INGREDIENTS:
600g chicken thighs cut into thirds
4 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
70g large split yellow lentils
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion (sliced)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 teaspoon salt
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons coriander powder
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 cup fresh coriander (chopped)

DIRECTIONS:
In a large pan, heat the oil and fry the onions over a moderate heat with the bay leaf, peppercorns and cloves for 5-7 minutes – until golden and soft.
Add the chicken pieces, garlic, cinnamon, salt, corriander powder, chilli powder and turmeric and fry for a further 5 minutes.
Add 400ml warm water, enough to cover the chicken well. Bring this to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes uncovered until the chicken is very tender and the liquid reduced.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, boil the lentils for 15 minutes then drain.
In the last 15 minutes of the curry cooking, add the lentils. Stir every couple of minutes to avoid them sticking. The sauce will gradually thicken, if the sauce becomes too thick add more water. Remove from the heat then stir in the tomatoes and coriander just before serving.

SERVING:
Serve with chapati or rice.

This is a simple curry, but a surprisingly tasty one. This recipe from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan is a no fuss, everyday curry with lashings of rich, glossy gravy – just perfect for soaking into lots of fluffy Basmati rice. The curry is full of flavour without a massive amount of heat. It’s a banker!

INGREDIENTS:
100ml melted ghee
3 medium onions (1/2 finely chopped, 1/2 blended into pulp)
1kg lamb (3cm cubes)
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
5 cloves garlic (minced)
3cm piece ginger (minced)
2 tomatoes (chopped)
500g potatoes (peeled and cut into 5cm chunks)
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the ghee in a heavy based pan until just hot, add the chopped onion and gently fry for 4-5 minutes until lightly golden. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chilli, cumin, coriander and turmeric and cook for 1 minute. Add the pulped onion and cook, stirring frequently for 4 minutes. Add the meat and stir for about 2 further minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, 500ml of water and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan partially and simmer gently for 1 hour. Add the potatoes and cook uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until soft. Remove from the heat, stir in the fresh coriander and check for seasoning before serving.

I’ve eaten goat a few times over the years, but never cooked it. So, when I saw how cheap it was in the local butchers I just had to snap some up. I have a cold at the minute so settled on a recipe which would give me plenty of spice in the hope it will sort me out. This curry has all the heat you’d expect from Pakistani food but the spice appears to come more from the black peppercorns than the chilli. It’s an unusual and rather delicious flavour. As for the goat, so long as you cook it for long enough it’s tender as can be. It’s pretty similar to lamb albeit a bit bonier. If the thought of eating goat fills you with horror then try this recipe using the equivalent weight of lamb shanks instead.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:
1 small onion (roughly chopped)
8 cloves garlic (chopped)
5cm piece of fresh ginger (peeled and chopped)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
4 tablespoons coriander powder
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1.5kg goat meat (trimmed of fat and cubed)
500ml natural yoghurt
1/2 lemon (juice of)
1 tomato (chopped)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 160ºC.
In a blender or pestle & mortar, blend the onion, garlic and ginger with 4 tablespoons water into a smooth paste. Set aside. Heat a large stove and ovenproof casserole pan over a medium heat. Brown the goat in batches on all sides then remove to a plate. Now add to the pan the cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon and stir for 10 seconds. Add the onion paste and stir fry for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the yoghurt and stir well. Now add the remaining yoghurt, coriander, chilli powder, turmeric and salt and stir well. Top up with 450ml water stir, then return the goat to the pan. Place over a medium/high heat until the sauce begins to simmer. Remove from the heat, put on a lid and then cook in the oven for 2 1/2 -3 hours. Stirring every 30 minutes.

Place the pan back on the stove over a medium heat and let it simmer for 5-8 minutes to reduce the sauce until thick. Add the lemon juice and adjust the salt to your taste if necessary.

SERVING:
Sprinkle over the chopped tomato and serve with Indian breads or rice.

I’m all for having an entire week of curries. An all out festival of spice. If you love a bit of curry then maybe you should try my 1 week curry detox. It’s guaranteed to shift some dead weight, most likely down the toilet. It’s actually neither a diet, nor a detox but more seven of my favourite curries so far. Go on!

RECIPES

MONDAY: Lahore Chicken
Get the week off to a fiery start with this Pakistani favourite.

TUESDAY: Lamb Balti
Delicious and intensely satisfying.

WEDNESDAY: Chickpea Curry
After 2 nights on the meat, you’ll need a break with this lovely and easy chickpea curry.

THURSDAY: Lamb Madras & Parippu Dal
Can’t beat a Thursday night in with a lamb Madras curry. One of our all time favourites – especially with a bit of dal on the side.

FRIDAY: Beef Musaman Curry
Make this Thursday night, and have it with another beer when you get back from the pub.

SATURDAY: Burmese Chicken Curry
The all time favourite curry! Don’t leave any.

SUNDAY: Goan Fish & Prawn Curry
After week of splurging on curry end it light with this one. Sunday is a day of rest after all.

Mix up your side dishes with either rice, roti bread and don’t forget to have a bit of raita and or some steamed vegetables, such as french beans, broccoli or even turnip.

To make cucumber raita:

INGREDIENTS:
600ml yoghurt
2 Cucumbers, peeled, de-seeded & grated
1 teaspoon cumin powder
salt to taste
2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves (chopped)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Serve on the side. Add sliced onions and tomatoes to the side.