Weyalan's ocasional curry recipe thread

[Weyalan]

In a fit of self-indulgence, I am going to start a thread for the posting of curry recipes. I'm going to start off with a couple that I have already posted. Feel free to post your favorite curry mouth-waterers / ring-burners here too...

Contents:

Page 1
Saag gosht Indian Lamb & spinach curry
Chicken Vindaloo Indian hot chicken curry
Cucmber & mint raita Soothing yogurt accompanyment
Tom Kha Pla Thai cocunut & galangal fish soup
Chana daal North Indian chickpea lentil curry
Chicken Madras Indian chicken curry
Shajahani fish Indian creamy fish curry
Tom Yum Kung Thai hot sour prawn soup
Bhoona fish Indian fish curry

Page 2
Punjabi naan bread Yummy Indian bread
Rogan josh Kashmiri lamb curry
Chicken Korma mmmm...creamy
Chapatis Indian equivalent of flour tortillas
Bhindi masala simple punjabi fried okra dish
Aloo mutter gobi spicy potato and cauliflower with peas (c.f. Bend it like Beckham)
Prik kaeng kiao wan green curry paste

Page 3
Penaeng curry paste traditional maylasian/thai curry paste
Penaeng pla Simple penaeng fish curry for TM to try!
Nigerian heat kebabs Beef on a stick, courtesy of Rebis
Onion bhajis Tasty vegetarian snackfood
Nasi goreng Simple Indonesian fried rice

Page 4
Abalone stir-fry with hokkien noodles My own creation
Tomato ketchup Just like you buy in the store, only heaps better!

Page 5
Coyote's Hurricane Hobo Chili Now with 15% more zing!
Kaeng phet daeng kai (red thai chicken curry) I think I broke my taste buds!
Red thai curry paste (nam prik kaeng phet daeng) hot hot hot
Indonesian chicken satay with peanut sauce Barbecued chicken skewers = teh yum
Kerala chicken curry southern Indian yumness
Simple Salsa Verde simple mexican goodness... goes with anything!
Beef Rendang Indonesian dry beef curry. Now with 10% extra delicious

Page 6
Palak Paneer North Indian spinach & goats cheese curry
Pickled Capsicum So easy, so tasty
Butter Chicken Popular British version of Indian curry
Tomato salad a la Rebis Tasty professional input from chef Rebis
Massamam curry paste paste for massamam curry, duh!
Massamam curry beef Malaysian/Thai muslim influenced goodness

Page 7
Reverend Tseng’s Quasi-Punjabi Chicken Curry It might not kill you

Page 8
Singapore laksa Spicy soup, but so much more...
Simple squid stir-fryThis thread will not die...
'Trary's soup of excellence with tomato
Chicken Tika Masala Marinated, charcoal-grilled chicken in creamy tomato masala - for Indi

Page 9
Vegetable Samosas Little triangular parcels of curry goodness - for Vent
Salt & Pepper Squid Quick, simple squid recipe... mmm mmm
Sweet chilli sauce Hot, sweet, chilli and garlic sauce

Page 10
Tseng's Tandoori Chicken (sans tandoor) Now with 20% more yum!
North Indian Cabbage and Onion Curry one of my personal favourites
Coyote's Pueblo Beef Stew with Green Chilies and Garbanzos Native Americans spice it up too!

Page 11
Steamed rice Rice. Steamed.
Dirty rice Classic Cajun dish from The Big Easy

Page 12
Halo's dirty rice More classic Cajun goodness

Page 14
Mutton Pulao Traditional Pakistani lamb and rice dish
Vegetable pilaf A simple one-pot rice 'n veg dish


Incidentally, if any of you actually cook any of these recipes, I'd love to hear some feedback...

Another observation: Traditionally, Indians do not eat a lot of beef, therefore most of the meat currys listed here call for lamb, mutton or goat. However, all of these would work equally well with cow...I tend to use cheap stewing steak and long slow cook times if using beef.

N.B. Feel free, also, to request particular dishes. I have a pretty extensive reptoire and an even more extensive collection of cookbooks, not to mention I heard about this thing called teh Intarwebs...

