Here is a simple, but oh so creamy, and tasty coconut chicken curry that is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner for the family.
It uses your pantry staples; so you do not need to worry about complicated shopping, and I dare say it’s restaurant quality in terms of richness, flavour and visual appeal.
For our ingredients we shall need, chicken breast, cubed. chopped onion, shopped tomato, tomato paste, ginger garlic paste, coconut cream, coriander, ground turmeric, a pinch of red chilli powder, and Kenyan curry powder. Sprinkle some salt and freshly ground pepper on your chicken cubes.
Heat your pan, add some oil, once hot, sear the chicken on high heat till golden brown. This is to seal the moisture; do not let it cook through, set aside.
In the same pan, add more oil if needed.
Fry onion till soft and add the ginger garlic paste, then the ground spices. Let them cook well before adding tomatoes, which you will also cook down.
Add the chicken and mix in well into the tomato and onion mix.
Chicken breast cooks really fast, so you do not want to overcook it.
Add the coconut cream, cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes for the chicken to cook through and absorb the curry flavours.
Once ready, garnish with coriander and serve hot.Creamy, luscious, colourful, quick and easy to make and finger licking good.
“Viazi” is potatoes in Swahili, so this dish is basically stewed potatoes or potatoes in a thick tomato and onion sauce.
Lemon and tamarind add tanginess to the flavourful red sauce that has garlic, cumin and other spices.
The best accompaniments to this dish are bread to scoop up that sauce, but it goes well with rice too and vegetables on the side.
Tasty and colorful.
You will need:-
Potatoes, about a kilogram, peeled and chopped into medium pieces.
1 large onion.
Ginger garlic paste.
4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped.
1 tbsp tomato paste.
Salt and pepper to taste.
1 tsp mustard seeds, whole cumin seeds.
1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp curry powder.
1 tbsp ghee.
1 tbsp tamarind paste.
Juice of half a lemon.
A small pinch of sugar (optional).
1 bunch coriander, stalks and leaves separated.
I green pepper, chopped.
Method.
First boil your potatoes with some salt and 1/2 the turmeric as well as half the cumin seeds, until just ready, do not let them overcook. Set aside to cool.
Heat your pan and add the ghee and mustard seeds, once they start sputtering, add the cumin seeds, followed by the onions.
Let onions cook till soft and translucent then add the ginger garlic paste, let it cook till the raw smell stops.
Add the ground spices, lower heat to let them cook a bit before adding the tomato paste, followed by the coriander stalks and green pepper. Then add the tamarind paste and mix well.
Next go in our tomatoes, cover and let cook on low till mushy.
Once the tomatoes are cooked, add the potatoes and about half a cup of water.
Cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes till potatoes are fully cooked and the sauce is thickened.
Once ready add the lemon juice and coriander leaves, fold them in carefully to not mash up the potatoes and serve.
Easy, tasty, filling, and colourful.
If you love potatoes, this will end up being one of your favorite potato dishes. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Breakfast is one of my favorite meals, and contrary to what some of my followers think, I do not make pancakes ALL the time. LOL.
I do bake or buy bread, and when I do, it is toasted or made into French toast like this recipe I will be sharing with you today.
There is a new bakery that opened in our hood and I thought I would try out their bread so let’s see how it goes…
This is such a basic French toast aka “tosti Mayai” ( as it is called in Swahili), livened up by bright citrusy flavours of sweet oranges, comforting vanilla and a hint of cinnamon.
I can’t get over how good it looks. Yum!
Let us get started.
Our ingredients are:- 1/2 cup of milk, 1 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice, 3 eggs, salt, a teaspoon of vanilla, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and some butter to fry it up. I used 12 slices of bread for this recipe. And some honey.Mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon, and add the orange juice.
Add some orange zest to the egg mix for added flavour.
Heat your pan, and add a pat of butter.
Dip your slices into the egg mix on both sides and fry till golden.
Serve hot with some orange slices, a drizzle of honey or to make it more decadent, some Nutella sauce.
Tasty, filling, colourful and smells so good!
The toast finishes pretty fast, so you may need to make a bit more.
All the flavours blend wonderfully together and it makes a great weekend breakfast dish that the kids will enjoy.
This recipe was inspired by my SIL, Pesh who is not only a darling but one of the best cooks I know.
I love chicken liver, and now that I know where to get it in this town, I will be posting a few recipes featuring it in coming months.
Chicken liver is inexpensive and not liked by many, but for those who consume it, we know that it is rich in essential fatty acids, protein, vitamins and minerals, especially Vitamin B that is great for our cellular health.
It may not be visually appealing, but it is tasty and cooks fast, which is good when you want a quick healthy meal option. It is actually healthier than chicken breast, or so I’ve read.
Let us get started.
500g chicken liver.
One bay leaf.
1 tbsp soy sauce.
2 onions, sliced.
Coriander, one small bunch, stalks and leaves separated.
Freshly squeezed juice of one lemon.
A teaspoon of minced garlic.
A teaspoon of dried mixed herbs.
One green pepper, chopped.
Salt and black pepper to taste.
One tablespoon of butter, and a tsp of olive oil.
Method.
Clean your livers and chop the bigger pieces into half, pat dry. Put in a bowl with the lemon juice, one bay leaf and the soy sauce. Set aside for 15 minutes as you prepare the other ingredients.
Heat your wide pan, and add the butter and olive oil. The oil is to prevent the butter from burning.
Add the onions and let cook with a pinch of salt till caramelised.
Add the liver (with the marinade) layered around the pan, ensuring each piece is touching the pan, cover and cook for 6 minutes.
Add your green pepper, coriander stalks and mixed herbs. Mix gently and check seasoning especially salt because of the soy sauce which tends to be quite salty.
Let cook for about 6-8 more minutes. Chicken liver cooks very fast and is mushy and gross when over cooked, so keep a close eye.
Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve hot once ready.
This is delicious!
We had ours with roasted potatoes and stir fried Chinese cabbage.
Tasty, filling and easy to make…what’s not to love about this recipe?
If you have never had chicken liver before, try this, it is finger licking good.
MY KAMPALA NOTEBOOK 