Venison Jungle Curry Recipe
18/02/2022VENISON JUNGLE CURRY
We paired up with chef and food writer, Valentine Warner and we ‘went wild’ to bring beer and food together in a way that's never been explored! This Venison Jungle Curry has been designed to pair perfectly with Wild IPA beer.
A curry next to rice just seemed a little too obvious, so here’s something a little different; a spicy jungle curry served up in a hollowed loaf of bread – symbolic of a typical South African Bunny Chow. Grab a glass of Wild IPA to enjoy alongside.
Wild IPA was developed with food pairing at the forefront of its concept and design. Fermented with a unique 3-yeast blend to give it a level of acidity that cuts through rich food and balanced with a dry finish and a low but moreish bitterness. Its body and alcohol stand up to the spices in this curry whilst the citrus and herbal hop notes accentuate the garlic and ginger, making it the perfect accompaniment
Ingredients
| • 1 medium red onion finely diced • 1 tbsp of finely chopped fresh coriander • 1 thumb of ginger peeled and finely chopped • 4 cloves of garlic very finely chopped • 70ml ground nut oil • 1 tsp fennel seeds • 1 tsp nigella seeds • 1 tsp cumin seeds • 1 small cinnamon stick • 5 whole cloves • 10 cardamom pods, bashed |
• 10 black pepper corns • ½ hot red dried chilli • 20 fresh curry leaves • 1 tsp turmeric • 1 tsp mild chilli powder • 2 tbsp ghee or butter • 2 tbsp tomato puree • 500ml of coconut water (NOT coconut cream) • Juice of ¼ a small lime • 500g of venison loin (all six British deer species suitable), thinly sliced • 1 ½ tsp flaked sea salt • 1 round loaf of white sourdough • Crispy onions, optional |
Method (Serves 4)
1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC fan for the bread.
2. Before you start, make sure your ginger and garlic, your onions
and coriander are chopped and waiting in two separate piles to
be instantly at hand when needed.
3. In a large balti or wok heat 4tbsp of ground nut oil over a medium
heat. Get it very hot, until on the verge of beginning to smoke.
4. Throw in the ground fennel seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds,
cinnamon stick, whole cloves, cardamom pods and black
pepper corns. Stir constantly while they brown and a lovely
deep toasted smell comes to the nose. Be very careful not to
burn them too dark.
5. Add the half chilli and curry leaves and when the leaves have
popped and coloured add in the garlic and ginger.
6. Stir these around constantly for a minute or so.
7. Add the turmeric and chilli powders and stir these in.
8. Now add the ghee and when melted follow with the chopped
onions and coriander stalks and continue to cook until the onions
are a golden brown. Be patient and concentrated here. Do not
rush, while again taking great care not to burn the ingredients.
9. Stir in the tomato puree and cook until it begins to catch.
10. Glug in the 500ml of the coconut water followed by the lime
juice and start to reduce the curry sauce to just under half.
It should look obviously thicker and gravy like.
11. Warm the loaf in the oven.
12. Take frying pan and get it very hot. Do not cook in it until
absolutely sure it is hot. Test with one piece of meat. It should
sizzle violently on hitting the metal.
13. Massage a little oil into the venison and then brown it very, very
quickly. Do this in two batches if needs be so you can achieve
browning. If you over crowd the pan this will not happen, the
meat needs to be in for seconds not minutes.
14. Toss the venison into the curry and cook until the venison is
only just done. Minutes in all. It is essential that the loin, which
has no fat, does not become tough. Taste a piece it should be
tender and giving.
15. Add the salt and the lime juice and stir in well.
16. Take the curry off the heat.
17. Cut the lid off the loaf and scoop out the majority of the inside.
Put the loaf on a large enough plate. Note: Keep this for
breadcrumbs.
18. Spoon the curry into the loaf and top with the crispy onions and
breadcrumbs