I love a curry but the average high street curry house tends to disappoint with the uniformity of their menus, and I am still mourning the loss of the Kashmir Curry Centre last year which closed after being open for business for 36 years, a victim of the recession. I guess I'm not the only person wishing they had frequented it a little more regularly. I know of two Sri Lankan/South Indian restaurants in Sheffield so I think I may try them out.
I use a couple of Indian vegetarian cookbooks by Julie Sahni and Monisha Bharadwaj but this is not from them. There's no claim for authenticity in this simple Nigel Slater dish. I used his recipe from the BBC Food site. he describes it as a "creamy korma" which would ordinarily have me running in the other direction - I'm not a fan of cream and kormas are often sickly sweet. But here the spicing is light and fragrant, the sweetness comes from a handful of raisins, the creaminess from a mixture of creme fraiche and yoghurt but what I found most surprising was the addition of a handful of skinned hazelnuts which added an unusual and pleasant texture to the dish. I could see me doing something similar with spinach, aubergine and chick peas. I served it with sourdough bread (naturally) and some pickle.
C is also for "cramming" which is what I will now be doing for the coming week as I have an exam on Friday for my OU course. Can't remember the last time I did one of those...
I do like the look of your curry.
ReplyDeleteI don't venture into Indian (and Chinese) High Street Takeaways for the very reason you have described. The only time I see these takeaway menus is when I am in the company of my in-laws whether it be my mother (and late father) in law or sister in law and I have had to partake
:(
I give you the thumbs up for having Julie Sahni and Monisha Bharadwaj cookbooks. Another one i'd recommend though it is out of print is 'Cooking Like Mummyji' by Vicky Bhogal.
Best wishes for the OU exam. I've been made redundant recently and a lot of the jobs I am applying for are asking for a CIPD qualification, its so expensive.
It looks like the Vicky Bhogal is looking to see if she can get the book published elsewhere.Will keep a lookout for a second-hand copy.
ReplyDeleteMy exam went well - confident of a safe pass. Yes, these qualifications are not cheap. I notice that there are more young people opting to do OU courses rather than build up debt. I have loved the three courses I have done so far and the teaching materials are first class. It costs me £700 a year plus books which you can get at the library or cheap second-hand. For the amount of entertainment it provides I think its worth it. For me, its just nice to be studying something not work-related.
Thanks Ray,
ReplyDeleteGood to read that your exam went well. And good to read that its not work related - the best sort of education :)
Seeking further qualifications for work is taking a backseat right now, we are making plans to move some time soon.