Tried and tested curry recipes

[rob_gould]

A group of friends from the UK has been visiting me this week, mainly to see the Iron Maiden concert here in Amsterdam a couple of nights ago, but we've also been cooking every night and the general theme has been curry. The standard has been really good, and I thought it'd be fun to start a thread on here with recipes that you know work well and taste great. I know there are some keen cooks on here so hopefully there will be some decent contributions!

All my recipes are Indian in origin, but if you've got something Thai, Malay or of any origin that you know is good, post it up!

http://www.marthastewart.com/346119/chicken-with-vindaloo-spices

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/myroganjosh_90030

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/mar/29/how-to-cook-perfect-goan-fish-curry?commentpage=1

 

[rob_gould]

Since this topic fell so completely flat on its arse first time round, let's see if the last three years has upped the number of Indian food lovers on the site...

Tonight's effort : Kala chana masala, paneer korai and tarka dal, with brown basmati rice and lime pickle. Overkill for a Monday night perhaps, but delicious

I'll post the recipes tomorrow if anyone's interested....

 

[micaddict]

Yup. 

 

[ruffrecords]

There is a definite curry culture in the UK. Leeds is reputed to have the best sewers in the UK as a result.

I like a curry now and then but much of the present day culture seems to revolve around highly spiced (hot) curries. Not my cup of tea at all.  My daugher likes a curry that would blow your head off. I like a good Korma but we never cook from scratch. A nice jar of Pataks is good enough for use. When we were young (back in the 60s) Chinese restaurants had just begun in the UK as a result of which we still do a regular stir fry and we have fun making our own recipes.

Cheers

ian

 

[maq3396]

Looks very tasty!

 

[anjing]

Hi  Rob,
  Look very good! 3 types of curry for one meal is a lot of work! Did you do the paneer yourself?

Regards,
Pierre

 

[rob_gould]

The paneer one : http://showmethecurry.com/subzis-vegetables/how-to-make-tangy-paneer-indian-vegetarian-recipes.html

The black chickpea one : http://www.spiceupthecurry.com/kala-chana-curry-recipe-black-chickpeas-curry-recipe/

Tarka dal is a made up recipe.  Hard to go wrong with that one.

Pierre - no, the paneer is not home made.  I've never got round to trying to make it myself, but I probably should since a large part of my time is spent cooking Indian food.  The next thing I want to try is DIY dosas

 

[nielsk]

My latest trough feed is crock pot biryani, very easy to make a bunch and keep in the fridge (gets even better with age...)
Marinate your protein ( cubed chicken is great but lately I have been using firm tofu) overnight in 1/2 jar Patak's (or whichever  one you like) Biryani paste and 1/3 jar Vindaloo paste (or leave out if you don't like it hot) and a cup of yogurt.
Put in the crock pot with chopped onion, if using tofu add about 1/2 cup ghee or grease / oil of choice, cook on medium for an hour or so, add fresh and or frozen veggie's (cauliflower, peppers, peas, tomato is good) and cook for about 2 hours
(I basically judge quantities based on how much I can cram in the crock pot, but at least a few good handfuls of each is good)
Add nuts (I like some cashews, pepitos, and pistachios) and dried fruit (raisins, blueberries, mango, what have you) to taste. Cook for another 1/2 hour or you can put in some basmati rice (add water if the biryani  is not very wet) and cook till done, I prefer to do the rice separately.
Mix it all up and begin to chow down!

 

[micaddict]

Patak is quick, but ain't the secret of a good curry freshly ground spices?

 

[Matt Nolan]

"The Curry Secret" is a good recipe book.

 

[Matt Nolan]

Blog version here with some free recipes - http://thecurrysecret.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[micaddict]

The cool thing about mixing your own spices is that you have infinite possibilities.  Almost always there'll be coriander (seed), cumin (seed) and turmeric (root). But I may add up to a dozen spices (and maybe herbs).  It's not only the combinations, but also the proportions of course. I'll bet just about all Indian families have their own secret recipes.

