Help! How to make a curry?

I have a great butter chicken recipe - my SIL (Indian) taught me. It’s a lot of faff though, you have to blend a load of ingredients including cashews, fried onions, and then cook the chicken up separately, finally bring all together. I usually make it with a biryani too and it’s a whole lot of effort. I haven’t made it for a few years now. I’m so lazy cooking wise these days.

KORMA:

Chicken 1 tsp Fresh Ginger
1 Red Chilli 1 tbs Oil
2 Onions, chopped 1 tsp Tumeric
150 g Thick yoghurt 1 tsp Garma Masala
3 Cloves Garlic Juice ½ Lemon
75g Creamed Coconut (very thick in a tin)

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1. Cut chicken into cubes and mix with Ginger, Garlic and Yoghurt
2. Liquidise Onion, Chilli and a little water
3. Heat Oil add Turmeric & Garma Masala
4. Add onion & chilli paste, fry for 10 minutes
5. Add chicken and cook 10 minutes
6. Add Coconut cream and enough water to cover Chicken
7. Simmer 30/40 minutes
8. Add Salt and Lemon to taste and serve.

Yes a good spice cupboard is essential. I buy spices in big packets from our local Turkish shop. Whole ones are better.

This is a bit of a cheat recipe, but it's super easy and delicious - even my 2 year old loves it.

In a large casserole tin brown onions and stewing lamb, add in two aubergines, half a jar of rogan josh paste and a glug of red wine vinegar and stir. Put in oven with the lid on for a few hours. When it's done, mix yoghurt in and eat.

Prashad cookbook took my curries to a different level. I have a spice tin too which is essential if you want to make curries regularly. Prashad daals are all fantastic

Google?

This is the thread you need. The consensus was that it’s definitely the onions, which need to cooked far longer than you could ever imagine.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/food_and_recipes/4884208-tell-me-the-secret-of-a-great-curry?reply=129599827

We use Spice Tailor. It's just a packet of spices and you buy the meat separately. I like the Tikka Masala but my OH prefers the spicier ones.

The things I find that make a difference are

1. use fresh ginger and chillies
2. dry fry dried spices
3. make the sauce before you add the meat or vegetables. So instead of frying the meat and then adding liquid, add the meat and vegetables (apart from onions which you need to fry in the spices) AFTER you’ve added the liquid. This was a revelation to me
4. cook it all slowly for a long time.

The secret is in the onions, two of my Indian colleagues told me! This was the process one gave me- ingredients vary curry to curry so I've not included.

Fry the onions first, until they're softened and translucent- then add a bit of water and simmer until it disappears (keep going like a risotto until they're broken down). Then add garlic, ginger, spices. Simmer for a few mins, add chopped chilli to taste and a couple of whole chilli's (to be removed before blending- if doing so). Add tomato paste for 2mins then add a tin of chopped tomatoes. I then blend, and add in my (already cook- forgot to mention- I usually grill the marinated chicken to get a bit of char). Add some cream, serve with pilau rice and a naan (both super easy to make!).

I don't think I've got it quite right yet (despite following the process). DP reckons the last one was banging- the first one I did, I forgot to remove the whole chilli before blending and it was a bit hot 😅

my favourite at the moment is Dishoom Ruby

it’s a labour of love, but I make double quantities of the sauce and it freezes beautifully. I then defrost and have with chicken, seafood or paneer.

I only use a third of the oil it recommends though.

Also placemarking thankyou!

And don't cook and serve on the same day. They always improve by being served the next day!

Cooking it slowly! I think that is the secret. Also cooking the onions for long enough, about 20 mins at least on a medium heat - they should be much darker than golden - the caramelised flavours really help build depth.

If you want korma this pdf has the recipe from a popular chain of Indian restaurant. I've not tried the korma but other recipes are good and as close to restaurant curries as any other I have tried.

https://www.scribd.com/doc/200662620/The-Ashoka-Cookbook-by-Sanjay-Majhu

And a general tip - if you don't use chicken on the bone for curries, a stock cube can add a bit of depth. Also far more oil and salt than you'd think necessary.

I’m a Madhur Jaffrey fan too.

I find recipes using a base sauce are the best. You can portion and freeze the sauce so its a bit of work but lasts a while. I also buy the frozen garlic and ginger cubes to save time. The curry guy has some decent recipes.

I love Meera Sodha's recipes. There are three recipes I enjoy
Cauliflower korma - The roasted cauliflower takes on a really delicious texture in the curry, and I've borrowed this technique for other recipes
Paneer butter masala - This one is rich and delicious. I'm sure you could substitute the paneer for chicken if that's your preference
Cauliflower, cashew, pea and coconut curry - Simple to make and feels like comfort food. I usually roast the cauliflower in advance as I prefer the texture that way.

Sorry not sure how to follow without posting.
=)
Punjabi chicken recipes are good and easy to follow. One of my favourites

We can't have dairy but love a thick creamy curry so I've found using coconut cream and adding ground almonds always makes it lovely. If not horrendously calorific!

Bookmarking!

My DS2 makes fantastic curry’s, absolutely awesome Korma, I am up, thanks bloody menopause. He is asleep, but I will post link later to the recipe he uses. You will need a good spice shop, we have spent a lot of money on spices, but been totally worth it. His curry is just a good as a takeaway, he makes the base gravy, poaches the chicken etc. the chicken is so soft and tender.

As someone who's culture is at stake here let me tell you two things..

1. Quality of spices is everything - and make your own garam masala
2. You need to put time and love into a good curry

I always use Pataks paste. There are different options but I use the chicken tikka masalla. It a winner in this house.

Nisha katona’s recipes from Thos mornjng are amazing. We’ve tried and loved them all https://www.itv.com/thismorning/tags/nishakatona