Anjum's Goan Meatball Green Curry

Last week, I checked out Anjum's New Indian cookbook from the library. Before this, I hadn't heard of Anjum Anand, "The Indian Nigella Lawson" and the host of The Cooking Channel's Indian Food Made Easy (we don't get the cooking channel, which is probably a good thing because I can see myself eventually watching cooking shows 24/7). Wow -this is a great Indian cookbook! The recipes are pretty straightforward, and she includes a bit of cultural and historical context -Goa was colonized by the Portuguese for 450 years and their food shows that influence.



Each recipe has a photo -all really good photos- and the Green Curry Meatball recipe immediately grabbed my attention. Aside from the fact that this is a meatball recipe, and a curry recipe, and a lamb recipe, and a one-pot meal recipe, and that it is OH SO GREEN, I knew that the combination of coconut milk, cilantro and these spices would be fabulous together. They are, AND it is super easy to make. My photo is not so vibrantly green as the professionals -I suspect they clicked on an incompletely cooked portion to capture the green of fresh cilantro- and of course no photo can convey the amazing aroma in your kitchen of this curry cooking -you'll just have to make it yourself! This is a friendly curry, exotically but not overly spiced or hot, and I love the brightness of the cilantro and tamarind with the lamb. AND it is just as good, or even better, when reheated. Do try these meatballs.



Anjum's Goan Meatball Green Curry

Adapted from: Anjum's New Indian -Recipes from Indian Food Made Easy by Anjum Anand
Serves 6

Mix in food processor:
1 lb. ground lamb
2 large slices white bread, crumbled
1 egg
1 t. each garam masala, cumin and canola oil
1/2 t. salt
Form 1 inch meatballs. Chill.

Heat in large skillet:
1-2 T. canola oil
Add:
1 small onion, finely chopped
Fry until browned.

In blender, make a paste:
1 inch piece ginger, grated
6 garlic cloves, sliced
2 green chilies (I used Serrano chilies), deseeded and sliced
1/3 13.5 oz. can lite coconut milk
1 t. each garam masala and cumin
1/2 t. salt
Add coconut paste to browned onions and cook 5-10 minutes, stirring every so often. It will get thick and may begin to stick towards the end.

Puree in blender (I didn't wash the blender after making the paste):
1 c. coconut milk
1 c. cilantro leaves
Add to skillet. Rinse blender with 1 1/2 c. water and add this also to skillet. Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes.

Add 1 t. to 1 T. tamarind paste (or lemon or lime juice) to taste, and then add meatballs. Cover and cook 20 minutes more on low heat. Serve with Basmati rice and mango chutney.

Lolita's Turkey Curry

Lolita, my mother-in-law would often make this easy curry the day after Thanksgiving when her house was filled to bursting with her six adult children, their significant others, friends, and various children. I first joined them for the Thanksgiving weekend as a girlfriend of one of her sons, and over the years since that first holiday, I've watched and helped her make this curry many times. Making Lolita's curry with leftover turkey became a holiday tradition I wholeheartedly embraced. The past few years though, I have been terribly disappointed to find that all our leftover Thanksgiving turkey meat has been completely devoured as turkey sandwiches, well before dinner time of the day after (our heritage breed turkeys are much smaller than the commercial behemoths). Turkey sandwiches are all well and good, but I really like this curry! I'm a bit slow to think things through, but it occurred to me last week, that instead of lamenting the absence of this curry in my life forever, I could make it happen easy enough, AND I DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR THANKSGIVING TURKEY LEFTOVERS! Lacking turkey in the freezer, I substituted some chicken breasts, which was every bit as good.



Lolita's Turkey Curry

Heat:
2-3 T. vegetable oil

Add:
1/2 chopped onion
5-6 mushrooms, sliced
1-2 T. curry powder
Saute until onions brown a bit.

Add:
1/3 c. flour
Cook 1-2 minutes.

Whisk in:
2 c. milk or soy milk
1 c. leftover gravy (or roasting pan drippings)
15 oz. can lite coconut milk
dash Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 t. salt, or to taste
Cook gently to thicken, 5 minutes or so.

