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Prawns marinated then roasted in a very hot oven, served with a delicious Makhani style curry sauce. Delicious!
King Prawns are butterflied then marinated in yogurt, garlic, cumin seeds, chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, salt and lemon juice. They are put on skewers then roasted in a very hot oven to try to replicate the traditional clay ovens used in Indian cuisine – which I’m guessing you don’t have either. The result is juicy prawns with a really delicious coating.
The sauce is made from tomatoes, onion, chilli, ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, almonds, desiccated coconut, bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, tomato pure, sugar, salt, and a little butter at the end to give it that classic gleam.
It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but really its quite easy. You can serve the dish with choice of rice or Indian bread, I opted for a good shop bought roti.
Serves two
Preparation and cooking 35-40 minutes (plus 1hr marinating time)
225-250g raw king prawns – devein and butterfly
150-175g Greek yogurt
4 cloves garlic – thinly slice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
Juice of half a lemon
4 long wooden skewers – soak in water before use
Method: Mix all the marinade ingredients (minus prawns) in a large mixing bowl until the spices and yogurt combine. Devein and butterfly the prawns and add them to the marinade. Mix gently until all the prawns are fully coated, then cover and place in a fridge for at least 1hr, or preferably overnight.
After this remove from the fridge and leave for 20 minutes to get to room temperature. Skewer the prawns, skewering at both ends so the prawns are skewered twice (head and tail). Have the prawns close together but not squashed – see picture below.
See the method for the sauce for cooking instructions, as these cook quickly and should be done when the sauce is ready.
3 medium size white onions – dice
2 large green chillies – remove stalk, slice
2 tsp mustard seeds
1-2 tbsp. vegetable oil
6 large round tomatoes – quarter
3 tbsp. desiccated coconut
2 tbsp. sliced almonds
1 bay leaf
6 cloves
6 cardamom pods
6 cloves garlic – crush or roughly chop
Thumb sized piece of root ginger – roughly chop
1 tsp salt
3-4 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp tomato pure
2 mugs of water
1/4 tsp ground fenugreek
25-35g butter – cut into cubes
1/2 tsp garam masala
2-3 tbsp. chopped coriander as garnish
You need a blender and deep non stick pan with a lid
Method: Start by heating the oil in the pan, once hot add the onions and stir fry for 6-8 minutes until the onions colour. Next add the chillies, bay, cloves and cardamom and continue to fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add the garlic, ginger, tomatoes, tomato pure, almonds and desiccated coconut and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 2 mugs of water and stir well, bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer, cover and leave to bubble away for 20-25 minutes.
After this carefully remove the lid, then fish out the bay, cardamom and cloves. Add 1 tsp salt and 3-4 tsp of brown sugar, stir well until combined with the sauce.
Leave sauce to cool (to prevent burns) and use the stick blender to form a smooth sauce. As the sauce cools pre heat your oven to its maximum setting.
Place the sauce back on a medium heat, stir and gently heat the sauce through. Add the garam masala and fenugreek – use your fingers and sprinkle them in otherwise they will form clumps that will be difficult to dissolve. Add the butter and stir it into the sauce as it melts.
Once your oven is preheated to its hottest setting, lay the skewered prawns on a baking tray – use a swiss roll style one as water will come out the marinade as it cooks. Add the prawns to the preheated oven and as they go in reduce heat to 220°C and cook them for 5 minutes. Remove tray from oven, drain off the liquid and return to oven for a further minute. Remove from oven and get ready to serve.
Before serving heat the sauce through until it bubbles. Ladle into serving bowls and sprinkle some coriander on top. Place on a serving plate and add the skewers alongside, as pictured below.
Marinated chicken roasted on the bone with Makhani style sauce and pilau rice.
Skinless chicken thighs marinated in spices and yogurt then roasted on the bone in a hot oven, giving the chicken deep Indian flavour and also keeping the chicken wonderfully moist. The sauce is made from onion, tomato, almonds, garlic, chilli and spices – it is a match for even the best of Indian takeaways here in the UK. The pilau uses chicken stock to cook the rice along with garlic, shallots and spices to give that authentic flavour.
