Topic: Vegetable Bhuna

[haldi]

This is a dryish curry
Fairly sweet & spicy
The sweetness is from the onions in their base
To be honest the similarities between this, and any another mild curry, is pretty startling.
There are obvious differences between curries, such as amounts of garlic and chillie
But I am starting to feel they are all, almost the same
Never the less it?s a magical experience, to see them cooked
I?ll never tire of that
I was hoping to see demos around their entire menu, but I am now questioning the wisdom of that
I have favourites that I would rather buy

I talked to the chef about whether a domestic cooker could produce a similar resulting curry as the one being cooked..
He said definitely yes
To prove his point he cooked this Bhuna curry on a low gas setting
It tasted brilliant
So I think if our curries don?t taste right, then we have to look elsewhere for a solution

I was asked if I wanted salad with my curry
I said yes, and the side chef sliced some iceburg lettuce ,tomato, lemon and red cabbage
He put it all in a small freezer bag for me
That?s the first time I have seen red cabbage in a takeaway before
Has anyone else had it in anything?

We discussed making naans too
I?ve always followed Paul Cleary?s recipes which are on this site somewhere (his username was Pacman)
This takeaway has an almost identical recipe, but also adds a little yoghurt to the dough.
I don?t know what difference that would make, but I?ll try that

So, I?m sorry if this seems really similar to any other curries I have posted, but this is how it was cooked:-


Vegetable Bhuna


1 desertspoon finely sliced peppers
1 desertspoon finely sliced onions
2 desertspoons veg oil from deep pan fryer
1 teaspoon garlic ginger puree
1 and a half dessertspoons of tomato puree (white tower brand)
1 rounded desertspoon of spice mix
1 ladle of curry gravy
half a teaspoon of crushed coriander seeds
1 teraspoon fenugreek
1 sliced fresh mushroom
1 desertspoon peas
1 fresh tomato quartered
1 portion precooked veg
1 teaspoon fresh chopped coriander leaves

Heat the oil for a minute then add
Garlic ginger,peppers,onion,tomato puree,spice mix & half a ladle of curry gravy
The curry gravy should cover the base of the pan, which is about 9 inches wide
Cook on fairly low for about five minutes
It smells absolutely gorgeous
Then add tomato, peas,  mushroom & precooked veg
Stir for a minute then put a lid on the pan
Leave the pan for five more minutes
Stir thoroughly then add the rest of the curry gravy, crushed coriander seeds and fenugreek leaves
Cook on for five minutes more then scrape into a carton
Add the fresh coriander and eat!!!

[Richard W. Rinn]

Hi Haldi, thanks for the recipe. I've printed it out to try next time I make some curry base. Just a couple of questions:

1. Would you say that crushing the coriander seeds with the mortar and pestle would achieve the right sort of result? Just wondering how crushed they should be - obviously not powder, or you'd have said so.

2. I take it the fenugreek is powder and not whole?

3. When you've put the first batch of ingredients and some gravy in, you don't mention stirring, but I take it you stir it all up before letting it sit for five minutes? Do you stir at all during that time, or agitate it?!

4. Does the lid on the pan have to be tight?

Cheers!

Richard.

[haldi]

Hi Richard
                The coriander seeds are crushed with the back of a spoon in the takeaway
So that is definitely ok to do at home too

The fenugreek is dried fenugreek leaves

When you put the first ingredients i the pan you give just a general stir to mix things up a bit
Then it is left to simmer

The lid on the pan isn't tight fitting
I don't have a lid to any of my frying pans so I guess you have to improvise
In fact I have seen this done by another chef. using an upturned pan on top of the one cooking!!

[Richard W. Rinn]

Cheers Haldi. Don't know why I didn't twig about fenugreek being the leaf, for the amount of times I've put that in a curry vs. how many times I've used the seed, powdered or whole!  :-)

I don't have a lid either, would just have to...I don't know, cover it with my hands or something. ;-)

Cheers for the other info about crushing and stirring, or lack of!


R.

[976bar]

Hi,

Can you tell me what the "Spice Mix" consists of please?

Bhuna is my favourite dish, so I want to get it right 

Regards

Bob

[Unclebuck]

Hi,
Can you tell me what the "Spice Mix" consists of please?
Bhuna is my favourite dish, so I want to get it right 
Regards
Bob

Hi Bob,

See the Frequently Asked Questions
Click  here