Fennel spiced Chicken served with Spinach, Tortilla and Paprika Oil

During my time in the Masterchef house I learned quite a few things in the kitchen.  In fact all of the contestants got caught up in this exponential learning curve of cuisine.  Knowledge piled on knowledge.  Hour after hour.  Day after day.  It's probably also no surprise that being surrounded by a number of intensely passionate foodies lead to a few worthwhile cooking demonstrations!  Simple meals would quickly evolve into five course extravaganzas as we vied with each other to shoe our true passion for food.

It was one sunny evening that we returned home to fire up the BBQ that the kitchen Ninja, Michael, pulled out this amazing marinade for some succulent chicken.  Pulling together Smoked Paprika, Fennel, Garlic and Lemon juice it was a fantastically flavorful marinade.  That marinade formed the inspiration of this dish.

Served on a bed of spinach the chicken is paired with a perfectly petite individual Tortilla, or Spanish omlette. And to tie it all together the dish is decorated with some easy peasy paprika oil and some sauteed capsicum and red onion.

This is the type of dish you can easily serve for a fancy lunch when you've got some friends coming over.  Simply prep all your ingredients including the oil, have the tortillas ready to put in the oven, and then finish it once you've all caught up on the week's gossip and are ready for some food.

Fennel spiced Chicken served with Spinach, Tortilla and Paprika Oil

Serves 2

Prep Time 15 min

Cook Time 35 min

Ingredients

2 chicken thighs boned (preferably as fast as this guy can with his Whizard trimmer)

Marinade

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 Garlic cloves, crushed

1tsp Fennel seeds

1tsp Paprika

1/2 tsp Chilli powder

Large Pinch Pepper

150g Potato, peeled

2 Eggs

2 Tbsp cream

20g Butter

2 Medium sized dariole moulds or ramekins

100g Spinach leaves

1 Tbsp Butter

Dash of Olive Oil

1/2 Red Capsicum

1/2 Yellow Capsicum

1/2 Red Onion

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Paprika

Dash of Tabasco sauce

Fresh, Colorful, Tasty

Method

1.  First you need to Marinade your chicken.  Fry the fennel seeds in a dry pan for 1 minute until fragrant.  Crush the seeds in a mortar and pestle.  Add to a shallow bowl along with all the other marinade ingredients and mix well.  Cut slits in the thicker parts of the thighs and try to flatten it until the chicken is an even thickness.This will allow the marinade to penetrate the meat and also make it easier to cook evenly.
2.  Add the chicken to the marinade, ensuring the meat is nicely coated, then place in the fridge for at least an hour but preferably overnight.
3.  Slice the peeled potatoes in half and then cut them into slices about 5mm thick.  Place in a saucepan cover with cold water and then bring to the boil.  Salt the water once boiled and leave the Potatoes to cook for about 8-10 min, until they are tender, but not quite done.  Drain and leave to cool.

4.  Grease four ramekins or dariole moulds then layer the slices of potato into the mould.  Half way to the top season the potatoes, then continue layering.
5.  Whisk together the egg and cream, then season.  Pour the egg mixture into the moulds covering the Potato.
6.  Place a small bit of butter on top of the mix and then place them in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden and the egg has cooked through.
7.  Season the chicken thighs with salt and then fry on a medium heat for about 12-15 minutes, turning once until cooked all the way through.  Leave to rest for a few minutes.

8.  Dice the onion and capsicum into small pieces.  Place into a hot frying pan with 1 Tbsp Olive oil and cook for about 5 minutes.  Place to the side.
9.  In the same pan add the 1 Tbsp remaining Olive Oil along with the Paprika and the Tabasco.  Heat gently for 2 minutes and mix well. Remove from the heat.
10.  In a large saucepan melt 1 Tbsp butter and a dash of olive oil.  Add the spinach and then cover with a lid.  After about 2 min the spinach should have wilted.  Season and stir to combine.  Put the spinach in a colander allowing the excess water to drain.
11.  To serve place the spinach on the plate.  Cut the chicken thigh in half and place on top of the spinach.  Run a knife around the cooked Tortilla and remove from the mould onto the dish.  Dress the plate with the paprika oil and then decorate with the capsicum onion mix.  Enjoy.

