Last night my father-in-law came over for an evening meal, and I decided to make curry.

Feeling bored with my usual repertoire of Indian food, I made some different things, all of which were extremely tasty and went over a treat.

On the menu was matar mushroom (mushroom & peas curry), rajma chawal (kidney bean curry), aloo dum (potato curry) and simla mirch bharata (bell peppers with garlic curry). Also rice, papadums, and store-bought samosas and pakoras.

The mushroom/pea, kidney bean and potato curries were all from a fab site I just discovered, Manjula’s kitchen. Not only does the website have full detailed recipes, but also video tutorials of “Auntie” Manjula demonstrating exactly how to make each dish. I know I will be visiting this site regularly.

The bell pepper curry was from one of my Indian vegetarian cookery books whose name escapes me at the moment.

A very successful meal and one which we be having again tomorrow as there were lots of leftovers. Thank you, Auntie Manjula!

Last night, I decided, was going to be curry night, and Mr Thrifty concurred as he is always up for a good curry. I made an old favourite, and tried a couple of new dishes too.

I’ve made Succulent mountain mushrooms several times before; it’s easy and tastes waaay better than the mushroom dishes that our takeaway does (for starters, it isn’t swimming in oil… why do some restaurants think everything tastes better with a slick of oil on it?)

Then I tried my hand at tandoori tofu kebabs. They were really good, but somehow were lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. Perhaps because I forgot to sprinkle them with lemon juice & coarse salt before serving. Oops. Also, I think I pressed the tofu a bit too much, so I might skip that step next time.

I also wanted to make something with potatoes (cuz, ya just gotta have potatoes when you have a curry), and settled on Potatoes cooked with mustard seeds, from Madhur Jaffrey’s Eastern Vegetarian Cooking. The potatoes were golden and crunchy and delicious, and I’ll definitely be adding them to my rotation of Indian dishes.

Mmmm, I love Indian food… such an explosion of flavours. Tonight, my culinary journey took me away from Europe and over to the Indian subcontinent.

I’m pretty particular about Indian food, and I find it a challenge to create curries at home which rival our local takeaway’s.

This is one curry that is better… oh so much better… than the takeaway’s.

It started out as Aloo chole from the blog Mahanandi, with a few adjustments and the addition of cauliflower. So I guess that would make it Aloo gobi chole.

We decided to do the fusion thing, and made Indian burritos: tortilla wraps stuffed with curry and chopped fresh tomato, chives, vegan raita and lettuce.

It really is one of those meals you just can’t wait to make again.

And… well, you just know what I’m going to say… I’ll be providing the recipe soon.

Edit 12 Nov 2008: I’ve added the recipe for Spinach toran, per a request by neca from Weighty Words. Enjoy!

Yesterday my FIL came over for tea (Amerispeak=supper). I decided to make curry, as it hadn’t been served up at the Thrifty household in a few weeks. I initially only intended to make one or two dishes, plus rice (the best-laid plans, yada, yada…)

I definitely wanted a mushroom dish. My favourite mushroom curry was one for Succulent mountain mushrooms that I’d adapted from one in the book Mangoes and Curry Leaves by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, found via blogs One Hot Stove and trialsnerror. Creamy and flavourful, but not hot. I used an exotic mushroom selection from Sainsbury’s, plus a few white button ’shrooms. (You can use all white button mushrooms.)

The chard I’d picked from our allotment a few days ago got earmarked for Spinach toran, from an old Indian cookbook that Mr Thrifty had lying around.

Hmmm, needed a protein dish… Very spicy, delicious chickpeas from Madhur Jaffrey’s Eastern Vegetarian Cooking, yes that would do.

Then I decided to make rice. And parsnip and potato bhajis.

Crikey! What a feast. But it was most delicious, and worth all the work.

Succulent mountain mushrooms

The original recipe calls for yogurt, not sour cream. But I had some Tofutti sour cream to use up, plus this makes it very creamy. You can substitute 5 tablespoons soya yogurt for the sour cream + water.

1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add fenugreek and kalonji seeds, give it a stir, then add garlic & ginger paste. Saute for 30 seconds.

2. Add onion and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until they are softened and fragrant (about eight minutes).

3. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, for three more minutes.

4. Turn heat to low. Add coriander, salt, cumin, turmeric and cayenne, and mix thoroughly. Add sour cream/water mixture (or yogurt) and mix again. Simmer for a few minutes.

5. Add tomatoes and continue to simmer for an additional five minutes, until they are broken down and have been amalgamated into the sauce.

Can be prepared ahead of time and reheated.

Makes two to four servings, depending on how many other dishes you are serving it with.

Very spicy, delicious chickpeas

This recipe is slightly adapted from one in Eastern Vegetarian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey. I notched down the heat by omitting the fresh hot chilli, but you can add it if you like things spicy. I keep fresh ginger root in the freezer, it’s easy to grate super-fine when frozen and keeps for ages.

As usual, you can start with 110g dried chickpeas and let Stanley cook them.

1. If you need to roast the cumin seeds, do so first while the pan is clean and dry. Simply add whole cumin seeds to a hot, dry pan and toast, stirring, until fragrant (a couple of minutes). Remove from pan and crush in a mortar and pestle.

2. Heat oil in a heavy frypan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute, stirring, for eight minutes, until soft.

3. Turn heat to low and add coriander, cumin (not roasted cumin), turmeric and cayenne. Mix thoroughly. Add tomatoes and cook for couple of minutes, until they are amalgamated with the spices. Add drained chickpeas (garbanzos) and 125ml (1/2 cup) water. Mix well.

4. Add ground roasted cumin, amchoor, paprika, garam masala, salt and lemon juice, and mix again. Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

5. Uncover and stir in fresh ginger and minced chilli (if using). Continue to cook for another minute.

Can be prepared ahead of time and reheated.

Makes two to four servings, depending on how many other dishes you are serving it with.

Spinach toran

This dish is also delicious made with chard. From Step by Step Indian Cooking by Sharda Gopal.

1. Wash the spinach or chard, discard any discoloured leaves and tough stalks, and shake dry. Chop as finely as possible and leave in a colander to drain.

2. Heat oil in a pan and gently fry the onion and chilli until the onion is transparent.

3. Add spinach or chard and tomato, cover tightly and cook on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach or chard has wilted.

4. Stir in coconut and add salt to taste.

Makes two to four servings, depending on how many other dishes you are serving it with.