Curry Recipes Online
Curry Base Recipes => Curry Base Chat => Topic started by: chillidoggy on May 03, 2006, 10:49 AM
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Hello.
I have had the Khris Dhillon book for absolutely years, I guess since about '84 or so. I made the curry gravy only yesterday but have not yet used it in a recipe. Thing is, it just smells and tastes a bit bland and the recipes in the book don't look like they're going to hit the mark.
Anyone else found this or have any comments? It's important 'cos I've got a cartload of friends coming round soon and I want to wow them with my expertise!
One mor ething, I had a small book from Sainsburys years ago that had a Raan recipe. Unfortunately I los tthe book and am looking fro the recipe again. Anyone help?
Thanks.
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Hi,
If you browse back through the site you should find plenty of disscussion on the curry secret book. There are some people who love it and some people who don't, myself I think the gravy is 'ok' but there are much better one's on here. As for most of the actual curry recipes I wouldn't even bother.
Why not give it a go as you have made a batch and then let us know what you think, then you can try one of the gravys from here and compare it.
cK
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Hi chillidoggy -
There is a Raan recipe in one of Pat Chapman's books...or try this link
http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/indian/whole-leg-lamb-spicy1.html
Cheers ,
CC
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Hi Chillydoggy,
The base, for me, is there to give the curry both volume and texture and be an agent to carry the additional spices you will add. It should not have an overpowering distinctive taste otherwise you would never achieve a variety of curries from Korma to Tindalloo and beyond!!
I believe different bases lend themselves to different curries and I have used the KD base to make very good BIR Jalfrezi and Dhansak (my opinion of course ;D) The colour is great and part of a good meal is experienced with the eyes. I like a Jalfrezi to be red and spicy.
I have recently moved to the Darthphall 15 onion base which I can highly recommend. It is thicker in texture and does have more of a finished curry flavour.
The KD base does make good curries and I will use it again but as Curry King said try a variety and choose your favourite. There are some excellent recipes on this site,tried and tested by numerous people. I am enjoying the experimenting myself.
Regards
BB
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Many thanks to you all.
I did get moaned at by my wife for the "disgusting smell" whilst I was preparing the gravy and I'll probably have to sweet talk her into concocting another.
Personally, I'm a Dhansak junkie and am lucky enough to have a curry house which does a good one within staggering distance. Trouble is, I don't reckon my wife will put up with the smell of dhall cooking if I actually try to knock one up.
I took note of the fact that some are not over enamoured with Kris's curries and although I haven't tried one yet, I reckon that the recipes could be lacking a little something just by looking at the ingredients. I'll let you know what I think.
As for the Raan, thanks for the recipe, though I really did like the one in the Sainsbury's book, although I did feel that it was a little dry.
Glad to have found this site though chaps, (and girls if there are any here), and I'm mighty relieved it's not just me who's addicted to spicy food. Bit like "coming out"?!!
Cheers,
Chilli.
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Well I cooked the Chicken Bhuna from the Khris Dhillion book last night. I followed it to the letter apart from a slightly different garam masala.
Sad to say I was disappointed. It tasted,well, bland quite frankly. Perhaps this recipe might have ben OK once, but it just didn't have the sort of intensity I have been used to. It also seemed to retain too much oniony/garlicky flavour. Overall my wife was reasonably happy though.
So I will try one of the other recommended sauce bases here. Any comments about the KD sauce? Anyone feel the same as I do?
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The KD sauce does have it's fans on here but I've never been one. As you say it stinks while you make it and I've had much better results with the majority of the bases on here.
Try one of these:
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4.0)
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=108.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=108.0)
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=278.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=278.0)
cK
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Which ever way you look at it the KD base is a great starting point, and most of the people on this site use or has used this base in the first instance , onions, garlic & ginger etc but we have all learned a little here and there from various sources; hence we are all cooking better curries.
Credit has to be given to KD for writing the book to give us such an inspiration in what we are all trying to achieve; I myself thought it was the best curry I had ever made the first time I followed the recipe to the letter, but did it stink the house out for several days.
Keep reading the site, there is a wealth of information and if it was all put together in a simplified version I have no doubt it would be an international "best seller" keep looking and reading but most of all "Enjoy".
I'm sure PC has scammed a few ideas off this site.
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I agree that KD does deserve some credit for helping us all out and getting started, as you have said it was the first book I bought as well. What I do remember though was the dissapointment when I knocked up my first curry using it, no where near a restaurant taste, it looked good but that was about it :'(
For me personally though I've made an OK curry with the KD base but it's not a simple 1 pot base to make and it does stink which is why I wouldn't recommend it :P
For inspiration I just have to look how much money I'm saving each month in not having to buy so many takeaways :D
Keep On Currying
cK
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Thanks everyone.
