2012 Cooking Club Week 2b: Indian Resturant curries

clearodara · 21-02-2013 4:03am

BaZmO* wrote: »

I would've imagined vegetable oil would've been more authentic?

Possibly

jimfinoc · 26-02-2013 4:11pm

Curry Addict wrote: »

glad you enjoyed it
i would also find a rogan josh a bit bland for my tastes as i like the more powerful curries like madras or vindaloo.
i dont quite get why you used 2 ladles of curry base for 2 curries as it would be impossible to get the correct balance of flavor which is all important.
I would suggest trying the vindaloo, if you like big full on flavors. Make it exactly as its written to get the right balance of flavors!
curries are also very salt sensitive, if you use too little it will be bland regardless.

Tried the Vindaloo, but cut back on the heat a bit. We really liked it.
We have a vegatreian comes to us for out indian meals. Can you suggest a simple veg starter?

Curry Addict · 26-02-2013 8:40pm

jimfinoc wrote: »

Tried the Vindaloo, but cut back on the heat a bit. We really liked it.
We have a vegatreian comes to us for out indian meals. Can you suggest a simple veg starter?

vegetable pakoras are great, ill dig out the recipe tomorrow for you.

Gbear · 26-02-2013 8:59pm

jimfinoc wrote: »

Tried the Vindaloo, but cut back on the heat a bit. We really liked it.
We have a vegatreian comes to us for out indian meals. Can you suggest a simple veg starter?

Onion Bhajis are good too.

You could try just swapping in some cooked moong dahl or chana dahl into one of the recipes.

I've also dabbled with bombay aloo.
Fry some onions and peppers until they start to colour a bit, add some ginger and garlic paste, some of CA's curry masala, tomato paste and then some of the base sauce. Toss some cooked cubed and peeled boiled potatoes into the sauce. Make sure the spuds aren't too overcooked otherwise you get indian mashed spuds.

Add some lime juice and maybe a bit of garam masala and season with salt to taste.

dixiefly · 02-03-2013 9:08am

Great thread.

I made a Lamb Pasanda using the sauce from the curry sauce company and it was great.

I would like to make it from scratch - do you have the recipe?

Curry Addict · 02-03-2013 10:53am

dixiefly wrote: »

Great thread.

I made a Lamb Pasanda using the sauce from the curry sauce company and it was great.

I would like to make it from scratch - do you have the recipe?

try the korma its a similar type curry

Curry Addict · 02-03-2013 3:55pm

jimfinoc wrote: »

Tried the Vindaloo, but cut back on the heat a bit. We really liked it.
We have a vegatreian comes to us for out indian meals. Can you suggest a simple veg starter?

ok i havent made this in a long time so im not 100% on the quantaties but this should work...

500g of mixed veg chopped as small as possible
50g of cashew nuts
1tbs curry masala powder
1tsp methi (fenugreek leaves)
0.5tsp chilli powder
2tbs chopped coriander leaves
0.5tsp fennel seeds
1tbs ginger/garlic paste
75g gram flour
1tsp salt
1 egg

add the ingredients one at a time and mix them in well
when all the ingredients are well mixed form balls with your hands
deep fry the balls at 170 degrees for 3 mins. remove from the oil and poke a hole in the middle. deep fry again for a further 3mins.

squonk · 11-03-2013 2:45pm

First off, a big Thanks to you Curry Addict for these great recipes! It's one of my favourite cooking threads so far!

I'm just wondering if there is an alternative recipe for Chicken Madras? I'm a bit put off by the amount of oil used and am wondering if this is a consequence of the need to cook everything fast in a take-away type of environment.

Is there an alternative way of doing this, say in an oven with a casserole dish perhaps that mightn't need as much oil? I'm not a health obsessed type and am fairly liberal with my oil and butter in most of my cooking but would like to know if there is something that can be done involving less oil. There are heaps of Madras recipes out there so I'm wondering though if anyone has anything they could recommend?

