While anyone can put ingredients together, it takes just a little know-how to master the basics that lie behind producing a really great curry. Once you’ve got your head around these critical curry questions you won’t have to rely on ready-mixed spices, pastes and sauces for delicious hot stuff.
THE FLAVOUR BASE
Onion, ginger and garlic are the magical triumvirate that forms the flavour base of all Indian curries. Start your dish by finely dicing the onion before slowly cooking it in oil. For a light curry sauté the onion until it is soft and translucent; for a strong, robust curry cook it until it is richly caramelised and golden (but not burnt). Then add freshly minced root ginger and crushed garlic. Sauté gently for a minute or two until just cooked, being careful not to burn the garlic (as this will impart a nasty, bitter undertone). Add your favourite blend of cooked curry spices to this base, sauté gently and then carry on with your curry masterpiece, adding ingredients according to required length of cooking time.
|
SPICE RULES
|
BODY AND SOUL
Once you’ve established the flavour base of your curry, it is time to choose how you are going to give body to your sauce. Your options for a thick, silky sauce include tomato purée, natural yoghurt or coconut milk. If using tomato purée make sure to simmer the curry over low heat for at least 15 minutes to allow the flavours to meld. Yoghurt, on the other hand, should be stirred in just before the end of cooking time and gently brought up to serving temperature before being removed from the heat. Coconut milk is more forgiving and can be simmered gently for a while – if your sauce is still not thick enough, stir in a spoonful or two of coconut cream powder.
| A NOTE ON OIL Curry aficionados will tell you that oil is an essential ingredient of all curries as it is the medium that carries the flavour and distributes it richly throughout the dish. Use sunflower, canola or coconut oil or ghee. As the dish becomes properly cooked the oil will start to separate out from the other ingredients – feel free to skim off excess oil before serving the curry. |
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE…
Like many delicious dishes, a truly tasty curry takes time to cook to perfection; it simply cannot be rushed. If you want an authentic, richly flavoured curry (and of course you do!), you must allow plenty of cooking time for the flavours to mingle, meld together and develop slowly. In fact, we would even go so far as to say that curries taste even more delicious the next day…
EXTRA SPECIAL
Don’t automatically reach for Basmati rice to accompany every curry masterpiece. Consider serving your dish with poppadoms, naan bread or rotis instead. Also, take a few more minutes to slice and dice some fresh sambals to serve with the meal. If your dish is extra hot, serve it with generous quantities of cooling cucumber raita; a diced tomato, onion and fresh coriander leaf salad is always a refreshing contrast; and there are any number of delicious chutneys and relishes that taste wonderful with curry.
HOT STUFF
Don’t wait another minute! Choose from our fragrant curry recipes and get to work right now.
Chickpea and Spinach Curry with Homemade Naan Bread
Curries are a great (and budget-friendly) way to treat vegetarian friends to a delicious and lovingly made dinner. With staple ingredients of tinned chickpeas and fresh English spinach, and a sauce thickened and flavoured with coconut milk, this recipe is both quick and easy to prepare. If you don’t have time to make the deliciously yeasty naan breads yourself, you can use eight good shop-bought naans instead.
Fiery Lamb Curry
Those brought up on Durban’s famed and fierce curries will love this ferocious traditional dish scented with green cardamom pods, cloves, red chillies, ground cumin, ground coriander and more chilli in the form of ground chilli powder. It is thickened with Greek yoghurt and tomato paste, and finished off with a sprinkling of fresh coriander leaves.
Prawn and Cardamom Biryani with Cucumber and Mint Raita
This traditional biryani recipe layers together an aromatic curry with rice in the casserole. Quick to prepare and easily baked in the oven, the biryani is full-flavoured and fragrant rather than packed with heat, and it can be brought to the table straight from the oven. The cucumber and mint raita adds a delicious finishing touch.
Chicken in Jalfrezi Sauce
An authentically flavoured mild-heat curry with a tomato base that is both simple to prepare and cook. Perfect for entertaining, it can be made in advance, chilled and stored in the casserole with the lid on ready for reheating when required. While first prize is to make your own jalfrezi paste, you can substitute a readymade version if you’re pressed for time.
Indian Chicken Skewers
The flavour lies in the garlicky cumin-, coriander- and turmeric-scented yoghurt marinade enhanced with crushed fresh ginger and grated onion. Once the chicken strips have marinated, simply thread them onto wooden skewers and grill in a hot griddle pan or over hot coals on a braai. Serve with raita and rotis or naan bread.
Lamb Bhuna
Lamb Bhuna is a thick, medium-hot curry made with a paste of fried spices, onions, garlic, aromatic ginger and tomatoes. The meat does not require pre-frying and is added to the sauce and slowly cooked over a low heat until very tender. Garam masala and fresh coriander are stirred through towards the end of cooking, and the curry is served with cooling natural yoghurt and more fresh coriander. Serve with Indian flat breads such as naan, chapati or paratha.
Fragrant Chicken Masala
This spicy delight is so delicious you should add it to your cooking repertoire this week. Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients: using budget-friendly chicken thighs and tinned tomatoes, this curry calls for mouthwatering spices including garlic cloves, fresh ginger, green chillies, ground turmeric, cardamom pods, cloves, black pepper, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and a stick of cinnamon.
To view our full range of products, visit our online shop at www.lecreuset.co.za or pop into your nearest Le Creuset Boutique store.
Categories
Submit a Comment