Sarahs Kitchen Travels

Tag: curry

  • Nepalese, Stir fried spinach and spring onion

    Serves 4 as a side dish 2 as a main
    Stir fried spinach with dill

    No meal in Nepal is complete without ‘sag’ spinach, in fact there are many different types of spinach. we have been serving a version of this recipe in Yak Yeti Yak for over 20 years and it’s still one of out most popular dishes.

    Ingredients

    • 400 grams | fresh spinach, washed, dried and torn in half
    • 20 grams | 1 oz fresh dill, finely chopped
    • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
    • ½ teaspoon crushed chilli (optional)
    • ½ teaspoon Panch Puran (optional)
    • 1 medium onion, finely sliced
    • 1 teaspoon finely grated garlic
    • 25 grams | 1 oz fresh ginger, finely sliced and cut into thin matchsticks
    • 1 large tomato, roughly chopped
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon Yak Yeti Yak or garam masala
    • 1 bunch spring onions, cleaned, roots removed and cut into 2 cm (1 inch) pieces

    Method

    Heat the oil in a wok or high sided frying pan until it’s medium, add the chilli and panch puran, fry the seeds until they start to pop then add the onion and salt. You will need to keep stirring to prevent the onion from burning at the edges. Once the onion is starting to turn translucent add the masala, garlic, and ginger then fry until the spices start to stick to the base of the pan, add a tablespoon or 2 of water, just enough to lift the spices off the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato and fry stirring occasionally until the tomato softens but still holds its shape add the spring onions and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, tip the spinach, watercress and dill into the pan, keep frying and turning, until the spinach is completely wilted. Check for salt and serve immediately

  • Nepalese, potato and cauliflower curry (Aloo cauli)

    Serves four as a side dish, 2 as a generous main
    Potato and Cauliflower curry

    Over my life time I must have eaten this curry more often than any other. In Nepal, when times are tough potatoes and cauliflowers are always still available. We lived on this curry for 2 months after the monsoon floods in 1993 when the whole of Kathmandu was dependant on US and UK food aid. Then again in the last days of the Nepalese Monarchy during the 24 hour curfews, we’d sneak out and follow drainage ditches to buy supplies from farmers, ‘aloo cauli’ was our staple diet.

    Ingredients

    • 275 grams | 9 oz cauliflower equal sized florets plus a few of the leaves
    • 275 g | 9oz waxy salad potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
    • 80 g | 2½ oz shallots, finely sliced
    • 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
    • 1 inch piece of fresh ginger (approximately10 g), cut inti very fine matchsticks
    • 1 green finger chilli, finely sliced (optional)
    • 1 large tomato, roughly chopped
    • 120 ml | ½ cup rapeseed or vegetable oil
    • 1 teaspoon Panch Puran
    • 1 ½ teaspoons Yak Yeti Yak or garam masala
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 400 ml | 1½ cups water

    Method

    Heat a wok or a heavy bottomed pan and add the oil, as soon as the oil is medium hot add the Panch Puran and chilli. Once the seeds begin to pop, turn the temperature down a little and add the potatoes. Cook the potatoes stirring them for 4-5 minutes until they are well covered in the oil.  Add the shallots, garlic, ginger and salt and gently fry until the shallots start to turn translucent then add the masala.  The masala will quickly stick to the base of the pan so once this happens add half the water and turn the heat back up, put a lid on the pan. Boil the potatoes until they are cooked but a little al dente, add the cauliflower florets, leaves and chopped tomato. Add more water as needed and continue to cook until the cauliflower is slightly al dente, check for salt and serve.

  • Nepalese, squash kale and crispy garlic

    Serves 2 as a generous main or 4 as a side dish
    stir fried curry of squash and kale

    This was born out of the make a curry out of whatever we have hanging around style of cooking I have at home. Now it’s a dish in it’s own right.

