98 Photo by Rebecca Cunningham
RECIPE Quick spicy chicken & roti wraps By mother and daughter duo Nathalie Mulvan and Jade Flynn Jade: I was interested in cooking from a really young age. I used to watch my mum cooking all the time. We moved to Spain together when I was six, so it was just her and me, in a different country, but still cooking familiar food. At first she was like, ‘no, this is my kitchen, you can only observe’ – the same way as she had to learn cooking, watching my grandmother. Nathalie: I don’t know if it’s the sort of forbidden fruit element – being banned from the kitchen – that made me so determined. I began cooking Guyanese food by reproducing what I had seen my mum cooking when I was young. I sort of memorised ingredients, timings, and so on. This is something I like to cook when I don’t fancy doing a whole curry. The dish is almost a dry curry, but I add a couple of tablespoons of water to make just a little bit of sauce. This recipe serves six. Ingredients: 6-8 medium chicken thighs (deboned), 1tbsp pure ghee (or melted butter would do), ½ cup water, extra salt and pepper to taste, fresh chillies (optional), 6 roti (buy readymade or make your own*), salad (to serve). For the seasoning: 1 medium brown onion (roughly chopped), 1 garlic clove (crushed), 1 handful of fresh thyme (or 1tsp dried thyme), 3 bay leaves, 1tsp madras curry powder (hot, medium or mild, to suit your taste), 1tsp turmeric powder, 1tsp cumin powder, 1tsp garam masala, ½tsp ginger powder, 1tbsp tomato ketchup, 1tsp Caribbean hot pepper sauce, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground white pepper, 1tbsp olive, vegetable or sunflower oil. Method: Trim the chicken thighs to remove any excess fat and veins. Cut each thigh into three or four strips and place in a plastic sealable container. Add the seasoning ingredients and massage into the meat. Drizzle with a little oil, cover and place in the fridge. For maximum flavour, I would leave the seasoning to infuse overnight, but if you haven’t got that long, leave it to sit for at least an hour. Heat the ghee in a large saucepan over a medium heat, making sure it doesn’t burn. You can test the heat by dropping in a bay leaf from your chicken seasoning; if it sizzles immediately, your pan is ready. Add the meat to the pan and turn up the heat; seal the chicken strips on all sides. Cook the chicken for a few minutes, turning frequently, then add the water to make a little sauce, so the curry isn’t completely dry. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper or hot pepper sauce to taste. Throw in some chillies if you want more heat. If the curry tastes a little sharp or bitter, add more ketchup to temper it. After 15-20 minutes your curry will be ready; remember to take the bay leaves out before serving. Layer roti wraps with green salad leaves; I like to use shredded rocket or baby spinach leaves. Add slivers of thinly sliced red onion and your favourite dressing, and top with the chicken. As told to Rebecca Cunningham *For Nathalie’s roti recipe go to vivamagazines.com As part of OctoberFeast, Nathalie and Jade are holding a pop-up supper in Ringmer on the 15th and they’ll be taking part in the Cook-Up Cabaret at All Saints on the 24th. lewesoctoberfeast.com This month they will also be opening their first café, Irma’s Kitchen, in Brighton and appearing on Channel 4’s My Kitchen Rules UK 99