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.