hi,all
this is the genuine recipe
1- tarka dal
2-boiled onion masala with vegtables and herbs
3-fried onion masala
4- cooked chicken, meat or defrosted prawns

for the tarka dal see the above recipe .

boiled onion masala? with vegtables and herbs :
0.25 cup oil
2 onions (200g )
5 cloves garlic
1 inch fresh ginger
400ml water
fresh chilli's to you taste
25 g fresh sweet red pepper
25g chopped? raw potato
25g small fresh aubergines (from the Indian stores )
1 stick celery
1 very small red raddish
1.5 inch fresh carrot


1 table spoon dry fenugreek leaves
1 table spoon finely chopped? fresh dill
1 table spoon finely chopped fresh coriander
1 table spoon finely chopped fresh mint

spices
0.5 inch cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
2 blades of mace
4 cloves
4green cardmom pods
1 tea spoon cumin
1tea spoon coriander
1 tea spoon paprika
1 tea spoon turmeric

put every thing in a saucepan and bring to the boil,lower heat and simmer until cooked.
puree every thing including the whole spices for at least 2 minutes. you will not see or feel the whole spices texture, they will be purred.if you need to use a little more water to help the blender do its jop? please do.


fried onion masala
2 onions? chopped finely
5 cloves garlic minced
1 inch fresh ginger minced
0.5 to 0.75 cup boiling water
0.25 cup oil

heat oil,fry onion until light brown then add the garlic and ginger and fry until all become dark brown , but please be careful and don't burn. add the boiling water and remove from heat .
puree until smooth.



cooked chicken or meat or defrosted prawns.


mix 1 cup of the tarka dal with? 1 cup boiled onion masala? with half the fried onion masala and the cooked chicken or meat or prawns? , bring to boil add fresh coriander leaves and garam masala .
enjoy

thanks
ghanna


salt to your tasting

hi, all
there are two versions.
version one ?(enough for one or two curries )
boil red ?lentils ?(about 2 table spoons ) until it is soft and most of the water is absorbed .
fry one large onion until it is dark brown in about 0.5 cup of oil,remove from heat and to the oil 5-10 cloves of garlic (minced ) and about an inch of fresh ginger (minced)and fry until it is dark brown ,stir all the time so it will not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.add the cooked chicken or meat or prawns.
off ?the fire add ?the onion back ,then add 2 teaspoon of restaurant spices and 1tablespoon tomato paste and 1 tea spoon of tamarind paste and the cooked lentil ?and ?about 1 cup of the curry gravy and ?about 2 teaspoon of fenugreek leaves and a handful of fresh coriander. leave over high heat until the fat separate on top of the curry . in some restaurant they add 2 pieces canned pineapples,others add a fresh lemon slice.

version two ?(spicier and easier than one because the Major ingredients are already cooked )
about 0.5 cup already made tarka dal.
1 cup curry gravy
cooked chicken or meat or prawns as before
spices as before
tamarind paste as before
tomato paste as before
onion , garlic,ginger as before and same method of cooking
fenugreek leaves and fresh coriander as before
oil as before
mix all over high heat until oil separate
off the fire add the pineapples or lemon slices and serve.


if you want to make the tarka dal
fry until golden 1 onion in 0.5 cup of oil ?add 5 minced cloves of garlic and 1 inch minced fresh ginger and fry until dark brown,then add 1 table spoon tomato paste and 1 table spoon tamarind paste and 400g tin of tomato,add fresh chillies to your liking.add1 table spoon restaurant spice blend .
add about 90g red lentils + 900ml of water (i.e ?10 times the weight of lentils in water ).
add a handful of fresh coriander leaves ,bring to the boil and then simmer until the lentils is very soft and cooked .
puree in a soup blender.
make the tarka as follows :
0.25 cup of oil
5 cloves of garlic minced
1 table spoon freshly ground coriander seeds
heat the oil,then add the garlic and fry until the garlic is light brown then add the coriander and fry for less than 0.5 minute pour over the lentil immediately and mix . bring to the boil and then take off the fire and enjoy
please don't burn the garlic and coriander because they are going to taste very bitter .