[Weyalan]

Saag Gosht (lamb & spinach curry)

Ingredients

4 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 tblsp oil or ghee
2 pounds boneless leg or shoulder of lamb, cut into 2.5 cm (approx. 1-inch) cubes
4 onions, finely chopped
3 green chillis, finely chopped (more or less, according to taste)
6 cloves
6 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, approx 3-4"
12 black peppercorns
4 Indian bay leaves (cassia leaves) (normal bay leavews will do as a substitute)
3 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp paprika
2" piece ginger, grated
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup thick natural yoghurt
16 ounces spinach, roughly chopped
approx. 2 cups water
Salt for seasoning to taste
1 tblsp cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Method

Place a small frying pan over low heat and dry-roast the coriander seeds until aromatic. Remove them and dry-roast the cumin seeds. Grind the roasted seeds in a pestle and mortar. Heat some oil or ghee in a Karahi or casserole over low-ish heat and fry a few pieces of meat at a time until browned (remove from pan). Add more oil to the pan, if necessary, and fry the onion, chillis, cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, black peppercorns and bay leaves until the onion is slightly browned. Add the cumin and coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and paprika and fry for 30 seconds, stirring continously. Add the meat, ginger, garlic, yoghurt (1 spoonful at a time, stirring) and water and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. at this stage, most of the water should have evaporated, if it hasn't, remove the lid, increase the heat and fry until the moisture has evaporated. Season with salt to taste. Cook the spinach briefly in a little simmering water until it is just wilted, then refresh in cold water. Drain thoroughly, then finely chop. Add the spinach to the lamb and cook for 3 minutes, ir until the spinach and lamb are well mixed and any extra liquid has evaporated. Garnish with a little chopped cilantro

[Weyalan]

Chicken Vindaloo

Ingredients

2 tbsp ground coriander
2/3 - 1 tbsp ground cumin (use less if freg roasted and ground seeds are used, more if pre-ground powder is used)
8 - 12 dried red chillis, ground
1 tbsp mustard seeds, ground
1 tsp ground fenugreek
4 tbsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar (any white vinegar will do at a pinch, hell; any vinegar except balsamic will siffice)
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 1/2 inch cube root ginger, grated
4 - 5 cloves garlic, crushed
1kg chicken pieces (traditionally, these would be "on the bone"*, but thigh or breast fillet also work - whatever floats your tastebuds)
4 tbsp oil or ghee
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 - 3 tsp chilli pdr
1 tsp paprika
salt to taste
450 - 500 ml warm water
3 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Method

Mix ground spices & ground chillis in vinegar. Add
tumeric, ginger & garlic, mix thoroughly.
Trim excess fat from chicken, cut into cubes. Add chicken
to mixture, mix well to coat meat. cover bowl & leave
overnight (or 5 hours minimum)

Heat oil & fry onions until soft, add meat mixture & fry
6 - 8 minutes, stirring often. Add chilli powder, paprika
& salt, mix. Add water, bring to boil, cover & simmer
20 mins, add more water if necessary. Add potatoes, simmer
20-30 mins. sprinkle with fresh coriander before serving.

*Note: Indian curries traditionally use meat on the bone. It is generally considered that meat on the bone has better flavour than off the bone cuts, and it is also much cheaper (in what is generally a very poor country). Neverthless, off the bone cuts of meat work perfectly fine in any recipe and many people don't like the hassle of eating meat of the bone, particularly in a rich curry sauce, so do whatever makes you happy. However, it ain't no use using the most expensive cuts of meat if the curry is gonna be cooked for several hours!

[Weyalan]

Cucumber & mint raita (ideal accompanyment to any hot curry)

Ingredients

1/2 a large cucumber
salt
1 tblsp of fresh mint, finely chopped
2 cups of natural yogurt
1 tsp caster sugar (optional)
1 tsp salt (optional)
1/4 tsp cayenne or chilli powder (optional)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, roasted and coarsely ground (optional)
lemon juice (optional)

Method

Peel the cucumber. Grate the cucuber into a sieve. Salt the cucumber thoroughly and leave to stand/sweat for 20 minutes. Gently press any excess jucie from the cucumber. (Note: If you do not like your raita salty, you can rinse it with fresh water and press again).

Combine cucumber, mint and yogurt. Season with salt / sugar, lemon juice and spices according to taste. (Note: Some people like their raita salty, some sweet, some spicy, some not. Personally, I like salt, lemon juice, cumin & cayenne).

Serving Suggestion: Ideal accompanyment to hot curries, with mango chutney.

[Mole]

YAY!

