A  few times I've made some really nice raita using fresh mint
I bought it from the local Asian shops
I'd like to grow some (quite expensive to buy a bunch)
Does anyone know what is the common Asian mint sold?
It's always there, along with, the fresh fenugreek and coriander

Can't leave this book completely alone
Every now and then I do another recipe
This time it's Saag Paneer
I made the Paneer too (recipe in the book)
The picture shows what you how much paneer you get
I used 2 litres for that, so it's not much of a yield
You have to weigh down the curds to make them solid
Reckon they use a lot more pressure when it's made commercially
My paneer was sort of light and fluffy!
I pre deep fried it (like they do in the takeaways)
It didn't half bubble in the oil!
I made Kris's base in my big pot
Very good pot that
The spinach was canned (as per recipe)

I always finish of the poppadoms in the oven
It really does make a big difference
If you haven't done it before then try it
They turn out less greasy and it adds an extra layer of flavour

the naans were made in my tandoor
Paul Clearey's recipe (Pacman and it's on this site)

served with raita, mango chutney and lime pickle  (only a quid at Morrisons at the moment)

very enjoyable curry

I have seen a veg byriani demo
And what can I say?
These chefs are absolutely amazing and there is no way you could copy this as well as they do it
Listen to this:-

Vegetable Byriani

This is an odd curry, made in two stages
A sauce, and a sauce mixed with cooked Pillau rice, in a wok
The sauce with the Pillau rice is almost identical to the first sauce

The sauce

Ingredients:-
4 tablespoons curry gravy oil
2 desertspoons of runny ginger garlic puree
1 desertspoon tomato puree (slightly watered)
1 ? dessertspoon spice mix (turmeric,paprika,madras curry powder,,coriander & cumin)
? teaspoon chilli powder
? teaspoon salt
1 ladle of curry gravy
1 tablespoon frozen peas
1 tablespoon cooked chick peas
?  portion of precooked veg
1 tablespoon fresh coriander
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek

Heat the oil for a couple of minutes
Add the garlic ginger, tomato puree, salt, chilli powder and spice mix
Cook a couple of minutes and reduce down
Add a little curry gravy (a couple of dessertspoons)
Cook and dry the mix
Add the peas and stir a minute
Add the chick peas
Cook another five minutes
Then add the precooked veg and the rest of the curry gravy, fresh coriander and dried fenugreek
Cook until fairly dry

This is the second sauce which goes with the rice
It is almost the same

The second sauce

Ingredients:-
4 tablespoons curry gravy oil
2 tablespoons of finely chopped garlic & ginger
2 desertspoons of runny ginger garlic puree
1 desertspoon tomato puree (slightly watered)
1 ? dessertspoon spice mix (turmeric,paprika,madras curry powder,,coriander & cumin)
? teaspoon salt
2 desertspoons fresh chopped onion
1 ladle of curry gravy
?  portion of precooked veg
1 tablespoon fresh coriander
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek
2 dessertspoons of curry gravy oil
1 portion of precooked Pillau rice

Heat the oil for a couple of minutes
Add the chopped garlic ginger
Fry for a couple of minutes the add the garlic ginger puree, tomato puree, fresh onion, salt and spice mix
Cook a couple of minutes and reduce down
Add a little curry gravy (a couple of dessertspoons)
Cook and dry the mix
Add the precooked veg and a little curry gravy, fresh coriander and dried fenugreek
Cook until nearly dry

In a wok heat two dessertspoons of curry gravy oil for two minutes
Stir fry the rice for a couple minutes
Add the second sauce and mix well
Heat right through
In another pan, fry a one egg omelete
Pour rice mix into a carton with the omelette on top
Pour the first sauce into another carton
Serve

I think this only cost ?6 and the kitchen would be totalled, if you did it at home
It's a lovely meal and I'm sticking to buying it
Fantastic!!

I have just been shown how to cook Vegetable Rhogan Josh
You can substitute precooked chicken instead and it will work
This is very different to recipe I was shown at Bengal Cuisine and a much nicer meal
It is cooked again in two pans
The amount of garlic used is frightening
Very interesting, the use of ground coriander late into the recipe
Also used is oil, from the deep pan fryer
We've talked about that before, and how the oil picks up flavours of bhajees etc
I mentioned black cardamoms in curry gravy
This place doesn't use them
Neither do they use panch poran in precooked veg
The veg are cooked in oil,garlic ginger mix,onion and spice mix
They "do" in their own steam
I checked on the mystery "tomato" powder
It is definitely paprika
It seems everything I learn comes with two "facts" that I find are wrong
Never mind
Here's the recipe

Rhogan Josh


Ingredients:-
4 desertspoons of curry gravy oil
2 desertspoon prefried onions
1 desertspoon garlic ginger puree (very runny, oily and yellow)
1 desertspoon tomato puree
1 desertspoon spice mix (turmeric,paprika,coriander,curry powder no chilli or cumin in it)
1 desertspoon chilli powder
2 ladles of runny curry gravy
1 precooked? potato
? fresh tomato
1 large precooked cauliflower floret
3 tablespoons of precooked mixed veg (peas,cabbage aubergine,ladies fingers)
1 desertspoon fresh chopped coriander
1 teaspoon dried methi
2 teaspoon ground coriander


Heat the curry oil for a minute on high
Add the prefried onions and fry for a minute
Add the garlic ginger and shake the pan vigourously while stirring, for another minute
A few flames happened here
Add the tomato puree and stir a couple of times
Add the spice mix, chilli powder and fresh tomato
Cook for another couple of minutes stirring
Add 1 ladle of curry gravy and stir a couple of minutes
Add precooked potato, cauliflower and stir
Add the precooked veg and mix in fir a couple of minutes
Add fresh coriander, dried fenugreek and just one teaspoon of the ground coriander
Stir for a minute then add the other ladle of curry gravy
Put a lid on the pan for three minutes to get it really hot
While this is heating, start the second part of the recipe

Ingredients 2:-

3 tablespoons of oil taken from the deep pan fryer (used for onion bhajees and pakora etc)
4 desertspoon of finely chopped garlic
1 desertspoon fresh chopped coriander

Heat the oil for a minute then heat up the garlic
Cook for about two minutes until it goes a nutty brown (not black)
Take of the heat, add the fresh coriander and stir it in

Go back to the first pan and take lid of and add the remaining spoon of ground coriander
Stir in then pour into a take away carton
Pour the fried garlic/coriander/oil on top and it?s ready

Has anyone got access to a catering gas cooker?
I think the heat from these gas rings plays a very important part
This is the missing element
It transforms the curry gravy from a "boiled" taste to a fried one
Last night I heated up small amounts, of previously cooked curries, in the microwave.
It almost dried them out and I needed to add a little water back
But it turned these curries very savoury and sweet
It also boosted the aroma
I can't get that intensity of heat, from my gas cooker, with the quantities I cook in
Surely, after all our research, there is nothing else it could be
Noone has turned up a missing ingredient
All the demos reveal no special way to cook them
In fact when you see them cooked, it almost seems to be done in a leisurely way
No hurry about anything
I have seen chefs heat the oil, and a bit of curry gravy with spice, then sit down for two minutes before inspecting the pan!