Bamboo Shoot Curry

My attempt at one of my manipuri friends firm favorites- bamboo shoot.

This can be done with meat or just on its own, as the bamboo is a very strong flavor. Bamboo shoots are the slimy yellow oblong things that look a bit weird.



Basic yellow curry - fry up some ginger, onion, garlic and fresh tumeric(if u have it). Add some yellow curry powder to the mix and soy sauce or a bit of salt. If you have it available, a dollop of red curry paste doesn't go wrong here, but be sparing. Dont use any of those intense indian curry pastes in a jar as they are too strong and salty.

If u only have Patels Mild Curry Paste in a jar skip it, the specialists really only use a little yellow curry powder when they make this and I put in the red because I like to add bit of a mix to the color scheme.

A better substitute for some color would be using red delicious Palm Oil which you can find at african supply stores and which turns the curry a very nice reddy yellow and tastes great.

once the oil is bubbling and your base is looking good, add in the bamboo shoots and potato, cut in bite size chunks.

after they have been tossed in the oil and browned a little bit add some water and let simmer on low heat for about 15 mins or longer if u got the time. the only thing that will degenerate will be the potato, the bamboo is formidable and can hold its own.

This is a great curry with rice and usually in combination with at least 1 other curry. In my manipuri house they always eat their curries with a side relish which is the specialty of the region and usually features large amounts of the famous bhut jolokia or Ghost Chilli.



Ingredients:
red curry paste
yellow curry powder
ginger, garlic and onion
1 potato peeled
3 or 4 stalks of bamboo shoots fresh (or canned)
splash of soy sauce
fresh tumeric if you have it. powdered if u must.
couple of chillies to taste