2012 Cooking Club Week 2b: Indian Resturant curries

dragonkin · 17-10-2012 2:35am

Hey Curry King going to try one of your recipes but I'd like to use Ghee instead of oil. Which one do you think would be best with ghee?

Curry Addict · 17-10-2012 11:09am

dragonkin wrote: »

Hey Curry King going to try one of your recipes but I'd like to use Ghee instead of oil. Which one do you think would be best with ghee?

tarka dahl or any of the vegetarian dishes would be best suited.
for the meat curries you want the sauce to be as light as possible. while ghee adds nice flavor it makes the curry a little heavier.

dragonkin · 17-10-2012 3:06pm

Curry Addict wrote: »

tarka dahl or any of the vegetarian dishes would be best suited.
for the meat curries you want the sauce to be as light as possible. while ghee adds nice flavor it makes the curry a little heavier.

Thanks will give the tarka dahl a shot!

ilovetorun · 25-10-2012 9:53am

I made your madras last night..wow, it was delicious! Thanks Curry Addict, I love your recipes

Curry Addict · 25-10-2012 12:10pm

ilovetorun wrote: »

I made your madras last night..wow, it was delicious! Thanks Curry Addict, I love your recipes

glad you enjoyed

Gbear · 02-11-2012 9:16pm

I just cooked an absolutely incredible CTM using a mixture of your recipes, this guy's curry base:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sqqmNFoVSk

and a bit of my own fiddling.

I made a base sauce quite similar to Curry Addicts but I added roast cashew nuts, simmered in 200ml of cream and 100ml of milk and blended.

I also took some chicken stock and infused it with various whole spices which I then removed with a sieve when i added it to the base sauce.

For the chicken I marinated them in Curry masala, mace, cardomom powder, salt, pepper, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp of dried mint, garam masala, cumin, coriander, chili, garlic/ginger paste and yoghurt as well as a little red colouring.

Then I roasted the chicken on skewers at 230C for about 20 minutes and fried half an onion, onion seeds, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, a spice mix of curry masala, cardomom, mace (they're the big two for CTM), salt, pepper, chili, fenugreek leaves, half a tomato and finished it off with the juice of half a lemon.

It was by far the nicest curry I've ever eaten. Incredible.

Curry Addict · 03-11-2012 12:43pm

sounds delicious Gbear :pac: nice experimentation. i have made a few different bases but always end up back to the original eventually.
i have made the yellow onion gravy its really nice but not quite my thing, its rich and creamy for the creamy curry lover

i like savory spicy flavors so tend to make light spicy savory curries.

jimfinoc · 05-11-2012 12:06pm

Curry Addict wrote: »

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot and add the ginger and garlic paste and sauté for two minutes. Add the onions and salt and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, green pepper and chillies and sauté for a further 10 minutes.
.

When making the Gravy, you say "Heat the oil". Do you mean all 200ml at once. Or should I just add enough to saute the ginger, garlic and onions first and then add the rest. Just seams a lot of oil to start off.
Thanks for all the advice

Curry Addict · 05-11-2012 1:30pm

jimfinoc wrote: »

When making the Gravy, you say "Heat the oil". Do you mean all 200ml at once. Or should I just add enough to saute the ginger, garlic and onions first and then add the rest. Just seams a lot of oil to start off.
Thanks for all the advice

yes heat all the oil, you will find its a lot of onion/garlic/ginger and would be difficult to saute in a little oil

Twee. · 06-11-2012 8:52pm

Made the madras tonight and it was absolutely delicious. I was short a few of the spices for the actual madras part but it still turned out well. Looking forward to trying the rest of recipes!

jimfinoc · 07-11-2012 9:54am

Made a veg curry last night. Was one of the best I've made. I used a different sauce then the Curry Addict.
I had made up this sauce some time ago and it was in the freezer. This is the sauce:-

Northern Curry Sauce or Kadhai Sauce

4 Tablespoons sunflower oil or veg oil
675g (11/2lbs) onions, roughly chopped
55g (2oz) fresh root ginger roughly chopped
13-14 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons coriander seeds
4-5 dried red chills, long slim variety, chopped
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
900ml warm water
2 teaspoons dried fenugreek leaves
Heat the oil in a saucepan over med heat. Fry the onions, ginger and garlic for 5-6 min and then add salt and sugar. Cook for a further 4-5 min, stirring regularly.
Coarsely grind the coriander seeds and chillies in a coffee grinder- they do not have to be fine- then add them to the pan and cook for 2 min.. Stir in the tomatoes, with their juice, paprika, turmeric and water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for 30-35 min.
Puree the sauce in a blender and return it to the saucepan. Stir in the fenugreek leaves and simmer for 5 min. Leave to cool compleatly. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Makes 1.5 ltr. Or 3 500g tubs.

