Curry Recipes Online
Beginners Guide => Trainee Chefs / Beginners Questions => Topic started by: PlainPopcorn on November 24, 2015, 09:40 PM
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I've been trying my hand at a malaya curry, which (according to some people here) is basically a korma with bananas and sometimes lychee added.
I've gotten to a great starting point and made a malaya korma that was so very very close to the malaya my local takeaway makes but it's lacking something.
The texture was spot on though.
Here is the recipe that I used;
Basewas made from Chewytikka's 1 hour base (made in pressure cooker)
Korma recipe was from a user here who pm'd me and tweaked to make it more malaya-ish
ingredients
-1 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 tbsp ghee (use oil if you don't have ghee)
-3 tbsp of coconut powder (used dessicated coconut since that is what my local IR uses)
-2 tbsp of almond powder
-300~400ml base sauce (I used 375 ml)
-half a pureed banana (mine wasn't ripe enough so it added some acidity as well, I can't get my hands on properly ripe bananas at the moment)
-3~5 tbsp single cream
-sugar to taste (I added 1/4 tsp, it was almost sweet enough with the fruit and the coconut)
-handful roasted split cashews
Method
-heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 tbsp ghee (use oil if you don't have ghee) in a pan with high sides.
-when the oil/ghee is hot add 3tbsp of coconut powder and 2 tbsp of almond powder and fry these for a minute or two to wake them up.
-add 300~400ml base sauce (this is heated before adding)
-add banana puree
-simmer for a few minutes
-add 3~5 tbsp single cream
-add sugar to taste
-add roasted split cashews
So I'm curious what is commonly added to BIR kormas or malayas to deepen the flavour without adding much hot/spiciness (the family doesn't like spiciness, that's why I'm asking).
I've done some reading on the korma subforum but usually nothing else is added.
I did come across one recipe that fried ginger garlic paste in the beginning of the recipe.
I suspect though, that what I'm looking for is somewhere in the spice department.
Any advice is appreciated.
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My 1hr base is Neutral and easily flavoured.
Your coconut to almond ratio should be 2:1.
Don
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My 1hr base is Neutral and easily flavoured.
Your coconut to almond ratio should be 2:1.
Don
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I find Ghee does have a vague cheesy smell to it when cold, but disappears during cooking. Personally, I find it does add an extra depth of flavour to the dish. Don't forget ... there are two types - vegetable ghee and a substantially more expensive butter ghee. I like both, but prefer the butter one if funds allow!
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I find Ghee does have a vague cheesy smell to it when cold, but disappears during cooking. Personally, I find it does add an extra depth of flavour to the dish. Don't forget ... there are two types - vegetable ghee and a substantially more expensive butter ghee. I like both, but prefer the butter one if funds allow!
It was butter ghee, and the smallest can (which was still pretty big to be honest) was around 6 euros.
I have an intern income, 6 euros is a lot of money :)
Now I'm glad I didn't throw it out. Now the top layer is gone it also smells less like cheese.
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To be honest, I still reckon ghee of either type is better than just oil (personal taste, not everyone will agree), so if cash is tight, you'll probably find the cheaper vegetable one is still a good choice and not far off half the price.
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To be honest, I still reckon ghee of either type is better than just oil (personal taste, not everyone will agree), so if cash is tight, you'll probably find the cheaper vegetable one is still a good choice and not far off half the price.
I've got butter ghee, the cheesy smell becomes less over time the more I scrape the top layer off. I keep it in the fridge.
But I'm just going to use for this recipe as well, especially if the smell becomes less during cooking.
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My local indian takeaway malaya (which I'm trying to recreate) has banana flavour in the sauce (that's the reason for the banana puree), banana pieces (I didn't include since I was just trying to make the sauce, that's also the reason I'm leaving out the meat) and noticeable dessicated coconut. It has no pineapple. It does have lychees but those slimy canned lychees gross me out so I left those out as well.
Kashmiri was one of my favourites back in the day and I don't go much for mild curries, so it must have been good!
They were always mild, no banana flavour in the sauce, with sliced, ripe banana and definitely no desiccated coconut, which grosses me out frankly.
