Student kitchens
Easy, delicious, healthy(ish) recipes that won’t own your budget.Archive for curry
Curry-like vege stew
To be honest I wish I was having this tonight; it’s going to get down to 1 degree tonight apparently, and I am so not prepared for it!
This is similar to my first curry, but then it’s much less complicated and also vegan. You could experiment with different vegetables of course, as the ones below are quite summery, but I think in combination with tomatoes the veges I used taste pretty darn good. This also tastes good reheated in the pan the next day with a splash of water.
I pretty much made this up on the night, but I’m sure there are plenty of variations. If you felt like being really lazy you could just use curry powder, just don’t tell anyone I said so :P
I know…it doesn’t look pretty, but it sure was satisfying! With potatoes and tofu it made a complete meal, but you could add meat if you really wanted. I also served it with some 5-minute grilled cheese toasties, but I added some chopped garlic and cumin…so nom:
Curried vege stew
serves 2-3
bit of butter or cooking oil
2 potatoes, cut into 1 cm dice
1/2 large eggplant/aubergine, sliced into 1cm thick slices then cut into 1″ squares
beans of your preference, snapped into 1″ lengths
a large handful of cauliflower florets (approx 1″ wide florets)
1/2c extra-firm tofu, sliced or chopped as you wish (or use chopped chicken, cooked beans or chickpeas)
1 onion, chopped finely
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
ground coriander, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, salt, pepper to lightly coat all veges
1 can chopped tomatoes (best you can get, preferably organic)
garam masala to taste, and more ground coriander, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, salt, pepper later
optional: chili or cayenne to spice things up!
water
Grab the biggest frypan or wok you have, add a tablespoon or so of butter (don’t you dare use margarine! Use cooking oil if you want to make it vegan), and heat it on medium heat until the butter is bubbling or the oil easily slides around the pan when pan is tilted. You preferably want a non stick pan but because you’ll be adding liquid later it won’t matter too much. Add potatoes, aubergine, cauliflower, beans, onions, tofu, first lot of spices, and let cook until the onions start to smell fragrant. Stir, flip the vegetables, and let cook until the onions are golden and flecks of golden brown start to appear on the vegetables. Aubergine should be almost translucent. Add garlic, stir through for a minute and add tomatoes. Taste, and add more spices as necessary. Bring tomatoes to a simmer, and let cook until veges are as tender as you like.. Add splashes of water or cover while cooking in this period to prevent burning ans sticking, and create a stew like consistency.
Serve with cheesy garlic and cumin toasts (slice bread, throw over grated cheese, chopped fresh garlic, a pinch of cumin, and throw under the grill for 3 minutes at 200C or 400F until cheese is golden – make sure to watch them as they burn very quickly). Or if you want to keep the whole meal vegan, just serve with regular toast (maybe smeared with some avocado…mmm)
My first curry (that actually resembled a curry)
Ok, I lie…I have indeed made curries that resemble curries in the sense that they look and smell like a curry…but they’ve tasted less than what I’d call a curry. Before you assume that I’ve reached curry nirvana already, let me assure you that I haven’t made anything “genuinely” Indian. That’s right – I’m not like those pretty frozen meal packets, which promise all sorts of ridiculous nonsense – I promise you only these things about this curry:
1. It ain’t difficult (well…I made it, after all. I’d say if you can boil pasta, you can probably get this to be pretty good).
2. The whole thing is cooked in ONE pot/pan, and because it’s got potatoes, you can eat it all in one bowl, without the need for making rice, getting naan, or any of that finicky business. Goodness gracious, isn’t enough you made curry from scratch already?! Yes. Thank you. Also, the person doing dishes will thank you for this.
3. It actually tastes like a curry (and the texture resembles one too – the thick and chunky kind anyway). See, I do actually decide not to post things that aren’t good, just so you know. This one is quite thick and is very vegetable-dense, ie…it’s not soupy with floaty bits like most of the curry you’ll get for takeout (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I did this to make it more of a complete meal (see promise #2), but if you want you can halve the amount of veges and you’ll get the floaty effect.
4. It is not as expensive or complicated as you think. Invest in some of the spices, ensure you have some of the canned stuff in the pantry, and a curry will never be far away. I’ve tried to make it as versatile as possible, and unscary as possible. Some of the spices may look expensive, but remember: they will last you more than one curry! I reccommend asian supermarkets (even the non-indian ones) or Piko wholefoods in Christchurch for inexpensive yet quality herbs and spices (particularly Piko for the non-ground versions and for really fresh stuff).
5. You will enjoy making it. There’s something about using all the spices on their own that makes you feel all grown up.
I’m going to be specific about the recipe, but that doesn’t mean it’s non-changeable or actually complicated. Before I descend into it, thanks to My Feasts for the basic recipe and inspiration. I toned down the spiciness of it, but even so I find it tests my tastebuds!
Clare’s butter chicken
I’ll leave it up to Clare’s words:
So you wana make a curry huh? Well I’m no real expert but I’ve made the odd butter chicken in my time so…
This is meant to be a sweet tomato curry with a wee bit of heat and a lot of flavour to it. It’s been a long term favourite of mine and my flatmates always love it when I cook it; the way it smells is divine and it’s such a gorgeous colour.
