Mamta's Kitchen - A Family Cookbook
Saffron chicken curry
Hi Mamta, will be makig your saffron chicken curry tonight. When I add the saffron, do I also add the water it has been soakig in? Thanks in advance.
Absolutely YES! It should only need a tablespoon of warm water to dissolve the saffron in, to bring out the colour and flavour into the water. Add it all, for it to easily distribute throughout the dish.
You should have the very best saffron in Spain and hopefully cheaper than it is here in the UK!
Yeap! Do as Winton says.
I can now go away for 3-4 days, knowing that people will answer queries :-)!
Mamta
Many, many thanks Winton & Mamta, it's 8pm here now and just checked in to see if you replied. Fabulous, all prepped (before pre-dinner) drink, will now prep saffron whilst starting to cook. My kitchen smells devine after grinding the cardamoms, looking forward to this. Will report back tomorrow, it's going on my blog too.
Cooked this fabulous chicken curry last night and have to say I will be making this again.
It was delicious, with just the right amount of spice and heat, I have added it to my blog too http://debskitchencreations.blogspot.com/2009/09/mamtas-chicken-curry-with-saffron.html
Apologies, I posted my user name as Debs, otherwise known as Bibsinspain.
Encouraged by Deb's postings and blog I made the Chicken Saffron Curry:
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10010
Delicious! Made a really nice change, delicate, fresh and zingy.
Mamta, just wanted to check, the recipe just says to remove the stalks from the chillies. I wasn't sure what to do next, so I chopped them and added them with half the seeds (although I think it could have taken all of them.) Is this right or should I have put them in whole? Thanks, Winton.
Mum's not online for couple of days but I'd guess that, as the bit about removing stalks is in the ingredients list, i.e. the ingredient is the chillis without their stalks, that the stalks are discarded, not an ingredient/ part of the recipe.
That said, as they're essentially just plant matter, I wouldn't imagine it would do any harm to add them to a recipe but one might find them a bit tough or chewy...
Hi Kavey, sorry I wasn't being clear. I'm fine with the bit about chopping off and disgarding the stalks, just unsure whether to then chop/slice the chillies or not, and if so whether to add seeds or not.
Thanks for the comment on blog Kavey. I did leave a reply!!
Winton, glad you enjoyed it too. If you get a chance, please leave a comment on my blog too. I know I'm pathetic, but I get quite excited to receive comments (sad I know) LOL.
Message sent Debs - pleased to oblige!
Out of interest did you chop or slice the chillies for the recipe or put them in whole, and with seeds or not?
Hi again Winton, thanks for the blog message, much appreciated. I deseeded and finely chopped the chillies. But that said, I probably could have taken the heat by adding the some of the seeds too, although OH would have found it way too hot. I thought it was just perfect as it was, made our lips tingle just nicely LOL.
Mamta, thanks for stopping by and leaving a message too. Your first message has appeared now, must have got delayed in blogsphere somewhere. Would love to send you photos as you mentioned.
I'm going to have to try this one, it looks good too. It's nice that people bring recipes up from time to time because this isn't something I would have searched for myself.
Is this going to be another hit just like Mamta's Sri Lankan Chicken Curry - which so many people (myself included) seem to really enjoy?
What happened to my post from here! Never mind, it wasn't that great anyway!
I am glad you all enjoyed the saffron Chicken curry. now make the same recipe with other type of meats/chicken/fish and send me your comments and pictures. There are so many things I want to make, and so little time DOH!
Mamta
I may do a couple of blog posts soon about your recipes, Mamta. My blog needs tidying up and I may even build a new theme for it, but once I've found the time and sorted it out I'll be able to get around and write a few posts about some of your recipes.
I'm in the process of searching for some marrow recipes if anyone can suggest anything. I'm the only one who likes marrow and I can't eat a whole one in one meal, so one marrow lasts me for a long time - I don't fancy eating marrow every day, and worst still is that there's another four on the plants. It's a bit of a paradox really, the longer I leave them the bigger they get and it takes me all my time to eat one...
Help!
Hi john
I am on my way out, so no time to make proper links. Here are few quick recipe ideas. All are suitabkle for marrows too.
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=12907 Courgette soup
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=13395 Courgette Muthia
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=13377 Courgette Pacels/rolls
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=13450 Courgette ginger pickle
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=13363 Courgette pancakes (very nice)
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10616 Kota Curry
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10567 Courgette Curry
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10160 Courgette Curry
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10230 Stuffed Courgette
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=13277 Stuffed Courgette Curry
Mamta
Another plaudit for the chicken saffron curry!
Always partial to snacking into Mamta's curries cold the next day I dug into the cold chicken saffron but this one was so good it seemed a shame to heat it up. Served with a rice salad; of yesterday's rice, any diceable salad veg (such as peppers, celery, cucumber, radishes, tomatoes) lightly dressed with a well seasoned citrus vinaigrette I'd be more than happy to serve it to guests.
