FLOWER POT KITCHEN: CURRY IN A HURRY

30 Nov 2017

CURRY IN A HURRY

MADRAS LAMB CHICKEN or BEEF

This is a brilliant easy mid week decandant weekend curry with all the trimmings from fridge to table in under 30 minutes and more like 20 minutes if you've prepped your fridge like a pro so you can just grab and go. The secret is some forward preparation while your cooking on another night to set this curry in a hurry up. I like to have some curry freezer stock sauce (recipe below batch cook 4 ptns) to hand which makes this super easy to pull together.

Ahead prep time 30 mins / On the day Prep time 5 mins / Cooking time 15-25 mins

The base sauce is best prepped ahead of time and can be frozen, having a batch of the base sauce ready to go really does make this curry in a hurry a family winner dinner in minutes. If you don't have the base sauce prepped ahead no worries just add half hour to your kitchen time.

Ingredients

(serves 4)

Best Ever Curry Base Sauce

1tbsp ghee

2 onions chopped

6 cloves garlic grated

2" ginger grated

1/2 red pepper diced

1/4 white cabbage chopped

1 carrot chopped

5 tomatoes chopped

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground fenugreek

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garam masala (recipe below)

A one pot cook, heat a large deep saucepan medium hot, add the ghee, onions and garlic, soften for 7 minutes, then add all the other ingredients except the garam masala and 1 ltr of water or stock. Simmer for 20 minutes, then using a stick blender blitz to a smooth sauce, add the garam masala, that's it, base sauce made.

Stage One

The Curry Spice Mix and Marinating

(Serves 4)

If your a preper this stage can be done a few days ahead and stored in the fridge or freezer so all you have to do is grab and go.

2 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tbsp garam masala

8 fresh green chillies sliced longways

6 cardamom pods bashed

Mix the spices together and in a food bag or container coat your choice of lamb, chicken or beef in all the spices, the longer you leave to marinate the deeper the flavour will be, but if your really in a hurry you don't have to marinate.

Stage Two Marinating

I like to add the base curry sauce to the marinated meat on the day I will be cooking the curry for dinner that day, along with the following ingredients, again you can do this all in one go and freeze ahead.

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 tbsp grated garlic

2 tbsp tomato purée

All the base curry sauce

Cooking The Curry

Here we go just grab your bag of marinated curry, place in a saucepan on a medium heat and gently simmer for 20-25 minutes or longer if your using lamb so that it's tender. Add the finishing ingredients below to your personal taste giving you a hint of sweet and sour to your madras curry. Enjoy.

To Finish The Dish

2 tbsp mango chutney

1 lime juiced

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 handful chopped corinader

Move Over Salt Police

I am a salt lover, Himalayan to be exact, but I have found with this spiced curry and the saltiness from the ghee I don not need to season this curry with additional salt, this is personal to taste.

No comments:

LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.