Being that is not that easy to travel to India or Thailand to fulfill our dietary needs, I opted for bringing a little bit of India and a little bit of Thailand into my kitchen tonight upon my sons request.
Lets start with India and my homemade Naan Bread. I have to confess that I had originally bought the store made one and when I went to grab it, it was nicely decorated with green mold, got to love South Florida :-).
Anyway, immediately went to plan B and made this quick and easy version of it, of course not the same as the one made in the clay ovens but not too shabby if you know what I mean.
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 3 cups flour
Mix the warm water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes until foamy. Add salt and flour. Mix thoroughly. Knead dough on a floured workspace about 15 times and form into a tight ball. Put dough in a well oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel.Place in a warm place to rise for 30-45 minutes. Dough won’t rise much.
Place dough on a floured workspace. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll out with a rolling pin to about 1/8″ thick. Grill naan pieces on a grill for 1-2 minutes on each side.
Then we are onto the Thai side of life, making my son’s favorite Massaman Curry.
Here are the basic ingredients I usually use but I tend to deviate from them more often than not, once you get a taste for it you will find yourself adjusting it to satisfy your palate. Also I do not make my own Massaman Paste as yet, too many ingredients so for now I prefer to use the ready made paste :-).
- 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 tablespoons of Massaman curry paste
- 1 large onion cubed
- 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast meat – cubed- the bigger the cubes the juicier the chicken will remain inside.
- 1 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- about 10 new potatoes halved
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
- 3 to 4 Kaffir Lime Leaves
Saute the oil with the onions and the Massaman curry paste for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk, brown sugar and fish sauce, followed by the cubed chicken and potatoes. Last but not least, throw in the kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer until the potatoes are cooked and the chicken is not pink anymore.
Serve on some fluffy Jasmine Rice with the lovely Naan Bread and for variety next time you make it, why not change out the chicken for beef, lamb or goat.
Bon Appetite!