September is when I start getting a little bored with salads and light pasta, and I crave something more hearty and flavorful. The problem is that we're still hitting the mid-90s every day, so I won't be busting out the Dutch oven anytime soon.
Thankfully, dishes like Japanese Keema Curry pack a wallop of flavor into a simple stir-fry that comes together in minutes. For this one, I went with a more Indian flavor profile and added loads of vibrant green chili peppers that not only add a pop of color they also give this dry curry a marvelous fragrance and texture.
We have a mild green pepper in Japan called piman, which tastes similar to a bell pepper, but it's much thinner. Any mild green pepper, such as an Anaheim or Cubanelle, will work, though, and if you want to make this more spicy, you could mix in some Jalapeno or Serrano chiles.
I made this as a quick meal to serve over a bowl of rice so it's salty enough to season the rice. If you plan to eat it by itself, I'd recommend leaving out the salt.
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Kathy Stroup says
I was like, "I know where this is going. Japanese Curry Powder." Then, "No! Garam Masala!?!" Not that I don't love a good Japanese Curry, but my first love in curries was Garam Masala. This spice blend opened up my palate and fed my hunger for new and interesting cuisines. I was a pretty pedestrian cook before that.
As we sat around a table slightly drunk in an Indian restaurant in Atlanta, my husband's jovial Southern cousin called out to the waiter, "Cookbooks for everyone!" And that was the start of my love affair with Indian cooking.
Decades later, I became one of those annoying commenters on No Recipes who asked the difficult question, What IS JAPANESE Curry?!?! How is it different? Why??? And even the dreaded, What Can I Use Instead?🙄
Of course, thanks to you, Sensei, I know what Japanese Curry is, and I can make my own.🤯
I've been craving Lentils with Coconut Milk and Tamarind ever since you posted Crying Tiger Beef. It's a Sri Lankan dish, but the use of tamarind brought it to mind. I think I picked it up from Bourdain, but it's so far in the past I'm not sure. It has become my own, anyway, as recipes do.
Recipes cooked often become a part of us; anytime we cook them we get to revisit the many memories of cooking and eating that dish. Who we shared it with, what was happening at the time. Even connecting us to those who've left our lives.
That's the gift you give us, Marc. Flavors to infuse our memories. Recipes that recall other times and other tables. And food for future reminiscence. Though not many come back and thank you for this, you've touched uncounted people's lives in this way. It's an awesome legacy.