Day 125 - Cooking Curry

I have nothing interesting in my life now, other than revision. So I've decided to blog about my cooking. Why?

1. To let those at home know that I'm eating well. (Their emphasis - never let your health suffer!)
2. To let those who are studying overseas know that budget cooking still can be nutritious, good and fast!

So today's recipe would be a tomato-based curry. I have been cooking this lately to clear the curry paste I've brought over.

Please don't ask me for exact measurements, like how many teaspoons, tablespoons or Reese Witherspoon. I don't use measurements - it's all agar-ism and to taste.

What You'll need: Half an Onion, Carrots, canned chickpeas, lentils, chilli if you need it to be more spicy, julienne-d curry leaves (I had to clear that too). You can change the vegetables and pulses you want to add in. It doesn't matter if you don't have curry leaves. Chopped coriander is good too.

You would also need some tomato base. You could use chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh), or for my case, since I need to clear the big bottle of Passata (pureed tomatoes), I'm using that. Do not use ketchup!

On high heat and a bit of oil in the pan, brown the sliced onions.

Once the onion has sweated slightly, add in chopped chilli and julienne-d curry leaves. Turn down the heat to MEDIUM (or you'll have loads of chilli fumes to sting your eyes!)

Add in the curry paste and mix it well for a minute.

Once your paste is fragrant, add in a bit of water to cool down everything. It shouldn't exceed half the level of whatever you have in your pan, or you'll get a watery curry. Stir to dissolve the curry paste. When it is beginning to show signs of boiling, throw in your hardier vegetables (like carrots). Violent or long-range throws are optional.

After the carrots is pretty cooked, throw in your lentils and chickepas. Again, throwing technique is optional.

Once everything has started to boil, add in your tomato base and mix it in.

Season with some salt and a little SUGAR. Yes sugar. My mother say when cooking spicy things, must add sugar one. I finally understand why - it makes the flavour more complex and layered. If you're using chopped coriander, add it in now. Let it all boil for a minute or so and you're done!

Serve with rice. Yum!

Time Taken (Preparation + Cooking) - 5 + 10 mins

Cost breakdown (All prices, except curry leaves, are from Waitrose)
Half an Onion - £0.025 (4 onions for £0.20)
1 carrot - £0.038 ( 6 carrots for £0.23)
Canned Lentils - £0.10 (5 servings from a can for £0.50)
Canned Chickpeas - £0.12 (5 servings from a can for £0.61)
Passata- £0.116 (7 servings from a bottle for £0.81)
Curry leaves - £0.03 (10 servings from a big pack for £0.38)
Condiments - £0.10 (salt, sugar, oil, chilli)

TOTAL - £0.53

Add in cost of rice and curry paste (if you need to buy them), a nutritious good meal for less than £1!