And grinding the spices yourself (at the last moment) makes a lot of difference for aroma!
(Similar thing for coffee BTW.)

 

[nielsk]

While I would encourage anyone with the wherewithal to venture down the endless path of roasting, grinding , and blending their own spice mixes, and enjoy the results of their experiments, I do love being able to make great tasting healthy food  quickly and easily.
I really enjoy some of the many benefits of this time in history, when not only can I find excellent coffee and water almost anywhere, I can go down the street to my local grocery store and get everything I need to make a great curry quickly and easily!
I have has many, many curries in many different countries, and I for one think Patak's rocks, their Major Grey's chutney is wonderful...

 

[micaddict]

when not only can I find excellent coffee ... almost anywhere ...

And most ready made coffee (at barista's and such) is freshly ground nowadays. 
It wasn't always that way.

 

[nielsk]

And some are even fresh roasted!
But I would contend that the main difference is discovery of proper  espresso brewing, I prefer espresso made from a factory ground bag of beans over any other brew method with the freshest roasted & ground beans from anywhere (of course I do not turn my nose up at espresso made from fresh roasted / ground beans!)
but that is for another thread...

 

[leadbreath]

Droool.. try out a Durban curry from the East coast of South Africa and check out the" bunny chow" authentic Durban street food. Nothing beats one of those after hitting a bit of the old Durban Poison ! Man I'm missing home now...

http://www.food.com/recipe/bunny-chow-and-its-durban-curry-220077

 

[MicDaddy]

don't forget the fresh ginger, and lemon rind, jalapenos and cauliflower, 

Fresh spices will always win every-time. My garden + my wife's intuition in the kitchen >> a restaurant all day.

I enjoy a tandori chicken and a dish called thimphu,  also if you can find someone that can make authentic rice... forget about it, I have friends from Iraq that are Kurdish and others of Afghani descent that can make some good rice like back home and ticket to heaven.


lol almost missed the comment about SADP... they don't know about Durban poison     

 

[dmp]

I really like this book:

Six Spices: A Simple Concept of Indian Cooking
by Neeta Saluja

Recipes are from scratch with onion paste, spices, etc...

 

[rob_gould]

Republican vs Democrat?

Brexit vs no Brexit?

No thanks mate! I'll have some delicious chana masala instead ;-)

https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/punjabi-chole-chickpeas-in-a-spicy-gravy/

Another two years later : any Indian food fans here?!?!

 

[Tubetec]

The whole spices really do it for me , even if I'm taking a short cut and using a jar of sauce or paste ,adding fresh things like garlic ginger cloves cardamon pods bay leaves black pepper whole chilli etc really boosts the flavours , there is a bit of work at the back end either removeing the spices before serving or allowing the guest to do it themselves .

I only recently discovered fresh root turmeric in the stores here ,its a bit of a revelation ,the colouring from it is very strong and will easily stain clothes or skin even ,well worth trying it out though.

The other point about the Indian food mainly ,but applies to other eastern foods too is the medicinal qualities of the ingredients . A huge subject in itself ,totally aside from flavour. Theres a buddy of mine married a Chinese girl ,he said at times he'll arrive back to see herself munching down some bizzare and not very appetising vegtable type thing ,its seems in their culture its not simply all about flavour ,but in fact the goodness of stuff for aiding the function of the bodily organs, the medicine is in the food in other words ,and all built on empirical data filtered through thousands of years of human evolution ,pretty damn smart stuff Id say .

I guess all these ingredients have their own physiological effects on mainly the gut ,but also through absorbtion into the bloods other parts of the body ,there a lot about nutrition coming to light now with modern science and the abillity to be able to look at cells on a molecular level ,its pretty clear to all of us the modern westerised diet is bad chemistry for our bodies , but convenience tries to force the wrong choice on us everytime .