Topic: Good curry for ~30 people - easy to cook etc.

[976bar]

Morning Fatgit,

It's 5.30am and I am just getting ready to go to to the Uni for the early morning shift. I'll have a think during the day and come up with a couple of dishes that you can make quite easily and with the same base. I am thinking along the lines of a Chicken Korma which is so easy and quick to make and maybe a light Madras that won't blow peoples heads off.

I'll be in touch later

[richardr33]

Hi

I've been cooking BIR style curry for a while now and have recently found this site and its been very helpful in reading other peoples opinions and recipes etc. I have also been given the task of catering for 25-30 people in a few weeks at a family function which I agreed to rather stupidly in my opinion! The most i have ever cooked a BIR curry for was 5 people and it turned out ok. I plan to do at least 2 curries with one being a mildish curry like a Bhuna and a spicier curry like a Madras or Jalfrezi. I plan to get the base and meats done the day before and cook the curries earlier on in the day that they are being served, however i have no idea how to do scale a curry in terms of spices for such a high number of portions. Is it possible to cook double portions, then put into a separate pot then cook another double portion and add that to the same pot and repeat until you get the amount you want or will this result in overspicing the curry if that makes sense? Any advice or help would be much appreciated!

[ligs]

Hi Richardr33 wow your brave,I have done several curry parties for 12 to 15 people cooking diferent currys each time, and the double portion and put in pot (or wok in my case)worked for me with no probs.hope this helps

[curryhell]

I plan to do at least 2 curries with one being a mildish curry like a Bhuna and a spicier curry like a Madras or Jalfrezi. I plan to get the base and meats done the day before and cook the curries earlier on in the day that they are being served, however i have no idea how to do scale a curry in terms of spices for such a high number of portions. Is it possible to cook double portions, then put into a separate pot then cook another double portion and add that to the same pot and repeat until you get the amount you want or will this result in overspicing the curry if that makes sense? Any advice or help would be much appreciated!

I would do it exactly as you have described but the day before.  I would make the sauces only and add the cooked meat on the day.  Then simply reheat slowly in the oven.  This leaves you plenty of time to do any other bits like poppadums, chappatis, onion salad, mint sauce etc and removes all the pressure as the main work has already been done  ;D

[richardr33]

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

[fatgit]

I ended up making darthphall's madras and rather than scaling up and guessing on the fluid scale to use, I just made 3 batches to be safe and left out the extra hot chilli powder.
It was a little runny, but not bad for a rush job. We actually had a fair amount left (some people changed their minds and had the stew instead) and this was sold off for people to put in the freezer (also added to our funds).

I could definitely have done with some time to experiment with the recipe first but it wasn't option.

[Sainty62]

Being a bit new to this forum and a bit late to this thread, I'd do loads of prep at home, chopped onions, spice crushing, butchery etc. I've done curries for a party of around 45, 3 different, lamb, chicken and veg with all the added sundries, naans, poppadums, sambals and carted it to the area of cooking.
Had a good early start, but I don't use a BIR base at the moment, just use the way I was shown by an chef who'd spent 3 years with the Gurkhas. It's an easy quick method and I managed to knock out the curries and have them bubbling away in around and hour, leaving time for the better things in life such as beer 
Rice was cooked as needed, naans heated as needed, leaving a fiar bit of time to chat to the others invited. At 10 pound a head for charity, I took costs out and even managed to make 370 pound for charity too.

[commis]

Sainty62
Please feel free to post the recipes
Regards

[Sainty62]

Sainty62
Please feel free to post the recipes
Regards

2 x Onions, small diced
Inch cube of Ginger
8 Garlic cloves
Half bunch of Coriander
4 tins chopped Tomatoes
2 Cardomom Pods
Approx 1 Tablespoon of Nutmeg, Fenugreek, Cumin mixed
1/4 tube Tom Puree
6 x Finger/Birdseye Chillies
1/2 Cup Garam Masala

Saute onions and chillies, whilst this is going on, blitz coriander, garlic and ginger with a small amount of water to make a paste.
Crush cardomom pods, empty seeds into frying onions.
Add dry spices.
I normally add my meat at this stage, to get a mix of the spices into the meat whilst frying
Add tom puree and paste and fry over a low heat.
Add chopped toms and stir.
Cook over a low-medium heat for approx 30 mins, stirring occasionally (this shouldn't stick, it hasn't for me so far in 15yrs)
This makes a curry base for around 6 portions.
You can faff around with the chillies for varying heat, I find that 6 give a reasonable flavour.
This can be used for any meat/fish/veg curry you like and it's often good to play around with teh spice mix depending on personal tastes.

[RubyDoo]

wow  - 1st time I think I have seen nutmeg used in a Ruby!!!!