Aubergine Curry

Looking for a light non-meat dish I came across this from Allrecipes.co.uk.

It was super quick and easy to make and was wonderfully spiced.  The recipe serves 4 as an accompaniment, but I used it to serve two as a main.

Aubergine Curry

Serves 2, 13 WW Pro Points per serving, inc rice

1 large aubergine

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion thinly sliced
1/2 tbsp grated ginger root
1/2 tbsp grated garlic
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tomatoes diced

110g low fat plain yoghurt

1 green chilli chopped

1 tsp salt

finely chopped fresh coriander to garnish

150g brown rice (dried weight) cooked and kept warm

Preheat the oven to 220oc GM8, place the aubergine on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes until tender, remove, cool and then peel and chop.

Heat oil in a pan, over a medium heat mix in the cumin and onion, fry until the onion is tender.  Stir in the ginger, garlic, curry powder and tomato, cook for a minute and stir in the yoghurt aubergine and chilli.  Season then cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove cover and reduce heat but continue cooking for a further 5 minutes.

Serve over the rice and sprinkle with chopped coriander.

Lamb Tagine

This is another wonderful Hairy Biker's inspired diet recipe.  As with the previous recipe in their book it is for 5 people, I have re-worked it for 2 people. A wonderfully spiced dish, which I would think could work very well in a slow cooker.

Lamb Tagine

Serves 2, 17 WW Pro Points per serving

300g lean lamb leg steak, trimmed of fat and cubed, season with S&P

2 tbsp dried fruit (HB's called for apricots, but I only had a raisin, sultana & cherry mix)
1 can chick peas, drained

1 can chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp oil
1 onion, halved and sliced
100g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2.5cm chunks
2 garlic cloves, chopped
200ml water
Lamb stock cube

Set oven for 180oc/Fan GM4. Heat oil in a casserole dish, add the seasoned lamb, onion and garlic and stir fry for 1 minute.  Sprinkle over the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and chili, cook for a further 2 minutes, remove from heat before the spices burn.

Tip in the tomatoes and water, honey and chickpeas.  Crumble to stock cube over the top and stir well.  Bring to a simmer then cover and cook in oven for 45 minutes.  Stir in the sweet potato and dried fruit/apricots and return to the oven for a further 45 mins or until the lamb is tender.

Serve with some chopped parsley and a little grated lemon zest and a side of green beans.

Chicken Paprikash

This is another of the Hairy Bikers Diet recipes.  In their cook book it is for 6 people, but I reduced it down to two people as follows.  A great dish which is perfect for my seeming addiction for chicken and tomato dishes!

Paprika Chicken

Serves 2, 13 WW pro points per serving

200g chicken thighs, skinless and boneless

1 tsp cornflour, heaped, made up with a little water

2 tsp olive oil

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 onion, halved and finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp plain or smoked paprika

200ml chicken stock

bay leaf

2 peppers one red, one green

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

To serve
300g potatoes boiled and crushed

2 tbs half fat creme fraich

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions until softened and slightly coloured, cut the chicken into nice bite sized pieces season with pepper and add to the pan.

Cook for 5 minutes until lightly coloured add the garlic and paprika, cook for a further minute.  Pour in the tomatoes and stock, add bay leaf and dried herbs.  Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Take the peppers deseed and cut into chunky pieces, add to the chicken and continue cooking for a further 20 mins.

Mix up the cornflour and add to the pan, stir until thickened.

Serve with crushed potatoes and a tablespoon on half fat creme fraiche.

Chicken Jafrezi

I love the Hairy Bikers shows, they way they cram flavour into food and totally love the excess they pack into their recipes and how they obviously love food, so I was rather surprised when their latest venture was The Hairy Dieters - How To Love Food and Lose Weight. Selection of recipes HERE 

Having watched the show and seen that they lost several stone between them and as I was a little impasse with my own diet I rushed out to get their latest cook book.  It was out of stock and remained so for a couple of weeks, even on amazon!  When I finally did get my grubby little fingers on a copy I was amazed, they have managed to pack so much flavour into their recipes and reduce the calories.  A cook fest ensued.

This is the first recipe I tried, I halved the quantities to suit two people and it worked out about 18 WW pro points per serving including 75g dry weight of rice.

Chicken Jalfrezi

Serves 4, 270 calories per portion (exclusive of rice)

6 long green chillies

4 skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp Maldon salt
200ml cold water
2 tbsp low fat plain yoghurt
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 tomatoes quartered
2 tsp cornflour, made up with 1 tbsp water

Chop 4 of the chilies, deseed a couple of them first if you don't want it too hot. Split the other two base to stalk.  Cut the chicken into bite sized chunks.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan.  Add the garlic, chopped chillies, chopped tomatoes, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, sugar & salt, fry until soft, but don't burn the spices.

Add the chicken and whole chillies and cook for a few minutes turning the chicken frequently.  Pour over the 200ml water and stir in the yoghurt, reduce heat and simmer for about 8 minutes.

Whilst the chicken is cooking, heat the remainder of the oil in a frying pan and stir fry the onion and pepper over high heat until lightly browned.  Add the quartered tomatoes and fry for a further 2 minutes

Mix up the cornflour and water.  Once the chicken is cooked stir in the cornflour mix and simmer for a few seconds, stirring until the sauce thickens.  Remove from the heat and then add the stir fried vegetables.  Mix together and serve over rice and revel in just how damn good this is.