Show Posts

Profile Info

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Topics - raygraham

Pages: 1 ... 3 4 [5]

British Indian Restaurant Recipe Requests / King Prawn Patia

« on: August 09, 2005, 06:01 PM »

Hi all,

Does anyone have a good restaurant recipe for a King Prawn Patia or even a Chicken Patia.

Ray

Curry Sauce, Curry Base , Curry Gravy Recipes, Secret Curry Base / Curry Base from Down Under

« on: August 09, 2005, 08:52 AM »

Hi All,

Came across a recipe I recieved from a lad in New Zealand who used to live in Chesterfield. He got it from a Bangladeshi Chef. Has also sent a photo of the finished product and it looks like the real thing. Here is the base sauce and also a recipe for a curry to make from it.
In his own words,

RESTAURANT CURRY GRAVY
[Thank you Shippon Tandoori, Chesterfield]

You will need a pressure cooker for this, 8 ltr or over.
If you do not have one then a stock pot [what the takeaways use] is OK but takes a lot longer.

ADD THESE INGREDIENTS TO THE PRESSURE COOKER:

.
A SMALL BUNCH OF CORIANDER LEAVES
1/2 A LARGE RED CAPSICUM DICED
2/3 OF A TIN OF CARROTS
1 TIN OF TOMATOES
2 1/2 LEVEL TSP TURMERIC
2 CINNAMON STICKS
7 GREEN CARDAMOM?S
2 HEAPED TSP CUMIN POWDER
1 LEVEL TSP FENUGREEK POWDER
3 HEAPED TSP CORIANDER POWDER
1 LEVEL TSP GARAM MASALA
1 LEVEL TSP GINGER POWDER
3 TSP SALT
2 FULL TSP SHARWOODS MILS CURRY PASTE
1 1/2 DESERT SPOONS SUGAR
50 ML? VEG OIL
1 .4? ?LTRS OF CHOPPED ONIONS
6 PLUMP GARLIC CLOVES
1 .5 LTRS WATER

COOK ON HIGH FOR 15 MINS.
REMOVE THE CINNAMON AND GREEN CARDAMOM?S? ?[ SAVE FOR PILAU RICE!!!]
BLEND FOR AT LEAST 2 MINS. [NICE AND SMOOTH]
The end result should be just the right consistency if pressure cooked.
The Gravy tastes like a bland curry on its own, and the addition of further spicing for each dish gives much more robust, individual flavours.

Here is an easy recipe for when the sauce is ready.......and gives one takeaway sized portion.

In your favourite curry frypan add a good dollop of oil......heat .
Chuck in a finely sliced med onion and stir fry 1? min
Add 2 tsp garlic puree and 1 tsp ginger puree and stir fry for 1 min
Add a heaped dessert spoon of any curry paste [Sharwoods mild is good] and a pinch of methi leaf and stir fry 1? min
Add a ladle of GRAVY and stir fry 3 mins
Add precooked meat [roast chicken breast is great] and mix in.
Add a pinch of garam masala, boil 1 more min and EAT.
If you think there is too much oil drain? some off............you should cook in plenty of oil though. More is better here for good results.

Regards

Ray G

Spices / What Cinnamon Sticks to get

« on: August 08, 2005, 08:09 PM »

Hi all,

Just a quick query. At my local Asian supermarkets I buy whole cinnamon called "Cassia Bark" and resemble the outside bark chippings of a tree being dark and rugged in looks. On the other hand my local Holland and Barrett sells Cinnamon Quills ( dead posh ), much smoother and light brown in colour, with a stronger smell and the shape and thickness of a pencil. So which am I to use or doesn't it matter?

Lets Talk Curry / The Balti Kitchen Video

« on: July 31, 2005, 03:06 PM »

Hi All,
I noted with interest a few of you that had bought The Balti Kitchen Video. I have tried to find it on the net in DVD but to no avail. However, the best price for a two set video (Parts 1 & 2) was at Sendit.com for ?5.98p including postage for both tapes. Tesco also do it for about the same.
Has anyone actually followed these tapes with any success? I thought for that kind of money it was worth a shot even if there are better recipes on the market so have taken the plunge and ordered it.

Regards

Ray G

Lets Talk Curry / Secrets of the Indian Restaurant Curry

« on: June 01, 2005, 11:10 PM »

Hi all,
First to introduce myself as a newbie to the site.
My name is Ray and I live in Keighley near Bradford which is arguably one of the great Curry Capitals of the U.K.
I am a Paramedic by profession and a curryholic in my spare time having been addicted some thirty five years ago. This site gives me a chance to while away the quiet times on nights ( not that I get many! ), to dream about the next steaming bowl of madras and appreciate the enthusiasm of fellow curry lovers around the world.
Bradford has hundreds of restaurants and take-outs and a good old madras or vindaloo with chapatis and rice will still only set you back ?4.50p at some of the smaller take-aways.
The well known Karachi restaurant still serves up great, cheap curry to many a skint student and has been doing it for forty years or more and is packed all the time.
There is a huge choice of restaurants here and some I could recommend as more than fantastic and sadly some that are a guaranteed ticket to the bog next day!

Like many I have been after the "secret" for years and have come close many a time but not quite!

While lurking around the site I have found it interesting and lively and have a great respect for the extreme and sincere dedication you all have and will share my experience where I can.
Having had an input on the in2curry website in the past I started trying the curries from the e-book "Secrets of the Indian Restaurant Curry" which is about ?20 online and found this to be very good indeed. Not spot on but good enough to rate as a close contender to the "real taste". I am writing today to ask other peoples opinions of this book if anyone else has cooked from it. If not I can post a couple of recipes if anyone fancies giving it a go.
I find Kriss Dhillon to be great for the base sauce but a bit dissapointing after adding the rest of the ingredients suggested.
Trying to cook Pat Chapman recipes takes me so far from the restaurant taste I have since given him up as a bad job.
I have taken hints from Pete on this site to good effect and am now closer than I have ever been in 30 years to the restaurant taste.
Darths efforts are commendable as he seems to live by curry alone............he must be gradually embalming himself from the inside out! Good on you Master Darth!

I believe we may not be able to completely recreate this elusive taste at home as I think the huge volumes the restaurants make takes away the margins of error we must have using much smaller measures. On the Curryhouse website it says exactly this and I think a small household pan on the stove is too small to maintain consistency in taste and thats why we rarely get the same thing twice. As much as I try I rarely get the same taste twice.
One of my locals cooks the base sauce in a huge pan that must hold 10 gallons so an odd few onions here and bulbs of garlic there isnt going to make a difference at all, consistent every time!

I don't believe it? is such a secret or there is a conspiracy to keep the secret from us but I am open to criticism on this topic. I think the technique is there for us all and can see that users on this site will find the answer one day. It is just a matter of perseverance and enthusiasm and this site has all that and more.
Another observation of mine is that curries from restaurants in the south are more rich and pungeant than those from this area. Is it me or are there regional differences. I remember when I lived down south I could rarely finish a whole curry as it was so rich and full of Butter Ghee.
As a final word my favourite curry is a Chicken Jalfrezi but I can get at least 10 different tasting versions of the same dish at my local take aways, some very dry and some with a load of sauce.

Take this contribution as a letter of encouragement to all of you out there. Keep up the efforts, don't give in and I am sure the "code will be cracked"!!

Hope I haven't bored everyone to death.

Keep up the fantastic work
Good Luck
Ray

Pages: 1 ... 3 4 [5]