This is a vegetarian (no meat by-products) Japanese-style Indian dish we just tried making for the first time last week - bizarre as it sounds, this is one of the most popular dishes in Japan, especially among children. You can purchase a package of S&B Golden Curry sauce mix for about $2.99 in most oriental grocery stores and in all Japanese grocery stores. One package contains 2 packets of sauce mix. I packet is enough to make up a mixture to go with 3cups of uncooked rice - enough for a family of 4. Here are the ingredients for this very interesting and flavorful meal:
1.Go ahead and put 3 uncooked rice-cupfuls of rice into your rice cooker and press cook. We use Tohuko Rose prewashed rice - about $12 for 20lbs of it - cheap and excellent rice. Below is our new "10cup" rice cooker made by Zojirushi - it plays "twinkle little star" when you press cook, it plays some unrecognizable tune when the rice is all done, it has "neuro fuzzy-logic" rice cooking and warming functions. It is shaped like a little piggy bank:
2.Chop up your vegetables, your tofu, and 2-3 crisp peeled apples. We use 2-3 small Idaho potatoes, 1 small packet of baby carrots, 4 scallions, 1 package of firm tofu chopped to 1cm cubes, and 2 chopped crisp apples soaked briefly in lemon juice.
3.Put about 1/3 cup of Canola oil in a Wok-type pan and sautee your chopped potatoes, carrots for about 15 minutes, add your chopped onions and tofu and sautee an additional 10 minutes or so. Finally add the apples and let sautee just another 5 minutes or so and set all the mixed vegetables aside in a bowl.
Here are the vegetables before cooking:
Here they are after cooking and set aside:
4.Now open up 1 packet of the S&B Golden Curry sauce mix - we use "mild" flavor. I've heard the "medium-hot" ones taste better.
Pour out about 3cups of filtered water and bring to a light boil in the now emptied Wok (or another pot). Place the sauce mix pellet into the roiling water and stir and break-up to make it dissolve - this can take several minutes:
5.When the sauce is dissolved well, finally dump all your prepared vegetables including the apples into the sauce mix and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes:
6.Assuming your rice is done by now, pour out desired portion of white rice into a deep bowl, then ladle the Curry sauce vegetable mixture onto your rice.
RESULTING MEAL:
This preparation only takes about 1 hour and will be filling for 3-4 "Jethro"-type adults. You can add some Indian-style Nan bread, and maybe some pickled side-dishes for extra flavorings.