Curry-Heute

With some apples badly needing used up, this was a good day to cook Hector’s simplest recipe – Curried Eggs – with Pork Cutlets. It did take longer than the usual hour to prepare, some pieces of apple could have been cooked for another twenty four hours and still not have turned to pulp. This was reminiscent of – The Great Potato Debacle of 2011.   Still, the sauce acquired the necessary flavours.

This – Curry – is always a success and goes down well with people who visit and may not be ready for the full blown – Curry Experience.

Curryspondent Bill drew Hector’s attention to the online video – Cook with Nabeela. Having studied this and others, Nabeela’s recipe was transcribed. Fennel Powder – a new ingredient to Curry-Heute, as seen in other videos, was incorporated.

The fundamental difference between this recipe and others posted previously, is that the Lamb is cooked in a broth of Spices, not a Masala. When I did my Curry Course it was all about making a Masala then adding the Meat. This is fine if using Chicken, however, in discussion with my subsequent mentors, it was agreed that when cooking Lamb for forty five minutes plus, the Masala is going to burn.

The exclusion of Cinnamon Bark and Cardamom was difficult to accept, at least some dry Methi goes in. It was time to dust down the big karahi which has not made an appearance for quite some time. Cooking for four, the Scottish Lamb used today was 1.2kg, presently £15.00 per kilo for the good stuff at KRK (Glasgow).

As the Meat cooked, so I accepted that I needed to lose some liquid, the lid came off after some twenty minutes. I also added more Tomato at this stage. There was the realisation that this is very close to how my mother was first instructed to make Curry back in the 1960s, especially when adding the Yoghurt late on.

At a time when one cannot nip down to the shops for Fresh Coriander, it was noticeable that the leaves bought two days ago were past their best. The stems, however, were doing well, they went in after the Yoghurt.

The first tasting demanded more Seasoning. A sprinkling of Lemon Juice went in, a squirt of Tamarind next.  The Karahi needs a – tang. The Machi Masala cooked on Tuesday this week was fiercely Spiced.  Today, I was careful adding the new Chilli Powder. This Curry again has a ferocious kick.

There has to be an – Interesting Vegetable. Tinned Potatoes, bought just in case at the start of Lockdown, were added. It was time.

A Vegetable Rice is set to accompany plus some bought in Flatbread.  Hector still needs to hone his Bread-making skills.

Thanks to Lockdown, we have to eat in the garden. Rain is forecast for later. Actually there is no reason why Marg and Hector have to eat outside, just our two victims, sorry, guests.

There was still more to prepare. Mango Lassi, easily created with a bag of frozen Mango, Yoghurt, Honey, a touch of Vanilla Essence, and scoops of Ice Cream. The result was more like a Mango Custard, better thick than runny.

Leftover Palak Gosht and the Garlic & Tomato Flatbread were defrosted. With the Vegetable Rice prepared it was just a matter of waiting.

Who would arrive first?

Marg was at work, un-furloughed for the day, her last ever work day. Howard and Tracey appeared five minutes after Marg who was therefore not last to arrive for her own dinner engagement.

The guests were shown straight through to the garden as is the – expected norm – presently. The temperature has dropped since the start of the week when this evening was conceived. That was summer then. A blanket was provided by Marg the hospitable, and social distancing observed throughout. The Hector Buffet was visited in relays.

Kofta Palak

It still looks terrible, but there’s so much Flavour in this Curry. The Seasoning did not feel as intense as when first prepared, this was clearly a success.

Half a Flatbread each and a portion of Vegetable Rice proved to be a worthy accompaniment. If there’s a next time, perhaps it will be time to unveil Hector’s Paratha to the public?

Karahi (Aloo) Gosht

When it came time to reheat the Curry, I was surprised at the consistency. For too long today it had looked as though Hector would be serving – Shorva. Instead, the true consistency of Karahi had been achieved, patience had paid off. Topped with Ginger Strips and Coriander it certainly looked the part, well almost. The minimal Masala shrouded the Meat, very little Oil had gone into the preparation of this Karahi and so there was no residue whatsoever. This may be pleasing to some, Hector likes the oily sheen, more on this below.

Would Marg react with her usual – It’s Spicy!  –  ?

