Fifty Weeks, Fifty Curries: Week Forty-One: Dry Fruit Korma
2015-Aug-15, Saturday 20:46![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dorchadas
I probably would have been a lot more suspicious of this week's curry if jardaloo boti hadn't convinced me that dried fruit in curry is actually a great idea. And when I saw schoolpsychnerd buying a bunch of different nuts to go in it, I knew that it would be fine. I realize that description kind of makes it sound like trail mix curry and...well, actually that's not that bad a description, really. It's dried fruit and nuts with a lot of extra curry parts added and all blended together using the new blender we got from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tropicanaomega and her husband. It makes me wonder if some of the earlier curries I was down on would taste better to me if they had been blended smoother. Well, maybe we'll find out in a couple months. Or maybe we won't, because why would I make those when I have so many tasty curries to make now?
schoolpsychnerd took a bite while I was still settling in and immediately said "Mmm!" and it led to me to commit a sin that I've gone forty weeks without doing--I started eating before I took the meal picture. I figured it out really quickly and it would be hard to tell in the picture other than one obvious sign, but I thought I would let you all know.
In terms of taste, "trail mix + curry" isn't a very good description. It does taste a bit like what I remember jardaloo boti tasting like, though that was six months ago now so my memory isn't all that strong. I expected it to have a nutty flavor with moments of sweetness when I found the fruit bits, but if anything it was the other way around. I'm guessing it was the raisins that gave the curry as a whole a kind of sweet flavor, with almond or walnut or cashew bursts smoothly interspersed throughout and all of it with that curry spiciness. It's a bit too sweet for me to want to eat it too often--though as I say that, please remember that my sweet tooth has mostly faded as I've gotten older--but not so sweet that I thought it was more dessert than meal. Great all around.
Words from the Chef
I can see this actually going really well as a side dish to some of the other curries that we've had. Particularly a heavier, fattier one, like kori gashi or Goa lamb vindaloo. In that case it'd be the perfect contrast and it'd let me have an entire meal composed of curry, which is pretty much the ideal meal for me.
I wouldn't do it by choice, but if I had to eat just this as a main course without any accompaniment I could do it and be satisfied, which isn't something that I'd ever say about the other two vegetarian curries we've had so far. It's full-bodied enough with all the nuts that it was as filling as a meal, and while I had meatballs and some cheese on the side, I didn't feel like I needed to eat them as much as I did with, say, matira curry. While that was a side dish, dry fruit korma was definitely the main dish and the meat and cheese were the sides.
The vegetarian curries are definitely going better than I worried that they would. Even matira curry was mostly just weird, not bad, and dry fruit korma was great. Hopefully this is a trend that continues as we draw closer to the end of 50 Great Curries of India.
Would I Eat It Again?: Yep!
Do I Prefer It to the Usual Thai Curry?: No. It's sufficiently different from the curries I normally eat that I wouldn't want it that often.
What Would I Change?: I thinkschoolpsychnerd's suggestions in the Words from the Chef are pretty good, myself.
schoolpsychnerd buying a bunch of different nuts to go in it, I knew that it would be fine. I realize that description kind of makes it sound like trail mix curry and...well, actually that's not that bad a description, really. It's dried fruit and nuts with a lot of extra curry parts added and all blended together using the new blender we got from tropicanaomega and her husband. It makes me wonder if some of the earlier curries I was down on would taste better to me if they had been blended smoother. Well, maybe we'll find out in a couple months. Or maybe we won't, because why would I make those when I have so many tasty curries to make now?Water here used only for soaking, not in the curry.
schoolpsychnerd took a bite while I was still settling in and immediately said "Mmm!" and it led to me to commit a sin that I've gone forty weeks without doing--I started eating before I took the meal picture. I figured it out really quickly and it would be hard to tell in the picture other than one obvious sign, but I thought I would let you all know.In terms of taste, "trail mix + curry" isn't a very good description. It does taste a bit like what I remember jardaloo boti tasting like, though that was six months ago now so my memory isn't all that strong. I expected it to have a nutty flavor with moments of sweetness when I found the fruit bits, but if anything it was the other way around. I'm guessing it was the raisins that gave the curry as a whole a kind of sweet flavor, with almond or walnut or cashew bursts smoothly interspersed throughout and all of it with that curry spiciness. It's a bit too sweet for me to want to eat it too often--though as I say that, please remember that my sweet tooth has mostly faded as I've gotten older--but not so sweet that I thought it was more dessert than meal. Great all around.
Welcome back, frying onions. We've missed you.
Words from the Chef
This curry was well worth the effort. And maybe it wasn't that much effort, especially compared to some of the other curries I've made. I think the curries lately have been so much less labor intensive that I've gotten a bit spoiled. Once again, the new blender improved the consistency of this curry greatly. We've made kormas before with this book but this one had a really nice texture as well as a warm nutty flavor. Someday I'd like to try it with the apricots it suggests but these weren't bad. I'd make this curry again, probably with some sort of lamb and fruit dish on the side to make the flavors click a bit more. This was a really filling curry and one I'd gladly serve to my friends!
Yogurt for smoothness and nuts for crunchiness.
I can see this actually going really well as a side dish to some of the other curries that we've had. Particularly a heavier, fattier one, like kori gashi or Goa lamb vindaloo. In that case it'd be the perfect contrast and it'd let me have an entire meal composed of curry, which is pretty much the ideal meal for me.
I wouldn't do it by choice, but if I had to eat just this as a main course without any accompaniment I could do it and be satisfied, which isn't something that I'd ever say about the other two vegetarian curries we've had so far. It's full-bodied enough with all the nuts that it was as filling as a meal, and while I had meatballs and some cheese on the side, I didn't feel like I needed to eat them as much as I did with, say, matira curry. While that was a side dish, dry fruit korma was definitely the main dish and the meat and cheese were the sides.
Poor half-eaten meatball.
The vegetarian curries are definitely going better than I worried that they would. Even matira curry was mostly just weird, not bad, and dry fruit korma was great. Hopefully this is a trend that continues as we draw closer to the end of 50 Great Curries of India.
Would I Eat It Again?: Yep!
Do I Prefer It to the Usual Thai Curry?: No. It's sufficiently different from the curries I normally eat that I wouldn't want it that often.
What Would I Change?: I think
schoolpsychnerd's suggestions in the Words from the Chef are pretty good, myself.
