Lunch was a tasty pork and green bean Thai stir fry with basil.

Heat frying pan and add:
1 tablespoon oil
4 cloves minced garlic
3 sliced birds eye chilies

When fragrant add:
12 ounces minced pork
2 tablespoons of water

Place 8 ounces of green beans cut in 1 inch pieces in a microwave covered bowl with 1/2 cup water for 3 minutes

Once the pork is cooked but still moist add :

1/2 red bell pepper sliced

Stir fry pepper with pork the add drained green beans

Add 1 tablespoon fish sauce, a teaspoon of sugar and a handful of basil leaves

Taste and adjust seasoning – add lime juice if desired and/or more fish sauce

Stir fry until basil wilts and everything is mixed

Serve as is or with rice

Craving Chicken Korma I embarked on trying to create a Spicy Bite like dish. It turned out very well, so what if my house still smells like it. Thought I’d better write it down before I forget what I did. I based my recipe on a delightfully simple Chicken Shahi Kurma recipe, a more complicated Padma Lakshmi’s Chicken Korma, and my memory of Spicy Bite’s yummy creamy dish.

Grab a good handful of raw cashews, about 4 ounces – put in a bowl and pour 2/3 cup boiling water on top. Leave to soften.

Grind the dry spices:
3 cloves
1 small star anise
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
15 white peppercorns
10 fenugreek seeds – don’t go overboard here or it will be bitter
The seeds from 10 green cardamom pods

Purée the wet spices – I use a fine microplane grater
3 cloves peeled garlic
1 inch chunk of peeled garlic

Chop onion fairly small -I had a yellow onion that was sprouting and an extra half sweet onion in the fridge and threw it all in.

Prepare one inch chunks of boneless skinless chicken – I used the breast and thigh meat of a whole chicken, the rest of the chicken will go to another dish.

Heat large frying pan, add 2 tablespoons canola oil (or ghee if you have it)

Add dry spices and fry to toast but do not burn

Add 2 teaspoons of dried fenugreek leaves (must keep an eye out for fresh), fry a little but do not burn

Add chopped onion, fry until lightly caramelized

Put the cashews in a food processor without most of the liquid, purée adding back the water to make a cream.

Add one large or 12 cherry tomatoes to the food processor, whirrrr until puréed.

Make a little space in the frying pan to add a little more oil to fry the garlic/ ginger mixture- mush it about to cook quickly without browning and after the aromas are released mix with onion and other spices.

Add the fried onion spice mixture to the food processor, whirrr some more

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the empty frying pan

When it is hot add a teaspoon of garam masala to the oil followed by the chicken. I cooked the breast quickly and moved to the side of the pan so the thigh could have some room. I also added a tablespoon of butter when it got a little dry. Don’t try to cook the chicken through or it will be tough.

Once the chicken has cooked on all sides add the sauce mixture from the food processor.

Fry the sauce and bring it to the boil.

Add 4 ounces of whipping cream and reduce the heat to simmer – half and half, creme fraiche, yogurt, or coconut cream could be substituted.

Make some rice or naan – I put basmati rice in a rice cooker with water, salt, a stick of cinnamon, a star anise, five cloves, 5 whole green cardamom pods and a good pinch of saffron.

Salt the sauce to taste and stir from time to time. Add water if it gets too thick.

This recipe made enough food for 3-4 servings and should freeze well. It cost about ten dollars (whole chicken was $4.50, cashews $1.50, cream $1, tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger and spices $3) I had all the spices on hand – if I had to buy all the spices for the first time it would be much more expensive. For economical spice collecting buy spices in bulk, on sale, at asian grocery stores, online and at dollar stores – share or trade your surplus with friends.

I may never order Spicy Bite $12 chicken korma again.