Kabocha salad カボチャのサラダ

We regularly get Japanese/Asian groceries from Weee. This time we got a Japanese “Kabocha” かぼちゃ squash. It was larger than usual. I made my usual simmered kabocha and pottage かぼちゃの煮物とポタージュ but some still remained. I thought about tempura but that was too much work for such a small piece. So I decided to make this “kabocha salad”. I did not follow any particular recipe but sort of combined two different recipes. This is curry flavored and turned out to be quite good highlighting the natural sweetness of the kabocha.

This is just a note for myself.

Ingredients:
Kabocha squash, seeds removed, skin shaved off (optional), cut into half inch cubes
Raisins

For the dressing
Greek yogurt
Mayonnaise
Curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Boil the kabocha in salted water for 5-7 minutes until cooked but not too mushy
Mix the ingredients for the dressing (about the same amount of mayo and yogurt, the amount of curry powder is to your liking)

For an impromptu salad, this was much better than I expected. The natural sweetness of the kabocha was complemented by the curry flavor. The mixture of the yogurt, mayo and kabocha made a nice creamy texture with some tartness. I will make this again.

P.S. Hawk joins us for Hanami 花見!
This year was a bit unusual for the cherry blossoms. The trees bloomed early and the blooms lasted for a long time. Since we have three trees with different bloom timing, we had a very long time to enjoy cherry blossoms or “Hanami”. One afternoon, a hawk joined us for Hanami! We looked out the window and there he was in all his magnificence sitting not ten feet from the window on the railing of the deck. We marveled at the image of such an awesome creature juxtaposed to the delicate loveliness of the cherry blossoms.

Keema curry Japanese Version キーマカレー

Keema (meaning ground meat) curry and its variation dry curry are popular in Japan. I posted  some variations of these dishes before. This is not a genuine Indian or Pakistani keema curry but a Japanese variation. One of the reasons I made this dish was to use up left-over ground pork. I am sure pork is not the kind of meat usually used in genuine keema curry. Also, it’s usually made with a premixed Japanese curry powder (I used S&B brand*) which has a taste distinctive from Indian curry flavoring. I would characterize Japanese curry powder as milder, not hot, somewhat sweeter with a somewhat different range of spices. I thought I added a good amount of Japanese curry powder to the keema and it had plenty of flavor that could described as “spicy” but it was not really hot. The dish also included many vegetables (onion, celery, carrot—almost a myripoix), garlic and ginger plus the addition of garam masala. The addition of tonkatsu sauce toward the end of the cooking was a distinctly Japanese touch that would not be found in an Indian curry. It did add to the nice complexity in flavors. We like this curry very much. I served it over rice with a sunny-side-up fried egg, rakkyo らっきょう and fukushin-zuke 福神漬け pickels and (home-pasteurized) egg with runny yolk, which are classic accompaniment for Japanese curry.

*Reportedly it contains Turmeric, Coriander, Fenugreek, Cumin, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Star Anise, Cloves, Cardamon, Fennel, Nutmeg, Laurel Leaves, Allspice and Garlic.

Similar to what I posted before and also I consulted the recipe on-line. Instead of tomato I used Ketchup.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño pepper, seeded deveined and finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground garlic
I package brown shimeji mushroom, bottom cut off and separated (optional, I just had a package and wanted to use it up)
2 tsp or more curry powder (I used Japanese S&B brand)
1 tsp Garam Masala
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tbs ketchup
1 tbs tonkatsu sauce
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth (or more if too thick)
2 tbs olive or vegetable oil

Directions:
In a pot on medium flame, add the oil. When hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, Jalapeño pepper, garlic and ginger. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, add the curry powder, salt and pepper and stir for several more minutes. Push the vegetables to one side of the pan, add the ketchup in the exposed bottom of the pan and sauté until color changes to dark red/brown (Maillard reaction).
Add the pork and stir and cook until the pork separated and color turns. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 10-20 minutes. Add the gram masala, butter and tonkatsu sauce and simmer for 5 more minutes. If needed add more curry powder (or cayenne pepper powder).

This was a very nice refreshing change from Indian inspired curries we have been making recently. It is nicely spicy in a mild almost sweet manner. Served over rice with the accompaniment of Japanese pickles used for curries this was a very Japanese interpretation of the spicy dish known as curry.

Four Salad Lunch 4種類サラダランチ

I made 4 different salads (not all on the same day) and had the 4 salads for lunch with a cold asparagus soup. We also had a small piece of “Not no-knead bread made with dried fruit”. We feel good about the fact that all salads, soup and bread were home-made. In the center of the four salads, I served snap peas which were blanched and then soaked in Japanese salt broth.

The picture below shows Israeli couscous with artichoke hearts and garbanzo beans with a nice lemony and dill dressing.

