A New Lamb Curry

We had an unseasonably cool summer in Chicago. And so it was that I did a lot more indoor cooking than usual. That I ate more and exercised less is something I'll have to deal with soon enough. But I've got no complaints. The summer of 2013 was, in sum, pretty much awesome. I saw some great concerts, had some fabulous meals, got a VitaMix blender (!), killed my first lobsters (more on that soon), and developed some new favorite meals.

This Burmese Lamb Curry will be with us forever - it's that good. Its origins are with David Lebovitz - he published a recipe for beef curry this spring. The idea to make it was still in my head one day at the market when I saw some gorgeous lamb stew meat. The flavors translated well to the lamb and my recipe is barely different than the original beef version.

Fresh ginger is something I'm always grateful to have on hand. Having a well-stocked pantry is likely a relic of my years in the mountains. My children were small and we lived nearly 2,000 vertical feet, several hairpin turns, and about six miles from the town grocery store. I avoided popping into town just to pick up one or two things at the market. We had a co-op from which I purchased cases of juice, whole peeled tomatoes, sprouted grain pizza crusts (Hey! I miss those!), and assorted sundries. The Walmart (3,000 vertical feet and 65 miles from the Town of Telluride) supplied nearly everything else. And we had Rose's Market, aka Clark's, for anything you might require - plus really wonderful trout from Mark at the fish and meat counter - between trips to Montrose.

Back to ginger. It's versatile and keeps for, like, ever, in the bin in the fridge. I like to buy cactus-shaped pieces, breaking off a nub as needed and just tossing the rest back in the bin. I don't even wrap it - I think it's happier left as is. I use ginger in pad thai, curries, salad dressings, kung pao, marinades, Asian lettuce wraps, and gyoza. It's an easy ingredient to add to your cooking routine - especially if you're in a bit of a rut and need to add some new flavors to your cooking.

You can source lamb stew meat at any butcher (essentially cubed boneless leg of lamb which is super lean), or substitute beef stew like the Lebovitz recipe stipulates. Here's my recipe:

Burmese Lamb Curry
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Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
1 pound stewing meat (beef or lamb), cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 T garlic, finely chopped or pressed
2 T canola oil
2 1/2 cups water
1 T fish sauce
2 T fried shallots (see below)
8 small shallots, peeled and left whole
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

METHOD
Mix the beef pieces in a bowl with the salt and turmeric, massaging the salt into the meat. Chill for an hour.

Mash the ginger and garlic together in a mortar and pestle, if you have one, otherwise just chop up as finely as you can. Heat the oil in a large open saute pan or wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for a few minutes, stirring, until soft and fragrant.

Turn the heat up to high and add the lamb or beef and cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Add the whole shallots, water, and fish sauce. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. If the water evaporates during the cooking, just add a bit more.

Stir in the fried shallots and chili powder. Cook another 10 minutes or so. Taste for seasoning and serve.

* To make deep-fried shallots, heat some oil and add a generous handful of finely sliced (peeled) shallots – about 1/2 cup, cooking them in a few inches of hot oil until deep golden-brown, then scoop them out and let them cool on a rack or paper towel until crisp. They can be stored in a jar for a few days if you want to do them in advance.

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Updating the Indian Feast with a New Chicken Curry

I would love it if my Tandoori Chicken was as wonderful as the versions I've eaten in great Indian restaurants but, alas, it is not. Side note: my favorite Indian restaurants in Chicago are India House, downtown on Grand, and Tiffin, uptown on Devon. Left-field observation: it's a shame that Blogger doesn't have a pull-quote option.

Anyway, I've developed a very basic chicken curry recipe from a favorite cookbook, Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible. My friend Lea tipped me off to this cookbook and it quickly became a favorite once I got my own copy. If you love Indian food you really ought to have a copy, too.

This dish is totally dependent on the curry powder you use, so don't think about using something that's been in your spice drawer since the Spice Girls were girls. If you live in Chicago, get thee to The Spice House. I use the Sweet Curry Powder, along with a few chili flakes for a bit of a kick - nothing my children can't handle.

Classic Chicken Curry
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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

For the marinade:

1 to 1/2 pounds pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed into 1-inch chunks
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped
3 T fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 T fresh ginger finely chopped
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

To cook the chicken:
1 - 2 T canola oil
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed
chili flakes
1 T good curry powder
1 cup chicken broth

METHOD
Mix together the chicken pieces and the marinade ingredients and let sit for 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for a few hours or up to overnight.

When ready to cook, add 1-2 tablespoons canola oil to a large skillet. Add the pressed garlic, chili flakes and curry powder and saute over medium heat. If you want a spicy curry be heavy handed with the chili flakes.

After a minute or two, add the chicken, scraping all the marinade bits into the pan. Turn up the flame to medium high and saute until the chicken is white all over.