When I made the curry I just used the sauce and added 4-5 Garlic cloves, about the same in ginger and about a tsb of chilli flakes.
Made up the curry addicts gravy yesterday and got 12 ladles into 6 500g containers, now in the freezer.

Curry Addict · 07-11-2012 11:20am

nice sauce,looks healthier than mine! i guess you like garlic

i look forward to seeing how you get on with the curry base.

Curry Addict · 07-11-2012 11:20am

Twee. wrote: »

Made the madras tonight and it was absolutely delicious. I was short a few of the spices for the actual madras part but it still turned out well. Looking forward to trying the rest of recipes!

glad you enjoyed

jimfinoc · 14-11-2012 1:02pm

Hi All

We used the curry gravy when making up Lamb Rogan Josh. It turned out verywell. Definitely a restaurant curry.

We thought it was a bit bland. This is not a criticism as we all have differenttaste buds to satisfy. Think it's just that we are used to home cooked Indianmore then the restaurant type.

We were cooking for 2. We used 400g of lamb. I could not find any Fenugreekleaves so we left it out. We also used only 2 ladles of the curry gravy for the2 of us. These were the only changes we made to the recipe.

On a separate issue. When I made up the garlic and ginger mix, I made 3times the amount and put what was left in the fridge. After about 4 days itturned green!!! It smelled fine and we used it in another dish with noproblems. Was I right or should I have binned it???

Curry Addict · 14-11-2012 2:10pm

jimfinoc wrote: »

Hi All

We used the curry gravy when making up Lamb Rogan Josh. It turned out verywell. Definitely a restaurant curry.

We thought it was a bit bland. This is not a criticism as we all have differenttaste buds to satisfy. Think it's just that we are used to home cooked Indianmore then the restaurant type.

We were cooking for 2. We used 400g of lamb. I could not find any Fenugreekleaves so we left it out. We also used only 2 ladles of the curry gravy for the2 of us. These were the only changes we made to the recipe.

On a separate issue. When I made up the garlic and ginger mix, I made 3times the amount and put what was left in the fridge. After about 4 days itturned green!!! It smelled fine and we used it in another dish with noproblems. Was I right or should I have binned it???

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.

garlic and ginger paste naturally turns green after a couple of days due to a chemical reaction. It does not mean that its gone off and it is still perfectly ok to use. it should stay good for at least 5 days if refrigerated.

noddy69 · 21-11-2012 6:32pm

Curry Addict wrote: »

glad you enjoyed

ive never had bombay pantrys Chicken Tikka Mirchi. i have had their standard curry and its very close to my madras so they do use a similar curry base. two things that give a smoky flavor are fenugreek/methi leaves and also dried red chilies fried in oil at the start of your curry. maybe ill order a Chicken Tikka Mirchi soon and see for myself :pac:

Just wondering if you ever got around to trying this? I would PAY for the recipe!!

Curry Addict · 21-11-2012 10:14pm

noddy69 wrote: »

Just wondering if you ever got around to trying this? I would PAY for the recipe!!

i have ordered from them a few times but that curry just doesnt appeal to me much but i will promise to do it in the next couple of weeks

Curry Addict · 25-11-2012 4:53pm

noddy69 wrote: »

Just wondering if you ever got around to trying this? I would PAY for the recipe!!

ok i ordered the "chicken tikka mirchi" from bombay pantry last night and enjoyed, quite a nice curry

i havent tried it out yet but heres how i would replicate it, this should be pretty close....