The pic below shows a celery, mushroom, and navy bean salad with feta cheese. The mushrooms make the salad. They gave an almost meaty texture and flavor.

The next is a curry flavored sous vide chicken salad. Since we had a nice ripe Champagne mango, I added small cubes of mango which went very well with this salad.

I made this udon noodle salad since I had left-over cooked udon noodles.  The dressing is sesame-flavored. I do make several versions of the sesame dressing (for example, using Japanese “nerigoma” ねりごま sesame paste or peanut butter) but this time I used Tahini with dry roasted white sesame seeds which I ground in a Japanese “suribachi” すり鉢 mortar. Other seasonings included soy sauce, sugar, and rice vinegar.

This was a surprisingly filling lunch. Beans, udon noodles, and couscous all contribute to this and, at the same time, we enjoyed so many different flavors and textures. We just have to make sure we finish all these salads before they go bad.

Pork Curry Quesadilla ポークカレー ケサディア

This was a lunch of impromptu quesadilla made using left-over pork “Vindaloo” curry. My wife’s recent modifications to this curry included the addition of navy beans which makes a richer creamer sauce. We had the curry with rice for lunch several times and only a small amount of curry was left—not enough to make two servings of curry and rice for lunch. My wife suggested we make curry quesadilla. I had one over-ripe avocado which I had to use before it went bad so I made a sort of guacamole. The resulting lunch, consisted of a pork curry and three cheese quesadilla topped with avocado and sour cream. This was really great.

Traditional quesadilla is made from one corn tortilla which is folded in half. We like to use two wheat tortillas which is more convenient for us.

I did not have fresh cilantro but made something resembling guacamole. I also served sesame (udon) noodle salad and celery salad with mushrooms, white beans and feta salad.

We keep tortillas frozen. I removed two and layered them with paper towels to absorb any water from the ice crystals which usually form on their surface.  I microwaved them for 10 seconds. I then heated some oil in the frying pan on medium heat until hot and shimmering then briefly fried both sides of the tortillas. Again using paper towels I blotted off any excess oil.  I turned down the heat, placed one warm tortilla in the pan, and spread the curry on top; it was just the right amount.

I scattered shredded (actually hand chopped) cheeses on top. They included two kinds of cheddar (“sharp” and one actually called “Seriously Sharp”) and smoked gouda. I placed the other tortilla on the top. I cooked this with lid on for several minutes until the cheese melted. I removed the lid and turned the tortilla over and cooked an additional 1-2 minutes. This was a nice quesadilla if not authentic. The flavor of the curry blended perfectly with the guacamole. The tortilla was nice and crunchy. Also, you can’t go wrong with 3 melted cheese flavors and a topping of sour cream. This was a mighty fine lunch.

Chicken, navy and green bean curry 白インゲン豆、サヤインゲン入りのチキンカレー

This is my wife’s curry project. This chicken curry is based on the recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s “Quick and Easy Indian Cooking”. The original recipe is called “Chicken, Red lentils and Green beans in one pot” (or “ek handi ka murgh aur masoor”). Of course due to the ingredients we did not have, this recipe was modified to “Chicken, navy beans and green beans”. We thought this was a quite good curry. We served it over rice with the side of cold cucumber buttermilk soup whch went extremely well.

I added blanched green beans (haricot verts) just before serving (so that they would not become “grey” beans instead of green beans). The navy beans mostly melted into the sauce and made it nicely smooth and thick.

As usual, I will ask my wife to continue. I have to say the numbers of different spices and herbs are quite impressive.

Ingredients:
6 tbs vegetable oil
3 bay leaves
5 whole cloves
1 tsp ground cardamon
2 inch stick of cinnamon
3 onions, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
generous pinch of asafetida
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
14 oz can of navy beans
24 oz can of whole plum tomato, stem end removed and crushed
6 chicken thighs (we put them in a pan whole without skinning or deboning. After they are cooked and cooled down we removed the bones)
(Juice from the plum tomatoes reserved to provide added liquid later as the dish cooks)

The picture below shows the line-up of spices and herbs; from left to right are whole cloves, bay leaves, ground cardamon, sticks of cinnamon, turmeric, salt, gram masala, asafetida, cumin seeds, ground cumin, ground coriander, and cayenne pepper.

Among the spices, was garam masala (we use an authentic Indian brand). The asafetida is a little unusual (at least for us). It comes from the rhizome of the ferula plant (or giant fennel plant). It is used in Indian cooking as a flavor enhancer. It is supposed to add a smooth flavor reminiscent of leeks and onions (although we are not sure we could identify what it added to the dish.)

