Since we got so much (annoying) rain over the weekend, we decided to start a new weekly tradition at our place: Indian Curry Night! Since Makiko & I are such lovers of Indian food, we took it upon ourselves to master the fine art of curries and naan bread.
Join us for our first attempt – but just don’t anger the chef…
First thing’s first. Obviously, we need a game plan. On our trip to Japan last month, we picked up a great recipe book of curries from restaurants around Tokyo. I’ve always said the best Indian food is in Japan – and now after actually visiting India – I stand by my original statement. One recipe from the book really caught our eye (and was the main reason for purchasing it): a chick pea curry from Mandala – our favorite Indian restaurant in Tokyo:
Hoorah! We have a goal. The ingredients were actually quite simple – we had almost everything required except for some chickpeas, turmeric, garlic and fresh coriander. A quick trip to Coles with umbrellas in hand rectified that. Now, on with the cooking…
Spices galore – paprika, curry powder, turmeric and salt.
Basically throw everything in a pot, and voila – curry’s a cooking! Looks and (believe us) smells promising! Now, the next best thing to a great curry? Great naan bread. Makiko did some googling and found a recipe that we can just cook right on the stove. Check this out:
Bubbly naan bread! Ooooo… Shame we don’t have a tandoori oven, but it’ll do. The end result:
Golly gee – I’d swear I’m at an Indian restaurant… or at least eating quality take out Indian food. The results were fantastic. If every Sunday night turns out this good, we’ll be eating out a lot less Indian food – and making it ourselves. It was amazingly easy.
Now, who wants the recipes? 
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Do post the naan one. The throw-in-the-oven variety isn’t working for us here. We’re fine with curries, but another recipe wouldn’t hurt.
Wouldn’t mind trying that recipe myself, could you send it?
Thanks for the comments on my site by the way!
Will post the recipes in a few days…
Been busy with work and all for the last week or so. We actually had another Indian curry night tonight, and the results were not quite as encouraging. Seems as though we got lucky on the first attempt – or at least learned some lessons on the second attempt.
Never mind the recipe, I found one on the internet and tried it. Turned out pretty good!
…but…but…I still want the naan. I’m too lazy to use Google.
Sorry for the delay – been busy…
In case you still want it – the curry recipe:
Mandala’s Chick Pea Curry
Ingredients:
Chick Peas – 350g (canned or dried)
Oil (vegetable) – 100 ml
Onions x 2
Tomatoes x 1 1/2
Salt – 3 tsp
Cumin – 4 tsp
Garlic – 1 clove
Turmeric – 3 tsp
Paprika – 1 tsp
Curry Powder – 2 tbsp
Coriander (fresh) – 3 tbsp
Directions:
1. Wash chick peas until the wash water runs clear.
2. Boil the chick peas in a pot of water, cooking them until they’re soft.
3. Put the oil in another pot and heat it on low heat. Add the cumin to the oil, and heat it gently while being careful not to burn it. ** Cumin is the most important spice in curry making – this step is essential to a good curry. **
4. Once the cumin has been cooked a little bit, add the following ingredients one at a time to the pot: garlic (thinly sliced), onions (minced), tomatoes (minced), turmeric, paprika and curry powder. Add salt to taste (3 tsp or so).
5. After cooking the mess for a few minutes, add the softened chick peas. Heat until boiling.
6. Done! Let it sit for a while to let the flavors work themselves throughout. Serve in bowls with the fresh coriander on top.
Enjoy! So easy and so good.
Naan recipe coming soon…
Naan Bread (makes 4)
Ingredients:
All purpose flour – 300g
Sugar – 1 tbsp
Dry Yeast – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Water (room temp.) – 100 cc
Plain Yogurt – 3 tbsp
Olive / Vegetable Oil – 1 tbsp
Egg (beaten) x 1
Directions:
1. Put everything in a mixing bowl (except the water), but put the yeast and sugar on one side of the bowl, the salt on the other. The salt will prevent the yeast from working – so this is important. Pour the water on the side with the yeast / sugar.
2. Mix well by hand into a dough.
3. Knead the dough, stretching and folding it until smooth – like your earlobes (seriously – the recipe says that)!
4. Let the dough rise in a bowl (covered with saran wrap) until it has doubled in size (maybe 30 mins – 1 hour, depending on the time of year).
5. Punch the dough to get the air bubbles out.
6. Cut the dough into four pieces, and shape them into four round smooth balls.
7. Let the balls rise for another 10-15 mins covered lightly with a cloth to prevent drying.
8. Shape / stretch the dough into the classic naan bread (egg like) shape, with a rolling pin. Ideally the thickness will be between 3-5 mm.
9. Heat a frying pan on high heat with very small amount of cooking oil. Reduce to medium heat and chuck your naan bread shaped dough on it.
10. Let cook for a bit, checking the bottom every so often – once lightly browned, flip and cook the top. Repeat for the 3 remaining balls. Optionally add a bit of butter or ghea to the top of your naan bread.
Enjoy!
[...] For those that have been waiting – the chickpea curry and naan bread recipes are up here. We made it again last night, adjusting the chickpea curry recipe ever so slightly to perfect it. I must say – it’s pretty wicked, for novices like ourselves. [...]