Tag Archives: curry

Red Curry Bolognese

October 20, 2017Gluten Free, Uncategorizedbasil, capsicum, carrot, cilantro, coconut milk, curry, fish sauce, kaffir lime, minced meat, onionAlona

This time we’ll take a short break from Indian cooking and visit some other Asian cuisines – the Thai cuisine. One of the best things in Thai cuisine are the hot and fragrant curry paste with which you can super quickly make a hearty and satisfying meal. It’s possible and actually pretty easy to make those pastes at home but the store bought ones are really great so no need to make the effort. Today you can easily find in the “Asian” section of any market store the yellow, green and red curry pastes.

But wait a minute.. isn’t curry an Indian thing?! Apparently no, there is an Indian curry and Thai curry on those or two completely different things. The Thai curry is a paste based on fresh chili, lemon grass, ginger (or galnagal), garlic, shallots and sometimes also shrimp paste. To all of this goodness you add some cumin seeds, coriander and turmeric. The traditional preparation is done in a mortar and pestle. The Indian curry is the name of a mix of dry spices which are roasted in a pan and grounded to a dry powder. There are infinite versions for Indian curry mixtures while most of them are based on some ratio of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric, fenugreek seeds and dried red chili.

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Paneer Makhani – Paneer Butter Masala

April 26, 2017Can be made vegan, Gluten Free, Indianbutter, cardamon, cashew, chicken, chili, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry, fenugreek, garam masala, garlic, ginger, kasoori methi, onion, paneer, tomato puree, yogurtAlona

One of the dishes that drawn me to Indian food is the curry. Rich and creamy curry, full of spices and little sweet that is cooked with paneer cheese or chicken – this dish is definitely high on my most loved foods list. However, for years I tried over and over to recreate those restaurant style curry dishes and failed miserably. Something in the texture and spice balance just didn’t work.

Lately something clicked and I suddenly got it right! The curry magic started happening in my very own kitchen 🙂 Apparently the amount of cashews plays a big role, the quality of the blander is also critical and surprisingly the curry is better with bought tomato puree instead of fresh tomatoes.

This recipe is for a curry dish called “Panir Makhani” or “Paneer Butter Masala” and it is practically a reach, buttery, spicy and sweet sauce to which you add paneer cubes or chicken pieces (or even tofu – details below). It is served with white rice or Indian bread like Nan or Roti. In the original version you’ll find much more butter but after some trial and error I arrived at the conclusion that it is completely unnecessary and it is tastier when you just add more cashew nuts (or almonds).

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Red Kidney Bean Curry

March 8, 2017Gluten Free, Indian, Veganbay leaves, beans, chili, cinnamon, coriander, curry, garam masala, garlic, ginger, onion, tomatoesAlona

I really like beans in general and especially red kidney bean, which has a deep and rich flavor that improves with longer cooking time. Red kidney beans pair really well with meat but can also be served as the focus of the main course. The following dish is called “Rajma Masala” or simply “Red Kidney Bean Curry”. “Rajma” means red kidney bean in Hindi and “Masala” is the general name for a spice mixture which is either dry or wet. In this case the Masala is wet and based on onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and lots of spices. Once the Masala is ready the cooked red kidney bean is added and they are cooked together.

This curry can be served simply with white rice or as an exotic side dish. There are lots of versions for Rajma Masala out there, this version celebrates ginger, cinnamon and the hotness of red chili.

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Spices Curry

February 27, 2017Can be made vegan, Gluten Free, Indianchicken, cilantro, cumin, curry, garam masala, garlic, ginger, potato, turmeric, white pepperAlona

The first curry I ever made is still the one I make the most, mainly because its super delicious and easy to prepare, no fancy ingredients involved. The curry isn’t really photogenic, but what it lacks in looks it makes up for in taste. I call it “Spices Curry” since it is based only on ground spices. I’m not sure it can be considered as a traditional Indian curry but it is definitely in the right direction.

We love this curry in its non-kosher non-vegetarian version but there are vegan/kosher options here, see details below.

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Japanese curry

February 13, 2017Can be made vegan, Gluten Free, Uncategorizedchicken, curry, japanese, tofuAlona

This post is more of a recommendation than a recipe. Japanese Curry (karē raisu) is one of the most loved and common dishes in Japan. For some reason this dish didn’t become as famous as Sushi in the west but in Japan it is just as common. Surprisingly, Karē raisu is a new dish in the Japanese cuisine as it has arrived to Japan with the British at the end of the 19th century. The Japanese really liked the idea of a curry, changed the spices and adjusted it to their taste and packed everything in neat little cubes that can be kept forever in the pantry. With those brownish cubes you can easily make THE signature dish of tasty, fast and comforting home cooking.

There are lots of brands for Japanese Curry, I like S&B Golden Curry the best. You can find it in any Asian supermarket in the US or in Europe as well as in various eastern countries such as Thailand, Taiwan, Korea and obviously Japan. You can also buy this online.

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Cinnamona

Food blog about Indian cooking and grandma's recipes