[Weyalan]

Tom Kha Pla (coconut & galangal fish Soup)

Ingredients

4 cups Thai Chicken Stock (see recipe, below)
1/2 lb Fish fillets cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can straw mushrooms, drained & cut in half
2 - 6 Roasted Thai chillis (a.k.a. "birdseye chillis") (vary quantity according to taste)
5 Tbsp Fish sauce
3 - 4 Tbsp Lime juice
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk (not light)
1 1/2 cups chopped cabbage
Kaffir (Thai) lime leaves, for garnish
coriander leaves, for garnish

Method

Bring Thai chicken stock to simmer over medium-high heat in large pot.
Add fish, mushrooms and chilles and cook until fish is almost cooked through, about 2 minutes.
Stir in fish sauce, lime juice and coconut milk. Add chopped cabbage and cook until just tender, about 1 minute.
Divide among serving bowls and garnish each with 1 to 2 lime leaves and coriander

Thai chicken stock

Ingredients

1 Chicken carcass
8 to 10 cups water
3/4 to 1 cup thinly sliced galangal (use ginger if necessary, but this is not as good)
6 stalks lemon grass - lower thick portion only, pounded
10 kaffir lime leaves

Method
Place chicken carcass in stockpot. Add water, galangal and lemon grass. Roll lime leaves and crush lightly with hand, then add to pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour. Strain.

[Weyalan]

Chana daal (chickpea lentil curry)

Ingredients

1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds*
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds*
1/4 tsp cardamon seeds*
1/4 tsp calonji seeds* (a.k.a. "nigella")
(Note: items with * are optional)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1" piece of fresh ginger, chopped
3 - 4 fresh chillis, chopped (more or less may be used, according to taste and tolerance)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp tumeric
1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
3/4 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garam masala
(Note: you can dry-fry the cumin, coriander and cayenne for a more authentic flavour)
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
10 oz chana lentils (or any type of lentils really)
1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped
salt
water

Method

Rinse lentils in cold water

Put lentils in a pan and cover with cold water so water is about 2" deeper than lentils
Bring to boil and simmer. Skim starch scum from top and discard. Add 1/t tsp of tumeric and 1/2 of the chopped ginger.
Simmer until lentils are cooked (approx 45 minutes)

Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed frying pan. when ghee is hot, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the cumin seeds. Fry for 10 seconds then add the other seeds (optional). Fry for another 10 seconds then add the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger. Fry, stirring, for 2 minutes then add remaining tumeric. Fry for another minute then add ground cumin, coriander and cayenne), reduce heat and fry, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add a little water from the lentil pot if necessary to prevent the spices from burning.

Add the fried ingredients to the lentils (use a little water to get any remaining spices from the frying pan). Stir well and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in garam masala and chopped corander just prior to serving. A splash of lemon juice may also be added. Salt to taste.

May be served with rice, or eaten as is. If extra water is used, may be served as a daal soup.

[Vent]

Do you have one for Chicken Madras?

[Weyalan]

Chicken Madras

Ingredients

6 tbsp oil or ghee
2 medium onions, chopped
1 inch chopped ginger
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
6-8 dried red chillis
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 fresh green chillis, sliced lengthways
1 tin chopped tomatoes (400g)
3 tsps grnd gumin
1 tbsp grnd coriander
1-2 tsp chilli pdr
1 tsp tumeric
1kg chicken, cubed (or pieces, on bone)
175ml warm water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp garam masala

Method

Heat 3 tbsp oil over medium heat, fry onions, ginger, chopped garlic & dried chillis 8 - 10 mins, remove from heat & allow to cool.

Heat remaining oil over medium heat, fry crushed garlic & green chillis until garlic starts to brown, add 1/2 the tomatoes & 1/2 their juice, cook 2 mins, add cumin, coriander, chilli pdr & tumeric, cook on low heat 6 - 8 mins, stirring frequently. Add chicken, fry med/high 5 - 6 mins, stirring, add water, bring to boil, cover, simmer for 20 - 25 mins.

Blend cooled onion mixture in blender with remaining tomatoes & juice, add to meat, stir, bring to boil, add salt, simmer 20 - 25 mins.

Stir in garam masala before serving.