    Ingredients

    • 450 grams | 1 lb acorn squash, deseeded and cut into bite-size pieces
    • 50 grams | 2 oz young kale, stalks removed and leaves roughly torn into bite sizes pieces
    • ½ tablespoon finely grated garlic
    • 10 grams | ½ oz fresh ginger, finely sliced and cut it into thin matchsticks
    • 2 banana shallots, finely chopped
    • 1 medium tomato, finely chopped
    • 2 green finger chilies, split lengthways leaving them attached at the stalk
    • 1 ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
    • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
    • 1 ½ teaspoons simple or garam masala
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 50 ml | ¼ cup vegetable oil 50 mil
    • 200 ml | 1 cup water
    • Garnish
    • 2 very thinly sliced garlic cloves

    Method

    Heat the oil in a wide buttoned pan until medium hot, add the chilies and sliced garlic for the garnish, fry until the garlic slices are golden brown then remove the garlic slices from the oil and set it aside. Depending how hot you want your curry you can either remove the chilies for a milder curry or leave them to cook for a spicier curry. Add the cumin seeds to the hot oil and allow them to sizzle until they start to brown (about 30 seconds), add the shallots and let them sizzle for a minute, stirring them to prevent them from burning. Add the ginger, grated garlic, turmeric and salt to the shallots and continue to cook stirring for 30 seconds before adding the water and bring it to the boil. Once the water is boiling turn the heat down a little and add the squash. Place a lid on the pan and cook until the squash is softening but retains a little bite (5 to 10 minutes). Add the tomato and allow it to cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the tomato starts to soften. Tear the kale leaves into rough pieces and wash it but don’t dry it, then add the kale on the top of the pan with the water still clinging to the leaves.  Place the lid on the pan and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes. Once the kale is wilted stir it into the squash check for seasoning. Serve straight away sprinkled with the reserved crispy garlic.

  • Nepalese 5 bean curry

    Serves 4 to 6
    Nepalese 5 bean curry

    No-one tells you that summer monsoon rains are really cold. After a good Kathmandu night out I felt we could do with making some hearty bean soup and totally misjudged the quantity of beans to soak. Next morning I woke to beans spilling out all over the kitchen and a mildly annoyed mother-in-law. Embarrassed and with a slight air of panic, I cooked all the beans and made a curry leaving everyone to believe that’s what I intended all along.

    Ingredients

    • 100 grams | 3 ½ oz dried kidney beans
    • 100 grams | 3 ½ oz dried yellow peas
    • 100 grams | 3 ½ oz dried black eye peas
    • 100 grams | 3 ½ oz dried chickpeas
    • 100 grams | 3 ½ oz dried green peas
    • Water as needed
    • 60 ml | ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 1 small onion, peeled and finely sliced
    • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
    • 1 inch piece fresh ginger (approx.10 grams), finely sliced then cut into very fine matchsticks
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 2 dried red chillies preferably Kashmiri
    • 1 teaspoon Yak Yeti Yak or garam masala
    • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
    • 1 medium tomato, finely chopped

    To finish

    • 60 ml l ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
    • 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

    Method

    Place all the beans and peas in a large bowl and cover them with 2 inches of water. Soak the beans overnight or for up to 24 hours when you’re ready to cook the beans, throw away the soaking water and rinse them well. To cook the beans, place them in a heavy pan with a well fitted lid, add enough water to cover the beans by 1 inch and set the pan on a high heat until they come to the boil. Boil the beans vigorously for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes reduce the heat to a slow boil until the beans are soft, set them aside in a bowl, keep the cooking liquor.  Wash and dry the pan ready for the next step.

    Make sure the pan is completely dry then, heat the oil to medium hot, add the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, and salt cook until the onion starts to turn translucent. Add the chopped tomato and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato has softened and the oil starts to pool and separate from the tomato. Add the masala and turmeric stir and cook for about 1 minute before adding the beans, add in enough cooking water to cover the beans and the salt stir well and place a lid on the pan, simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Squash a few beans against the side of the pan to thicken the gravy and continue to let the curry simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes.

    While the beans are simmering heat the oil in a small frying pan until it’s very hot add the cumin seeds, as soon as they start to pop add the sliced garlic and allow the mixture to fry until the garlic turns golden brown. Quickly pour the sizzling garlic mixture to the beans, it will fizz ferociously, stir well and check for seasoning. Set a curry aside for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

    If you prefer to use tinned beans. Use one tin each of five different beans, empty all the beans from the tins discard juice and rinse them thoroughly before using them.