Sweet and spicy was always a great lunchtime restaurant but nose dived when lots of other white people started eating in there, ...and they bought matching tables. It is on a junction on the opposite side of the road from the nick.

Being more of a "trad" I tended to use the places frequented by the locals rather than the BIR type restaurant. Since Saliques closed I found the BIR's are all pretty much of a muchness.

If you fancy a treat, park near Aldgate and go to Tayyabs in Fieldgate Street, but then hit the grocers opposite the Mosque at the Hanbury Street junction and stock up with all manner of goodies.

T63

Quote from: livo on November 27, 2014, 03:07 AM
So how was the Rogan Josh?

Beautiful as ever. It is my most cooked curry but I did see something in Curry Brilliant that took my fancy so that may be the next project

This Persian delicacy is a hot favorite with non-vegetarians

Ingredients:
Dry roast 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds and 1/2 tsp fennel seeds. Cool and then grind them into a powder.
Squeeze some lime juice and salt on the shrimp and set it aside. Also, make a wet paste of two cups of chopped red onion, four green chili, two ginger and about four cloves of garlic, 3 tbsp yogurt and a little bit of water.

Method:
Heat a frying pan, then toast 1/2 tsp of cumin seed, 1/2 tsp of coriander seed and 1/4 tsp of fennel seeds. Add oil, and then add 1/2 tsp of mustard seed, 1/4 tsp of paprika and 1/4 tsp of red chili powder. When the spices start popping, lower the heat and add the wet onion paste. Fry this for about 20 to 25 minutes in medium heat, till you see it turning golden and there is no raw smell. This will need some time, so make it a point not to try and hasten the process. Now add the dry roasted spice powder, 1 tbsp of tomato puree, 1 tsp of white vinegar, salt and sugar to taste. Fry for 5 more minutes. Afterwards, add about 1/2 cup of water and let the gravy come to a simmer. Add the shrimp but do not overcook it. When the shrimp is done, garnish with some finely chopped coriander and serve with hot rice.

Ingredients
Chicken: 1 kg, Coriander seeds: 2 tsp, Cumin seeds: 2 tsp, Black peppercorns (whole): 6, Dry red chillies: 6, Ginger: 2-inch piece, Garlic: 15 cloves, Ghee: 2 tbsp, Oil: 2 tbsp, Onion (chopped): 1, Tomatoes (chopped): 4, Salt to taste, Fresh coriander leaves (chopped): 2 tbsp
Method
Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds and peppercorns and grind to a coarse powder. Grind red chillies, ginger and garlic to a fine paste. Now heat ghee and oil in a kadhai, add onion and saute till lightly browned. Add half of the coarsely ground spice powder and red chilli-gingergarlic paste and continue to saute for four minutes. Add tomatoes and salt and continue to cook till the tomatoes become soft. Put in the chicken pieces and stir. Add coriander leaves and the remaining coarsely ground spice powder and mix well. Pour half a cup of water. Cover and cook on medium heat till the chicken is done. Serve hot.

What

Seyal Mutton is a hot favourite and is easy to make too

Sail or Seyal is the process of a dish slow cooked in its own juices without the use of water. Says food aficionado Saloni Malkani, "Slow cooked is very important as the meat or any preparations slowly cooks in its own juices, giving the dish and outstanding and typical flavour." Here is her recipe to try...

Recipe of Seyal Mutton

Ingredients:
500 to 750 Grams mutton or lamb - with bone or deboned as per your choice
The lamb should be cut in cubes, or sized pieces as desired
3-4 normal medium sized onions chopped and then puree in a mixer
4 medium sized tomatoes chopped and pureed
200 grams curd (either hung or thick)
4 garlic pieces finely chopped
1 tablespoon garlic paste and 1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 cup coriander leaves and 2 green chilies finely chopped and pureed
1 teaspoon garam masala, jeera powder and dhania powder
1/2 teaspoon of cardamon which should be powdered
1/2 teaspoon of ajwain powder
3 tablespoons ghee
A pinch of haldi
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Marinate the mutton in a mixture of the ginger ,garlic , coriander leaves puree along with the curd , leave in the for a few hours outside or if overnight refrigerate the mixture.