the charcoal /burnt taste , which is you after ?MARK J ?is from the browned garlic and the coriander.
earthy taste is from the lentil

thanks
ghanna

salt to your tasting

Hi all
We  have been given different formulas, techniques and methods by different restaurant and takeaways  owners, chefs and staff.
But until now no one managed  to get that very nice missing taste.
This missing taste is driving me crazy, i want to duplicate  it  but i cannot, i tried every thing but without luck.
I am not going to stop going to restaurants  if i do  know , any way all of us know how to make sandwiches and pizza but we still go out and buy them.

Some one there definitely knows,  please tell us all and save us from our misery.
Me my self i am willing to pay for it if it comes to that.
I tried for ages but i feel i am stuck there,no improvement at all,  all the time we are going back to square one.
There are 7000 restaurants and takeaways her in the U.K and all of the chefs there  produce this taste daily in their curries, cookbooks writer and others as well know. if any one reading or following what we say her ,please help.
I really feel that without help from these professional people we are not going to go any further.
Thanks
ghanna

hi,MARK J
cinnamon stick and cassia park are as you mentioned from the same family .
but cinnamon stick taste is more refined and stronger than cassia.
cinnamon stick is more expensive than cassia park ,but in my opinion it worth the extra price.
restaurant use the cheapest ingredients  available and you are right they use cassia park .
they usually use it in rice dishes ( with other whole spices ),because it perfume the rice to a certain extent ,that it will fit for a king.
korma is a delicate  dish used to be eaten by Indian royalty in courts and  palaces. chefs  cook it with the very expensive and rear spices, as an example the most three expansive spices in the world ( saffron ,cardmom,and royal cumin seeds ) are used in this dish .
real  rose water and kewra water is not cheap as well.
how much does it cost to cook a dish like this , including the time spend as well ?
thanks
ghanna


the restaurant method is as follows
curry gravy
creamed coconut  ( a small piece )
evaporated milk  ( this is the only thing i agree with, i tryied single cream before but it didnot  give the depth of taste that the evaporated milk gave )
some restaurant add nuts ,some don't
chicken,or meat or prawns.
cook the above over very very high heat ,until fat rise to the top of the curry  ......then enjoy.
thanks
ghanna

hi,Packman
i will try  Kyber version.
thank you
ghanna

hi, Darthphall
i made the vindallo today , really it is very very nice .i followed your instruction to the word.
though ,it is very hot. but i think i will manage.
i will keep some for tomorrow to see how the taste will  change
waiting fr the lasan chicken recipe.
thanks
ghanna

hi,all
back to ghee
ghee is a clarified butter that all the water was driven out from it,as well the milk solids removed after the sugar in them was caramelized.
it smells like caramel, or maple ,or like the French call caramelized hazelnut,or some times with a hint of fenugreek or walnuts.
actually the French people used a lot of it  in their cooking and baking , believe me its taste is out of this world.
Scotch shortbread   that all of us adore is made with clarified butter.
i went out today and bought two buckets of ghee one of them is vegtable and the other is butter ghee, i bought them from an Indian store.
guess what ,both of them are awful, stinks, smells really bad . i don't know how some one can but this in their food , it is actually rancid butter ,or butter passed its expire date .
please don't judge true butter ghee as you judge the store bought one,it is something totally different.
please don't buy any more of this awful things insist on the origanal stuff ,if all of us but some pressure like that on the stores they will be forced to sell the real stuff.

i hope that i solved this miss understanding.
thanks
ghanna

hi ,DARTHPHALL
today sir i am going to try the vindallo recipe but i am 100% it is going to be spot on, the method of mixing together two onion gravies sound very professional .this is how they do it in first class restaurants.
i will report later.
thanks
ghanna

hi,MARK J
very nice fits for a king
thanks
ghanna

hi, Blondie
please see this link it is by curryqueen  ( it is in the oil and the technique used  i think ).
in the second reply ,i gave a recipe for this spiced oil.
please come back and tell me what do you think of it ?
thanks
ghanna