Topic: Baseless bhuna

[DalPuri]

Splashes of water is a better idea to stop things sticking than oil. Ken Hom told me that 

But is that bhuna ?

Yeah of course. Its only a splash of water to stop things sticking and once evaporated things continue to fry.
Adding more oil to compensate is usually down to inexperience and i know you are more than competent as a cook Phil. 

[Peripatetic Phil]

Splashes of water is a better idea to stop things sticking than oil. Ken Hom told me that 

OK, so tonight's version is "almost baseless bhuna" : two red onions, halved and sliced, 1/4 orange pepper thinly sliced (all I had left), g/g paste, oil, two tablespoonsful base, Bolsts curry powder, methi leaves, hing, turmeric, black salt, sea salt.  By far the most important was the methi leaves : as soon as they started frying in the hot oil and onion mixture, I was transported back 40 years in time to the New Delhi restaurant in the Finchley Road (West Hampstead, just up from Swiss Cottage) where I first ate Chicken Bhuna.  The methi leaves are without doubt a vital part of an authentic bhuna.

** Phil.

[DalPuri]

I love methi, fresh or dried.! 
A mate came with me to an Indian grocers recently. He asked me to choose 2 items for him. (damn! cant remember what the 2nd item was i say recently, it was last summer) Anyway, I told him to buy some dried methi.
He couldn't take his nose out of the box for 2 days!  ;D He Loved it!

Phil, i was wondering if you've tried Mr Lal's (baseless) Bhuna yet?

[Peripatetic Phil]

Phil, i was wondering if you've tried Mr Lal's (baseless) Bhuna yet?

No, I was saving that for when I next defrost some chicken breasts; the chicken livers were so cheap that I can afford to make mistakes with them (I'll still eat them, of course, but won't be heartbroken if a dish isn't up to par) whereas the free-range breasts were quite expensive (

[Peripatetic Phil]

Mridula Baljekar in her book Real Fast Indian Food does an excellent Masala Chicken Livers recipe, it's well worth trying. Quick and easy and very tasty.

Ah, don't have that book.  Any chance of a few hints at what she proposes ?
** Phil.

I have it now.  At only GBP 0-99 + p&p, and in excellent used condition ("as new"), it represented excellent value.  Sadly my confidence in the contents were badly shaken when I read on page 20 "Aniseed (ajowan or carum)".  If Ms Baljekar doesn't know the difference between aniseed and ajowan, her recipes may lack a certain je ne sais quoi ... (the entry is actually about ajowan : why/how she confused it with aniseed I cannot imagine).

** Phil.

[spiceyokooko]

I don't know why she's getting Ajowan and Aniseed confused either, they're clearly two quite different spices with two different flavours.

However, there's nothing wrong with her taste buds as I've found her recipes on the whole to be pretty darned good. The simple Chicken Masala on page 75 is a particular favourite of mine and the dry fried minced lamb on page 106 also pretty good.

They're well worth trying.

[DalPuri]

and the dry fried minced lamb on page 106 also pretty good.
 well worth trying.

Another recipe i used to love from my ex-Anglo-Indian family was Mince Fry.
The dish on the whole was very dry and with an overall flavour of ginger. One of my favourites at the time.
You start by deep frying 1/2" cubes of potato and set aside.
And this is where you need to experiment because i cant remember any of their recipes.
They were all very simple dishes and i dont remember any other spices used aside from the usual suspects. (cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli)

Definitely  nothing wet added like tomato and they would've used ginger powder. (It was only me at the time cooking their dishes that fresh ginger was ever used.)

The crispy potatoes are stirred in at the end when the mince is cooked and it's served with plain boiled white rice and some pickle or chutney.
Delicious!!  ;D

Cheers, Frank.