Topic: "50 great curries of india"

[RobinB]

Has anyone had a crack at the simple homestyle curry from Camelia Punjabi's "50 great curries of india"?

These are essentially traditional Indian dishes but I've been tweaking this one for a while now and have come very close to something resembling a fantastic BIR Madras/Bhoona without the need for a base sauce, the spice additions need a little more work but in terms of texture, flavour etc I am very close, anyone tried anything similar?.

[joshallen2k]

I think a lot of people here have tried authentic Indian recipes, and while many are fantastic, the BIR curry is a very different beast, and what most of us here are working to replicate - which would mean following BIR standards - base + curry.

Do you have a recipe to post?
How does it compare to a "BIR" Madras/Bhuna?

== Josh

[RobinB]

It compares really well with a BIR lamb bhoona,ill put some photos up next time i make one, it still needs a little tweaking in the spice department as i mentioned before,but it has "the taste" and in terms of colour,texture its spot on with a great flavour.

Here is the recipe I've been using(not the original).

2-3 Lamb leg steaks diced
1/2 can of toms blended or passata
2 small onions very finely chopped(I a use processor)
2 cloves of garlic grated
1/4 inch sized piece of ginger grated
1/2 Green pepper
1 Dutch green chilli, finely chopped
4 Tbsp veg oil
2-3 tomatoes
3/4 tsp Coriander powder
" " "   Cumin powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp sugar
Heaped tsp dried methi leaves
Large pinch turmeric
handful chopped coriander

Heat the oil on a medium to low heat and add the onions,these will take about 25 mins and need to turn a deep golden brown colour,take care not to burn, add the garlic,ginger,and chillis and green pepper and cook for another minute,add the turmeric,chilli powder,coriander powder,cumin,paprika,and garam masala and cook for a further 30 secs, add 200ml water and cook for 10 mins add the blended tomato,sugar and 1 chopped fresh tomato,stir and cook for 5 mins.

Add the lamb straight into the sauce along with 400ml of water,bring to a simmer then cover,and turn the heat down really low.

From this point it takes about two hours,stirring regularly, once the sauce thickens slightly(after about 90 mins) remove the lid and add two tomatoes quartered and continue to cook,reduce the sauce to the desired consistency but keep the heat low,then add methi, the sauce and meat should be lovely and glossy by this stage with a little surface oil. at this point I like to sour the sauce very slightly with either a dash of lemon juice/vinegar or a tsp of tamarind paste, finish with chopped coriander.

If anyone has a go at this please let me know what you think including any amendments.