Fifty Weeks, Fifty Curries: Week Two: Shalgam Gosht
2014-Sep-22, Monday 19:34![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dorchadas
I was a bit worried about this week's curry, since it had a high bar to pass to match last week's curry. And, I'm sad to say, it did not meet that bar.
It's not that it was bad, it was just...not much of anything, really. It had a mildly sweet taste and a bit of spice, but it definitely didn't have the strong flavor that rogan josh did. When it comes to curries, I'm a sauce man, and the sauce here didn't have all that much flavor, which meant that most of what was in it didn't have much flavor either. The lamb was still good, of course, and the onions were onions, but neither of them stood out at all. The best part of the dish were the turnips, whose stronger natural flavor actually complimented the weaker sauce really well.
The turnips are in there because this is another Kashmiri curry, designed to be eaten in the winter with turnips that have been stored for a while. It did have a pleasant heat, but a mild one--one that I would associate more with the summer months. Though maybe I'm wrong, and you want stronger curries in summer since you're already sweating and weaker ones in winter because sweating in incredibly annoying in heavy clothing? I hate sweat and so am not familiar with its proper place.
Words from the Chef
Asschoolpsychnerd mentions, the meat was more tender and actually pretty good, but it wasn't the standout part of the dish by any means. The curried potatoes were great--and now that I've had them, I wish we had had them last week, since they went really well with the curry--and I would have eaten the turnips in the sauce by themselves. But we have irreconcilable sauce differences and I think that's a major part of what led to our conflicting opinions.
Would I Eat It Again?: No. Not that I'd refuse to, but I wouldn't request it.
Do I Prefer It to the Usual Thai Curry?: Definitely not
What Would I Change?: Add a few more vegetables (this may become a theme). The way the turnips tasted makes me think that vegetables with more natural flavor themselves would complement the sauce well, so maybe whole cloves of garlic, tomatoes, asparagus, or other strong-tasting vegetables would go really well with the sauce.
Early prep. It looks a bit like chicken soup here!
It's not that it was bad, it was just...not much of anything, really. It had a mildly sweet taste and a bit of spice, but it definitely didn't have the strong flavor that rogan josh did. When it comes to curries, I'm a sauce man, and the sauce here didn't have all that much flavor, which meant that most of what was in it didn't have much flavor either. The lamb was still good, of course, and the onions were onions, but neither of them stood out at all. The best part of the dish were the turnips, whose stronger natural flavor actually complimented the weaker sauce really well.
Turnips! Yum!
The turnips are in there because this is another Kashmiri curry, designed to be eaten in the winter with turnips that have been stored for a while. It did have a pleasant heat, but a mild one--one that I would associate more with the summer months. Though maybe I'm wrong, and you want stronger curries in summer since you're already sweating and weaker ones in winter because sweating in incredibly annoying in heavy clothing? I hate sweat and so am not familiar with its proper place.
The sauce is coming together.
Words from the Chef
This dish should have taken longer to make and maybe it would have been better if I'd had the entire afternoon to prepare this curry. I loved the turnips, which absorb any sauce and be they purple or daikon are some of my favorite things. I am not a huge sauce person, I actually prefer dry curries to wet ones. This divide is the greatest split in our marriage aside from
Curried potatoes on the left, whole milk on the right. I thought whole milk would go well with the curry, and I wasn't wrong.
As
schoolpsychnerd mentions, the meat was more tender and actually pretty good, but it wasn't the standout part of the dish by any means. The curried potatoes were great--and now that I've had them, I wish we had had them last week, since they went really well with the curry--and I would have eaten the turnips in the sauce by themselves. But we have irreconcilable sauce differences and I think that's a major part of what led to our conflicting opinions. Would I Eat It Again?: No. Not that I'd refuse to, but I wouldn't request it.
Do I Prefer It to the Usual Thai Curry?: Definitely not
What Would I Change?: Add a few more vegetables (this may become a theme). The way the turnips tasted makes me think that vegetables with more natural flavor themselves would complement the sauce well, so maybe whole cloves of garlic, tomatoes, asparagus, or other strong-tasting vegetables would go really well with the sauce.