Murgh Makhni....or you might know it as Butter Chicken

The nation's favorite curry.  That orangey creamy sauce with a deep tomato flavor and a subtle combination of spices that makes it appealing to even the most timid of tastebuds.

Consumed from the streets of Kerikeri down to the pubs of Mosgiel kiwi's consume more Butter Chicken than any other curry.  In fact were it not for butter chicken I doubt many Indian restaurants would still be around today, it is that loved within our shores.

Strange then that in the UK, the western worlds home of the curry, Butter Chicken is not as you know it.  In fact it is very hard to find an Indian Restaurant that has it on the menu.  Even when you do find it the dish served is not the one that we love but a version without the sweet Tomato sauce that makes the dish so special. Perhaps it's anonymity is due to it's slight similarity to Tikka Masala.  Or perhaps it is beacuse Brits are far too interested in the hotter curries like Vindaloo and Rogan Josh, to have interest in a mild offering.

Whatever the reason it was this forced embargo that lead me to the following recipe.  If no one shall deliver me butter chicken then I will learn to make butter chicken!!

So to the internet I went.  Of course, like most things on the internet, there is a lot of content!!  Most of which is crap but some of which is gold.  Thankfully I stumbled across a video demonstration of a recipe by Alfred Prasad, from the Michelin-starred Tamarind Restaurant in London.  A Michelin-starred Indian Restaurant?  Good enough for me!

Little was I to know where this journey would take me.  Still a novice to the world of spices I found some of the ingredients on the list a bit strange.  Kasoori Methi?  Kashmiri Chilli Powder?  Chances are you will not find these in your local supermarket.  So what do we do?  Give up?  Find replacements?  Time for a food mission!!

Now Indian Cuisine is found the world over.  There are few places on the face of the earth where you will not find at least one small Indian takeaway making curries for the locals.  And Indian spices are the same.  For thousands of years Indian spices have been dealt the world over, going as far back as to the 5th Century BC!  In fact in the 17th century whole shipping fleets such as the Dutch East India Company were devoted to the shipment of things like pepper from India to the western world.  It was such an important business that it even had military protection.

Chances are that somewhere near to you will be a trader selling bulk spices.  It may just look like an ordinary dairy.  The first time I went to my local shop  Malabari Spice Merchants in New Lynn was such a pleasurable experience.  Lined up along the wall were bins of spice.  Loads and Loads of Spice.  Five types of Chilli Powder.  Proper Cinnamon Tree Bark.  Ground Spices.  Whole Spices.  And at a price that was unbelievable.  You will never be buying spice from the supermarket again!

It is in one of these places you are likely to find your Kasoori Methi (Dried, ground fenegreek leaves) and your Kashmiri chilli powder.  Kashmiri chilli powder is milder than standard chilli powder and produces a deeper orange color.  You can replace with standard chili powder if you like but be careful with the heat. 


I'm not going to plaigarise this recipe as I cook it pretty much exactly as done by the creator.  Unfortunately I'm unable to embed the video so please head to the following link for your taste of a magical curry:

Butter Chicken from Alfred Prasad at Tamarind Restaurant

A few tips I've learned from cooking it countless times:

• You can easily alter the heat of this dish by playing with the whole chilli amount.  I swap the five green chillies for two large red chillies and it gives a bit more bang.
• I add about twice as much water to the tomato and spice mix and cook it on a slow heat for about an hour.  I find this gives a deeper final taste.  If you like you could swap the water for chicken stock too.
• Instead of using just a Tbsp of Tomato Paste I add half a tube of the stuff.  It gives a richer tomato flavor and adds to the color.

Oh, and just to clear the air for any UK bound folks.  If you ask for Murgh Makhni chances are you may get the version we know and love.

I'm off on a road trip to Ohakune over the next few days.  Tomorrow night I'm attempting a vegan meal in honor of a dear friend.  Look out later this week for a glimpse of how this devoted eater of anything on a plate gets along!!