CHOOSING MEAT FOR CURRIES
BEST PROTEIN TIPS FOR YOUR CURRY RECIPES.
Choosing meat has a big impact on the results of your make-at-home curry recipes. Lots of questions from students over the years about substitutions: Can I use beef instead of lamb? Can I use chicken breast instead of chicken thigh? You can choose to cook with different meats and cuts, but it helps to make those decisions if you understand the impact. Read the answers to my most frequently asked questions below.
TOP TIPS
BEST PROTEINS
Can I use beef instead of lamb?
Yes. But if using beef instead of lamb, pay attention to the amount of salt that’s called for in the recipe. Lamb has a softer and sweeter fat content that requires less salt than even the fattiest cut of beef. Taste your food as you go in this case, to make sure its properly sesaoned.
Is mutton different to lamb?
Mutton in traditional regional Indian vernacular refers to goat meat. It is different. Mutton is sweeter, more subtle, and has a higher water content than lamb—particularly Australian and New Zealand lamb, which are both rich. Mutton needs less salt, less cooking, and it can do with subtler spicing.
Can I use chicken breast instead of chicken thigh?
No would be my short answer. Chicken breast has very little fat and a tight protein that doesn’t respond well to the high heat cooking many Indian curries require. If you REALLY don’t love chicken thigh, then I would suggest replacing it with pork (shoulder or neck) rather than chicken breast.
What if I don’t like using bone-in mutton or chicken?
In Kashmiri Hindu cooking, we cook many dishes that require the bones to be left in, especially when it comes to mutton and occasionally when it comes to chicken. Bone does add a depth of flavour when cooking. But you can cook without them if you really want to.
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