Add:
2-4 c. chopped cooked turkey (or chicken)
1/4 - 1/3 c. slivered almonds
1/4 c. minced fresh cilantro
(lacking fresh mushrooms to add with the onions, add a can of sliced mushrooms here)
Serve over hot, cooked rice with crushed red peppers and mango chutney.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Vietnamese Chicken Curry is one of my absolute favorite things to eat. Why? Well, it's VIETNAMESE. It's CHICKEN THIGHS, with ginger, garlic, lemongrass and coconut milk, melded into a STEW -three of my absolute favorite things in the world of food. This is one of those things that is a bit exotic (unless you are Vietnamese and/or, like my kids, who are not the teeniest bit Vietnamese, have been eating it most of your life), yet the main ingredients are the familiarly comforting stew trinity of chicken, carrots and potatoes. It's a snap to put together, once you have the basic Vietnamese ingredients in your kitchen. Fish sauce and the canned coconut milk will store almost indefinitely, and lemongrass can be frozen, either whole or sliced, making it relatively easy to have the ingredients stored away for this.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry

In large Ziploc bag, place 6 chicken thighs (or a whole pieced chicken, or use rabbit or duck instead, if that's what you have, or prefer)

Add to bag and smoosh around a bit:

1-2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped small

2 stalks lemongrass, white part only sliced thin

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 t. curry powder

1/2 t. each salt, black pepper and dried chili flakes

Leave to marinade 1 hour.

Fry in 1/4-1/2 inch hot oil, 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks, until browned a bit. Remove potatoes. Drain all but 1-2 T. oil and add chicken (or what you are using) along with spices from the bag. Fry till browned on all sides.

Add:

3-5 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

fried potato chunks

14 oz. can lite coconut milk

14 oz. can chicken broth (or water plus 1 t. salt)

2-3 bay leaves

2 T. fish sauce

1 t. sugar

1/2 t. dried mint

Simmer 30-60 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook a pot of rice.

To serve, add 1/2-1 c. minced cilantro leaves (I didn't have any, and didn't want to make a special trip to the store to buy some, so I left them out this time, and it was just fine) and juice of 1 lime (or lemon). Serve stew in bowls over rice, adding more crushed chili flakes, cilantro, or lime wedges, if desired. And this reheats beautifully, which is just one more thing to love about it.

Duck and Green Bean Curry with Quail Eggs

Quail mostly, I've read, mate for life. Sven is my son's quail who's mate recently died. We have another female in a separate pen, but he quickly -and violently- rejected her when we tried to put them together in the hopes of consoling him.



When I go on my daily walk, I can hear his call at least half a mile away. I find this amazing since he is smaller than a softball. He is like a chihuahua -all energy and machismo. He paces back and forth, or sits on his perch and cries his mournful 'Ta-Wheeet' -for a mate who will never come again.



Quail eggs are delightful. Children especially are charmed by their tiny size and deviled quail eggs are incredibly cute. Peel them when they are completely cold or it will not be a delightful experience. Of course, Sven does not lay eggs, but we still get a few from our lone female. This curry is one recipe I like to use them in.

Duck and Green Bean Curry with Quail Eggs

Hard boil a dozen quail eggs for 5 minutes (or 6 small chicken eggs for 12 minutes). Cool completely and then peel.

Brown 4-6 duck (or chicken) pieces, breasts cut in thirds and/or legs jointed, in 2 T. vegetable oil. Remove duck pieces. Add 1/4 -1/3 c. green or yellow curry paste and brown a bit.

Add:
1 T. fish sauce
1 T. prepared tamarind (or lemon or lime juice)
1 t. brown sugar
14 oz. lite coconut milk
1/2 - 1 c. water

Add duck pieces back in, cover and cook on low for 1 hour. Add:
4-6 peeled and quartered potatoes
1 qt. fresh or frozen green beans
Cook 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Serve curry over hot cooked rice and topped with halved hard boiled quail eggs.