Vealing Good

I'm home alone for about a week now, which means I have free reigns to cook whatever culinary delights I wish.  I had a hankering for something Indian, something spicy and definitely carnivorous.  As I often do, rather than decide what I want I usually loiter down the meat aisle in the supermarket to see what captures my attention.  On this particularly occasion I spotted some rather tasty, pink-looking veal.  I couldn't resist.

Here in England there is a palpable taboo surrounding veal, many people simply will not go near it.  The very thought of veal conjours up surreal images of tiny cows, caged in a box being force-fed bottles of artificial milk.  

Lets have a brief lesson on cow husbandry here.  Cows have calves, and these animals are either male or female.  The female ones invariably enter dairy production and happily lactate their way through many years of joyous milk making.  The male calves, however have an innate problem with producing milk.  What should happen to all these animals that cannot produce money for the farmer?  Yes, you've guessed it - they become veal.  

It is the stigma of crate farming that puts most people off eating veal.  Mercifully veal-crate farming has been made illegal in England since 1990 and everywhere else in the EU since 2007 (typically the Swiss are exempt and continue to use veal-crates - ahh the price of neutrality eh?).

As long as you purchase English veal, that adheres to the RSPCA freedom food program, then you can feel rightfully reassured that the animals have been given a decent, albeit short life.

I wanted to make a Madras-style curry, using minced veal.  Here's how I did it:

•   4 tablespoons of neutral oil (I used groundnut) in a pan.  Apply medium heat.  When it gets hot add a good pinch of asoefatida.
•   Add one bay, 2-3 black cardamom, 3 cloves and a half stick (10cm) of cinnamon.  Fry for 2 minutes.
•   In a mini-processor, blend one large onion, 5 cloves of garlic and about a thumb-size peeled piece of ginger.  I actually had some celery that I needed to use-up, so I also blended 3 sticks of celery.  Add this paste to the pan.
•   Cook for about 15 minutes, try to get some colour on the paste.
•   Add 2 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/3 tsp ground turmeric.  For heat I added one small bhut jolokia chilli, finely chopped.  Stir-fry the spices for 1-2 minutes.
•   Add the minced veal.  Get some colour on it.
•   Add one tin of peeled-plum tomatoes.  Stir to break-up.
•   Add one dark, beef stock-pot (from knorr).
•   Check seasoning, then leave on the stove with the lid off for 1-1.5 hours.
•   By this time the curry should be glossy, rich and dark.

 I served it with some gobi paratha's.