Neha’s Kangaroo Curry with Coconut Rice

Kangaroo Curry with Coconut Rice is a budget dish with Indian Australian fusion flavours from ex-Masterchef contestant Neha Sen.

Kangaroo Curry with Coconut Rice

Small in size but extra big in personality, Neha Sen graduated from burnt rice and carbonized dahl to the Masterchef kitchen in 2013 in just six years. Although her conversion to cooking is recent, there’s no doubting Neha’s expertise. One mouthful of the Kangaroo Curry confirms she has a deft hand with flavours but according to Neha, some members of her family still need to be convinced.

“I didn’t learn to cook until I came to Australia from India to further my education,” she says.  “I was living in Townsville attending James Cook University and living on takeaway pizza and Coke when my Singaporean- Indian landlady took me in hand and introduced me to cooking. I also started Skyping with my mother back in India and had quite a few long-distance cooking lessons. That was really the beginning of my fascination with blending the flavours of India and Australia.”

Neha Sen. Photo: Kerry Heaney

Indian Australian fusion

Blending has been a keyword throughout Neha’s life. As a child, Neha travelled throughout India and gained an early understanding of its diverse regions and customs.

“Both my parents are doctors, and my father served in the Indian Army for more than 20 years. Every few years, he would be transferred, and I was exposed to different cultures, languages and food every time we moved.”

It was a laugh-filled lunch as Neha shared stories of her fabulously eccentric family, her early cooking disasters and her journey from living on takeaway pizza and Coke to the kitchens of Masterchef.

You can follow Neha on Instagram.

Neha served water with cucumber strips, mint and lemon with the curry.

Neha’s Kangaroo Curry with Coconut Rice

(Printable recipe card at the end)

This dish features Indian Australian fusion flavours and serves six people.  Using low-cost kangaroo meat, it is a great budget pleasing recipe. Kangaroo is lean meat with less than 2 per cent fat, making it a healthier red meat option. It is also high in protein, essential B vitamins, minerals such as zinc, iron and omega 3 fats and omega 6 fatty acids.  If you don’t want to use kangaroo, substitute with lamb or beef.

Ingredients

• 1 kg kangaroo meat diced into 1-inch pieces
• 4 tbsp yoghurt
• 2 tsp garam masala powder
• 4 tbsp veg oil
• 4 medium sized onions chopped fine
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp ginger finely chopped
• 2 tbsp garlic finely chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp red chilli powder- add more if you like the curry hot
• 2 large tomatoes chopped fine
• 2 tbsp ghee
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt to taste
• Sugar to balance flavour
• Half bunch chopped coriander

Curry Powder mix

• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 7 cloves
• 2-inch cassia sticks
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 2 pieces of mace
• 2 tsp nutmeg powder

Method

1. Marinate the kangaroo in yogurt and the garam masala overnight
2. In a heated pan, add all the ingredients of the curry powder mix expect the nutmeg and roast till they are aromatic. Allow them to cool and grind them in a spice grinder. To this powder, add the nutmeg powder, mix together and keep aside.
3. In a pot, heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add the onions and sauté them till they are light brown and soft.
4. Add the ginger and garlic along with 2 tsp of salt and continue to sauté for another 10 minutes till it starts to become a paste. Add a bit of water, if the mixture starts to stick at the bottom of the pot.
5. Add tomatoes, turmeric and chilli powder and sauté for another 10 minutes till the tomatoes are cooked and merge with the paste consistency. Add a bit of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and check if it is sticking to the base of the pot. If it does, add a bit of water and mix.
6. Add the marinated meat and mix and cook for 5 minutes. Cover the pot and let it cook for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, uncover and check the meat. It should have left its own water.
7. Add the curry powder mixture and mix, cover the pot and let it cook for an hour. Check the pot from time to time to see if it needs a bit of water, mix and let it cook again. If you like a thicker curry, uncover the pot and reduce the water content of the curry.
8. Once the kangaroo is tender, check the seasoning, add the lime juice and stir in the coriander and serve.

Coconut Rice to go with the Kangaroo Curry

Neha Sen’s Coconut Rice is so delicious you should try it with other curries too!

Ingredients

• ¼ cup coconut cream
• ¾ cup coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cassia sticks
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Method

1. Soak the rice in water for an hour and then drain the water.
2. In a pot, heat the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the bay leaves, cardamom and cassia sticks and fry for a few seconds till it is aromatic.
3. Add the rice to the pot, and fry in the spices for a minute.
4. Add 1 cup of water, coconut cream and milk and stir.
5. Add sugar and salt and cover the pot and cook the rice till done.
6. Serve hot.

Looking for more dinner inspiration?

If you like this Kangaroo Curry, try this tasty recipe for Nonna’s Pork Neck Sugo or Matt Sinclair’s Fraser Isle Spanner Crab Fried Rice.

For a lighter dish with local scallops it’s hard to beat Tin Can Bay Scallops with Jamon and Finger Lime.