Cooking Curry

Asafoetida:  If you could bottle sweat, this is what it would smell like. But this spice, from giant fennel plants takes on a taste of onion and garlic once cooked. Whilst Ian was here, we picked this up at the Indian market (yes, we have one!) and now I toss it into any curry I make, which is about once every week.

Asafoetida works well in Kashmiri dishes (and just about any other curry, IMO), like this Kashmiri Lamb recipe.

I’ve learned that you must decide what curry you’d like to make, write down the ingredients, then go to the store. Unless you’re normally in possession of kaffir lime leaves or fenugreek (of which I now have a lifetime supply), you’re probably going to need something. OR you’re an experienced curry chef and you can devise curry recipes as you go along.

Also, developing something of an immunity to peppers is a given. Chances are you’ll put in too many chilli peppers at some point, but eat what you’ve cooked anyway. I just toss on natural yoghurt or grab a glass of milk.