Curry Recipes Online
British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Main Dishes => British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Main Dishes => Bhuna => Topic started by: RivalSavage on October 03, 2010, 11:41 PM
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Hi, new to the site and loving it all. This is a recipe I obtained 25 years ago from my local takeaway and it never fails. The methods and one particular ingredient aren't what I have seen elsewhere so please give it a try. My missus loves this and I swear I can cook it with my eyes closed!
Bhuna
Ingredients:
A quarter pint of oil
Cooked ingredient of choice, chicken or whatever or raw prawns
1 teaspoon each of Cumin, Coriander, Cayenne, Turmeric, Garam Masala. Mixed into a stiff paste with a little water
1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
5 cloves garlic chopped and mashed into a paste
1 chopped green pepper
1 large onion, halved top to bottom then sliced into thin segments
2 chopped fresh tomatoes
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 handful of methi leaves
1 teaspoon Rose Water
Fresh coriander to garnish
Instructions:
In a Wok or Karai heat oil over medium heat then fry tomato puree and garlic puree for 2-3 mins till oil colours but take care not to brown garlic. Add onions and chopped green pepper and fry till softened, stirring all the time.
Add spice paste and fry 2 mins then add fresh tomatoes and fry 2 more mins.
Add chopped tinned tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt and fry 3-4 mins, stirring all the time.
Add cooked meat or prawns and fry one minute.
Place methi leaves in one palm and rub together with other to bruise, then add to dish.
Add 1 teaspoon Rose Water and continue to fry till sauce thickens .
Finally add chopped fresh coriander leaves and serve.
Hope you enjoy this, the sauce is garlicky and to die for!
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Thanks RS, at first glance I like many others would probably leave you to this one due to the lack of base sauce. However you have caught my attention as their are times when a wee curry is just what the doctor ordered yet all my stuff is in the freezer. Some here and myself included have considered using even tinned soup as a base substitute for a quick meal. Your Bhuna has potential in this category. I will have a go with pre cooking chicken or even veg in a mixture of your paste and water for 15 minutes or so and then follow your lead. Thanks will have a wee go this week. PP
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Hi RS,
As Panpot suggests, the lack of base could put members off but the fact that you got it from your local TA intrigues me.
Do you think that this recipe was a "cook at home" version of his TA version? Possibly, the chef may have thought that you wouldn't want to make a full blown base, so give you a recipe that would be doable at home?
Quite a fair bit of spicing and garlic in there too. How many would this serve? Again, if this is for more than one serving, I would suggest that this is a "cook at home" version, as most BIR and TA's cook one serving at a time.
Sorry for the questions, just trying to get it clear in my head, that's all :)
Thanks for the post fella,
Ray :)
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perfect questions mate
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Well the memory fades after 25 plus years so it may well have been a home version I was given but all I would say is it was the same stuff they sold me at the time, as befitting a bhuna in those days very dry and to tell the truth I felt it more resembled Rogan Josh.
I fished out the original recipe actually and the garlic quota given was even higher (7). I must have adapted it to suit at the time!Regarding the spice paste, it was precisely that, 5 teaspoons of the relevant ground spices mixed with a little water and then fried in the oil. I have tried this with mixed seafood (lobster, scallops etc) and it's a winner every time.
Serves 2-3 by the way. Don't let the lack of a curry base put you off!
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Hi RS,
Serves 2-3 by the way
That would explain the high garlic and spice content then.
As for it having no base, no, it wouldn't put me off at all. If it's as good as you say, then I'd give it a go.
I think your description of a Bhuna is spot on, it should be quite dry with very little sauce, something that a lot of BIR's would do well to remember these day's.
Thanks for answering my queries, much appreciated.
Ray :)
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yes , the bir chef i know, does a lot more evaporation for bhuna, and adds more onion. he also adds more tumeric. the end result is dry, and not as saucy as madras. he even used 2 pans for the single dish he made me during my demo. half the sauce in one pan, the rest in another. this improves the taste he said.