Chicken Tikka mirchi
Stage 1
1tbs mustard oil
1.5tbs butter
2tsp mustard seeds
10 chopped curry leaves
1 medium sized green chilli slit crossways in 3-4 spots
1tsp ginger/garlic paste
1 chef spoon coarsely chopped red onion
1 chef spoon coarsely shopped bell pepper
0.66tsp salt
Stage 2
2tsp tomato puree
1tsp cumin powder
1tsp curry masala
1tbs kasoori methi
2ladels of curry base
1 portion of precooked chicken tikka
Stage 3
1tbs sugar
5tbs of cream
¼ tsp garam masala
2tbs chopped coriander leaf
¼ tsp garam masala
1tbs lemon juice

heat the oil to medium - high heat and add the stage 1 ingredients quickly one at a time in order. saute for 2 mins.
Add the stage 2 ingredients, the curry base must go in within 20 secs of the spices or you risk burning them. allow the pan to come back up to heat and cook for 2-3 mins.
add the stage 3 ingredients one at a time, turn off the heat, stir them in and serve.

above is my feeling of what should go in and the quantities but realistically i would taste and maybe adjust the following...
the sugar and lemon juice need to be balanced, i would try 1tsp sugar and
2tsp of lemon juice first and adjust from there. if the zing zang of the sweet and sour is not so noticeable i would add a teaspoon at a time and keep them in balance. it wont be more than 3tsp sugar to 6tsp lemon juice so that should be the upper limit.

remove the green chilli before serving..

jebuz · 26-11-2012 1:28pm

Curry_addict (classic username btw!) I have to send a big thanks your way for sharing all of your wonderful recipes and knowledge. It takes a lot of time I'm sure and I'll bet there are a lot of the 'quieter' users of boards who are making some awesome curries too, so very much appreciated

So day one I made a bucket load of the gravy and froze the bulk of it. The next night I prepared the lamb, following your recipe and then the 3rd night I made the rice and a lamb korma which was out of this world, delicious - will never be ordering again. Once you have the gravy and the meat cooked, it's incredibly quick to whip up a tasty meal in less than 40 mins. That korma was seriously better than any take away I've had and incredibly satisfying knowing you've made it from scratch. The recipes were very well written and easy to follow and I look forward to experimenting with different curries in the future, I actually found the whole process quite enjoyable and relaxing, the kitchen smelt quite good too for a few days

It did make a slight dent in my wallet buying all the ingredients and some cooking utensils but the bulk of that was once off purchases, all I need really when I'm making a curry now is meat and fresh veg, I'm covered when it comes to spices, herbs and instruments

Thanks again!

Curry Addict · 26-11-2012 2:38pm

its nice to hear feedback like this and that people are getting a lot out of the recipes, it makes it worthwhile to put the effort into it.

I always have a freezer full of portioned curry base also

the base is better fresh though, but it doesnt lose to much with freezing, thankfully.

if you like korma maybe work up through the less spicey curries first. i found that every time I tried a spicier curry it was more difficult to eat but strangely more exhilarating and satisfying in the end :pac:

I bought my spices a little at a time and built that up over time to a wide range that covers pretty much everything. it spreads the cost and the upside is that I can cook pretty much anything i fancy at any time which is a great freedom. when i had all the indian stuff i expanded to thai, indonesian, chinese, malaysian, sri lankan, mexican, moroccan and on it goes :pac:
i find now i just need to refill the odd jar every now and then.

here is how i store my main spices, i also have a drawer and a press full....

Padraig Mor · 04-01-2013 12:01pm

After long intending to do so, finally tackled these the other day. Bit of a baptism of fire, cooking for 6. Did Rogan Josh and Madras. And they were flipping gorgeous! Quote from happy diner: "If I got this in a restaurant I'd be saying how good it was". Easy to do as well, although watch out for the "tear gas" when you first fire chilli powder onto a hot pan!

Also did the pilau rice in this thread. Didn't *quite* end up super light and fluffy - still a bit sticky - but I put that down to increasing the ingredients 50% and guesstimating the revised cooking times. However, slight stickiness aside, it was fantastic and exactly what I would expect from a restaurant in terms of flavour and colour.

Any Jalfrezi recipes knocking about Curry Addict? (to compare with the Cooking Club low fat version!).

