The Indian
kitchen is like a big mystery to me. For the simple reason that I do
not have a feeling for the spices used in it. I do not know how the
flavour of a dish changes if I add more mustard seeds, turmeric or
cumin to it. When it comes to herbs I know that, I know exactly how
the flavour changes when I add more juniper berries, oregano or
celery leaves to a dish.
Herbs are
something I grew up with. So are spices like bay leaves, cinnamon,
nutmeg or all spice because they are also used in European dishes.
But how to mix a proper Masai is a mystery for me as I never learned
it. Maybe I should start taking cooking lessons in it.
On the
other hand I love Indian food. May it be North or South Indian, I
love it. So I had to find a way to work around my lack of knowledge.
And this is when I started experimenting with ready made masala
mixes. In the beginning I wondered why my food tasted powdery until I
learned that you need to temper the spices to bring out their flavour
and to get rid of this powdery raw flavour. That was many years ago
shortly after I moved to India. Over the years and lots of trials
later I know that I do not like chat masala or anything made with it.
I never liked fresh coriander but use it sometimes in cooking. I just
make sure I remove all of it before I serve the food.
Besides
this, a vast collection of masalas is meanwhile a stable in my
kitchen. I just don't use them the traditional way. I happily mix
them together and create my own personal interpretation of Indian
food. For example madras curry powder with chilli, mango, onion,
orange juice and raisins as a marinade for grilled chicken.
This is
how I ended up with what I call Curry a la Carola. Here the mutton
curry version. The routine is always the same.
In a big
pot I heat 4-5 table spoons oil. I like to take sesame oil as
it adds a nice flavour. I cut 1 large peeled onion into
quarters and than into fine stripes. Once the oil is hot I add the
onions, 1 teaspoon each garlic paste and ginger paste.
Over reduced heat I let it fry for 2-3 minutes. Now comes the masala.
I just take 1 teaspoon of each packet I have in my masala box so that
I end up with 6 teaspoons of masala. Most times I blend a
variety of graham masala, fish fry, mutton, tandoori, chicken and egg
masala together. But let your creativity run wild.
Important
is that you stir constantly while you temper the spices. They must
not get burned as it will ruin the flavour. After tempering the
spices I add 500g boneless mutton or lamb meat and stir-fry it
a few minutes that it can absorb the masala flavour.
Now I add
2-3 dry red chilli cut into
stripes, 300g tomatoes cut into small dices and 400g
yoghurt to it. Give it a good stir and cover it with a lid.
Cook it
over low head for about 30 minutes until the meat is very tender and
the oil has separated from the rest of the gravy.
If you
like to you can add the vegetables to it. In the same method you can
also make a chicken or pure vegetable curry. Sometimes, especially if
I add prawns or fish I add 400ml coconut milk to the masala base
instead of the yoghurt. If I make prawn or fish curry I cook the
gravy separately and add the prawns and fish only for the last few
minutes to avoid over cooking them.
Every time
I cook this it tastes a little bit different and I like it this way.
I most times serve the curry with brown rice. This time I made dosa.
I am honest with you, I bought the dosa batter. Another thing on my
to-learn-list is how to make dosa.
Enjoy and
have fun in the kitchen!
Love
Carola
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