Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Food Column by Carol Taylor – For all you Hot Curry Lovers.

Because I have been away for five days and Carol writes the column freshly each week, we decided that just for this column, we would share a post from her archive.

Especially appropriate this week for all of us freezing our assets off…….

For all you Hot Curry Lovers.

Kohzhi Milagu ( Pepper Chicken Curry) Recipe courtesy of my friend Mamik who provides me with authentic Indonesian Recipes….. Thank you Mamik another Cracker of a recipe but a scorcher or as my son put it he gets ring burn the next morning…….

Ingredients:

• 500 gm chicken, thighs or breast cut into pieces.
• 1 chopped Onion.
• 1 cup chopped Tomatoes.
• 2cm cinnamon stick.
• 2tbsp ginger garlic paste..can use store bought, I just blitz tbsp garlic and tbsp ginger to paste.
• 1 tbsp ground chilli
• 1tbsp ground coriander.
• 1 tbsp ground white pepper.
• 1 tbsp Fennel Seeds.
• 1 sprig Curry leaves.
• Salt to season.

Let’s Cook

Heat the tbsp oil in a wok and saute onion.

Add garlic and ginger paste mix well and cook 30 seconds. Add dry spices and stir to release the aroma. Add chopped tomato, stir and add chicken…….N.B. if too dry add some water.

Add salt and curry leaves.

Cook on low heat until chicken cooked if using thighs then these will take slightly longer.

Serve with steamed rice and Raita.

For Raita I grate or chop finely a small cucumber, put in clean t/towel and squeeze out excess liquid…I was surprised how much there actually was.

Add to 8oz Natural yogurt and a large handful of chopped mint and mix together. Serve chilled.

If liked can add 1/2-1 finely chopped green chilli.

Warning: This is one hot mama of a curry.

Now from Indonesia to Thailand one of my favorite salads… Yum Takrai (Spicy Lemongrass Salad)

Ingredients.

• 15 stalks fresh lemongrass.
• 1⁄4 cup finely chopped ginger
• 2 tbsp. toasted cashews
• 2 tbsp. whole dried shrimp
• 1 1⁄2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 1⁄2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1/2-1 1⁄2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. whole dried shrimp, finely ground
• 4-6 red Thai chilli stemmed and thinly sliced
• 2 shallots, very thinly sliced lengthwise
• 3 raw stemmed long beans, cut into 4″ pieces for garnish.

To Prepare:

Trim and slice lemongrass very finely. Transfer lemongrass slices to a medium bowl, separate rings with your fingers. Add ginger, cashews, shrimp, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, ground shrimp, Thai chiles, and shallots, and toss well. Garnish with long beans.

Serve on Banana Leaf or Betel Leaf and steamed jasmine rice.

We also serve with a tamarind sauce

Make by combing 3 tbsp tamarind pulp with cup water in small pan, bring to boil and simmer 5 mins.

Remove from heat and stand 15 mins you can help break tamarind down with a spoon, strain through sieve extracting as much liquid as possible.

Add

• 2cm peeled finely chopped ginger
•  2 cloves finely chopped garlic,
• 11/2 tbsp palm sugar,
• 2 tsp fish sauce,
• 1 tbsp chilli/garlic sauce
• 1 tsp soy sauce to tamarind liquid.

Bring to boil, simmer 5 mins.

Whisk 1 tbsp cornflour with little water whisk into sauce cook 1 min or until thickens.

Taste and adjust seasoning add more sugar if required.

Keep in airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.

I hope you enjoy these recipes the Lemongrass salad is one of my favorites.

Until next time laugh a lot and have fun Carol…

You can find my previous columns in the directory: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/carol-taylors-food-column-2018/

About Carol Taylor

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetables ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use have to improve our health and wellbeing.

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology:  https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

New additional Blog: http://myhealthyretirement.com/welcome-to-orienthailiving-my-first-post/

Blog: https://blondieaka.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

If you have missed previous posts in the Cook from Scratch series you can find them here: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/cook-from-scratch-with-sally-and-carol-recipes/