Well I've got some friends coming round on the 20th so I'm hoping to make an impression with a raan and a veg curry. If I get the time I'll try one of the other bases beforehand. Otherwise they'll have to put up with the KD special.
One point though, when I cooked the chicken as directed by KD, having taken some of the original mixutre to one side, the smell was superb! and sooo genuine. Almost enough to put me off my beer!
More later.
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You could also try boiling the chicken in water with turmeric and adding the left over stock into your base recipe instead of plain water
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Thats exactly what i do in my recipes,keep the boiled chicken water & put it in base mix etc..etc..
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Me too, I simmer chicken in water with turmeric and salt for about 30 minutes, for lamb I simmer for about 75 minutes
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Mark,
Do you use lamb leg or shoulder? And does it come up as tender as you like?
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I use leg of lamb and simmered for an hour and a quarter it is melt in the mouth
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You may like to use Mutton it has a lot more flavour than Lamb but it will then need to be simmered slowly for at least 2 and half hours to tenderize.
Indians swear by it not only for it's extra flavour but it's a also lot cheaper than Lamb try it you may be pleasantly surprised.
Layne ;)
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Well I've made two curries, one Chicken Bhuna, the other mixed veg. Both to the KD EXACT recipe.
I have to tell you, people, it's not good. Not exactly tasteless but not exactly tasty either. I may be saved by the raan I knocked up for which I got a recipe off the web somewhere, 'cos it smells gorgeous.
As i mentioned earlier I have some friends around tomorrow and would like to impress. Short of hiring a pole dancer to distract them, I've come up with two possibilities:-
Plan A is to get everyone well-oiled with Becks lager so they don't notice what they're eating and tell them that I didn't make stuff too spicy 'cos I wasn't sure that they'd like it.
Plan B is to give them plenty of that 8% King Cobra beer that buzz mentioned to make doubley sure Plan A works.
Plan C is to tell them I had a power cut and wheel the lot of them around the corner to the Indian restaurant.
After this it's back to the drawing board and try some other base sauces as recommended here.
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lol... If I was heading to yours, plan B sounds perfect :) ;D
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Finally went to a slightly modifed plan B last night. Ten bottles of wine between four. Oh my head! Curry went down a treat eventually. Raan was dry, as expected but no one seemed to notice. Chicken Bhuna and veg curry was a success but I still wasn't overly happy with the taste.
Bye for now.
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Hello.
I have had the Khris Dhillon book for absolutely years, I guess since about '84 or so. I made the curry gravy only yesterday but have not yet used it in a recipe. Thing is, it just smells and tastes a bit bland and the recipes in the book don't look like they're going to hit the mark.
Anyone else found this or have any comments? ...
Well, I've posted twice in KD's defence, so clearly I believe his base has something to offer, but I also know that I no longer use his recipes "as written". In general, I use twice as much sauce per unit of meat as he recommends, and twice as much spice per unit of sauce. I also add other spices that he doesn't explicitly mention. But I do think that his is an excellent starting point, and has the great merit that you aren't going to blow the roof off your mouth using his quantities of spices, so you are (IMHO) more likely to experiment thereafter rather than just give up ...
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ive always been a bit disappointed with kd's recipes...although doubling(at least)the quantities of spices he recommends does help a bit.....one thing ive never been sure of...are you supposed to blend the resulting green coloured water along with the boiled onions..or drain it and just blend the onions??
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I've always been a bit disappointed with kd's recipes...although doubling (at least) the quantities of spices he recommends does help a bit.....one thing I've never been sure of...are you supposed to blend the resulting green coloured water along with the boiled onions..or drain it and just blend the onions??
Blend everything : water, onions, ginger, garlic; the resulting liquid is the "Stage 2" sauce, in which you can pre-cook the chicken (with a little turmeric and some oil or ghee), and later go on to make the "Stage 3" sauce, adding oil, tomatoes, tomato puree, turmeric and paprika ...
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Hmmm...paprika...interesting concept.... an ingredient that is used in central Europe & Spain but not often seen in Indian cooking . I have been a strong proponent of Bruce Edwards....but do have my doubts - do you use hot or regular paprika . This would ultimately influence the dish....or would you be better served adding more chilies . Yet another indication of how the end user has to both formulate and adjust recipes . Must admit that I have always omitted paprika and substituted chili powder . Chaa006 what do you think ?
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Hi CurryCanuck,
Pakrika is the hungarian word for pepper. My (hungarian) friend makes wonderful goulashes and uses the best paprika which comes from Hungary.
