A Trilogy of Curries Part One - Korma

Korma_blog

First up in the curry trilogy (that may be in four parts....) is the korma.  I think this was probably the very first curry I ever tried.  My folks used to take me and my sister to a restaurant called Nadia's in Edinburgh's west end.  I think it closed down about fifteen years ago.  I must of been three or four years old and can remember thinking that I must be very special to be taken to this strange place with odd music and smells where people you didn't know brought you odd food.  The names on the menus - korma, pasanda, dansak, madras and the fearful vindaloo - seemed to fit perfectly the aromas in the air and the dishes wafting past.  Eating pakoras and dipping poppadums into little round metal dishes filled with spiced onions, mango chutney and yoghurt is one of my earliest memories.  I can remember being allowed to try the tinniest piece of lime pickle and recoiling in horror at the bitter spiciness, wondering how anybody could possibly like such a foul substance.  Lime pickle is now one of my favourite things to eat.  Shows it's important to keep trying those things you think you don't like.  

The korma is perfect for folk who are new to curry as it's aromatic and not very (or at all) spicy.  Over the years I've had korma's with lamb, goat, fish, prawns and chicken.  The were mostly good but I do think the chicken one is my favourite, probably with lamb or goat a close second.  I recommend chicken thighs for the recipe simply because it's what I always use having not bought chicken breasts for years (unless they are still on the chicken of course).  The thighs are without doubt tastier and, in my opinion, add a little something to the dish.  If you want to use breasts then go for it, it'll still be a good dish.

You need about ten minutes to prepare and about half an hour to cook.
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 10 cardamom pods
  • 2 onions - one sliced into half rings and one finely chopped
  • 1kg of chicken (thighs)
  • 3 tablespoons of grated ginger
  • 6 cloves of garlic, smashed
  • 120ml of natural yoghurt and1 tbsp of lemon juice, beaten until smooth
  • 1-2 tspn of fresh green chillies
Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a pan until hot and add in the cinnamon, bay leaves and cardamom.  Let them sizzle for a few seconds before adding the onion rings.  Give the whole mix a stir and let the onions brown just a little.  Add the chicken and stir for a few minutes until the chicken browns.  Now add in the garlic, ginger and the finely chopped onion, stir and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the yoghurt and a teaspoon of salt, give it a good stir and let it cook for about ten minutes.  Add half the green chillies and three tablespoons of water then cover, turn the heat down and let it simmer gently for another ten minutes or so.

The final dish won't be quite as brown as the kormas I used to see in the UK, but the flavour is fantastic; aromatic and rich but also quite fresh with a little kick of chilli and lemon juice.  I like the fact that the green chillies add a little kick of heat without making it a spicy dish.

You can serve it with whatever you fancy.  I guess rice is what most folk go for, but I prefer flat breads with a bitter lime pickle and some poppadums.  Beer is a good accompaniment but lager is a bit bright and fizzy, I prefer a proper ale or a Belgian beer.

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Tagged Curry Indian

A Trilogy of Curries - Introduction

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Curry from the Indian sub continent is one of the things I really miss about living in the UK.  Popularised in the UK during the 1950's as a result of immigration, curry has since become something of a national dish in the UK.  I'm sure what you get in many restaurants is bastardised all to hell and there are without doubt some truly awful curry restaurants in the UK (a lead contender for the single worst meal I've ever had was at Shezan Tandoori in Edinburgh), but you were never far away from a good one if you take the time to look.  I didn't really appreciate this enough when it was freely available and now I miss it.

I love everything about curry.  I enjoy the spicy, hot, fragrant, sweet and sour flavours.  I adore hot and sour lime pickle in roti and stacks of pappadums with onions.  I like all the veggie dishes and the cool, sweet lassi.  One of my favourite meals is a whole bunch of curry dishes served up Thali style with a couple of beers and a good movie.   

So it is unfortunate that Australia does not do curry well.  I've had some really bad curries since moving here, including Butter Chicken loaded with pureed tomatoes (which is possibly authentic but definitely revolting) and a lamb Rogan Josh so overcooked that the meat crumbled.  In general the sauces tend to be pretty thin and watery and are less like the tasty stews I'm used to.  I have had a couple of decent curries too, but after so many disappointments I decided it was best to start making my own.

I used to cook a lot of Thai curry at home because Thai food in the UK, at least at that time, was generally quite expensive and not terribly good.  In Oz, Thai food is incredibly good and dirt cheap so my focus switched to learning how cook a decent British style Indian sub continent curry.  The first few times the dishes weren't quite right but practice has made them......well, better if not perfect.

Over the next week or two I'm going to post up recipes for a vindaloo, a korma and keema.  All three are extremely easy to make, damn tasty and, best of all, remind me of the British curry houses I miss so much.
Tagged Curry Recipe
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