Making Curries
Curries of are well-loved all around the world.
Southeast Asian cuisines have evolved many popular
curry-based recipes. If anything, every curry recipe is a mixture of influence
of different cultures carried from port to port by trade and colonization in
the 19th and 20th centuries. Merchants hawked their
spices and herbs, and sailors and natives were inspired to evolve new recipes
with ingredients from foreign lands.
From India, we have spices like cumin, coriander
and cinnamon. From South America came chilli peppers. From Southeast Asia we
have herbs like pandunus leaves, ginger, tamarind and lemongrass. Some early
results of using herbs and spices from far and near are Nonya curries. To this
day, this exotic and heady mixing of herbs, spices and chilies continue to
inspire fusion recipes.
It has been said that there are as many curry recipes
as there are households that cook them. We can understand why this is so as
housewives use ingredients that she can find at home for her daily curries. Some
of these creations eventually became popular in the community and were given
names. The success of a curry in one food stall could result in it being
duplicated elsewhere. A good example is Fish Head Curry which became known in
Malaysia and Singapore in the 1950s. Being published in books, magazines and
newspapers also popularize recipes and gave them an official name and place in
our cuisine.
It is important to have a basic understanding of
what makes a good curry.
Firstly, and this should be self-evident, use fresh
spices and herbs. Their source is important, of course, as some countries or
regions grow better spices than others. In the humid, tropical weather of
Southeast Asia, extra care is also needed to keep spices and herbs fresh.
Assembling spice mixes yourself gives you more
control and helps you to develop your palate and ability to recognize the
difference which each spice makes to the recipe. All things being equal, spice
seeds are generally fresher than store-bought ground spice. That said, if the
ground mix is fresh, it can be very good too. So, while the recipes here call
for you to assemble the spices yourself, if you are familiar with some good
mixes, do use them. Sometimes, you simply have no local access to fresh spices,
so you will just have to settle for powdered blends.
And whatever a cook may tell you, no single spice
is mandatory for curry. If a recipe has a few types of spices and you are short
of one, just leave it out.
Note that a bit of spice will go a long way in
flavoring a curry. A common mistake which home cooks make is to imagine that
adding water to curry powder will give you curry the way adding water to milk
powder will give you milk. Most curries need a ‘body’ and this often comes from
shallots or onions and other herbs like ginger or garlic. Onions will need to
be slowly simmered in some oil to caramalise or sweat them to remove the
sulfuric flavours and sweeten the paste. Sufficient oil is also needed for both
mouth-feel and flavours, as most spices and chilies are oil-soluble rather than
water-soluble.
Sufficient salt is also important. Salt enhances flavour and brings out
the complexity of the curry. Leave out salt and your curry will be tasteless,
no matter how much and how many types of spices you put into it. Add salt in
stages, bearing in mind that the curry will thicken as water evaporates.
And whether you are using meat, potatoes or
vegetables in your curries, the key is not to overcook it. Mushy meat has an
unpleasant texture and overcooking means that a lot of flavours would have been
released and lost from the meat.
The type of chilli you use will also affect the
aroma of your curry. For this book, the chillies I refer to are the ones
commonly found in markets and supermarkets.
Most curries are cooked in two stages. You first make the spice paste or
rempah and then you add the meat.
To make the curry creamier, milk, coconut milk or
yoghurt is used. If your curries already have good flavours from the spices,
use the milk or coconut milk in moderation. Indian curries normally use yoghurt
which adds a sour note and balances a good-flavored curry very well. Evaporated
milk is sometimes used too.
While a curry recipe tends to have a longer list of
ingredients than recipes for other dishes, you don’t need advanced culinary
skills to make a good one. You can hardly ruin a curry. Even if you are new to
cooking, give it a try. And if you think your first try wasn’t great, remember
that practice makes perfect.
Stay calm and curry on!