Curry Addict · 04-01-2013 4:25pm

Padraig Mor wrote: »

After long intending to do so, finally tackled these the other day. Bit of a baptism of fire, cooking for 6. Did Rogan Josh and Madras. And they were flipping gorgeous! Quote from happy diner: "If I got this in a restaurant I'd be saying how good it was". Easy to do as well, although watch out for the "tear gas" when you first fire chilli powder onto a hot pan!

Also did the pilau rice in this thread. Didn't *quite* end up super light and fluffy - still a bit sticky - but I put that down to increasing the ingredients 50% and guesstimating the revised cooking times. However, slight stickiness aside, it was fantastic and exactly what I would expect from a restaurant in terms of flavour and colour.

Any Jalfrezi recipes knocking about Curry Addict? (to compare with the Cooking Club low fat version!).

glad it worked out well for you

with regards the rice, the cooking time doesnt change with the quanity of rice used. its 6 mins regardless! the ratio of rice to water is 1:1.5 so more rice means more water. this will explain your sticky rice as i guess you cooked it longer and therefore overcooked it... lesson learned :pac:

ragg · 06-01-2013 8:25pm

I really love this receipe.. I (probably) add more water to the base and end up simmering the final curry for about 10 minutes longer then the said above as I find it makes the final curry even better.

So glad I found this :cool:

Also, I must have a smaller appetite as I got about 12 portions out of the most recent base, which makes it quite low cal..

angeldaisy · 12-01-2013 2:34pm

Hey curry addict, just looking for sone advice if possible.
I'm planning on doing a curry evening for about 10 people in a couple of weeks, planning on doing a rogan josh, korma and poss a balti. What else would typically be served with them? I usually just make pilau rice and naan, but wondered about side dishes.
Any suggestions?

Curry Addict · 13-01-2013 2:57pm

angeldaisy wrote: »

Hey curry addict, just looking for sone advice if possible.
I'm planning on doing a curry evening for about 10 people in a couple of weeks, planning on doing a rogan josh, korma and poss a balti. What else would typically be served with them? I usually just make pilau rice and naan, but wondered about side dishes.
Any suggestions?

making 10 curries is a tall order as each are cooked individually and take about 6 minutes each. its a bit of a nightmare to get them all on the table hot and fresh.
i would suggest making the tikka masala for everyone as its a 1 pot curry, can be cooked in advance(preferably the day before) and its usually liked by all. you can simply ladle this out for everyone, when the time comes to eat and you will have time to enjoy your guests and the evening yourself.
you could then serve some sides like bombay potato, tarka dahl and sag aloo which can also be preprepared.
prep as much as you can beforehand to reduce stress later. I would skip the naans also and just do pilau rice as they are a lot of work.

angeldaisy · 13-01-2013 5:38pm

Curry Addict wrote: »

making 10 curries is a tall order as each are cooked individually and take about 6 minutes each. its a bit of a nightmare to get them all on the table hot and fresh.
i would suggest making the tikka masala for everyone as its a 1 pot curry, can be cooked in advance(preferably the day before) and its usually liked by all. you can simply ladle this out for everyone, when the time comes to eat and you will have time to enjoy your guests and the evening yourself.
you could then serve some sides like bombay potato, tarka dahl and sag aloo which can also be preprepared.
prep as much as you can beforehand to reduce stress later. I would skip the naans also and just do pilau rice as they are a lot of work.

Thats great advice thanks, I hadnt thought the timings through properly!
For the tikka masala I cook it exactly as you have it and then just reheat when needed?
Thank, really looking forward to trying the sides, great excuse to eat loads of different foods.
Thanks again

angelmum · 20-02-2013 5:16am

hi curry addict do you have a recipe for this. had this in planet spice and one of my favourites and would love to cook this t home

