The Heroes Behind a Great Curry

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

If I have had one comment over the years that is more or less accurate, it is that I make a good curry. I am quite proud of this fact, though I have to admit that the true compliment should be to my mother, and she would probably say that her skill should be planted firmly at the door of the Indian cook her family had when she was a child in Burma. But what ever route the knowledge came, I hold my hands up and say that yes, I do cook a good curry and the real heroes are three really important ingredients – onion, garlic and ginger.

Forget your clever curry pastes, your amazing herbs, the quality of your oil; if you do not get this very basic starter right, you will not end up with a curry. In India, they use a huge stone to create their starting point. On this stone they put chopped onion, garlic and ginger, and plenty of it, then crush it with another heavy stone. Back and forth they grind one stone against the other until they have a thick paste. Personally, I use a food processor!

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Swedish Meatballs

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

To be fair to Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, they make far more interesting food than just there famous meatballs! However, since Ikea has been working hard trying to make them famous, I thought I better pen my recipe. The trick here is texture, or grain, if you like. Some people prefer a very fine grain, some a rather more chunky ball. Here I have gone for the fine version, but up to you.

The one common thing with Swedish Meatballs is that they are served with a creamy gravy of some description (more…)