Curry Recipes Online
Beginners Guide => Just Joined? Introduce Yourself => Topic started by: StoneCut on May 29, 2012, 09:27 AM
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Hi there !
I'm so glad I found this site and its very knowledgeable members!
I can hopefully soon enjoy a proper BIR curry again, as I always do on my trips to the UK, thanks to this site. So far, I've had to resort to either traditional curry recipes at home or use a glass of Pataks, but even those are really hard to get in Germany ever since you fine folk pulled most of your troops back :/
Anyway, so far I've been collecting info in order to create some primers such as this Bruce Edwards document I made:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dx2juzgzf4xnicp/Bruce%20Edwards%20-%20Curry%20House%20Cookery%20%28Complete%29.pdf (https://www.dropbox.com/s/dx2juzgzf4xnicp/Bruce%20Edwards%20-%20Curry%20House%20Cookery%20%28Complete%29.pdf)
I also did the same for all of the Ashoka recipes that Panpot posted. Next up is doing the same for Cory Anders' "Az" recipes. After that I want to make a master recipe collection and analyze the respective recipes in order to find average amounts of spices etc. As you can see I have a lot of work to do still.
My goal is to come up with really good recipes for some of the basic "mild" curries, such as Chicken Tikka Masala, Madras or Rogan Josh along with the proper base sauces and spice mixes. I'm also looking for good recipes for Samosas and Onion Bhajis as well as sauces to go with them.
However, before I move deeply into those areas I'd like to try some member-tested proven recipes first. The only Indian Restaurant we have in my area is really crap, it tastes like canned food, so most of the recipes on this site will probably blow that place away ...
Here's where I could use some help from you people:
- What is the most popular base sauce / which one would you recommend ? Please note that I can get most Indian spices quite easily, but any recipes based on Curry Glasses such as Pataks are hard to do for me to do - plus, I have reservations even though most people do like Dipuraja1's recipes, for example.
- Which spice mix should I use ? Keep in mind that I'd like to start with a well-proven and good one before I start wasting money on perfecting things (I'm ready for that; just not yet)
- Based on the previous recommendations: Which recipes for CTM, Madras and Rogan Josh do you suggest that deliver a fairly good BIR approximation ?
- Are there any Samosas recipes with a vegetarian filling ? I'm trying to recreate some Samosas I had years ago. I believe they had corn, peas and probably Potato or Chick Pea puree in them. Is this a common filling (apart from Keema) or are these actually "african" samosas (I've been told that Samosas also get cooked in Africa).
- I keep reading about smashing Onion Bhajis - all the different Bhaji styles I've had so far were actually balls (mind you, I only ever visit the same area in the UK). Are these smashed Onion Bhajis common and is there any advantage to doing it ?
- Talking about Cory Anders' recipes: Who exactly is "Az" ?
- What/Where is this restaurant webcam I keep finding references to in old posts ?
As for actual input from my side (food for thought):
I've previously been studying a lot of Copycat recipes for (fast) food from the US. One of the most interesting authors in that area is Todd Wilbur. Anyway, one of the things you often stumble over when trying to create that "Restaurant" taste in this area is that it's considered "not possible" simply because they produce totally different amounts commercially. The amount of oxygen that food gets exposed to in a commercial manner is much lower this way. That is one of the reasons why commercially produced ice cream by "proper" gelaterias is so hard to copy even if you have the exact recipe: When you make ice cream at home it gets much more exposure to oxygen because the pot is much smaller so the turning of the mass exposes more of it (and all the time). This does not happen in this way in big-scale production.
Maybe similar factors play into making BIR curry ? Maybe that's why the Curry Base pots are always filled to the brim ?
I really don't know but I sure would appreciate if any of you could give me some pointers regarding my questions. Cheers!
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Here's 2 links for the restaurant webcams Stonecut.
http://currys4u.com/ (http://currys4u.com/)
http://maliksindian.co.uk/ (http://maliksindian.co.uk/)
So the curry secret ingredient could just be fresh air? :P
Frank. :)
p.s. The worst curry i EVER had was in Germany! It tasted like baked beans with mayonaise >:( AND,, the chef was from York!!!
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Hello and welcome aboard :)
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Thanks for the links to the webcams. Very interesting !
Yeah, most curry over here is terrible. Hence my quest to make my own. If more brits would still live here (this place used be packed with them) I'd have some people to try out my new recipes, too :)
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Welcome I'm a newbie as well. Where abouts in Germany are you?
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Hi Stonecut and welcome to cr0 !,
Having spent 7 years in Detmold ( Nr. Hanover ) in the 80's I feel for you with regards curry houses ... that said there's nowhere does Bratwurst , Currywurst , Bockwurst , chips with mayo , Frikadelle ( spelling ?? ) and so-on quite like the Germans ... I love a good schnell- imbiss .. oh and the beer goes down well too .. a little too well on occasion as I recall !! :)
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Well, I live in Osnabr?ck. Actually, in one of the houses where the Brits used to be located :p Detmold is pretty close to me (about 60 km), I've been there a bunch of times.
I just wish I could go into one of the remaining few Naafis (none are in Osnabr?ck, though) and buy some of the stuff I need. Unfortunately, although I'm technically british I was actually born and raised here in Germany (speaking German as primary language) and my dad's long out of the army so I have no access whatsoever :/
I'm not gonna argue that we have really good food (and beer here), most people probably know that. I was a bit amazed that you love a Schnellimbiss, though - don't you people want vinegar on your chips, hehe ?
Well, anyway - while it would likely be possible to get some D?ner place to give me their secrets if I pay enough, I'll have a really hard time to get any proper Curry advice over here. There is a grand total of 4 "Indian" restaurants within the next 100 kms ...
I actually have another question:
In CBM's book I read that all recipes require Cassia bark (and not cinnamon bark), whereas tons of other recipes mention Cinammon bark instead. So, what's right ?!