Topic: Tonight's Dinner...

[curryhell]

I'd definitely eat that lot for supper and would even give the okra a go since it was fresh . Like brinjal, I think that one is an acquired taste  :

[spiceyokooko]

I'd definitely eat that lot for supper and would even give the okra a go since it was fresh . Like brinjal, I think that one is an acquired taste  :

Thanks CH!

A I mentioned I was in quite a large Sainsbury's today and as I don't go in there often, they have quite a good vegetable section and I noticed the Okra's looked quite young and tender, so I thought I'd give them a go. As you say Okra is an acquired taste, but I quite like their taste and texture and I think with the sweetness of the onions the dish turned out better than I expected.

I also had a browse of Sainsbury's ethnic section and noticed they had some quite large jars of Nishan garlic puree and ginger puree for GBP1.39 which I though was a pretty good deal, so I bought a jar each of those, not tried them yet. E2A Picture shown, 240g jars.

I also noticed they had some pretty good prices on some Rajah spices, 100g whole cumin for about 89p and 100g of Rajah Paprika for about the same.

Well worth checking out if anyone is after some Rajah spices although they only had a limited selection.

[Gav Iscon]

I've used the Nishan garlic puree and ginger puree quite a bit throughout the years and find it Ok. Morrisons used to do it in what I called the Eastern European section (which was opposite the ethnic aisle) for 99p along with tins of coconut milk for 49p (which did go up to 60p). Now its been revamped all that stuff has disappeared. Bar Stewards 

[Malc.]

The madras looks very good indeed, i'm glad I reread the post this morning, I didn't spot the comment on the onions in the okra, I was curious as to how they got that colour!

[Ramirez]

Dish looks lovely! 

I couldn't get on with the Nishan purees. It's a while since I bought them, but I seem to remember a certain bitterness or tartness that I didn't like. Let us know how you get on with them.

[goncalo]

Excellent looks spicey! I would love to give that one a try. I've never tried okra or beef in a curry. I like beef, though I'm posh when it comes to dark meats and would rather not use it in a curry for fear of wasting it. As for okra, what does it taste like?

[spiceyokooko]

Gav, Ramirez

Thanks for the heads up on the Nishan purees.

I'm not a big fan of processed food generally and much prefer to make up my own from fresh as I believe you will always get a better flavour that way. However, I'm open minded to new things and thought I'd give these a try.

I'll certainly report back on how I get on with them.

[spiceyokooko]

Excellent looks spicey! I would love to give that one a try. I've never tried okra or beef in a curry. I like beef, though I'm posh when it comes to dark meats and would rather not use it in a curry for fear of wasting it.

As I mentioned this was leftover beef from a Sunday roast but I know what you mean.

Pick the cheaper, tougher cuts of beef to curry like stewing steak and trim off the excess fat and simmer it in whatever pre-cook sauce you use for a couple of hours till tender. Then add as normal. I think Beef and Lamb can produce some really intense flavours in BIR style dishes that you just can't get with chicken. I think this is down to the fat in the red meat being the flavour carrier in a similar way that oil carries the spice flavours. This is why I've moved away from using chicken breast chunks as I find they can get a bit dry, I prefer to use chicken thighs on the bone which carries some fat on them.

As for okra, what does it taste like?

Good question!

As CH mentioned earlier it's quite a distinct taste and as such somewhat acquired. I'd describe it as being somewhere between a green bean and a courgette. A lot of people get put off Okra by its somewhat slimey, mucus feel as a fresh vegetable and to get round that in cooking I believe it's best fried till slightly crisp. That's why the sauce is so dark, in frying the onions first then the Okra the onions caramelised producing a lovely rich intense sweet flavour with the crispy Okra. One benefit of Okra is that it's packed with nutrients.

I'm also really into Caribbean cookery and Okra is used quite a lot in that as well as sweet potatoes and sometimes they cross over into Indian food

[Malc.]

Good question!

As CH mentioned earlier it's quite a distinct taste and as such somewhat acquired. I'd describe it as being somewhere between a green bean and a courgette. A lot of people get put off Okra by its somewhat slimey, mucus feel as a fresh vegetable and to get round that in cooking I believe it's best fried till slightly crisp. That's why the sauce is so dark, in frying the onions first then the Okra the onions caramelised producing a lovely rich intense sweet flavour with the crispy Okra. One benefit of Okra is that it's packed with nutrients.

Interesting. I have only ever tried it once before and that was recently. It was in my usual BIR/TA and they offered me some to try. I don't know if it was their bhindi bhaji or one of chef's staff curries but it was enjoyable. I was asked what I thought and replied that it was good but that I couldn't really taste any noticeable flavour from the okra. The texture was simply soft with very little bit.

Crispy okra sounds much more appealing though.

[spiceyokooko]

Crispy okra sounds much more appealing though.

Well I think so!

I always remember the Bhindi Bhaji of old, many years ago being these long slim green things floating in a sauce that felt slimey when you ate them! Although I liked the taste, the texture put me off them.

I read a few recipes before cooking these and the concensus seemed to be to fry until slightly crisp, so that's what I did! I'll cook the modified to BIR style recipe a few more times and if I'm happy with it I'll post it for people to try.