Yesterday was Curry Day at the office! Many of us pitch in to share our favorite curry recipe. I also pitched in with my Choco-Coffee Curry and 3 pounds of sous-vide chicken thighs. blaugh For those who are curious, here's my curry recipe that I've been tweaking for many years:
- Curry Roux (220g) S&B Golden Curry or House Java Curry works great
- White Onion 4 medium
- Carrot 1.5lb
- Garlic 4TBL (TableSpoon)
- Bay Leaf 5pcs
- Thyme 1TBL (dried or fresh)
- Oregano 1TBL
- Nutmeg 1TBL
- Cumin 1TBL
- Black Pepper 1TBL
- Dark Chocolate 2TBL
- Instant Coffee 1TBL
- Honey 3TBL
- Corn Starch 1TBL
- Garam Masala 1TBL (optional)
Chop carrots into small chunks less than 1/2" cubes. Then throw all the carrots into a tough zip lock bag that can withstand boiling water. Put some butter and olive oil into the bag, press out excess air as you flatten the bag. Boil a large pot of water, and dump the bag of carrots in when water is boiling. Set heat to low and cook for 25 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Cooking this way ensure that the carrots retain the sweet flavor while the carrot's juices doesn't mix into the curry.
The longest part of the recipe is making caramelized onions. Chop onions into strips, stir fry with some oil in high heat then set to low when onion starts to turn brown. After that, you want to spend as much time as patience allows to caramelize the onion. Usually about 30 minutes. Add diced garlic to the mix 3 minutes before finish.
Bring 5 cups of water to boil, now add bay leaf, thyme, oregano, nutmeg, cumin, chocolate, garam masala, and honey into the mix. Leave coffee for last.
In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with a small amount of hot water and mix well. Add to pot of water.
After that you can add the curry cubes. Turn off the heat as soon as curry cubes are in. As the curry thickens, add coffee and stir well. Then add carrots and onion to the mix. (try serving the onion on the side also)
I love curry that taste very earthy with cumin and nutmeg, and carries a bit of bitterness, that's where the coffee comes in. At the same time the chocolate help bring in volume without the spices being too overwhelming. Ingredients for curry is pretty forgiving and it's really fun to adjust the ingredients to customize!
And back on Gaia, I've started looking into bringing back the Easter event for zOMG. Looks like it's a lot more work than I expected, as the changes aren't as trivial as turning on some settings. Lots of sleepless nights to come!
