A Curry Recipe (World Cuisine)

It is very easy to tell why curry is one of the most popular foods throughout the world. Despite obviously normally eating Italian food, I do sometimes have days where I crave a curry.

The combination of spices and flavours to the uninitiated, is nothing short of pure magic and alchemy.

Keep your gold, or eternal life though, creating a great curry has to be one of the most rewarding endevaours when its comes to spices. And gettting them to work together in any single recipe is mystifying.

To be honest though the only things that normally used to put me of from making one at home, is (a) the smell of curry lingering for days later, and (b) it never tasted as good as a shop purchased one.

Finally however, I concocted a recipe that is easy to make, and tastes pretty close to something from a take-away! The only difference is, is that with this meal, you control the fats and what meat goes in!

In addition I have found that because this is created with NO ready made packet mixes, or "curry powders", or my nemesis the sauce in a jar. (yukkk!!!) It is relatively healthy, and does not impart a strong artifical smell into the house. Really a few hours after making it, you can not smell a thing. What a great result.

My personal favourite amongst the numerous curry recipes out there is 'Chicken Tikka Masala', to create it faithfully would be a nightmare for me. However this is an abridged version which is totally fool-proof and gives a similar interpretation and approximation of flavours.

I need to mention that this is most definitely NOT authentic Indian cuisine, and I am NOT going to pretend to know the first thing about the blending of spices, however as a curry this works, and is as good as an Italian can make it.

If you wanted you could make your own Garam Masala, but I prefer to use a reliably made one, available in any asian/indian stores. And as is the case with all cooking, the most important ingredient, is the heart and enthusiasm which goes into creating it. Without doubt, once you taste this, and find how easy it is. You will adopt and adapt this recipe to your own taste.


INGREDIENTS:
(Serves 4)

The meat;

2 chicken breasts diced,  or
some diced lamb or
diced turkey thigh would also work.
fish could be used, something like cod, or haddock would be ideal.
(alternatively, this could be made vegetarian so use things like zucchini, aubergine, pumpkin instead)

Spice Mix;

1 tablespoon of sunflower or vegetable oil.
2 small red chilli (de-seeded and chopped)
1 teaspoon of Chilli powder
1 tsp of Cumin powder
200g of tinned tomato (approx half a can)
50-75 ml of water
1/2 tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Garam Masala
2 cloves of Garlic sliced up or crushed.
Pinch of Salt an Pepper to taste.
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, skinned and sliced up,
2 medium sized onion diced up,

The finish;

50-100ml (1/3 cup) of Yoghurt.
Fresh Coriander leaves chopped up (about a handful)


METHOD:

-In a saucepan fry the onions, the garlic, ginger and fresh chilli, cook for about 2 minutes.

-Next add all the remaining ingredients listed in the spice mix, cook for a further 2 minutes, next add the tomatoes and water, and gently simmer for 5 minutes.

-Next carefully pour all of these ingredients into a food blender/liquidizer and whizz them up into a smooth thick curry "soup" put this to one side!  It might look quite pale,but it will darken again during cooking.

-Next wipe the previously used saucepan, add a drop of oil, and fry the chicken (or whatver your using), and brown them, or even slightly burn, then pour the previously made curry "soup" over the top. Cook this onwards for about 20-25 minutes.

-Finally when your happy for the consistency, and everything has cooked through, add some yoghurt to your taste, and the chopped coriander leaves! Then serve garnished with some coriander on top.


SERVING SUGGESTION:

Serve with Basmati rice, and/or with Chapatis!  Yes, not very appetizing on my plate, but with some care and patience which I dont always have.  Your efforts will look, and probably taste better. But you get the idea.

As I mentioned, don't forget that this can be made purely with vegetables if you wanted or with tofu for example! Enjoy!!

Russian Bortsch (World Cuisine)

Having visited Russia a couple of times in the past, I am quite familiar with a few of the foods which Russia has to offer.

I encountered, things such as Blini, Pelmeni, Piroshoki, Plov, Shashlik.