Curry Addict · 11-03-2013 3:39pm

squonk wrote: »

First off, a big Thanks to you Curry Addict for these great recipes! It's one of my favourite cooking threads so far!

I'm just wondering if there is an alternative recipe for Chicken Madras? I'm a bit put off by the amount of oil used and am wondering if this is a consequence of the need to cook everything fast in a take-away type of environment.

Is there an alternative way of doing this, say in an oven with a casserole dish perhaps that mightn't need as much oil? I'm not a health obsessed type and am fairly liberal with my oil and butter in most of my cooking but would like to know if there is something that can be done involving less oil. There are heaps of Madras recipes out there so I'm wondering though if anyone has anything they could recommend?

glad you have enjoyed so far. the oil issue is a bummer for sure. based on further research since i posted the original recipes i think you can get away with 125ml of oil instead of 200ml in the base recipe which is a decent saving.

eskimocat · 11-03-2013 10:39pm

Great Curry addict! I was hoping you would give us the verdict of the oil experiment! Excellent. Thanks

Going to try that next time. I just love the recipe and so does everyone else that has tasted it!

Straight Outta Ganton · 13-03-2013 4:06am

Curry addict, is standard chicken breast

Gbear · 13-03-2013 12:06pm

Straight Outta Ganton wrote: »

Curry addict, is standard chicken breast

Curry Addict is not a standard chicken breast. How very dare you!

:pac:

Mr Benevolent · 18-03-2013 12:32pm

We had the korma last night and it came out lovely. Only thing was that my girlfriend bought mild curry powder, which isn't nearly hot enough for my tastes, although korma was never going to be hot.

I still have 10 ladles of curry base left, can I a bit of cayenne pepper to kick it up a notch?

Curry Addict · 18-03-2013 12:55pm

hi confab, im glad your korma turned out well and was enjoyed.
The curry powder doesnt matter so much in the spice level of the end result.
it only adds some subtlety to the spicing. Its also better to leave the base as it is and adjust the spice level while cooking the individual curry portions. If you want it spicier its best to add 1tsp of chilli powder for a good kick (or maybe 0.5tsp if your no so used to it) when your cooking the individual portion.
you might want to try the madras, it a nice spicy curry, great flavor but not ott.

emaleth · 20-03-2013 6:56pm

Further kisses for Curry Addict!

We had the lamb madras to celebrate Lá le Phádraig, as you do, and it was delicious. Three more double servings of the base gravy are nestled in the freezer as well. Korma is next. Thanks!

Gbear · 21-03-2013 8:03pm

I've started serving coconut rice with extra spicy curries.

I just more or less used CA's pilau rice recipe and substituted in coconut milk for water.

It's very nice.

Curry Addict · 21-03-2013 8:33pm

sounds nice and indulgent

Mr Benevolent · 25-03-2013 5:51pm

I bought fenugreek seeds instead of leaves, can I still use them?

Gbear · 25-03-2013 6:32pm

Mr Benevolent wrote: »

I bought fenugreek seeds instead of leaves, can I still use them?

You can use them in curries in general - dry roast them in a frying pan at a medium heat for a bit and then grind them up in a coffee grinder or a pepper mill might work.

They're not really the same though.

Curry Addict · 25-03-2013 7:38pm

Mr Benevolent wrote: »

I bought fenugreek seeds instead of leaves, can I still use them?

they will not replace fenugreek leaves in a recipe as gbear says, unfortunately. its still well worth hunting down fenugreek leaves. when u add them too the pan they give off the most amazing aroma thats worth the hassle of tracking them down

jimfinoc · 25-03-2013 9:37pm

We went out in Carrick on Shannon for an indian meal. We got talking to the waiter and in the end he got us some fenugreek leaves from the kitchen. Brought then home and have some stored in air tight ziplock bags.

gerrybbadd · 26-03-2013 12:14am

jimfinoc wrote: »

We went out in Carrick on Shannon for an indian meal. We got talking to the waiter and in the end he got us some fenugreek leaves from the kitchen. Brought then home and have some stored in air tight ziplock bags.

