Chicken Korma and Peshwari Naan

When I made curry, I was rather pleased with my culinary efforts and so was the husband, so I thought I'd note it down for posterity.

As I have previously stated, I am in no way, shape or form any kind of domestic goddess. I tend rather towards the 'lazy', particularly in my less liked tasks. One of which is definitely cooking. I will never quite understand why I can so heartily detest the art of cooking when I find baking therapeutic. Some might say that they are closely related, but I can tell you now, cooking practically brings me out in hives, and baking calms me right down so...

This is one of the reasons, perhaps, why I don't mind this meal as much. Like the ubiquitous homemade pizzas, this meal retains a little of the baking goodness - I guess anything that uses the KitchenAid is a good thing (of course I am going to have to state here that you can also knead the dough by hand, but I'm also going to try to subconsciously ignore that fact, as doing all this stuff by hand kind of suggests I don't need the KitchenAid, when I quite obviously do!)

First I made the naan bread dough - a few hours before the meal as that was when I had a spare moment. I turned to the BBC recipe pages, which I generally find quite good (and usually pop up quite early on Google, haha). I used this recipe, although I only used half and didn't really measure the liquids - just chucked in some milk and oil until I could scooch my dough hook around in the bowl to make some recognisable dough. I left it to knead itself and played with my son in the garden. (Thank you KitchenAid, what a much better mother you make me! Let's ignore the fact I fed him 'breakfast' for dinner last night, shall we...)

After proving I decided I wanted to concoct them into peshwari naan. To do this, I got out my block of Creamed Coconut - this is a store cupboard essential as it also features in the curry sauce. I heard a little rumour that coconut fats are really quite healthy, so that makes it much healthier than the 'cream' option suggested on the curry jar. I'm not going to research it just in case I am proven wrong - but feel free to do so yourself if that floats your boat. You will also need raisins and I put in some ground almonds because I had some.

Mix together the coconut, about half an inch of the block, a handful of raisins and a sprinkling of ground almonds. When your dough has proved, split it into 2 (remember, I halved the attached recipe). It should stretch quite satisfyingly and be quite fun to work with. Flatten/stretch it out - I didn't roll, I just used my hands - into a roughly circular shape and place your filling in the centre, folding over like some kind of exotic pasty. I did this a good couple of hours before cooking and it didn't seem to have any adverse effects. I followed the recipe for the cooking part. Do remember to heat up the baking tray, as that is how the bottom gets cooked. I didn't 'serve with butter' - too much faff for me!

I use a little jar of Korma Curry Paste to make my curry. I basically follow the instructions on the jar to start with - soften the onions, add the paste, brown the chicken (I usually use thighs rather than breast), add some water. However, I don't add cream, as it isn't something we keep in and using a third of a pot in a curry sauce just means we scoff the rest - or, as we aren't great pudding eaters, it goes off. Instead, just crumble in about an inch of creamed coconut to add the creamy-ness. It suits us anyway, and it's a great tip I picked up from my mum who is the queen of store cupboard cooking. What I like about this meal is I have everything in to make it, and just have to pick up the chicken (or keep some in the freezer) so it makes it super easy.

And here is where I wish I'd taken a photo to add to the post... sorry guys. My naans looked like naans though, which is quite a triumph I think!

Happy Eating!

Reasons to be Cheerful

This is my first R2BC post - thanks to Julie at Mama OWL for helping me out with this one!

There are always lots of reasons to be cheerful, but sometimes it is hard to remember and recognise them all, so I am really looking forward to doing a bit of reflection each week on what I am grateful for.

1. This week I have really realised what fantastic friends I have. To be honest, when I first moved away after university I felt pretty lonely and like I would never build up a friendship group again. Then I met some good friends through work, then I became pregnant with H and had H and met more friends that way, through Babycentre, NCT classes and baby groups, now I have made even more friends through work, and although I'm not the sort of person who is the centre of a big group of friends, I can honestly say that I have built some true friendships over the past few years. For the first time in a long time I have people I can call when I am down, and people who came out (despite difficult times of their own) to celebrate my birthday with myself and Harry. I'm so happy to have good, positive people around me who will support me through thick and thin.

2.  Being 30 - now, I've been pretty sensitive about this one. I'm not keen on getting older to be honest. I regularly find myself sighing over my grey hairs and trying to figure out just how much that wrinkle has deepened in recent years, but... Actually, when I look at everything I have: wonderful husband; beautiful home (thanks to that wonderful husband);  my two gorgeous boys, of course -  and finally, my career (albeit on hold at the moment) I realise that I've not done too badly in those 30 years. Bring on the next 30!

3. The autumn is here! I feel this might be a bit cheaty, as my inaugural blog post was all about my excitement about autumn and new starts, but hello! Chilly days! Nights drawing in! Cozy cuddles on the sofa! Wellies and muddy puddles! Spicy baking! Hallow'een and... the build up to the big C! Who couldn't be cheerful about all that :-)

New Starts for Supersparks

There is a distinct autumnal chill in the air this morning, and it gives me such a thrill of excitement. The day is bright and blue skied, and I am no longer bemoaning the lack of summer - this is SO much better.

It reminds of the first day back at school with new bag, new pencil case and stationery - the feeling of a new start and hopes for the future. In fact, I am even a little bit jealous of those people going back to school for their own new starts - not that I want to miss out on my gorgeous baby of course. (Have to add here that I am not missing that feeling of sick dread at meeting new classes though).

It makes me think of autumn walks in the woods, Hallow'een and, ultimately, the lead up to Christmas (sorry to mention the C- word, but seriously, you've got to start thinking about shopping when you've got a big family!)

It makes me feel like getting out there to jog, ignoring my bumps and bruises from a nasty fall on my last outing, feeling the crisp air rush into my lungs, my hair bounce and my body stretch as I push myself a little further each time.

And best of all, it is making today a little softer - it's my 30th birthday and I was feeling a little bit sad about, you know, the age thing. But today everything feels better and brighter and happier - I feel so positive about the future, I'm on a journey to get healthier, and on an even bigger journey with my two gorgeous boys. Instead of feeling negative, I'm thinking that there's no better day for a new venture - the glass is definitely half full.

So, a touch of autumn is all it takes, apparently! Sorry, summer lovers!