However it is the soups that got my attention the most.

I like the sour tasting soup containing lemon, and black olives called Salanka, and a summer favourite is the "no cook" cold soup called Okroshka, which is made from a drink of fermented rye bread called Kvass and a variety of chopped raw fresh vegetables, such as gherkin and radishes, and is full of lots of fresh dill. Its infinitely better than Spanish Gazpacho in my opinion, and is very refreshing like a liquid salad.

However on this occasion we made a Bortsch, I think it is fair to say, that this soup is very well known universally, across the world. And that there as many variations of this soup, as there are variations for something like an Italian Lasagna.

Essentially though, the soup is a peasant type affair, (as the best dishes are) and is made from a broth made from meats normally beef or lamb, with the addition of roots such as white cabbage, beetroots and carrot.  The beetroots in particular give bortsch its traditional red colour and taste. Personally I adore it.

Normally as I understand it, bortsch is served with sour cream dumped in the middle, although I usually have it without. Instead choosing to drizzle some very Un-Russian peppery extra virgin olive oil over the top.

For the meat part of this bortsch I decided to use a leftover roast leg of lamb we had in the freezer.  If we have a roast leg of lamb, we normally have at least another two seperate meals from the leftovers. To eat the same thing two days in a row, would be a sin in my view, and it simply does not happen in our home.

I have made things like curries, shepherds pie (to be blogged), or a ragu style Italian sauce from left over meat. And usually the actual bone goes into the freezer to be used at a later date.

I am pretty sure most people just discard the bone after most of the meat has been carved off, however it is an absolute sinful waste if you do.

At the very least a stock could be made, or alternatively as a flavour giving base for something like a soup. So in the unlikely event that anyone reading this is one of those food wasters, then please stop!

With regards to the ingredients, the only worthy note to make is the recommendation to use fresh beetroot. And not the vacuum packed varieties, as the difference in flavour is immense. However if nothing else is available, then it can give a satisfactory result.


INGREDIENTS:
(serves 4)

1 bone-in piece of beef, or lamb, or at a push a piece of rump, or stewing steak could be used. Use enough to provide a portion of meat for each person. Quantity depends on your preference.

1 tablespoon of Vegetable oil
1 onion finely diced
1 sprig of fresh dill, chopped include stalks
2 medium sized beetroot, raw, grated
2 carrots grated,
1 tablespoon of tomato paste (puree, or concentrate)
4 large tomatoes diced up,
1 small white cabbage,sliced thinly
1 sprig of parsley, chopped
1 potato diced, peeled first
1 pint vegetable stock
1/2 pint water,
salt and pepper to season

To serve,
sour cream (optional)



METHOD:

-Add the meat, onion, dill, into a heated deep sided pan, together with a tablespoon of vegetable oil, stir and if using raw meat, rather than leftovers (as I was), then colour the meat until a nice nutty brown.

-Next you simply add the vegetable stock, the fresh tomatoes, and some water and bring to the boil. Once at the boil, simmer and cover for around  one and a half hours.

-At this point you can add the sliced white cabbage, the parsley, and season the cooking liquor to your taste.

-While the cabbage is cooking, in a frying pan, lightly fry the raw beetroot, carrot, and add the tomato paste. Once this has softened slightly add the whole lot into the main pan.

-Continue to cook for another 30 or so minutes, remove from the heat, and then serve hot.


SERVING SUGGESTION:

Normally Bortsch is served with a large dollop of sour cream added to the center just before serving, it is quite delightful served that way. However as can be seen below I didn't have any. I have to assure you, it does, taste better than it looks. Although I will wager that yours would look better!

So on this occasion, being Italian I made it to my taste by drizzling some extra virgin olive oil over the top. I would however urge you to try it in the authentic manner and use the sour cream, or alternatively creme fraiche. The hot bortsch, with the flavours of the beetroot are really countered by the cold smooth sour cream, and it is lovely. Enjoy!