I have been wanting to learn to make curries for a while, since we don't have any Indian restaurants less than 90 minutes' drive away and I really do love Indian food. The problem is that whenever I check out an Indian recipe book from the library, I'm put off by the enormously long lists of ingredients, some of which I have no hope of finding anywhere in my town. The other problem is that I have a toddler, and her tender little mouth isn't used to very spicy things yet. (Give her time. She has started liking Sriracha and various Mexican salsas.)
So, since I was longing for something vaguely curry-like, I decided to invent my own. I think you could add pretty much anything to the spicy tomato sauce if you didn't have chickpeas and spinach. I expect leftover chicken would be wonderful, as would cauliflower florets, cubed potatoes, peas, and so on. I know it sounds like I've used a lot of fat to cook this in, but I do like the taste of butter in combination with spices, and it adds a lovely smoothness to the mouth-feel of the sauce.
I realized that it's not especially frugal to have to dash out and buy a lot of spices. I had all these sitting around my kitchen anyway, because I have several years' worth of collected spices. I buy mine in bulk from the supermarket. If your supermarket doesn't have bulk spices, try to find an Indian grocery or an international foods market, where they will be vastly cheaper than those little jars of spices in the supermarket that sell for ridiculous amounts. Failing that, you could leave out some or all of the spices listed, and add a judicious couple of teaspoons of good curry powder or garam masala.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon peanut oil (any kind of oil would do, but I like peanut for its high smoking point)
1 onion, chopped medium
2 cloves garlic, crushed with the blade of a knife and chopped finely
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (I keep fresh ginger in my freezer, and pull it out to grate it into recipes as needed. No need even to peel the skin, as it comes off when you grate it from frozen)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon each of these: ground cardamom, turmeric, ground cloves, ground cumin seeds, ground coriander seeds
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon sugar (optional if you're trying to be healthy, but I find it brings out the flavor of the tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can chickpeas, drained and well rinsed)
5 oz raw spinach, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro (coriander leaves), sliced (optional if you don't care for it, which I know a lot of people don't)
salt
Melt the butter in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the oil, the onion, and a large pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is well softened.
Add the garlic, ginger, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, cardamom, turmeric, cloves, cumin, and coriander. Cook for another five minutes until the spices are getting more and more aromatic, stirring frequently. Don't let the spices stick and burn. If they look like they're about to, turn the heat down a bit.
Add the tomatoes, another large pinch of salt, and the sugar. Turn the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes.
Now add the chickpeas and stir until they're heated through. Then add the spinach, one handful at a time, and stir until it's wilted. Add more salt to taste. At the last minute, add the cilantro.
Serve with Perfect Basmati Rice.
Serves 4. If you have leftovers, they taste even better the next day, once the flavors have had a chance to meld more.
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