Tomato Shrimp Curry @MaddieDayAuthor #giveaway

MADDIE DAY here. 

When I was in San Francisco last month for Left Coast Crime, my cousin took me to Burma Superstar, a popular restaurant. I loved the food (especially the tea leaf salad), and when I learned there is a cookbook by the owners, I had to order a copy. 

This recipe is adapted from one I found in the book.

I might make the tea leaf salad one day, but I'll need to acquire some special ingredients for that. This curry, on the other hand, was simple and tasty and quick to prepare for a weeknight dinner.

Tomato Shrimp Curry

Adapted from the cookbook Burma Superstar: Addictive Recipes from the Crossroads of Southeast Asia by Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy.

Ingredients

1 pound large shelled shrimp, thawed

1 tablespoon fish sauce

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 finely diced onion

1 sweet red pepper, diced

2 stalks celery, minced (not shown in photo)

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ to 1 teaspoon Thai green chile paste

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon turmeric

2 cups diced Roma tomatoes

 

Directions

In a bowl, mix the shrimp with fish sauce and salt and let sit at room temperature.

 

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to brown, about six minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add chile paste, paprika, and turmeric and stir. 

Add celery and tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes lose their shape and soften and the sauce is thick enough to stand up on a spoon, about 7 minutes. If the tomatoes are on the dry side, add about ¼ cup of water to help them cook down.

Stir in the shrimp and gently coat in the sauce. (Sorry, I forgot to snap a photo of this stage.) Cook gently 3-5 minutes until shrimp are cooked through. Taste, adding more salt or fish sauce as desired. Serve over hot white rice or rice noodles.

 

Note: the book recommends adding 1 teaspoon shrimp paste and 1-2 Thai chiles instead of the chile paste to the sauce, and providing both cilantro and lemon wedges as garnishes. I had none of that and can’t tolerate hot peppers, thus the adaptation.

Readers: What's your favorite Asian dish? I'll send one commenter one of my special Author aprons!

🍛🍚🍛

Murder at Cape Costumers is out and available wherever book are sold!

Next up is A Poisonous Pour! This third Cece Barton mystery releases April 28.

My most recent releases are Scone Cold Dead, #13 in the Country Store Mysteries,

 Deadly Crush, 

and A Case for the Ladies.

Check out all my writing.

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and sweet cat Martin north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.

Chicken Curry #Recipe Peg Cochran/Margaret Loudon

 

I didn't always like curry.  The first time I tasted it I thought it was horrible.  Somewhere along the line, I changed my mind and now I adore curries.  This recipe looks as if it has a lot of ingredients but it's quite easy and quick to make.  I imagine you could sub boneless chicken thighs for the breasts if you would prefer that.  Sadly, I didn't have any cilantro (which I hate to chop anyway) but it was still very good.  If you are one of those people who hates cilantro, feel free to leave it out.  This is very good served with basmati rice and a piece of naan.  I tried my hand at making naan once.  You can find the recipe here.

Spice blend

1 1/2 tsp coriander  

1 tsp cumin  

1/2 tsp turmeric  

1/2 tsp fennel seeds crushed in a small bag with a meat mallet

1/2 tsp cinnamon  

1/2 tsp black pepper  

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp ground cloves 

Curry

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small onion chopped (1 cup)

4  garlic cloves minced  

1 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 cup chicken broth  

3/4 cup drained canned diced tomatoes or peeled, seeded, diced fresh tomatoes

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into cubes

1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water (optional—to thicken sauce)

1/3 cup heavy cream  

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro  

 

Mix all the spices in the spice blend together and set aside.

Heat olive and sauté onions until golden brown.  Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 30 seconds.  Add spices and sauté for a few seconds for them to bloom.

 

Pour in chicken broth and tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.

Season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.  Add diced chicken.

 

Cover pot and simmer until chicken is cooked through, approximately 8 minutes.

Stir in optional corn starch slurry to thicken sauce.  Add heavy cream.

 

Serve topped with chopped cilantro.

 

 

 

 

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Crispy Chickpea Salad from @MaddieDayAuthor

MADDIE DAY here, bringing you a fun summer salad with international flavors. The recipe I adapted appeared in the Boston Globe Magazine on August 6, with credit to Christopher Kimball.

I have lots of fresh cucumbers in my garden, along with a healthy pot of mint. And who doesn't love a crispy curried chickpea? When my vegetarian son and his wife were coming for lunch recently, I thought this salad would be perfect to serve them.

Crispy Chickpea Salad

 

Ingredients

Picture shows fat can of chickpeas, all I had in the larder, and no lemon

1 long cucumber or two slender shorter cukes, diced and peeled.

