It was a fairly lazy day and spent time organising and ordering trees to plant in the near future and book tradesmen like the irrigation man, digger man and heating man. Hopefully we will then be near the top of the list when they can go back to work in Level 3. I have heaps of magazines to go through and even picked up my embroidery and with some luck will get Asher’s cross stitch finished – that he was meant to get when he was born and a year ago.

It was Curry night for us and I felt like spices and heat. This is an old recipe that I demonstrated in the first year of my classes in 1996 but one I go back to all the time . It is super easy and extremely tasty.

Chicken Curry

6 chicken thighs – cut into slices , 1 large onion finely chopped, 3 cloves garlic crushed, 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 6 whole cloves, 6 cardamom pods, 5 cm stick cinnamon, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground chilli (optional), 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger, 2 teaspoons turmeric, 500ml chicken stock, 1 t garam masala, 3 t lemon juice, salt to taste

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry cardamom, cinnamon stick and cloves about 1 minute. Add onions and garlic and pan-fry until they are soft. Add ground cumin, chilli (if used), coriander, ginger and turmeric and fry about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken pieces with salt and lemon juice.  Add chicken stock and cover the saucepan. Simmer about 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender . I did cheat and mixed a teaspoon of cornflour with a little cold water and thickened my sauce. Sprinkle with garam masala before serving. (Serves -4 )

I was taught to cook rice by Kai Kan who owned and operated the best Chinese fruiterers called ‘Wing On’ over the road from our Cafe ‘Partners’ in the mid 80’s. He was a legend and lived to well over 100 . It was like a market and they removed the windows each day to open up the shop . I was so lucky and felt I had a market garden across the road. Kai cooked on Friday nights and would bring across a meal for my staff – Usually delicious but there was the odd meal of chicken feet.

Kai’s Boiled Rice

1 cup long grain basmati rice , 1 teaspoon salt

Wash your rice in a sieve under cold running water to remove the starch. ( remember rice will triple when cooked) (i.e. 1 cup rice = 3 cups cooked ) Place rice in a saucepan to easily fit your amount of rice, cover with cold water, enough so when you put the tip of your index finger on the rice the water comes to the first fold. Add salt. Bring to the boil, simmer for 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat. Leave the lid on and rest for 8-10 minutes. The rice will be fluffy and white.

I love cauliflower pakoras and felt the crispiness of these tasty spicy florets were perfect with the curry. You could make them smaller and also make them into finger food and serve with a spicy yogurt dip.

Cauliflower Pakoras

1 cup flour ( I also like to use chickpea flour ) 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, pinch chilli flakes , 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1 egg yolk, 1 cup water. 2- 3 cauliflower florets per person

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk in the egg yolk and water, (you may need a little more water to make a good batter consistency). Leave to rest. Break cauliflower into florets. Place in a sieve and steam over hot boiling water for 6 minutes . Heat 2-3 cm grapeseed oil ( or vegetable oil ) Dip foret’s in batter and panfry – turning to brown all sides.

OMG so good and a great change.

The Autumn colours in Central Otago are so intense they take your breath away.. Super stunning outside my friend Janet’s house today in Lake Hawea when I called by to pick up a few essential on line deliveries.

xxx Stay Safe Jude