Curry

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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Kare Udon (Japanese Curry Soup)

May 12, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Kare Udon is a Japanese curry soup made with a simple broth, curry roux, and udon noodles. I have tried Moroccan, Indian, and Thai curries but I have never tried a Japanese curry. The broth is called Dashi, which can be made all sorts of ways but at its most basic is boiled kelp and water. I couldn’t find Dashi anywhere, not even at the local Asian market, so I had to substitute vegetable broth for it. I was excited to find the curry roux and udon at the grocery store. The curry turned out great. I made a full curry with potatoes, carrots, and beef and it was very tasty.

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Curried Mango Bread

May 3, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Quick breads are great because they are easy to prepare and cook. I looked around at a few different mango bread recipes and I adapted mine a bit from the ones I saw. Most of the recipes required raisins and big chunks of mango. I wanted a smoother texture so I took out the raisins and mashed the mangoes (almost like how you would mash bananas for banana bread.) The bread was easy to throw together and it came out great. I really liked how complex the flavors were. It could easily be considered a sweet, dessert bread, yet it had a savory quality that was very unique. The savory garlic, ginger, and curry tasted great with the sweet mango flavors.

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Curried Orange Couscous

March 30, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I had some leftover Moroccan chicken and I wanted to make something different than the roasted potatoes or the Moroccan couscous that I have made before. I decided to go with a fruity, sweet couscous and it ended up tasting great with the chicken. The orange juice and the clove/cinnamon spices in the garam masala were also good together.

Couscous can be pretty plain if you don’t salt it or add enough honey and spices. What I’ve found is that a boring recipe can be made better by adding more fat, salt, or sweetness. Aren’t those the three reasons why anything ever tastes good? So, if you find the recipe needing something more, add one of those three and you won’t go wrong.

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Moroccan Lentil Soup with Preserved Lemon and Quinoa

March 26, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

It’s been raining a lot lately and I wanted to make something nice and warm from the slow cooker. One of my favorite recipes has been the Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemons and I wanted to see if those flavors could translate into a stew. I figured red lentils and chickpeas would go well with the curry flavors of the dish, and it ended up being really good. The soup was pretty thick from the quinoa and needed extra chicken stock throughout cooking. I will probably be adding more later since the lentils and quinoa will keep on absorbing the liquid. This recipe makes a big batch so I will have a lot of leftovers (which won’t be a problem at all).

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