Curries again

[Smeraldina Rima]

Think the last one was titled 'Curries 2018' so I've started a new thread. Although I'm starting with a question use the thread to talk about curries in any way that you want to.

I made the Al's Kitchen base gravy recommended in the takeaways thread but don't have some of the key ingredients (madras powder, fenugreek, curry powder, fresh chillies) to make most standard curries with it. Can anyone suggest a tasty spice blend involving some of the following?

Cumin
Turmeric
Garam Masala
Coriander powder
Paprika
Asafoeteda
Chili powder
Cardamom pods
Fennel seeds
Ginger
Garlic
Lemon
Lime
Coconut milk
Vegetable oil

Cheers

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Someone on here recommended lightly twatting cardamom pods before adding them. Decent tip. Extra aroma.

Seems to me you've got enough there so long as you have the main thing, meat, beans, chickpeas, lentils etc. Keema, dhal, korma, perhaps.

Fry onion and garlic. Add the ginger. I tend to add some lemon juice while the heat rises, even if half of it evaporates it seems to leave a noticeable tang. Turn heat down a notch and add cumin, chilli powder, coriander powder and paprika (dont overdo the chilli powder unless you are confident you can hack anything). Add some water to keep it moist and stirrable as it becomes a paste. If you have salt, pepper and sugar add a dash of each.

Asafoetida and turmeric do a similar job as far as I'm aware, the former is a bit saltier and should be used more sparingly. Someone recently told me to leave adding the turmeric until nearer the end. Garam masala is also added nearer the end as far as I know, be careful not too add too much. It can make a dish overly bitter.

When the onions get a bit translucent add your meat/veg. You don't have tomatoes or tomato paste so probably good to do something super savoury and dry like a keema or lentil dhal.

I tend to leave the coconut milk til late on as well in order to keep as much creaminess as you can. If the coconut has separated from the water in the can I tend to just put the coconut cream only in there.

Keep it on a bubble, stir, add water now and then and turn the heat down if it's getting too thirsty.

Hard to advise further unless you say what main ingredients you want to go with the curry sauce.

No doubt someone will blow this to smithereens in the next 15 minutes but just going from experience and the list you provided.

[Dex Sawash]

What is the use of powdered coconut milk? Is there a specific circumstance where it is preferable to canned?
Maybe it just for NASA to make astronaut curry?

[Buelligan]

My grandparents used to use a traditional sort of dried coconut milk but it was more like a sort of waxy block of creamy coconut.  A bit like the difference between granulated sugar and loaf sugar.  I think it was a thing before tins were a thing, though that's just a guess.

[Smeraldina Rima]

All sounds like good advice to me, shoulders. Forgot to mention I do have tinned tomatoes and tomato paste, also fresh coriander. I don't eat meat and am short on veg at the moment so mainly thinking about getting the best flavour out of the sauce and experimenting with taking the base gravy in recognisably different directions. Made one with red onions and green peppers last night which was alright but I think some of those steps will help.

Don't really have anything on that, Dex, but just to be sociable... Al's Kitchen Al is always stressing never to use desiccated coconut.

The waxy block sounds like what you can get in a lot of shops now, Buellers, unless I've got the wrong picture of it.

I actually have cartons of coconut milk not cans/tins. Cans/tins seem better but I've never been sure of what the difference is.

[Emma Raducanu]

Beer goes well with curry. As does some decent banter followed by sex behind some bins.

[Smeraldina Rima]

More top tips.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

My grandparents used to use a traditional sort of dried coconut milk but it was more like a sort of waxy block of creamy coconut

Aye, that's still sold, not quite as readily as canned milk. It's really dense so doesn't mix in as well at first but it does have a more intense flavour, so you need less than you'd think to look at.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I've been doing this saag paneer a fair bit recently. So easy.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/jun/26/how-make-perfect-saag-paneer-vegetarian-indian

Since getting my instant pot I've been figuring out biryani's. Although I always tend to use freshly ground spices the best one I did was an adapted hairy bikers chicken pilau that used 4 tablespoons of madras paste.

Another thing the instant pot is great for is Dal Makhani, obviously not worth it with things like split red lentils but great for something that need red kidney beans and urid dal.

Really want to have a go at a rengdang, but the current lockdown and supermarket arrangements have made me stick to what I know and go for simplicity.

[Emma Raducanu]

More top tips.

It's tradition to eat curry with your bare hands. Try it.

