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Topics - madpower

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Supplementary Recipes (Spice Mixes, Masalas, Pastes, Oils, Stocks, etc) / Tomato sauce experiment

« on: April 05, 2020, 09:19 PM »

Instead of adding water to diloute tomato puree try using the juice from a can of fruit cocktail,it makes a good bit of difference taste and smell wise,i used aldis brand,it is not syrup its like water and not over sweet,i honestly think you will be glad you tried it

Supplementary Recipes (Spice Mixes, Masalas, Pastes, Oils, Stocks, etc) / Tomato sauce hack

« on: March 09, 2020, 09:23 AM »

A mate of mine was making us a curry with a jar of pataks balti sauce,i asked for a taste of it out the jar and the first thing that sprang to mind was that it tasted similar to a bir kitchens tomato sauce i once sneaked a taste off,it tastes mildly tangy and quite tomatoey,so as i like to experiment i went and bought a jar and liquidized it and i made some bir curries using the same amount of the balti sauce instead of using the watered down tomato puree version to cook the spices in ,the curries i have made are so much tastier,i feel it was a big step forward and i wont be turning back,maybe the purists may not like it so perhaps they could look at the ingredients on the jar and have ago at making your own

Supplementary Recipes (Spice Mixes, Masalas, Pastes, Oils, Stocks, etc) / mixed powder recipe

« on: January 28, 2020, 12:25 PM »

A friend texted saying give this mixed powder a try,he got it from his tandori chef friend,i tried it last night and it is pretty good i have to say,if you are going to have ago at it you will need a spice grinder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp sesame seeds

add to a grinder until the seeds are a powder,before i cooked with it i thought it smelled and tasted better than the one i have been using,it made a better curry as well

Starters & Side Dishes / Simple naan recipe

« on: November 27, 2019, 12:35 PM »

I was making my favorite dough recipe for a pizza,i had some left over so i had a brain wave to make a naan out of it and it turned out pretty good i think

place flour into a bowl and add enough greek yogurt to make into a ball and leave covered in a warm place for at least 1 hour

take enough dough to make a naan, roll into a ball a press a well in the center,put in 1-2 tsp nigella seeds,desert spoon desicated coconut,fold the dough on top of them and then roll out your naan and cook in a hot fring pan for a couple of minuets each side,i always put mine into a plastic bag to steam and soften some more,its surprisngly tasty considering the dough as just 2 ingredients

Traditional Indian Recipes / My best ever curry recipe

« on: November 23, 2019, 03:11 AM »

I have been cooking curries once a week for my sisters mates for the last few weeks ,after they had some that i had made at my sisters house, they wanted their families to try it so ive been kept busy in the kitchen cooking for families ,the reports i get back are amazing,things like its better than any of the restaurants around here and they will be ordering again,i was not going to post a recipe again because lets face it nobody cooks them unless you are a established chef,but its too good not too.

The recipe serves 4
In a saucepan before putting the pan on the heat add enough veg oil to wet the bottom,add 1 tbls of finely diced red onion ,spread the following whole spices over the onions,5 cracked green cardamons,2 cloves,1 star anise,2 tej petta leaves and 2 1 inch pieces of cinnamon stick,put the saucepan on the lowest heat and cook the spices without stirring for 15 to 20 minuets making sure the onions are browned ,if you stir you dont get the flavor

gently add a tbls of gg past moving the spices as little as possible and drizzle a tble spoon of veg oil over the paste and cook for about 10 minuets before adding 4 medium sized white onions on top,again without stirring,drizzle over 1/4 of a cup of oil and cook with lid on still on a low eat for 15 minuets,now give it a gentle stir and add enough water to cover the onion before adding salt to your taste,1 green chillie and 1 desert spoon of turmeric,simmer for 1 hour adding more water if needed

after this remove all the spices but squeeze in the seeds from the cardamon and then blend until smooth,return to the pan and gently cook for 20 mins,basically what you now have is a base,i have not tried making a bir yet but it is pretty flavorsome already

now you need to make a bhagar to add to it
in a pan add 1/4 tsp of crushed coriander seeds,1/4 tsp fennel seeds and cumin seeds,gently warm them for 2 mins then add 1 desert spoon of veg oil along with 3 tsps of corinnder powder,1 tsp of mild curry powder,1 tsp cumin powder,1 tsp garam masala,warm on a low heat for 30 seconds then add 1 tblsp of tomato puree and 1/2 a cup of water,bring to a boil then add the juice from 1/4 of a lemon and a tsp of sugar,yogurt is optional,i am not sure if it made any difference to the finished curry as i tried with and without,cook gently for 20 mins before adding too the base

