So my last post on curry was on a very basic recipe. This is my “milestone” curry, a curry that’s more than average, one I’m rather pleased with. It’s not perfect, but it definitely is satisfying and has personality.
The secret to this is:
- Extra tomato paste for the unique flavor of tomato, and a bit of thickening.
- Maple syrup, for its richness and sweetness.
- Cocoa powder for its unique richness and earthy bitterness.
Ingredients:
Makes 3 servings or so.
- 4 tablespoons butter or spread.
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons curry powder. (S&B curry preferably)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste.
- 1 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp garlic
- 3 cups vegetable broth OR replacement broth below
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tbsp coaco powder
- Melt the spread over low heat in a pot of your choice.
- When the spread is melted, stir in the flour and curry powder. Mix thoroughly – it’ll form a kind of loose “cake.” This is the start of the roux.
- Mix the tomato sauce and soy sauce into the roux. Again mix thoroughly; I mash, fold, and mix until the color is consistent.
- Add the red and black pepper to the roux, mix thoroughly.
- Turn the heat to medium-low.
- Now, you want to brown the roux, and there’s a bit of an art to it. What I do is let it cook like a pancake, about 20-45 second until one side browns, then mix it up, fold it into a “pancake” and let it cool again. You may have to play with the heat, but the goal is to basically brown it/fry it slowly. This is needed to develop the flavors.
- Eventually it will get crumbly and crack – and you’ll see it visibly brown when it’s let to sit. At that point, it’s time to add the vegetable broth.
- Add the vegetable broth to the roux, followed by the maple syrup and cocoa powder. Turn the heat up so the mixture boils mildly.
- With a whisk, mix the broth and roux. It also helps to use a spatula to crush chunks of roux against the side of the pan. This can take a bit of effort. In general while mixing, I moderate the heat to get the mild boil.
- Stir regularly so it doesn’t adhere/burn.
- I wait until the sauce thickets – it reduces by about a fifth. The key I use is when it’s not “boiling” but has the bubbly “bloops” of a thicker sauce. This can take awhile.
- Serve or put in freezer containers.
Also if you don’t purchase vegetable broth a lot, here’s a decent substitute – but this only works for this recipe.
“Broth:”
- 3 cups water.
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp sage
- 1/4 tsp marjoram
- 1/4 tsp thyme, ground
- 1/4 tsp basil
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp dill weed, ground
Now again, I don’t think this is a perfect curry. It’s a milestone as I noted, but a good one. The maple syrup and cocoa add a kind of depth and richness that’s really enjoyable. It’s a good place for me to go further – which I intend to . . .
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach. He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.