Wednesday 28 November 2012

turkey mince curry

I'm not a big fan of turkey. I cooked with the meat a lot at uni as it was cheap and possibly overdid it on the flavour. Breast meat is not quite chicken, and can be offputting but the dark meat is like a lean red meat in flavour and if treated well, can make a good alternative.  It's cheaper than meat or chicken, and it is much leaner too.  My recipe is similar to how my family has always made keema curry, and is adapted from a recipe in Cooking Like Mummyji by Vicky Bhogal.

So, heat 2 tbs oil in a pan, and add 1 finely chopped onion and 2-3 finely chopped cloves of garlic.  Fry on a medium heat until deep golden brown.

Lower the heat and add half a can of tinned tomatoes, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 2 green chillies if desired, chopped or not to taste, 1tsp salt and 1 tsp garam masala.

When the mixture becomes shiny and the oil separates, add a pound of mince.

Stir throughly to coat, and then add 2 cups of frozen peas and stir well again.  Stir fry for a few minutes, breaking up the clumps of mince.

Add a cup of boiling water and bring to the boil.  Reduce to a low heat, cover and simmer for 20 mins.  Take the lid off and stir fry for a few more minutes.  The meat should be moist, but not swimming in water.  Add a tbs of dark soy and a tbs of light soy sauces, and serve with rice or naan or chapatti.

chop up and curry Sebastian!

So I finally seem to have found a way for Papa to eat (and ask for seconds of) aubergine! I wasn't especially trying to, I had resigned myself to the fact he would have a taste, and say no thanks, so I decided to make what I felt like with the one received in our organic veg box.  I was out shopping and visiting my aunty, so I texted Godpapa to "please chop up Sebastian for me" so I could get on with cooking as soon as I got in.  (This will only make sense to parents and carers of small children who watch Cbeebies; it is a reference to Mr Bloom's nursery.)

So I got home and got a good slosh of olive oil + veg oil heating and tipped the aubergine cubes in and set them squeaking.  As the character Sebastian is always singing, and in Bengali we refer to the aubergine as singing when it is cooking at the correct heat, I was quite amused to call Littl'Un in for a listen. She was delighted.

After a few minutes, I added finely chopped onion, about half a large one, and a teaspoon of cumin seeds.  I put the lid on  and let it cook down. I have a real abhorrence of any bite left to the aubergine, so I like the pieces small and mushed down.  I got on with the other dishes while this magic happened, in this case my turkey mince curry which I've been requested to post up too, and will do in my next post.
When I felt it was cooked enough I poured in half a tin of tomatoes, and a teaspoon of my garam masala.  I wanted a sourness to it too, so I added an extra half teaspoon of ground cumin and also at the very end, a teaspoon of green mango powder.
I may have added water and obviously salt to taste, some tomatoes in tins are thicker so would probably need a little water added to make this gravyish enough to mix with rice.

I'm sure it was the green mango powder, also known as amchoor, that made all the difference, so don't leave it out if at all possible.

Both girls loved it too, and there wasn't any left!