Tag Archives: onion

Red Curry Bolognese

Gluten Free, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

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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Hariyali aloo – Cilantro & mint potato curry

Can be made vegan, Gluten Free, Indian, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cilantro. Either you love it or you hate it. I’m from the loving side and I tend to add some fresh cilantro leaves to just any type of food. Sadly, in the Israeli kitchen cilantro is kind of left out and parsley gets all the fame. The Thai cooking trend saved the situation a bit but still it is one of the most underrated greens.

In Indian cooking its quite the opposite, both cilantro leaves and coriander seeds are central to lots of dishes and spice mixes. This curry is called in Hindi “Hariyali Aloo” which practically means green potato. This curry is based on lots of cilantro and mint which are blended together with spices and cooked with potato cubes. The potato cubes in this recipe can be replaced with paneer cubes or chicken breast pieces.

The end result is slightly sour and has a special taste. It is served with rice or some Indian bread and is a great side-dish in a Thali.

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Paneer Makhani – Paneer Butter Masala

Can be made vegan, Gluten Free, Indian, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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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Onion Pakora

Gluten Free, Indian, Vegan, , , , , , ,

Fried, hot and crunchy is probably enough to make anyone happy, even someone who is vegan + non-gluten. Just be careful not to prepare that when you’re alone at home since you might end up eating too much and being completely full for the coming two days…

Onion Pakora (also known as Onion Bhaji) is an onion patty with chickpea flour and spices that is deep fried and served with various chutneys as an appetizer. In general, Pakoras are made of one or two main ingredients like onion, capsicum, eggplant, potato, spinach, paneer, cauliflower, chili etc. which is dipped in a chickpea flour and spices mixture and then deep fried.

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Red Kidney Bean Curry

Gluten Free, Indian, Vegan, , , , , , , , , ,

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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