In a frying pan fry 2 thickly sliced onions until soft then add to curry
fry green peppers to add and add pre cooked chicken
add 3 sliced tomatoes and a tblsp of veg oil to a frying pan along with a tsp of paprika and 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper,cook until tomatoes are soft then add to the curry,this gives the curry another texture and lovely flavor,cook the curry for 5 to 10 mins before stirring in 1/2 tsp garam masala and fresh coriander to finish

It sounds like a mamoth task but it is not really,do it once and it quite easy to remember,the most important part is to try not to stir the spices you lose the depth of flavor

i could have made everyone on the forum a curry quicker than it took me to write this recipe

Traditional Indian Recipes / beautiful chicken curry

« on: October 02, 2019, 03:26 AM »

Even though i know nobody will try this recipe which is a shame because it is so damn good i just had to post it in the hope someone will,it beats all my local Ta's ,i dont think they will be seeing me again,there is a lot more depth of flavor,trust me you will be glad you put in the effort and once you have made it you will see it is not as complicated as it might sound ,this recipe is enough for 2 to 3 servings

firstly you need to make some crispy onions,so thinly slice one medium sized onion and cook in 1/2 cup of veg oil in a saucepan on a medium heat until dark brown,remove from oil and set aside
in the same pan fry 2 large onions gently with lid on until soft and golden,put the onions along with the oil into a blender and liquidize until smooth and set aside

This is the important bit,i learned from a pro chef the secret to getting maximum flavor out of whole spices is not to stir them,if you do then the flavor will not be there,add to a clean saucepan enough veg oil just to wet the bottom,add 1 tblsp of finely diced onion sprinkled all over the oil,now drop in 4 green cardamon pods,3 cloves,break some cinnamon stick length ways and add 3 pieces about 2 inch long and 1 star anise and a tej petta leaf spread apart,cook this on a very low heat until the onions are light brown,i try to cook for about 20 mins before sprinkling in a few crushed black pepper corns and coriander seeds,a pinch each of fennel and cumin seeds along with the seeds from 3 green cardamon,again do not stir,gently fry until the onions are a dark brown,now add 1 tblsp of gg paste and a desert spoon of green chilli paste and a sprinkle of red chilli flakes ,give it 1 gentle stir and cook the pastes out gently,take of the heat and you can now add the rest of your ingredients which are salt to your taste,a squeeze of lemon juice,a desert spoon of chopped fresh mint,tblsp of chopped coriander herb,3 tblsp of natural yogurt,1 tsp each of turmeric,cumin,coriander,1/2 tsp each of chilli powder,curry powder ,fenugreek leaf and garam masala,also add the brown crispy onions give it a good stir and cook this very gently for 15 mins before adding the liquidized onions with the oil,cook for 5 minutes before adding sliced tomato,pre cooked onion chunks ,pepper,chicken add a dash of water if to thick and cook for further 10 mins,finish of by stirring in 1/2 tsp each of paprika and garam masala,remove the whole spices before serving

like i said it is not as complex as it sounds,i do hope someone cooks this i cant see any curry lover not loving this one

Supplementary Recipes (Spice Mixes, Masalas, Pastes, Oils, Stocks, etc) / Garam masala recipe

« on: July 21, 2019, 11:58 PM »

A friend gave me his garam masala recipe,i have got to say it is far better than anything i have ever produced,it gave tonights curry a beautiful flavor,i used it when i put my other spices in the curry then again at the end like i was told too,it has an ingredient in i had never heard of called triphala powder,it definitely does something for it and i was told the masala is nothing special without it,i borrowed a tsp full of him to make mine and i have ordered some of ebay,

