Curry Recipes

[Bribie G]

Might need to check if Bunny Chow is a lunch item only.

 

[Beer Ninja]

Might not go well on a beer forum, being veg, but here's my pea and potato curry.

750g potato
250g frozen (or fresh) peas
bunch fresh mint chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
Teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
2 chopped chillies (or chilli powder to taste)
2 fine chopped onions

1 tablespoon oil
2 tsp brown mustard seed
2 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp funugreek seed
1 tsp fennel seed
1.5 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt

chop potato into small pieces and microwave till cooked
heat oil in pan, add seeds and fry gently till seeds start to pop.
Add onions, fry till soft, mixing with seeds.
Add fresh herbs, salt and turmeric, fry for a few minutes.
Add cooked potato and peas, and a splash of water. Bring to simmer.

Cook for about 15 min on low heat.

Good on its own, as a side dish or a filling for samosas.

I'm a Vegoe too.

Wot, never had a Rijstaffel?

I'm a big fan of British Indian Restaurant and Australian Indian Restaurant cooking.

Recipes are very similar - chicken Madras etc - but methods completely different. The Poms base their curry on a sauce of spiced boiled onions that are blended to a "soup" and this is used for a universal base gravy, with other spices and precooked meats depending on the dish, then cooked to thicken. Onions, and masses of them, are at the heart of the cuisine.

Aussie Indian restaurants make their gravies from caramelised onions and tomato puree then various base gravies are "split off" from the main batch by adding the likes of vinegar or ground almonds/cashews or dried coconut milk. At cooking time the gravies and precooked meats are spiced further then thinned out with stock, and other ingredients added such as masses of cream for Butter Chicken, masses of Chilli for Vindaloo etc.

With my own home attempts I really prefer the Aussie version - the Pom varieties are delicious but a bit "samey". The cooking process will be on display at Winkle's case swap, I'm doing lunch and will bring the bases, precooked meat, stocks, my spice "library" etc and assemble / cook batches on the fly as the customers ply me with stupefying liquors. :icon_cheers:

You're right of course.

There's a book by Kris Dhillon called 'The Curry Secret' that gives the base sauce used by all Indian restaurants in the UK. Copied below, it's a long process so make four or five litres and freeze it. (Recipes from book attached as PDF)

Curry Sauce
This is the most closely guarded of all the secrets of restaurant cooking.
Once prepared, it has a very smooth texture and a pale golden colour.
Taste it and it is pleasant with a subtle curry flavour. Every good
restaurant has a large pan of the sauce always at hand, with the recipe
varying only slightly from chef to chef. It forms the base of all the
restaurant curries from the mild to the very hot and spicy. It will keep in a
refrigerator for up to fivedays, although the best restaurants will prepare
no more than three days' requirement in one go. Together with your
spices, the prior preparation of the currysauce, and whatever meat or fish
you propose to use, a selection of dishes can be prepared in a matter of
minutes.