I'm only half joking when I say that I bet if you poked your head into the kitchen where you get yours you'd find a tub of banana milk shake powder on the shelf. Anything goes these days.
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Kashmiri was one of my favourites back in the day and I don't go much for mild curries, so it must have been good!
They were always mild, no banana flavour in the sauce, with sliced, ripe banana and definitely no desiccated coconut, which grosses me out frankly.
I'm only half joking when I say that I bet if you poked your head into the kitchen where you get yours you'd find a tub of banana milk shake powder on the shelf. Anything goes these days.
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I wouldn't put it past them :)
Sure there's decent take-away places but there are also some where everything goes.
10 years ago there was this dutch tv-program where they filmed the kitchens of take-away places (burgers, doner kebab, chinese food, greek, pizza etc) unannounced.
Basically a film crew went with the branch of the government called something along the lines of "health and food inspection".
Difficult to translate it, it's a government division that makes sure products made in the netherlands or imported to the netherlands are safe, like food or children's toys, and they also inspect places where food is made and served to customers.
Like you'd expect some of these kitchens were really horrible, but surprisingly one or two were squeaky clean.
But you could also see strange ingredients, things you wouldn't associate with the end product especially if you know next to nothing about how people cook in fast food places.
I remember seeing stuff in buckets, like a bucket of creamer, a bucket of smoke flavour, bucket of duck? fat.
Sadly I don't remember it well, but the creamer bucket stayed with me. It was clear they didn't use it for coffee. What use does a chinese place have for a bucket of coffee creamer?
I can't imagine the dish they'd use it in.
Went grocery shopping today, and there were only greenish yellow bananas again. And they shine coloured light on them to make em look better as well. Basically you pick the ripest bananas, put them in your basket, walk over to the canned goods aisle just to find out that the bananas magically changed colour and you go "surely these are not the ones I picked".
I know that sounds totally mental, like something a conspiracy fan might say but it's true and so effing disappointing.
I bought 2 anyway and when I came home I put them in a bag with some apples, hopefully that myth is true that that helps ripen them up.
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Went grocery shopping today, and there were only greenish yellow bananas again. And they shine coloured light on them to make em look better as well. Basically you pick the ripest bananas, put them in your basket, walk over to the canned goods aisle just to find out that the bananas magically changed colour and you go "surely these are not the ones I picked".
I know that sounds totally mental, like something a conspiracy fan might say but it's true and so effing disappointing.
They tend to do that light trick with tomatoes here, not so much with bananas though. Definitely not a conspiracy...well, other than to con us into buying unripe fruits! >:(
I bought 2 anyway and when I came home I put them in a bag with some apples, hopefully that myth is true that that helps ripen them up.
No, not a myth. All fruits produce ethylene gas and that makes other fruit ripen. Usually though it's avocados you use as they produce a greater quantity per fruit. Personally I just leave the bananas in the fruit bowl for anything from 3 - 6 days and they ripen somewhere in that time. You definitely want the ripe fruit though because the sweetness makes all the difference and, of course, they have a better overall flavour. Just be careful not to overcook as they'll go to mush quite quickly. Add near the end depending on how ripe they are.
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Banana milkshake powder is a funny suggestion, but in all seriousness, there are all sorts of strange ingredients that you wouldn't think of in all types of cooking.
So long as it's not harmful, I really don't have a problem with it if it creates the desired effect with no hassle and no waste. Not really into fruity curries, but I can actually imagine milkshake powder working - banana flavour, sweetness and milk/creamy powder lol.
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Not really into fruity curries...
Neither was I until i tried Kashmiri for the first time. Who'd have thought banana in a curry would be sooooo delish! Lychees on the other hand have absolutely no place in curries as far as my tatste goes...blech!
... but I can actually imagine milkshake powder working - banana flavour, sweetness and milk/creamy powder lol.
Like I said I was only half joking. Price being the main driving force these days due to much competition, if I were a BIR chef and wanted to get banana flavour into my sauce I wouldn't use real bananas that would have to be really ripe to impart much flavour. No, I'd cheat and add banana flavoured milk shake powder as probably the cheapest way to do it.
