Be Special: Tuna, Apple & Raisin Curry
I have a disease and it’s not curable. And when it worsens, my financial health goes plummeting as well. This sticky situation one may be familiar with and call it the Shoppers’ Syndrome. I believe the release of the film ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ is an overt sign from the heavens to me. In other words, flippin’ sort my life out. Cut up all credit cards, debit cards, throw away VIP shoppers accounts, leave your Kate Spade wallet at home, ban yourself from getting on the train into town, ignore magazine adverts (this is going to be hard since my language paper focuses on beauty adverts) and so forth. Generally, practice self-restraint!
What a bummer.
Just when I was having fun, I now have to be very careful with my awful spending habits. And therefore, cooking becomes a little more exciting too. The task of the month? 1) Using ingredients to the max, i.e. cooking dishes that can last me forever. Right, I do exaggerate. But last me long enough so that I can delay the next trip to the supermarket. 2) Cooking dishes that I can keep for the next day. Given, I am a lazy arse. But this time that isn’t my excuse. Staying in the library working on my paper for 7 hours straight can really take it out of me. Living away from my parents, specifically from my mum, makes me miss home-cooking very much. Makes me miss coming back to mum’s dinner and eating with the rest of the family. A little tired, a little dizzy, cooking dinner for 1 is something I’m starting to feel a little restless and annoyed about. So it’s an easy way out when I can take out a pre-prepared meal (by myself, not by Tesco’s or Sainsbury’s or M&S), whack it in the microwave or oven and then tuck in.
Pre-prepared meals, especially if storebought, are usually rather boring. And in my dictionary of cooking/food, dishes can be as quirky, weird, special, and most importantly as fun as possible. This curry was created in a rather haphazard way, the process sort of like a try and error. A little special, not very aesthetically appealing. Very different from the usual Chicken Korma, Lamb Jalfrezi, etc. However, this was tasty as! And with the spices, it kept me nice and warm in front of the telly for Comic Relief, warming me-self well and good.
From now on, when I’m feeling a little dead inside, a little in need of comfort food, my advise? Eat curry!
What sort of curry? Get creative. Be special.
This makes about 2 large servings.
Tuna, Apple & Raisin Curry
Ingredients
- 1 can tuna, in springwater
about 3/4 cup water
1/2 can chopped tomatoes, with juices
1/2 a red onion, chopped
2 tbs balti curry paste
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 a Pink Lady apple, chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp hot chili powder
pinch of ground cinnamon
Heat some oil in a deep pan or wok. Add the onions and sauté. Now add the apples and sauté. Add the paprika and cumin and fry. Add the tuna followed by the balti curry paste and cook for about a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, water and ground cinnamon, turning the heat down and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste curry a little in between the cooking process and should it need more spices, add a little by little to taste.
Serve with naan bread or rice. If kept til the next day, I suggest frying this with rice for an amazing curry fried rice!
March 15th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Oh gosh, sorry to hear about the inside-death. Just hang in there! It’ll all be over before you know it, and by that time you’ll be eating effortless meals (well, because mom cooked it, lol). This is a delicious way to tide you over
March 15th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Woot, Woot!!! I love spice with something sweet… man this is a fabulous version of curry… I do the same thing for diet reasons, cooking soups, etc which I can eat the next day, saves time too and something I can have for lunch.
March 15th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Manggy: you sure got that right..although it was quite so yummy, it tided me over for only an extra day.
my inside-death is also caused a little from Lent…why did i have to give up so much?!
Girl Japan: spices are one of the greatest discoveries in the foodie world in my opinion. removes the need for salt too. ah, with soups, i’m too lazy. somehow canned soups, packet soups, easy to prepare miso soups are my favourite..but definitely saves time, especially if i’m only allowed like 10 mins in the kitchen before i bugger off back to my cave to tap away on the laptop..hiak hiak.
xx
March 15th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I really like the sound of this curry!
March 15th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I hear ya on that, girl. I used to be the same way. If there was a sale, I was there! But no more. Sigh. Not after getting laid off last year. But I have to say it’s not such a bad thing, because now when I do buy something, it really means more to me. I appreciate it more, and I make sure it’s something I really, really want and need. I think it’s made me a better shopper and a much wiser one.
March 15th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I hear you. I love to shop also. That meal looks so good.
March 15th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Kevin: thank you
glad you stopped by.
Carolyn Jung: ah. I know what you mean. When i hit rock bottom, the things i allow myself to purchase become so much more meaningful and I end up treasuring it so much more – to the point, sometimes that i set it aside, not using it.
Hélène: ah! shopping and food = my downfall. glad to hear you’re the same.
xx
March 16th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Hang in there! A pot of spicy curry always cheers me up
March 16th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
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March 16th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Maya: thank you for your encouragement! spicy curry does make me feel all nice and warm inside. definitely a boost of confidence.
xx
March 16th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Ahh, this looks very comforting! I love curry-anything.
Slow down on the shopping, lady! That’s dangerous stuff.
March 17th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
I love your blog! It looks great! Looks like good curry too! Try the macarons!! Read over the sites I cited, and you can’t go wrong! Theyre addictive though, beware!
March 18th, 2009 at 7:56 am
I love new ideas for canned tuna, and this sounds lurvely. I’m really trying to get into cheaper meals that last a while too. Good luck with the not-spending
I’m trying to stop buying expensive ingredients…but so many things feel essential to me!
March 18th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Emily: thank you honey. i will try. it is so hard but i’m there with you. it’s dangerous!
Jess: oh thank you
i shall check them out and bookmark some to try over summer. do not want to go on my virgin voyage in a lousy student kitchen. besides, i work best in my home kitchen where everything i need is there and i know where everything is and i also, know that everything is spotless anti-bacterialized clean. LOL. how OCD am i?
Laura: canned tuna is a godsend! gd luck with that. i always ended up spending a fortune on groceries bcos i couldn’t resist exciting ingredients which tended to be more expensive. and i loved buying things like free range eggs and gd seafood so ARGH…but you’ll be fine. can’t wait to check out your blog for those cheaper meals you’ll be whipping up!
xx
March 18th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Luv the unique mix of ingredients in this curry, looks fantastic
March 18th, 2009 at 10:20 am
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Sarah
http://grillsblog.com
March 18th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
This curry loooks amazing Diva. I love the ingredients.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:33 am
Sounds good and tasty. It’s interesting that you’ve used fruit. I’ve had meat and fruit before, but not fish. Good creativity on your part!
March 19th, 2009 at 8:22 am
noobcook: thank you
Bobby: i love canned tuna and we used to have fish curry back home. so although this wasn’t quite the right type of fish, it was worth a try and still yummy!
Arwen from Hoglet K: thank you. it’s a little of a crazy mix but it was well worth the experiment. very tasty!
xx
March 19th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Sarah: thank you for stopping by. Am very pleased that you’ve been visiting quite a bit! do hope the future posts will still be interesting to you
thanks for commenting
best
xx
March 20th, 2009 at 5:46 am
Love stuff like this that you can throw together from pantry items when the inside of my fridge looks like a barren tundra.
March 20th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Marc@ NoRecipes: you totally nailed it. this was exactly what had happened to me. stranded. but thankfully, this was one of the best tasting curries i’ve ever made. I actually made it again earlier this week and it was still good.
xx
March 20th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
This definitely looks comforting and delicious!
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Will make a great sandwich filling.
April 30th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
That sounds really interesting… I made already chicken with apples and prunes, mango curry with raisins… but not tuna… Looks very good so I may try it one day