Something had happened since the first tasting. The Spice Level of the Masala was now within acceptable parameters, but the Lamb still had to be reckoned with. Having paid full whack for the Boneless Lamb, I was worried about it being under-cooked or worse, cooked to shreds. The integrity of the Meat maintained, it was spot on. Each bite released a burst of Spice, a big – Kick – and then the corresponding Flavours. This Lamb was – giving – not the Meat and Masala which were strangers until the point of serving, as happens in too many Curry Houses across our planet.

Hector was reasonably content with this creation.  A worthy Curry, but still not what one hopes to create. The overall Flavour was not comparable to the Karahi served at any of my favourite venues. This Karahi Gosht did not taste anything like the usual Hector Curry.  Was this down to the Fennel Powder, or the lack of Cinnamon and Cardamom? More Methi would have made the – Karahi a la Hector. Today’s restraint had not drowned the Spices. By not cooking with Lamb on-the-bone I was never going to achieve the dreamt of outcome. This was for the Ladies.

My fellow diners made positive noises throughout the eating. Al fresco Curry is what was required on a cool June evening.

Marg: One of the tastiest Lamb Karahi ever. Tender meat, and a good blast of ginger gave it the right flavour and texture. The Kofta had a strong Methi flavour but was a lovely meaty and spicy taste to finish on. A great meal.

(Marg beware – Hector still has another bag of Spinach in the freezer.)

Tracey: The Curry was the exact thing I have been missing, with just enough heat to open the sinuses, and the Mango Lassi was a nice touch.

And finally Howard, whose words have not appeared for many months:

The thing that’s been missing recently is a good Curry. The Takeaways we have used have been disappointing, either an old fashioned, out of date, 80s Curry, or an over-expensive modern interpretation.

Tonight I had two excellent Curry-s (sic), a beautiful Kofta and a very good Lamb and Potato Curry. My compliments to the chef – as Alex Harvey almost said forty four years ago tonight.

The accompanying Dessert was stunning.

I thought only – Cloudwater DIPA – qualified currently to be described as – stunning. The remaining Soupçon of Kofta Palak went home with Howard & Tracey.

It didn’t rain. A 51% chance of precipitation had been forecast. That would have created a dilemma. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, summer will return, and we can do this again, possibly even with more peeps?

An Afterthought

There is a Soupçon of Karahi Gosht left over. In a day or two I shall try reheating this in a generous quantity of Ghee. This may create the Buttery Flavour I seek. Perhaps Hector is still searching for Ingredient X?

This midweek Lockdown Curry gives Hector a chance to display more of the Curry-Heute Recipes. This typically mild, creamy, Fish Curry is one of Marg’s favourites.

Frozen chopped Onions were once again employed, fresh Onions are not turning to pulp presently. Smoked, dry red Chillies were used today along with the usable pieces of fresh Coriander left over from the weekend.

Recently purchased Chilli Powder was among the last to go in along with a modest amount of Salt and the Turmeric. Seasoning is not so important given that this Curry is going to be – Creamy.

By preparing the Masala early afternoon, there was plenty of time to let it cool before adding the cream. Curdling was therefore not an issue.

For once I was using Salmon that had not been frozen. For diversity, Mushrooms and Peas were added along with the Fish.

Basmati accompanied along with a defrosted piece of Naan courtesy of DumPukht. Four days in the freezer had done the Naan no favours. We concentrated thereafter on the Rice. Machi Masala

This is as Soupy a Curry as Hector will cook. As long as it isn’t sweet, then there is no problem with a Creamy Curry. Today I had not added any dried fruit.

Marg’s first mouthful caught the back of her throat. She managed not to say – Spicy!

Oh, the Chilli Powder. The Spice Level was fierce. This is the Spiciest Curry I have had in ages. Sadly, it was all Chilli, the depth of flavour was not there, just heat. Without the Cream, I wonder if Marg would have managed to eat this Curry?

We both agreed that the Salmon was particularly fresh tasting. This was worth noting.

Marg ate what she had taken from the bowl, no more. The Hector portion was finished with ease.

Beware of the Chilli Powder sold in Sainsbury’s.

Pork Patia? Hector and Marg have long accepted that Lamb Patia does not work. In the years before Curry-Heute (B.C.H.), the recipe for Chicken Patia was popular in Hector’s House. I suspect we sickened ourselves of it. Patia is a very tasty Curry, albeit – more sweet than sour.

Given that I only cook Chicken Curry these days by request, there had to be a compromise. Pork cutlets fitted the bill. Hector’s Pork Vindaloo has gone down well, maybe Pork Patia could be a winner. The cutlets were marinaded in Red Wine Vinegar overnight.