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They tend to do that light trick with tomatoes here, not so much with bananas though. Definitely not a conspiracy...well, other than to con us into buying unripe fruits! >:(
I bought 2 anyway and when I came home I put them in a bag with some apples, hopefully that myth is true that that helps ripen them up.
No, not a myth. All fruits produce ethylene gas and that makes other fruit ripen. Usually though it's avocados you use as they produce a greater quantity per fruit. Personally I just leave the bananas in the fruit bowl for anything from 3 - 6 days and they ripen somewhere in that time. You definitely want the ripe fruit though because the sweetness makes all the difference and, of course, they have a better overall flavour. Just be careful not to overcook as they'll go to mush quite quickly. Add near the end depending on how ripe they are.
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That's relieving to hear.
I'm just concentrating on the sauce right now, so I add pureed banana because the malaya had banana flavour in the sauce itself. At the moment I'm not adding any meat, or sliced banana.
I don't want too much distracting my tastebuds since the first and last time I had that malaya was in early january.
I've also got a small stomach, so I use half the recipe when test-cooking. The one person portion has me stuffed to the gills, queasy as hell, in pain and not able to bend over or sleep for the next 5 hours or so.
I learned that the hard way :P
I wish that I'd taken a more analytical approach when tasting that first and last malaya, but I had no idea I'd want to really replicate it.
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Banana milkshake powder is a funny suggestion, but in all seriousness, there are all sorts of strange ingredients that you wouldn't think of in all types of cooking.
So long as it's not harmful, I really don't have a problem with it if it creates the desired effect with no hassle and no waste. Not really into fruity curries, but I can actually imagine milkshake powder working - banana flavour, sweetness and milk/creamy powder lol.
Nah I agree, if it works, it's cheap and if it's not harmful I don't mind them using whatever.
Banana milkshake powder could be a substitute for a portion of cream, all of the sugar and the banana.
You'd have to find a brand that doesn't taste "chemically" though.
I'm not one for sweet curries in general but I did approve of my local indian take-away malaya and kashmiri. I'm making it for the family on christmas. It'll be the only BIR style curry there, the other stuff that I plan to serve is more traditional indian.
They're the kind of people who can't stand hot/spiciness, so I thought a korma style recipe might be a crowd pleaser.
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Not really into fruity curries...
Neither was I until i tried Kashmiri for the first time. Who'd have thought banana in a curry would be sooooo delish! Lychees on the other hand have absolutely no place in curries as far as my tatste goes...blech!
... but I can actually imagine milkshake powder working - banana flavour, sweetness and milk/creamy powder lol.
Like I said I was only half joking. Price being the main driving force these days due to much competition, if I were a BIR chef and wanted to get banana flavour into my sauce I wouldn't use real bananas that would have to be really ripe to impart much flavour. No, I'd cheat and add banana flavoured milk shake powder as probably the cheapest way to do it.
I hate lychees in curries. I hate canned lychees, they're slimy and gross. I do like fresh lychees but rarely if ever buy them due to the price.
No that's not right, that sounds weird. I have bought far more expensive fruit (durian to be precise) and was perfectly okay with justifying the cost. But that's addiction talking, and I'm not addicted to lychees.
Banana milk shake powder would be a great solution for my trouble with finding ripe bananas. But the problem with banana flavoured anything is that it often tastes "chemically/artificial".
So I prefer using actual bananas, and I have the luxury of time and a few extra pennies to spend on a test recipe. Time until christmas rolls around at least. Better get my butt into gear.
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Dig a hole, bury it then cook a proper curry.
That will add depth to a korma ;)
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Dig a hole, bury it then cook a proper curry.
That will add depth to a korma ;)
I'm surprised it took 15 comments for someone to bring this up.
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Dig a hole, bury it then cook a proper curry.
That will add depth to a korma ;)
What classic.
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Someone had to say it ;)
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Dig a hole, bury it then cook a proper curry.
That will add depth to a korma ;)
Not wrong there mate, korma and curry are not 2 words that should be used in the same sentence