In the last few months, Kenny has taken some time to meditate on his views and from an omnivore to a vegetarian. He was never a big meat eater so it wasn’t a huge change. But this leaves him with a slight problem, what does he eat if we go out for dinner or gets takeout? With his wheat allergy his choices are already limited but add in his new vegetarian dietary choice and getting takeout has become a little tricky. This isn’t a new problem in some respects, he hasn’t been able to get his favourite curry since he moved to London. The Glasgow food scene has a lot of it’s own dishes and he misses them alot.
I’ve talked about this before (find that recipe here) but today’s recipe was a little more challenging. The Glasgow interpretation of South Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken is very different to what you might find in the rest of the UK. With a thick, tomato based sauce, tandoori cooked chicken, and plenty of green chillies. It’s not a curry that’s hot just for the sake of it, instead it builds on the flavours of the garlic and green chillies to make a dish that’s layers of flavour.
I’ve used a combination of tofu and jackfruit to replace the chicken. Cooked in a style reminiscent of tandoori chicken, this adds an extra layer of flavour with the the right texture. Did you make the Brinjal Bhaji recipe I posted a few weeks ago? (If not you can find the recipe here) Because I hope you followed my suggestion of making a bulk batch of the base sauce as it’s the key to making many takeout style curries – including this one! Make sure you have a few batches in the freezer and it’s your key to so many tasty curries in the future.
Enjoy and let me know how it goes for you!
- Makes: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
For the Marinade:
- 400g Firm Tofu
- 400g tin Young Green Jackfruit, drained & rinsed
- 250g Dairy Free Yogurt
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Ginger Puree
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
- 1 Tbsp Ground Coriander
- 1/2 Tbsp Ground White Powder
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Paprika
- 2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp Brown Sugar
For the Curry:
- 60 ml Oil
- 15 Garlic cloves, peeled & sliced
- 1 large Onion, chopped
- 2 Tbsp Garlic Ginger Paste
- 2 Green Chillies, halved & sliced*
- 1 tsp Chilli Powder
- 2 Tbsp Curry Powder
- 2 tbsp Tandoori Masala
- 80ml Tomato Puree
- 500ml Base Sauce, heated
- 125ml Vegetable Stock
- 1 tsp Fenugreek Leaves
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- Fresh Coriander, to garnish
Directions
If you have time, it’s best to press the tofu so its less fragile and more able to absorb the marinade. Wrap the block of tofu in a clean tea towel and put it on a large plate with a lip. Put something heavy on top, and leave for 30 mins.
Dice the tofu and jackfruit into large, bitesized chinks. Mix together the rest of the marinade ingredients in a nonreactive bowl (it’s a tad acidic so avoid metal if possible) before gently mixing through the tofu and jackfruit. Cover and leave to marinade for at least 20 minutes and no longer than 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (190 Fan/400 F). Place the jackfruit and tofu on a tray, coat with any excess marinade and place into the oven for 40mins. Halfway through, spritz with oil to help them brown. Put to one side once cooked.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy based pan on a medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent and soft. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 30 seconds, or until fragrant before adding the garlic ginger paste and diced chillies. Fry until the water from the paste has been cooked off. Toss in the spices and tomato puree and cook, stirring constantly until well combined and any excess fluid has cooked off. Deglaze the pan with half the base sauce before adding the tofu, jackfruit and the rest of the base sauce. Stirring occasionally, simmer until the sauce has reduced by half before add the fenugreek. Taste and add salt as needed.
Serve with rice, garnished with fresh coriander leaves as needed.
Notes
* I’m a bit of a whimp when it comes to chilli so I tend to deseed the green chillies before using. If you’re a bit fan of heat, leave the seeds in and you can even add a third to the curry.
Allergy Notes; This should be vegan, gluten free and nut free. If you want to avoid using soy then you can substitute in Burmese tofu or omit it entirely and add another tin of jackfruit.
If you have any allergy issues with this recipe, let me know and I can suggest substitutions.