After two months of Lockdown for the majority, but not all, Hector’s range of dishes is being truly tested. Hector’s patience is also being tested. Curry-Heute should have been in Berlin presently, instead, a walk in Dalmuir Park is the highlight of the week. Marg is always happy to see animals, – ugly ducklings – excite. I hear the counter of the Queen’s swans is also in Lockdown, so there will be no record made in 2020.

The ingredients were assembled as per the Chicken Patia recipe. As reported with last week’s Kofta Palak, breaking onions down to a mash is proving to be difficult with the present batch. As the blender was coming out to mix the ketchup, purée and lemon juice, I thought I would cheat and blitz the Onions in the required 250ml of Vegetable Oil.

The white frothy paste does look a bit off-putting, however, it ends up with a positive outcome. By the time the Spices went in, a standard blended Masala was underway. A defrosted 30g pack of what was once Fresh Coriander was the added Herb. Tomorrow is shopping day, the weekend Curry will have Fresh Foliage. Marg is still being tolerant of Curry twice weekly. As long as I keep the Spice Level down all should be well. I was stretching my luck with the two large Green Chillies.

Courgette, and some of the last Mushrooms in the house were added for – Diversity. One and a half Pork Cutlets per person is not a lot of Meat. Basmati would accompany.

*

Pork Patia

Orange, not the unnatural – Red – that we have seen recently, was an acceptable colour for the Patia. The blended Masala was not Bhuna-thick but was far from being – Soupy. As is the Hector Curry norm, it looked the part.

Lovely – said Marg, as has become her custom of saying something positive about every meal I have presented since Lockdown began. I had never envisaged the prospect of having to prepare sixty plus consecutive meals at home.

The – Sweet & Sour – tanginess was there. The Courgettes may have added – Diversity – but in terms of flavour, were no more than – Ballast. Large pieces of freshly bought Mushrooms work so much better. These I did not have. The Spice Level was moderate as was the aim, the Seasoning impressed, and Marg made no comment. Perhaps the Kofta Palak last Saturday has moved the goalposts.

At a time when people are being asked to book a COVID-19 test if one’s taste-buds or sense of smell seem impaired, today something strange happened.

One mouthful of Patia almost made me wince. Cardamom! I hadn’t spotted any on my plate, but the overwhelming – smokiness – of Black Cardamom hit the palate. Four had gone into the pot, I eventually unearthed three on my plate. Cardamom overdose. There’s nowt wrong with Hector’s taste buds.

I found the Pork to be less than satisfactory, too thin, nothing to get one’s teeth into. The marinade had added the required something – extra, but texture-wise, it wasn’t right (for me).

I shall reveal my conclusion shortly, meanwhile, Marg’s words:

A good texture, great taste, and I enjoyed having pork for a change.

Hector’s verdict:

There’s only one Patia – Chicken Patia!

I wonder what Swan Patia would be like?

First the good news – DumPukht Lahori (39-41 Paisley Rd. West, G51 1LG) has reopened! Curryspondent Pete contacted Hector on Thursday evening with this most welcome piece of information. A phone call was made immediately, they confirmed an opening time of around 14.00 until 23.30, daily.

DumPukht Lahori had only been in operation since February of this year. Dr. Stan and Hector made one visit on March 9^th with a promise to return as soon as. With Lockdown, so the shutters were lowered, then Google reported them as – closed permanently. After May 28^th, Hector feels it will legitimate to drive the 5.1 miles from Hector’s House to DumPukht for food. These guys need support, and needless to say, their Lamb Lahori Karahi is truly outstanding.

In the last week I have added three more recipes to – Hector’s Curry Recipes – namely Palak Gosht, Indian Vegetable Curry and Spicy Rice. Each is adapted from the recipes given in the Curry Course I attended in the noughties. I was never quite sure what to serve with the Spicy Rice, it’s not Biryani, but is way beyond the flavours of a Pilau.

Kofta Palak (Cafe Salma)

I have experienced many a horror story with Palak Gosht, especially in Europe where it is served as a Creamy Curry. I have always enjoyed Kofta Palak. Back in the halcyon days at Cafe Salma, Dr. Stan and Hector used to share a Kofta Palak for dessert. There lies the standard, and be aware, Hector can remember the particular flavours of their standout Curry.