Hi John, regarding the marrows I certainly preserve some, and having had a run of good pickles/chutneys using Mamta's recipes I'd certainly try the courgette/marrow and ginger pickle she lists above: http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=13450 Also means you won't be eating marrow every day!
I like marrow peeled, cut into approx. 4 cm slices with the seeds cut out, steamed and the hole then filled with a tasty filling (e.g. chilli con carne, curry.) The marrow makes a good coolant if you have been heavy handed with the spices in a recipe.
Remember my mother used to store marrows and green tomatoes under my bed as a kid. Some were used to make 'marrow rum' and yes, they did occasionally explode. Amazing I ever got any sleep knowing there was a ticking marrow right underneath me!
What cardamom pods should I use in the chicken and saffron curry, green or brown, and will it be ok to freeze any left overs?
RE: the marrows, thanks to Winton and Mamta for the suggestions and links, I'll look into those.
Hi John, I've always used green cardamoms for this recipe with great results (although admittedly that's all I had to hand!) However in retrospect I expect green would be a better choice as the taste and smell of brown cardamoms could be a bit strong for a mellow spiced and delicate dish, as you don't want anything to dominate over the saffron.
As for freezing it, I've always been wary of freezing curries with yogurt incase it did funny things on freezing/thawing/reheating. Hopefully Mamta or others can tell us if this fear is rational or not!
...thanks, thats another recipe printed out for the weekend!
Cheers
Steve
(Please delete the above gobbledygook, I was trying to be clever with formatting.)
Just to say if you liked this: Chicken Curry with Saffron
id=10298'>Chicken Curry from Afghanistan -as long as you like cashews! I made it this weekend and it went down very well.
Just to go back to a previous query on this thread, as both these recipes contain yoghurt would they freeze OK, or do strange things in the process? Not that I've got any left to try!
...cooking this for dinner tonight....the aroma (and taste) from the saffron is beautiful! Never tasted or smelt anything like it.....and yes I will take a pic for you Mamta! I used frozen green chillies from my plants last year and using double cream instead of sour cream.
Cheers
Steve
It looks very nice. Your picture has been added to the recipe steve, thanks.
Mamta
Hi everyone. This is the first time I have posted to this site, after lurking for quite a while. I too made the chicken saffron curry, and also Mamta's pakoras (with potato). These were the first two recipes I have cooked from the site. Both worked really well. I added a chopped tomato and cucumber salad, a fresh coriander and yoghurt chutney (for the pakoras) and naan bought from an Indian place at lunchtime and reheated.
The chicken was delicious - I used a whole free range chicken which I jointed and skinned myself, but might use thigh fillets another time as it would be faster for an after-work meal. Having read the whole thread, and having found in the past that sometimes Indian recipes for Indian food have a higher green chilli content than I feel comfortable with, I reduced it to two and took the seeds of one of them out. But when it had been cooking for 15 or twenty minutes I decided it was a bit too mild and added another one (with seeds), finely chopped. So the recipe is just right, I think. I used half Greek-style yoghurt and half sour cream. Not sure why but it was perfect. The only real change I made was that I added a bit more saffron than in the recipe - more like two big pinches.
Thanks for your great web site Mamta - such a great resource for people who love Indian food.
Hello Heather and welcome :-), I am glad that the recipe worked for you. Following a recipe for the first time is always a worry, will it or will it not!
It looks like you had some fun with the recipe. That is what cooking is all about, being able to chop and change to suit your taste. Chilli is very difficult to quantify because heat of different chillies, red or green, varies so much. So it is better to do what you did, add a little and then some more. I bet sour cream made it delicious! Using thick yoghurt comes close, but not the same. Sour cream is not something that is easily available in India and I hadn?t heard of it until I cam to UK 40 years ago. Even then, it was more an American thing than English. Now a days of course, it is available everywhere in UK.
Look forward to you joining in the discussion here in the future.
Mamta
Greggy, Mamta is away at the moment but I'd guess that when she says "1 cup" she means the standard UK cup measurement unless otherwise stated.
see the link under ADVICE (top right of page) then you will see conversion chart which gives all the different measurements
Hope this helps
Steve
Following Mamta's recipes I've always taken "a cup" to be 250 ml. An American cup is less generous so should be avoided!
(Mamta is struggling to log on to the board but has managed to email me with answers to several questions)
Mamta -
I use a tea cup, unless I am trying to measure more accurately, when I use measuring cups from UK. When even more accurate measure is required, I use scales/measuring jugs.
I have friends from Hong Kong visiting. Trying to be a good host I asked if there was any particular restaurant they would like me to book.
NO they replied - we want Mamta's Saffron chicken curry!!!
Thanks Mamta - sweet and true!
To report back for "nibbles" I gave Pappadums (afraid just the NATCO microwavable variety) but with a good range of pickles and chutneys. They went down a storm (especially the Indian pickled onions/shallots)
For mains I made the requested Saffron Chicken Curry. Everyone wanted seconds - and some even thirds!
Dessert was your Chocolate Cheesecake with some fromage frais.
Thanks to your recipes I know all my guests went away very very happy bunnies!!!!