Back and currying it up

Not the best day on Thursday, had breakfast at 8am - 2 slices of toast and scrambled egg - and then nothing until very very late lunch at half past 3. Suffice to say, I was starving by then and the 3 small glasses of white wine sat badly enough before the 2 glasses of red and the 1 of champagne. I was as sick as a dog and fell asleep at 6pm until I was woken at 9pm. I just can't do that. Yes I drank quite a bit but it shouldn't have made me sick, not like that. Lack of food made a heck of a difference and I felt like shite. The barbecue lunch the next day made a huuuuge difference to the state of my well-being, despite me being a bit of a pig and having 1 pork steak in a bun, followed by 2 beef burgers in buns. With a little greenery and some ketchup. And then some wedding cake. The barbecue made me feel so much better.

However, I wasn't happy with any of the photos except this one.  Major double-chins and flabby arms going on, so really quite unimpressed with that.

Anyway. We're home now and gymmed this morning, which was nice. I showed off a bit with my press-ups on medicine balls. I really fancied curry tonight, so dinner is a tad experimental, but basically a chicken Phaal and aloo gobi. And, well, the Phaal is a teeeensy bit hot. I based it on a Patak's recipe, but obviously made the paste myself from scratch as it's much more fun that way (though it meant guessing a bit from the ingredients on their web site which don't tell you know much of everything is in the paste).


Chicken Phaal, Serves 2

Calories (kcal)	347
Carbohydrate (g)	25.1
Protein (g)	36.2
Fat (g)	11.7
Fibre (g)	4.7
Fruit & Veg	3.0

• 6 cloves of Garlic
• 3 Large Chillies
• 1½ Tsps Cumin Seeds
• 1½ Tsps Coriander Seeds
• ½ Tsp Black Peppercorns
• 1 Tsp Turmeric Powder
• 12g Root Ginger, peeled
• 20ml Grapeseed Oil (or other flavourless oil)
• ½ Tsp Mustard Seeds
• 2 Fillets/250g Chicken Breast Fillets
• ½ Tsp Fenugreek Seeds
• 2 Tbsps/30g Tomato Puree, Double Concentrate
• 1 medium Onions
• 1 Tin/400g Tomatoes, Plum, Tinned
• 1 chunk (15g) Tamarind

1. First make the Madras paste.  Toast 1tsp cumin, 1tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp black peppercorns in a dry pan.  Grind them up with pestle and mortar and add to a blender.  Also add 1/2 the oil, 1 of the chillies, 4 cloves of garlic, 1/2 the ginger, the tomato puree and the tamarind.  Blend.  (You can use a hand blender but it may struggle with the small amounts here).
2. Chop another of the chillies and slit the final one down the middle.  Finely chop the last 2 cloves of garlic, onion and remaining ginger.  Cube the chicken.
3. Heat the rest of the oil in a saucepan and add the onion, stir over a medium heat until golden. Add the chicken and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the Madras Paste remaining cumin and coriander seeds, the fenugreek, ginger and garlic and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle in some water if the mixture begins to stick.
4. Stir in the tinned tomatoes and the chillies and bring to a gentle simmer.
5. Cook for a further 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
6. Check the seasoning and serve garnished with a dollop of yogurt if you find the curry a bit hot. Also remove the whole chillies before serving if desired.