So OK, I admit it: I originally designed this recipe as a joke. I really wanted to make an Indian rabbit curry and call it “Hare Krishna,” so I did. For those who somehow don’t get this joke, is it a play off the Hare Krishnas, who used to bother us in airports decades ago. I know, I know. It’s kinda hyuk, hyuk humor. Guilty.
And yes, I know that real Hare Krishnas are vegetarian. And that they eat vegetarian curries, not rabbit curries. Sorrynotsorry.
There is an ulterior motive at work here, too, however. I have a lot to learn about Indian food, and making curries is a good way to start that journey. This is one of my first forays into the subcontinent’s cooking (the other being a Goan crab curry), and while I like curry just fine, it is still a cuisine foreign to me.
As for this recipe, it’s fun — and since I used a store-bought curry paste, super easy. You can literally have this bad boy done in an hour.
Basically this is a Madras chicken curry turned into a rabbit curry. I have not yet found a curry designed for rabbit in Indian cuisine, but I am betting it exists. So in that vein, if you don’t happen to have rabbits lying around your fridge, use chicken or any other white meat.
Rabbit or Hare Curry
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ghee, clarified butter, or vegetable oil
- 2 pounds hare or rabbit meat, cut off the bone and into chunks
- Salt
- 2 cups yellow or white onion, sliced root to tip
- 2 tablespoons minced ginger
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- A 14-ounce can of tomato puree
- 1 cup plain yogurt, Greek style is best
- 2 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 heaping teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 cup Madras curry paste, or 2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
- 1 tablespoon Garam Masala
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the clarified butter in a wide pot (like a sauce pot or high-sided frying pan with a lid) over medium-high heat. Pat the hare pieces dry with paper towels and brown them well. Salt the meat as it cooks. Remove to a bowl once browned.
- Add the onion and saute until it begins to brown at the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook another minute.
- Return the meat to the pot and add the tomato puree, water, bay leaves, turmeric and Madras curry paste. Stir in the yogurt and bring to a gentle simmer. Add salt to taste and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Finish by stirring in the Garam Masala and the cilantro. Serve over rice.
Made this for the first time tonight, really first time making any curry dish and it was wonderful. I used cottontail and pretty much followed the recipe. Will definitely be doing some more curry dishes in the future. Thanks for the inspiration to try something new.
Another amazing recipe love it!!!!!!!