Rogan Josh

I must confess that not only have I not written anything interesting lately, I haven't cooked much interesting lately either, except for several pretty good batches of lentil soup.  Until last weekend when I made a fantastic pot of Rogan Josh.  I've made more Indian food than usual this winter, but all of it out of a jar of curry sauce from the grocery store.  Miles Farmers Market has amazing curry sauces at reasonable prices and all you have to do is add the meat.  However, this weekend I was out of jarred sauce and had some lamb in the freezer so I set out to make my own.  I read a few recipes and then used my own cooking technique.  Child number 2 had soccer and a play so I would be out of the house all day, so followed most of the instructions and then just tossed it all in a copper pot in the over at 225 for 6 hours.   I sauteed onions, garlic, 2 tbsp of fresh ginger in a pan.  Then I browned 1.25 pounds of lamb and added a tbsp of curry, 1/4 tsp of cayenne and 1 tsp of turmeric, a small can of tomatoes and 1 cup of yogurt.  I added a cubed eggplant (which I had salted) which was absolutely not in any of the recipes for Rogan Josh, but I think eggplant only adds to any lamb dish and I had less lamb than I needed for the number of people I planned to serve.  I tossed it all in the oven and went to the soccer game.   When I returned I made some basmanti rice and I chopped some cucumber and garlic and mixed it in plain yogurt to make a raita.  The lamb was tender and the sauce was flavorful but didn't have a harsh curry edge like the jarred sauce.  It also wasn't really much more difficult than opening a jar.  This is going into the regular family rotation, for sure.

Thai Red Curry

I was planning to make a Thai Green Curry, but I didn't have any green curry paste, so a red curry would have to do.  I cubed and salted the eggplant and simmered it in the red curry, coconut milk, lime and fish sauce.   The addition of the lime and fish sauce really cut the harsh taste that comes with the commercial curry paste.   I added green beans and shrimp after the eggplant was soft and served it over basmanti rice.  I didn't miss the green curry after all.

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