Curry Recipes Online
Curry Chat => Lets Talk Curry => Topic started by: gazman1976 on October 25, 2010, 06:17 PM
-
http://www.natco-online.com/acatalog/Holy_Grail.html (http://www.natco-online.com/acatalog/Holy_Grail.html)
-
point taken George
-
I think this website has been seen before by quite a few. I don't think it is very well regarded. I've not tried anything off there, mind.
-
These are the recipes that Andy (from the RCR site) copied and pretended they were his own
There was a very funny thread, with him denying it
-
Hi
Often wondered who gave the recipe to natco?
Regards
-
point taken George
Hahahaha quality reply Achmal. Sorry George, seems like you were right afterall ;D
Ray ;D
-
Leaving the question of authorship [1] to one side, there is something I don't understand in the recipe as found at Natco. It includes (among others) the following stages --
> Add oil and heat.
> Add basic sauce (along with fresh chicken/other meats if using them)
> Add all of the spices and salt
> Although the curry is now cooked, further frying is now required
> and this must be done in individual portions.
> 1. Add some oil to your 'individual curry' pan.
> 3. Then add the required amount of sauce and meat/cooked vegetables
> for one portion
So you've added the chicken (say) early on, immediately after "Add oil and heat. Add basic sauce", yet you are then told that "further frying is now required" and at the frying stage "add ... sauce ... and meat" (i.e., chicken).
So in fact you have added the chicken twice : once when making the basic sauce, and once at the frying stage.
Am I completely mad, or is there a real inconsistency ?
[1] Or has it, in fact, been stolen and cocked up in the process ? As Chriswg observed at http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4813.msg45748#msg45748 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4813.msg45748#msg45748), the Natco recipe is remarkably similar to the "Not Delia" one : http://www.notdelia.co.uk/british-indian-restaurant-curry-introduction/ (http://www.notdelia.co.uk/british-indian-restaurant-curry-introduction/)
-
I've been buying quite a few curries lately
One, I had the other night, had a spoon of paste dolloped on top
I thought at first it was a fried garlic puree (as I've seen done before) but no
So what was it?
My mind went back to the "M" recipes from Natco with the special (biggest secret) recipe
The fried onion/garlic/cinammon/cummin paste
So I made it again
This time I cooked it in a non stick frying pan
I remembered that it stuck badly to the bottom of my pan before
Anyhow, using a non stick pan really did the trick
I added the finished paste to a rather dull curry I made and it made a remarkable difference.
I had a little of a bought curry and compared it
Something very like my paste was in the bought curry
I am sure that a paste like this is used at this takeaway
It's amazing just how many different flavours you can get from an onion
Basically, I have just added onion to onion, and changed it's taste completely
Definitely something that I will do again
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/0d8c147169e19824def9dd8885a5f603.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#0d8c147169e19824def9dd8885a5f603.jpg)
-
Leaving the question of authorship [1] to one side, there is something I don't understand in the recipe as found at Natco.
It always seemed clear to me, unlike some of the recipes here!
First he pre-cooks raw chicken and the base sauce, plus 'bread dough paste'.
Then he prepares curries in individual proportions. Simple!
-
I've definitely read this before somewhere, however "secret onion pastes" or Bunjarra has definitely been the key missing ingredient for my thirty years plus of searching for the Holy Grail, After my visit to The Ashoka the Bunjarra and pre cooked G/G paste took me to where I was striving for. This bread dough type paste might be a suitable alternative when I don't have time to make Bunjarra proper. Thanks for testing it Haldi. PP
-
I found this page before this site and so tried it early on. The onion paste adds a lot of time to the cooking process and its tricky to avoid over drying it in parts leaving hard bits in the final sauce and I found it made zero difference in taste.
-
I too found this site some years ago whilst on the Holy Grail trail. For those new to curry cooking, it will have its uses unless they arrrive at CRO first ;D. Did the onion paste, time consuming process. Must confess, it did add a certain "something". I agree onions are the most wonderfull vegetable and so versatile. But one thing i did take away from the site, which i am still experimenting with, is the use of cinnamon powder. :o . A former X of mine detected its presence in some of the dishes from one of my local BIR's. Her sense of taste is pretty much akin to a bloodhound's sense of smell. If i have any breakthroughs with the cinnamon thing I'll let everybody know. Maybe other members out there have some knowledge or have already experimented with this??? It would be interesting to hear :D.
-
Not powder but sticks : would his sense of smell/taste differentiate ?
** Phil.
-
Not powder but sticks : would his sense of smell/taste differentiate ?
** Phil.
She is good, but i doubt that good :) Anyway, powder or whole, its presence is currently intriguing me. And just for good measure, to add to my intrigue, somebody starts talking about garam masala being added to the base sauce. And we all know that most garam masala mixes normally contain cinnamon in some quantity ;D. Sure this will keep me busy for a while. Hopefully, it won't prove to be yet another red herring :-\
-
hi ch i uses about 500ml of spiced water containing cinnamon bark, bay leaves, green cardamoms, star anise and a clove. i just boil a kettle and infuse them in it for 20 mins then strain it and add to the cooking onions, pepper and carrot. i would add them to the base but trying to find them before blending is hard work have used a muslin cloth you could try using just the cinnamon and cardamoms and bay though. although you could fry the in oil before adding the onions etc to the pan at the start of the base making but remove before blending. i think using the bark would be the way forward for you as its flavour and aroma would come through better than the powder.
hope this helps
gary :)
-
Why are the possibilities always so endless? ;D I think i'll try your suggestions Gary and feedback over my next couple of bases. I am inclined to include some black cardamons as well as i think there may be some milage in using them too! ::)