Quote from: Curry King on January 11, 2005, 07:56 AM

Quote from: adamski on January 09, 2005, 11:13 AM
Just a couple of questions.

Hi,

Breakfastspoon = Desertspoon
The amount of ginger is half that of garlic and both purred together with water and oil.

For some more info have a look at this thread on in2curry where its discussed in detail:

http://www.in2curry.co.uk/curry_chat/posts.asp?fTopicID=350

Hope this helps
cK

British Spoon Measures
Teaspoon 5ml
Dessertspoon 10ml (though I have never heard it called a breakfast spoon)
Tablespoon 15ml

Both spoon measures and cup measures change depending on where your recipe comes from.

Here are a couple of recipes for a base sauce. I have not tried either of them and cannot tell you where they came from other than they were given to me many moons ago. If someone is brave enough to try them maybe they could advise on whether they are very good.

I must admit to trying very few restaurant style dishes with a base sauce etc, if memory serves me right I have tried the Kris Dillon without getting the restaurant flavour, and the Pat Chapman that proved to be an unmitigated disaster.

Base Curry Sauce 1
Ingredients

6 tablespoons sunflower oil
7 or 8 small cooking onions (slightly bigger than golf balls when peeled)
1 tbl Lazy Garlic
1 tbl Lazy Ginger
3 or 4 dried red chillies
1.5 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tin Campbell's condensed Tomato Soup
Water - 2 soup tins

Method
1. On medium, heat the oil in a pan then add the chopped onions and stir for a few minutes.
2. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies. Stir for a couple of minutes then turn the heat down very low.
3. Cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally making sure it does not brown.
4. Add the turmeric, cumin and coriander and cook for a further 5 mins (very low).
5. Remove from the heat. Add the can of Campbell's soup and 1 can of water.
6. Blend either in the pot using a hand blender or transfer to a normal blender. Blend to the consistency of tomato ketchup adding the other can of water to get there. Ensure it is completely smooth.
7. Bring to the boil and cook the blended mixture on a very low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will turn orangey brown.

Base Curry Sauce 2
Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter)
1 medium onion - finely chopped
4 cloves garlic - peeled and sliced
1.5 inch piece root ginger - peeled and thinly sliced (it should look about the same volume as the garlic)
(optional) 2 mild fleshy green chillies - de-seeded and veined then chopped
half teaspoon turmeric powder
half teaspoon ground cumin seed
half teaspoon ground coriander seed
5 tablespoons plain passata

Method
Heat the oil in a heavy pan then add the chopped onion and stir for a few minutes with the heat on high.
Add the ginger, garlic and green chilli (if using). Stir for 30 seconds then put the heat down to very low.
Cook for 15 minutes stirring from time to time making sure nothing browns or burns.
Add the turmeric, cumin and coriander and cook, still very gently, for a further 5 minutes. Don't burn the spices or the sauce will taste horrid - sprinkle on a few drops of water if you're worried.
Take off the heat and cool a little. Put 4 fl oz cold water in a blender, add the contents of the pan and whizz until very smooth. Add the passata and stir.
Put the pur?ed mixture back into the pan and cook for 20 - 30 minutes (the longer the better) over very low heat stirring occasionally. You can add a little hot water if it starts to catch on the pan but the idea is to gently "fry" the sauce which will darken in colour to an orangy brown. The final texture should be something like good tomato ketchup.

This recipe is from Camellia Panjabi and appears in her book 50 Great Curries Of India. The book is a must, and this recipe from it has appeared on the web in numerous instances. The recipe produces the finest home cooked Rogan Josh that I have been lucky to sample.

Rogan Josh by Camellia Panjabi

Rogan means meat fat and josh literally means heat, though figuratively it means intensity. Traditionally fatty meat on the bone was used for making rogan josh and it was slow cooked in its own fat, with extra added for an intense flavour. In these days of cholesterol consciousness, however, we avoid animal fat and use a minimum amount of oil. The dish gets its heat and intensity from the lavish use of body heat-inducing spices such as large black cardamoms and cloves.
The hallmark of the dish as cooked in Kashmir is the liberal use of the true Kashmiri red chilli, which has a mild flavour but gives a bright red colour.
The Muslims there use praan, a Kashmiri shallot that has a garlicky flavour, and maval, the petals of the cock'scomb flower. The latter gives the curry an even brighter red colour and is supposed to have cooling properties. The Hindus of Kashmir do not use praan or any onion or garlic but give body or
flavour to the curry by the addition of yoghurt. The spice distinguishing Kashmiri rogan josh from those made in other parts of India is fennel powder. Camellia Panjabi combines the recipes of both Hindu and Muslim communities and replaces exotic ingredients with those that are easily available. The curry is mildly spicy and has a ravishing flavour. It is traditionally eaten with boiled rice but can also be eaten with rotis or a saffron pulao.