(Overnight marination does wonders to the dish)

2. Saute the onions in ghee, when slightly brown add the tomatoes and masalas and saute between 4-6 min.

3. Cool the sauteed onions, tomatoes and masala mixture then add to the marinated mutton and mix.

4. Keep aside 45 minutes and cook the mixture over high heat for 7-10 minutes.

5. Reduce the heat and cover the discharge to simmer for 60-75 minutes to ensure the mutton is tender

6. Once tender, serve in a nice bowl and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Your seyal mutton is ready.

Recipe: Aloo Tikki

Why bother to buy it from outside when it can be prepared easily at home?

Ingredients:
Half kg potatoes, bread crumbs, about five green chillies (chopped), chopped coriander leaves, one tsp cumin powder, salt to taste, oil.

Method:
Boil the potatoes, then peel and mash them. Mix with bread crumbs, green chillies, coriander leaves, cumin powder and salt. Make a few balls from this mixture and flatten between your palms. Now shallow fry in hot oil on a griddle and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

This one is from simpleindianrecipes.com and looks like another good contender for the weekend curry cook-in

(Nadan Kozhi Curry, Kerala Chicken Curry, Country Chicken Curry)

Naadan Kozi (Chicken) Curry is one of the basic chicken curry recipe from the country sides. It is a very aromatic, spicy ad bright looking curry mainly flavored with coconut bits, curry leaves and onions. There are many other curries like the one I've already shared - Chicken curry with coconut milk, Chicken curry with roasted coconut etc. However, this is the simplest one with very few ingredients. It is perfect for bachelors as it does not require any grinding.

Ingredients
Chicken - 1 kg (cut into medium size pieces)
Onion - 6 (sliced thinly)
Ginger - 2" piece (crushed)
Garlic - 1 bulb (crushed)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/8 tsp
Red chilly Powder - 2 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Crushed Whole Spices - 1" cinnamon, 2 cloves, 2 cardamom, 1 tsp Fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp Peppercorns (or use store bought chicken masala powder)
Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs
Coconut pieces - 2-3 tbsp
Coconut oil - 3 tbsp
Salt - as needed

Method
Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and crackle the mustard seeds.
Reduce the heat and add the fenugreek seeds. Fry for few seconds.
Add the ginger, garlic, curry leaves and crushed whole spices. (Reserve a pinch to add at the end.)
Cook for about half a minute.
Add the sliced onions and saute. Add some salt to speed up the process.
Saute on medium heat for 10-15 minutes till it become golden brown and pasty.
Add the salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder and chilly powder. Mix together and fry for few seconds to awaken the aroma of the spices.
Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat with the spices.
Cover and let it cook in its own juices for about 5 minutes.
Add required amount of  water. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Add the coconut bits at this stage. Reduce the heat and cook covered for another 10 minutes till oil separates from the gravy.
Finally add a pinch of the crushed spices and some fresh curry leaves.
Switch off and keep covered till you are ready to serve.

MURG HIGHWAY
This looks interesting enough to be the weekends curry of choice

Chicken curry served in Highway side open restaurants in Northern India.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Recipe Ingredients:


1 whole chicken, cut into10 pieces (approx. 800 grams)
250g onion, chopped
5 large tomatoes, finely chopped
1tbsp garlic-ginger paste
2tsp cumin seeds
1tsp coriander seeds
1tsp black pepper corns
2 black cardamoms
1tsp dry fenugreek leaves (kastoori methi)
1tsp turmeric powder
1tbsp coriander powder
1tsp red chili powder
2 dried red chilies
1 bay leaf
1tsp garam masala
4tbsp refined vegetable oil
Salt to taste
400ml water
2tbsp finely chopped coriander


Recipe Method:


Dry roast 1tsp cumin seeds, the dried red chilies, black cardamoms, coriander seeds and pepper corns till brown and fragrant. Coarsely grind the spices.  Heat oil and add 1tsp cumin and the bay leaf. When the cumin begins to splutter, add the onions. Saut

Mustard oil got a real bad press some years back for its supposed detrimental health effects. At that time I was cooking for my young children (all grown up now) so I stopped using it and never got back in the habit of using it again.

I was replenishing spices etc from a grocers in Brick Lane about a year or so ago and picked up a bottle of mustard oil that had a label on it warning against using it for "internal use".

Like all these issues, when you delve further you find conflicting reports on the supposed effects on health.

I'm sure some of the guys here are still using it and can advise further.