Fake Curry
It was last spring in Paris when friends from Britain we knew from Dresden had us over for some curry. It was okay curry although I think it might have come out of a jar. So I decided then to try making my own.
I was at a bit of a loss though because I didn’t really know anything about Indian cuisine, India being a vast land of diverse cultures and all. Secondly I found it exceptionally difficult to get the “gist” of the many many recipes one readily finds online, something I always try to do when learning a new dish.
Fortunately I was able to find a generic sort of recipe which I took to, although I’ve since lost the link. So the curry I now make is pretty good, although I wouldn’t presume to claim that I really know anything about Indian food. Ha-cha-cha-chaaa:
Lightly toast some black mustard seeds in a pan. Add oil. When at temperature add chopped onions. You can add some ginger, garlic, and chillies now, or later if you have a habit of burning them. Actually, ginger is pretty robust against the heat but the other two I tend to burn.
When the onions go translucent is the time to add curry powder. Some people swear by grinding the seeds on the day, and they are probably right. I however have a good powder from the India Laden on Luisenstrasse and I am pretty happy with it. Brown the pasty mixture just a tad. Set that stuff aside.
Heat your veggies in a pot, with some stock if you’d like, and add your curry paste. Which veggies? I usually put in two different ones. Some go better with others. Broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini are faves, spinach, chickpeas, potatoes, bell peppers are no strangers either. Of course lamb or chicken can work too, but Doc is a vegetarian which makes me guilty by association.
Now you’ll want to add chopped or canned tomatoes, or pureed tomatoes. Or add plain yogurt instead.
Right about now I often like to add some garam masala to the mix. It might be overkill, but I love it.
You’ll want to let all that jazz simmer for a while, to thicken it all up a bit. If it’s still too soupy a little flour can take care of that.
Finally you’ll want to add salt.
Serve with rice — basmati ideally, and/or with yogurt, chapatis. Those are flat bread. Did I post a recipe for that? Also, just between us: if you don’t feel like chapatis you can also do baking powder biscuits. It’s a nice, down home touch.
