Indian, Our Style, Served in Moroccan Tajines at 9PM

parippu

Stir together and bring to a boil:    
    1 cup masoor dal (I used brown lentils)
    1 onion, roughly chopped
    1 ripe tomato
    1 cup coconut milk
    ( two green chiles, chopped ) I used 2 TBSP 
    of chile powder
    tumeric
    cumin
    coriander
    garam masala
    garlic, chopped
    fresh ginger
    salt to taste

Tumeric, cumin (both ground and whole), coriander,  and garam masala were added to taste, starting with about a teaspoon of each, as the original recipe called for. It just tasted bland to us, so we started adding more - until probably a couple tablespoons were added in the end. Rohan eventually chopped a few cloves of garlic and some fresh ginger and added it to the dal, which made a nice difference.

In a small fry pan heat 1 TBSP oil and mustard seeds, covered, until the mustard seeds pop. Add 1 onion, finely copped, cumin seeds (I also tried adding some grain mustard here) and 10 curry leaves. Cook until lightly browned, and add to the dal mixture.

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aloo gobi

cauliflower
2 sweet potatoes
1/2 onion
4 tomatoes (or canned)
oil

mustard seed
cumin
coriander
garam masala
ginger
sugar
water
salt to taste

I used a wok, mostly because it was the best fit for the crowded stove top. (Making this meal only made winning a kitchen make-over even more desireable..) We were out of potatoes. (We also ran out of onions in the process and shocked ourselves for being out of such essentials. I swear for months there's been a ten pound bag of potatoes sitting on the chair [kitchen make-over] which quite suddenly turned depleted, and never in my cooking life has there been no onions. Craziness!) So, in place of potatoes I used sweet potatoes, which we had two of. A delicious decision.
The cauliflower has been begging for this recipe all week, every time I saw it sitting on the shelf in the fridge.

Heat 3 TBSP of oil with 2 TSP mustard seeds, cover with a lid and wait for the seeds to pop. Add 1/2 an onion, finely chopped, and cook for a few minutes. Add the sweet potato an fry until lightly cooked.

Add tumeric, cumin, coriander - about 1 TSP of each, more or less. We like it spicy, so I added quite a bit. :) Also a few generous tablespoons of garam masala. Stir this around for a minute or so.
Add 4 tomatoes, chopped (or canned works fine too, and adding the canned juice makes a nice broth). We were also short on tomatoes, so the fresh tomatoes were split between this recipe and the red curry, and canned were substituted - and were very good. Stir until well mixed.
Add 1 large cauliflower, broken into florets. Stir in a little bit of fresh ginger, chopped, and 1 TSP sugar, and 1 CUP of water (or tomato juice, or both).
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are cooked. (salt to taste)
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red curry chicken with pineapple

The Watcher, 2008 Shiraz

         

Puree and set aside:
8 cloves garlic
2 TSP fresh ginger
2 large, ripe tomatoes
1 TBSP tomato paste
2 TSP cumin seed


The rest:
onions 
chile powder

1/2 cup water

add

tumeric

coriander

Spanish paprika

garam masala

chicken (I used 5 breasts, chopped into chunks.)

3 CUPS stock

1 1/2 CUPS pineapple chopped into chunks   (canned is fine)

In a large pan:
Heat oil, add onions and cook until softened. Add chile powder and 1/2 cup of water.

Because we like our spices, I added about a tablespoon each of the tumeric, paprika, and coriander, and 2 TBSP of garam masala.

Add the chicken and cook about 5 minutes.

Add tomato mixture and 3 CUPS of stock, bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat, add the pineapple (and any remaining canned tomatoes) and simmer for 20 minutes or so. (salt to taste)

This was what it was all about. This red curry chicken was originally inspired by a dish I regularly ordered from the Thai Kitchen. A hot, hot red curry with chunks of chicken and pineapple. The sweetness of the pineapple is a perfect departure from the heat of the sauce around it. I love that dish.
Tonight's dish, however, did not turn out much like the hot red curry and pineapple I've made before, it was something new entirely and very, very good. I'm sure it was the use of the chile powder, lack of actual hot chiles or peppers this time, and the extra tomatoes and juice added. The chille powder and Spanish paprika, which made the sauce thicken, was wonderful - it turned into a thick, spicy gravy that went so well with the brown Basmati rice.