Coconut masala and Omelette Curry

This simple masala is one of my favorite "quickies". It is probably why I keep making it most often. Making this masala takes no time and not much effort either.

COCONUT MASALA:

spice ladder: ***

prep time: 5 minutes
serves: 2

• 2 tbsp grated coconut
  
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp garam masala powder

Grind coconut, cumin and fennel seeds, mix in coriander, chili, turmeric and garam masala powders and enough water (2 tablespoons) to make a thicker paste. You´re done. If you re not going to use the masala right away, store in airtight container in refrigerator and use within 4 days.

To make a simple masala curry, you will need:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 onions
• 1 coconut masala mix
  
• 2 potatoes
• 3 green chilies
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• salt to taste
  
• coriander leaves (as garnish)

To make the curry, heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the thinly sliced onions. Add the coconut masala, cubed potatoes and fry for 3 minutes more. Add more oil, if the mixture sticks to the pan. The vegetables should be evenly coated with spices.
Add tomatoes, salt and vinegar. Cover the pan, lower the heat to let tomatoes loose some liquid.
Add 300 ml water and let simmer for 10 more minutes.

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The simplicity of this curry has lurked me to experiment with different side ingredients to turn it into a more elaborate, festive curry dish. I have tried roasted eggplant, baked potato wedges or even:

OMELETTE STRIPES CURRY:

I have to admit that I am not a big egg eater. But I know my friends are, so whenever I have some over, I like to serve them something special and festive looking. Last time I made this was for my sister, who really enjoyed the sight of the omelette stripes. Here is the recipe:

• Simple Masala Curry
• For the omelette :
• 2 eggs
• ½ red onion
• 1 green chili
• 1 tsp chopped green leaves (coriander, parsley, mint,…)
• ground black pepper
• sweet paprika powder
• salt
  
• oil for frying

Start making the Simple Masala Curry (according to the recipe above) and meantime, make the omelette:
Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl. Heat a little oil in a pan, pour in the mixture, lift the pan and move it, so it spreads evenly. Cover the pan and let fry until brown. Place on a plate, cut into 2cm large strips and roll up. Pierce the omelette rolls with a toothpick and set aside on a kitchen paper to absorb the oil.
Shortly towards the end, place in the omelette rolls into the curry to let them absorb the flavor. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot over rice or with roti.

This is my entry to this month´s Weekend Breakfast Blogging hosted by Kanchana of Married To A Desi.

Thai Panaeng Curry Paste

Last year when I was living in Thailand, I was asked back home to write an article about my food experience in Krabi. That was the final kick up my butt to offer help to my Thai girlfriends to help them with cooking for their street stand. Not knowing what I was about to experience I 'signed up' for a four day cooking course...

...Each day started at 4.p.m with us three girls running around the Krabi Morning Market, shopping for fresh spices, vegetables and meats. Then, we drove back to the hotel and started wildly chopping, grating, grinding, frying,.. etc. Different colorful curries were done shortly before 9.00, all from scratch. Tough work was then sold for a few baht, accompanied with a scoop of rice, all finished before 14.00. That was the time to pack it all up, go back home and take a rewarding nap...

This was a very brief back flash of my Thai cooking days. What has been left for me in a long run though, were all these amazing secret recipes for home-made traditional Thai curries. Having said all this, I believe, this is the right time to reveal one of them. I have to admit that I am not a big fan of 'a few of these, a splash of that,... ok, maybe a bit more..., some of that...' cooking style, so while sticking to the basics, I consulted a few recipes out there for more accurate amounts, ... and this is what has come out:

PANAENG THAI CURRY PASTE :
A wonderful blend of chilies and roasted peanuts, a base for making traditional Thai curries with meats, or vegetables, such as potatoes, mushrooms, baby eggplants, or tofu.

prep time: 50 minutes
yields : 1 cup

• 8 red chilies (or 2 tbsp powdered) *
• 1 tsp shrimp paste **
  
• ½ cup (120g) chopped shallots
• 10 cloves garlic
• 3 stems lemongrass
• 1 tsp lime rind
• 5 cm fresh galangal
• 4 fresh chopped cilantro roots
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp fish sauce **
• 1 tsp salt
• >½ cup (3 tbsp) peanut butter (I like the crunchy kind)

Prepare the chilies:
If using fresh - wash them, discard the green top and chop them roughly.
If using dried - soak them in ½ cup hot water for about 15 minutes, drain and chop roughly.
If using powder - you are cool just like that.

* If you don't fancy hot curries, get out of my blog, de-seed the chilies first.

** For a vegan version of Panaeng Curry Paste, substitute fish sauce for soy sauce and shrimp paste for soy bean paste (if so, skip the grilling).

Prepare the fresh spices:
Peel the garlic and galangal, and chop finely. Remove the outer layers from the lemongrass and chop finely (white part only).
Cover the shrimp paste in tin foil and dry fry or bake in the oven for 3 minutes from each side(or until slightly dried, but not burnt).

Put all the ingredients into the mortar, one by one, as the recipe says, and grind to a paste. It takes a long time, but the smoother paste you achieve, the more compact curry sauce you get.

NOW THE FUN PART :

Lets say, you have made the curry paste. There are zillion ways of preparing. The most traditional one is, of course, the one that Thai people make (duh). To do this one for 2 people, you will need:

• 2 (generous) tbsp Panaeng Curry Paste
• 1 tbsp oil or coconut fat
  
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 50 ml water
• 250g veggies
• kaffir lime leaves
• 1 tbsp fish sauce **
  
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• fresh chili (optional)

Update (July 27th):
I substituted water and coconut milk for soy milk. It was lot less fatty, actually. I think I ll stick with this method more often...