Add the chicken broth and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with rice or Naan or Cauliflower Curry or Masoor Dal.

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Two New Vegetarian Curries for an Indian Feast

Yesterday I spent the extra hour of daylight cooking up a fine Indian feast. I do a regular Indian meal with tandoori chicken, naan and cauliflower curry. But last night's feast was also a birthday party so it had to be bigger and more special. I added two other curries to the menu, both inspired from the cookbook Lea made me get - Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible - Masoor Dal (Curried Lentils) and Chickpea Curry, a north Indian style curry. I loved both and now consider them integral to the Indian feast.

Masoor Dal
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Serves 4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
3 ounces red lentils (about 1/3 cup)
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 t salt
1-2 t canola oil
pinch of chili flakes
2 t sweet curry powder


METHOD
In a small or medium saucepan, heat the oil. When hot, add the chili flakes. When the pepper darkens, add the curry powder and the onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Add water, lentils and salt to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding more curry or salt as necessary.

Chickpea Curry
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Serves 4-6 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
one 12-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
2 smallish potatoes, chopped into 2-cm dice
one medium onion, chopped
6 ounces tomatoes (I used a scant cup of Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes)
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3-4 hot green chilis (birds eye or serano/or one jalapeno - just use in moderation if you don't want too much heat), finely chopped
1 ounce cilantro
1 T ground coriander
2 t ground cumin
5 whole cardamom pods
½ t turmeric
1 T canola oil
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves


METHOD
Drain chickpeas in a collander.

Add the tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chilies, cilantro, coriander, cumin, turmeric, ½ t salt and ¼ cup water to a blender and blend until smooth.

Add the oil to a medium, lidded saucepan and heat over a medium-high flame. When the oil is hot, add the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and cardamom pods. Then add the onions and potatoes. Saute for about 5 minutes.

Add sauce from blender and stir. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook 5-6 minutes, stirring a few times during cooking time. Add about ½ cup of water to the blender to wash down remaining sauce and reserve.

Add to the pot the drained chickpeas, water from the blender and a pinch of salt. Stir and bring to a simmer, increasing flame as needed. When it simmers, cover and reduce heat, cooking gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and serve.

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Curry Lessons: Making Madhur Jaffrey's Thai green curry

I wish I had my camera with me when I was at Lea's for curry lessons. She had a gorgeous array of bird's eye chillies, lemongrass, limes, cilantro (which Lea calls coriander, as she's a proper Englishwoman), garlic, shallots, ginger, curry leaves, and a variety of spices.

We made two curries that day, a Thai green and a red, both out of the book shown here. Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible is found on many a shelf in the UK (according to the small sample size of approximately (ok, exactly) two other Londoners I questioned). I highly recommend this book. Americans: don't bother looking for it in your neighborhood bookstore. I got mine thru Amazon.

Both curries were extraordinary, and right up the Pinch alley for being healthy (I just altered the amount of coconut milk and used a lite version), quick and delicious. Even better, we made a big batch of the Thai green, freezing off portions for future use. It froze really well - there was no difference in taste between the fresh and frozen portions. It's been such a treat to have on hand. Now that we've eaten it all I need to make another batch.

Learning how to deal with lemongrass was a great lesson - I had no idea how to handle it. Lea taught me to remove the tail end and then whack the base of the stalk to release the oils and aroma. Whacking was done with a rolling pin, the kind without handles, and yeah, it was totally fun.

The ingredient list calls for some specialty things. Lea procured everything up on Devon Ave in Chicago. Check your local Whole Foods; they will sometimes have lemongrass and the bird's eye chillies.

Madhur Jaffrey's Thai Green Curry, Pinched
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Makes four batches

INGREDIENTS
28 bird'e eye chillies, chopped
10 cloves garlic, chopped
10 oz shallots, chopped
6 slices fresh ginger
2 T fresh lemongrass, thinly sliced
zest of one lime
16 cilantro stems (just remove the leaves and use the stalky part)
4 anchovies
1 t cumin
1 t ground coriander
fresh ground white pepper

METHOD
Remove stems of chillies and chop. Add to Cuisinart along with all the other ingredients. Add about 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of water and pulse to blend. Divide into four portions and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

COOKING
For two people

Heat 1 T canola oil in a large skillet.

Trim 2-3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or other protein of choice, such as shrimp, pork, beef or fish) into bite sized pieces. Cook in the skillet until browned all over. Transfer to a plate or bowl and reserve.

Add another tablespoon of canola oil to the pan if necessary. Add one portion of the prepared green curry sauce and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add 2-3 ounces light coconut milk (see explanation in recipe sidebar) and cook another minute. Add reserved chicken and cook 3-5 minutes or until cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with basmati or jasmine rice.

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