June 23, 2020July 30, 2020

What makes a good curry? It’s all in the spices. India, in particular, is famous for the variety of sought after spices that are important to Indian cuisine. Spices were so precious, early European explorers set off around the world to source valuable spices. So what exactly is a spice? Spice is a dried part of a plant, such as the seed, fruit, root or bark, that adds flavour to our food. Have a smell of each spice, are any of them familiar to you?

Yield: 6 servings
Preparation Time: About 30 minutes

Project CHEF sometimes holds Curry Cup competitions for Grade 6/7 chef teams to create a winning curry. Competition is fierce and fun. This curry was the winner in our 2016 competition at McBride Elementary. This creamy curry can be eaten with rice or with Project CHEF naan.

INGREDIENT LIST

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
10 white or brown button mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, large dice
½ yellow large onion, cut into medium-sized dice
2 clove garlic, minced
8 small red potatoes, cut into large dice
½ tsp. chili flakes
2 tsp. curry powder
½ tsp. turmeric
½ tsp. cumin
1/4tsp coriander
1tsp salt
1/4tsp ground black pepper
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
½ cup whipping cream
cilantro, chopped, to garnish
150g extra firm tofu, cut into bite sized cubes (optional)

EQUIPMENT LIST

Measuring spoons
Sharp knife
Cutting board
Medium-sized bowl
Pot or Dutch oven
Wooden spoon or silicone
Spatula
Liquid measuring

METHOD

Wash the vegetables
Slice the mushrooms, about pinky wide in widths, scoop into a bowl.
Cut the carrots into a large dice. Half the carrot lengthwise, then cut each
strips into pinky-wide strips, add to the bowl.
Peel the onion, and slice the onion into pinky wide strips. Take one or two pieces at a time and cut them once or twice more to achieve a rough dice. Add the onions to the bowl of mushrooms and carrots.
Cut the potatoes into bite size pieces and add to a new bowl.
Grate the garlic cloves into the bowl of potatoes, using a microplane.
Accurately measure all the spices into a small bowl. Make sure to wipe the measuring spoon after each use so that you are scooping into the spice using a clean spoon.
Place a large pot on the stove on high, add 1 Tbsp of oil, and wait until the
pot & oil is hot.
Add the bowl with mushrooms, carrots, and onion, and cook until the onions start to brown and mushrooms appear wet. Use a spatula to stir constantly to avoid burning, about 5 minutes.
Add the bowl of potatoes & garlic about and cook for about 1 minute.
Add the spice mix, and stir. Continue to stir so that the spices do not stick
to the bottom.
Add stock and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer until vegetables are soft. You can check by poking one of the potatoes using a fork.
Add the optional tofu using, and bring to a boil.
Check seasoning and add salt if needed. Add cream and stir until heated.
Serve over rice and garnish with chopped cilantro.

SKILLS

STEP-BY-STEP – YELLOW CREAMY CURRY!

STEP 1
Gather the ingredients. The spices you see here from left to right are, chili flakes, curry powder, turmeric, cumin and coriander. Curry powder is the odd one out here. It is actually a mix of spices that is made up of chili flakes, turmeric, cumin, coriander and black pepper. Research each spice and discover what each plants looks like.

STEP 2
Using the Claw & Saw, slice the mushrooms into pinky-wide strips.

STEP 3
Dice the onions, and place in the bowl with mushrooms.

STEP 4
Dice the carrot. If the carrot is big, you can cut lengthwise in half first, then cut into pinky-wide strips. Add to the bowl and set aside.

STEP 5
Cut the potatoes in half (or into bite size pieces) and place in a new bowl.

STEP 6
Grate the garlic into the bowl of potatoes.

STEP 7
Make your spice blend. Accurately measure all the spices using a measuring spoon. Make sure to wipe the spoon after each use so that you are not mixing the spices.

STEP 8
Heat up a pot on medium-high heat and add 1 Tbsp of oil. Add the mushroom, onion and carrot into the pot. Cook until onions start to brown and the mushrooms look wet.

STEP 9
Next add the potatoes & garlic. Make sure there are not any bits left inside the bowl. If there are any bits of garlic, you can use a spatula to add to the pot.

STEP 10
Add the spice blend and constantly stir for one minute. Toasting the spices will bring out the flavours and aromas by drawing out the oils within them.