With a distraction in Glasgow tomorrow afternoon and the days of 2023 rapidly running out, today was the last opperchancity for Curry. Hockey on a Friday night? If there’s a ball to be hit, Marg will be there, leaving the the Hector to contemplate Takeaway.
What’s that, Hector? There’s a pile of Potatoes and Turkey needing used?
There’s also a mass of pre-cooked Lamb in the freezer for such an occasion. Lamb wins.
Achari Gosht is a long time Hector favourite. An unopened tub of Lime Pickle is overdue making its debut. Hector has not cooked an Achari since February 2014, almost a decade.
The base Masala followed the recipe posted in Hector’s Curry Recipes. The Onions could have been cut finer.
As ever there were a couple of variations: Oyster Sauce went in at the same time as the Tomato Puree to add to the – tang. All of the Coriander Stems in the bunch were cooked in before the leaves themselves. Two dried Red Chillies also found their way in.
How much Lime Pickle? The quantity illustrated felt appropriate.
I let everything cook for an hour before stirring in the pre-cook Lamb and Potatoes, ten more minutes.
The result was a mean looking Achari. The Onions hadn’t pulped. Perhaps I could have removed the Cinnamon Bark and blended all before adding the Meat and Potatoes.
A sensible quantity of Basmati provided the base for the Curry.
With three fresh Green Chillies added, the Spice Level was not OTT. I deliberately had added no Salt, the belief being that the distinctive Flavour from the Pickle should add an alternative to pronounced Seasoning.
Achari – how can one go wrong? The Pickle blast should mask all sins. Perhaps it did, maybe I could have added even more.
As is accepted in the Mainstream, the Meat, Masala and Potatoes were strangers until the final ten minutes of preparation. The Lamb had been roasted with inserted Garlic and smothered in Herbs, this remained evident, the Lamb was giving of Flavour, but obviously not Achari. Somehow, the Potatoes had already absorbed some of the Masala Flavours. The humble Potato, such a reliable addition to any Curry.
A decent portion remains, left overnight, the solids can absorb even more Flavour. There may be an update.
Happy new year Hector from the south coast, I have enjoyed reading your blog over the last twelve months and was pleased to be able to refer to your past travels when I spent a long weekend in Gent back in the summer.
Hector replies:
Welcome to Curry-Heute, Andrew, and a Happy New Year!
Feedback is always appreciated, especially the positive.
That I have managed to review nine different venues in Gent alone is quite an achievement, I believe. They are a mixed bag, some awful. Antwerpen and Brussel each have an outstanding venue for you to try next time you venture to Belgium.