Directions:
Put the oil in a pan and when it is shimmering add the bay leaves through cinnamon and bloom them until the bay leaves turn slightly brown and the smell becomes fragrant. Remove the cloves (so no one eats them by accident.) (The bay leaves and cinnamon stick are large enough it is not likely someone would eat them if left in the sauce). Add the onions and fry until translucent and slightly browned. Add the garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant (but not burnt). Add the spices ground turmeric through cayenne pepper. Bloom the spices until fragrant. Add the beans and tomatoes and stir until blended. Add the chicken, skin side down and cover with the sauce. Cook on low simmer for 1/2 hour. Turn the chicken over and cook for another 1/2 hour. Add the reserved tomato juice as needed to keep the sauce from scorching.

This is another really good curry. All the spices blend and meld together making for a complex dimension of flavor. It is not hot but the cayenne pepper gives it a pleasant slight “buzz”. The beans basically melted into the sauce making it very rich and creamy. The spices infused the chicken meat which was very tender and basically fell off the bone. 

Bangladeshi White Chicken Korma チキンコルマ

This is another of my wife's curry projects. (She has been making curries about once a week. We really like having them for lunch.) This recipe is based on a recipe in the cookbook  “Curry Easy” by Madhur Jaffrey which my wife got recently. This is a yogurt based white curry. 

 We added blanched green beans and skinned Campari tomato. I also garnished it with Japanese pickles called “Funkushin or Fukujin-zuke” 福神漬け to add some colors.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. Cardamon
1/4 tsp cayenne
4 bay leaves
3 onions roughly chopped
4 chicken thighs
3 Tbs. Grated ginger
6 garlic cloves peeled and lightly crushed
1 cup greek yogurt
1 tbs. Vinegar
1 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Put several Tbs. Peanut oil in a frying pan and bloom the spices cinnamon through bay leaves in the hot oil. Add the onions and sauté until they are translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant. Add the yogurt, vinegar and salt. Stir to make a creamy sauce. Put in the chicken and cover with the sauce. If more liquid is necessary add some chicken broth. Cook on simmer for about 1 hour or until the chicken is completely cooked.

This is a nice curry. It seems that the recipes in this cookbook are a bit simpler than the recipes in the other Madhur Jaffrey cookbooks we have. This one was very nice and a bit different from the usual that we have made which was good for a change. The sauce is creamy and the spices are flavorful and fairly gentle but slow heat will creep up on you. rice and Japanese Fukujinzuke pickles, this is a good curry.

Kerala-style chicken curry using drumsticks ケララ風のチキンカレー

At the start of COVID, certain grocery items became scarce. Indeed, we had a time when we could not always get chicken or pork. We turned to Instacart and got groceries from the Korean market "HMart". They appeared to have sources different from the ones used by the regular grocery stores. They were able to obtain these meats when the other grocery stores couldn’t.   So one time we got a large package of chicken "drumsticks" which is a part of the chicken we usually don’t get. But at the time we were grateful to get any part of the chicken. In any case, my wife recently found the package in our freezer and we decide the time had come to use it. We made two different dishes; I made a Japanese style simmered dish in black vinegar and soy sauce or "Kurosu-ni" 黒酢煮 in the Instant pot, and I asked my wife to make the remainder into curry. After consulting her Indian cookbooks, she decide to make Kerala-style chicken curry based on a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s “Curry Easy” cookbook.

As always, this was a very flavorful and satisfying dish. The recipe called for basil which we had in large supply from our window sill basil forest.* It is shown here with basil, tomatoes and a dab of greek yogurt as a topping. 

*Digression alert: This basil forest was another legacy of the covid time period. We were having trouble getting fresh herbs since we were relying on grocery deliveries. Several times the basil arrived completely rotten and we had to throw it away. Other times it was not available at all. So when a decent package of basil finally arrived from the grocery store my wife decided to root it, plant it and raise our own crop. She took some cuttings that included long stems and put them in a glass of water. About a week later the basil formed roots so she planted it in small pots of soil. As long as the basil isn’t allowed to flower it will continue producing. So over time my wife took cutting after cutting planting them is small pots and putting them in the sun on the window sill in the kitchen. The basil is quite happy there and we now have a basil forest growing. We had so much basil my wife gave away several pots as gifts. It is amazing that all of this derived from just one small plant from the grocery store. 

The picture below shows part of the basil forest.

The next picture shows a basil stem that has sprouted roots. This developed after it had been in the water for about a week. It is now ready to be planted in soil.

For the Kerala-style curry

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. Whole brown mustard seeds
2-3 onions roughly chopped
2 Tbs. Peeled and finely chopped ginger
4 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbs. Red paprika
1 tsp. Salt
15 to 20 curry leaves (or basil leaves as a substitute.)
Several small red potatoes skinned and chopped into small similar sized pieces.

