The Prague Post
October 7th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Hotel Prague Centre
Prague Real Estate

Home » Archives » Night & Day

Hot enough for you?

Good curry is about balance, not heat
From the chef | Search restaurants | Archives

July 4th, 2007 issue

VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
A sauce by any other name: Curry is a popular but misunderstood part of Indian cooking.
Fans of curry frequently complain about their favorite Indian dish. It’s just not hot enough, they say.
But curry is merely a Western misinterpretation of “kari,” meaning sauce — and you can find hundreds of them, ranging from sweet to savory to those resembling a culinary blast furnace. Curry doesn’t even exist as a particular dish or style of cooking on the Subcontinent.
To truly understand this Indian sauce, you must keep in mind that the spices (or the searing heat) should never overpower other ingredients in a recipe. The challenge is finding a balance. All flavors should emerge on the palate as distinct, even in “curries” dominated by chili.
Some chefs and home cooks create a dry garam masala, or spice mixture, as the base for their sauce, typically consisting of tamarind, turmeric (except in green curry), coriander, ginger, cumin and the like. Many recipes call for spices to be toasted or roasted first, to deepen the flavors and add a soft, smoky background. Other recipes, such as this one, use spices pureed into a paste.
This base is critical. As chef Guy Nuttall of Monsoon explains, “The paste — it’s all in the paste.”
Curry works with chicken, seafood or vegetables, all of which accommodate the great variety of cool, warm or hot flavors of different sauce recipes. Chef Nuttall’s paste recipe will yield enough for 12 portions, but, he says, “It’s fine in the fridge for up to a week.”
Once you master this particular style, experiment with other sauces and cooking styles. Slow cooking allows the flavors to seep into the meat. Adding garam masala toward the end changes the effect.
In the end, you’ll see that Western-style curry and Indian sauces are versatile … and not always hot.
Guy Nuttall is chef for Monsoon, located at V. P. Čkalova 14, Prague 6–Dejvice. Tel. 222 959 999.

GREEN CURRY

Ingredients
For paste
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
8 whole green chilies
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped galangal (sometimes called Laos spice; ginger with a little pepper will work as a substitute)
1 tablespoon lemongrass, crushed then sliced
6 kafir lime leaves
1 tablespoon fresh coriander
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
To complete
800 milliliters (0.85 quart) coconut milk
Chicken, shrimp, white fish or vegetables
Fish sauce
1 fresh lime
1 handful coriander, coarsely chopped
Preparation
Puree all the paste ingredients together to form a thick, smooth paste.
To make four portions of green curry of chicken, first fry four heaping tablespoons of the green paste in a little oil.
After a minute or so, add coconut milk.
Allow the flavors to develop on a low heat for a few minutes.
Add the main ingredient (chicken, shrimp, etc.)—count on around 180 grams (5.8 ounces) per person
When your chicken (or other ingredient) is cooked through,
carefully season with fish sauce and a squeeze of lime.
Gently stir in chopped coriander and, if you can get it, holy basil.
Always serve with plain, unseasoned, jasmine rice.
 


Other articles in Night & Day (4/07/2007):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Provokator
Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.