My Favorite Curry Sauce
(p. 32) serves 4
5 T vegetable oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (couldn't find these on short notice)
3 fresh green chillies, deseeded and thinly sliced. (I used only one)
1 handful of curry leaves
2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 onions, peeled and chopped
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp tumeric
6 tomatoes, chopped
1 14-oz can of coconut milk
salt
He has three seperate variations; fish, chicken, and veggie. I had a good piece of chicken so I used that, cutting the chicken in to bite-sized pieces and adding 1 T coriander seeds, crushed to the skillet.
Heat the oil in a pan, and when hot add the mustard seeds. Wait for them to pop, then add the fenegreek seeds, fresh green chillies, curry leaves and ginger. Stir and fry for a few minutes. Using a food processor, chop the onions and add to the same pan. Continue to cook for 5 minutes until the onion is light brown and soft, then add the chilli powder and turmeric. Using the same food processor, pulse the tomatoes and add these to the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add 1 or 2 wineglasses of water and the coconut milk to the pan. Simmer for about 5 minutes until it has the consistency of heavy cream, then season carefully with salt.
Take this sauce as the base and add in whatever meat, veggies or tofu you would like. Be sure to stir fry your meat in a skillet and then add it into the sauce.
I served it with jasmine rice and Indian bread. It was good, and well worth it but I was missing key ingredients; the fenegreek seeds and curry leaves. I wasn't happy that our small ethnic grocery store didn't have either of these and the sales person offered me a bag of bay leaves instead. (what?!) I don't have any trips planned to Minneapolis or Chicago so I did what I had to do but don't like to do; I ordered them from Amazon. I love my small town but it is hard when I'm looking for unusual ingredients.
I want to make the dish again when these unusual spices arrive and see the difference. Also I will add all three chillies in! I worried it would be too spicy but it wasn't spicy enough. The flavor was good and the bread was a huge hit so it was a win. My husband and son had multiple large helpings and there was still leftovers for lunch the next day.
Because I was making a special dinner I thought I would do a dessert as well and I was drawn to Jaime's fancy pudding recipe.
Cheeky Chocolate Mousse
(p. 278) serves 4
8 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate, bashed up
5 T butter, cut into pieces
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
2 large eggs, pref. organic
1 T. Amaretto
2 T. good quality honey
.
In a bowl over some gently simmering water, slowly melt the chocolate and the butter together then remove from the heat. In a separate bowl, semi-whip the cream (until it forms soft peaks, not too stiff). In a 3rd bowl, whisk the eggs and honey until light and fluffy then fold in the Amaretto, melted chocolate mixture and cream-gently-so you don't lose too much air. Pour into some small wineglasses, martini glasses, or dessert dishes and leave to chill for about an hour before serving. I served it topped with a little extra cinnamon-infused whipped cream. Both kids really disliked the dessert because it was a strong chocolate favor but not sweet enough for them. Ha! That left more for me. I've had a tiny dish of it every night this week to finish off my dinner. I love the strong flavor.
If I had the opportunity to sit and have a meal with a chef I would pick Jaime. His casual style appeals to me, we could have a cold beer and chat about spices, and he makes even a difficult dish sound doable.
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