Vietnamese Yellow Curry (Low Calorie)

This is a great curry - but you will need to take my word for it - as  I could not get  picture that did it justice!
It is quite a wet curry - like a thai curry in that way - quite a lot of sauce, not as this as an indian curry.
I amended the recipe from a 250 calorie recipe - all I have added is more heat in the chillies - this recipe is quite hot - but in no way overwhelming.
After the initial blast it is a slow cook - so ideal to make ahead of time.

Serves 4


1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 Bunch spring onions - shredded (10-12)
2 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
500g skinless chicken thigh fillets - cut into bite size pieces
2 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 stick lemon grass - finely chopped
3 green chillies - sliced
1 can light coconut milk
Handful fresh coriander - chopped








1 Prepare meat and veg as above - so you are ready to go
2 Heat the oil in a wide frying pan or wok.
3 When hot fry the spring onions, garlic and chicken for 3 minutes.
4 Stir in the spices, lemongrass and chilli and cook for 1-2 minutes
5 Transfer to a small casserole or slow cooker.
6 Pour over coconut milk, making sure chicken is covered. Top up with water if necessary.
7 Cook in the oven for 2 hours, or in a slow cooker for 5 hours.
8 Garnish with coriander and serve.

We served with rice and stir fried veg - and if you manage a good photo  - mail it over!!

South Indian style fish curry with Belgian beer

This recipe is a bit of a mix up  - its base is from Australian writer Paul Mercurio - the curry is south indian in style - but has Belgian beer as an ingredient.
It adds up to a creamy, hot and sour style curry - it has a bit of heat - but your will need to add more chilli if you like your currys really spicy.
On the fish  - you could add some squid, cut into tubes - or experiment with different types of fish - but you want something fairly firm, that isn't going to disintegrate.

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp black mustard seeds
3 red chillis, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 inch ginger, chopped

vegetable oil
1 onion sliced
1 tsp ground tumeric
1tbsp curry powder ( I used madras)
200ml coconut milk
160ml coconut creme
250 ml Leffe Blonde
45 ml lemon juice
1 tsp palm sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
10 curry leaves
200 sugar snap peas
400 - 500 cod fillets cut into bite size pieces
12 large prawns
3 tbsp chopped coriander

1 In a frying pan dry roast the cumin, coriander, half the mustard seeds until fragrant and they start popping.
2 Tip into a mortar and pestle and grind into a powder. Add the chilli, garlic and ginger, together with a pinch of sea salt, and pound into a paste.
3 Heat oil in a large casserole over a medium to high heat.
4 add the onion and cook for 10 minutes or so - until it begins to caramelise.
5 Stir in the tumeric, curry powder and remaining mustard seeds, and fry for a couple more minutes.
6 Add the spice paste, and cook out for approx 10 minutes, to combine all of the flavours.
7 Stir in the coconut milk and creme, and add the beer. Bring to the boil and the reduce the heat to a simmer.
8 Add the lemon juice, fish sauce, palm sugar and curry leaves.
9 Simmer for 10 minutes and check for seasoning.
10 Add the sugar snaps and cook for 5 minutes
11 Add the fish and prawns and poach for 5-8 minutes, until just cooked
12 Stir in the coriander and serve over rice.

enjoy with another Leffe Blonde!