It happened a long time ago – maybe 25 years ago – but I remember it clearly. I walked into the store around the corner to order some frozen yogurt to take home after dinner. The clerk eyed me and asked, “What have you been cooking?”
It was the first time I had prepared a shrimp in dark sauce dinner from a recipe I found in an Indian cookbook and the smells were that strong on my clothing. One of the things I love about cooking Indian food is the way the aromas hang around long after the meal is finished, often into the next morning.
But most Indian dishes take a while. The aforementioned shrimp in dark sauce needs two to three hours for preparation and cooking. That’s fine for a weekend or a holiday. Not so good for after work.
Over the years I’ve collected and developed an assortment of recipes for tandoori dishes, tikas, and other wonderful Indian meals I prepare several times a year. But to soothe the week-in-week-out urge for Indian food, I depend on a variety of curries that take less than an hour from walk-in-the-door to sitting-down-and-eating. The standbys are shrimp curry and curried chicken. If I have any leftover leg of lamb, I’ll turn it into a curry also.
Many curry recipes call for coconut milk, particularly Thai curries. I skip that because coconut milk is high in saturated fats that can lead to cholesterol issues. It’s also high in sugars. Instead, I substitute homemade stocks, which I keep in good supply in my freezer.
Before any of our Indian readers or Indian food purists begin to yell at me, let me admit the following are not classic preparations for curries. But they work. They are delicious, healthy and quick and easy to prepare. They can be served with or without peanuts, chutney, sliced banana or any of the other traditional Indian dinner condiments.
SHRIMP CURRY
10 large raw shrimp, shell on
½ cup brown rice
2 ½ cups water
3 Tblsp extra virgin olive oil
½ large brown onion
3 Tblsp all purpose flour
3 Tblsp curry powder – 1 hot and 2 medium, or adjust to taste
2 cloves garlic – crushed
¼ cup golden raisons
Cook brown rice according to package directions – about 40 minutes after coming to a boil.
Peel shrimp and remove tails. Put shells and tails in a sauce pan with the water. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat to maintain a very slow boil for 20 minutes. Strain liquid into a bowl and discard shells.
Slice onion into rings about 1/8 inch each then cut rings in half.
Put a large frying pan on the stove over a medium-low light to heat the pan. When the pan is warm, add the olive oil. It should ripple but not smoke.
Add the onions. Turn heat up to medium. Toss onions to coat in the oil and cook until softened and just beginning to brown – tossing frequently. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and toss well to distribute. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let flower cook several minutes until it is a nice brown color. Add the curry powder and garlic and toss with the onion. Let curry powder cook for about one minute. Then slowly add about 2 cups of the shrimp broth in small batches, stirring constantly to incorporate flower and break up any lumps. When the broth comes to a very slow boil, turn the light down to just maintain at simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan. Add more shrimp broth or water if the mixture turns too thick. Add the shrimp and raisons, toss well and cover for about 3 minutes. Toss the mixture again, cover and cook about another 3 minutes. When shrimp look done all the way through, remove the pan from the heat.
Mound the rice in the middle of two plates. Spoon the shrimp and curry sauce over the rice and serve.
Serves 2
CURRIED CHICKEN
½ cup brown rice
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces
(substitute 1 chicken breast if you wish)
10 green beans, broken into pieces
florets of ¼ head of cauliflower
1 medium carrot, pealed and sliced
3 Tblsp olive oil
½ onion – halved and sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tblsp all purpose flour
3 Tblsp curry powder – 1 hot, 2 medium or adjust to taste
2 cups fat skimmed, low sodium chicken stock, heated (homemade if you have it)
¼ cup currants
1 tsp Garam Marsala
Prepare rice according to package direction – about 40 minutes after coming to a boil.
Par boil green beans, cauliflower and carrot.
Put a large frying pan on the stove over a medium-low light to heat the pan. When the pan is warm, add the olive oil. It should ripple but not smoke.
Add the onions. Turn heat up to medium. Toss onions to coat in the oil and cook until softened and just beginning to brown – tossing frequently. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and toss well to distribute. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let flower cook several minutes until it is a nice brown color. Add the curry powder and garlic and toss with the onion. Let curry powder cook for about one minute. Then slowly add about 2 cups of chicken broth in small batches, stirring constantly to incorporate flower and break up any lumps. When the broth comes to a very slow boil, turn the light down to just maintain at simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan. Add more broth or water if the mixture turns too thick.
Add chicken and par boiled vegetables and let simmer until chicken is cooked through. Add currants to heat and plump.
Remove from heat and stir in Garam Marsala.
Mound the rice in the middle of two plates. Spoon the chicken and curry sauce over the rice and serve.
Makes 2large portions.
LAMB CURRY
½ cup brown rice
3 Tblsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tblsp curry powder – 1 hot, 2 medium, adjust to taste
3 Tblsp all purpose flour
2 cups lamb stock*
1 red-skinned apple, (cored and diced)
2-3 cups of cooked lamb
½ cup currants
Prepare rice according to package direction – about 40 minutes after coming to a boil.
Put a large frying pan on the stove over a medium-low light to heat the pan. When the pan is warm, add the olive oil. It should ripple but not smoke.
Add the onions. Turn heat up to medium. Toss onions to coat in the oil and cook until softened and just beginning to brown – tossing frequently. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and toss well to distribute. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let flower cook several minutes until it is a nice brown color. Add the curry powder and garlic and toss with the onion. Let curry powder cook for about one minute.
Then slowly add about 2 cups of lamb broth in small batches, stirring constantly to incorporate flower and break up any lumps. When the broth comes to a very slow boil, turn the light down to just maintain at simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan. Add more broth or water if the mixture turns too thick.
Add the lamb and toss into the sauce. Cover and let it heat. Add the currants to heat and plump.
Mound the rice in the middle of two plates. Spoon the lamb and curry sauce over the rice and serve.
Serves 2
* You should have some homemade lamb stock in your freezer made with the bones from your last leg of lamb dinner, or buy some lamb stock bones at the butcher shop.
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