Topic: Increasing Portion Sizes

[nai]

Hi

So far I've only made single portions of curry, but I feel I'm ready to unleash my food on the family.

My question is: when I'm increasing ingredients in order to make, say, 4 portions, do I also increase the spice mix?? let's say, for example, I've been adding 1 tbls of spice mix to my single portions, do I increase that to 4 tbls for 4 portions of curry, or would that be too much?

Many thanks in advance 

[Malc.]

If your cooking one dish for several people and the recipe you have is for one, then you would multiply the quantity of all ingredients by that number. So in your case 1 spoon of spice mix would then be 4 spoons of spice mix.

The only thing I that you may want to consider, is the size of your pan. You will of course need a bigger pan to do this. If the pan isn't big enough and depending on the dish, you may end boiling rather than frying which will produce different results. For this reason, you may want to cook the meal in two batches.

[PaulP]

Hi Nai,

I manage to cook for 2 at once in my 13 inch wok using 500ml of base but we are not huge eaters and I would struggle to eat an entire normal sized takeaway.

The general advice if you're cooking for more people is to cook in batches. You can normally knock up a curry in about 10 minutes once you have the ingredients to hand so just cook the same 1 or 2 sized portions one after the other and then you can transfer to a pan or oven to keep warm.

Hope this makes sense.

Paul.

[nai]

Ahh yes, thanks for the advice about batch cooking...that'll eliminate many of the perceived problems. There's 6 of us    so maybe I'll need to start making larger bases too. I saw a nice high sided 30 inch frying pan the other day, maybe I need to invest in one. Thanks for the spice mix advice too.

[Domi]

You have to be careful with upscaling recipes, adding 6x the amount of chilli used in a single curry could have repercussions lol

[nai]

haha, yes.  :-X I suppose batch making would eliminate some of the uncertainty.

[JerryM]

batching and microwave reheat is working well for us. it helps with maintaining consistency of both technique and recipe too, along with sorting individual preferences. we've not detected any deterioration in taste (in fact possibly the contrary)

[Stephen Lindsay]

Hey Nai

Another option is to prepare your curries the day before you plan to serve them, place them in casserole dishes and warm them through in a medium oven for 30-45 minutes. You'll get the benefit of second day curry, less hassle when you serve them, and it will free up time for side dishes, rice etc.

[issiemc]

I bought 3 Karhai from my Indian supermarket, they are big enough to do a dish for 6 people.
When I cook an Indian meal I usually have all 3 pans going, One with a base sauce, one with a meat dish and one with a vegetarian dish. I have my Rice cooker going with a rice dish and the oven warm with already cooked Pakora's and Paratha & Chappati

Karhai are very inexpensive, Never wash it, just wipe it clean with Kitchen Roll.

Spices, I would never double up to tablespoons with spices for a dish for 6 people.
The very old Indian Chef who taught me used to say before a lesson *The art of spicing is valued above any other virtue in an Indian cook.*

Every dish is spiced but they never taste the same.

Also remember, Spices have been used for years as Medicines! add to much and you end up with !  :'(
a good site to look at is
http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/02/24/17884/middle-eastern-home-remedies/

Enjoy

[nai]

Thanks Stephen...cooking the day before, then having a second day curry, sounds great. You know: I get stressed when trying to prepare meals for a hungry family - especially 6 groaning and moaning people   : And you're right, I'd have more time to prepare rice, chutneys, bhajis (we're big fans) and nan/chapati. I would love to prepare 4 main meals, so everyone can dip into each and have some variety. Cooking for one is heaven...cooking for 6 is swaety and stressful business...I respect our bir chefs!!