Basic South Indian Curry

Nothing creates as much confusion and misunderstanding in Indian cooking as the use of the term "curry". Even dictionaries frequently define this incorrectly when applying it to culinary practices.

First, let me clarify for those who don't know, there is no such spice as "curry". Curry powder is a masala, or spice mix, which could contain any of several spices. Typical curry powder contains turmeric, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, and ground red chili. Other ingredients may include cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, asafoetida, cardamom, black pepper, or mace. There is no one true curry powder, it's just one of many types of masalas used in Indian cooking and varies from one cook to another, let alone from one region to another. Cheap pre-packaged curry mixes frequently include a large amount of turmeric, giving it the yellow color that many Westerners have come to believe is typical of curry. In India, at least, there really is no "typical" curry powder.

However, such has been the popularity of "curry powder" in the west that "curry powder" has become common inside India as well. Many cooks in India now rely on this as a staple of their cupboard, but there is still wide variation in the actual makeup of the mixture, so that each cook has a particular formulation or brand that they swear by which may bear little resemblance to someone else's favorite.

I actually don't have a lot of dishes that call for curry powder. I have more dishes that call for a different masala blend, garam masala. This, too, does not have a single formulation, but could be formulated in many different blends. It can still be a useful shortcut.

More typically, Indian cooks use individual ground and whole spices in characteristic ways. I'm most familiar with South Indian style of cooking, so I'm going to give you a basic "curry" recipe today.

This is a basic technique for making a vegetable curry.

We will be quick frying spices in hot oil, and some of these spices will burn quite rapidly, so you need to prepare all ingredients in advance.

Gather the following in small bowls (my bachelor son has been known to use a roommate's shot glasses) so they are ready to use immediately:

GROUP 1:
1 tsp urad dahl
1 tsp chana dahl

GROUP 2:
1 T whole cumin seed

GROUP 3:
1 T black mustard seed

GROUP 4:
1 1/2 tsp crushed red chili pepper
(HOT chilis, not American style chili powder)
10-12 fresh neem or "curry" leaves
If you absolutely can't get hold of fresh, you may use dried, but it's not nearly as good.

Group 5:
1 T garam masala
1 tsp turmeric (optional)

Group 6:
1 to 2 onions, chopped
1 T minced ginger or ginger paste
2 tsp minced garlic OR 2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 minced green chilis (OPTIONAL, only if you want it HOT)

VEGETABLES - add salt to taste with your choice of veggies

For the vegetables you could use 2 or 3 cups of the veggies of your choice, such as:

Potatoes
Potatoes and cauliflower
Carrots, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash
Eggplant
Eggplant, tomatoes, green peppers
Eggplant, tomatoes, carrots
Cabbage
Cabbage and potatoes

or just use your imagination. Just have them ready to go before you start frying the spices.

Now for the spice fry:

Heat 2 or 3 T of oil in a good quality heavy frying pan. The pan needs to be large enough to accommodate your veggies.

Turn heat to fairly high. Add GROUP 1 when it's hot, but not all the way heated up.

When the dahls start to turn color, immediately add GROUP 2, the cumin seed.

When the cumin seed starts to brown, IMMEDIATELY add GROUP 3, the mustard seed.

If the oil is hot enough, the mustard seed will start to pop within just a second or two. If they don't start popping in 10 or 15 seconds, turn the heat up just until they do. Immediately add GROUP 4, the crushed red pepper and fresh curry leaves.

The crushed red pepper will burn VERY quickly, so LOSE NO TIME, as soon as it starts to cook add GROUP 5, the ground spices.

Stir well and quickly add GROUP 6, the onions, garlic, and ginger. Turn the heat down to kind of medium and add your veggies according to how much time they need to cook - longest time required first. Stir well to coat. You may add a bit of water, cover, and cook on a lower heat to cook the veggies through. Not too much water though as this is usually intended to be a dryish curry, but cook it to YOUR taste. If you want a bit of sauce, just add a bit of water, but this isn't intended to be saucy.

Feel free to experiment with this. For example, fresh (but not dried) curry leaves can go in earlier, say with GROUP 3 or even GROUP 2. The dried curry leaves will tend to burn fairly quickly, but you could get away with a bit more with the fresh as far as length of cooking time. Change the amount of garam masala, or substitute or add a good curry powder (I would leave the turmeric out if you use curry powder).

