Our friends Connie and Fidelis had us to dinner recently, and we feasted on some seriously good curry. We had Bombay potatoes and a chicken curry, pickles and Fidelis’ own pickled green chillies, which blew my head right OFF (stop laughing, certain readers in Malaysia).
Pics by Fidelis Rego, Curry Chef Extraordinaire
Since then, I’ve been craving chilli hits at almost every meal. It wasn’t enough to just have my mouth tingle, but I was after some serious burn. So with that in mind, I set off to make my own curry, from scratch, from whole spices.
Mmm…whole spices smell amazing! Especially when I bash away at it with a mortar and pestle! Then I realise that while it’s an exhilarating sensory experience, it takes a loooong time to reduce it to a fine powder. Time for some reinforcements…
Put them all in a spice grinder…exert myself by pressing a button for 2-3 seconds…look! Fine powder!
I chose to make this curry because, it’s really quite a simple one (relatively speaking) to make. All it needs is spice, meat and coconut milk, and then a gentle simmer until the meat is tender. If you don’t want to use whole spice (and having to grind them), just substitute with ground/powdered spice. I served this curry with rice and a very simple, tangy carrot salad. The tangy carrot salad/relish is not something I’ve made before, but I think now that I will always have that with a curry. The cool, tangy carrot perfectly balanced the rich, spicy curry. Now I understand why Indians love pickles with their curry!
You’ll find a similar recipe to the one I used, here. Enjoy!
March 23, 2011 at 4:58 pm
I know what I’m going to cook for tomorrow. Looks good
March 23, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Thanks Von! Hope you guys enjoy it!
March 23, 2011 at 6:14 pm
they say if you dry-roast the spices first before you grind them, it smells even better.
March 23, 2011 at 8:14 pm
It’s true. Back in the day when i was all peachy keen, I roasted the spices before grinding. And I used the mortar and pestle, too! It was laborious but it smelled great. Now I’ll only do it when I make dukkah…hmm…that gives me an idea!
March 25, 2011 at 1:10 pm
I heart dukkah! Hmm….now you’ve reminded me that i’ve not made them in a long time.
March 25, 2011 at 4:09 pm
I reminded myself as well! I should make some and do a post. So easy and so yummy!
March 23, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Love the spice photos, – look amazing!
March 23, 2011 at 8:14 pm
Thanks!
March 23, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Thank you!! I’ve always wanted to try making my own curry powder!
March 23, 2011 at 8:15 pm
You’re welcome!! Put ‘Coffee and Spice Grinder’ on that gadget list of yours, too. hehehe
March 23, 2011 at 10:14 pm
I have a grinder
can’t wait!
March 23, 2011 at 10:33 pm
lol, i might’ve known!
March 23, 2011 at 8:06 pm
Oh, you might wanna try serving the curry with pickled cucumber, salted egg and belacan on the side. *wipes drool*
March 23, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Phwoar!! My mouth instantly watered, too! I’m going to have to try that!
March 23, 2011 at 8:58 pm
I couldnt wait till tomorrow so I’ve cooked chicken curry instead. I’ve put too much coconut milk and it’s not as red. The spice that I used is from Spore Geylang Market so all grind n mixed already. I just added a bit of chilli powder. I also pounded shallots, serai, buah keras and a bit of garlic n I fried them with a cinnamon stick before adding my curry paste. It’s a typical Malay recipe
March 23, 2011 at 10:34 pm
wooow von!! sounds really mouthwateringly good! now you’ve got ME craving chicken curry!
March 23, 2011 at 11:10 pm
It taste good! Not too creamy after all after I’ve switched off the heat.. Kids love it too and there’s non left. We have it with lime pickle/acar, sambal belacan and omelette, and rice of course. One more thing, I’ve added assam jawa n a bit of sugar plus the salt of course
March 24, 2011 at 10:17 am
I need to come over for dinner!!!!!!
March 25, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Von, can we have chicken curry with sambal belacan and pickled cucumbers for the next JLC do?
March 25, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Come over Jo
Can TP!! Very easy
March 25, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Be there soon!
March 25, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Does anyone have a recipe for pickled cucumbers?
March 25, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Jo, my recipe for pickled cucumber is very easy. All you need is just cucumber sliced into half-moon shapes, pineapple sliced into similar size as cucumber, thinly sliced shallots, and thinly sliced chillies (optional). Mix together and add white vinegar, sugar & salt to taste.
March 25, 2011 at 8:13 pm
Yum, sounds awesome. Do you peel the cucumber?
March 25, 2011 at 11:59 pm
don’t peel. That’s where the crunch is from. But do scoop out the seeds and soft centre.
March 26, 2011 at 9:11 am
ah! OK! And thanks for the tip re seeds, I would’ve left them in.
March 24, 2011 at 10:06 am
Looks yummy! Pity I can’t eat it damn spicy food reflux
We made our own Taco mix & had to throw it out as it was so hot that we went through almost the whole of a 2L bottle of milk.
Love the thought of spicy food that looks that good!
March 25, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Poor you!