Potato Curry

 

 

Original Recipe: http://bit.ly/16jU9Id

When I lived in New York (I’m in Ohio now), there was an Indian place down the road from which S.’s family would order. For five bucks, we could get a main dish and several sides. It’s from here I got the idea for the paneer, and it’s from here I got the idea for potato curry. I love potatoes, almost as much as I love cheese. I LOVE cheese. That’s one of the reasons I knew I wanted to do a potato curry: to satisfy my own selfish desires (the paneer fulfilled this as well). Like the other Indian recipes, I wanted to limit the number of spices and extra ingredients I needed to purchase. I tend to keep potatoes and peas around, so this was a big win. And it was yummy. Almost as yummy as the fried paneer. Almost.

Substitutions:

1. Used brown mustard seeds instead of black.

Final Result Impressions: 

It’s important to note that, while I do enjoy the flavor of coconut, I have issues with its texture. J. does not have this issue. So I ate the beans freely, with a piece of coconut stuck on here and there, and left behind the coconut flakes for her. She ate them with relish. There was a lot of flavor added to the beans just from cooking with the coconut, so I don’t regret making it at all.

Cost v. Outcome
Ingredients
◦6 medium russet potatoes…………………. 5 lbs. bag ~ $3
◦2 tbsp. oil…………………………………………….Had on-hand, 1 q. bottle ~ $3
◦1 tsp. salt…………………………………………….Had on hand, 1 tub ~ $3
◦1/2 tsp. cumin seed…………………………….4 oz. bag ~ $5
◦1/2 tsp. brown mustard seeds…………….4 oz. bag ~ $3
◦1 tsp. turmeric powder………………………..4 oz. bag ~ $5
◦1 tsp. ground coriander……………………….4 oz. bag ~ $5
◦1/2 tsp. cayenne………………………………….Had on-hand, 4 oz. bag ~ $6
◦1.5 cups water…………………………………….FREE
◦2/3 cups frozen peas…………………………..Had on-hand, 1 pound ~ $1 
 

Yields: ~ 6 servings

This recipe called for the most spices that I didn’t have waiting in my cabinet. Again, I had help paying for these, and I buy all my spices at Penzey’s (www.penzeys.com). Ultimately, my friends and family paid for the spices with their contributions. For $20, I was able to purchase four ounces each of cumin seeds, ground coriander, mustard seeds, turmeric, and black peppercorns. I feel like I got something else, too, but I cannot remember it off the top of my head. Oh well. This was good. I WILL make it again.

Achingya Thoren (Kerala-style Green Bean Curry)

Original Recipe: http://bit.ly/VT8eaI

I had known when I set out to create an Indian meal that I wanted to do some curry dishes, but I didn’t want to have to buy a million spices. After searching for popular recipes, I thought this one was interesting. It wasn’t curry as I thought of it: it was dry, without a sauce. It relied more on spices as flavor enhancers than as flavors for the liquid. Since I had a lot of these spices on my shopping list already for the Tandoori, I thought this would be a good recipe with which to experiment.

Substitutions:

1. Used Bay leaves instead of curry leaves, as the recipe indicated.

2. Used 1 tbsp. of crushed red pepper flakes instead of the whole dried peppers.

3. Did not include the rice.

Final Result Impressions: 

It’s important to note that, while I do enjoy the flavor of coconut, I have issues with its texture. J. does not have this issue. So I ate the beans freely, with a piece of coconut stuck on here and there, and left behind the coconut flakes for her. She ate them with relish. There was a lot of flavor added to the beans just from cooking with the coconut, so I don’t regret making it at all.

Cost v. Outcome
Ingredients
◦4 bay leaves……………………………………………………………………….. Had on-hand, 1 oz. bag ~ $4
◦3/4 cup coconut (finely shredded dried unsweetened)…………12 oz. bag ~ $5
◦1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin…………………………………………….Had on hand, 4 oz. bag ~ $6
◦1/4 teaspoon cayenne………………………………………………………….Had on-hand, 4 oz. bag ~ $6
◦1/4 teaspoon turmeric…………………………………………………………4 oz. bag ~ $5
◦2 cloves garlic, minced…………………………………………………………Had on-hand, 5 bulbs ~ $3
◦2 tablespoons vegetable oil………………………………………………….Had on-hand, 1 q. bottle ~ $3
◦1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds………………………………………..4 oz. bag ~ $3
◦2tbsp crushed red pepper…………………………………………………..Had on-hand, 4 oz. bag ~ $6
◦3/4 lb green beans………………………………………………………………1 pound ~ $2 
◦1 teaspoon salt…………………………………………………………………….Had on-hand, 1 tub ~ $3  

Yields: ~ 6 servings

Like the Tandoori, this is not cheap if you don’t have the spices on-hand. I had help paying for these spices, and some I did actually have. Again, I buy all my spices at Penzey’s (www.penzeys.com). While this was delicious, the unsweetened coconut was not easy to find, nor was it particularly cheap. I think, in the future, I was try a different dish that was coconut milk-based. That shit is easy to find and cheap, too!