Hi EHC,

Actually, it's smokinspice's recipe, not mine.  I have just been having good luck with it, and I'm very curious to identify any differences between what I did and your experience to learn more about what kinds of things influence the final curry flavors.  As I said, I haven't tried a bunch of different bases yet, so if I can get dramatically better results depending on the base as you indicate, it's all good.

So far, the family's pretty happy with the results.  We'll see what the increased sample size this weekend (curry for 9) has to say.  They're friends, but we've never had them over before.  They claim to like their curries, so I'm curious what their verdict is.  I'll let you know.

Cheers,

ast

Hi EHC,

That's really weird.  Can you post some pictures?

The base I got both before and after blending (without adding the extra water) was very flavorful and had a very subtle sweetness about it.  After adding the extra water, it was still there, but much more subtle.  However, I wouldn't call it bland--unless you mean in terms of heat.

Terry's ifindforu base is one of the next ones I'm planning on trying, but in looking at it, I don't think it's a million miles from this one, and the same goes for the rajver one (the other one in a dead heat to be tried next).  I haven't yet made either, so I'm willing to be proven wrong.

After making about a curry/day since Sunday with it, I'm still quite pleased with the results.  Sorry it didn't work for you, but, as you say, diversity of opinion is what this site's all about.

ast

Here in Ireland, there's been a recent trend of "one stop shop" takeaways.  Most of the Chinese places now claim to do Thai (although most of the time, it isn't very good), but there are a few out by us that do Indian/Chinese/Thai and even one that does Indian/Chinese/Thai/Italian for some strange reason.

I'd been inclined to dismiss most of them, but I was talking to the owner of an Indian grocery yesterday that said the one Indian/Chinese/Thai place by where I live is owned by an Indian guy that used to have a restaurant in town, but got tired of it, so he's only doing takeaway now.  I haven't tried it yet, but I think I might on that basis just to see what it's like.

Hi DD,

And don't forget to keep us posted on how you're gettin on as well as plenty of mouth-watering photos! ;D

Welcome to the forum.

ast

Quote from: Jethro on January 17, 2008, 09:41 PM
Welcome to the forum and if there is one piece of advice I can give you, it's get a bigger stockpot and make some freezer room   ;D

Amen to that one, mate!! ;D

Welcome to the forum, roadrunner.  There's plenty here to choose from and most of the recipes aren't too complicated once you get a few basic things down.  I think you'll notice a pretty big step-change in your results!

Keep us posted, and, as Mike said, don't be afraid to take pictures of your progress.

Cheers,

ast

Thanks for that, CQ.

I went shopping today at the Asian market and bought the hottest fresh chillies they had.  They're not very big around, but some of them are about 2-3" long.  I've no idea what they are, though.

I brought some red Thai chillies back from France (you can get them at Carrefour fairly easily), but I ended up having to dry them because I didn't use them quick enough.  My wife doesn't like food as hot as I do.  They're pretty hot, but not as hot as Habaneros.  I did find some dried red chillies (whole) today that look about the same size as the ones you mention.  I'll have to try them all and see what happens.

Quote from: spooner000 on January 13, 2008, 11:58 AM
...I had it quite often in a local take away that specialized in unusual Indian dishes and this was a winner everytime !!

Hi Spooner,

I just followed the link you posted for the review.  Do you live in Dublin too or were you just visiting?  I've never been to many restaurants outside of the city centre except a couple in Ballsbridge and one in Booterstown.

I found this link that might help.  It's for a Spicy Sauteed Lamb with Fresh Coconut (http://www.indias.com/RecipeMoreDetails-54/SPICY+SAUTED+LAMB+WITH+FRESH+COCONUT.html?id=57).  From the look of it, you could probably adapt it using some of the techniques on this site.

My suggestion would be to try the following:

1. pre-cook an amount of lamb as per this method: https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,1232.msg10662.html#msg10662 possibly adding a small amount of cinnamon or cassia bark to the water if you're using lamb

2. Sautee about 1/4 to 1/2 an onion as per the recipe (maybe using 2-3 tbsp of oil--depends on how much is in your base), but on med-high heat, and in about 2 tsp of garlic (freshly chopped or garlic puree)

3. I've no idea what this Meat Masala stuff is, but you might try the the Bruce Edwards spice mix from here instead (https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,1546.0.html).  Add it and stir fry until you get an onslaught of spice fumes, being careful not to burn them.

