I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while but I'm going to try and slowly get back to getting a trickle of content slowly back into this blog at the very least and to start that off I've got a made-up-from-scratch vegetarian curry recipe for you all to enjoy! My idea with this one is that it lasts for a few days at least and gets the most as is possible out of the spices lying around in your cupboard. Hopefully you won't have to get too much extra on top of what you already have lying around your place but in any case, I really hope you all enjoy this one or at least find a good way to adapt it.
UTENSILS:
1 Medium saucepan
1 Lid for the saucepan or at least a china plate that can cover it
1 Large-medium frying pan
1 Medium chopping board
1 Large vegetable cutting knife
1 Wooden spoon
1 Medium-small glass jar
1 Teaspoon
1 Tablespoon
Weighing scales if you're bad with judging weighing amounts by eye (no shame if you are bad at that considering no one is perfect)
1 Standard-sized coffee mug
INGREDIENTS:
Basmati rice
1 Large white onion
400-500g Quorn mince or mixed & pre-soaked red & green lentils or pre-marinated tofu
300-400g Pre-soaked Kala Chana or chickpeas
400g Tinned chopped tomatoes
400g Low-fat coconut milk
6-8 Cloves of garlic
Vegetable or sesame oil
Salt
10-15g Dried chilli flakes
8-10 Cardamom pods
5-7.5g Caraway seeds
5-10g Ground smoked paprika
5-10g Ground gram masala
5-10g Ground allspice
7.5-10g Curry powder
5-10g Ground cumin
5-7.5g Dried coriander
A chilled bottle of Cobra, an icy glass of Sauvignon Blanc or a mug of turmeric tea to drink while cooking (optional but recommended)
METHOD/COOKING/PREPERATION:
1- Mix 2-4 tablespoons of the oil along with all of the paprika, allspice, gram masala, cumin, curry powder & half of the chilli flakes along with 4 pinches of salt in the glass jar before sealing it shut, shaking it vigorously for 30-50 seconds and then checking if most of the mixture is mixed together. If not, use the teaspoon to mix it around, close the jar up again and try shaking it for another few seconds and also consider adding in another teaspoon of oil if it looks a tad dry. Wrap the jar of paste in clingfilm and then set aside in your fridge.
2 - Prep the basmati rice by measuring it out by half a coffee cup per person and then washing the rice in cold water with your hand 3-5 times in the pan. Then set aside and place half the corriander and 6-10 pinches of salt into the water.
3 - Begin heating up a couple of hearty glugs of oil in the frying pan at a medium heat. Once you can feel the heat with your hands from a couple of inches above the pan, throw in the remaining chilli flakes, cardamom pods and caraway seeds and toast for 2.5 mins while occasionally mixing and then add in the rest of the coriander and toast for another 2.5 mins. While this is going on, dice up the onion, while being careful not to do the same to your fingers, and add the onion into the frying pan and mix with 6 pinches of salt after the initial spices have finished toasting.
4 - Let the onion & spices simmer for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the garlic and red peppers. While doing this, feel free to add in another touch of oil in case the pan looks like the mix in it is getting a tad dry. Peel the garlic and crush a couple of times with the flat of the knife before pulling apart with your hands and throwing all of the garlic into the frying pan and stirring it for about 5 minutes now and again. While that is going on, prep the peppers by taking out the green tops, cutting in half, hollowing out the white and seeds and then washing before cutting into 1cm wide strips and throwing into the frying pan before mixing in and letting simmer for 5-10 minutes. At this point, add in the protein be that either lentils, tofu or Quorn.
5 - At this point, start heating up the water & rice saucepan onto boil by whacking the ring it is on to full blast. Once the water gets to the point where it is fully boiling you need to turn it down halfway and place the lid/plate over the top and let it simmer until the rice has fully or 95% absorbed the water. During this time, occasionally check on the rice and if it looks like its getting dry, do a taste test and add in a small bit of boiled water from the kettle. Once it is soft but firm & has absorbed all of the water, remove the rice from the head and keep the lid on until you are ready to serve.
6 - After the red peppers have finished simmering for their 5-10 minutes in the frying pan, throw in the rest of the ingredients including the pre-prepared curry paste in the glass jar in the fridge and mix well. Afterwards, turn the frying pan onto boil and letting the curry sauce boil for approximately 10 minutes to reduce the liquid content a little bit by about 1-2cm. Stir regularly while doing this and then turn down to 10% heat and stir occasionally and gently and don't feel afraid to add a splash of boiled kettle water in case it looks a tad dry. This is so that the curry sauce has enough time to let the flavours mellow together and keep warm while the rice finishes cooking.
7 - Once the rice has finished cooking, dish it up onto a mildly warmed-up plate with about 1-3 ladleful's of the sauce per person. You may want to add more or less depending on how hungry you are of course. I recommend serving this with either a butter or garlic naan bread, some green lentil and/or mix vegetable samosas, mango chutney and a chilled bottle of either Kingfisher or Cobra lager. Garnish the curry with a couple of sprigs of fresh coriander and enjoy!
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