A SMALL CURRY MEAL

Pakistan, When I was a Child it was India

Mohata Palace, Karachi

The Beauty of Clifton Beach, Karachi

                                    

This morning, while preparing a small curry meal for my precious family, I was suddenly obsessed with a sweet nostalgia for my early childhood in, Karachi, India, so many years ago.  My Mother, with the help of our cook Hussein used to offer the most delicious curry meals, which were always greatly appreciated.

Mombasa and Malindi Beach

Mombasa City

The Beautiful White Sands of Malindi Beach 

About fifteen years later, my husband, Alecos, and I used to enjoy fabulous curry lunches at a famous luxury hotel, at Malindi beach, when we lived in Mombasa, Kenya.  




Here are the recipes for the curry meal that I was preparing.  As my cherished grandson, Constantinos is a vegetarian, I chose chickpeas and prawns to comply with his preferences.

                                                 CHICKPEA CURRY

This is a dish that I loved when we lived in India and Pakistan so many years ago.

500 g (1 lb) skinned chickpeas, soaked overnight, then boiled in

Vegetable stock with a

Slice of fresh ginger, peeled and

A hot green pepper chopped

Sauce:

4 onions grated

4 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp olive oil

2 tsp hot curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp tomato paste

500 g (1 lb) one can tomato juice

Hot water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cayenne pepper to taste (¼ - ½ tsp)

Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil and a little water, until the onions are soft, and the liquid evaporates.  Add the five spices and stir-fry until the whole kitchen is full of their aroma.   Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Pour in the tomato juice and a little hot water, if necessary and cook until the sauce is thick. 

Spoon the strained chickpeas into the sauce.   Add a little of the stock that the chickpeas were boiled in if required.   Taste and add salt, freshly ground black pepper and Cayenne pepper to taste.  Serve with poppadoms and chapattis.   

                                                   PRAWN CURRY

This is a recipe for a delicious curry dish.

1 ½ kg (3 lb) prawns, shelled, deveined, thoroughly washed and patted dry

A little salt mixed with

½ tsp ginger

4 tbsp olive oil 

3 onions, peeled and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 piece of ginger, peeled and sliced

2 heaped medium-hot curry powder

½ tsp ground cardamom seeds

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp Cayenne pepper

½ tsp freshly ground pepper

½ tsp grated nutmeg

1 bay leaf

800 g – 1 kg (1 lb 10 oz – 2 lb) apples or peaches peeled, cored and thinly sliced

500 ml (2 cups) tasty vegetable stock

Salt, sugar or honey to taste

1 pack of desiccated coconut

Boiling water to cover

Sprinkle the prawns with the salt and ginger mixture and sauté in olive oil until  they just change colour and transfer to a dish.

Remove all but 2 tbsp of the oil and add the onion and a little water and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the onion is cooked and slightly coloured.   Then add the garlic and ginger and cook for a few minutes more.

Mix all the spices together and sprinkle over the onion mixture and stir for 3-5 minutes.   Then add the fruit, salt and sugar or honey, lower the heat and simmer gently, covered, stirring occasionally until the fruit resembles a thick purée. Add the stock and stir to prevent sticking.  Remove the ginger slices and blend the sauce until smooth, then taste and add sugar or honey and salt, if necessary.

Add the prawns to the sauce and simmer gently until the prawns are hot.  Do not overcook.   Cover, cool and refrigerate the food until needed.   I, usually, prepare this dish the previous day because it really improves with time.

The next day, place the desiccated coconut in a saucepan and pour boiling water over, to cover and leave for 1-3 hours to infuse.   Heat the prawn curry, strain the coconut milk over and stir. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.   It should be perfect.

                                      VEGETARIAN SHAHJEHANI BIRYANI

Saffron Rice with Nuts and Raisins

This elaborate festive dish is traditionally prepared with lamb or chicken.  But it can also be prepared as a vegetarian or vegan dish.

½ tsp saffron filaments soaked in

250 ml (1 cup) boiling water

60 g (2 oz) unsalted cashew nuts

60 g (2 oz) almonds blanched and cut into three slices

60 g unsalted pistachio nuts

60 g sultanas

(Place in piles in a slow oven and bake for 12 minutes, then sprinkle with salt)

2 cups Basmati rice

1 ½ litre (4 cups) of tasty vegetable stock

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp cloves

1 cinnamon stick

6 peppercorns

1 heaped tsp of cardamom seeds

(Place on a piece of cheesecloth and tie into a pouch)

Boil the rice and the spice pouch in vegetable stock and the saffron infusion, according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Then, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and discard the pouch.  Pile half the amount of rice in a hot pyrex dish and sprinkle with half the roasted nuts and sultanas, then repeat the procedure once more.

Serve the rice accompanied by the chickpea and prawn curries and a chutney of your choice.

                                              SWEET MANGO CHUTNEY

       

                         

You can make chutney with almost any fruit, but mangoes are the best choice.  

500 g (1 lb) green mangoes, peeled and sliced

1 heaped tbsp ginger, grated, mixed with

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

225 ml (½ cup) vinegar

500 g (1 lb) sugar

Salt to taste

1/8 - ¼ tsp chilli powder or Cayenne pepper

1 cup sultanas

 Mix the ginger and garlic with 1 tbsp of the vinegar.    Then make a syrup with half the sugar and the remaining vinegar and set aside.

Simmer the fruit and the remaining sugar to the consistency of jam.   Add the garlic and ginger mixture, salt, chilly powder and cook 5 minutes more. 

Finally, add the reserved syrup and the raisins to the fruit and simmer 10 minutes longer.  Fill sterilized jars up to the brim, cover with baking parchment rounds, and seal.

                                                     FRUIT SALAD

Fruit Salad Before Adding the Figs, Walnuts and Mint

One can prepare fruit salad with any fruits available

1 melon, peeled, seeded and cubed
A slice of watermelon, seeded and cubed
2 cups seedless grapes

4 pears, peeled cored and, cubed

The juice and grated rind of 1 orange mixed with

The juice ¼ a lemon  

The rind of ½ a lemon and

2 tbsp honey

Garnish:

2 figs peeled and quartered

½ cup walnuts coarsely chopped

2 sprigs of mint

Mix the first four ingredients together, sprinkle with orange/lemon/honey mixture and toss gently together.   Arrange in an iced bowl and garnish with figs, walnuts and sprigs of mint.    

Indian Hybiscus

Blood Lilly from  East Africa