Something in my genes and upbringing means I have a complete abhorrence of throwing food away! Sometimes the best meals are the ones where you bring odds and ends together and add chilli sauce or ketchup and it turns into fine dining! Well, you don't need the extra sauce here, just a little imagination.
Freezing
It goes without saying that all curries freeze beautifully! There are a few basic rules, however:
Potatoes must be removed as they do not freeze at all well. As Andrew is so fond of saying (and we've been married a long time so I should know!), they don't like it and neither will you! If you have added green beans to some of our curries you might want to fish them out as well, and the vegetarian chilli is probably best turned into soup (see chickpea curry below). Since it is one of my personal favourites, however, I can't imagine there being any left over!
We tend to eat the leftover meat and just freeze the excess sauce. Chicken would otherwise dry out through overcooking, although beef and lamb will just become even more tender and delicious. Just fry the new meat in a little oil and add to the sauce for as long as needed.
We found a curry sauce lurking in the depths of our freezer that was dated 2 years earlier. Brought to the boil and simmered for a while, it tasted absolutely delicious! NB the meat had been removed before freezing.
Leftover curry meat
If you are sick of curry, had leftovers for 2 nights in a row but can't bear to throw the rest away and there just isn't enough to be worth freezing, try the following:
Mix in some mayonnaise and make Cheat's Coronation Chicken. Eat in a sandwich or with salad.
Chop any meat into very small slices and liven up a boring pizza.
Spicy Potatoes
Leftovers are delicious chopped up and fried. Serve with anything – fish fingers, sausages, bacon. Try a fried egg on top!
Chickpea and potato curry
Add a tin of tomoatoes to any leftovers, whizz in a blender, and you have a spicy soup. Try with the veggie chilli too!
Tacos
Any of these is also good as a topping to a plain pizza. It doesn't even have to be leftovers!
British curry
When we first tried the 1970s curry with sausages we decided that if it was inedible it would be a waste, so scooped out half the sausage/veggie/apple/curry mix prior to adding any liquid. It sat in the fridge for 4 days until Liz mixed it with some leftover mashed potato (about an equal quantity) and fried it up like bubble and squeak. Inspired!
In addition, the campaign strategists among you may like to try corned beef hash with a teaspoon or two of the spice mix stirred in when the meat is added.
Chilli
If you only have a spoonful left over, place it on some corn chips in an ovenproof dish and grate a generous amount of cheese on top. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes, then when it comes out add our tomato salsa, avocado salad and a large dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche. Or do this as a starter if you are serving up a Mexican meal.