After all the discussion about the Omnivore’s Hundred, much of which revolved around how much curry is too much, I suddenly had a craving for Indian food. This curry-esque recipe was simple, made my kitchen smell yummy, and was pretty tasty to boot. Unfortunately, I had to omit the fresh basil, as the bunch that I bought earlier in the week was no longer edible. The dried version just didn’t get the job done, but otherwise, I’d say this was a successful one-skillet dinner.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 cup long-grain white rice
Kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup fresh basil (I actually used dried)
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and curry and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the rice, 2 1/2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Season the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nestle them in the partially cooked rice. Cover and cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes. Fold in the basil and serve.
First, thoroughly clean the prawns. If they have their shells, remove them before rinsing. Then cook with the turmeric and salt, and keep aside while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Chop the ingredients.
Finely dice 2 onions and 4 tomatoes. Then chop 2 green chilies, taking care not to touch your eyes or anywhere else the chili juice may sting.
Begin cooking the ingredients.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the cinnamon, cardamom pods, and cloves, frying for about 30 seconds while stirring. Now add the onions and chilies, frying for about 5 minutes. The onions should turn a light golden brown. Stir frequently to keep the onions from burning to the bottom of the pan. Now, add the ginger-garlic paste, and stir into the rest of the mixture.
Add spices.
To the mixture in the pan, add the turmeric and coriander. You can also add a teaspoon of red chili powder, if you wish. Then add the garam masala powder, and fry the mixture over low heat for 5 minutes. Stir frequently.
Add tomatoes.
Now add the tomatoes, as well as the cumin powder. Add a cup of water, stirring until the water is dissolved. Turn the heat down to very low, place the lid on the pan, and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. The oil should separate from the mixture and rise to the top.
Cook the prawns.
Now add the uncooked prawns to the mixture in the pan, mixing well so that the prawns are coated in the sauce. Add salt to taste, as well as about half a cup of hot water. Place the heat back on the pan, and cook on low for about ten minutes or until the prawns are fully cooked. The prawns will turn pink and opaque when they are done.
Enjoy! Serve hot, with coriander leaves on the top as a garnish. Add brown basmati rice as a traditional side dish.
Prawn curry is a unique dish that is both healthy and delicious. There are many variations, so you can substitute an ingredient or two if you don't have the right spices on hand. Vary the amount of green chilies to make a spicier or milder dish. Many recipes call for coconut milk to make a creamier version, or other ingredients including ginger or peppercorns.
Very strangely, I've had a craving for tofu lately. I say "strangely" because I'm not really a big fan of tofu. If tofu were on Twitter, I wouldn't even follow it. And isn't it a little early for the pregnancy cravings to start? Perhaps a better question, aren't they supposed to happen to the pregnant person!?
In a continuation of our Ali-like return the kitchen, Erin and I made a tofu curry recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Suppers. Everything we've made from this book has been excellent, but a lot of the recipes are time-consuming and very involved. We found what might be the lone quick recipe in the book last night and decided to give it a try.
This was the most success I've ever had cooking tofu at home. I think the secret was that I really did a good job of drying it: I cut the blocks into two thin slabs and stacked them two by two, layered lots of paper towels on the bottom, on the top, and in between. Wasteful, but we recycle, so it's all good. And then I put my heaviest frying pan on top with a few plates in it to make it even heavier, and let everything sit for half an hour. The tofu crisped up so nicely after that!
The recipe in the book is vague so the reader can jazz it up the way he or she likes. When I first started cooking, I hated when recipes did this; now I kind of like it. It turned out pretty well, maybe a little bland though. Here's my version, with some ingredients added and proportions changed. Still wish I could make basmati rice the way they do at Indian restaurants. Mine always comes out so sticky. Ideas, chefs?
Ingredients (for 5-6 servings)
A few Tbsps peanut oil
1 pint red/yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cartons extra-firm organic tofu, drained and dried as above, then cubed
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 can coconut milk or 2 cans lite coconut milk, depending on whether you want liquidy sauce
1 Tbsp Thai red curry paste
Soy sauce, to taste
Handful of chopped basil
Handful of chopped mint
Kosher salt
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once it's shimmering, add the tomatoes; and quickly stir-fry them until they are crisp-tender (should only take a minute or two), sprinkling with a little salt. Transfer the tomatoes to a bowl and set aside.
Wipe out the skillet, add a teaspoon or two of the oil to just coat the pan, and set it over medium-high heat. Add about half of the tofu cubes and let them cook without moving them for a few minutes. When one side is golden or light-brown, turn the cubes so that another side is face-down. Repeat until all (let's be realistic, most) of the sides are golden. Sprinkle with some salt, move to a plate, and repeat with the rest of the tofu (you'll need to add more oil to the pan).
Add a Tbsp of oil to the now-empty pan then toss in the onions and let them lightly brown for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk and the curry paste to the pan and whisk to combine. Let it thicken just a bit, then add the tofu for a minute or two to warm it up. Add soy sauce to taste, and more curry paste if you like it hot.
Finally, add the basil, mint, and tomatoes. Serve over rice or noodles.
