Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

Ingredients

* For the tandoori chicken:

• 450 g skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 tbsp thick yogurt
• 2 tsp chickpea flour/gram flour
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1'' piece ginger, peeled
• 1 green chili 
• 1 tsp mild paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• Pinch of cinnamon powder
• Pinch of saffron crushed (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Butter for basting
• 1 tsp chaat masala
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salad and chutney to serve 

* For the butter gravy: 

•  1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 5 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 green chilies, slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• 3 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup cooking cream
• 1 tsp Kasoori methi powder 
• Salt to taste
• Chopped coriander for garnish

Method

* To make the tandoori  chicken:
- Add the ginger, garlic and green chili in a wet grinder, blend all too a smooth paste.
- Mix the yogurt with the gram flour in a bowl to get rid of any lumps to form a thick paste. Add the ginger, garlic and chili paste, paprika, chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder, the ground cinnamon, saffron and salt, stir well and tip in the chicken pieces, mix well. Make sure to coat them well in the thick marinade. Leave to marinate for a few hours or even overnight.
- Soak wooden skewers in water. Preheat the grill on medium. Shake off the excess marinade and thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers and place them on a wire rack.
- Cook them under the grill for 15-20 minutes on the top rack. Turn the skewers every 5 minutes and baste with melted butter until the juices run clear. They should be cooked through and slightly charred around the edges.

* To make the butter gravy:
- Heat a heavy bottom sauce pan and add some butter. Add green cardamom, cinnamon stick and cloves, fry them for about 20 seconds then add onion and saute for 5-7 minutes on medium heat until light brown.
- Add the grated ginger and slit green chilies. Fry for a further minutes and add the chili powder, garam masala along with tomato puree. Stir well and cook for a couple minutes.
- Gradually add the cream stirring continuously to mix all the spices with the cream. Simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes. At this stage, add a splash of water if the curry is too thick.
- Stir in the honey and the fenugreek powder. Season to taste.
- Add the cooked chicken pieces and simmer the curry on a low heat for 8-10 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice or roti.

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Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup (Bún Riêu Cua)

Ingredients

* For broth

• 1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 spring onions, sliced lengthwise ( the white part only)
• 6 medium tomatoes, quartered
• 1 liter of chicken stock
• 1 liter of water 
• 1 condensed soup seasoning for bún riêu (optional)
• 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
• 1.5 tsp fine shrimp paste (mắm tôm)

* For crab mixture

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 small can (150g) of minced crab in spices (Gia vị nấu bún riêu)
• 1 small can (150g) of minced crab meat
• 100g  dried shrimp
• 1/2 tsp fine shrimp paste
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 4 eggs, beaten

* To serve

• Packed or fresh vermicelli rice noodles (bún tươi)
• Fried shallots 
• Vegetables mix, shredded 
• Fine shrimp paste (optional)
• Fine chopped fresh chilli
• Handful of roughly chopped spring onions and coriander leaves
• Lime wedges 

Method
- Soak dried shrimp in cold water for 1 hour or until soft, then drain and finely mince it.
- Heat water in a pot to a boil, add vermicelli rice noodles and let it cook for 5 minutes without cover, then turn off the heat and cover the pot with a lid and let the noodles cook for further 3 minutes. Drain under cold water and set aside.
- In a large stock pot over medium heat, add the oil along with the white parts of spring onions. Saute for 30 seconds then add the tomatoes and saute for further 2 minutes (do not over cook the tomatoes).
- Add the stock and water into the pot, turn to medium high heat. Season the broth with fish sauce, shrimp paste and condensed soup seasoning. When it comes to a boil, let it simmer on medium low heat while preparing the crab mixture.
- In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, add the oil along with the minced garlic. Saute the garlic until lightly golden and fragrant for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and transfer into a small bowl. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the minced crab in spices, minced crab meat, minced dried shrimp, sauteed garlic, fine shrimp paste, sugar and ground pepper. Add the beaten eggs and mix well.
- Turn the broth's heat to high. When the broth is boiling, pour the crab mixture into it. When cooked, the crab mixture will come up to the surface of the broth.
- Finally, adjust the seasoning of the broth with additional fish sauce.
- Serve hot over rice noodle and other ingredients mentioned above. Make 8-10 servings.

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