Ingredients
700g stewing lamb or chops
250g lamb bones for adding flavour
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2.5 teaspoons chilli powder (preferably Kashmiri) or 2 teaspoons chilli powder and 1 teaspoon paprika
100ml full fat yoghurt
250g shallots, chopped
50ml ghee or oil
4 cloves
2 large black cardamoms
4 green cardamoms
2 cinnamon or bay leaves
1 blade of mace
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 teaspoon ground ginger
0.25 teaspoon ground turmeric
Salt to taste-about 1.25 teaspoons

Method
1. Boil the lamb and bones with the garlic and half teaspoon salt in 1.2 litres of water in a cooking pot for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove the meat and set aside. Skim off any scum and strain and reserve the cooking liquor.
2. Make a paste of chilli powder and/or paprika by mixing with a little water. Whisk the yoghurt and set aside.
3. Fry the shallots in the ghee or oil in a pot until lightly browned; this will take about 12 minutes. Add the cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon or bay leaves and the mace and fry for 1 minute. Then add the coriander, fennel, ginger and turmeric powders, and the chilli paste and 2 tablespoons reserved
cooking liquor and stir continuously. After 2 minutes add the meat. Saut? for about 5 minutes. Lower the heat and add the yoghurt, stir well and saut? for a few minutes.
4. Add salt to taste, together with 800ml reserved cooking liquor. Cook until the meat is tender. Before serving remove the cinnamon or bay leaves, the large cardamoms and mace if intact.

This is a Maddhur Jaffrey recipe that has been posted to a number of sites and news groups.
It is without doubt the best tasting Tandoori Chicken dish that I have ever made. It is far removed from most of the Tandoori Chicken recipes that you find and is a million miles away from those recipes relying on ready prepared pastes and powders.
Madhhur Jaffrey states that this is an authentic recipe that came from an eaterie in Amritsar.

I must confess that I do not always make the chaat masalla and often rely on a brand that I pick up from a local Indian grocer.

Amritsari Tandoori Chicken

1.5 tablespoons cumin seeds
1.5 tablespoons black peppercorns
Seeds from 3 black cardamom pods
Seeds from 1 tablespoon green cardamom pods
1-teaspoon cloves
3 fresh hot green chillies, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1.5 inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1.5 teaspoons salt
1-tablespoon mild chilli powder or paprika
2 tablespoons double cream
4 tablespoons sunflower oil
2.5 pound of skinned chicken pieces
3 tablespoons ghee or melted unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons chaat masala (see below)
4 lime wedges

Method

1. Combine the cumin seeds, peppercorns, cardamom seeds and cloves and grind to a fine powder.
2. In a food processor combine the chillies, garlic cloves, root ginger, salt, chilli powder or paprika, double cream and sunflower oil then blend to a paste. Add the ground spices and mix thoroughly to form a marinade.
3. Cut deep diagonal slashes into the chicken pieces and then mix with the marinade to achieve an even coating of marinade over the chicken and worked deep into the slashes. Refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours.
4. Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off as much excess marinade as possible. Lay the chicken on a baking tray and baste with the ghee or melted butter.
5. Place the chicken in the top third of an oven pre-heated to its maximum temperature. Breast pieces will take 10-12 minutes to cook, legs and thighs15-20 minutes.
6. Once cooked through, remove the chicken from the oven; sprinkle with the chaat masala and limejuice and serve immediately.


Chaat Masala

4 teaspoons lightly roasted and ground cumin seeds.
1.5 tablespoons amchoor (ground mango powder)
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
0.75 teaspoon finely ground black salt
1-teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly together ensuring that any lumps are broken up and store in a tightly lidded container.

A good site.
There are nowhere near enough sites on the web to discuss Indian food.
uk.food+drink.indian has led the way for a good few years but seems to have tailed off recently, however I believe this may be due to a few overbearing Know-it-alls who have joined in the last couple of years and constantly ridicule anybody whose own views are not the same as their own.

