Oman Dining: Four white curry delights

Lifestyle Monday 21/November/2016 19:06 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman Dining: Four white curry delights

1. Rajasthani Safed Maas

A twist to the legendary Rajasthani Laal Maas, this is a delectable non vegetarian curry lavished with aromatic spices in a rich dairy sauce. Lamb is boiled with the spices and complemented with a generous helping of almond, cashew paste, yoghurt, and milk.

Ingredients
1kg mutton or lamb diced
1 cup yoghurt
2 tablespoon oil
6 green cardamoms
2 inch cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
2 medium to large onion, thin sliced
2 inch ginger (julienne)
1 teaspoon white pepper powder
1/2 cup milk and little extra to soak the saffron if using
3 tablespoon coconut (paste or shredded)
Blanched almonds paste (made by soaking 8 almonds and grinding)
Cashewnut paste (made by soaking 8/10 cashews and grinding)
3 pod garlic paste
Pinch of saffron (optional)
6-8 whole red chillies deseeded

Preparation
Boil the mutton or lamb with little salt until half done. You can pressure-cook it for the boiling. Discard the water and transfer the mutton/lamb pieces in a separate bowl. Marinate with yoghurt.Heat the oil and add cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and onion. Sauté until onion is translucent. Add the ginger and sauté for another 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the mutton. Also add pepper powder. Cook on low flame for about 20 minutes or until mutton or lamb is almost cooked. Add little milk in case mutton is sticking at the bottom. Now add coconut paste and stir well.
Add the almond and cashew and cook for another 10 minutes.
Add garlic paste and cook for 5 minutes.Add milk or water if you like.
Cook the mutton until well-done and gravy has reduced to desired consistency. Add saffron soaked milk and mix well. Garnish with red chillies and serve.

2. Chicken White Kadai

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Chicken White Kadai is a Pakistani delicacy. It is delicious, quick to prepare and inviting to look at. You could use either meat or chicken for this preparation where yoghurt plays a dominant role and no tomatoes are added in order to preserve the “white” colour.

Ingredients
1 chicken skinless cut into pieces
1 large onion (fried and crushed)
2 tablespoons green chilli paste
2 tablespoons ginger paste
8 tablespoons yoghurt
1/2 cup water
1 cup oil
2 lemons squeezed
2 green chillies sliced
4 tablespoons coriander
Masala
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
2 black peppercorns
2 cloves
1 big cardamom
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 teaspoon garam masala

Preparation
In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, masala ingredients, fried onion, chilli paste, ginger paste, 5 tablespoons yoghurt, and water. Mix and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Heat oil and add the marinated chicken. Cook covered for 15 minutes on low heat. Take off the lid and simmer it by adding rest of the yoghurt in intervals till the water dries up.
Take it out in a dish, drizzle some lemon juice and garnish with green chillies and coriander. Serve hot with Khameeri roti, raita and salad.

3. Hokkaido Cream Stew

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Hokkaido Cream Stew is a Japanese style chicken and vegetable stew simmered in a natural cream and milk. This stew is an ultimate comfort yet wholesome food. The preparation shows a deep influence of Europe in Japan, but you will be surprised that this is originally a Japanese dish.

Ingredients
500g boneless skinless chicken thigh meat, cut into 2cm pieces
50g butter
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
2 medium carrots, sliced
1lt water with 1 chicken stock cube
1 bay leaf
2 medium potatoes, cut up
500ml milk
Butter for sautéing
50g flour
1 small broccoli
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
100ml cream
Salt and pepper

Preparation
Sauté the chicken in one tablespoon of butter, and sauté until the chicken changes colour. Remove both from the pan. Add the onions and sauté briefly, then add the carrots. Add water, the stock cube and a bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the potatoes and chicken and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Make the sauce by heating the milk in a small saucepan. Melt the butter in a heavy pan over low heat and add the flour. Stir continuously — the mixture will first turn thick, then sand-like. Add the milk slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Boil the broccoli in salted water for three to four minutes and drain. Combine the chicken and vegetables with the sauce. Add the nutmeg, cream, plus some of the stock to thin the sauce out. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the stew over hot plain rice, or with crusty French-style bread.

4. Baked Thai Fish Curry

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The goodness of a Thai curry in a baked version, it doesn’t get healthier than this.

Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup oil
1 lime, freshly squeezed
11/2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 bell pepper, diced
1 cup shredded carrots
4 spring onions, chopped
800g of white fish fillets
1/2 cup basil, chopped
Salt

Preparation
Preheat oven to 250 degrees C.
To a medium baking dish, add the garlic, coconut milk, oil, lime juice, curry powder, and crushed red pepper flakes. Add a pinch of salt, and whisk ingredients until sauce is well combined.
Add the bell pepper, carrots, and green onions, and season thoroughly with salt. Stir until vegetables are well coated with sauce and evenly distributed through the dish.
Cover the baking dish and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove dish from oven and carefully remove cover. Season the fish with salt, and spread it over the baking dish and make sure that no two pieces overlap each other.
Cover the baking dish and cook for about 15-18 minutes longer, or until fish is flaky, white, and opaque through the centre.
Transfer fish to serving plates and add heaping spoonfuls of vegetables and coconut curry sauce. Top with chopped basil. Serve over rice.