Himalian?
He didnt happen to tell you where to source them around Carrick?

gerrybbadd · 01-04-2013 11:16am

Curry Addict, I really do have to thank you. Since I've first started following this thread, I've made several batches of ginger / garlic paste, spice mix etc. I now have a massive box, filled with turmeric, garam masala etc, Gerry 's curry box. I've ordered fenugreek leaves off the Internet, and intend on having vindaloo, madras (and some korma for herself, can't handle the heat!)

Curry Addict · 01-04-2013 6:12pm

glad your getting a lot out of the recipes. down through the years of learning, the more i cooked indian the less i got take aways. now i rarely get one and mostly they are disappointing! you will reach the stage where your making them better at home than your getting in restaurants etc or maybe you are already!

Ipso · 01-04-2013 10:24pm

Can't wait to try some of these. Apologies if this is a stupid question but have you tried curries in a crock pot? The slow cooking should bring out the flavours.

gerrybbadd · 01-04-2013 11:49pm

Ipso wrote: »

Can't wait to try some of these. Apologies if this is a stupid question but have you tried curries in a crock pot? The slow cooking should bring out the flavours.

Ive tried a version, chicken comes out amazingly tender

Gbear · 02-04-2013 12:08am

I find that the best way to cook chicken is in the oven. Nothing else comes close.

For Chicken Tikka I mariante them in a bit of lemon and salt while I'm getting the other bits ready.

Then I add the powder of bay leaves, cardomom, mace, coriander seeds, cumin, pepper as well as a bit of the curry massala from the recipe in the OP, some garlic/ginger paste and either a bit of yoghurt or some tomato paste.

Marinate for 1-24 hours.

Cook at the highest temperature your oven can go on skewers (keeps them dry and you get some nice charring). In my oven that's 230C for 25-30 minutes.

Mellor · 02-04-2013 1:14am

Gbear wrote: »

Cook at the highest temperature your oven can go on skewers (keeps them dry and you get some nice charring). In my oven that's 230C for 25-30 minutes.

"Dry" is not really a qulity i'd be looking for in my meat. Moist and tender FTW

@Curry Addict
I've never been a fan of indian style curry, I've had it a few times and was times I was let down badly with fatty flavourless sauce. So my homemade curry has always been thai curry (chinese "curry" when im back in ireland for the novelty). But I sampled premium curry blends at a food show and decide to give them another chance, so I came here.

I picked up a Sambal Curry Marsala. Tasted great. I'm looking for something simple for my first bash at Indian style curry, working up to more complex ones later.
The recommended recipe was to fry onions and garlic & ginger paste in oil/ghee, add marsala and fry until fragrant, add lamb and seal well, then coconut cream, salt and lemon grass.

Any comments on the recipe? I'm thinking of cutting the lemongrass out.

Gbear · 02-04-2013 2:53am

Mellor wrote: »

"Dry" is not really a qulity i'd be looking for in my meat. Moist and tender FTW

It's only dry if you overcook it.

Don't do that.

If you get Tandoori chicken it's cooked in a (surprise!) Tandoor. A wood burning oven, a bit like a pizza oven (but maybe not as hot).
The idea is you get beautiful moist chicken but with the nice bit of charring on the part where the meat tapers to a point.

Marinating ensures further moisture.

Err on the side of undercooking and you test it and it's a bit underdone you can always stick it back in for a minute.

Curry Addict · 02-04-2013 1:12pm

Ipso wrote: »

Can't wait to try some of these. Apologies if this is a stupid question but have you tried curries in a crock pot? The slow cooking should bring out the flavours.

making the base using a more advanced method than i have detailed here is a very slow cooking process and does bring out the flavors to the max

2012 Cooking Club Week 2b: Indian Resturant curries

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