I have been obsessed with curries lately. Japanese curries made with dashi, Vietnamese curries infused with lemongrass, Thai curries in all their colors (red, green, yellow and could we pretend that penang is a color?), and of course the endless combinations of spices that make up Indian curries (which are quite prevalent here in Dubai).

And when I say “lately,” I mean the last couple of months. I just can’t get over how the same combination of dry spices infused with different stocks and other flavorings can transform into completely different dishes. I LOVE IT!

I made a shrimp curry and appams for the August Daring Cooks challenge and yes, I know it’s October and that I’m very late but I couldn’t not post it because I really enjoyed this challenge and loved the shrimp curry.

Mary, who writes the delicious blog, Mary Mary Culinary was our August Daring Cooks’ host. Mary chose to show us how delicious South Indian cuisine is! She challenged us to make Appam and another South Indian/Sri Lankan dish to go with the warm flat bread.

I’ve never made Indian flat bread before and have always wondered if I had it in me to make my favorite garlic naan or roti? I never thought that the first flat bread I would attempt would be appams, which I’d only had once in my life (I think). Appams are yeasted bread made from fermented rice and are popular in South India and Sri Lanka.

 To make the appams, I followed the recipe here – bascially, I soaked uncooked basmati rice in water for a couple hours, drained it, and pulsed it (in a blender) with a concoction of sugar, water, and yeast until it became a smooth paste. The mixture was then left to ferment for 12 hours.

After fermenting, I added coconut milk to the mixture and ladled about 1/2 cup onto an oiled non-stick pan and cooked it (covered) for 2-3 minutes.

And these white pancake-like creations were what resulted:

Homemade Appams

It may have been too thick or too thin – I have no idea. The only time I’ve ever had an appam may have been a few months ago at Aappa Kadai in Dubai Marina. But for the life of me I can’t remember what those tasted like nor what their texture and thickness were like so I’m not sure if mine tasted authentic.

I do know that my homemade appams tasted like a yeasty spongy crepe. They were slightly sweet, soft, and most importantly, edible.

Homemade Appams with Shrimp Curry

The appams purpose in life is to soak up all the yummy goodness of a spicy curry and to that end, I made a curry of Shrimp in Coconut Milk (Chemeen Pappas) from Savoring the Spice Coast of India by Maya Kaimal. The recipe was also provided on the Daring Cooks site.

Homemade Appams

To make this spicy shrimp curry, mustard seeds were sauteed in oil. Those mustard seeds snap-crackle-popped out of the pot and all over my stovetop. I had to put a lid on them to keep them from escaping. I enjoyed the popping part so much that I threw out the first bunch of mustard seeds and sauteed a new batch just to hear them pop all over again.

Truth?

Alright, you got me. I threw out the first batch because I burned them all. Snap-crackle-popped  quickly became a sad, slow, sizzle of smoke and burnage.

With the second batch, I lowered the heat and that did the trick of not burning all the mustard seeds. Here is a slide-show of the rest of the shrimp curry preparation:

For the sauce, instead of water, I used shrimp stock made from the shells for a richer taste. It was too fishy for my husband Scotch. I’m not talking about the shrimp curry though.

Since August was as usual unbearably hot and humid outside, I couldn’t open the balcony doors for ventilation and I think it smelled of shrimp within a 2-floor radius. As soon as you came out of the elevators on my floor you were instantly slammed with the smell of shrimp stock (or “pong” as Scotch likes to call it)…for days.

Sorry neighbors.

I for one really enjoyed the dish and its infusion of coriander and parika.

And I can now say that I have fermented rice. I always get excited when learning a new technique to make something new. Don’t you?

Related posts:

1. Make Your Own Vietnamese Curry Powder
2. Join me for this month’s Delicious Vietnam blogging event!
3. Vietnamese Chicken Curry Soup (Ca Ri Ga) – Make it Your Own!
4. Emirati Recipe: Shrimp Fried with Spices (Ro-be-yann nashif)
5. Chicken Curry Spring Rolls (“Cary Cha Gio”)

Previously, I had talked about wanting to learn how to cook up some Middle Eastern dishes due to the ease of obtaining the necessary ingredients here and also to learn more about the local culture.

After some Googling, I have found a collection of online recipes from Celia Ann Brock-Al Ansari. Her book, “The Complete United Arab Emirates Cookbook,” is unfortunately, no longer in print. I understand that she is an Amercan lady who married an Emirati and she produced the cookbook with the help of her husbands family and friends.

Bezar (Arabic Spice Mix)

I don’t know if I will be able to make it through every single recipe, but I will certainly try and will post each attempt here on Sundays.

Besides Arabic cooking, I’d also like to make more of an effort to cook Indian dishes. Not just the stuff that’s in the restaurants (ie. Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Vindaloo) but lesser known recipes.

On that note, a colleague of my husband’s lent me her copy of “Khazana of Indian Recipes” by Sanjeev Kapoor’s. I have skimmed through the list of recipes and almost all of them sound foreign to me (well, they are foreign) but I will give them a try – that is the whole point of this experiment – To try different things and learn about other cultures through cooking.

I will not be printing the recipes on here because they are copyrighted but will link to the relevant sites if possible and you can purchase Sanjeev Kapoor’s book via Amazon.

First up for next Sunday is an Arabic dish called Chicken with Rice in the Bottom or De-jaj ta-ha-tah.

And I’m recruiting volunteer eaters so if I know you, come over on Saturdays to be food guinea pigs .

And finally, if you have any great Arabic or Indian recipes to share, please send me an email – I’d love to hear from you!

Related posts:

1. Emirati Recipe: Mixed Local Spices – Bezar
2. Ahlan wa Sahlan!
3. A Taste of Arabic Home-Cooking at an Emirati Home
4. Cooking Challenge: Homemade Appams and a Spicy Shrimp Curry
5. Salamat!