This is what Wikipedia has to say about paprika;
Paprika is a mild, powdered seasoning made from sweet red peppers, Capsicum annuum, also referred to as bell peppers. In Hungary and adjacent countries, as well as Japan, Scandinavia, and Indonesia, paprika refers to bell peppers generally. The English word derives from Hungarian, which borrowed it from Serbian, being a cognate to the English word pepper.
The portugese brought back bell peppers and chillies from the new world and traded then in india (Goa, a former portugese colony), ca:1700 . Before chillies and paprika indian food was made hot with black pepper.
To be honest i find this slightly hard to believe, there was a massive spice trade running from china to india and beyond, hundereds of years before. I cant believe that no-one found anything like a chillie before then.
Anyway, paprika is definately a part of indian cooking and not only lends colour but also a subtle taste. Hungarians are famous for their high quality paprika and although more expensive its worth getting hold of it, if you can, although i doubt its used in BIR?s.
Regards Ashes
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I stock both regular and hot paprika in my spice cupboard - each adds a different dimension to a dish ...is it the flavor I desire or would chili be a better substitute - similar spices different taste ...yet another subjective approach . Perhaps it is just a case of personal preference based on the end product . If it was a question that everything would end up tasting like spam , it would be a no-brainer - but unfortunately we have far too many variables in our cooking and the end result might well be either a winner or a dud . Is the Holy Grail in sight...yes - I think so - somewhere in Bognor Regis behind a petrol station that employs a troll that has all the answers . ;D ;D ;D
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Hmmm...paprika...interesting concept.... an ingredient that is used in central Europe & Spain but not often seen in Indian cooking . I have been a strong proponent of Bruce Edwards....but do have my doubts - do you use hot or regular paprika . This would ultimately influence the dish....or would you be better served adding more chilies . Yet another indication of how the end user has to both formulate and adjust recipes . Must admit that I have always omitted paprika and substituted chili powder . Chaa006 what do you think ?
I use hot paprika if I have it, and standard otherwise; in both cases, the flavour of the raw spice is noticeably different to that of ground chillies, which are themselves difference to cayenne pepper and so on ... I have a recipe for chicken piri-piri which requires both ground chillies and ground cayenne pepper (as well as ground ginger and ground black pepper), so I suspect it's not uncommon for a recipe to require two or more members of the same spice family in the same dish.
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somewhere in Bognor Reggis behind a petrol station that employs a troll that has all the answers . ;D ;D ;D
Rofl :D
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KD is a woman (sorry couldnt resist correcting you ;D )
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KD is a woman (sorry couldnt resist correcting you )
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is he ?? :P ;D
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Well , you never know these days ....hormone replacement therapy can accomplish absolutely marvellous results . :) ;D
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Yes the KD base is a good starting point (but not to my liking), and yes all bases should be bland as has been pointed out before; they should not overcome the dish you are about to make. I have mentioned in other posts that you should consider this Asian cooking process like a chemistry process, for that is what is happening here. The base may be bland but when mixed with other spices etc., it releases all its overtones to create the typical BIR curry flavour. You really do need high heat to kick this process off and medium to low to finish it if you wish to get the full flavours. Don't forget; lots of oil and salt ::)
good luck and happy cooking.
C P
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I just read 66 reviews of The Curry Secret book at amazon.co.uk
How can the vast majority of 66 different reviews have got it so wrong in suggesting the search is over and the Curry Secret recipes taste exactly like a BIR, which they most certainly do not, in my experience? Is it possible the publishers have written over 60 of the reviews?
Regards
George
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Maybr they don't live in the UK and have not had a TRUE bir dish ever (or at least for a long enough time to forget what it is really like)
KP
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Thats the thing there's a lot of crap BIRs and takeaways that produce currys like I can, I think only about 1/4 have that savoury smokey taste we are all after so I guess most people dont know a really good BIR?
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How can the vast majority of 66 different reviews have got it so wrong
I think a lot of people went the same route that I did. I spent years (and years, and years!) trying to make a decent curry. I tried every book of "authentic" Indian cooking, when, it turns out, that's exactly what I didn't want. So when I did find KD, it got me so much closer than I had ever been, that I was thrilled. So, maybe those Amazon reviewers are just starting their curry breakthrough. And to be honest, a couple of KD vegetarian recipes (with a different base sauce) are still among my favorites.
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merry, I agree 100%. KD was my route into BIR and was revolutionary at the time.
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I tried the stuff once, didn't like it, so gave the book to friend who was just starting out on the curry path.
CP
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When I first found that book I thought I had discovered gold, it all made complete sense. I cooked a CTM with much anticipation and it was very poor ;D
Looking back I didnt realise the key flavour I was after in a CTM was coconut and almonds, still cracked it in the end
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dont bother, its a pile of crap!