Butter Chicken
Basic formula:
-yoghurt/coconut cream
-tomato paste (no other flavours in it)
-sweet chilli sauce (personal preference)
-onion
-garlic
-spices! (see recipe)
-chicken breast
I tend to build my curries from a thick natural yoghurt (such as greek) up, but building from coconut cream (not milk) could also work (if you have tried this please tell me how it went!) Avoid using a sweetened yoghurt however, as it would detract from the natural sweetness we are going to add. For two people I use 150ml of yoghurt then add about half that much of tomato puree/paste. Don’t use the ones with Italian spices in! If you have a can of tomatoes available lob a few of them in too, the more tomatoey goodness the better. I also have a tendency to add a (healthy) squirt of sweet chilli sauce, but that really is my own personal preference as I put sweet chilli sauce on everything. Finely dice a whole onion and throw half of it into the yoghurt base and put the other half into a food processor (if available otherwise don’t stress too much about this step and just hold it in reserve) and blend till smooth, a splash of water may help this step. Finely dice 2 cloves of garlic and add to the yoghurt base. Now comes the fun of playing with the spices! I use; garam masala (a precombined ground spice mixture, our version consists of; pepper, caraway, fennel, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves), ground coriander seed, star anise, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, and cumin. I also shake in some almond power if I have it available just for the heck of it. Now i know that’s a pretty hefty seeming list but honestly, these spices are totally worth the investment, turmeric can be used to add colour to anything, garam masala potatoes went down a treat, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom are all used in baking gingerbread, etc. I start with probably 4tsp coriander seed and garam masala, 2 of turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg 1 of paprika and cumin and give it a sniff, if you can still smell yoghurt under it add more tomtato paste and a shake more of coriander and garam masala. Throw a skinless chicken breast chopped into bitesize pieces in and stir it like a crazy person. (i am well aware of exactly how unappetising it looks right now, but gimme a chance here :P)
Now to cook your creation! Start with a sizeable knob of butter (we’re talking 15-20gms here) and melt it in a pan till bubbling, then add the onion puree, three shakes of garam masala and a pinch of tumeric. “stir fry” till you can really smell the onion and spices and then tip your yoghurt-tomatoey-chickeny-spicy mixture into the pan and stir all around. You will initially be able to see the butter mixture as distinct from the yoghurt mixture, remedy this! Bring them together! Now is the time to add your star anise. Add an entire star, it imparts incredible sweetness and don’t chicken out like i did when i first smelt how strong it was, it really comes through a lot tamer than you expect. Give everything a good mix up and taste test what you’ve made. If there’s something missing add it, i tend to find a shake or two of garam masala is a good idea at this stage although adding it 5-10 minutes before serving will mean it holds its flavour best and comes through strongest; it weakens a fair bit on cooking. Now place a lid on your curry and leave it on a low heat for roughly 10mins before stirring, taste testing* and replacing the lid. Now is the time to start cooking your rice as the curry is about 20mins from ready. I wish I knew Andre’s rice cooking secrets but I don’t so you’ll just have to make it up to packet directions, however throwing in 1/2tbsp of salt per full cup of rice works very well. Return to curry after another 10mins and repeat taste test*. Now is the time to add a healthy final shake of garam masala if it seems required. If you prefer a thicker curry I would strongly recommend leaving the lid off for the final 10mins, which should see the rice ready and the curry should have your mouth watering. A portion of rice each and the curry either served on top of or to the side. Na’an is the obvious accompaniment to this meal…however I have no recipe for na’an…except calling your local Indian take away and ordering some sooooo…prolly your best bet is to do that! (try the garlic na’an its awesome stuff)
* Curry isn’t sweet enough = add a shake of nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon and some coriander seed. Also remember that the star anise will just develop more sweetness as it cooks
Curry tastes too bland = add more of everything esp. garam masala and turmeric
Curry has achieved a “powdery appearance” = add a splash of water
Curry looks too runny = leave lid off for next 10mins
Curry is too hot/spicy for you = man up; there’s no such thing
Lentil curry with veges
I’ve decided I like lentils. I had never really used them before, but they’re such a great way to add protein to your meal, and they last forever in the pantry (plus they’re really cheap – even if you go organic)! I barely need to soak mine (from Piko’s), but I do anyway for 15 minutes so my plants get some food too (see the new random tip on the bottom of the third column across). I’ll be posting a big post of tips on how to save money on food and other expenses, as well as a few tips about nutrition misnomers and eating that I learnt from “In defense of food” by Michael Pollan (BRILLIANT book, great writer, interesting topic). Anyway! I know this curry doesn’t look that pretty:
But it is quite nice (if a bit spicy for my liking). The recipe is over at Taste, but I didn’t do the fancy stuff on top, I just added some cauliflower and carrots chopped into inch long chunks (after I added the lentils). Also, I halved the amount, and that halved the cooking time too. So to serve 2 for curry, this recipe requires 15 minutes cooking. Great, huh? It lasts the next day on its own without rice too, and tastes even more flavoursome! Also next time I might add some coconut cream…
NOTE: If you’re a wimp like me, you might want to add a pinch of chili powder instead of just halving or whatever.
