How far away until Valentines day?

Last night I cooked Chicken Rogan Josh. It should have been with lamb but the only lamb we have was lamb chops and I couldn’t be bothered to cut the meat off the bone. Jamie says it would be ok with chicken so I trusted him and even though it was delish I think Lamb would have made it even better. You need a stronger meat then chicken for this curry.

Recipe #53 and #54: Chicken Rogan Josh (with home made curry paste)

I had a helper in the kitchen last night who ground the toasted spices into a powder for me with the tiny tiny mortar and pestle. (I love the mortar and pestle from the movie Julie and Julia; the one Paul Child gives Julia on Valentines day. Hmmm I love that movie and Julia Child. She had such romance with Paul, I love that he sat in the kitchen while she cooked away. Sorry back on track...) Rogan Josh curry paste. The recipe for this past can be found at Jamie's website.

First I toasted coriander seeds, cumin seeds and black peppercorns and gave them to my handy helper for the night; Tris, who ground them into a fine powder for me. They went in the blender with: roasted capsicums, ginger, garlic, coriander, paprika, smoked paprika, turmeric, fresh red chilli (seeds and all), garam marsala, salt, peanut oil and tomato paste and whizzed until it formed a paste.

Next was to get on with the actual curry. Sauté onions, fresh red chilli (seeds and all), fresh ginger, bay leaves and coriander stalks in peanut oil with a nob of butter until the onions are translucent. Add the chicken (or lamb which I would advise) and cook until slightly browned, add some balsamic vinegar, S&P, can of diced tomatoes then the curry paste and cook for about 2 min until fragrant. Next add 800mL of chicken stock (or water) and a couple of handfuls of red lentils and cook for about 40 min for chicken and split lentils or an hour for lamb and whole lentils. Tase to see if more salt is needed.

Serve with basmati rice and home made condiments of yoghurt and cucumber. Mmmm EAT, LAUGH and LOVE it.
**Heads up: Even better the next day!