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DD, I would be interested in your best Bhuna Recipe? RS I had a go the other night. I did add some Ginger paste too otherwise I followed you to the letter. I pre cooked veggies. I have to say that I tend to agree with Razor regarding well meaning chefs back then sending us home with this typical type of recipe as a home style without the base approach. That said it was just that for me but very good too a relatively quick and easy meal when everything else is in the freezer and you need a curry. I suggest you have a go with the various Bhunas on here to compare with this one. I can strongly recommend The Ashoka one but I am a Glaswegian and regional variation can make a difference but it has to be up there with the best. I will use your recipe again in similar situations, thanks again. PP
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Hi Panpot, the best bhuna is your ashoka korai bhuna. I do have another slightly different bhuna recipe based on observations from the bir chef at my local. It uses a different base than the ashoka base, namely the safron style or CA type of base. The bhuna recipe also has veg ghee in it, which i copied from the chef at my local. He always uses veg ghee in bhuna to make it rich(also some oil). I will try and find the recipe and post it, i used to make it alot , and it makes a nice chnage to the ashoka bhuna. I will search for it later. Cheers DD.
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Cheers DD, I can't disagree The Ashoka Bhuna Korai took my cooking to near perfection, 99% perfect. Looking forward to your post if you find it. PP
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PanPot, this was my bhuna from 6 months ago. hope you like it !
Bhuna to go with original KD base (not the newer version KD base)
Any light watery base made from mostly onion would do.
Ingredients
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5 tbs very finely chopped red pepper
5 chunks green pepper
mix 2 tbs tom puree with 1/5th tsp pataks kashmiri masalla and a little water.
half a tomato chopped into 2 pieces.
3/4 onion (finely chopped)
5 tbs finely chopped coriander leaf
spring onions to garnish
small pinch of methi at start
3 OR 4 ladel base + water
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spice mix
0.25 tsp rahjver tandorri masalla
3 quarters of a tsp of salt
2 pinch poppy seeds
1/6th tsp cumin
half a tsp coriander powder
1/6th tsp paprika
1/5th tsp mild curry powder
1 tsp chilly powder
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COOKING TIME !
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add veg ghee and lots of sunflower oil to pan (approx 6 or 7 tbs of sunflower oil, + 2 tbs veg ghee)
Add pinch methi leaf
Add onion and chopped pepper (high heat) . fry until onion browns a bit. approx 4 mins
Add 3/4 tsp garlic and brown off - high heat
lower heat
add tom puree
add spice mix
30 secs
Add ladel of base - stir
back to high heat
add 2 more ladels base
add meat
add tbs of lamb stock (from pre cooking the lamb)
add tomato
Dont allow the base to brown (burn). add a bit of water to stop this.
add rest of base -
Add coriander leaf
Allow to dry right out - dont stir - plenty of evaporation of the base.
keep adding a little water to prevent base going brown. This takes practice
and gives the right taste. Aim to add 1 ladel of water maximum, possibly less.
It depends how watery your base is. This takes practice to get the right taste, but I
got some great results with this recipe when my technique was right. Any feedback welcome. The base is very important with this recipe, and must be the right consistency. I used the old KD base, and made it watery, with much less ginger than her recipe.
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The garlic in my recipe is garlic paste , in case anyone is wondering. !
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he even used 2 pans for the single dish he made me during my demo. half the sauce in one pan, the rest in another. this improves the taste he said.
DD can you elaborate on this technique please, it sounds interesting?
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Hi DD/SS
he even used 2 pans for the single dish he made me during my demo. half the sauce in one pan, the rest in another. this improves the taste he said.
DD can you elaborate on this technique please, it sounds interesting?
I have come across this technique before, not first hand from a BIR or TA but from the Authentic Balti curry coobook. The difference being that, the technique is employed to cook a Rogan Josh, not a Bhuna. Anyway, here is a link http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4342.0 (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4342.0)
Hope that's of some interest.
Ray :)
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I have come across this technique before, not first hand from a BIR or TA but from the Authentic Balti curry coobook. The difference being that, the technique is employed to cook a Rogan Josh, not a Bhuna.
Yes I've got that book and knew I'd seen a similar thing before, thanks for jogging my memory.
I'd still like to know how it is applied to a bhuna though if DD can oblige.
