I have discovered the wonders of curry. Being an American for a long time I always thought of curry as just a spice added to dishes. I didn’t realize it was widely considered a gravy for nearly anything you can imagine. It’s a whole new world of cooking for me. Going to a few sites on the internet I was quickly overwhelmed by the choices. Green, Yellow, Red, Thai or Indian… soo many choices.
Also being in America (and in a somewhat small town) I don’t have a great choice of curries. Standard yellow, green and red are available. My current favorite curry is actually a Japanese curry. Go figure! Im hesitant to try them. The other day I bought a bottle of prepared Tikka Masala curry. I have read about the dish but I have never had it.
I decided to make a chickpea and lima bean curry instead of chicken. I opened the bottle and was immediately surprised by the acrid tart aroma. ( I now know almost all Indian curry is supposed to be on the sour side). I prepared some onion in my pan and added chickpeas, lima beans and tomato. Skeptically I poured the bottle in. As it warmed the smell of the sour notes intensified. I thought for sure this was going to be terrible.
I was surprised. The flavor of the curry was tomatoey and rich. Oh and pretty hot. The heat builds slowly and stays with you long after your last bite. Twenty minutes go by and I can still feel the heat. I put the leftovers in the fridge. My other half ate every bit of it before I even woke up. Here is my recipe:
Kikkoman Tikka Masala (or your own)
1 Yellow Onion
1 can of chickpeas
15oz of baby lima beans
2-3 small tomatoes chopped
1/2 cup water
Add the onion with a small bit of oil to your pan and cook until just starting to soften. Add the chickpeas, lima beans and tomatoes. Add the masala and water. Simmer until the onions are a softness you prefer.
i loveee curry!