recipes
kare pan, two ways
It was #NationalCurryWeek in the UK… (#nocomment but more thoughts coming later). But anyways, in commemoration we decided to make Japanese kare pan or curry bread two ways. (side note: both Japan and Sri Lanka refer to bread as pan (no) thanks to the Portuguese!)
For the dough, we more or less followed Just One Cookbook‘s recipe so be sure to check it out!
vegetarian katsu
japanese-inspired
According to Just One Cookbook, this Japanese curry bread is the star of pastries at Japanese bakeries. And what’s better, it has katsu curry as a filling, comfort and luxury really! We’ve had it for lunch, tea, dinner… mmmm.
vegetarian curry
amma-inspired
amma used to make this all the time at home. she called it curry donuts because yeah, we don’t do the sweet tings in our house but we never knew it was an actual thing in Japan! amma would also make a plain version, back when I was way too picky an eater (who knew I’d be jumping on the food startup wagon) because these crunchy fluff balls are way too hard to resist.
vegetarian katsu
the stuff
the roux:
1 tbsp butter
2-3 tsp flour
chilli powder
curry powder
masala powder
the vegetables:
1-inch ginger, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion
any and all vegetables in your fridge
the seasoning:
1 tsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
salt, to taste
the method
- First, make the roux.
- Add some butter to a pan on medium-low heat.
- When it starts to sizzle, add the flour.
- Keep stirring (and stirring) until you get a slightly brown colour.
- Add your chilli, curry, and masala powder and again keep stirring.
- When you reach a paste-like consistency, turn off the heat and set aside.
- In a large pot, heat some oil.
- Sauté ginger and garlic, then onions until translucent.
- Dump all the other chopped vegetables you have at hand, one by one.
- Season with salt and add about a cup of water and bring to a boil.
- When the vegetables are cooked through, add your roux.
- Stir until well incorporated and it forms a thick curry.
- Drip in some honey and turn off the heat.
- Add your soy sauce and stir – and voila!
vegetarian curry
the stuff
the vegetables:
1-inch ginger, minced
3 garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 tomato, chopped
any and all vegetables in your fridge
the spices:
chilli powder
curry powder
masala powder
salt, to taste
the method
- In a large pot, heat some oil.
- Sauté ginger and garlic, then onions until translucent.
- Dump all the other chopped vegetables you have at hand, one by one.
- Season with salt and add about a cup of water and bring to a boil.
- When the vegetables are cooked through, add your tomatoes.
- Simmer until tomatoes break down.
- Then, add all your spices and stir until well incorporated.
- If it’s looking a bit dry, add some more water.
- Bring to a simmer until you reach a semi-thick consistency, and it’s done!