4 meals with one bird.

Times are hard, they say, "there's a recession on", a global, economic downturn.  Here, in England, in our little esoteric land, we have decided it is time to put 20% VAT on hot pasties, but none on cold pasties (as a hot pasty is designated a meal and therefore subject to restaurant takeaway VAT).  A tin of tuna (yes, I know, I should check if it's line-caught) is well over a pound now, and the other day, in London I saw an artisan bakery punting loafs of organic sourdough for 6 quid.

You might recall I bought a whole chicken on Tuesday?  It has now made 3 meals (1 x chicken tikka in pitta bread and 2 x chicken makhani).  I still have well over a litre of decent chicken stock too, and this no doubt, will end up as a soup or risotto.  That's not bad for a 6 quid bird!

Last night was definitely a rehash, but it was delicious!  We had a banquet of butter chicken, egg-fried turmeric rice and I made some fresh naan bread:

Chicken Makhani

A lot of people find they have problems when making egg-fried rice - finding it sticks, or dissipates in the pan, ending up as some amorphous mush.  As long as you have cooked the rice correctly in the first place, and here's the secret - allowed it to cool to fridge temperature - it is facile and elementary.  Here's how I make the rice:

Turmeric egg-fried rice

•   As usual, I eyeball how much rice I need.  I washed it twice to remove as much residual starch as possible.
•  I fill the saucepan with enough water to cover the rice with approximately 1cm excess water.
•  I put 1 teaspoon of powdered turmeric in.
•  Put the heat on medium-high.
•  After 8 or 9 minutes check it.  If you think to yourself "it's not quite ready", turn off the heat.
•  Drain the rice into a sieve and set it over a pan.  Put the saucepan cover on top of the sieve to make a subtle seal.
•  Let it steam like this for 3 minutes.  
•  Remove the saucepan lid and fork to fluff up!

Now, egg-fried rice doesn't sound massively compatible with Indian food, but really it is.  I have to confess the idea stems from my partner - she always would order egg-fried rice from a takeaway menu.  At first I thought the idea reproachable, but honestly it works.

•  When the rice has cooled down, refrigerate it until it is cold.
•  Line a wok, or a karahi pan with some neutral oil - not much, just a teaspoon.
•  Heat the wok on a high heat.
•  Mix an egg and beat it together in a cup.
•  Throw the rice into the wok when it is nice and hot.
•  Stir fry for 30 seconds.
•  Add the egg and stir vigourously.
•  When the rice is heated and the egg is cooked (2-3 minutes) it is ready.

I served this platter with a home made naan bread.

Chicken Makhani, Turmeric egg-fried rice and naan

I wonder if it is possible to make a decent naan bread, at home, without the luxury of a tandoor?  I can make a palatable bread, but in all honesty it does not resemble, or taste like a naan.  My gut feeling is that you cannot - it needs the roaring rasp of a proper tandoor to get it to bubble and crisp on the outside, but retain a hot, steamy and doughy interior.

Home-made naan bread

A quick precis of what I did is this:   I made a dough with flour, yeast, oil, salt and warm milk.  It rose, and doubled in size.  I knocked it back.  I preheated the oven and grill to maximum and put a thick baking tray in to heat it up.  I shaped my naan and then slapped it onto the hot tray.  3 minutes at 240C, then 30 seconds under the grill.

As I say, they tasted nice, but nowhere near an approximation of a naan bread.  

If any of you have a better recipe and method I'd be very intrigued to hear it.