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by Seby_Archive
Vegan curries! Look at what we made on Sunday : ) Here are the recipes ¦.You can use a garam masala out of a packet, but that is very boring. Grinding your own is more fun, as you can then experiment with different versions. For this, you will need a large mortar and pestle, but you will need one for some of the recipes below anyway. So get a mortar and pestle. Here is a garam masala recipe to get you started. Garam Masala: Grind together 4 parts black pepper corns, , 4 parts coriander seed, 3 parts green cardamoms, 3 parts fennel seed, 1 part cloves, and 1 part cinnamon. Some handy hints - Stuff like pepper, salt, chilli, and lemon juice is really to taste. Lemons in particular can taste very differently depending on the variety and time of year. Maybe taste lemons before you use them and after a while you will get the nag of knowing how much lemon juice you will need in a particular dish. But really, you need to taste as you go. Actually, all of the spice amounts below are to taste, but they are a good start. Masur dal:3 cups of red lentils3 teaspoons cumin seeds3 teaspoons cayenne pepper3 teaspoons turmeric powderSalt (to taste)18 cloves4 inches cinnamon, broken12 green cardamoms3 cups grated coconut12 black pepper corns12 cloves garlicOlive oil4 onionsWash the lentils until the water runs clear. Boil with enough water to cover completely and then some. Grind all of the ingredients except the onions, salt, and olive oil. Heat olive oil and fry onions until golden brown. Add the ground up paste (a super masala paste, basically), and fry for several minutes. Add to the lentils and stir in just as the lentils are cooked. You might need to adjust the water level as you go as the lentils will absorb a lot! This will thicken up in the fridge so you will probably want to add water if/when you reheat. Mushrooms and Spinach:Tonnes of spinach. Like 500g of leaves at leastOne big bag of mushrooms. Tiny brown ones work well, and look adorable. 1 bunch coriander, leaves chopped finely, with roots separated Salt to taste2 teaspoons turmeric powder2 teaspoons paprikaGreen chillies to taste (chopped)Olive oil2 onions3 teaspoons mustard seeds1.5 teaspoons cumin seeds3 teaspoons garam masalaChop up all of the spinach. This is shit and takes forever. Use something electric to help you. We slice it roughly, put it in the pot with a little bit of water, then go at it with a hand/stick blender until it is purified. Whatever works. Now boil the spinach with the turmeric, salt, paprika, and chillis. Boil for ages. Like an hour at least. The spinach will go from light green to a much darker colour. You want to use a very small amount of water as spinach is mainly water and it will release a lot of its own. If you fuck this part up and add too much water, then just press the spinach down and skim the water off the top. You will do better next time. As the spinach is boiling, fry the onions in the oil with the mustard seeds and cumin seeds until golden brown. Whilst they are frying, grind the coriander roots up with the garam masala. Add this to the onions and seeds after the onions have turned golden brown. Fry for several minutes, until the masala paste has blended in completely. Add the fried mixture to the spinach (but only after the spinach is boiled completely, see above). Taste the spinach and adjust for salt and whatnot. When it is right, add the mushrooms. Since the spinach mixture is thack/dryish, you will need to push the mushrooms down into it. Now cover with a lid and leave on a low heat for an hour or so, or until the mushrooms are cooked through. Stir occasionally to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot. When the mushrooms are cooked through, add the chopped coriander leaves and stir through. Leave cooking for another five minutes or so, then you are done.Chick Peas (Channa Masala):3 tins of chic peas (not dried ones unless you have a lot of time on your hands - look up how to deal with them. "Just soaking" is lies. You will need a pressure cooker)SaltGreen chillis to taste (chopped)2 inches ginger (sliced finely)6 green cardamoms18 black peppercorns3 inches cinnamon, broken18 clovesOlive oil12 cloves garlic2 teaspoons paprika or chilli powder3 teaspoons turmeric powder2 teaspoons cumin powder6 teaspoons coriander powderbunch of chopped coriander leaves3 teaspoons garam masalaHalf cup lemon juiceWash and strain chic peas, boil with salt, half the onion, green chillis, cardamoms, peppercorns, cinnamon, and cloves. Simmer for a good half hour. Strain off the resulting stock and set aside (drink some of this, it is the Nectar of the Gods, trust me). So you now have the stock and the drained chic peas. Heat up the oil and fry the rest of the onion, and garlic, until golden brown. Add the paprika, turmeric, cumin powder, and coriander powder. Now add the chic peas and fry on a medium-high heat, stirring and mixing and lifting very gently. Do this for at least ten minutes, and do not skip this part. It is hard work, but it is a crucial step in making the gravy. People often skip this step and complain that their channa masala was thin. It was thin because they skipped the ten minutes of chic pea frying. Now mix in the coriander leaves, garam masala, and lemon juice. Now add as much of the stock as you need to make a thick gravy. Taste for salt and lemon juice. Eggplant/Aubergine Curry:Lots of eggplant. About 700g.Olive oil2 teaspoons turmeric powder8 cloves2 teaspoons cumin powder2 teaspoons coriander powder12 black peppercorns2 inches ginger (chopped finely)1 teaspoon chilli powderBunch of coriander leaves (chopped)5 tomatoesSalt to taste.5 cup lemon juiceCut the eggplant up into squares and soak in cold water. heat oil and fry all of the spices for five minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and eggplant. Stir for five minutes. Add the lemon juice. Cover, and cook slowly until the eggplant is cooked.Check on it to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. This dish is quite sour, and makes a good match with a sweeter curries. Nepali Vegetable Curry:Olive oil2 onions (chopped)2 bay leaves, broken up1 teaspoon ground black pepperGreen chillis to taste12 cloves garlic, chopped3 inches ginger, chopped1 teaspoon turmeric powderSalt to tasteBunch of coriander leaves, chopped.4 teaspoons coriander seeds2 teaspoons cumin seedsNow vegetables! Chopped up. About 1kg or more in total. It's up to you which ones you use. But when we made this we used (I think ¦we just grabbed whatever looked fun):SquashBrocoliPotatoTaro rootLeekCarrotsLong string beany thingsFresh beetroot (This is amazing! Use this!)Heat oil and fry onion until golden brown. Add bay leaves, pepper, chillis, garlic, turmeric, and salt. Add a splash or two of water and then add your root vegetables. Fry-boil for ten minutes or so. Add everything else and enough water so that things are sort of covered. Cook on a low heat until the vegetables are cooked. When you add the different vegetables depends on what vegetables you have and how you like them. For example, we like our broccoli to be fresh and crunchy, so we add it at the very end.