Curry

Kaha Bath (Sri Lankan Yellow Rice)

July 1, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Kaha Bath is a simple Sri Lankan rice dish made with turmeric and coconut milk. The dish isn’t sweet, but savory with flavors of turmeric, cardamom, and cloves. The coconut milk provides a nice creaminess to the rice and I loved how the turmeric dyed the rice bright yellow. The great thing about this rice is that the flavors of curry aren’t overpowering and you can serve it alongside another curry dish. It would also work as the main course if you mixed a protein like egg, chicken or tofu into the rice.

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Chickpea and Coconut Curry Dosas

May 23, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

When I first heard about these thin little pancakes stuffed with a curry filling I was pretty intrigued. I had never made anything like these pancakes before and they really are more like crepes. It took a couple tries (and throwaways) to perfect the thin pancake. The cake uses spelt flour which is kind of a unique grain so it’s harder to find at grocery stores. If you have a non-stick pan definitely use it on these for easier flipping. The curry filling was the easiest part to make and the flavors were great–a little spicy and a little sweet. Since the curry filling is enough for 4 meals, I made 1 batch of dosa batter each day. You can’t go wrong with coconut curry and wrapped up in the thin pancakes made it all the better!

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Massaman Chicken Curry

May 20, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Massaman curry is a Thai dish that is influenced by Indian spices. It can be made with beef, chicken or tofu but I settled on trying the chicken version. I had this dish once at a Thai restaurant in Chicago and I have been dreaming about making it at home for a while. This recipe turned out to be quite similar to the restaurant’s and I was really happy about that! Massaman curry is a stew made with coconut milk, potatoes and served with rice. I tried to make this as authentic as possible so I avoided substitutions the best I could. The spicy and sweet flavors of this curry perfectly blended together and the finished product was really tasty! Feel free to substitute the protein for tofu, beef or pork.

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Thai Red Curry Paste

May 19, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

One of the most important steps in making Thai dishes is preparing the chili paste. The paste is a concentrate of aromatic ingredients that provides a lot of flavor for the dish. There are many variations of chili pastes but this particular one is used in Massaman Curry. It could be used in a variety of dishes as well, not just for Massaman Curry. If you have a food processor making it would be easy, but without one it will take some time to prep. You can find the paste in stores but it goes without saying that it won’t have the same amount of flavor and freshness that making it from scratch provides. It can be tough to find the authentic ingredients but if you live near or in a city there is likely a Thai or Asian market that can provide some of the harder to find ingredients.

My favorite part of making this was roasting it for a few minutes in a pan. By heating it up the flavors were released into the air and the whole kitchen smelled so good! It’s an important step since it intensifies the flavor of the paste as well. The result was a really versatile concentrate of flavors that can be used in a ton of different Thai foods. It should last for a week or two in a sterilized jar in the refrigerator.

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Curried Bread

April 21, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Curried bread is a simple yeast bread seasoned with turmeric and aromatic spices. I used a blend of cayenne, ginger, paprika, cinnamon, cumin and turmeric. The turmeric gives the bread its bright yellow color (and will also stain your clothes, counter tops, etc). The bread looks like a normal loaf before cutting into it. After cutting, the beautiful yellow center reveals itself. The bread is light and fluffy and smelled so good when it was baking. It reminded me a lot of the Curried Yogurt Rolls I made recently as it had a similar color and flavor. I chose this bread to go with the Coconut Curry Soup and it tasted great together.

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Chicken Kare Udon (Japanese Curry Udon Soup)

March 28, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Kare Udon, or Curry soup, is a Japanese noodle soup made with potatoes, carrots and curry roux. Curry roux is a form of instant curry which can be found in most supermarkets. The soup can be made with beef, chicken, pork, or tofu. So far I have made it with beef and tofu so I thought I would try it with chicken next. I really enjoyed this version and the curry flavors were great with the chicken.

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Tomato Curry Stew with Chickpeas and Potatoes

February 3, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

This stew is a staple recipe for me as it is easy to put together and is healthy and flavorful. When I want something light and healthy this is one of my favorite go to recipes. I use the slow cooker and all it requires is chopping the veggies and throwing everything in the crock pot to cook for about 8 hours. All the veggies get nice and soft and the flavors of the curry marinate until the stew is bursting with good curry flavor. I served it with warm curried rolls and topped with yogurt.
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Baingan Bharta (Eggplant Curry)

October 12, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Baingan Bharta is a traditional Indian dish that is made with mashed eggplant, aromatic spices, and simmered in a tomato based curry. Traditional eggplant curry calls for charcoal roasted and mashed eggplant. I diverged a bit from the traditional framework but I was very happy with the results. The creamy tomato curry tasted great with the flavors of the braised eggplant. The eggplant simmers in the sauce until it is melt in your mouth tender. It was really tasty with fresh baked naan and chopped cilantro on top.

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Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken)

October 3, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Butter chicken, or Murgh Makhani, is a popular Indian dish where chicken is marinated in a yogurt sauce and then cooked in a tomato curry sauce. Garam masala is used to season both sauces which gives them a delicious, aromatic flavor. The chicken was traditionally cooked in a tandoori oven but can be easily made in a regular oven too. Makhani, the tomato based sauce, is made by mixing tomato puree, butter, and cream to create a rich and creamy sauce. I also added almond butter to the yogurt marinade for another layer of creaminess. Cashew butter can also be used instead of almond butter. The recipe is easy to follow since the chicken marinates overnight and the tomato curry sauce is pretty straight forward. The only thing tricky was finding fenugreek and I could only find it at a spice store, not in a supermarket. I thought this dish turned out beautifully and I look forward to leftovers! Butter chicken can be served with naan, rice, and topped with cilantro or yogurt.

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Kare Udon Soup with Tofu and Mushrooms

May 25, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I recently made Kare UdonB with beef and it seemed like it would go nicely as a meatless soup too. The recipe is identical to the previous one except I substituted the beef with tofu and mushrooms. The tofu was great with the curry flavors. I am completely sold on the packaged curry roux. This is my favorite curry, and I buy the “hot” version. It can be found in the asian foods section in grocery stores: I was skeptical since it looks a little like astronaut food, but the flavors have totally won me over!

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