Directions:
Add some peanut oil to a frying pan and add the cumin and mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds start to pop add the onions and stir until the onion is lightly browned. Add the rest of the spices stirring until they bloom i.e. become fragrant. Add the potatoes and stir them into the sauce. Then add the chicken pieces. Spoon the sauce over the chicken. Turn the heat to simmer, cover and cook until the potatoes and chicken are soft. If the sauce gets too thick and starts to scorch add some chicken broth. See the next picture below. The bright red color comes from the paprika. Just before serving add the basil leaves (shown in the last picture).

 

This was another good curry. It was a perfect way to use the chicken drumsticks. The potatoes again absorbed the flavors of the spices and added to creaminess of the sauce. The taste of the paprika and the basil was a nice addition. 

Chicken spinach curry ほうれん草入りチキンカレー

This is another one of my wife’s curry projects. This is based on a recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s  “Quick & Easy Indian Cooking” called Chicken in cilantro, spinach and mustard sauce. Since we did not have fresh cilantro, we omitted it and we added potato based on our belief that potato goes well with almost any curry. We replaced “hot green chili” with Jalapeño pepper. My wife made additional changes as well. This may not be the dish in the book but this tasted very good with a nice creamy sauce.

Ingredients:
3 bay leaves
6 cardamon pods
1 inch stick cinnamon
5 whole cloves
2 or 3 onions chopped
1 cup raisins
1 cup greek yogurt
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and chopped
2 Jalapeno peppers, deveined, seeded and chopped finely
Package of fresh spinach
3 tablespoons of grainy mustard
4 chicken thighs
Generous handful of cilantro tops (optional)

chicken broth as needed if the sauce gets too thick or starts to scorch

Directions:
Gather together the spices and ingredients (#1 & #2). Combine the yogurt and mustard and set aside. Put the bay leaves through cloves in a pan with hot peanut oil. Fry until the bay leaves start to brown and the spices become fragrant. (Remove the cardamon pods and cloves. The bay leaves and cinnamon can stay because they are big enough not to be eaten by accident.) Add the raisins to the hot oil. (Frying the raisins really transforms them. They puff up and their flavor becomes more intense.) Add the onions and fry until they are soft and slightly brown. Add the jalapeno and ginger and fry a few minutes. Add the yogurt/mustard combination with the salt and cayenne pepper. Mix until the sauce is distributed. Nestle the chicken into the sauce, add the potatoes and makes sure they are all covered in the sauce. Lastly add the spinach (#3). Cover and simmer gently until the spinach has wilted into the sauce. (#4). Gently simmer for about 1 hour until the potatoes and chicken are cooked through. (If the sauce gets too thick or starts to scorch dilute it with some chicken broth.)

This is a really good curry. It was different from the previous curries. The raisins give it a deep fruity flavor which contrasts with and is offset by the vinegary sharpness of the mustard. It results in a really nice kind-of sweet and sour combo. The Yogurt makes the sauce very rich and creamy. The potatoes absorb the flavor of the spices and also add to the creaminess of the sauce. The spinach adds additional texture and a slight bitterness on the tongue. Another great choice for lunch or dinner. 

Chicken curry with navy beans ネイビー豆入りチキンカレー

This is another one of my wife’s curry projects. This is a chicken curry based on a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey’s “Quick and Easy Indian Cooking.” The original recipe calls for lentils but we did not have any. So my wife used canned navy beans. The addition of navy beans really worked adding a creamy texture to the sauce. My wife put just enough “heat” in addition to all the other spices. One of the best curries she made.

Ingredients: (shown below with little easter bunny to commemorate the season)
6 tbs. Oil
3 bay leaves
5 whole cloves
6 cardamon pods
1 cinnamon stick about 2 inches long

2 or 3 onions diced
2 cloves garlic finely chopped

1/2 tsp. Turmeric
2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tsp. Lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
12 cherry tomatoes
1 can of white navy beans
6 oz. Green beans cut into 1 inch lengths
4 chicken thighs

Directions:

Put the ingredients from the oil to the cinnamon stick in a frying pan and heat until the bay leaves turn dark and the other spices bloom and become fragrant. Remove all the whole spices except for the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. (These can stay because they are easy to spot and there’s no chance someone might eat them by accident.) Add the onions to the spiced oil and cook until they start to brown slightly. Add the garlic and cook (careful not to burn). Next add the turmeric through lemon juice and cook until they bloom and become fragrant. Then  add and bloom the next spices—cumin seeds though cayenne pepper. Add the green beans, navy beans and tomatoes. Stir them into the sauce. Add the chicken and turn it over until coated in the sauce. Nestle into the sauce leaving it skin side down. Cover and cook gently on simmer for about 30 minutes. Then turn the chicken over and coat with the sauce. Continue cooking until the chicken is done about another 30 minutes for a total of 1 hour cooking. 

