Spiced Coriander Chicken Nuggets

July 15, 2003

I've mentioned our cat Pooksie from time to time. He joined us 14 years ago and soon became part of the family.

He was a different cat to each of us. He saw Ben as a sparring partner. Ben would pull his sleeve down over his first and the pair would have this mock battle, Ben usually coming off second best.

The Spouse would tease him. Pooks would drop by for a friendly hello and find himself scooped up and held against his will. He'd soon be yowling to be let down although when he eventually was set free, he wouldn't run away - he sit about a metre away, just out of reach.

Pooks and James had a more casual relationship. No fighting, no teasing. Just a good long leg to sit on.

I called him Ratty, short for The Black Rat. I was the softie who filled the food and water bowls. The minute I got the chopping board out in the evening, I'd feel a swish of a bushy black tail around my calves. Occasionally there'd be a squawk as he loitered too close and I accidentally trod on his precious tail. I knew he wouldn't budge till I fed him. He knew it too and would keep getting in the way until he won. At night he'd sit on my knee in front of TV for a while then climb into his basket for a zizz.

For 14 years he was always there - waiting for food to fall off the barbecue, sitting on the couch in the study as I worked, pouncing on my gloved hand as I did the gardening, sitting up at the table when we ate, sleeping on our bed (and hogging most of the space).

Last week there was no sign of him when I got home from work. Twice I went out in the rain with the torch looking for him. Eventually at 10pm I found him sitting in the garden, wet through, bedraggled and disoriented.

He had been living on half a kidney for several months and I knew his time had come. I sat with him for several hours and in the morning The Spouse took him to the vet who agreed he'd "gone over the edge‚". The Black Rat went gently to his final sleep.

It's been a bit quiet at the dinner table. No puss sitting patiently on "his‚" chair waiting for a little treat.

He would have enjoyed today's chicken dish. I'd often say to The Spouse - "He won't eat that - it's too spicy.‚" But Pooks wasn't going to turn anything down as long as it was meat.

Spiced Coriander Chicken Nuggets

500g chicken tenderloins
2 tablespoons lime juice
fresh coriander - sufficient stalks, leaves and root to make 4 tablespoons when chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon powdered coriander
1 teaspoon chilli paste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

Place the washed, roughly chopped coriander, lime juice, spices, oil, onion and garlic in a small blender and blend until finely chopped and well mixed.

Cut the chicken tenderloins into bite-sized chunks, place in a bowl and spoon the spice mix over, mix well to coat each piece. Refrigerate for two or three hours.

Heat some oil in a pan or wok and cook the marinated chicken until it is no longer pink in the center.

This basic chicken can be served in several ways - with a yoghurt and cucumber raita and some fluffy rice; with a peanut satay sauce; on pita bread with salad and a tahini-based sauce. It can be threaded on skewers and cooked on the barbecue and served with a fruity salsa.

Diced chicken breasts can be used instead of tenderloins.