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and patted dry

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ cup olive oil

2 teaspoons curry powder (or less if you don't like a little spice)

2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice (not shown)

½ cup roughly chopped fresh mint

 

Directions

In a colander, toss cucumber with 1 teaspoon salt. Let drain over a bowl or the sink, for about 15 minutes, stirring several times.

Toss chickpeas with cornstarch. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chickpeas and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about five minutes. Add curry powder and continue to cook, stirring, for about a minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate.

Toss drained cucumbers with citrus juice, mint, and 1 tablespoon oil.

Stir in chickpeas and adjust seasonings, if needed.

Enjoy with grilled fish or chicken or with other salads.

Readers: What international flavors do you like?

🥒🍋🥒

My next books will be "Murderous Mittens" in Christmas Mittens Murder and Murder Uncorked, both featuring my new wine bar manager Cece Barton.

Check out all my writing!

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and sweet cat Martin north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.

Easy Chicken Curry

 

This was a very tasty curry and didn't take long to prepare.  I don't see why you couldn't substitute your own favorite curry powder or mixture if you didn't want to mix up the spice blend yourself although it wouldn't be as "authentic."  According to Madhur Jaffrey, the term "curry" was coined by the British.  No Indian cook uses curry powder--each dish calls for a different blend made from freshly ground spices.

 

I left out the cayenne pepper since hubby doesn't care for things that are too spicy. He also suggested adding some golden raisins at the end. I found I needed more cornstarch to thicken the mixture--about a tablespoon in the end.  You can start with a little and add more if you like.  You might prefer it to be more soupy.  I did serve it over basmati rice but that's obviously optional.  The cilantro is also optional--I know cilantro is an either love it or hate it herb!  This is very comforting and warming on a cold day!

 

Spice blend

 

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed in a small plastic bag with a meat mallet

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp ground cloves

 

Curry

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped  

4 garlic cloves, minced  

1 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger or ginger paste

1 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup drained canned diced tomatoes  

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper, to taste

1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1 1/4-inch cubes

1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water  

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

 

Mix together all of the spices in the spice blend, set aside.

 

Cut chicken into bite-sized cubes.  

 

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. 

 

Add in onion and sauté until slightly golden brown.

 

Add in garlic and ginger, sauté 30 seconds more then add in spice blend and sauté 30 seconds or until fragrant. 

 

 

Pour in chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Blend mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth then return mixture to skillet.

 

Season sauce with salt and cayenne pepper (to taste) then add in chicken.

 

 

Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, cover skillet and simmer until chicken has cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 8 - 12 minutes.

 

Make a slurry with cornstarch and water.  Add to skillet during the last minute of cooking to thicken sauce slightly.

 

Stir in cream then serve warm with cilantro over basmati rice.

 

 

Cranberry Cove #7 is finally here! 

 

Monica's stepmother wakes up next to a dead man!  Did she do it?

 

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Coconut Curry Soup #Recipe @PegCochran

My daughter raved about this recipe so I decided to try it.  It was quick and easy and delicious!  The recipe comes from What's Gabby Cooking with a few tweaks of my own.  You may notice strips of red pepper in the soup.  The recipe does not call for fresh red pepper but I had half of one in the refrigerator I wanted to use up!  I also added a handful of raw shrimp at my daughter's suggestion to add some protein. The soup requires both a spoon and a fork to eat and can be rather messy but tastes so good you don't mind.

1 tablespoons coconut oil or neutral oil
1 yellow onion thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves chopped
3 tablespoons fresh ginger minced
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 tablespoons curry powder
5 cups vegetable broth
3 cups coconut milk
6.75 ounces of rice noodles

Optional:  raw shrimp or cooked, shredded chicken

 

Heat the oil over medium high heat.

 

Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes until translucent.

 

Add the garlic, ginger, curry paste and curry powder into the skillet and stir to combine. Cook for approximately one minute or until fragrant.

 

 

 

Add the vegetable broth and deglaze the skillet.

 

Add the coconut milk and bring the broth to a boil. 

 

 

 

Remove from the heat and add the noodles to the boiling broth.  Cook noodles until al dente or to taste.  Timing might vary so check directions on the box.

 

 

 

Optional garnishes:  cilantro, lime juice, green onions.

 

 

OUT NOW!

Book #3 in the Open Book Series

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A murder in her quaint British bookshop drops American Gothic novelist Penelope Parish into her deadliest caper yet.

Penelope Parish is ready to close the book on her amateur sleuthing—from now on, The Open Book’s writer-in-residence will be sticking to villains of the fictional variety while she puts the final touches on her new novel. But when an author is murdered inside the bookshop, all of Upper Chumley-on-Stoke goes on high alert.
 
Now it’s up to Pen and the quirky citizens of Chumley to stop a killer and protect the charming British town she’s begun to call home.

 

 

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