which_chick | (no subject)

One of the reasons I got Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries was to get some experience in the sorts of things curries *taste* like, what is in them, how they work so that I could go off-road and currify things with some hope of getting a tastylicious result.

It's going pretty well. The thing with cusines is that learning how to do them feels at first like you've gotten a box of Cow Tools (see here for what Cow Tools are, kinda) -- you're sure that the things, the components, should do something, but you're not sure quite what or how.

So, you begin an apprenticeship of sorts. With the help of an experienced cook (a real one or one who wrote a book), you make food in the target cuisine. You follow recipes in the target cusine. You learn what it tastes like and the steps and processes that are typically used. You discover what flavor pairings are popular and what things pretty much never go together. After a while, you know pretty well how the recipes are going to go, what to expect from them, how they'll be cooked, what spices will be used. Suddenly you no longer have Cow Tools.

Using indian food as an example, after a while you know pretty well that coriander seeds go with cumin, that mustard seeds are frequently popped in hot oil, that asafoetida typically does not occur in dishes with onion or garlic, that cilantro is mostly added at the end, chopped, as a garnish. Typical Indian astringents are lime, tomato, powdered mango, tamarind.

At this point, you are going to be able to go off-road a little and generate things that will not taste dreadful. You can combine spices that will blend nicely. You can substitute components without risking total failure. You can experiment a little.

What you make will not be "authentic" but it will probably be edible.

Right now, this is where I'm at. Today's effort is Kidney Beans in Coconut Milk. It's not a curry, per se, but it tastes kind of curry-like.

In mortar/pestle, mash 3 or 4 jalapeno peppers, 1 teasp. cumin seed, 1 Tbsp. coriander seed, small handful red dried peppers, 3 or 4 cloves garlic. Then fry up in lard in small frying pan until garlic is browned. Remove from heat and dump into large saucepan.

Add 2 cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can coconut milk
juice and zest from 1 lime
1/2 teasp turmeric
1/4 teasp. salt (or more/less to taste)

Heat through to boil point. Stir regularly. Cook about five minutes to blend flavors. Remove from heat, add smallish handful cilantro, chopped fine.

It's yummy. It's not authentic, but it's yummy. It's also bloody well fast. Yay fast.