Over the last several months I find myself wanting Indian Curry, or any curry for that matter, more often. My taste for the spicy food started long ago in the late 1980’s when an Iranian friend taught me to make a Persian curried meat and rice dish that I call “Fred’s Rice” in my cookbook.
If you would like to take an adventurous path through Indian cuisine, you will need some good spices. I buy mine from The Spice House on line, which is physically located in Chicago. Also, if you would like to mix some Thai curries into your menu, I recently purchased some hard to find items from a specialty Thai grocery with a very informative on line store, Import Food Thai Supermarket, physically located in ** you will never guess where ** Boise, Idaho.
Indian-Style Hurry Curry is a one pan entree. Here the curry is ready for taste correction (add more spice, salt pepper) before the addition of the cream cheese.
The following recipe is not an “authentic” Indian recipe, but brings those flavors to your table in a hurry. I adapted the concoction for ease of preparation, a simplified ingredient list and a quick week night treat. You might choose to serve the curry over rice or even by itself. I chose Linguine, and while perhaps unorthodox, it was a delicious pairing. As for meat, I used very lean ground beef, but chicken breast or a mixture of both may be substituted. Concerning for the spice level of the recipe, it is mild, with little heat. You may add more of any ingredient; the spices are especially easy to tweak. Have a taste and add one or more just before adding the cream cheese; stir in well. Of course, additional quantities may be added early in the preparation if you are familiar with their use.
Finally, the consistency of the finished curry should be like an Italian spaghetti sauce … saucy, but not runny. Add water if needed.
Enjoy!
- 1 Pound Lean Ground Beef, salted and peppered to taste, cooked/scrambled in a 10" skillet until all the pink is gone, drained and set aside OR 1 Pound Boneless Skinless Chicken cubed (it will cook with the curry later) or Half Pound Beef + Half Pound Chicken
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Diced Yellow Onion
- 5 Cloves of Garlic minced very finely
- 1 Teaspoon Peeled Ginger Root chopped very finely
- 2 Teaspoons Turmeric Powder
- 4 Teaspoons Chili Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground Cumin
- ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper Powder (provides mild heat, add more if you like)
- 2 Tablespoons Curry Powder (the type available in the spice aisle of your grocery)
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 3 Twists of the Black Pepper Mill
- 1 Cup Water
- 4 Ounces by Weight Cream Cheese cut into 1" chunks
- 8 Ounces Linguine cooked per package instructions, drained, serve immediately OR mix in 2 Tablespoons oil to prevent sticking and set aside (microwave to re-warm if needed at time of service)
- Saute onions in the oil over medium heat until transparent.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pan, except the meat, water and cream cheese. Stir well to thoroughly mix.
- If using chicken, add it to the onion spice mixture and stir regularly until cooked and all the pink is gone. If using beef, add it to the pan now; stir to mix.
- Add the water to the pan, stir well to combine, bring to a slight simmer, cover pan and lower heat to just maintain the simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.
- Add the Cream Cheese and stir; cover and continue to cook for 5 more minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and combined with the meat sauce; correct to taste for salt and black pepper. Turn off heat and serve hot over pasta or rice.
- Note: You will see some Zucchini in the plated curry. I had a medium-sized one available when I made this dish so I sliced it into ⅓" thick coins, then cut the coins in half. If you would like to do that, add the cut squash to the curry once the cheese is fully mixed in, stir, cover and turn off heat. Allow at least 5 minutes before serving or removing the lid to allow the squash to cook to al dente.
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