If you're anything like me, the word curry usually implies a complicated, many-ingredients recipe that requires lots of time and effort to prepare. Of course this is not the case at all. The word curry itself is now so misconstrued from it's original kari origin, it's something almost alien to it's beginnings. This so called curry from Burma is simple, containing only a handful of spices and taking hardly any time to prepare, yet it tastes so fresh and exciting it could rival any of the Indian masterpieces. If you've read this blog before, you know that I have many cookbooks that I love to browse through, but never actually read. I am on a mission to remedy this. When I read of people lamenting the amazing stories and information in cookbooks I own, I scratch my head and wonder what I've missed. Not any more, I'm going to start really reading them and I started with this gem.
My case in point is illustrated by a recipe for egg curry. A blogger eloquently described the amazingly simple yet deeply flavoured sauce and the particular way of cooking the eggs which rendered them golden and crispy. I was intrigued and a little jealous of the blogger's apparent intimacy with the book. So I took a look. Yes, it seemed interesting. Boiled, shelled eggs are fried in hot oil until slightly blistered looking and golden brown. I decided to try it for myself until I turned the page and saw this recipe for paneer curry. With a tomato based sauce, delicately fragranced and flavoured with golden turmeric, chili powder, garlic and ginger, it's the kind of thing you whip up when tired or not able to shop, (assuming you have a bag of frozen paneer), but tastes so good you keep going back to dip into the leftovers you're trying to keep for tomorrow. I changed the recipe quite a bit to reflect what I had available and suspect the actual recipe would taste quite different as I omitted one cup of scallion greens and one cup of coriander leaves.
Recipe : Paneer curry
Very loosely adapted from Burma by Naomi Duguid
1 can plum tomatoes
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 -2 tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 lb paneer
1.5 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
1 tbsp basil leaves, roughly chopped
a few chopped chives and their flowers
Heat the oil in a pan over medium to high heat and cook the shallots and turmeric until softened and golden. Add the garlic and chili powder and mix well. Add the tomatoes and fish sauce, bring to a boil then lower the heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Cut the paneer into cubes, add to the tomato mixture along with the salt and simmer for 10 minutes more. Just before serving sprinkle the herbs over everything, give it a quick stir and taste for seasoning, adding a little more fish sauce if you think it needs it. Eat with plain white or brown rice.
You may also like:
Mattar paneer
(with homemade paneer)
Tomato and prawn curry
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