Happy New Year

Happy 2012! I assume that most of the inhabitants of merry old England awoke with a hang-over (or are now dealing with the joys of the come-down). Regardless, I hope all had a splendid night.

My partner furnished me with some *proper* curry – the theme being more obscure dishes along with some very enjoyable wines. For those of you who have two minutes to mark, we enjoyed:

Chick peas for nibbling

…page 18 of ‘curry easy’ by Madhur Jaffrey

A tremendous little dish for enjoying with a glass of fizz, this is essentially just some tinned chick peas baked with spices but the resultant dish is something that is tasty, at no point over powering and incredibly more-ish. The added bonus to this dish is that it couldn’t be any healthier and is fairly straight forward to make. Utterly recommended.

Peshawari Broth with Oyster mushrooms and fish

…page 41 of ‘curry easy’ by Madhur Jaffrey

This is a beef broth with chunks of white fish and whole oyster mushrooms afloat in it. The stock is impregnated with a variety of spices but the resultant dish has this intensely complex flavoured broth with the fish and mushroom to offer textural and flavour contrast. I much prefer these kinds of soups to the heavier/ thicker soups that utilise coconut milk/ cream or huge amounts of pureed vegetables. This is a really pleasant soup that feels light but is chock full of flavours; a very interesting experience in terms of the contrasting textures. A bit of a palaver to make, I’m told.

Sea Bass in Green Chutney

…page 51 0f 100 essential curries by Madhur Jaffrey

I’m a big fan of whole cooked fish and I find that cooking the fish on the bone gives a much better flavour and texture, although I recognise that it can be a real pain at times in terms of the bones. The green chutney flavouring that is rubbed onto the outside of this dish is astounding in its depth of flavour but also has this strange kind of refreshing-ness to it. I’m afraid that I can articulate the flavour into mere words but you will have to take my word on it that this dish is a winner.

Served with…

Courgette and Green Pepper ‘Sabzi’

…page 158 of Madhur Jaffrey’s ultimate curry bible by Madhur Jaffrey

The best ever green vegetable side dish ever, this sabzi is fresh, crunchy, packed with flavour and just enlivens any dish it is served with. It does take some skill to get everything piping hot and cooked without the vegetables loosing their snap, and should they lose afore-mentioned snap, it becomes a very average side dish (the magic of this sabzi is the crispness of the vegetables). I have to be honest and say that this dish is a frequent accompaniment in our house but my partner cooked it up for me because she knows just how much I love it. God bless that girl.

Along side…

Rice with fleas

Just plain basmati rice boiled with some onions seeds to give flecks of black (or fleas as we call it); nothing special or clever, but then nothing to detract from the flavours of the fish and sabzi.

After all these delicious comestibles I spent the rest of the evening bemoaning my distended stomach and relishing such an enjoyable meal. Happy new year one and all.