (He says he doesn't like plain boiled rice so it has to be either pilau with Indian food, or fried rice with Chinese.)  I simply add a little turmeric to the cooking water so the rice looks the right colour - he hasn't twigged yet!

Onion Bhajis'

Thinly slice two onions into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon of garam masala, stir to mix. Add 2 cups of gram flour and 1/4pt water. Stir well. Deep fry dessertspoons of the mixture until crisp and well browned.

We also like the minty yogurt sauce that is often served with onion bhajis'. Mix together about 3 tablespoons of natural yogurt and 2 tablespoons of milk. Add 1 teaspoon of concentrated mint sauce from a jar, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of turmeric and blend well.

The tandoori fish curry was an experiment that I made up as I went along. I chopped fish fillets into 1 inch cubes. I mixed about 3 tablespoons of natural yogurt with a dessertspoon of lime juice and 2 tablespoons of tandoori Masala (a ready mixed spice blend). I added the fish and stirred well to coat then left it to marinade for about an hour. I then heated a tablespoon of ghee (you could use any cooking oil) and added the fish and marinade. I stir fried it briefly then added a tin of coconut milk, gave it a good stir, brought it to the boil and simmered it for just a minute or two to just cook the fish. I removed the fish to a serving dish with a slotted spoon, then thickened the sauce slightly by mixing two teaspoons of cornflour with a little cold water, then adding it to the pan whilst stirring constantly.

As you may have spotted dear daughter and her boyfriend also added cans of beer!

(mine was still in the fridge)

xxx