MMM, CURRY

Due to a desire to solidly learn some basic recipes, and proclivity towards stews of all sorts, and, possibly, my reading of Midnight’s Children, I have made a curry recipe from How to Cook Everything twice in the same month. And tonight, I’m at it again. The rich smells of curry and lamb are filling this apartment from the core to the very extremities, as whiskey does a man. I’m happy to report that my three curries have gotten progressively better.

The first I cooked with the girls, using boneless chicken breasts and and an ad hoc conglomeration of spices sampled from Archie’s copious collection, mysterious and unlabeled. That one tasted fine, but only stewed for about an hour, which wasn’t even close to long enough, especially w/o any kind of thickening agent. The second I made at home with chicken thighs, bone in, and commercial curry powder. I let that one stew for several hours, and was consequently much better. That one, too, filled my apartment with a great smell that lingered for a few days, but was still not quite as thick as I might have liked, even with extra yogurt. Tonight’s I made with lamb shoulder chops, thus benefitting from extra fat and whatever magic marrow and bone bring to the party. It’s been stewing for two hours and it already looks better than its predecessors. Perhaps there’ll be a recipe and a pic to follow.

Later…

Oops, forgot to take a pic. Well, it was brown, and good. Here’s how it went, all barely adapted from How to Cook Everything:

Curry Powder (I mixed my own, much better than standard. I actually used ground versions of most)

• 1 tsp. black peppercorns (1 tsp + some change ground)
• 3 tbsp cumin seeds
• 4 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. whole cloves

Toast all the whole seeds (put em on a dry pan, turn the heat to med and stop when they’re nice and fragrant). Grind the seeds in an expendable pepper mill, coffee grinder, or food processor. Mix with the ground ingredients, with 1/2 tsp cayenne if you like it hot.

The Curry Proper

• 2 lbs lamb (3 lbs w/ bone) shoulder or neck, whole or in chops
• 2 cups thinly slice onions, 1 cup chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp peeled and minced ginger, or 1 tsp. ground
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1.5 cups stock or water
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• Cilantro for garnish

If the meat is whole, chop it into 2 inch cubes. Don’t bother if they’re chops. You can also use chicken, but if you do, don’t use boneless breasts. Season the meat with salt and pepper and brown with olive oil in the bottom of a deep skillet or casserole, or roast it in the same w/o the oil at 500∞F.

Remove the meat from the pan, and drain all but 2 tbsp of the fat. But the pot on the stove, turn the heat to medium, and cook the sliced onions in the fat until they’re golden brown.

Add the chopped onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder, and stir it all together. Cook until the chopped onions are softened (couple minutes)

Throw the lamb back in, add the stock, and cover. Bring it to a boil, turn the heat to low, and simmer for at least 2 hours, if not more. It’s done when the sauce has thickened and the meat is falling off the bone. Add the yogurt and serve with rice and the cilantro.