This was truly one of the best curries my wife has made. The beans absorbed the spice flavor and partially dissolved into the creamy sauce with some left whole to add a texture element. The spices provided layers and depth of flavor. The cayenne added just the right amount of zing to provide an interest that slowly built on the tongue. The chicken was flavorful and tender. This will become a regular in our repertoire. 

Cashew tomato curry with cheese curds (and chicken) カシュートマトカレー

As we mentioned earlier, with an abundance of homemade buttermilk, my wife has started making cheese using 4% milk and the homemade buttermilk. (One aspect of using heirloom cultures such as the one we are using for buttermilk is that you have to keep using them to keep them viable and active.) As a result we now have an abundance of homemade cheese curd. Although we enjoy eating it plain or marinated in olive oil and various spices including jalapeño, there is a limit to how much we can eat. My wife found this curry recipe and thought it would be a good way to further diversify the use of our abundant cheese curd supply. The original recipe was vegan but our version is not, since we added barbecued chicken. This is a very interesting and unique curry (for us) since it uses emulsified raw cashews and pureed tomato in addition to the usual Indian spices. It has a nice fresh tomato flavor and slow heat. The browned cheese curd substitute for meat was something new for us and we really liked it. Later, since we had extra chicken meat from a Weber cooked chicken, we added the dark meat which meant the dish was no longer vegan. But the chicken really “kicked it up a notch”; adding an additional smokey layer of flavor. The next picture shows how we served it with rice, tomatoes and broccoli for lunch. As usual, I ask my wife to take over.

Ingredients:
for the cashew puree
1/2 cup (2 oz.) raw cashews
1/2 cup boiling chicken broth

For the curry
4 Tbs. (2 oz.) butter (1 tsp. to brown the cheese curd and 3 tsp. for the curry)
8 oz. cheese curd cut into 1 inch cubes (firm tofu could be substituted)
2 cups tomato puree
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Optional chicken broth if the sauce gets too thick.

For the chicken
dark meat from barbecued chicken amount to taste
Since the meat came from the chicken legs it was a bit dry. So we cooked it again in the Instantpot (the chicken meat, 1/2 cup of chicken broth at high pressure for 35 minutes with natural depressurization). The chicken tasted much better and was extremely tender after its encounter with the Instantpot.

Directions:
To make the cashew puree combine the cashews and the hot chicken broth. Let soak for 30 minutes. Then puree until smooth in a mini food processor (#1). Puree the tomatoes and set aside. (We used canned tomatoes)(#2). Cut the cheese into 1 inch squares (#3). Put 1 tsp. of the butter in a frying pan and melt until slightly browned. Add the cheese curd and cook until golden brown on both sides (#4). Set aside. Add the remaining 3 Tbs. of butter to the pan. Once it melts add the cashew puree (#5). Then add the cayenne powder, garam masala, paprika and sugar. Bloom the flavors. Cook the mixture until fully blended. Add the tomatoes and blend completely. Cook until the mixture thickens slightly. Add the cheese curd and cook until the mixture darkens (about 5 -10 minutes) (#6). (A splatter guard would be recommended because the mixture may tend to spit.) If the mixture gets too thick add some of the chicken broth. Add the chicken and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of cream on top. 

 

We really liked this curry. The browned cheese curd was something new for us. We didn’t know it could be cooked like that and it added a new dimension for our approach to cheese curd. We will probably use it in other recipes. It was crispy on the outside with a pleasant browned butter flavor and soft on the inside. The curry sauce was very smooth with a bright tomato flavor and a slow heat. We found the sauce itself was surprisingly filling. We realized this is because it is nut based, so in essence, we were eating handfuls of cashew nuts. The version without the chicken was very nice but we thought the addition of barbecued chicken really made it even better by adding chicken and barbecued smokey flavor. We learned a lot from making this curry and it really expanded our “curry horizons”. We’ll be making this and various versions of it in the future. 

Chicken onion sauce curry 鶏肉のタマネギソースカレー

This is another of my wife's curry porojects. This time, instead of the usual pork, she used chicken thighs. This one uses an onion-centric sauce with the usual Indian spices. Since we decided that we like potatoes in any curry, she added potatoes as well. We also added blanched broccoli and skinned Campari tomato while heating the curry which adds colors as well as fresh taste. I will ask my wife to provide the ingredients and directions.

Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs
2 to 3 onions diced
1 1/2 inch cube of ginger peeled and coarsely chopped
Several garlic cloves (or as many as like) peeled
1 Tbs. Ground coriander
1 Tbs. Ground cumin
1/2 tsp. Ground turmeric
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2-3 tomatoes peeled
3 to 4 small red potatoes peeled
2 tsp. Salt
Some chicken broth as needed
1/2 tsp garam masala
Several tablespoon of plain yogurt
Finely chopped parsley


Directions:

The line up of spices is shown in the first picture below. Take 1/2 of the chopped onions, the garlic and ginger put into a blender and blend to a paste. Set aside. Sauté the remaining onions in a frying pan. Cook until slightly browned. (Second picture below) Remove from pan and set aside. Add the onion/garlic/ginger paste to the pan (Last picture below) and fry until it too turns slightly brown. Add the spices (coriander through cayenne) until they “bloom” and become fragrant. Add back the sautéd onions and the tomatoes and salt. Stir until all is blended. Add in the potatoes and the chicken. If more liquid is needed add some chicken broth. Cook until the chicken is cooked and becomes tender. Finally add the garam masala and several spoonfuls of yogurt. Top with the parsley just before serving.

This is another good curry. The onions add a pervasive gentle sweetness underlying the complexities of the other spices. The cayenne pepper gives is a slight “sing” of hotness that builds slightly. The chicken becomes flavorful and tender, just falling off the bone. The potatoes also absorbs the flavors and a nice robustness. A great dish with rice or bread for lunch or dinner. 

Cabbage curry salad (or rescued caramelized cabbage) カレー味のキャベツのサラダ

Making good on her threat to rescue the somewhat less than successful “skillet caramelized cabbage” my wife transformed it into curry flavored cabbage. Getting a cue from coleslaw, she added carrots and raisins. Then she further transformed it by turning it into a salad using mayo and strained (Greek) yogurt as a dressing. I think this dish may have been inspired by a recipe in her favorite Indian cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey’s called “Quick and Easy Indian Cooking”. Even so, I am certain, the recipe would not have called for the use of failed skillet caramelized cabbage. Nonetheless this was much better than the original.

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cabbage (about 1 1/2 lbs.) (I used the previously made caramelized cabbage)
3/4 tsp. Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. Fennel seeds
1 tsp. Sesame seeds
1 cup raisins.
1 medium or large onion diced
2 to 3 carrots julienne
1 tsp. Salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbs. Lemon juice (I used sushi vinegar)
1/2 tsp. Garam masala

Directions.
Put some oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. When the oil gets hot add the cumin, fennel and sesame seeds to bloom the spices. When the sesame seeds begin to pop quickly add the raisins. They will essentially fry puffing up and turning light brown. Then add the onions and sauté until they have browned a bit. Add the carrots and cook until they soften somewhat. Add the cabbage. Stir and cook until blended and the cabbage has become soft. Add the salt and cayenne. Then at the very end add the lemon juice (or sushi vinegar) and the garam masala.

This was a major improvement over the sorry caramelized cabbage dish. The spices had depth of flavor and some zing but were not too hot. The raisins gave it sweetness that contrasted well with the tangy note added by the vinegar. The garam masala gave it a bright spark at the end of the bite. I would almost go so far as to call it a coleslaw curry. It tasted great both hot or cold. Although this can be eaten hot or cold, we further morphed it to salad.

I served this dish with sweet potato croquet, French fries made from sweet potato. I think this was a small dish that went with a drink in the evening.

This was a lunch over the weekend. I served the cabbage curry dressed with the mayo greek yogurt combo. The plate included a curry flavored chicken salad, cantelope and grapes (chicken was leftover breast meat from the whole chicken we cooked on the Weber grill) and Angel biscuit.  Both salads were curry flavored but tasted quite different.

I think my wife was indeed successful rescuing the cabbage from the original dish. 

Pork with chickpeas and potato curry 豚肉、ジャガイモと雛豆のカレー

This curry is a variation of "Pork with chickpea curry". This time, in addition to the chickpeas, she added black beans (left over from making pumpkin and black bean quesadilla) and potato. We decided having potato in any curry is a nice addition reminiscent of any good Japanese-style curry.  We added skinned Campari tomato and blanched broccoli before reheating and serving the curry.

Ingredients
1 can black beans
1 can of chickpeas

3 small red potatoes peeled and cut into pennies

3 garlic cloves
1 1/2 inch cube of ginger sliced
3 Tbs. chicken stock
1/4 tsp. cardamom
4 bay leaves
1 inch cinnamon stick
3 medium onions peeled and coarsely chopped
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1 Tsp. ground turmeric
3 medium tomatoes peeled
1 Tbs. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper or to taste

Directions:
Put the ginger, garlic, and chicken stock in a food processor with a blade. Pulse until it forms a paste.
Put several Tbs. oil in a frying pan. Add the cardamom, bay leaves and cinnamon. Heat until the spices bloom and become fragrant. Add the onions and stir until they are partially caramelized. Add the ginger garlic paste and stir until the garlic smells fragrant and the mixture has been incorporated with the onions. add the cumin, coriander, and turmeric stirring until they become fragrant. Add the potato and tomato. Mash the tomato. Cook gently until the potatoes become soft. Add the chickpeas, beans and the stewed pork with the liquid in which the pork was cooked. Cook for 20 minutes until all the flavors meld. If the curry looks too soupy reduce it on low heat until the desired consistency is reached.