Determined to try the Palak recipe but not risk wasting a kilo of Lamb on-the-bone, yesterday I defrosted some Lamb Mince, Spinach, Coriander and Methi. Hector thus prepared Kofta Palak for the first time.  This meant combining two recipes: Palak Gosht and Kofta Anda.

Kofta

The Meatballs were prepared per the Kofta Anda recipe. Ideally, the Kofta should be cooked in the Masala, but if they disintegrated I would be left with Keema Palak which I don’t think I have heard of, yet. Baking the Kofta meant that if the Palak turned out to be horrible, today would not be lost.

Palak

I halved the Herb content given in the recipe. My objective was not to lose sight of the Masala. As I have written oft when ordering Methi Gosht, I seek a Masala with Herbs, not just a mash of Herbs. Still, the amount of Spinach, Methi and Coriander was clearly going to swamp the minimal Masala which was prepared separately.

There were two key moments. The first was yesterday when combining the contents of the two pots. The second was the tasting this morning. A Soupçon was decanted and reheated.

Oh! – was the Hector reaction. Spinach was very much to the fore, but there was more. Perhaps it was the Coriander and Methi which had tempered the anticipated bitterness of the Spinach. There was also Seasoning, yet the added Salt was well below what would go in a typical Masala.  This tastes quite good.

Marg declined to sample the Mash, she claims never to have had Palak. Her plan is to enjoy the Kofta alone, if necessary.

The onions may have been cut too roughly to start with, whatever, it became evident whilst cooking that they were never going to pulp. It was time to get out the hand blender. The Palak Gosht recipe calls for more water in which to cook the Lamb. I feel the Kofta will have to be cooked for some time in the Mash. 100ml of water was added, the Mash was blended. Strange, it now looks decidedly – Creamy.

Whilst the Kofta sits all day in the Mash, so there is time to prepare some Naan dough, this time with self-raising flour.

It was Curryspondent Bill who put me on to – self-raising flour. Only once one enters this in Google does a plethora of similar recipes reveal themselves. Try searching for – Naan flour –  otherwise. Some recipes then suggested no other raising agent was necessary, some did. Hector took the path of less conviction and used ½tsp of baking powder.  No Yoghurt was used today, an oversight?

The first two dough-balls showed hints of bubbling, minimal rising, then burned on the under-side. Too small? The tawa still had not reached an optimum temperature? Naan #3 did rise but no blisters formed. I decided to abandon hope for a bubbly-topped Naan and flipped it, success. Once the melted ghee was spread across the top-side, a couple of minutes under the grill was more in hope than expectation of anything happening. Naan #3 turned out to be the best of the bunch, #4 rose in part. I had two edible Naans, and two fit for the bin.

Kofta Palak

Hector’s creation certainly looked the part. Having cooked the Meatballs in the mash for another half hour, there was the hope that some flavours may have permeated. The Kofta were sturdy, by baking them I had probably traded permeability for integrity. There was an OK level of Spice from the Kofta, the underlying flavour was reminiscent of Hector’s Burgers. The Curse of Clydebank Cooking?

The Seasoning in the Palak Mash was certainly to the fore, still there was no bitterness. Hector’s creation was not wondrous, but was most certainly a pleasant change.

Soft, with a sense of being doughy, but decidedly not fluffy, the Naan proved to be as good as anything I have reheated from a supermarket. By making my own, I had hoped for better, which remains the whole motivation for even trying. A sensible size, I managed the lot, cleared my karahi and even found one of Marg’s surplus Kofta coming my way. Not bad at all.

Mmmm – was Marg’s spontaneous reaction to her first intake of the Palak Mash.

A bit salty – was her follow up. I assured her that the level of Seasoning had not been achieved by the adding the quantity of Salt that most recipes call for. Very little had been used.

Marg ate three of her allocated five Kofta. These she clearly liked but seeing discrete quantities makes it easier for her to monitor her food intake. She will eat three potatoes when served whole, but four when mashed. So it goes.

Marg’s verdict:

I thought the meatballs were very flavoursome. I was worried about the spinach, but it blended well with the sauce and gave a salty taste. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was filling.

The Naan bread was fairly thin, half of it was thin, but suited me as I prefer Chapattis.

This was the first time Marg has eaten Spinach. There was enough Kofta for four meals, will there ever be a round#2?

The Aftermath

I have never seen the charming lady who reviews the newspapers on Sky News so angry. If driving to Durham – at one’s own discretion – is legitimised in England, then any reservations about driving to Paisley Road West next week for food, have been countered.