Tuesday 16 October 2012

Curry in a hurry

My family love curry, the hotter the better. I really excelled myself tonight. We were all reduced to runny noses, burning throats and watering eyes, and the bravest among us were reaching for the milk. Avocado is excellent for reducing the burn, but my son helped himself to the whole one and left nothing for anyone else, thinking there was more (well, that's his excuse and he's sticking to it!).

The easiest way to make curry and rice is to just make it in one pot.  I brown the onions and then throw in about 2 tablespoons of good curry powder, garlic and mace, and a bay leaf or two. Tonight I added 1 tablespoon, rather rashly, of real Durban curry that Robert brought back from Umhlanga recently. I think it is pretty much minced chilli judging by its colour, consistency and the number of pips. You can't tell how hot it will be until you eat it. At least now I know that 1/2 a tablespoon will do next time. Anyway, back to the method.

Cook the spices for a minute or so and then throw in the chicken pieces with as much fat and skin removed as possible. Toss about so that it is well coated and then add a small amount of water, just to prevent burning. Put on the lid and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add a layer of rice, basmati is good, and a layer of diced potatoes and throw over the requisite amount of water in ratio to the rice.  Cook gently until rice is cooked and no liquid remains, stirring occasionally.

Guaranteed to go down well, even if the toilet paper has to be kept in the deep freeze!

No comments:

Post a Comment