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As I mentioned in my first article, I would bring you some curry news!. Where would the Curry Loving Times be without curry!!


Here are a few recipes for you, enjoy...

But, first heres a quote from the great Armadjena Singh Mustanar,

"There are two things a man needs, one of them is curry the other is .....(follow the link to find out)

http://www.erepublik.com/en/newspaper/eworlds-sexiest-women-213267/1

CHICKEN STEW (KERALA)

The word `stew' has become part of the Indian culinary vocabulary. In Southern India, stew is made with coconut milk and Malabar coast spices. In Kerala in particular it is commonly eaten with appams or rice flour pancakes for breakfast or Sunday brunch. In Northern India, even roadside eateries serve a mild curry which they can stew. The dish can be made milder still by reducing the green chile. But it is really aromatic. A lady from Kerala says that she thinks the combination of ghee and oil imparts a special flavor. The Keralites use very tiny pieces of chicken on the bone. But you can use small boneless pieces too. On the bone, this quantity will serve 4, but boneless should suffice for 5.

Serves 4-5
1-in piece of fresh ginger (half cut into thin julienne, the other half into pieces)
1 teaspoon peppercorns a little turmeric powder 2 onions, chopped coarsely 2-3 green chiles (serrano) 2 cups grated fresh coconut or I 0 cups tinned coconut milk
10-12 new potatoes salt, to taste
2 tablespoons oil 1 tablespoon ghee
%2 teaspoon mustard seeds I cinnamon or bay leaf 2 garlic cloves, sliced lengthwise 2-in cinnamon stick
4 cardamoms 3 cloves
20 curry leaves (can substitute with 6 mint leaves)
1 3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken pieces 1 carrot, peeled and cut into
3/-in strips
%2 cup fresh or frozen peas teaspoon garam masala powder

1 Pound the ginger pieces (retain, the julienne strips for later), peppercorns and a little turmeric and make into a thick, uneven paste. Blend the onion and green chiles. If using fresh coconut, put the grated coconut in 21/2 cups water and blend to make an extract. Strain and set aside. If using tinned, add 1 cup water to 11/2 cups milk.
2 Scrub the potatoes and half-boil them in their skin with a pinch of salt and turmeric.
3 Heat the oil and ghee together in a cooking pot and when hot add the mustard seeds. When these seeds start to crackle, add the cinnamon or bay leaf. When the mixture has turned a khaki color add the garlic, cinnamon stick and cardamoms. After 20 seconds add the cloves and curry leaves. Then mix in the pureed onion and chile and saute for 3 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and saute for 2-3 minutes.
4 Add salt to taste, potatoes and carrot and cook, covered, for 5 minutes. Then add the coconut milk, peas and juliennes of ginger, sprinkle with garam masala powder and cook covered until the chicken is done.



Kashmiri Pulao Rice


This very fancy pulao, or mixed rice, is from the Northern Indian state of Kashmir. Although it is a frozen region high in the Himalayas, Kashmir lies along the ancient overland trade routes between Persia and Hindustan, and the cuisine is famous for using a huge assortment of nuts and dried fruits from all over Central and Western Asia.

Ingredients
1/2 kilogram basmati or other long-grained rice, cooked and drained
3 tablespoons ghee or butter, to taste.
5 cloves
4 pods green cardamom
1 cinnamon tree leaf (or substitute 2 bay leaves)
1 small onion, sliced thin
2 green chillies, split lengthwise
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste (1 part ginger to 1 part garlic)
100g dried dates, pitted and sliced thin
50g white raisins
50g cashew nuts
50g pistachio nuts
50g almonds, blanched and diced
pinch of salt
3-4 strands saffron
1 tablespoon milk
Method
Heat ghee or butter in a large wide pan or wok.
Add dry spices: cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon tree leaf.
Throw in the chopped onion and fry until it just begins to turn brown.
Add ginger-garlic paste and chillies and fry for about 1 minute before tossing in all of the dried fruits and nuts.
Add salt to taste.
Turn the flame down to low.
Soak the strands of saffron in milk, mixing until the milk turns orange.
Pour the cooked rice into the pan and sprinkle the saffron-milk on top.
Stir very carefully so as not to break or mash up the rice grains, mixing the flavourings and saffron colour in uniformly and heating the rice.
Add more ghee if you're really into that sort of thing.


A simple, easy to make lamb or beef curry


This is a basic curry recipes that you could also use to make a chicken curry. The sauce is made using the onion puree recipe. I have also added red bell peppers to the onion puree, for a bit of extra flavor, but you can leave this step out. If you don't want to make your own curry paste, then bottled paste such as Pataks can be used. It's often an ideal choice when you're in a hurry.


Ingredients
1 1/2lb beef or lamb, cut into cubes
vegetable oil
The Puree

Two onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
Spices 1

2 tbsp tomato puree
3 tbsp curry paste (mild, medium or madras - your choice)
Spices 2

1 tbsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp dry fenugreek leaves
salt to taste

Method
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Add three or four tablespoons of vegetable oil to a wok or large pan and heat. Roughly chop the onions, garlic, ginger and bell pepper and add to the pan. Fry them until the onions are translucent, but not burnt, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Transfer the onions, garlic, ginger and peppers to a blender or food processor and roughly puree.
Add a couple tablespoons of oil to the wok and pour the puree back into the wok. Now you're going to stir fry for 5-10 minutes on a low heat.
Add the curry paste and the the tomato puree to the pan and mix it together well. Continue frying for about 5 minutes. This is the bhoona stage of the cooking process.
Place the cubed beef or lamb into a casserole or pyrex dish. Pour the puree mixture from the pan over the meat and mix around to make sure that everything is covered with sauce.
Put the casserole or pyrex dish into the oven and allow it to cook for 40 minutes. I like to cover the dish with some tin foil to retain the moisture and to prevent any burning on the surface of the curry.
After 40 minutes, add Spices 2, stir to mix well, and continue cooking in the oven for a further 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and serve hot. You can add salt to your personal preference, but i prefer without.
Serve with a rice dish and your choice of vegetables and breads.


That's all for now! Look out for more in my next articles. Next article will be back to eindia topics!