Dinka's Cookbook

This dish has a fantastic taste, but, unfortunately doesn’t look as good as one would like it to – actually, to be honest, it is, more or less, the colour of green sludge. Garnish with lots and lots of dhania sprigs – I once resorted to using a couple of drops of green colouring to improve the finished look of the dish. It would be a pity not to serve and eat something so delicious, just because it doesn’t look wonderful.

Ingredients: Salad:

• 1 large chicken
• 1 long stick celery in pieces
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 1 carrot, quartered
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp salt

Ingredients: Curry Paste:

• 4 medium chillies, seeded, chopped
• 2.5 cm piece ginger, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 stalk fresh lemon grass, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbl vegetable oil
• 3 spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 15 g fresh dhania, including the stalks
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• dash green Tabasco, if necessary

Ingredients: Sauce:

• 400 g coconut milk
• 150 ml Greek yoghurt
• salt & freshly ground pepper
• 120 ml mayonnaise
• 2 tbl fruit chutney (mango is best)

Preparation:

• Poach the chicken with all the seasoning in as little water as possible until cooked through – about one hour should do it. Remove from the poaching liquid to cool.
• Pull the flesh from the bones while still slightly warm (much easier than when it is completely cold). Chill until required.
• Place all the ingredients for the curry paste in a liquidiser or blender, and blitz until a smooth paste is formed – a very little water may be needed to help start things going.
• Fry 3 tablespoonful of the paste in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until the mixture splits and looks curdled – about 3 to 5 minutes. (Store the remaining paste in the fridge for a week or two.)
• If the coconut milk has separated in the can, use only the thick cream and leave the colourless liquid. If it hasn’t separated use only half the can of milk.
• Add to the curry paste in the pan and cook gently for 2 minutes. remove and allow to cool.
• The sauce must be as thick as Greek yoghurt.
• Combine the curry mixture, mayonnaise, yoghurt and chutney and season to taste. Pour over the chicken, stir gently together and refrigerate until required.
• Serve with Thai Rice Salad and garnish with fresh dhama sprigs.
• This is a good recipe for large-number catering – in which case use chicken breast fillets which you cut into bite-sized pieces, and roast on a baking tray, covered with foil in a medium oven for about 25 minutes, or until cooked through.

Serves 6 comfortably.

Primary Ingredients: bay leaves, carrots, celery, Chicken, chutney, coconut milk, coriander, dhania, fresh chilli, fresh ginger, ground coriander, ground cumin, lemon grass, mayonnaise, peppercorns, shrimp paste, spring onions, tabasco sauce, whole cloves, yoghurt