[Smeraldina Rima]

That saag paneer looks good. Can get the big leaves of fresh spinach round here so might give it a bash. Will probably stop replying to every single post now, not because I hate the next poster.

[Pink Gregory]

So is there any advice for making/improving curry without using onions?

The ol' lady has a pathological distaste for onions, so I just tend to fry garlic, ginger and chillies together, and then cumin seeds/mustard seeds (and then add liquid), but I doubt I'm getting as much out of the spices as I could be.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

So is there any advice for making/improving curry without using onions?

The ol' lady has a pathological distaste for onions, so I just tend to fry garlic, ginger and chillies together, and then cumin seeds/mustard seeds (and then add liquid), but I doubt I'm getting as much out of the spices as I could be.

I assume shallots are also RIGHT OUT?

[El Unicornio, mang]

Think the last one was titled 'Curries 2018' so I've started a new thread. Although I'm starting with a question use the thread to talk about curries in any way that you want to.

I made the Al's Kitchen base gravy recommended in the takeaways thread but don't have some of the key ingredients (madras powder, fenugreek, curry powder, fresh chillies) to make most standard curries with it. Can anyone suggest a tasty spice blend involving some of the following?

Cumin
Turmeric
Garam Masala
Coriander powder
Paprika
Asafoeteda
Chili powder
Cardamom pods
Fennel seeds
Ginger
Garlic
Lemon
Lime
Coconut milk
Vegetable oil

Cheers

Don't worry about not having curry powder, a lot of it is spices you already have (turmeric, cumin, coriander, etc) and the other ones you don't have aren't an absolute necessity either.

Here's bhuna modified slightly for doing without curry powder

1 Tsp Ground Cumin
A few Cardamom pods
1 Tsp Coriander Powder
1 Tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 Tsp Sugar
1/2 Tsp Chilli Powder
1 Tbsp Fresh Garlic and Ginger Paste (or powdered)
1/2 Tsp Garam Masala

1/2 Fresh Onion
optional:
1/2 Green Pepper
1/2 Fresh Tomato

Meat or non-meat alternative

Base Gravy 2-3 Ladle spoons

[king_tubby]

Just eating a saag paneer right now. Recipe:

* Heat oven to 180
* Chop yer block of paneer in to cubes
* Stick the cubes of paneer in to a roasting tin with a bit of oil, stir about
* Roast until they've browned and crisped.

This is loads better than deep frying them for the same result, as you need a load of oil and they spit like a motherfucker

Whilst this is going on, stick a bag (take out of bag, obviously) of spinach in to boiling water and boil for a couple of minutes
* drain and cool under a running tap
* squeeze out the water
* blend

Base sauce:

* chillis
* ginger
* garlic
* onion
* coriander stalks - this is a new one to me, it's really good at filling out the flavour

Blend all that.

Next, heat some oil in yer wok/frying pan/balti pan whatever

Chuck in all your favourite whole spices, generally cumin, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, black onion, stick of cinnamon. Once these are bubbling away add the base mix and fry for about 10 minutes. Then add the spinach and a tin of tomatoes, plus whatever spices you like (cumin, coriander, tumeric) and salt. Stir about a bit. Add the paneer and cook for another 15-20 minutes or so. Chuck in a some lemon juice and chopped coriander and eat.

I can also highly recommend this recipe for non deep fried onion bhajis.

https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/entertain/baked-onion-bhajis/

[Janie Jones]

^Definitely going to try both these, I hate frying stuff and never get the fat hot enough before I lose my nerve, cheers k_t

[Sebastian Cobb]

That saag paneer looks good. Can get the big leaves of fresh spinach round here so might give it a bash. Will probably stop replying to every single post now, not because I hate the next poster.

I just tend to use the frozen pucks, squeezed in a cheesecloth then roughly chopped. I used to use the food processor but it tended to just clump together and found it was easier to do it by hand.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I just tend to use the frozen pucks

Bah gawd! Never had good results from those dense little shits. Don't you find it all just disintegrates without adding much actual flavour - and what flavour there is seems noticabley not fresh? I know fresh spinach is a hassle at the minute and to get it at a good price you need a shit tonne which isn't going to work for people who are on their own.

