Twombly Family Recipe Yellow Curry 2017-05-20 · PDF fileTwombly Family Recipe Twombly Family Recipe Yellow Curry Page 1 Yellow Curry This is so incredibly simple, while at the same

Twombly Family Recipe

Twombly Family Recipe Yellow Curry Page 1

Yellow Curry

This is so incredibly simple, while at the same time exotic, and has a long history. I had this curry with

potatoes in a whole wheat wrap on the streets of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and it was amazing – they call

it Roti, and it only cost me a buck.

INTRODUCTION

This recipe is for yellow curry with chicken and rice. It’s so simple writing the recipe seems silly. I could

write all 5 ingredients and all the steps on the back of a business card. One may have fun with this by

experimenting with the variations and garnishing.



HISTORY (and etymology)

Curry (/ˈkʌri/, plural curries) is a dish originating in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. The origin of

the modern interpretation of the word curry is apparently in somewhat of a dispute. The word curry, may

be from French cuire, meaning to cook. The word curry may also have

been adopted and anglicized from the Tamil word kari meaning "sauce,

or relish for rice", which is usually understood to mean vegetables

and/or meat cooked with spices with or without a gravy. The word

“cury” appeared in the 1390s in an English cookbook, The Forme of

Cury. Kari was described in a mid-17th Century Portuguese cookbook

by members of the British East India Company trading with Tamil

(Indian) merchants along the Coromandel Coast of southeast India,

becoming known as a "spice blend used for making kari dishes ... called

kari podi or curry powder". The first curry recipe in English was

published in 1747 in the The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse, and the

1758 edition contains a recipe "To make a currey the Indian way".

Dishes called 'curry' may contain fish, meat, poultry, or

shellfish, either alone or in combination with

vegetables. Additionally, many are entirely vegetarian,

eaten especially among those who hold ethical or

religious proscriptions against eating meat or seafood.

The common feature is the use of complex

combinations of spices or herbs, usually including fresh

or dried hot chilies. The use of the term is generally

limited to dishes prepared in a sauce.

During the 19th century, curry was carried to the Caribbean by Indian indentured workers in the British

sugar industry. Curry was first served in coffee houses in Britain from 1809, and has been increasingly

popular in Great Britain, with major jumps in the 1940s and the 1970s. Since the mid-20th century, curries

of many national styles have become popular far from their origins, and have increasingly become part of

international fusion cuisine. There is a similar mixture of spices used in north South Asia called garam

masala (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, mace, peppercorns, coriander, cumin and sometimes red

pepper, nutmeg, and saffron). Image: Spices in garam masala.

Archaeological evidence dating to 2600 BCE from Mohenjo-daro suggests the use of mortar and pestle to

pound spices, including mustard, fennel, cumin, and tamarind pods

with which they flavored food. Black pepper is native to South Asia and

Southeast Asia and has been known to Indian cooking since at least

2000 BCE. Curry-like spice blends with key ingredients of ginger, garlic,

and turmeric were used in the Indus Valley Civilization in South Asia

almost 4000 years ago. Similarly, the oldest surviving Roman

cookbook, Apicius, details numerous recipes that require meats to be

seasoned with vinegar, honey, and ground herbs and spices including pepper, cumin, lovage, marjoram,

mint, cloves and coriander. The chili pepper, a ubiquitous ingredient in curry today, was brought to South

Asia through the Columbian Exchange and the establishment of the Portuguese trading center in Goa in

1510, resulting in the introduction of chili pepper to India from the Americas. Image: Ruins of Mohenjo-

daro.



Varieties of Curry

There are many varieties of dishes around the world called, 'curries'. For example, in original traditional

cuisines, the precise selection of spices for each dish is a matter of national or regional cultural tradition,

religious practice, and, to some extent, family preference. Such dishes are named according to their

ingredients, spicing, and cooking methods. Traditionally, spices are used both whole and ground; cooked

or raw; and they may be added at different times during the cooking process to produce different results.

In the Indian subcontinent, the main spices found in most curry powders are coriander, cumin, and

turmeric; a wide range of additional spices may be included depending on the geographic region and the

foods being included (fish, lentils, red or white meat, rice, and vegetables).

In Thailand, there are at least eight distinct types of curry. These include: Yellow curry, Massaman curry,

Green curry, Red curry, Phanaeng curry, Khao soi, Kaeng hang le, and Kaeng som.

