One of the strangest dishes I’ve seen in a British chip shop is the mess that is chips and curry sauce. It never looks appetising to me, but rather a blob of chunky fries covered in a gloop of neon yellow curry sauce. I understand it’s a staple of the after-drinking walk home from the pub.
When I came home from the supermarket the other day with a really ugly celeriac (also known as celery root), I thought that they would make pretty nice chunky fries. But I wanted a dipping sauce to go alongside. Normally, I would make a curry dip from some fromage frais, mayonnaise, and curry powder. Today I wanted something more ‘paleo’; ie: dairy-free.
Posh ‘Chip Shop’ Chips and Curry Sauce
Ingredients
Chips
Curry Sauce
Instructions
Celeriac Chips
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Preheat the oven to 210 C.
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Put a pan full of salty water onto the stovetop and bring to the boil while preparing the celeriac.
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Chop the celeriac by first slicing off the outer edge. Then cut into about finger sized strips, you know, chunky fries style. Dump these into the boiling water and cook for about 4 or 5 minutes.
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Drain well and then throw them back into the pan with the curry powder, sea salt and olive oil. Shake to coat well and dump onto a baking sheet, possibly two, in a single layer.
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Stick these in the oven for 30 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, turn them to cook evenly on both sides.
Curry Sauce
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Make your sauce by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan and, once heated, add the crushed garlic. Cook to release the flavours about a minute then add the other spices: curry powder, chilli flakes, sea salt. After a minute, add the coconut milk and the teaspoon of maple syrup.
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Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20-25 minutes, reducing down the sauce to about half.
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Turn off the cooker while your chips are finishing off. Plate everything up, serving the sauce separately for dipping.
Or, for the truly authentic chip shop experience, throw the chips onto a styrofoam container and cover with the curry sauce. Try to eat while walking home late at night from a night on the drinks.