Murgh Makhani - Indian Butter Chicken

This is my favorite chicken curry recipe, bar none. Here goes:

Ingredients

* ½ c unflavored yogurt, preferably organic or home made
* 1 tsp ground red chilies (NOT American style chili powder)
* ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
* ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
* ⅛ tsp ground cloves
* 1 tsp garam masala
* 1 ½ tsp Salt
*
* 1 ½ tsp minced ginger
* 2 cloves crushed garlic
*
* 4 - 6 Roma style tomatoes, diced, or 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
* 2 med onions, sliced fairly thinly
* 2 bell peppers, preferably red, yellow, and/or orange but green will do, sliced
*
* 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
*
* 4 T butter (½ stick)
*
* 2 T chopped fresh coriander
* ¼ c heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Mix the dry spices into the yoghurt. Add the ginger, garlic, and tomato and mix well.
2. Cut chicken into reasonable size pieces, about 1” - 1.5". Try to make the pieces about even in size so they’ll all cook at about the same rate. Add the chicken pieces to the yoghurt (hopefully you used a large enough bowl to start with) and let marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to an hour.
3. Melt the butter in a large wok or deep skillet and fry the onion and pepper slices until the onion slices are just beginning to turn translucent.
4. Add the chicken and its marinade and cook, stirring, for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Add the cream and the chopped coriander and heat to just before the boiling point, stirring occassionaly.
6. Serve garnished with sprigs of fresh coriander

YUM!

Tomato Dahl

Where to buy Indian ingredients

About Dals

Tomato dahl is as much a comfort food in Indian culture as tomato soup seems to be for many people here in the US (hence all those Campbell's soup commercials).

Personally I don't at all care for tomato soup, but I do love the Indian version!

If you're not afraid of calories or cholesterol, serve this drizzled with ghee.

1 c Toor dal, dry
3 c water

2 small cans of chopped tomatoes or 4 to 6 chopped Romas

2 large onions
3 green chili peppers, diced

1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urud dal

1/2 T cumin seed

2 tsp black mustard seed

2 dry red chilis, to taste

6 to 8 curry leaves

Masala: mix together and put aside:
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 T coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt

First set the dal to cooking. Use 1 c dal to 3 c water. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 40 minutes to an hour, until the dahl is very soft and has absorbed most of the water.

Heat 2 to 3 T of oil in a karhai, wok, or large skillet.

When the oil is hot, add chana and urud dal. When the dal begins to brown, immediately add cumin seed.

When the cumin seed begins to brown, add mustard seeds.

When the mustard seeds begin to pop, immediately add the crumbled red pepper and the neem leaves.

The red pepper will begin to cook very quickly, as soon as it begins to brown add the masala. Fry the spices for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently, then add the onion and green chilis.

If you are using canned tomatoes, cook the onions until they are nearly soft, then add the canned tomatoes and mix well. If you are using fresh tomatoes, add the tomatoes with the onion and the green chilies and cook until soft.

Add this mixture to the dahl, stir well, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to distribute the flavors throughout.

Chop some coriander leaves (cilantro) and garnish to serve.

Serve with long grain rice, preferably basmati rice.

Enjoy!

Bombay Potato Fry

2 T Oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
2 T curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
4 to 6 medium russet potatoes
Salt to taste (about 1 tsp)
Cilantro (coriander leaf), chopped, for garnish

1. Peel and quarter the potatoes, then boil for about 5 to 10 minutes, until they just start to cook but are still crisp.
2. Drain and cool the potatoes, then cube them into about 1" cubes
3. Heat the oil over a medium high heat. If the oil doesn't coat the bottom of your pan evenly, add a bit more oil.
4. When the oil is hot, quickly drop in the mustard seeds. They will start to pop almost immediately if the oil is hot enough. (If not, next time heat the oil a bit longer before you add them).
5. When the mustard seeds start to pop, quickly add the onions and garlic and stir well.
6. Fry the onions until they start to soften, then add the curry powder. Stir well.
7. Add the cubed potatoes and fry until they are well coated with the spices and are browned on the edges.
8. Garnish with chopped coriander
9. Serve with basmati rice.

Enjoy!

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