How to cook British-Indian restaurant curry

frozen cube of onion paste

Click here http://www.talktalk.co.uk/video/5209/lifestyle/Rabbit-Curry-by-Vivek-Singh/




Rabbit leg cooked in pickling spices
This is the type of dish that would be cooked on a 'shikaar' or a hunting expedition when the Rajput princes would go out hunting with their entourage. It would originally be done using hare but works just as well with rabbit

Serves 4
4-6 Rabbit legs / 2 lb, cleaned and cut in to 2 pieces, or alternatively left whole
1 ? tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp salt
1.5 l water

For sauce
50 ml mustard oil
75 ml ghee or clarified butter
4 whole dried red chillies
1tbsp pickling spice mix (equal quantities of fennel seeds, onion seeds, carom seeds, cumin seeds mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds)
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 onions /150 g onions, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 inch piece of ginger, cut in to julienne
300g/ 1 1/3 cup yoghurt, whisked
2 tsp chickpea flour
25 g jaggery or molasses
Juice of 1 lemon

Method
Place the rabbit legs in a pan and bring to a boil with water, 1 tsp of salt and turmeric. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 45 minutes or until tender. Remove from the liquid, drain and reserve the cooking liquid.

In another heavy bottomed pan, heat mustard oil to smoking point, then add ghee and as it melts, add red chillies and let them crackle for a few seconds, now add the pickling spices and as they begin to crackle and change colour, add the garlic. Saut? garlic for a minute or so and as it changes its colour to golden brown, add onions and saut? until they turn light golden in colour. Now add the remaining salt and turmeric powder and the cooked rabbit legs. Add ginger and molasses and stir for a few minutes until legs start to acquire a light brown colour, now add the reserved cooking stock and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl whisk yoghurt with the chickpea flour and mix well. Add the yoghurt mix to the pan slowly with continuous stirring to prevent the yoghurt from getting split. When all the yoghurt has been incorporated simmer for a couple of minutes, check seasoning and finish with a lemon juice. Serve with either rice or bread of your choice.

Click here Spicy potato and salmon cakes

Spicy potato and salmon cakes

Ingredients
200g of boiled potatoes
180g of salmon, chopped
30g ginger garlic paste
4g of fenugreek leaves
2g of red chilli powder     
Salt to taste
2g of Garam masala     
15g of coriander leaves, chopped
5g of cumin seeds     
40g of gram flour
Bread crumbs for binding
Sunflower oil for frying

Method
1. Marinate the salmon with ginger and garlic paste, oil, and salt
2. Take a pan saute the marinated salmon until cooked, keep a side for cooling
3. In  a bowl add grated potatoes and  all the above ingredients including salmon (make sure salmon is cold)  except gram flour and bread crumbs, and mix them well
4. Add the gram flour and bread crumb, and mix it till the mixture is smooth
5. Make small patties of the mixture and deep fry them at 160deg till golden brown
6. Serve it hot with mint and yoghurt dip

Mint and Yoghurt Dip

Ingredients:
50g yoghurt
30ml single cream
15g mint sauce
Salt to taste
2g red chilli powder

Method
1. Blend all the above ingredients together
2. Serve chilled


Click hereLamb bhoona


Lamb bhoona

Ingredients (for 4):
600 g diced lamb             
300g chopped onion         
100g tomatoes, chopped       
50g ginger and garlic paste     
2 Green chillies, chopped   
1 tsp turmeric powder         
1/2 tsp red chilli powder       
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala         
3-4 bay leaves             
1-2 cinnamon sticks       
1tsp dry fenugreek leaves     
1 tsp cumin seeds             
  A pinch of chopped coriander       
70ml vegetable oil             

Method
1. Take a pot heat oil then add bay leaves and cinnamon sticks
2. Then add cumin seeds and chopped onions stir till the onions are golden brown, then add diced lamb and cook it for at least 40 minutes on a low heat
3. Add the rest of the above ingredients and stir them well, add a  little water and cover the pot with a lid and cook till the lamb is cooked
4. Garnished with fresh coriander and julienne tomatoes

Thanks for posting Abdul 

Frank.

Hi JB,
As winter is usually the time for bonfires, why not kill two birds with one stone and make your own charcoal 

How to make your own charcoal

There's a guy in my village who makes a huge amount each year on a still day and fills the whole place with an eerie smoky fog.
Frank. 

Walking back into my kitchen the next morning after a big curry cook off is something akin to walking into the roughest pub in town with a beer soaked carpet or moon walking with anti-gravity boots on  ;D
As regards to the smoke, many a time i've had to adorn the cowboy bank robbers preffered accessory 

Frank. 

It never occured to me Whandsy, i was just enjoying the fun
I only found the book recently for the smoking technique, and had only glanced a few pages.
Didn't read that passage until 10 mins ago meself 

I myself thought it was used only at the end but seems to be either or.

Frank. 

Again, taken from here:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-UFwsluKqM8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Thanks everyone,
Maybe it was just coincidence that all the base recipes ive saved and made so far, used this method?
Or it's like one of those QI questions, Nobody Knows  ;D

Cheers, Frank. 

Sorry ELW, i did mean and/or, just forgot to add it