So sorry I've been neglecting this blog for some time. But since it is primarily a travel blog, and I haven't been able to go anywhere .. there hasn't been much travel to talk about. I can only dream. But I also promised when I first started this blog that I would write about cooking and food too. Dusty and I came up with an idea to cook food from a different country every week. I do the cooking and Dusty is my favorite tester.
Last week, Thursday night, I created my own version of Rogan Josh. I used a recipe I found online, but I'm not very good at following recipes. It's not that I can't, its just that I don't. Mom always said if you can read you can cook. True. I like cooking because it's fun and creative. And the part of following recipes exactly, is not for me.
I don't bake very often. Which is a good thing, considering my predisposition to embellish or ignore recipe instructions. Baked goods do not lend themselves well to my creativity. So I do follow recipes when I bake, promise.
I've only eaten Rogan Josh a couple of times. Once on the cross channel ferry going to France, and it was really good. And then a couple of times purchased it pre-made from Sainesbury's. So I wasn't exactly sure how it was supposed to come out. The recipe called for lamb, which I couldn't find. Albertson's lamb was puny and the lamb at Walmart was vacuum sealed and imported from New Zealand. New Zealand lamb is supposed to be the best, but it sounded like it came from too far away for me to want to cook it. So instead of lamb I used veal. I also didn't use the cardamom pods the recipe called for, because it only called for five pods and I couldn't see spending $15. for a little tiny jar of seeds just to use five pods, so I left it out.
Here's what I used as ingredients: (more or less)
diced veal - about 3/4 pound for two people
2 tablespoons of oil - I used olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cloves
3 red chilis chopped
2 small onions chopped
2 inches fresh ginger, grated
3-5 cloves garlic, grated
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup of yogurt - I used plain Greek yogurt
salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste - I probably should have used more, the color wasn't red enough
1 tablespoon ground almonds
The recipe said to put the chilis and onions in a food processor, which I did not. I just chopped them semi-fine instead. I heated the oil in a large skillet and added the garlic, chilis, and meat; and sauteed them until the meat was cooked on the outside and the chilis and onions were half done. Then I added in the ginger, chili powder, stirred that all together for a few minutes. Then I added the yogurt and a little water. (I also added a couple of tablespoons of white wine, which could have been a mistake and might have been the cause of the yogurt coming out funny and curdling). I simmered over a low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Served it over rice.
It came out fine. Like I said the yogurt was a little funny, and now I think I know why. The overall flavor was good, and I would try this again. Only next time, I'll plan better and be sure to find some lamb. And next time, add more tomato paste, and probably not add the wine, or try a different yogurt.
When I grated the ginger I was astonished at the wonderful smell. I had seen ginger root in the store, but never had used it in any dish before. I'm hooked. Next week's international food project is "Crispy Ginger Beef". I already found the recipe.
I go to http://www.recipezaar.com/ and search out recipes and then, like I say, adapt them to my taste.
Bon Apetit!
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