Ingredients (in order of appearance):
Olive and Sesame Oil
Whole Crackling Spices: Cardamom Pods, Star Anise, Black Peppercorns, Cumin Seeds, Poppy Seeds
Diced Venison
Fish Sauce
Celery
Asparagus
Green Pepper
Rocket Chillies
Mushrooms
Radish
Courgette
Broccoli
Garlic Puree
Powdered Spices: Chilli, Curry, Paprika, Garam Masala, Clove, Turmeric
Herbs: Coriander, Bay Leaf
Ground Coffee
Greek Yoghurt
Result: Positive
Another experiment, this time attempting to substitute the usual tin of chopped tomatoes with pureed courgette. This technique I saw Keith Floyd, my secular spiritual leader and alcoholic inspiration, do with aubergine. I don’t have anything against tomatoes, I just thought I’d try something different. And because I ordered hand-picked courgettes to be delivered this week, instead of the prepackaged ones. What arrived made me exclaim: Woah!”. They’re as long as cucumbers and twice as thick, I honestly didn’t know how I’d stuff them in my crisper drawer.
Don’t worry, I won’t say it.
Not being a fan of courgettes, they’re easy enough to disguise when using a small amount. But these fuckers?! Apart from keeping one aside in the bedroom for when I’m feeling lonely, I thought I’d try pureeing one to use in a curry. Hence this post. Baking one for an hour, then simply squeezing the pulp out of its skin, was my first choice; but peeling one, then dropping it diced into a blender, was my second.
I’ll do the latter next time.
You see, my body has a tendency to overheat, even at the coolest of times. I think this is genetic, as my father suffers the same problem. So, when a person like me has to stand over a steaming stove after the oven’s been on for an hour, well, they just don’t end up very happy at all. And, boy, was I miserable making this curry! I actually found myself concerned that I may pass out at some point.
The bottom line is, much to my disappointment, that the dish honestly didn’t taste any different with courgette puree instead of chopped tomatoes. It was a sideways move that required a lot of work. And electricity. It was nice having the courgette peel to nibble on as a snack whilst the curry was simmering though.
The venison was also an experiment. I mean, I’ve had a crappy £10 venison burger at a farmer’s market, as many of us bohemian saps have, but I’ve never tried venison steak before. As it turns out, it’s basically just fancy lamb, so I’ll maybe just stick to lamb in future. Then again, lamb is pretty fatty, I believe, so perhaps paying a little extra for deer meat is the right way to go.
I shall have a think!
I wasn’t going to add Greek yoghurt to this one, but, after an hour of stewing, the curry seemed to lack any personality. The yoghurt saved the dish, basically, which I’m grateful for. Especially since there’s another portion in the freezer. Oh and the sprinkle of ground coffee was just to add some much-needed oomf, which it certainly did.
It’d go great with a mountain of rice, if I was allowing myself such. I’m still not sure what to do with the giant box of the stuff I have in the cupboard. Maybe I’ll just pour a cup out into the bin once a week. It’ll probably take a year to get rid of, but such is life.
I’m on something of a downer today, for no good reason. Just a random low-mood attack, I guess. I fancy getting drunk and ordering the greasiest, sweatiest, carb-heavy takeaway one can get their hands on in this town. Which should be easy to track down.
Everything just sucks, you know? I could really do with something good happening.
Hmm, perhaps I should dig out that spare courgette.
Do stay in touch, darlings.
Toodles!
P.S. That’s what she said.
