How to make Tim Anderson's curry rice

Winter warmer ahoy! As the Japanese call it, ‘kare raisu’ was brought to Japan’s shores by British diplomats and military officers, who were making a less spicy version of the Asian original, thickened with flour.

Nanban chef, Tim Anderson, explains: “Whereas an Indian curry will be naturally thick from puréed onions/tomatoes/chillies and a whole heap of spices, Japan’s curry is based on a flour-and-butter roux that thickens a lightly-spiced stock-based sauce.”

Tim’s recipe is vegetarian, but can easily be made meaty with chicken, beef or pork: “In fact, you can add just about anything you want,” says Tim, “at the restaurant we put ham and cheese on it and it’s amazing.”

Ingredients:
(Serves 2–4)

1 onion, cut into small chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into wedges
400g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
½ cauliflower, broken into bite-sized florets
4 portions of cooked rice (300g uncooked)

For the curry sauce:
4tbsp oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tomatoes
½ Golden Delicious or similar apple, peeled and roughly chopped
½ banana
30g mild Madras curry powder
2tbsp garam masala
750ml chicken or beef stock
60g butter
6tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
2tbsp ketchup
2tbsp soy sauce
Salt

Method:

1. For the sauce, combine the oil, onion, ginger, chilli, garlic, tomatoes, apple, banana, curry powder and garam masala in a food processor and blitz to a paste. Pour this into a saucepan and cook on a medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mixture begins to caramelise and the spices become aromatic. Add the stock and bring to the boil.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a separate saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook on a low heat for about eight minutes, stirring constantly, until the roux thickens and turns a golden brown colour.

3. Ladle the curry mixture from the other pan into the roux, a little at a time, whisking constantly to incorporate. Add the ketchup and soy sauce.

4. Cook the mixture until it’s quite thick, then transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to purée until very smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.

5. Place the onion, carrots and potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, add the cauliflower and reduce to a simmer.

6. Cook for about 10 minutes, until everything is tender. Drain and return to the pan, and pour in the curry sauce. Bring everything back to a simmer and serve with the rice.

JapanEasy: Classic & Modern Japanese Recipes To Cook At Home by Tim Anderson, photography by Laura Edwards. is published by Hardie Grant, priced £20. Available now.

© Press Association 2017