Although this a variation of a previous curry recipe the slight variations makes it different somehow. The chickpeas add a slightly firm texture while the black beans add a creaminess. The potatoes absorb the curry flavor and add yet another texture. This makes a very satisfying dinner or even lunch.

Potato and pork curry 馬鈴薯と豚肉のカレー

 This is one of my wife’s curry projects. Since we are now buying bone-in big pieces of pork (either butt or shoulder) which I divide up into one large roast (for cooking in Weber grill), one small roast (to make pot-roasted pork or “nibuta”). I cut up the remaining odd pieces and cook them in a chicken broth and then task my wife to come up with some kind of curry/stew. This is her variation (instead of lamb, she used pork) on a recipe in a cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey called “Indian Cooking”. I forgot to take a serving picture of this curry before we finished it. I love having these curries over rice especially for lunch. She makes it “spicy” as in many spices but not spicy hot.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 onions peeled and chopped
1 to 2 jalapeño chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tbs. ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp. Ground turmeric
1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper
2 tsp. Salt
2 to 3 peeled fresh tomatoes (or to taste)
5 to 6 small round red potatoes peeled and cut into bite sized cubes.
Several cups of pork trimmings previously cooked with the liquid they were cooked in.

Directions:
Sauté the onions until they are wilted and partially caramelized. Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook them until they become fragrant. Add the spices (the picture below) and bloom them until they become fragrant. Add the tomatoes, potatoes and the pork along with the liquid from cooking the pork. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are done.

This was a very satisfying curry. The potatoes absorbed the flavor of the spices and made a good addition. The pork was tender and tasted wonderful in the combination of spices. This dish had a lot of flavor which unfolded in various levels but was not too hot. 

Hot and sour pork インドスタイルのホットサワー豚肉カレー

This is continuation of what to do with the  bone-in pork roast we have been getting. The roast is rather large and is either shoulder or thigh. After removing the bone(s), I make one large roast for cooking in the Weber grill and a smaller roast for Ni-buta 煮豚. The remaining odds and ends, I cut into small chunks for other recipes, mostly stewed dishes. We found out that once we cook the meat in chicken broth the meat tends to be much more tender and it is much easier to convert into other stewed dishes without long cooking. So, I cooked the pork in chicken broth and kept it in the refrigerator. The meat exuded collagen and the liquid congealed which is also used in the subsequent dish adding good mouth feel and flavors. In addition, if we do not have a chance to make the meat into another dish, we can reheat the meat in the broth. So this pork was 2 weeks old and re-heated once. I asked my wife to make this curry dish. She made it once before based on a recipe from her favorite Indian cookbook. We liked it but somehow we never blogged it.

We served the curry for lunch one weekend as shown in the first picture. We served it on previously made brown rice and added skinned Campari tomatoes, cooked broccoli and Japanese pickles; rakyo ラッキョウ, fukusinzuke 福神漬け.

Ingredients:
1 tsp ground cumen
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 tsp. gound cardamon
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. black mustard seed
1 tsp. Ground fenugeek seed
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1/3 cup sushi vinegar (recipe calls for white wine vinegar)
2 onions peeled and roughly minced
1 inch cube ginger (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1 lb. previously simmered pork butt/shoulder trimmings

The second picture shows all the spices lined up. My wife does this to keep track of what spices she has mis en place and as you can see there are quite a few. 

Directions:
Pour the spices from cumin through brown sugar into the vinegar and stir to make a slurry then set aside. Saute the onions in a sauce pan until slightly carmelized. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant. Add the spice slurry to the onions and stir until the spices bloom (smell fragrant). Then add the coriander and turmeric stirring until they bloom too. Then add the precooked pork and mix to cover with the sauce. If there is not enough liquid add water or chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. The third picture shows the curry simmering in the pan. 

I think of this as not-quite a curry. It is spicy in terms of the layers of flavor of the many spice used but not particularly hot (depending on the amount of cayenne pepper). It does have a sweet/ sour undertone from the combination of the sautéed onions and vinegar which adds a brightness to the overall flavor. This is a good dish with rice or even bread.