[Pingers]

With the spices you have you can do a lot. As a base, fry some onion if you have it, then when it's nearly translucent add the cumin and coriander (always in a 1:2 ratio), chili powder, ginger and garlic, stir fry for a couple of minutes. Then you can add whichever veg you're using (raw or parboiled depending on firmness), add any liquid you want to use (tomatoes, coconut milk or just water) or none if you want a drier curry and you're pretty much there. Shoulders is right that garam masala goes in about 5 minutes before it's ready. Same goes for any citrus or it goes bitter.

Another good way to get a bit of a sauce but not loads is to boil onion for about 3 minutes then blend it with a little bit of the cooking water, then add to the pan and fry with your spice powders.

[king_tubby]

^Definitely going to try both these, I hate frying stuff and never get the fat hot enough before I lose my nerve, cheers k_t

I've done the bhajis twice this week. Make them flatter than those you'd find in a restaurant, as otherwise the middle doesn't cook enough before the outsides start to burn.

[Pink Gregory]

I assume shallots are also RIGHT OUT?

Sadly, 'tis so.  Pickled only.  I think it's a result of surprise onions in a childhood dish.

[Aaron500]

Gujerati recipes often don't have onion due to the Jain influence (onions and garlic forbidden, all vegetarian too).

Asafoetida is your friend if no onion or garlic, it gives depth of flavour, but it does smell like dead, unwashed arsehole. Mine gets stored Russian doll style, with the powder in the fifth sealed container. Use sparingly.

[Cold Meat Platter]

Gujerati recipes often don't have onion due to the Jain influence (onions and garlic forbidden, all vegetarian too).

Asafoetida is your friend if no onion or garlic, it gives depth of flavour, but it does smell like dead, unwashed arsehole. Mine gets stored Russian doll style, with the powder in the fifth sealed container. Use sparingly.

Interestingly (or not), I found out that Asafoetida in German is called teufelsdreck which translates as devil's dung.

[bgmnts]

If you need some wild garlic to add a bit of crunch and finish to your dishes, let me know.

[Jittlebags]

Us at Jittlebags Towers were discussing what curry spices we could grow in at home. Corriander definitely, as it's gone native on the allotment, although not actually set seed to date. Can you plant any of the Shwarz provdided whole seed versions, or have they been irradiated or something ?  That could provide cumin, cardamom, clove, fenugreek, star anise. Garlic, piece of piss. You could possibly do rhizomes of ginger, galangal and turmeric in the greenouse, although I've not had any luch with those.

[king_tubby]

This is another regular round ours.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/07/vegetarian-recipe-spiced-lentils-yogurt

Check the top chef's tip at the end - fuck in a massive wedge of butter. The curry leaves really make a difference, though if you haven't got them it's still great.

[poo]

Really into cooking curries but just can't be fucked to go into it. Shame coz I'd probably really enjoy it but strong can't be fucked force winning :(

[Twit 2]

Best lube ghee lube.

[Smeraldina Rima]

Made the bhuna. Thanks for the spice blend recipe. Think it suffered a bit from me only chopping the garlic and ginger instead of making the paste but was still tastier than what I had managed the night before. Realised that paneer is a cheese so might have to to try making saag tofu or saag aloo instead when I get a chance. The long leaf spinach here is dead cheap, and methi leaves.

I'm pretty good at dahl, just using equal amounts of turmeric and cumin with chilli, garlic, ginger and onion. That's nice with spinach too.

[Twit 2]

So is there any advice for making/improving curry without using onions?

The ol' lady has a pathological distaste for onions, so I just tend to fry garlic, ginger and chillies together, and then cumin seeds/mustard seeds (and then add liquid), but I doubt I'm getting as much out of the spices as I could be.

It's both wrong and stupid to dislike onions. I suggest you fry them, then purée them and add them to the sauce, BIR style. Assuming she's not actually allergic and it's psychological, she won't know if they're part of the sauce. If she does say anything, gaslight her and throw the bowl into the wall, like Kevin Spacey in American Beauty.

General curry tips:

Make ghee. It's easy. Why aren't you making your own ghee you cunt?

Start with whole spices. Eg cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, star anise, whatever.

When cooking onions they need 15 to 20 mins not 5-10 mins. Ignore all timings on recipes because it's in the publisher's interest to make cooking times short because the public are feckless twats.

Red onions, not white, in a curry.

Fenugreek. Put it in, you wally.

You're not using enough garlic and ginger, or fresh chillis for that matter. Use more, even if you thought it was already a lot. Same with powered spices. Teaspoon of cumin or some shit? Haha fuck off. Tablespoon is the starting measure or GTF.

CURRY