Topic: How to Make a Staff Curry

[h4ppy-chris]

Good Vid H4ppy.
You can knock this up a lot quicker using your pressure cooker.
Once you've done the Bagar, add the Chicken wings, a mug of water or thin Garabi
lid on, high heat to bring the pressure up, cook under pressure for 10 mins on medium heat.

Loads of versions of this basic recipe, you could try my Bengali Chicken Roast
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,7846.msg68680.html#msg68680
Bengali Bob posted a Shatkora version here
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,11911.msg94792.html#msg94792

Takes a lot of practice to eat curry and rice with your fingers, but
the main point is your feeling what you eat and your not swallowing bits of bone with every
bite.
Left handers, need not apply for this ;D

cheers Chewy

work along side two other indian chefs and have never once seen them eating rice..It's either a nan or a chappti to soak up the curry..never in millon years would they use utencils..People say they could never eat a curry without rice, many Indians rarely do...Well from my experience anyway..I have staff currys frequently, and never with rice, just a chappati..i'ts a tottaly a new experience, i love it...cheers Boaby

The first staff curry i had, we all had chapati with it. The second we all had rice. I asked are we having chapati as well? sam said "you can have one if you want, but we only have one or the other"

[Malc.]

I tried the staff curry at the Shanaz a month or so ago and it was one of the best curry's i've had. I said they should put it on the menu, but that'll never happen.

[DalPuri]

your right Chris using water does stop the onions from burning i'll keep that in mind, it's just that my chef just adds more oil if is starts to stick.

Thats bad practise from your chef Boaby. Always a splash of water to stop things sticking and let it evaporate each time.
Same goes for one of your vids where you keep adding spoons of oil! 
Whats that all about? 
Either load it up at the start or a spoon at the end for flavour, but Not constantly throughout the cooking.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Same goes for one of your vids where you keep adding spoons of oil!    Whats that all about?    Either load it up at the start or a spoon at the end for flavour, but Not constantly throughout the cooking.

Why, Frank ?  I too add oil as necessary to stop things sticking.  Sometimes things stick, sometimes they don't, so adding oil on demand makes perfect sense to me.

** Phil.

[DalPuri]

Same goes for one of your vids where you keep adding spoons of oil!    Whats that all about?    Either load it up at the start or a spoon at the end for flavour, but Not constantly throughout the cooking.

Why, Frank ?  I too add oil as necessary to stop things sticking.  Sometimes things stick, sometimes they don't, so adding oil on demand makes perfect sense to me.

** Phil.

I know you do Phil, and like i told you before, its bad practise.

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. 

Any competent chef will tell you the same. Same goes for holding your pan off the heat for long periods of time or constantly stirring and lifting the food off the surface of the pan.
Things like this will get you a bollocking from a head chef.   

[Peripatetic Phil]

I too add oil as necessary to stop things sticking.  Sometimes things stick, sometimes they don't, so adding oil on demand makes perfect sense to me.

I know you do Phil, and like i told you before, its bad practise.

I know you did, Frank, but with the best will in the world I cannot accept that just because one person (even your good self) says "X is bad practice" that X necessarily /is/ bad practice :  I need an explanation and a justification for the statement, not just an assertion with no supporting evidence.  So what is the science behind the assertion ?  Why is it better to add (say) 300ml of oil at the outset, rather than 100ml at the outset and then more as needed ?

** Phil.

[DalPuri]

Find me a recipe from a top chef/author Phil that tells you to add oil throughout cooking, or when things keep sticking 


p.s. and if you do, i'll still tell you its bad practise  ;D
I'm a cook, not a scientist.

[DalPuri]

A similar method to your onions here Chris, only she gives them some colour.(typical)

https://vimeo.com/52973864

password: madhur

@4mins 40secs

[chonk]

I work along side two other indian chefs and have never once seen them eating rice..It's either a nan or a chappti to soak up the curry..never in millon years would they use utencils..People say they could never eat a curry without rice, many Indians rarely do...Well from my experience anyway..I have staff currys frequently, and never with rice, just a chappati..i'ts a tottaly a new experience, i love it...cheers Boaby

India is a big country, and it's true, there are many people that prefer bread with their curries or dals, but there are also regions, where they eat almost exclusively rice. Northern and north-western regions will prefer the bread, which has also something to do with the fact, that no one else produces that amount of wheat. There are some dishes, that are so soupy and runny, even indian people use spoons these days (:

Regarding the oil, I never heard or read to add some to prevent ingredients from sticking in general, but I feel that you have quite often to add some extra, while frying eggplant slices. They soak up quite much, and if they are spiced with powders, these can burn easily otherwise. Normally, I would add water, too. Some recipes for Kali Dal use mustard oil as flavouring added after the boiling (or at the beginning, which also helps the beans to soften up and prevents them from splattering). Anirudh Arora, Head chef of the Moti Mahal (London), adds a few teaspoons of vegetable oil to the (Dal)Makhani tomato sauce, but I'm not sure for what reasons exactly.

[h4ppy-chris]

A similar method to your onions here Chris, only she gives them some colour.(typical)

https://vimeo.com/52973864

password: madhur

@4mins 40secs

Cheers Frank, just watched it. just made it again today for my 2 boys (they want to eat a curry with there fingers lol) but have to make it with pre-cooked chicken for them, so it has to be added to this.