In Great Britain, they have adopted several Indian terms to identify popular dishes. (I have had the very

best Indian food, including curries, on Brick street in London, a fabulous stop for dinner, not to be missed,

if you happen to be nearby.) Although the names may derive from traditional dishes, often the recipes

do not. Representative names include: Bhuna – medium, thick sauce, some vegetables (bhunna in Urdu

means "to be fried"). Biryani – spiced rice and meat cooked together and usually served with vegetable

curry sauce. Curry – the most common name for a meat dish (most often chicken or lamb) with a medium-

spicy, brown, gravy-like sauce. Dhansak – in the curry house, it may be made with either lamb or chicken

and frequently contains pineapple, though this is not original. The name derives from a Parsi dish of

mutton cooked with lentils (dal) and vegetables. Dupiaza/dopiaza – medium curry (the word means

"double onion", referring to the boiled and fried onions

used as its primary ingredient). Jalfrezi – onion, green

chili and a thick sauce. Kofta – refers to dishes

containing meatballs (most frequently lamb), or

vegetable substitutes (most often ground nuts).

Korma/kurma – mild, yellow in color, with almond and

coconut powder. Madras curry – "the standard hot,

slightly sour curry at the Indian restaurant”. Pasanda –

in the UK, a mild curry sauce made with cream, coconut

milk, and almonds or cashews; served with lamb,

chicken, or king prawns (US: jumbo shrimp). The name

was derived from a Mughlai dish of lamb strips beaten to make them tender. Naga curry – relatively new

extremely hot dish with unique savory taste made with the highly aromatic Naga Morich or Bhut Jolokia

chilli pepper. Pathia – a hot curry, generally like a "Madras" with the addition of lemon juice and tomato

purée. Phaal – "this is the hottest curry the restaurants can make. There is nothing like it in India — it is

pure invention." Roghan josh – a medium-spicy curry, usually of lamb, with a deep red sauce containing

tomatoes and paprika. It derives from a Kashmiri dish of the same name. Sambar – medium-heat, sour

curry made with lentils and tamarind. Vindaloo – generally regarded as the classic "hot" restaurant curry.

Progressively hotter versions are sometimes called "tindaloo" and "bindaloo".



Curry powder is a commercially prepared mixture of spices, and is

largely a Western creation, dating to the 18th century. Such mixtures

are commonly thought to have first been prepared by Indian

merchants for sale to members of the British Colonial government and

army returning to Britain.

Curries spices may be either 'dry' or 'wet'. Dry curries are cooked with

very little liquid which is allowed to evaporate, leaving the other

ingredients coated with the spice mixture. Wet curries contain

significant amounts of sauce or gravy based on yoghurt, cream,

coconut milk, coconut cream, legume purée, or broth.

This recipe is for a yellow curry (Thai: kaeng kari, [kɛ̄ː ŋ kā.rìː]; Chinese: 黃咖喱). Yellow curry is one of

three major kinds of Thai curry that are commonly found in Thai restaurants in the West. There are other

curry types in Thai cuisine, several of which are yellow.

Pre-packaged curry powder of Indian origin is

sometimes also referred to as yellow curry in Western

countries, but is a different blend of spices from Thai

yellow curry. Thai Yellow curry, outside Thailand,

usually refers to the Thai-Muslim dish kaeng kari. This

curry is richer and creamier than other Thai curries,

since coconut cream is used in addition to coconut

milk. This richer curry tends to tone down the overall

spiciness of the dish, hence its popularity on menus

outside of Thailand. The primary spices in kaeng kari

are cumin, coriander, turmeric, fenugreek, garlic, salt, bay leaf, lemongrass, cayenne pepper, ginger,

mace and cinnamon (photo). Sometimes a touch of palm sugar or a similar sweetener will be added,

depending on the sweetness of the coconut milk. Thai yellow curry can be made with duck, chicken, tofu,

shrimp, fish, or vegetables and is eaten with steamed rice or rice noodles known as khanom chin.

KEY TOOLS

� 12-inch (30 cm) frying pan.

� Measuring cups and spoons.

RECIPE

• Serves: 8.

• Costs: About $14/Total. About $1.80 /serving.

• Preparation: About 20 minutes.

• Cooking: About 30 minutes.

• Difficulty Level (10 = Easy, 100 = Difficult): 10 Easy.



INGREDIENTS You may wish to separate this page from the recipe, or reprint it, to identify what ingredients you have and what you need to buy.

It’s also handy separated from the recipe so you can see the amounts you will need when cooking.

Total cost: Approximately $14.00

RICE

� 2 cups (473 mL) sticky rice. I use Kokuho Rose Japanese sticky rice. ($24.78/15 lb., $2.00)

� 2 cups (473 mL) water. Tap water is ok. Adjust for each crop of rice. ($ scant)

� 1 stick (8 Tbsp., 118 mL) salted butter. [$1.00/stick]

MEAT

� 3.5 to 4 lbs. (about 1.7 kg, or about 10-12 pieces) skinless boneless chicken meat. One may use

chicken breasts, chicken thighs, etc. Thighs are less expensive and the taste works well with curry.

