Many of you will know that my favourite dish of all time is the Bhuna. Thick, medium heat, rich consistency with a lot of flavour. Lamb is the best but Chicken comes a close second.

The reason I have not been on here for a while is not only because of a heavy work schedule, but I have been trying for years to crack the Bhuna flavour, and I think I am now 98% there compared to some of the best Bhuna's I have had in restaurants.

There are not many restaurants at all in my mind that can cook a Bhuna to perfection and a lot of them just add it to the menu, because they have to, but very rarely do they come up to standard.

So after a lot of tweaking over the months I have today made what I think is an excellent Bhuna. But give it a whirl and let me know your thoughts please.

Ingredients.

Pre-cooked Chicken or lamb
15 ml rapeseed oil (1 tbsp)
15 ml Hot Curry Oil (1 tbsp) Optional: If not then use 15 ml rapeseed oil
See reply #8 (below) for further details about the hot curry oil

5 garlic cloves crushed
1 tsp fresh garlic pureed
1 tsp fresh ginger puree
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 or 2 green finger chilies (adjust to your own heat liking, but remember this is supposed to be a medium hot dish)
1 tsp spice mix
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp methi leaves
1 tsp tomato puree
1 star anise
1 tsp salt
Half a green pepper chopped into 1 inch squares
1 tomato, chopped
300ml base sauce (I used Taz's base, but when I made Taz's base I swapped 100ml of the normal oil for a spiced oil)
A good handful fresh chopped coriander

Method:
Add the oil to the pan on a low heat and add the onion and star anise, soften the onions until they are translucent and golden, add the green pepper, chili(s) and garlic. (Remove the star anise at this stage). Cook for about 2-3 minutes but do not let the garlic burn or it will give a bitter taste to the dish.
Add the spice mix, curry powder, methi leaves and salt and cook gently for about 20-30 seconds. Add the tomato puree and stir in to form a masala.
Add a ladle of the base sauce and mix everything together. (At this stage turn the heat up to medium), let the oil separate from the base then add another ladle and do the same.
Add the chicken or lamb and the chopped tomatoes and mix in. Cook down to a thick consistency.
Add another ladle of base sauce and cook down again, remember Bhuna should be quite a dry dish but if you want more sauce then add another ladle of base.
Continue cooking until the meat is warmed through and the tomatoes are cooked. Sprinkle on the freshly chopped coriander and serve.

Here's a couple of pics. One is in the pan before I add the Chicken, the other is the final dish.







Enjoy!! 

Looks wonderful,a restaurant near me used to do a wonderful bhuna-sweetish,smokey with a wonderful flavour.Alas no more like most places it's totally different.This is another recipe I must try....Never used rapeseed oil before,does it give a particular flavour??? The inclusion of star anise is unusual I have a big bag of them but I only usually put them in rice,I actually found the remains of a black cardomon in a bhuna recently have you tried adding one of these???

Hi JB,

I've never thought of a Bhuna as sweetish, smokey yes, I guess this is where all the different regions come into play.

I use rapeseed because of it's qualities and no it doesn't give a particular flavour, but is very very good for you compared to a lot of other oils.

The Star Anise gives off a wonderful aroma which I have found in Bhuna's before, but take it out once the onions are done or if you add the base sauce and start cooking down, then it can become a little overpowering.

Never tried black cardamon before, but I will add it to my options list when making this recipe again. I can't wait to try this dish with Mutton slow cooked until falling apart, that is my favourite Bhuna

Looks fantastic 976bar!  ;D

Definitely going to give this a whirl. I'll let you know how I get on. I have no experience to compare it to mind, as I don't think I've had Bhuna from a BIR before.

Hi 976,

That looks absolutely stunning my friend. I totally agree with you, the Bhuna as almost certainly disappeared off the menu except by name. What I mean is, yes, you often see Bhuna on the menu, but it's very rare that you actually get a 'proper' Bhuna.

Really intrigued by your use of star anise.  I was having a discussion with Chewytikka, with regards to an 'ever so slight' taste of aniseed in my local TA's madras, and wondered if they were using fennel or aniseed.  Chewy gave the idea a go but sadly, it didn't work out.  I may give your use of the star anise a try with the madras and will defo put this bhuna on my 'to do' list.

Well done mate,

Ray

Hi Razor,

Thanks for the comments, I've struggled with Bhuna for years up until now, but as I said earlier, remove the star anise once the onions are soft or it could become a little overpowering.

Hope you enjoy

Hi Ramirez,

If you've never had Bhuna before, then I think you are in for a treat

I started out on Korma's as most people do, then ventured on to Bhuna and even though I now eat Garlic Chili Chicken, Madras and Vindaloo, I always venture back for a Bhuna now and then. I hope you like it

Hi 976 how much green pepper are you using and what "Hot Curry Oil" did you use.
Will try this dish Wednesday, i also am a Bhuna lover 

Hi Uncle Frank,

Yes this website doesn't do to well in converting fractions lol, it's half a green pepper and I found this hot curry oil in Aldi a few weeks back as it was on special offer. I've posted a section on it here.

It's made by a company called Chalice Foods who are based around the Manchester area and make all sorts of oils for the food industry. Check out their website. www.chalicefoods.co.uk

I emailed them to find out where I can buy this oil once my supplies have exhausted and Aldi don't always do it, they said Asda are a regular stockist, although some stores don't stock it, but if you ask their customer services they will will be able to tell you which stores do. They do a mild oil which is great for Korma's and the hot oil which is great for everything else....

Hope you enjoy....

Cheers for that 976, thought it was the Aldi oil but wasnt too sure, remember a thread about it.
Will look at ASDA for this oil, would you recommend that its used in the recipe?
I usually make my own chilli oil, garlic oil, and ginger oil (just for curries) but not to sure about the heat in the one from Aldi.
Again thanks.