Curry Nights In

I have always been one to love a good curry and enjoy nothing more than a quiet night in with an Indian takeaway. However, since moving away from meat, Matt and I have had far fewer takeaways, primarily because most of our favourite dishes contained meat! Changing the way we eat has certainly resulted in a change in how we select our meal options. It has actually opened our minds to other food combinations and ingredients.

More recently we have opted for a much more hands-on approach when it comes to curry nights in the ‘Just A Little Build’ household. On Saturday night I pulled out two tried and trusted Gousto recipes and created our own Indian takeaway. Having received a lot of requests for these recipes via my Instagram stories, I thought I would create this short blog post.

I would highly recommend the Paneer Jalfrezi With Buttery Cardamom Rice and the Tandoori Fish, Mint Raita & Kachumber Salad – they are so flavoursome yet so easy to make! These recipes are for 2 adults but I was catering for 4 on Saturday so I doubled the Paneer Jalfrezi recipe for the main and kept the Tanordi Fish for 2 servings and served that as a side. (I did not cook the rice from the Tandoori Fish receipe).

Paneer Jalfrezi With Buttery Cardamom Rice

Ingredients for 2 (double for 4)

1 Brown Onion
1 Garlic Clove
1 Green Pepper
1 Tomato
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
250g Paneer Cheese
1/2 Tsp Dried Chilli Flakes
1 Tbsp Curry Powder
15g Fresh Root Ginger
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
6 Cardamom Pods
130g Basmati Rice

Method

1. Cut the paneer into bite-sized cubes and pan fry with vegetable oil until golden. Once cooked, transfer paneer to a plate.
2. Peel and finely slice the brown onion. Return the pan to a medium heat with 2 tbsp vegetable oil. Once hot, add the onion with a big pinch of salt, 2 tsp sugar and cook for 5-8 min or until soft and starting to caramelise.
3. Crush the cardamom pods open by squashing them with the side of a knife. Heat a pot with a matching lid, with a drizzle of vegetable oil and a large knob of butter over a medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the crushed cardamom and basmati rice and stir to fully coat the grains.
4. Add 300ml cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook with a lid on for 10-15 min or until the water has absorbed. Check occasionally to prevent overcooking, then set aside covered until serving.
5. Deseed the green pepper and cut into thin strips. Add the strips to the softened onion and cook for a further 5-8 min or until starting to brown, stirring occasionally Meanwhile, dissolve the vegetable stock cube in 300ml boiled water.
6. Peel and finely chop the ginger and garlic. Cut the tomatoes into wedges. Add the chopped ginger, chopped garlic, chilli flakes and curry powder to the pan and stir vegetables are coated.
7. Add the tomato paste, stir for 1 min, then return the paneer cubes to the pan with the tomatoes and stock.

Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5-10 min or until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has reduced to a curry-like consistency – this is your jalfrezi. Fluff the rice with a fork and stir in a knob of butter. Taste for seasoning and serve the jalfrezi with the rice.

Tandoori Fish, Mint Raita & Kachumber Salad

Ingredients for 2 (double for 4)

1/2 Cucumber
1 Tbsp Curry Powder120g Natural Yoghurt
20g Mint Sauce
1 Tsp Nigella Seeds
1 Tomato
1 Shallot
1/2 Tsp Dried Chilli Flakes
2 X 100g Basa Fillets
130g Basmati Rice (I left this out of our meal on Saturday and just used the buttery cardamon rice from the jalfrezi recipe)

1. Preheat your grill to a high heat, then add the basmati rice, nigella seeds, a pinch of salt and 300ml cold water to a pot with a lid and bring to the boil over a high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to very low and cook, covered, for 10-15 min or until the water has absorbed and the rice is cooked, then remove from the heat and keep covered until serving (leave out the rice step if you are serving this as a side).
2. Cut the basa fillets in half lengthways, and then chop into bite-sized pieces.
3. Combine half of the natural yoghurt with the curry powder, chilli flakes, a generous pinch of salt and 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl. Add the basa bites and mix well until they’re completely coated – this is your tandoori fish.
4. Cover a baking tray with tin foil (to avoid mess!) and drizzle with olive oil (to prevent the fish from sticking). Add the tandoori fish to the baking tray and put it under the grill for 6-7 min or until the fish is cooked through and starting to char.
5. Meanwhile, cut the cucumber in half lengthways. Scrape the seeds out of the cucumber and set aside for later. Dice the cucumber. Peel and chop the shallot. Dice the tomatoes.
6. Combine the diced cucumber, chopped shallot and diced tomato in a bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt – this is your kachumber salad.
7. Meanwhile, combine the cucumber seeds, remaining yoghurt and mint sauce in a mixing bowl. Season with a large pinch of salt – this is your mint raita.

Serve the tandoori fish with the rice, kachumber salad and mint raita to the side.

Enjoy!