1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds
1 tsp triphala powder
put the above in a spice grinder without roasting,grind until smooth

in a saucepan roast 1 tsp of coriander seeds and 1 tsp curry leaves,roast gently for 2 minuets,leave to cool in bowl then add to the spices in the grinder with the above spices and grind again

roast the following for a couple of minutes
1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
10 pepper corns
2 cloves
3 segments of a star anise
1 tej petta leaf
the seeds from 8 green cardamon pods

leave to cool and then grind with the rest of the spices

Cooking Methods / what i learned from my cooking lesson

« on: July 14, 2019, 09:59 AM »

I seen a advertisement in my local health food store were i buy my spices offering curry courses ,so i thought why not and booked myself in,the chef teacher was a bangladeshi and he was showing us how they cook meals at home ,not bir style,i must admit i experimented the once,i blended some of the sauce and used it as a base and made my best madras yet The beginning of cooking is vital and it is what gives the curry the flavor,this recipe is to serve one but dont increase the quantity of whole spices to much when cooking for more
warm a saucepan up and add enough olive oil just to wet the bottom of the pan,add 2 tsps off finely diced onion and cook slowly until you see them starting to turn brown Do not stir or move them,now add,3 green cardamon pods,1 star anice ,3 cloves, 2 one inch pieces of cassia bark (not cinnamon) and one tej petta leaf,drop them in spreaded apart over the onions DO not stir ,put a lid on and cook on a low heat for about 20 minuets,you want all of the onion to be a dark brown ,then gently add a desert spoon of gg paste and a desert spoon veg oil,try not to stir to much,now stir in 1 onion along with 1/4 of a cup of veg oil and salt to taste,cook onions slowly until turning brown and then add 1/2 tsp each of roasted crushed coriander seeds,cumin seeds and fennel seeds,leave the spices to sit on the top of the onions for about 15 minuets without stirring,now stir in 1 diced tomato and cook until broke down,then stir in 2 desert spoons of mixed powder(,he also had ginger powder and fenugreek leaf in his mix) and 2 desert spoons of yogurt,cook out gently for 15 mins,then add enough hot water to cook gently for 40 minutes before adding your meat until cooked,finally add coriander herb and garam masala,the secret is not stirring the spices when cooking them with onion,i think you will be surprised at the results

Curry Sauce, Curry Base , Curry Gravy Recipes, Secret Curry Base / New base

« on: April 23, 2019, 11:06 PM »

This base hits the mark for me,i dont think i could better it,it is based on a authentic madras curry recipe i came across on youtube but i changed a few things and toned it down a little,i made another 3 dishes with it today and they were full of flavor and delicious,this is one base you will not regret making

firstly make the tomato sauce and set aside,in a blender add 2 large tomatoes,2 Tblsp of yogurt,the bottom of a red bell pepper,1 green chilli and a desert spoon of coconut block or cream,1 desert spoon of squeezed lime juice,1 tblsp tomato puree, liquidize until smooth

In a saucepan add half of a cup of veg oil and 3 onions and fry them slowly until golden brown,it takes around half hour,once the onions are cooked add about 10 crushed coriander seeds,the seeds from 2 green cardamon pods a 2 inch piece of cinnamon stick,1 teja peta bay leaf,a desert spoon of garlic and ginger paste,and fry for a further 10 minutes on a low heat

stir into the onions 1 tsp of madras curry powder,1 tsp of turmeric ,half tsp chilli powder and one tsp of mixed powder,1 desert spoon of salt ,stir spices in just for about 10 seconds and now add the reserved tomato sauce you made earlier

cook out slowly for about 20 minutes remove the tej peta and cinamon stick and then liquidize the base until smooth,return the base to the pan and add a pint of water,simmer for one more hour and the base is ready,adjust the water and seasoning as you feel fit

When ever i go to a new takeaway i always ask to buy some base,i have actually had a couple that have tasted like this,please dont just think here we go just another base this one is honestly closer to the mark and you will not be disappointed i promise.

Curry Sauce, Curry Base , Curry Gravy Recipes, Secret Curry Base / Has anyone tried this base

« on: April 15, 2019, 02:56 PM »

I came across this on youtube , https://youtu.be/RAyEdD8g5Pg, i was wondering if anyone as tried it,if so is it worth me giving it a go,i think that is the first time i have seen cream in a base

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