[Weyalan]

Note: For the record, there are myriad "chicken madras" recipes, and they can be as different as chalk & cheese.... The above is, from memory, a Madhur Jaffrey recipe, slightly varied (by me )

[Weyalan]

Shahjahani Fish

Ingredients

750g white fish fillets
125g roasted cashews
150ml single cream
60g butter or ghee
250g onions, finely sliced
2” cinnamon stick
6 - 8 green cardamon pods, opened
4 - 5 whole cloves
6 fresh green chillis, sliced into strips
1 - 2 tsp tumeric
200ml warm water
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

Rinse fish, dry on absorbent paper, cut into 5 X 2.5 cm
pieces. In an electric blender, blend cashews & cream
to fine mixture.
Melt butter (or ghee) over medium heat. Fry onions,
cinnamon stick, cardamon, cloves & chillis 6 - 8 mins.
Add tumeric & stir. Add water & salt, stir. Arrange fish
in single layer. Bring to boil, cover pan, simmer 2 - 3
mins.

Add cashew / cream mixture, stir gently until fish is
coated. cover, simmer 2 - 3 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice. Serve.

[Weyalan]

Tom Yum Kung (Hot sour thai prawn soup)

Note: This is not a particularly authentic version, having been bastardized to suit my own tastes. But this is also a soup that will allow you to vary the ingredients / proportions quite a bit, depending on your own tastes. It is one of my all time favourites.

Ingredients

1kg whole green prawns
8 red birdseye chillis (more or less according to taste), chopped *
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped *
1" cube galangal, finely chopped *
1/2" cube ginger, finely chopped
1 bunch spring onions, chopped *
2 sticks lemongrass *
6-8 Kafir lime leaves, chopped or torn*
1 bunch cilantro - chop roots and stems for stock, retain leaves for garnish
1 can straw mushrooms, drained, then mushrooms halved
2-3 tablespoons palm sugar
2 limes - juice of
1 tsp shrimp paste
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 litres of water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Note: The ingredients marked * are used mostly in the stock, but a small amount of each should be retained for adding into the soup later

Method

Shell and devain the prawns, retain the heads, shells and legs for making stock
Heat oil in large pan, add prawn heads shells and legs , garlic, chillis, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, lime leaves, coriander roots and stems, fry, stirring, for approx 5 minutes until prawn heads turn well pink. Add water and bring to poil, simmer gently for about 20-25 minutes. Drain, retaining liquid and discarding everything else.

Note: Ideally, drain through muslin, otherwise, use the finest mesh strainer available and skim oil from surface after cooling for a few minutes.

Bring stock back to almost boiling. Add palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and shrimp paste; vary the amount of each according to taste - the flavour should hot, fragrant and sour. Add the prawns, straw mushrooms and the small amounts of chilli, galangal, garlic, lime leaf, lemongrass, simmer very gently until prawns are cooked (3 - 4 minutes). Serve sprinkled with coriander leaves

Note: Can be served "as is" as a starter, or with steamed rice or noodles as a more substantial main course

[Weyalan]

Bhoona Fish.

Ingredients

700g white fish fillets or steaks
6 tbsp oil (or ghee)
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp tumeric
1 - 2 tsp chilli pdr (or according to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1/2 inch chopped ginger
4 - 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 - 2 tsp chilli pdr (or according to taste)
1 1/2 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp garam masala
1 tin tomatoes
150 ml warm water
100g frozen peas
1 tsp salt
chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Method

Skin fish, wash, dry on absorbent paper, cut into 2.5 x 5 cm pieces.
Mix flour, tumeric, chilli pdr & salt in a bowl, coat fish with this mixture.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in large frying pan over medium/high heat. fry fish until evenly browned & sealed (3 - 4 mins). remove fish from pan with slotted spoon. dry on absorbent paper

Blend onion, ginger & garlic in electric blender, until smooth. Heat remaining oil over medium heat, add onion puree, cook 2 mins, reduce heat, stir & fry 3 - 4 mins, add tumeric, coriander & garam masala, fry 4 - 5 mins, stirring continuously, add 3 - 4 tsps juice from tomatoes during this time, to prevent stickage, add tomatoes, chopping on back of wooden spoon, add remaining juice, cook 3 - 4 mins, add water, peas & salt, bring to boil, add fish, cover & simmer 5 -6 mins.

Sprinkle with coriander leaves & serve.

[Rebis]

Hooray....

Now I have Indian curry recipes in my repetoire. I only had an Indonesian curry recipe.

['Trary]

I think I love you. When I get home tonight, I'll pull out the dhal recipe I made this weekend. It's a little different from yours (I'm sure there are a bazillion versions of dhal too), so you might enjoy it.

Do you have a recipe for the bread usually served w/ indian meals? I love that stuff.