The First, Truly Great, Curry House Curry.


Friday 7/1/2005

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Diary and Notes

If there is an Indian restaurant in Britain that does not sell something called rogan josh (or similar) I want to know about it. Since the passing of the old days, when a curry was either a korma, madras or vindaloo, rogan josh has become one of the staples of the British diet. It's older than the CTM and a darn sight tastier too.

What it means is anybody's guess. Some say that rogan means meat and josh is tomato, others that it translates to 'red meat juice'. I've seen claims from restaurants that say it's from the Kashmir (most likely), Bangalore, Madras, Wolverhampton (also likely), Timbuktu and France (quite obviusly true, though here I am lying). But who cares? It's tasty, tasty, tasty and I have never met anyone who couldn't manage to eat until they had to loosen their trousers.

Once again I'm cooking for the old folks, but to trick them into eating this, I've told them it's called lamb in tomato sauce. If they thought they were eating curry they'd go crazy. Also, as I was cooking for old folks I had to make it quite mild so I made some very hot curry sauce for those of use who need it. There were a few other essentials of curry Friday (like lime pickle) and it was another great curry extravanganza just like Fridays are for Englishmen all around the globe.

As always with people over sixty, if you don't tell them they're eating garlic etc... they don't care. Just cook it slow enough so that the meat is tender and they don't have too much chewing to do and they're as happy as a Texan politician when an election coincides with an execution. Ye haw...


Cake Blog

Eccles Cake: I love eccles cakes. For some reason they aren't very popular anymore. My nephew Harry (who's about 2) wanted to try some but when I broke a bit off and he saw the jet black middle he decided against it. Poor little idiot.


Menu

  • Rogan Josh
  • Green bean and Potato Bhaji
  • Boiled Rice
  • Pitta Bread
  • Extra Hot Curry Sauce
  • Lime Pickle
  • Raita


    Ingredients

  • Diced lamb (leg is best) and some lamb bone, Curry Sauce (extra garlic this time), green cardamon pods, cinnamon stick, paprika, ghee, tomato puree, tomato ketchup, lemon juice, onions, red and green peppers, natural yoghurt, fresh tomatoes, garam masala, fresh coriander, salt, pepper.
  • Bhaji: Green Beans, potatoes, ghee, mustard seeds, turmeric, Curry Sauce


    Preparation

  • Heat a little ghee in a big pan and brown the lamb bones. Add the cardamon, cinnamon and paprika and fry a little longer. Add the diced lamb (in large bite sized chunks) and brown. Add some water to cover the lamb, a dollop of ketchup (for sweetness), a good squirt of tomato puree, a squirt of lemon juice, a large spoon of garam masala, put the lid on and let it stew for an hour and a half. Remove the bones from the pan and nibble off any meat as a tasty treat (chef's perks). Chop the onion and pepper into large chunks and fry in a little ghee until they begin to brown, stir these into the lamb. Stir in some natural yoghurt. Chop the tomatoes into quarters and stir these in, turn the heat off and leave for five minutes for the tomatoes to warm through (don't stir again as this will break them up). Sprinkle some more garam masala and fresh coriander over before serving.
  • Wash and peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks and boil in salted water until soft but not breaking apart. Par boil the beans and then rinse under cold water. Fry the potatoes, green beans, mustard seeds and turmeric in some ghee, pour over a little curry sauce, season and serve.





    JCBorresen@gmail.com