Tasty things

[lucymonster]

As the weather gets colder, I've been wanting curry a lot, which coincides nicely with my recent efforts to bring the grocery budget down. I can make a big vat of curry dirt cheap as long as I plan ahead enough to soak my pulses and slow-cook my cheap cuts. I've found a new go-to in this eggplant curry, which taught me to preroast the eggplant to get rid of that slimy texture I hate. I like to add beans or lentils to make it a one-dish meal.

I've been trying some Sri Lankan recipes out of Sarogini's cookbook, which I impulsively bought a secondhand copy of a while back despite knowing nothing at the time about Sri Lankan cuisine. I made a bone-in lamb and cashew curry, and a beetroot curry that was wildly different from anything I've eaten before (I loved it), and a dry broccoli and coconut dish that Sarogini disclaims is very nontraditional but tastes really, really good.

I had great success with this goan fish curry, which comes together quickly and so is great for the inevitable days when I leave dinner prep to the last minute. I've been making a lot of this naan, which is not quite as good as restaurant naan but still pretty damn good, and has the advantage of being a robust enough bread to survive my on-and-off, compulsively unfaithful relationship with kitchen scales. The only thing it can't survive is GF flour, so my husband has been having a lot of gluten cheat days, but I take that as further proof of how tasty the bread is. I have never once bothered with the anise seeds or parsley. It doesn't need anything but butter.

On an entirely different note, I've also been having fun with Japanese fusion cooking. My favourite Japanese restaurant has tragically closed, but before they went they blew my mind wide open on how many things you can throw onto a pizza: miso white sauce; cheese and kimchi; teriyaki chicken; tuna and mayo. I hope the anti-pineapple crowd never find out what I've been up to, but it's all fucking delicious.

Comments

[pauraque]

Ooh, I might have to try making naan. I didn't know it was so easy!

[lucymonster]

I was surprised too! Being able to have naan on demand at home is pretty fucking sweet.

[fiachairecht]

...Oh, that eggplant curry looks SO good, I am definitely going to try it when I think of something to sub in for the tomatoes.

[walgesang]

I loooooooove naan. So good! (I am firmly in the pro-pineapple crowd)

[lucymonster]

I haven't tried this myself, but a couple of Indian recipe sites seem to recommend pureed pumpkin as a substitute. The tomatoes aren't a major flavour element - really they're just carrying the spice and adding a small amount of sweetness - so I think it could work well!

[lucymonster]

The pizza purists are missing out. Pineapple is delicious!

[fiachairecht]

Huh, that's something I'd never have thought of but makes perfect sense, actually! Usually I'm substituting for chopped tomatoes and red bell peppers are my go-to, but I may have to try the pumpkin puree in this case...