You will see that the making of the currysauce is in fact simple, with no
special equipment required other than a blender. It is essential, though,
that you follow strictly the instructions for blending and skimming as
these are the two procedures that can make the difference between a good
curry sauce and a poor one.
The quantities I have given are enough for six to eight persons. If you do
not require so much you may halve the quantity of each ingredient, or
alternatively, freeze the remainder of the finished sauce. I have included
freezing instructions where applicable. Although Indian restaurants do not
normally do this, it is a perfectly good way of taking advantage of your
freezer at home.
How To Make The Curry Sauce
For approximately eight main course dishes.
Preparation and cooking time: 1 hr 30 minutes approx.
2 lb (900g) cooking onions
2 oz (50g) green ginger
2 oz (50g) garlic
2¾ pint (I litre 570ml) water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tin (8oz/225g) tomatoes
8 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon tomato puree
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
Stage One
Peel and rinse the onions, ginger, and garlic. Slice the onions and roughly
chop the ginger and garlic.
Put the ginger and garlic into a blender with about ½ pint of the water and
blend until smooth.
Take a large saucepan and put into itthe onions, the blended garlic and
ginger, and the remainder of the water.
Add the salt and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat to very low and
simmer, with the lid on, for 40-45 minutes.
Leave to cool.
Stage Two
Once cooled, pour half the boiled onion mixture into a blender and blend
until perfectly smooth. Absolute smoothness is essential. To be certain,
blend for at least two minutes. Pourthe blended onion mixture into a
clean pan or bowl and repeat with the other half of the boiled onion
mixture.
Wash and dry the saucepan. Reserve about four tablespoons of the sauce
at this stage to use in cooking the chicken and lamb.
Freezing. Freezing is best done at this stage.
Stage Three
Open the can of tomatoes, put into the rinsed blender jug, and blend.
Again, it is important that they are blended perfectly smooth, so blend for
two minutes.
Into the clean saucepan, pour the oil, tomato puree, turmeric, and paprika.
Add the blended tomatoes and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and
cook, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes.
Now add the onion mixture to the saucepan and bring to the boil again.
Turn down the heat enough to keep the sauce at a simmer.
You will notice at this stage that a froth rises to the surface of the sauce.
This needs to be skimmed off.
Keep simmering for 20-25 minutes. Stirring now and again to prevent the
sauce sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
Use immediately or cool and refrigerate for up to four days.

View attachment The_Curry_Secret.pdf

 

[sponge]

I use a similar base but also throw in any other veggies that need to be used up. The last base I made had some carrot, capsicum and cabbage in there just because they were left over from our week of cooking. It may not be as authentic but certainly doesn't hurt.

I normally put a little SS tea ball/infuser in with some lightly crushed spices (normally some clove, bay leaf and cardamon, maybe small amounts of others if they need to be used up) as well just for a little more complexity, although additional spices are added to the individual curries nonetheless so isn't a necessity.

Frozen in 500mL takeaway containers (there's only 2 of us at home) and stacked up in a pile in the freezer.



And Bribie, that just means the mrs and I will have to head there and the taphouse a little earlier than expected.. what a shame.. :lol:

 

[maxim0200]

Great stuff! Subbed

 

[pat_00]

been wanting to try make my own dosa, anyone tried it? goes along with the fermenting vibe around here

 

[Bribie G]

I've got Kris Dhillon's book (lady, not Christopher) and her base is pretty good but there are better ones out there.

Dosa is dead easy to prepare and ferment the batter, but it's a bugger to cook it right without it becoming too thick or lumpy or just tearing apart when you spread the batter. I bought a big cast iron Tawa for Dosa when I was in Newcastle last but still cant get it to behave. You are supposed to pour a cup of batter onto the oiled Tawa then using the bottom of something smooth like a cup, spread it out spirally from the middle to form a nice thin pancake that cooks crispy, sprinkle it with ghee then roll with various curries in the middle. Problem I get is that when I start "spiralling" the whole thing turns into a train wreck.

I find the best way is to make mini dosa in non stick crepe pans I got from Aldi. But I'd love to be able to make the giant ones that hang six inches over each side of the plate when rolled.

One excellent way of honing your skills is to start by making non fermented which are nice in their own right, as done by the Goddess Manjula here. Then progress to the Dosa, big fermented version, with that nice sour twang in the background.

 

[pk.sax]

I'll drop you the done deal on Dosa if you want.

It's made with fermented crushed urad dal and rice flour. OR just go to an Indian store and buy the frikkin dosa mix in the yoghurt tubs in the fridge, it's fairly fresh and that's what every Indian is doing too... Dilute that **** a little since it's a bit thick.

Now, the real tricks. Use a large-ish tava or a crepe pan. Non-stick is perfect. Dosa is meant to cook FAST so a cast iron pan is fuming useless here. Use an aluminium jobby and save the tears.

