My Family's Indulgent Curry

The smell of curry wafts up from downstairs.
At my parents' house, that was the signal that it was a day off.

In our house, making curry is my father's job.

My father's curry takes a lot of effort to make.

You might think that means he blends his own spices, but my father isn't that particular about spices.

He uses store-bought curry roux that's on sale at the supermarket.

Even so, the curry my father makes has a special deliciousness.

The moment you eat it, the meat melts in your mouth, the sweetness of the onions and carrots spreads throughout, and a sense of happiness slowly washes over you.

Recently, I've been into making curry by blending my own spices and have only been making that, but I suddenly wanted to eat the curry my father makes.

I've often heard my father talk about his particularities when it comes to making curry, but when I actually try to make it, I don't know the fine details.

For the first time in a while, I called my father.

My father said, "The only important thing is to sauté the onions well," and immediately handed the phone to my mother.

However, in the background while my mother was talking, I could hear my father's voice shouting things like, "First, sauté the garlic for over five minutes," or "Once you put the meat in the pot, add the bay leaf."

Even though he could have just taken the phone back, whether it was because it was a hassle or he was shy, my mother relayed his instructions to me instead.

Here is my father's recipe.

My Family's Curry

1. Finely chop the onion. Peel and crush the garlic. Grate the carrot.
2. Sprinkle salt and pepper (not listed) evenly over the meat.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan and sauté the garlic over low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove the garlic just before it turns black.

4. Quickly sauté the meat from step 2 in the same frying pan. Once the surface is browned, remove the meat and place it in a pot. (Do not add water to the pot yet.)

5. Remove any scum from the meat left in the frying pan, then sauté the onions. Sauté for about 30 minutes. If it looks like it might burn, add water occasionally. Once it turns amber, turn off the heat.

6. Add the onions from step 5 to the pot with the meat, sauté briefly over medium heat, then add water. Once it boils, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour. (If using beef, it's better to simmer for over an hour.)

7. Once the meat is tender, add the grated carrot and bay leaf, and simmer for another 20 minutes.

8. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf, and add the roux. Using a miso strainer when adding the roux prevents lumps.

9. Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring to prevent burning.

10. Serve on a plate and it's done.

The only thing a bit unusual about my father's recipe is probably the part where he grates the carrot.

My father started grating the carrots for me because I didn't like them.

My father's curry was an indulgent menu item just for me.

At first, he grated the carrots just for me, but since the whole family ended up preferring the curry with grated carrots, this recipe became my father's signature dish.

By the way, this curry is an indulgent menu item not only for me, but also for my younger sister.

For my sister, who loves meat, my father puts plenty of it into the curry.

Even so, because my sister eats only the meat, the second day's curry ends up having almost no ingredients left.
The onions and carrots have assimilated into the roux, and in our house, we don't add potatoes from the start so they don't fall apart while simmering.

However, there is a way to enjoy even that second-day curry deliciously.

Second-day fluffy and creamy curry

1. Heat the second-day curry over medium heat.

2. When it starts to simmer, add the beaten eggs.

At this time, as shown in the photo, there were still chunks of meat left, but I made this egg-drop curry because I like it too.

Even if there is someone like my sister who eats only the meat, adding eggs makes it delicious to eat. The creamy eggs and curry intertwine, making the rice go down easily.

Making it according to my father's recipe takes both time and effort.

However, while I was making it, strangely enough, I didn't think it was a hassle.

I knew that if I made it exactly as my father taught me, it would definitely turn out delicious.

When I imagined what kind of face my husband would make when he ate this curry, my face naturally broke into a smile.

I used to eat this curry at my parents' house on my days off in the morning.

Even though it was a bit late because it was a day off, my father must have had to wake up early to make it in time for breakfast, even though it was his day off.

But I think my father probably felt the same way.

He must have made it while picturing our happy faces as we ate it and said, "It's delicious!"

As I grated the carrots and sautéed the onions, I imagined my father's feelings and cried a little.

Or maybe it was just the onions stinging my eyes.

While I was making this curry, a nostalgic scent drifted throughout the room.

The curry I made just as my father taught me sparkled just like the curry he used to make.

Since it's curry, it's spicy, of course, but this curry, infused with our family's secret ingredient of indulgence, had a very gentle flavor.