Tell me the secret of a great curry

[PurpleSky300]

So, I love curry and for years, I’ve been trying all kinds of recipes for my favourites (jalfrezi, karahi, ceylon) – BIR-style ones on YouTube, cheat’s gourmet powders and blends, random things from Internet blogs, you name it.

They’re never terrible but they’re never fantastic. Every time I come away thinking “meh” – it’s a bit bitter, or too tomatoey, or lacking sweetness and nowhere near the quality you’d get in a restaurant. So what’s the secret to getting it right consistently? I’m following recipes but maybe I’m not fully understanding what the ingredients ‘do’?

Yes, having tried a few biryani recipes, Dishoom's was spot on. Once I get the hang of the sequence and marinading the chicken, I think it's pretty easy as well. The recipe in the book starts with the rice rather than the marinade which seems odd.

The recipe in the book starts with the rice rather than the marinade which seems odd.

Yes, I agree. I started with the marinade and marinaded the chicken for a couple of hours.

I have saved the Chicken Ruby Curry for another day @Stickortwister. Thank you for the link.

And thank you @PurpleSky300 for starting this thread. I love Indian food and am always looking for more inspiration.

Double the onions; cook them for ages.

Your recipe sounds delicious. What spices do you use and what are the quantities? I'd love to try it this week. Thanks

It very much varies based on what I have in the house! I often use one of those pots of korma paste (I think its Sharwoods). My 4 yr old will eat that, but if I am cooking it for adults I add some dried chilli flakes too it.

If I am using dried spices I generally use a combination of garam masala, cumin, cinnamon, chili flakes, pepper, turmeric and loads of garlic. I don't really measure it - probably around 1tbsp of garam masala and 1tsp of the others.

Thanks

The curry guy book! My husband and I love making curries and this book has escalated them to restaurant standards honestly it's astounding!!!

Using fenugreek seeds in the base, fry with onions, ginger garlic etc. No need to grind.
Making your own coconut milk. Grate fresh coconut into a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for a while, 10 to 20 minutes. Drain the liquid into a suitable recepticle, pressing all moisture out of the grated coconut. The liquid is called first milk.
Repeat the process with your grated coconut, leaving for 20 tp 30 minutes. This is the second milk, which you can use in the intial cooking, then, near the end of the cooking time, enrich with first milk. Nowhere near as fatty and intense as tinned or block coconut. You can add the grated coconut to the curry, if you want, or use in baking, so no waste.

Someone told me a pinch of bicarbonate of soda helps get onions browned nicely - is it true?

Fresh coconuts are not readily available where I live @FelicityFlops, and TBH I cannot be bothered with the faff of making my own coconut milk, plus it is cheaper to buy a tin.

I have to agree, making your own coconut milk is way too much faff! (and I could easily walk out and buy a fresh coconut if I were so inclined). You can easily customise a tin or block by just adding hot water, if it's too rich.

Just coming back to the report that I made a curry last night which all in, took about 3 hours. Slow cooking those onions was a game changer. The nicest curry I have ever made!!

Excellent! I've been cooking the onions for a long time as a result of this thread and it does make SUCH a difference. I've also stopped using tomatoes as much and started experimenting with cream, yoghurt, tomato paste etc.