[about $12.00 for 12 pieces]

CURRY SAUCE

� 3 Tbsp. (45 mL) olive oil for the pan. [$0.10]

� 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) yellow curry powder. Experiment and find a brand of curry powder that you like

and keep using it. [$0.20]

� 4 Tbsp. (60 mL) all-purpose flour. [$0.05]

� 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) salted butter. [$0.12

� ½ tsp. salt. [$scant]

� 2 cans (13.5 fl. oz., 400 mL each). unsweetened coconut milk. If you use the paste, it will render a

thicker soup, more like a stew, which I prefer. Coconut milk can be heated to higher temperatures

without spoiling, and adds a velvety thickness to the sauce. Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream works well.

I prefer the So Brand Culinary Coconut Milk. ($1.84/pint Walmart) (Dry goods weight in grams, and liquid volumes in milliliters, is approximated)

Image: Ingredients are simple and locally available.



OVERVIEW

Make some rice. Prepare the curry sauce. Add the chicken and let it simmer. When the rice is done, plate

it and spoon the chicken and sauce on top.

(1) Prepare the rice (see our rice recipes).

(2) Prepare the meat.

(3) Prepare the sauce.

(4) Combine, cook, and serve.

MEAT

(1) Slice meat into bite sized pieces (against the grain). Whole chicken breasts can be used, and often

present better when plating. A whole chicken, or quartered chicken, can be used because the long

cooking time makes the meat fall off the bones. Some people remove the bones before serving

some leave the bones in for additional flavor.

Image: Meat sliced into bite sized bits.

(2) Place a frying pan on the stove.

(3) Heat the pan with high heat for a few minutes, but not until it is overheated (smoking).

(4) Reduce heat to medium setting and add 3 Tbsp. olive oil.

(5) Place the meat in the pan.

(6) Add salt and butter.

(7) Sautee until almost done



Image: Simmer until the meat is done.

(8) Stir in the curry powder and flower.

(9) Add the coconut milk. And stir to dissolve lumps.

(10) Bring back to a boil.

(11) Let simmer uncovered for at least 7 minutes, or until the chicken is done and the sauce is reduced to

the desired thickness. If you cover the pan it becomes too watery.

(12) Transfer to a serving platter or plate.

(13) With a ladle, remove enough sauce to cover the chicken and some of the rice or pasta.

(14) Garnish as desired.

(15) Add steamed or roasted vegetables on the side.

(16) Serve. Enjoy.

Image: Serving suggestion.



The best roti in Brooklyn are at Glenda’s. Glenda's Roti Shop (Caribbean Restaurant), 854 Saint John’s

Place, Brooklyn, NY 11216. +1(718)778-1997

RESULTS

Amazingly delicious, and amazingly simple.

DRINKS

A nice light beer goes well.

AMBIANCE

Some modern traditional Indian music seems to suit well. Roti, Gurdas Maan gets that vibe on. The movie

Roti (English: Chapatti) is a 1974 Indian Hindi language film produced by Rajni Desai and Rajesh Khanna

under the head Aashirwad Pictures Pvt.Ltd banner, directed by Manmohan Desai. Starring Rajesh Khanna

in the lead role and music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. The film was hit at the box office. This film

got released on 11 October 1974 along-with Benaam and Roti Kapda Aur Makaan. Kader Khan was

reportedly paid 1.21 lakhs for writing dialogues of this film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beQg3PxsNcY

Nutritional Information (Estimated)

• Serving size: 1 cup

• Calories: 490cal

• Total Fat: 20g

• Sodium: 480mg

• Protein: 20g



ABOUT Twombly Family Recipes

These recipes were developed organically from the hearths of Twombly homes throughout America; from

the shores of California; mountains of Colorado; to the halls of Florham, Vineland, and New York; all the

way East toward our little family homestead in Connecticut. With the

use of wholesome easy to find ingredients, supermarket available, we

present a plethora of internationally inspired dishes that celebrate the

diversity of our family and draw upon our many travel experiences

(Photo: My wife Serena hiking in the wilds).

We each do our part to contribute to the dish. As we coordinate

together, priceless memories are made. Anyone willing to replicate

these recipes in their own home kitchens will discover the spirit and

love of family working together to create more than just food - a

Twombly family recipe sustains the heart as well as the stomach.

Ben Twombly, master chemist and self-taught chef, crafted fine-tuned

recipes with measurements provided in English and European (SI) units;

approximate ingredient prices and cost per servings where available; and hints and tips. But one cannot

live by the practical aspects alone. This guru of artful living generously offers guidance for culinary

adventures, complete with historical references, movie, and song recommendations to accompany the

joyful shared process of cooking, dining, and hanging out at home with loved ones.

Documents

Twombly Family Recipe Yellow Curry 2017-05-20 · PDF fileTwombly Family Recipe Twombly Family Recipe Yellow Curry Page 1 Yellow Curry This is so incredibly simple, while at the same