Topic: Bad curry night

[PaulP]

Last night everything went wrong for me - combination of a bad recipe and my mistakes.

First off the bad recipe. I made the KD Beef Badami from the second curry secret book.
That was a waste of over 6 quid in quality rump steak. When I added the single cream near the end of cooking it turned the most horrible pale colour and was very unpleasant to look at yet alone taste. I won't be doing that one again!

The missus was uneasy about eating just a load of meat so I knocked together a mixed vegetable bhuna to balance things out. Big mistake here - I used mixed frozen veg and frozen peppers. In doing so I completely lost control of the texture of the veg. Next time I'll go back to using fresh veg pre-cooked properly like I normally do.

Finally, and a bit more worrying for me, I managed to burn the garlic in the veg bhuna and I'm not sure why cos I didn't think I did much different except using about 50% more fresh garlic than normal. The taste of burnt garlic is not good and pretty overpowering.

The pilau rice was ok but the cooking time is critical - I think I need a kitchen timer as it was a little overdone.

Oh well lessons learnt. 

[976bar]

Last night everything went wrong for me - combination of a bad recipe and my mistakes.

First off the bad recipe. I made the KD Beef Badami from the second curry secret book.
That was a waste of over 6 quid in quality rump steak. When I added the single cream near the end of cooking it turned the most horrible pale colour and was very unpleasant to look at yet alone taste. I won't be doing that one again!

The missus was uneasy about eating just a load of meat so I knocked together a mixed vegetable bhuna to balance things out. Big mistake here - I used mixed frozen veg and frozen peppers. In doing so I completely lost control of the texture of the veg. Next time I'll go back to using fresh veg pre-cooked properly like I normally do.

Finally, and a bit more worrying for me, I managed to burn the garlic in the veg bhuna and I'm not sure why cos I didn't think I did much different except using about 50% more fresh garlic than normal. The taste of burnt garlic is not good and pretty overpowering.

The pilau rice was ok but the cooking time is critical - I think I need a kitchen timer as it was a little overdone.

Oh well lessons learnt. 

Hi PaulP,

Firstly having read KD's book I really don't rate anything in there. I've tried a few things myself out of that book and all taste really bland, even worse than traditional Indian cooking.... Money earned for nothing in my reckoning......

Use it to fire your next tandoori oven...

However, if you follow the recipes and instructions on this website, you really can't go wrong. I don't think anyone here yet has achieved BIR status, but having said that, the recipes on here have proved most favourable in everyones cooking.....

I can only imagine in your cooking attempts, you have got frustrated just as I have in the past and abandoned cooking techniques to try and save the day by producing an acceptable meal for everyone....

You probably cooked the garlic on a too higher heat which burns it and then it tastes worse than dog excrement... just the same as cooking spices, they need to be seducted not raped.......

I hope you don't give up on your ventures, I nearly did, but the friends, companionship and advice of many who have slaved over a hot stove for many years, will hopefully restore your faith in the knowldege......

Keep with this forum, and I hope you achieve your goal in the very near future..

[JerryM]

PaulP,

i've had a lot of disasters on the curry front. the good news is that u do learn from them and getter better at it as a result.

i've checked my KD2 book and i've not got that corner turned down thankfully.

on the burning front - i now keep in my mind if there's water it won't burn. this is where my fortunes took a step change http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2968.0.

i'd also suggest giving naan a try it's much easier to pull the meal together.

[emin-j]

Don't worry PaulP we all get them 
I made my Saturday night Curry last night and nothing seemed to flow ( except the base sauce  ) you should have seen the state of my kitchen  I even forgot I had the Bhajis in the deep fryer - but they turned out to be the best Bhajis I have made so all's well that ends well 

[PaulP]

Thanks for the nice words guys - I won't be giving up any time soon! 

JerryM - I know about the water idea and have always relied on the presence of the water in the frying onions to "protect" the garlic from burning by regulating the oil temp.
So far this has worked for the previous 40 or so curries I've made.

I think last night my onions were so damn well cooked when I added the garlic that there was little water left in the onions hence my oil temp went too high. The spices weren't burnt, just the garlic.

Thanks guys - things can only get better!

[chriswg]

I screwed one up last weekend too. I went for 4 tbsp of neat tomato puree instead of watered down, or passata. I did the same in a CTM and a Madras as was cooking simultaneously. The result was 2 gross curries and a ruined evening after 2 hours work

[JerryM]

PaulP,

just an after thought on the garlic.

i use it in 2 ways:

1) fine chopped - i fry as the oil warms up and stop when it starts to get sticky (ie it's not yet brown). i then add the tom paste etc. i find the garlic cooks out in the time that the rest of the ingredients are added and cooked.

2) along length sliced - i tend to pre fry until brown and then add after the base has gone in. i don't tend to use it all the time just now and again.

[PaulP]

Hi JerryM,

I usually like some onions in my curries preferring Bhuna/Korai/Jalfrezi type creations, although I do like a madras my missus doesn't.

I used to cook the garlic first and as you say it sure does get sticky!

I've also tried onions first then garlic/ginger then tom puree etc.

I found the final taste identical so I'll probably stick to onions first then garlic/ginger etc.

In my bad curry night I had cooked the onions far more than I normally do and think that was my mistake with the garlic. I suppose I like my onions fairly well done but I went past the stage where they become translucent, and they were almost getting crispy at the edges.

Thanks for the tips.

[JerryM]

PaulP,

i use onion quite a lot. i've also found it to be tricky.

i too add the onion 1st after much trial and error. i also add an extra tbsp of oil when using onion. garlic hardly needs any frying and same for the pre cooked ashoka garlic/ginger paste.

as with garlic i am sure BIR must use onion in 2 ways ie chopped small into the frying for texture and also pre fried added after base when they need a less well cooked strip of onion as well as the small chopped.

interesting stuff for me and i think critical to the finished dish.

[976bar]

Hi JerryM,

I usually like some onions in my curries preferring Bhuna/Korai/Jalfrezi type creations, although I do like a madras my missus doesn't.

I used to cook the garlic first and as you say it sure does get sticky!

I've also tried onions first then garlic/ginger then tom puree etc.

I found the final taste identical so I'll probably stick to onions first then garlic/ginger etc.

In my bad curry night I had cooked the onions far more than I normally do and think that was my mistake with the garlic. I suppose I like my onions fairly well done but I went past the stage where they become translucent, and they were almost getting crispy at the edges.

Thanks for the tips.

Hi PaulP,

I always cook my onions gently for around 8 minutes. This makes them soft, translucent and a light golden brown. If you try to cook onions on a high heat for 3-4 minutes, they not only don't cook through properly, but they will also burn.

It's only when my onions are a soft light golden brown that I then add the garlic, again on a low heat. The garlic only needs about 2 mins max to cook through if crushed small enough.

On another note, when cooking onions, the best results I always get is adding a knob of butter in with the oil. The oil stops the butter from burning, but also gives the onions a lovely taste too.

I hope this helps