This recipe is fairly straightforward and tastes so good that you may never order an Indian takeaway again.
Serves two people
Preparation time 25 minutes (plus 2-3 hours to marinade), cooking time 40 minutes
4-6 chicken thighs – skin off but keep on the bone
250g Greek yogurt
3 dessert spoons desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp cayanne pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garam masala
Juice of half a lemon
Root ginger – 1/2 thumb sized piece, peel, finely chop
4 cloves garlic – peel roughly chop
Method: Combine the marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir well until combined. Add the skinless chicken thighs, mix well, cover and set aside in a fridge for at least 2-3 hours (overnight is even better). Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking to bring back to room temperature. To cook add the chicken to a large roasting dish and cook uncovered in a hot preheated oven (200ºC fan) for 30 minutes. Leave to cool in tray for 10 minutes before serving.
2 dessert spoons vegetable oil
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
8 curry leafs
2 bay leaf
2 white onions – diced
4 cloves garlic – roughly chopped
1 large red chilli – sliced
2 dessert spoons flaked almonds – keep a few as garnish
2 tsp grated ginger
6 plum tomatoes – remove skin then cut into wedges
Approx 200ml water
25g butter – cut into cubes
1 dessert spoon brown sugar
Salt to taste – approx 1 tsp
Coriander leaf – as garnish
You require a stick blender for this recipe
Method: In a deep pan heat the oil over a medium heat then add the onions and stir fry for 4-5 minutes until browned. Add the chilli, garlic, bay leaf, curry leaf, cloves and cardamom and stir fry for a further 2-3 minutes. Next add the tomatoes, ginger and almonds and stir fry for 2 minutes before adding approx 200ml water. Stir well and bring back to a simmer, leave to reduce and break down the tomatoes for approx 10 minutes. Remove the bay and cardamom from the sauce then use a stick blender to blitz into a smooth curry sauce, if the sauce has reduced too much add a little extra water to loosen it. Add the sugar and the butter to the sauce and stir until combined, the butter will give the sauce the classic gleam of Indian curry sauces. Add salt to taste, when serving garnish with a few flaked almonds and coriander leaf.
4 shallots – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – thinly slice
15g butter
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Chicken stock – twice the volume of the rice
150g basmati rice – rinse well
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
Pinch saffron
Method: Use a pan with a tight-fitting lid, a dutch oven style one works best. Heat the butter in the pan then fry the shallots and garlic for 1-2 minutes. Next add the Cinnamon, turmeric, coriander and fry gently in the butter for a minute, take care not to burn the spices. Add the rice, cardamom, cloves and bay and stir gently so that each grain of rice is coated in the fried mixture. Add the chicken stock along with a pinch of saffron, bring to a simmer then place lid on the pan. Let the rice cook away until all the liquid is absorbed (approx 10-12 minutes on a low/medium heat) then fluff up with a fork before serving.
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Pan fried cod with Makhani curry sauce, served on pilau rice.
With this dish i decided to make a ‘posher’ version and decided to use pan fried cod as the sauce complements the delicate sweet white fish very well. I serve this with a delicious pilau rice which also complements the dish extremely well. The rice tastes extremely authentic yet is very straightforward to make whilst the curry sauce cooks.
Serves two people
Cooking time approx 45 minutes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 medium sized brown onions (cut into chunks)
5 cloves garlic (peeled and crushed)
5 cloves
5 cardamom pods
3 bay leaf
1 large red chili (sliced)
6 round tomatoes (quartered)
thumb sized piece of ginger (cut 1/4 off, then thinly slice the rest)
100-150ml water
160ml coconut cream
3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
1 tablespoon dried sliced almonds
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon crushed fenugreek
25g butter (cut into cubes)
A hand blender is required. Best cooked in a large deep pan.
2 cod portions (approx 200g each)
50g butter for pan frying
Sea salt
Black pepper
Best cooked in a large flat non stick frying pan.
4 shallots – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – thinly slice
15g butter
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Chicken stock – twice the volume of the rice
150g basmati rice
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
Pinch saffron
Best cooked in a dutch oven style cast iron pan with a heavy well fitting lid.
Pictural examples below:
Ferret chef 