Thanks Stephen, I'll bear it in mind and maybe try it each way for comparison.

I made my first Bunjara yesterday but instead of frying the onions to caramelise them I used a slow cooker.  This has pros and cons.  The obvious con is the time taken, around 9 hours total.  That will have some of you falling off your chairs but it wasn't an issue for me as you just leave it to do its thing and stir maybe 3 or 4 times at 2 hour intervals.

The advantage is you can control the caramelisation without fear of burning the onions so you can get them good and dark and sweet.  Basic technique I used was to put the chopped onions, oil and cinnamon & bay leaves in the slow cooker.  Cook on high for 3 hrs with the lid open a crack (this allows the water to sweat out of the onions), then turn down to low with the lid closed for 5-6 hrs depending on how long it takes.  You have full control over how far the onions go and of course you can taste them at your leisure towards the end to see if any bitterness remains. 

The final stage is back into the frying pan to fry the cumin in oil, add the ginger/garlic paste and stir round, then put the caramelised onions in the pan with the spices, salt and tomato paste.  Give it a good stir then finish with tomato pulp and stir cook for 5 mins.  I removed my cinnamon stick after the slow cooker stage.

I'm a total newbie so far be it from me to suggest this is an improvement on the original techique, simply an alternative that people might want to consider.   I've attached a photo but it was taken on my phone and the exposure is a bit wrong.

Thanks Ray, I might be in a position to report back on using a slow cooker for Bunjarra as I have a batch on the go which has been in there for 8 hrs so far, but if and when it's appropriate I'll pop that in the Ashoka bunjarra thread.

Thanks Barry.  Will probably not roast them if it doesn't make a lot of difference.

Quote from: Axe on March 11, 2011, 07:04 PM
Nice intro, welcome to the forum.

Cheers 

Quote from: Unclebuck on March 11, 2011, 06:59 PM
Hi Natterjak and welcome to the curry nut house!!
ashoka recipes are for me the best recipes i use.

This Index was put together kindly by Cory Ander

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=5355.0

Excellent stuff, thanks!

Hi all,

I just found your site a day after finding RCR.  It was actually a thread on there about a link to another forum that had been removed that got me googling to find out what the other forum was.... which led me here.  Irony eh?

Like the rest of you I guess I'm on my own personal odyssey seeking the holy grail that is the perfect indian takeaway cooked at home.  My personal favourite curry is chicken dhansak and I'm afraid I order it to the exclusion of all else so I'll be tapping you up for recipes some time soon! 

Years ago I was an active member of the uk.food+drink.indian usenet newsgroup.  Any old members from there floating around these parts?  At the time I went through the Kris Dhillon "Curry Secret" phase but didn't achieve the curry nirvana I was seeking so became discouraged and drifted away from indian cooking. 

Actually you can blame Chinois for me being here, as he kindly sent me his recipe sheet which I believe is developed from many sources around these parts incl. the Ashoka base and banjurra.  Chinois didn't so much point me here, it's more that in researching the ideas he introduced me to I've found RCR and now this place.  I'm already looking back through Panpot's old posts trying to piece together the Ashoka recipes.  Did they ever get linked to with an index post?

Right now I have the aroma of caramelised onions tormenting me as I have a batch of banjurra on the go in my slow cooker.  Using the slow cooker is a departure from the recipe but hopefully less chance of overcooking / burning.

When not guzzling curry I'm obsessing over F1 (2 weeks and counting to Melbourne) or down at the flying field playing with RC planes of all sizes.  I hope to stick around here as it looks like there's a lot of knowledge to be picked up.

Hi all,

quick newbie question for you.  I need cumin powder for a recipe and thought I ordered it but I've actually received cumin seed.  To make cumin powder from the cumin seed I have, can I just grind the seeds in pestle in mortar or should I roast them first?