Lamb Kidney Curry

Thursday, 13th September 2012

India Cookbook p490. One of the great things about curry is that you can make it with anything. I once made a fantastic curry with a tin of tuna.
In this case a few lamb's kidneys, onions and a good quantity of fresh coriander.
Heat ground fennel seeds, chili powder, asafoetida, cloves and yoghurt over a low heat, until the moisture has gone, add the kidneys and fry until browned. The recipe calls for adding lambs testes at this point but, strangely, my local butcher was all out of them, so I added some chopped onions with the kidneys instead! :)
Add some water and simmer for a bit, then add ground coriander, garam masala, ginger paste, and chopped coriander. Simmer until the sauce is thick and serve with more coriander.
The bread is actually Turkish, but makes a very good substitute for paratha.

Lamb curry, Bhindi, Paratha, Lime Pickle

Saturday, 26th February

Nahari (Morning Delight) - India Cookbook p433, Bhindi Pyaz (crispy okra with onions) p246, Paratha (flaky bread) p609, saffron rice and home-made lime pickle.  The Nahari is a lamb curry with onions and a nice rich sauce spiced with coriander, black cardamom, turmeric, chilli, cloves, cinnamon, garlic and ginger  .  [For any German readers, "curry" is a generic term for any Indian main course dish (or, indeed, the meal as a whole) and not just a name for a spicy brownish sauce you have with sausages.]

The Nahari recipe calls for rather a lot of a sort of roux, made from garam flour, to be added at the end.  It seemed like far too much, so I left a lot of this out, but the sauce was still very glossy and thick.  With all the roux mixed in, the sauce would have been like glue I think.  Making the Paratha was fun and it did come out lovely and crisp and flaky, but still a bit floury in taste.  The bhindi were much better than I expected.  I cooked them for ages to reduce the gooiness but they still had a surprisingly good bite.  The home made lime pickle is something I did last year and which is still fabulous.  Not quite as hot as I would expect in an Indian restaurant in England, but very flavourful.