Balti Curry?

[kima]

My daughter just came home from a friend's place raving about the Balti Cuuried Chicken she had there.
Could any of you Indian food experts enlighten me as to what kind of curry this is. Recipes would be great too. Thanks!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif
Maureen

[This message has been edited by kima (edited 06-26-2001).]

[Luiza]

Balti curries are curries cooked like stir-fries, in an oval wok-like container. I'll take a look through my cookbooks when I get home. This page might be useful:
http://www.ibmpcug.co.uk/~owls/balti.html

[adb]

Maureen -

Here is a recipe for Balti Chicken from The Essential Asian Cookbook. I haven't tried it yet myself, but have been very happy with the results from this cookbook on other recipes. It is not light, but I have often had success cutting back on the high fat ingredients. You may be able to buy the masala paste in an Indian grocery store to save a lot of the work.

Balti Masala Paste

Put 4 tbls coriander seeds, 2 tbls cumin seeds, 2 crumbled cinnamon sticks, 2 tsp each of fennel seeds, black mustard seeds, and cardamom seeds, 1 tsp fenugreek seeds, 6 cloves, 4 bay leaves, and 20 curry leaves in a small pan. Dry-fry over moderate heat until the spices just start to become fragrant. Transfer to a mortar and pestle, then allow to cool before grinding to a powder. Add 4 tsp each turmeric and garlic powder, 2 tsp ground ginger, 11/2 tsp chili powder(cayenne pepper), and 1 cup vinegar. Heat 1 cup oil in the pan, add paste and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Pour into warm sterilized jar and seal.

Balti Chicken
Prep: 10 min
Cooking: 50 min
Serves 4

2lb chicken thigh fillets
2 tbls ghee or oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp caradamom seeds
1 tbls garam masala
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
2 med onions finely sliced
3 tbs Balti Masala paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup cream
1 tbls fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)

Cut chicken into 3 cm cubes. Heat ghee in a balti pan or wok; stirfry the garlic, cinnamon stick, caradomom seeds and garam masala over med heat for 1 minute. Add sesame, poppy, and fennel seeds and fry for a further 30 seconds. Reduce the heat, add the onion and cook 10 minutes or until the onion is soft and golden brown.

Add the masala paste and chicken and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat and add the stock. Cove and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cream and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the coriander leaves, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with roti or naan bread.

Nutrition:
Protein 35g; Fat 50g; Carbs 5g; Fiber 0g; Cholesterol 230 mg; 615 Calories


[This message has been edited by adb (edited 06-27-2001).]

[alli]

Just wondering....are the fat grams a total for the whole dish, or per serving?

TIA

[adb]

Oh no, that is per serving! It is far from light. A lot of that is probably coming from the cup of cream which you may be able substitute a lower fat alternative. I have never tried the fat free half and half products but some others have recommended them highly.