I saw this on The People’s Cookbook and just had to try it. It was submitted by Lily’s grand-daughter Helen, who told the story of how Lily left Hong Kong, bound for England on a three month sea voyage. At every port Lily would collect spices and experiment with them. When she arrived in England, she perfected this curry and made it for friends and neighbours, later opening a restaurant based on this dishes popularity.Lily is still alive and still cooking curry for friends and neighbours. This dish beat the opposition and won it’s way into The Peoples Cookbook. It’s a great curry with big, bold flavours, worth every bit of effort that goes into it. Just remember Lily when you eat it.
This curry is a spice-lover’s dream…and a real crowd-pleaser. It’s wonderful comfort food on a cold fall or winter’s day.
This is an adopted recipe that I haven’t yet tried. The original chef comments: “My good friend’s Indian mother-in-law taught me how to cook this. Auntie (I call her Auntie) is from Hyderabad, is one of the best cooks I know and is very patient! There are a few steps to this recipe and you need some special ingredients, but it is really good, authentic South Indian cuisine. I’m posting some photographs with this recipe so you can see what these ingredients look like. They can all be found at an Indian grocery. Everything is listed in the order in which you will use it. Be brave; if you are patient, willing to take your time and have everything ready before hand, you will be rewarded with a delicious result. (Prep time is approximate and could be a little longer).”
I like to make my own curry paste. This way I know that the compliments I get for my curries are entirely up to myself. The good thing is that the paste keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge and can be frozen. The paste makes wonderful presents too. I give them away together with coconut milk, some kaffir lime leaves (I have my own plant), and some ideas how to use it. I also tell them that they can wrap whatever they won’t use in tin foil and freeze. The recipe comes from Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Bible, a wonderful book. You will find coriander with roots in Asian stores, but don’t worry if you can’t find the roots, Madhur Jaffrey writes that you can use a small handful of the leaves instead. However, your paste then won’t be as red as when using the roots. This paste is enough for two dishes of pork, beef, chicken, prawns, squid, fish, crabs, lobster meat or hard-boiled eggs.
A classic, but simple take on curry rice that is famous in Japan and is enjoyed world-wide. I got this recipe from one of my Japanese friends when we were little. Her mom used to make it for us as a special treat, and also made us each a small cookbook with our favorite dishes she would make us in it. I came across the book the other day and tried out a few recipes. This was one of them. I hope you guys all enjoy it! ^_^
