Chickpea and red pepper curry, with gluten free chapatis

It's National curry week!  A gentle start today as what I really wanted to do was to try to make gluten free chapatis.  Normal gluten free flour is fine for cakes and pastry, but it doesn't have the elasticity you need for bread type products - so I used some specialist pizza and pasta gluten free flour - which I stock at The Mediterranean Pantry - and they worked a treat.  Really, really good - soft, a bit stretchy and a nice bite.  I wouldn't have known it was GF, if I hadn't known (if you see what I mean).




Curry

Olive oil
Mustard seeds
Fennel seeds
Cumin seeds
Urid dhal
Chilli flakes
Ground coriander
Ground turmeric
Onions
Garlic
Potatoes
Red pepper
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Chickpeas

Chapati

Gluten free flour
Natural yogurt
Cold water

1.  Make the chapati dough - mix flour with a spoonful of yogurt and enough cold water to form a dough.
2.  Kneed the dough until it is smooth and stretchy.  Wrap in cling film and chill while you make the curry.
3.  Start the curry by frying spices, chopped onion and crushed garlic, in olive oil.
4.  Add vegetables - all cut to approximately the same size as a chick pea,  Add a little water if necessary and simmer for a few minutes.
5.  When the veg are nearly ready add a drained tin of chickpeas, warm through.  Check for seasoning.  If too mild add a smidge of garam masala, if too hot add a little sugar.
6.  Take the dough for the fridge and divide into walnut sized balls, roll out on a dusting of flour.  Fry each one in a frying pan which has the lightest possible brush of oil.  (theoretically you can dry fry them, but I always burn them).  Keep warm under a clean teatowel.
7.  Serve, with natural yogurt (and any chutneys etc you fancy), scoff.

Chapati sausage roll

I can't believe I haven't thought of this before!  I'm sure you have... but translate hotdog into something a bit lighter and homemade (but also quick).  3 ish portions...

2 onions
1 tbsp olive oil
6 sausages
1 tin of tomatoes
American mustard
Pea shoots - or shredded lettuce etc
4(ish) chapatis

1.  Fry sausages in olive oil, add sliced onion.
2.  Soften onions and cook sausages a bit, then add tin of chopped tomatoes and half a tin of water.
3.  Simmer until onions are soft, sausages are cooked through.
4.  Microwave chipatis for 45 seconds (ish)
5.  Well - obviously - put chapati on plate, put sausage and good spoonful of onion and tomato mixture on top, season, add mustard and green stuff.  Roll up.
6. Scoff

Curry... innit - with steak mince and veg

Longish day at work, got home about 7:30... hungry, but wanted something tasty.  Steak mince from my butcher mate needed using - could have done spag bol, chili or no end of other classics - but fancied more complex flavours.  Hunted in spice cupboard, and found a curry mix I liked the smell of, cumin, cardomon and hot stuff.  Probably a "waste" of steak mince, but it was yummy.

1 leek, chopped
1 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g steak mince (doesn't have to be steak, obv)
1 tbsp spice mix (or mix your own)
1 pepper (orange this time)
Mushrooms
Fresh tomatoes
Green beans
Tin chopped tomatoes
Spinach

Chapatis - out of packet - microwave

1.  Gently sweat leeks in oil, turn up heat add mince, keep stirring around.
2.  When a bit browned (doesn't need a lot) make sure it's separated into mincy bits, not lumps.
3.  Add chopped veg, garlic and spices.
4.  Keep stirring, add water and simmer for a bit, chuck in tomatoes.
5.  Simmer, when veg is ready stir in spinach til wilted.
6. Scoff - I did, with chapatis.

Chipati wraps - spicy chicken and salad

Had some lovely victims come for lunch, and set myself the challenge of making something health and tasty without having to go to the shops.  Now, those of you who know me know that this is not much of ask, because I always have so much stuff knocking about.  However, one of the victims is a small sort of victim, so I wanted something which he would find bits to like as well.  So, my inspiration was fajitas/ burritos ... you know the kind of thing.  Trouble was I didn't have any avocado, salsa, cheese or sour cream - or indeed tortillas!  But what I did have was chipatis, chicken, yogurt, carrots, celariac and red pepper.  So, I made these....  I made mexican spicy chicken for bigger victims, and some chicken nuggety ones with breadcrumbs for the tiny victim.

1 pack chapatis
3 chicken breasts
Mexican spices
3 tbsp natural yogurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 egg
2 tbsp flour, lightly seasoned
1 piece wholemeal bread, blitzed into breadcrumbs
1 tsp mixed herbs
6 carrots
Bunch radishes
1 small onion
1/2 celeriac
sesame seeds
mustard seeds
juice of 1 orange
Lettuce (cos and chinese leaf) shredded
1 red pepper, in strips
4 tbsp light mayonnaise

1.  Cut chicken breasts into strips.
2.  Mix mexican spices and garlic into yogurt and 1 tbsp olive oil, chuck in 2/3 rds of chicken - cover and put in fridge to marinade.
3.  Whisk egg, put seasoned flour on one plate, egg on the next and breadcrumbs mixed with herbs on a third.
4.  Cover the remaining chicken pieces in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs - cover and put in fridge.
5.  Slaw - grate and mix carrots, radish, onion, celeriac - add small handful mustard seeds, some sesame seeds and orange juice.  Chill.
6.  Cut up other salad ingredients.
7.  To make up - fry chicken nuggets in olive oil, and marinated chicken in another pan with a tiny amount of oil.
8.  Wet sheet of greaseproof paper under the tap, scrunch it up, smooth it out, and wrap chipatis in it - microwave for 2 minutes.
9.  When chicken bits are cooked, drain nuggets on kitchen paper, pile everything on table and let victims make their own dinner.

A round of applause from littlest victim for his chicken nuggets, but he wasn't keen on the red pepper.  Bigger victims demolished most of the rest.  The carrot, celeriac slaw was the best bit for me.   Success, I say.