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8/28 #609 DISCOVERING CURRIES
This week we’re continuing our series on Indian cooking with a look at what we in the West call curries. This is an invented catch-all phrase that arguably can apply to nearly any savory dish that comes out of the sub-continent. The salient points about curries are that they are usually a stew that takes much of its flavor from a highly spiced sauce in which the principal ingredients are cooked. Other dishes, such as curried eggs, derive their flavor less from a sauce and more from sprinkling a spice mixture on as a seasoning. Curries are the keystone of cooking in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia. But India is arguably the true home of the curry. Northern India, which experienced enormous Muslim influence, has a diet rich in meat, wheat and dairy products. Southern India, largely Hindu, is vegetarian and avoids any product of the cow. Paradoxically, although Southern India is the hotter climate, their food is notably hotter as well. The famous Madras Curry blend is well known for its hot chili peppers. The heart of each curry is the spice blend, which Indian cooks prepare on a dish by dish basis. Most curries start with the same first step: sauté chopped onions in vegetable oil (never olive oil) and add your prepared mélange of spices. This forms a paste which will be the flavor base of the sauce that will develop during cooking. A variety of ingredients are then added according to how long it will take for them to cook to tenderness or doneness. Many recipes call for a final dusting of spice to boot the flavor. The sauce that forms in the pot is often extended by water, yogurt, or coconut milk. Many dishes require no thickening, in fact Thai curries seem somewhat watery, but the yogurt or coconut “cream” can thicken the sauce. There are few hard and fast rules for making curries. Nearly any combination of compatible ingredients can find its way into the dish. Most ingredients are cut up to be bite sized. Some cooking is akin to quick stir frying, other dishes require a longer slower approach. Spicy curries are nearly always served with a more bland side dish like rice, lentils, flat breads, or the cooling yogurt-based raita. At a traditional Indian dinner, all dishes are served at the same time, and person has a collection of small bowls for whichever dishes they choose to eat. And though westerners may opt for an aromatic white wine like gewurtztraminer as the beverage of choice, the Indians seem to prefer simple ice water. For more information on cooking curries, it’s very helpful to get a good cookbook. We were very impressed by the British Paragon Books’ “Greatest Ever: Indian” cookbook, which we picked up at a discount bookstore for $6.
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