[main dishes]
All the labour for this dish happens prior to the actual cooking, in the making of the paste. This can all be done earlier in the day if you're cooking for a crowd. This dish has hardly any vegetables so the prep work's fairly painless. Based of a Camellia Panjabi orginal.
Feeds: 4.Preparation Time: 20 minutes.
Cooking time: 20 minutes.
Unique Equipment: food processor.
Shopping List
- Garlic, 12 cloves.
- Ginger, 1/2" piece.
- Onion, 1 large.
- Coconut, grated, 1 cup.
- Coconut Milk, 400 oz can.
- Coriander seeds, 2 1/2 tbsp.
- Peppercorns, 1/4 tsp.
- Cumin Seeds, 1 1/2 tsp.
- Dried Red Chiles, 3.
- Cloves, 6.
- Cinnamon, 3" stick.
- Cashew Nuts, 8 oz.
- Vegetable Oil, 4 tbsp.
- Salt, to taste.
Meez
- Coconut.
- Garlic, peel the cloves.
- Ginger, peel and roughly chop.
- Coriander seeds.
- Peppercorns.
- Cumin Seeds.
- Dried Red Chiles.
- Cloves.
- Cinnamon.
- Onion, chopped.
- Vegetable Oil.
- Chicken, cut into relatively large pieces, about 8 to 12 of them.
- Coconut Milk, top up with water to 3 cups.
- Salt.
In The Kitchen
In a large, preferably non-stick, fry pan dry-roast the coconut, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, red chilies, cloves, and cinnamon for 5 minutes over low heat stirring often. After the 5 minutes add 2 oz of the cashew nuts along with the onion. Continue to roast for about 10 minutes, continuing to stir frequently. When it's done, dump the mixture into the food processor along with 3/4 cup water and grind it to a smooth paste and set aside.
Take 1 oz of the remaining cashew nuts and grind them in the pestle and mortar. Add about a tbsp of water and continue to grind until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.
Once you're ready to start cooking, heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven. I didn't use all oil but instead a mixture of half ghee and half oil. Add the curry paste you made to the oil and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the cashew nut paste and some salt to taste and fry for another 2 or 3 minutes. Turn the heat up to a medium-high, add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes. Next add the coconut milk/water mixture, cover and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes.
Add in the remaining cashew nuts and cook until the chicken is done.
Posted May 03, 2003