Turkey Curry

So Christmas is over for another year, but what am I going to do with the rest of this turkey? 

Today we curry!!!

Here's what we're going to need:

Ingredients

• some turkey (kinda goes without saying...)
• a couple of medium potatoes
• an onion
• a big can of tomatoes
• a small can of tomato paste or puree
• some fresh root ginger
• lots of fresh garlic 
• a teaspoon of dried turmeric
• a teaspoon of dried cumin
• a generous teaspoon of red chili powder (go to your local Indian Shop and ask for the hottest red chili powder that they have - just kidding, don't do that, you'll regret it)
• a teaspoon of salt
• a teaspoon of sugar
• some Garam Masala (don't buy it from the supermarket, get the good stuff from your local Indian Shop, or better yet, but only if you know what you're doing, mix it yourself)
• cooking oil (I use canola oil because I live in Alberta, but you could use any neutral tasting oil, or you could go authentic Indian and use Ghee)

Tools

• knife
• cutting board
• garlic crusher
• shredder
• can opener
• crockpot (or a regular pot if you're a stove topper)
• frying pan
• spatula
• spoons

Steps

1. Peel and chop the potatoes and onions.
2. Peel and crush the garlic.
3. Peel and shred the ginger.
4. Skin and cut up the turkey.
5. Start the tomatoes in the crockpot on high.
6. Boil the potatoes for about 5 minutes in a separate pot  (don't fully cock) and set aside.
7. In the frying pan, briefly sauté the onions in oil
8. Add the garlic and ginger and fry them into the onions for a few seconds.
9. Add the turkey to the frying pan
10. Add the turmeric, cumin, red chili powder, salt and sugar, also in the frying pan
11. Fry, turning constantly until the outside of the meat is no longer pink (about three or four minutes)
12. transfer the contents of the frying pan into the crockpot (where the tomato sauce should be coming along nicely)
13. Add the potatoes to the crockpot.
14. Stir everything together gently (be careful to not break up the meat or potatoes)
15. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 3 hours (crockpots are great for this)
    
16. Stir occasionally (once every hour or so) and stir gently (don't break up the ingredients).
17. If the sauce starts drying up after a couple of hours, double-check and make sure it's cooking on the LOWEST heat setting. If it is, and it's still drying up, you can stir in up to a cup of water a bit at a time, but not too much or you'll turn it into a soup - it should be more like a thick and hearty stew. 
18. After 3 hours of slow cooking, we add the secret ingredient: the Garam Masala. Just sprinkle it on top.
    
19. Slow cook for another hour but don't stir it anymore.

Serve with steamed basmati rice, or Indian style flat bread (chapati, roti, or naan - pita or soft tortilla will do in a pinch). 

Goes down well with an ice-cold beer. 

Bon Appétit! 

Suggestion: if you're not used to intensely hot and spicy food, you can reduce the amount of red chili powder. Curry should be a pleasant eating experience, not a shock to the system.