Second, chop an onion in half and before you pour the mix on the tava, rub the tava surface with the onion. No sticky. This is what the professionals do. Do not use any sort of fat prior to pouring it.

Third, to spread it, use a deep scoop like ladle and simply thin it out as much as possible. Then drop some oil or ghee around the periphery and manhandle the pan to get it to go around the edges = crispy edges and it turns easier. Use a large turner to flip it over and cook the other side.

Job done.

PS: Mike, even with your cast iron tava, use the onion, not oil or ghee for the initial pour. Make sure the tava has developed its normal crust of oxide or whatever black it is but no burnt stuff sticking. Should work just fine, the pros use cast iron at as since the stuff only needs gentle heat but cooks very fast so the cast iron holds the heat with a small flame to feed it = less hands required to adjust flames.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

I've got Kris Dhillon's book (lady, not Christopher) and her base is pretty good but there are better ones out there.

Dosa is dead easy to prepare and ferment the batter, but it's a bugger to cook it right without it becoming too thick or lumpy or just tearing apart when you spread the batter. I bought a big cast iron Tawa for Dosa when I was in Newcastle last but still cant get it to behave. You are supposed to pour a cup of batter onto the oiled Tawa then using the bottom of something smooth like a cup, spread it out spirally from the middle to form a nice thin pancake that cooks crispy, sprinkle it with ghee then roll with various curries in the middle. Problem I get is that when I start "spiralling" the whole thing turns into a train wreck.

I find the best way is to make mini dosa in non stick crepe pans I got from Aldi. But I'd love to be able to make the giant ones that hang six inches over each side of the plate when rolled.

One excellent way of honing your skills is to start by making non fermented which are nice in their own right, as done by the Goddess Manjula here. Then progress to the Dosa, big fermented version, with that nice sour twang in the background.

Isn't there a round dowel lile hand tool for that spiralling technique? Seen crepes being made eith one and it rolled out the batter nice smooth.
No idea where youd buy one though.

 

[pat_00]

Awesome tips will give it a try soon.

 

[Bribie G]

Thanks for the onion tip, I read it some time ago somewhere and had completely forgotten about it.

 

[rehabs_for_quitters]

Spose I should put this in the right spot-

Butter Shicken.

1kg chicken breast, cut into 4 cm cubes
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp chilli powder
3 tsp grated ginger
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbs white vinegar
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup yoghurt
80gm butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods, bruised
1 tsp salt
3 tsp sweet paprika
425 tomato puree 3/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup cream

1.Combine ground spices, ginger, garlic, vinegar, paste and yoghurt in large bowl, add chicken, coat with marinade and refridgerate over night. (12 hours is ok)
2. Heat butter in pan, add onion, cinnamon and cardomom, cook, stirring til onion is browned lightly. Add chicken and cook for 10 minutes whilst stirring.
3. Add salt, paprika (I sometimes put the paprika in the marinade) puree and stock and simmer, uncovered for around 40 minutes. Add cream, simmer about 15 minutes or until chicken is tender.

This is always a winner!

Just having a crack at this as my first curry from scratch, and the missus is already moaning about the pantry smelling, it's on the simmer at the moment about to crack a beer and enjoy the wafting aromas

 

[Engibeer]

Rick Stein's Bombay Salmon Masala Curry

- I cooked this the other day, AMAZING.

It's a really gentle balance of spices that really does the Salmon justice.

It would also work well with any other fish, or even chicken.

Recipe is on google books....

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=F81nkpsm09MC&pg=PA171&lpg=PA171&dq=rick+stein%27s+india+salmon+masala&source=bl&ots=pXN1M77BEB&sig=FLL6z7IK4A1NGKjlwVx8txnjHkQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MGpfU6mdFc2ykgXizIGACA&ved=0CFEQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=rick%20stein%27s%20india%20salmon%20masala&f=false

Screenshots attached.

I have purchased this book as well - it's very good.

The TV series is worth a watch.