What is your favourite curry?
Do you prefer restaurant style curries or home style?
What dish do you judge a restaurant on?

My own favourite dish must be Rogan Josh, cooked in the traditional Kashmiri way without onions or garlic, not that I am averse to these, quite the obvious in fact, but this authentic dish is superb.

I must admit that my preference over the years has evolved away from restaurant style curries to home style. I think that anyone who cooks curry at home will gradually prefer home style. However two favourite recipe books of mine, 50 Great Curries Of India by Camellia Panjabi and The Bombay Brasserie Cookbook by Urdit Sarkhel take home style recipes and present them for a restaurant dish. These books are essential for any curry lover.

My own restaurant favourite has to be Chicken Dhansak, hot and sour and filling. This must classify as Indian comfort food. I will always have this on my first visit to any restaurant, although some of the more expensive and upmarket ones do not have it on their menus. If however it is there I will have it. If it is good I will probably return and try something else, most likely a house speciality, if it is bad they wont see me again.

I am not a great lover of CTM but having had numerous curry nights at home with friends and neighbours I have been asked on a number of occasions to knock-up a CTM. The following recipe is the one that I found to be closest to the restaurant dish, saying that, I have cooked it four or five times and the end result never seems to be the same.

These recipes come from Pat Chapman, founder of the Curry Club in Britain
and an acknowledged expert on Indian food, and can be found in his book
"Bangladeshi Restaurant Curries".

Part 1: Chicken Tikka for 4

675g(1.5lb) fresh chicken breasts, skinned, filleted and cut
into20-24x3.75cm (1.5 inch) cubes.

Marinade
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons chilli powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons garam masala
1-teaspoon ground cumin
1/2-teaspoon turmeric
150ml (5fl oz) thick natural yoghurt (home made is best but not essential)
2 tablespoons mustard oil
4 large, plump garlic cloves very finely chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-tablespoon tomato puree
1-teaspoon salt
Approx 50ml (2fl oz) milk

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a large non-metallic bowl
Add the chicken pieces. Cover with cling film (Food wrap) and refrigerate
for 24-60 hours. (If chicken has previously been frozen do not exceed the
24
hour marinating period, 60 hours can be achieved with fresh chicken which
has not previously been frozen)
Just prior to cooking divide the chicken between four skewers. (Use the
marinade in a curry or discard it)
Preheat the grill to medium. Place the skewered chicken on an oven rack
above a foil lined grill tray and place the tray in a midway position.
Alternately the chicken can be barbecued.
Cook for 5 minutes, turn and cook foe another 5 minutes.
Cut through one piece of chicken to ensure it is fully cooked through,
it should be white right through with no hint of pink. Cook further as
necessary. When fully cooked raise the tray nearer to the heat and singe
pieces to obtain little flecks of blackening. Do not overdo it and burn
the chicken
Serve with Indian bread, rice etc and a raita or reserve for use in
Chicken Tikka Massala.


Part 2: Chicken Tikka Massala

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 large plump cloves of garlic, finely chopped
225g (8 oz) onions, very finely chopped
1.5 tablespoons bottled mild curry paste
1.5 tablespoons bottled tandoori paste
20-24 chicken Tikka pieces cooked to the previous recipe
6 tinned plum tomatoes, chopped
1-tablespoon vinegar, any type
1-tablespoon tomato ketchup
175ml (6 fl oz) canned tomato soup
Half a green pepper, chopped
0-4 fresh green chillies, chopped (optional)
100ml (4 fl oz) single cream
1-tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large karai or wok Stir-fry the garlic for 30 seconds,
then add the onions and stir-fry for 8-10 minutes until golden brown Add
the pastes and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, then add the chicken and
stir-fry for about 2 minutes, adding just enough water to keep things from
sticking Add the tomatoes, vinegar, ketchup, soup, green pepper and
chillies if using. Stir-fry for 5 minutes or so. Add the cream, garam
masala and chopped coriander leaves. Simmer for a further 2 minutes,
adding a little water if needed. Add salt to taste and then serve

Have a gander at this before hitting on the Kris Dhillon trail.

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/ejones/ufdi/faqrec/kd.html

There is a list of curry dishes at www.smartgroups.com on their curry galore site. Well worth a visit even though you have to register. It has been up and running for a couple of years now.