Pork with chick-pea (and navy beans) curry 豚肉と雛豆のカレー

This is another curry/stew made from the trimmings of skin-on and bone-in large pork butt roast we have been getting. As usual, after removing the skin and bones, I made two roasts; one for barbecue in the Weber and another for simmered pork. The remaining meat was cut up for stew. I simmered the stew meat ahead of time in chicken broth and kept it in the refrigerator with the broth. I then commissioned my wife to make something from it. She consulted her trusty Indian Cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey. The original recipe was supposedly pork chops with chickpeas. But as indicated above the pork stew meat was substituted for the pork chop. In addition by mistake, my wife opened a can of navy beans as well as a can of chickpeas. So navy beans were substituted for some of the chickpeas. (Note from Wifey: Both cans showed white beans on the label and I was concentrating on the inventory control of using the cans with the oldest expiration dates. I didn’t notice the cans were for different beans until I opened them) So as usual the ordinal recipe was basically “advisory”. This is not spicy hot but lots of spices went in. Like other curry, I served this over rice, with blanched broccoli and Japanese curry accompaniments, rakyo (white items in the picture below) and fukishinzuke (red one).

Since we precooked the pork in the broth, it came out extra tender. The combination of navy beans and chickpeas worked well.

As usual, I ask my wife to provide the recipe.

Ingredients
1 can of navy beans
1 can of chickpeas
3 garlic cloves
1 1/2 inch cube of ginger sliced
3 Tbs. chicken stock
1/4 tsp. cardamom
4 bay leaves
1 inch cinnamon stick
3 medium onions peeled and coarsely chopped
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1 Tsp. ground turmeric
3 medium tomatoes peeled
3 parsnips peeled and cut into pennies (original recipe called for potatoes)
1 Tbs. salt
1 cup of mushrooms sliced
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper or to taste 

Directions:
Put the ginger, garlic, and chicken stock in a food processor with a blade. Pulse until it forms a paste.
Put several Tbs. oil in a frying pan. Add the cardamom, bay leaves and cinnamon. Heat until the spices bloom and become fragrant. Add the onions and stir until they are partially caramelized. Add the ginger garlic paste and stir until the garlic smells fragrant and the mixture has been incorporated with the onions. add the cumin, coriander, and turmeric stirring until they become fragrant. Add the parsnips (or potato) and tomato. Mash the tomato. Cook gently until the parsnips become soft. Add the beans and the stewed pork with the liquid in which it was cooked. Cook for 20 minutes until all the flavors meld. If the curry looks too soupy reduce it on low heat until the desired consistency is reached.

This was a pretty good curry. The mixture of chickpeas and navy beans worked out well. They absorb the flavor of the spices and add a creaminess to the curry sauce. The pork was deliciously tender. The parsnips added their characteristic sweetness. Although the curry was not hot (my wife forgot to add the cayenne pepper) it had multidimensional layers of flavor. A great way to eat pork trimmings.

Smothered pork スマザードポーク

Again we ended up with a bone-in cut of pork. This time, it appeared to be a "butt roast" instead of "shoulder roast" judging from the bone structure. In any case, I did more home butchering by removing the bones. I made one larger and one smaller roast (the large roast went for barbecue in our Weber grill and the small one for "nibuta" 煮豚 simmered pork). The prepared remaining smaller portions of meat around the bones were destined for a type of stew. I again tasked my wife to make something with the stew pork meat. She came up with this "smothered pork" dish based on a recipe from her favorite Indian cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey "Quick and Easy Indian Cooking". (She made alterations to the recipe based on various ingredients she had on hand). This was a lunch one weekend. We used frozen rice and added  snow peas and skinned Campari tomatoes. We defrosted the rice then microwaved the rice and smothered pork and vegetables in a bowl.

I also added pickled  Japanese “rakkyo” ラッキョウ small cocktail onion and Fukushinzuke 福神漬け.

This is really good. Lots of spices but no cayenne pepper but it had slow pleasant heat probably coming from fresh ginger. I will ask my wife to take over.

Ingredients:
About 1lb pork shoulder, cut into bit-size chunks
2 Tbs. catsup (or how every much you may want for taste). (This was a substitute for 2 Tbs. tomato paste)
2 onions roughly chopped
1 inch long piece of ginger finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/2 tsp. turmeric
4 tsp. garam masala
2 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp salt
4 compari tomatoes peeled

Directions:
For the pork:
The last time I made curry with this type of pork it was extremely tough. I ended up removing the pork from the curry and simmering it for 2 hours covered in chicken stock until it became very tender. I then added it back into the curry. This time I did the same thing but cooked the stew pork in the chicken stock before I made the curry sauce.

For the curry sauce:
Caramelize the catsup by stirring it in a frying pan until it turns brown in color. Add some peanut oil and the onions. Cook the onions until wilted. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant then add the ginger. Add the remaining spices and "bloom" them until they become fragrant. Then add the pork as well as the chicken stock in which it was simmered. Finally add the fresh tomatoes. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes to let all the flavors meld.

This was a very good curry. Plenty of flavor but just a pleasant mild heat that must have come from the ginger. The caramelized catsup added a slight hint of barbeque that was a nice addition. The pork was very tender and had absorbed the complex flavors from the curry sauce.