Chicken Raj
succulent pieces of tandoori baked chicken cooked in a delicate sauce with cream, ground pistachio, coconut, butter & aromatic spices

thanks

clearodara · 20-02-2013 6:52am

Here's my own recipe for a rich creamy Korma with a nice sweetness from the coconut milk. This recipe should make 6 servings.
Ingredients:
4 x Chicken Breasts
2 x Cans of Coconut Milk
1/2 x Can of chopped tomatoes
20 x Cardimon Pods grounded
1/2 x Ladle of Olive oil
3 x Cloves of Garlic crushed
2 x Teaspons of ground cumin or cumin seeds
1 x Thumb of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/2 x Teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 x Teaspoon garam masala
1/2 x Teaspoon salt
1/2 x Teaspoon pepper
1 x Tablespoon tomato paste
2 x Medium heat chilies, finely chopped
1 x Palm sized amount of fresh coriander
1/2 x Cup of fresh yoghurt
1 x Tablespoon of Honey
2 x Large Cinnamon sticks
6 x Cloves

Side: Naan Optional: Honey and Yogurt

1: Cut chicken into bite sized chunks
2: Mix in a bowl, crushed garlic, cumin, ginger, cayenne pepper, chilli powder, garam masala, tomato paste and 1/2 of chopped chillies. salt and pepper. Add chicken and leave marinate for 1 to 2 hours.
3: On medium/high heat add coconut milk and tomato to a pan and heat for 3/4 minutes until it starts to heat up, throw in cinnamon sticks, crushed cloves and cardomon pods and remaining chilles and cook for a further 3 minutes.
4:Bring heat down to between 120 - 80 degrees and add chicken and contents of bowl.
5: Cover pan and leave chicken simmer in the juices for 1/2 hour until sauce thickens up. Be sure to stir every couple of minutes but replace lid when doing so. Add more of the juice from the can of chopped tomato if needed.
6: About 3 minutes before serving add the honey and mix through thoroughly and finally add the chopped coriander if desired.
7: Serve with basmati rice and naan bread, with yogurt and honey on the side.

BaZmO* · 20-02-2013 11:09am

clearodara wrote: »

Here's my own recipe for a rich creamy Korma with a nice sweetness from the coconut milk. This recipe should make 6 servings.
Ingredients:
4 x Chicken Breasts
2 x Cans of Coconut Milk
1/2 x Can of chopped tomatoes
20 x Cardimon Pods grounded
1/2 x Ladle of Olive oil
3 x Cloves of Garlic crushed
2 x Teaspons of ground cumin or cumin seeds
1 x Thumb of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/2 x Teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 x Teaspoon garam masala
1/2 x Teaspoon salt
1/2 x Teaspoon pepper
1 x Tablespoon tomato paste
2 x Medium heat chilies, finely chopped
1 x Palm sized amount of fresh coriander
1/2 x Cup of fresh yoghurt
1 x Tablespoon of Honey
2 x Large Cinnamon sticks
6 x Cloves

Side: Naan Optional: Honey and Yogurt

1: Cut chicken into bite sized chunks
2: Mix in a bowl, crushed garlic, cumin, ginger, cayenne pepper, chilli powder, garam masala, tomato paste and 1/2 of chopped chillies. salt and pepper. Add chicken and leave marinate for 1 to 2 hours.
3: On medium/high heat add coconut milk and tomato to a pan and heat for 3/4 minutes until it starts to heat up, throw in cinnamon sticks, crushed cloves and cardomon pods and remaining chilles and cook for a further 3 minutes.
4:Bring heat down to between 120 - 80 degrees and add chicken and contents of bowl.
5: Cover pan and leave chicken simmer in the juices for 1/2 hour until sauce thickens up. Be sure to stir every couple of minutes but replace lid when doing so. Add more of the juice from the can of chopped tomato if needed.
6: About 3 minutes before serving add the honey and mix through thoroughly and finally add the chopped coriander if desired.
7: Serve with basmati rice and naan bread, with yogurt and honey on the side.

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

Curry Addict · 20-02-2013 4:09pm

angelmum wrote: »

hi curry addict do you have a recipe for this. had this in planet spice and one of my favourites and would love to cook this t home

Chicken Raj
succulent pieces of tandoori baked chicken cooked in a delicate sauce with cream, ground pistachio, coconut, butter & aromatic spices

thanks

its hard to say for sure as different restaurants use different naming conventions and their own variations on dishes.

this sounds like a variation on korma. if you substitute ground pistachio for ground almond in the korma recipe here, you will likely have something pretty close to chicken Raj.

2012 Cooking Club Week 2b: Indian Resturant curries

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