4. Add 5-10 curry leaves, your black mustard seeds and maybe just a touch of asafetida.  Apparently, you want them golden brown, but they're likely to burn quickly.  Just remember to keep stirring (maybe another minute or so).  Info from here:

Quote
Used especially in South Indian kitchens, curry leaves are generally sauteed in oil with mustard seeds and asafetida and added to dals, fresh coconut chutney or vegetable dishes. I always strip the leaves from their stalk before frying, and sometimes tear and crush them between my fingers to release more of their essential oils. (http://www.kurma.net/essays/e8.html)

5. Add about 200ml of the curry base of your choice and stir in the spices

6. After about 1-2 min, add about 5-6 oz of the lamb and maybe about 1-2 tbsp of coconut (I'm guessing here)

6. Stir all together to coat and then turn the heat down slightly to medium.  Reduce to whatever consistency you remember from the restaurant.

7. Add your fresh coriander and serve

Please note:  I just made this up, and this is just a guess at a recipe/process that I'm suggesting having looked at the above, but trying to adapt it to how you'd make a BIR curry.  I've never seen the dish you mention, nor have I made any of the above recipes before, but, except for perhaps tweaking the ingredient quantities some, I bet it'll be a reasonable starting point.

If you want to be a tad more cautious with the curry leaves, I'd fry them separately with the mustard seeds and set them aside.  I don't know if a restaurant would do this or not.  You could then more safely add them after you'd added the curry base to the pan as there'd be no chance that you could burn them.

If you do get it figured out, please post the recipe in the recipe section.  It sounds like it would be pretty yummy.

Good luck,

ast

Quote from: Secret Santa on January 17, 2008, 11:24 AM
The only tawa or tava that I know of is the flat pan that chapatis are cooked on and I doubt that they would try to cook a curry on/in it!

I think this is one of those 'we've invented a curry so what can we call it' moments and they must have run out of good ideas.

Well, not that it's the best authority in the world, but Wikipedia says that tavas are also used for a class of foods known as tava-fry or tava masala.  Maybe it's dryer like an East Asian stir-fry with less curry base.  I didn't come up with anything specific about it beyond the mention in wikipedia.

Nobody seemed to know anything about it when I mentioned it on Uncle Buck's naan thread either.

Maybe that's how they make this dish.

Here's the link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tava

Quote from: Jethro on January 08, 2008, 09:17 PM
Playing devils advocate here (it's a hobby of mine, forgive me )
Does anyone think they cannot cook a decent curry on the Indian Subcontinent without a tri-laminate top of the range 'insert telly chef's name here' pan?
Discuss?   

The only reason we ended up with the (feckin expensive) Jamie Oliver pans you've seen in the pictures was that they were the only ones I found (and could actually touch and feel before I bought) with the build quality I wanted.  I don't want any pan without a riveted handle because I tend to end up with handle-less pans otherwise, and they were heavy enough to allow even heating without any hot spots.  Having used them for a while, I have to say that I think they have the best balance and shaped sides of any pan I've ever used.  Sauteeing and turning things without using anything but the pan is a breeze!

That said, I'm not happy with the way the non-stick surface has lasted compared to some much cheaper Calphalon pans of similar build quality that I bought at Target in the US 8 years ago.  The new ones that we use all the time have barely lasted a year, and the non-stick is in really bad shape.  I haven't cooked that many curries in them, so I don't think it's down to that.

I've always known that non-stick cookware was a disposable item, but I really thought these would've held up better than they have.  I cook a lot and a lot of different types of stuff, but I'm cooking pretty-much the same sort of stuff in them as I always have.  When these go, I'm going to gradually replace them with as high-end SS as I can afford (even if I need to ship them from the US), and buy a cheaper non-stick pan for a few things so I don't immediately need to re-learn how to cook everything.

Like Jethro said earlier, I too can burn anything in a 2 quid or a 200 quid pan, but I think the better the equipment, the easier it is to cook with.  Of course, you can get used to anything and eventually produce brilliant results with it, so it comes down to if you're really going to get your money out of it or not.

I know which I'd pick! ;D