Curry Night!!

I have always liked curry, being British  its not unusual, as curry has topped fish and chips the British favourite dish. I first had curry when I was about ten years old, a kind of  spicy , fruity, chicken kind of affair  ( I have learn't that that was quasi Indian at its worst !) 
In my early  20's, whilst busy saving the world, in Ladbroke Grove west London I discovered the delights of Tandoori,  Dupiaza/Dopiaza,Korma,Jalfrezi & Roghan Josh to name a few.  

Curry houses, good and bad sprung up all over the UK,from the 1970's and at least once a week most  people  would have a "Ruby" " (Ruby Murry cockney rhyming slang for curry) .  

When I was 29-30 I  lived in   Sutton Surrey, near to London but tucked into the suburbs. Not the most exciting of places for a single person to live in those days. There were three great highlights to the area, one the Tuesday market with the most amazing array of fresh vegetables and where I sold home made baked goods to an ever growing customer list . Two  the local library because of the free books! Third but certainly not last     my vegetarian southern Indian 75 year old neighbour, who took me under her wing, and gave me weekly Indian cooking classes  in exchange for teaching her how to bake traditional English cakes ... I am convinced to this day,  I got the better half of this deal !!!

I now live in Israel, there are very  few places for a good curry here, also I was amazed how many of my American friends, had never tasted curry before  I introduced them to it. Now curry is a home made dish, and friends often request it if I am cooking for them. 

When I was the embayit (Dorm Mum) the India menu became a firm favourite with the girls.  Below are four of my favourite curry recipes. Enjoy!

 Most common Indian spices 
Ginger fresh and dried , green cardamom, star anise , cinnamon,  coriander seed fresh and ground dried coriander  garam masala/kadha masala, turmeric, nutmeg, mace,green & red chilli, Cayenne pepper, black pepper, bay leaf, cumin seed, dried cumin, fenugreek leaf ,saffron, poppy seed, garlic  cloves,peppercorns mustard seed  to name a few!

 Aloo Saag (Potato & Spinach Curry) is one of my favourite curries, and it is 
very easy to make, this is totally vegan.

This recipe serves 4.


Serve with rice or with Naan bread, you can make a side dish of cucumber raita but that make it vegetarian not vegan, and onion pickle ( recipe yesterday ).

As in all genuine Indian cooking the spices are cooked of first to release the flavour they are not thrown in as an afterthought.
You need a heavy bottom pan to cook curry in preferably one with a close fitting lid.
Before I get emails and comments saying, "we don’t use  fresh  spinach Kashrut reasons", yes you can use frozen leaf spinach,  but it isn't so nice,
However you can wash and check your spinach  as this link describes, http://star-k.org/cons-vegdetail.php?ID=75
 
Or you can use frozen string beans instead its name then changes but my Indian isn't up to knowing what too! ( sorry !!) but it works .

Ingredients

1 Teaspoon ground coriander powder
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Teaspoon garam masala powder or curry powder
1/2 Teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon  cayenne pepper or ground chilli pepper,
1 Teaspoon  sea salt
3 garlic cloves chopped or minced
1 inch fresh ginger  peeled and chopped
1 Teaspoon ground cumin
1 Bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

4 tomatoes washed and chopped
1 large  Onion washed peeled and chopped
4-5 red skinned  potatoes  peeled and cubed
1 lb or 1/2 kilo  Fresh spinach

1 Tablespoon coconut oil
2 Tablespoons water


Put the coconut oil into the a heavy bottom pan, and heat on a medium heat.
Add the onion, garlic, and ginger, stir and cook over a medium heat till the onions are translucent
Add the spices.(ground coriander powder,garam masala powder or curry powder, ground chilli powder or cayenne pepper ground turmeric,sea salt   black pepper)
mix in well turn the heat down to low and toast off or cook off the spices for 2-3 minutes stirring from time to time  so the spices don't catch.
Add the water and stir.
Add the cinnamon stick and bay leaf.
Add the potato chunks  stir them so they are coated with the spices  place a lid on the pot cook at a medium heat for 10-15 minutes
Add the tomato cook for 5 more minutes then add the spinach and mix carefully then cook for a further 5 minutes.
Serve or if you want you can chill it at this stage and reheat gently the next day.



Chicken Korma  . A mildly spiced curry, traditionally made with cream, this is my Kosher version and lower fat , using coconut  and almond  milk. It is a wonderful unusual Shabbat meal served with rice or naan bread.It is a bit more fiddly but well worth the effort.
Serves 6- 8

I large chicken cut into 6-8 portions remove the skin or you can use 6 chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt.
2 cups cup home-made almond milk  or Coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut  oil
2 large onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
I inch  fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tablespoon  ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander  
½ heaped teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon hot chilli powder
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves  remove the stalks and slightly crush the tops
Small pinch saffron
1 tablespoon ground almonds
1 tablespoon fresh chopped coriander
1 lemon sliced into wedges (optional )


1.Wash the chicken in cold water , remove the skin, place in a glass bowl or a non metallic bowl  season with pepper, cover with half the coconut milk  cover and place in the fridge to marinate preferably between 2-6 hours, or overnight, You can use an unsweetened coconut or soya yoghurt for this


2 Heat the  coconut oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan add the onions, garlic and ginger.

Cover and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes until very soft and lightly coloured. Stir the onions occasionally so they don’t start to stick.

3.When the onions are cooked add the spices,cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, cloves  and bay leaf. mix in well and cook off for a further  7-10 minutes on a low heat. stirring all the time


5 Take the pan off the heat, remove the bay leaves, and blend with a stick blender,saffron & salt to the onion puree,  then add the chicken to your sauce, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook on a medium heat for 20-30 minutes.


6 Add the ground almonds , plus the coconut milk to the mixture stir replace the lid and cook for a further 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the chicken
serve  with the coriander sprinkled on top as a garnish and lemon wedge for décor .


MAACH PATURI  Bengali fish in a mustard sauce, so quick so easy,  so so yummy!

For 4  you need
4( 8 fillets ) portions of white fish  Cod, Haddock, Nile perch, Talipia,
2 tablespoons whole grain organic mustard
1 teaspoon ground turmeric powder
1/2 tea spoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2  tablespoons organic vegetable oil 
the juice of 1/4 lemon 

Pre heat the oven to 190 C gas 5 
Wash the fish in cold water pat dry and set aside in an oven proof dish sprinkle the lemon juice over it.
in a cup or glass mix the spices and the oil  and salt into a paste 
Smear the paste over the fish, place uncovered into the oven 
Cook for 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.
Serve hot on rice with onion pickle.


FARASBEE UPKARI French beans in Coconut.
Serves 6 

1.5 lbs french beans frozen ( it works as well with frozen peas!)
2 table spoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tea spoon cumin seeds 
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 tea spoon sea salt
1/4 tea spoon organic brown sugar or honey 
3 tablespoons unsweetened dessicated coconut.
2 cloves garlic minced or crushed



1. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan on a medium heat, add the mustard seeds, and the cumin seeds and when they start to pop add the garlic,chilli powder, sea salt , stir well and cook for 2-3 minutes on a low light.

2 Add the Beans, ( or peas) stir well so all the mixture and flavours go into the  beans , cook for 5-7 seven minutes add the honey and the coconut, mix and stir through  server hot, as a side or with rice. 

I have left out the honey and its fine 

I hope you enjoy you curry night more recipes to come this week !.