A lot, eh? Well, nothing difficult.
First, chop the chili into the so-called Horse Ear cuts. This means, slice the chili kind of diagonally, so you can see the 'flower' formed by the seeds and veins.

Heat oil in a frying pan, add the paste and fry over the medium heat for about 5 - 7 minutes, or until the strongest fragrance has disappeared. Add coconut milk, water, lime leaves and half of the chili. Let simmer for 3 minutes or until the liquids have combined. Add the vegetables and let simmer until soft. (Hard ones like potatoes should be parboiled). Add the rest and taste. DO NOT use salt, for the fish sauce is the salt itself...
Garnish with the remaining chili and there you go. Grab a bowl of rice and Bon Apetit! If you crave for a real Thai ultimate filling feast, the traditional Pak Boong Fai Daeng (Green Leaf Stir-Fry) or Som Tam Thai (Green Papaya Thai Salad) goes really well.


















Today, I made my panaeng curry with mixture of broccoli, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms.

There are other wonderful ways of preparing the Thai Panaeng Curry Paste.

• Panaeng curry fried rice:

Fry some on oil, add shrimps and cook for a minute. Splash in some fish sauce, sugar and lime juice (quantity-wise as described above) then add leftover rice from the day before (sticks better) and fry until crispy and fragrant. Serve with lime wedges.
(Substitute noodles for rice, can´t go wrong with that one).

• Panaeng Curry steamed 'Sushi':

Try this one. Prepare shrimps or chicken as described above, but skip the rice. Now, prepare sticky rice and form into a thumb long squares or like when making nigiri sushi. Scoop the shrimp mixture onto the rice, wrap the whole 'sushi' into a banana leaf (or tin foil) and steam for 10 minutes. Absolutely fun-tasty-c.

I am sure you guys have your own little tricks. Wanna share ? ... Please ? :)

Malay Curry Paste

I remember the very first time I was deciding whether to try this curry or not. I was quite taken aback with the combination of fennel and vinegar, so I wasn't sure. What is more, I never really fancied Malaysian dishes (I might have just eaten out at wrong places or followed a bunch of sucky yucky recipes). Inspired by one of my favorite cookbooks Asian Sauces and Marinades, I was particularly persuaded by its author Wendy Sweetser writing about the tempting history of the dish and its creators:

...The Serani (or Eurasian) people of Malaysia are descendants of the original Portuguese, Dutch and British colonialists who settled in Malaysia in the early 18th century. They are famous for their superb cooking, and today their cuisine is an exotic blend of Portuguese piri piri (hot pepper sauce), Dutch East Indian spice mixes, and even English roast meets and pies...

I had to try it, then. I admit, I made slight adjustments to the recipe to pamper my chili-loving taste buds. The following recipe is super easy to make, doesn't take so much time to prepare (cca 30 mins) and makes enough curry base to saute 800g vegetables.


















MALAY CURRY PASTE

Spice ladder : *****

A great curry base for sauteing zucchini, eggplant, cauliflower, squash or root veggies such as potatoes or carrots.

prep time: 25 minutes
(makes a curry base for 800g vegetables)

Ingredients are ordered according to the picture starting from the upper right corner clockwise

• 1 big red onion
• 2 tsp strong paprika powder
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 4 tsp dried chili flakes
• 5 cm fresh ginger root
  
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Soak chili flakes in hot water (enough to cover) and leave for 15 minutes. Drain the flakes and keep the water (You can use it later for watering down the curry).
Peel and grate or finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger.

In a mortar, grind the cumin and fennel seeds. Mix in paprika powder.
Add the fresh spices and process to a smooth paste.
Add oil and that is it!

HOW TO EAT IT:

As you might have noticed, this paste is missing salt. Yes, but actually it is also missing turmeric. These two ingredients are usually mixed in with the paste, but I like to use them as a rub for vegetables. Therefore, prior to make an awesome curry, prepare the following:

• 1 quantity of Malay Curry Paste
• 800 firm vegetables (see above)
• taste fixing solution
• 6 tbsp water (use the one from soaking chili flakes, but its gonna be one helluva hot-butt curry)
• 2 tbsp apple vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 3 tbsp oil
  

Chop the vegetables into small chunks, season with salt and turmeric (as described below) and let sit for 15 minutes.
Eggplant, zucchini or squash can be seasoned right away.
Root vegetables should be parboiled and fried over a little oil spiced up with turmeric and salt.

Heat half of the oil in a wok. When steaming hot, fry the veggies over the high flame until soft (cca 15 mins). Set aside.

Heat the rest of the oil in the pan and fry the Malay Curry Paste over the medium flame for about 6 - 7 minutes. Isn't the smell just wonderful?

Add the taste fixing solution and stir well. Stir in the veggies, cover with the lid and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the salt and serve garnished with chopped cilantro leaves.

Traditionally eaten with rice, but go ahead and try with bread or even with tortilla wraps.


















Today I made my curry with yellow squash and aubergine (on the left). It went very well with Slavic lokša [lock sha], which is a potato flat bread similar to the Mexican tortilla or Hindu Chapati, but with potato puree; and awesome juicy & spicy coconut carrot salad (on the right).

This is the only 'safe' Malay recipe I have. If you guys have any personal favourites, please share. I d love to try...