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Hi Secret Santa , basically I stumbled across this technique by accident, and was experimenting with 3 things, 1) high heat during cooking, 2) adding water to thin the base during cooking. 3) longer evaporation of the base. This technique I use with bhuna is basically using high heat, with the addition of water to stop the tom puree and the base going brown during cooking. I noticed years ago that if the tom puree and base goes to dark it ruins the curry. I now believe this can be stopped if the base is very very watery, or you add a little water at the right time during cooking. Its essential to evaporate off the water, and aim to end with a dry curry. I had some good results with this technique, and believe its very similar to the way the chef at my local cooks bhuna. He adds a little ghee which is also good for high heat cooking. Using 2 pans was also a technique he used for my curry, presumably it improves heat distribution, and evaporation. He then tipped the contents of both pans into 1 silver TA container. it was the best bhuna he ever made me. I still remember it well ! ;D
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Thanks DD, I can see why you do it this way to ensure the dry nature of the Bhuna without the tomato paste turning. PP
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Using 2 pans was also a technique he used for my curry, presumably it improves heat distribution, and evaporation. He then tipped the contents of both pans into 1 silver TA container. it was the best bhuna he ever made me. I still remember it well ! ;D
Oh so he was making exactly the same thing but in two separate pans. I misunderstood, I thought he was making two separate components of the bhuna in the different pans.
It's an interesting observation never the less.
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I tried the recipe at the beginning of this thread last night, and I have to say it was disappointing. It was bland.
I'm going to have to think more about what it was missing, but first and foremost it was too tomatoey.
Hi, new to the site and loving it all. This is a recipe I obtained 25 years ago from my local takeaway and it never fails. The methods and one particular ingredient aren't what I have seen elsewhere so please give it a try. My missus loves this and I swear I can cook it with my eyes closed!
Bhuna
Ingredients:
A quarter pint of oil
Cooked ingredient of choice, chicken or whatever or raw prawns
1 teaspoon each of Cumin, Coriander, Cayenne, Turmeric, Garam Masala. Mixed into a stiff paste with a little water
1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
5 cloves garlic chopped and mashed into a paste
1 chopped green pepper
1 large onion, halved top to bottom then sliced into thin segments
2 chopped fresh tomatoes
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 handful of methi leaves
1 teaspoon Rose Water
Fresh coriander to garnish
Instructions:
In a Wok or Karai heat oil over medium heat then fry tomato puree and garlic puree for 2-3 mins till oil colours but take care not to brown garlic. Add onions and chopped green pepper and fry till softened, stirring all the time.
Add spice paste and fry 2 mins then add fresh tomatoes and fry 2 more mins.
Add chopped tinned tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt and fry 3-4 mins, stirring all the time.
Add cooked meat or prawns and fry one minute.
Place methi leaves in one palm and rub together with other to bruise, then add to dish.
Add 1 teaspoon Rose Water and continue to fry till sauce thickens .
Finally add chopped fresh coriander leaves and serve.
Hope you enjoy this, the sauce is garlicky and to die for!
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Sorry you didn't enjoy it my friend. Of course adding stuff could help, for example mixing the spices into a paste with juices from the meat or seafood.
The tomato content can seem high, perhaps passata instead of chopped tomatoes may help but I simply can't do wrong round our house when I concoct this for the missus and her pals... which perhaps asks another question; given womens' love of tomatoes and garlic is this the ideal womens' curry?
Today alone (Friday 15th October 2010) I have had five women beg me for the recipe and of course I obliged.
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I also made this recipe last week using the slow cooker as I used beef. I also found it a little bland and had to add to it to bring it up to spec.
Still a very nice dish though :)
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a quarter pint of oil . is this correct it seems a lot of oil?
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Yes a quarter pint. When it rises to the surface after cooking, spoon it off and use again, like the BIR's do. I have cooked this for over 25 years and the generous use of the oil is the key. It never is the same without it. Incidentally one of the criticisms was too tomatoey and I cooked three this week with half the amount of tinned tomatoes and would say it improves the taste.
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Yes a quarter pint. When it rises to the surface after cooking, spoon it off and use again, like the BIR's do. I have cooked this for over 25 years and the generous use of the oil is the key. It never is the same without it
I agree. Cook in an excess, and spoon off afterwards. If you cook in too little, the spices just don't release the right flavour (remember how awful British curries used to taste).
** Phil.