Curry Lovers Thread

[corevalue]

Ingredients of curry with demonstrated anti-cancer properties:

Garlic, Ginger, Tomato, Cayenne, Turmeric, Cumin, Coriander, Ghee, Coconut Oil

Not sure of the last three, but add mustard powder and fenugreek. The garlic needs to be cut and left for 20 mins before cooking - the time is needed for some enzymes to work.

[Bossybabe]

I'm wearing "safety glasses" reading this, in case any wit spills out!

Lol. They don't work!

[Nuggets Mahoney]

fwiw reheatng rice isn't the potential problem, it's leaving it around at room temperature (wiki: Bacillus cereus)

whilst I'm fully on board with concerns about the pussification of the nation's immune systems there are still bugs I treat with respect and consider worthy and dangerous adversaries. Botulism, for example, is no fun and it really is advisable impo to do a thorough job when making your own preserves.

re. recycling of food, working as a lad in various hostelries and eating establishments, I saw all sorts of things get incorporated into cottage pies or tipped into barrels of mild.

I worked in theatre bars in the West End for years and it used to be the tradition that bar staff provided the lemon slices for drinks out of their own pocket. I saw lemons get rinsed, left in a saucer of water and reused for days, weeks...

[porca misèria]

whilst I'm fully on board with concerns about the pussification of the nation's immune systems there are still bugs I treat with respect and consider worthy and dangerous adversaries. Botulism, for example, is no fun and it really is advisable impo to do a thorough job when making your own preserves.

According to your link, botulism won't grow in acid. So where's the problem with chutney?

[Nuggets Mahoney]

According to your link, botulism won't grow in acid. So where's the problem with chutney?

Bumping up the acidity is part of the 'being thorough' I referred to.

There are other classes of preserves other than chutneys though. It's preserving wet, low acidity foods like beans or mushrooms in oil I had in mind. Generally, if the food isn't acidic I prefer to freeze it or dry it. I'd probably use vinegar more if, as discussed on other threads, I could score large volumes at reasonable prices.

As it happens, my available freezer space is pretty much spoken for already and my bean plants are still producing full-on. You can only give so many away. Am toying with trying out salting for the first time this year, maybe.

[LC1]

I've just recently got into Rendang, which originates in Indonesia. Particularly with beef. I haven't attempted to make one from scratch yet - just using rendang paste.

Like many on this thread, I have a curry meal at least once a week but could eat it every day. Is it addictive, I wonder?

I cook an amazing beef rendang using a recipe from one of Rick Stein's Asian cook books, which I have found to be very authentic and easy to follow (based on one of his TV shows where he visited loads of amazing chefs in different Asian countries and then shamelessly jotted down their recipes on his little notebook so that he could go on to make loads of money selling 'his' cookbook!)

[LC1]

Thai green for me, I absolutely love it, I always make my own paste, but I substitute coriander leaf for basil tough. The thought of consuming coriander leaf sends me into a cold sweat, yuck !

Then it's not Thai green curry, is it?!

[onlyme2]

fwiw reheatng rice isn't the potential problem, it's leaving it around at room temperature (wiki: Bacillus cereus)

whilst I'm fully on board with concerns about the pussification of the nation's immune systems there are still bugs I treat with respect and consider worthy and dangerous adversaries. Botulism, for example, is no fun and it really is advisable impo to do a thorough job when making your own preserves.

Yes, it is the assumption that reheating is going to kill anything nasty, sometimes it doesn't, and it is not just meat products that can be harmfull - which is why I mentioned it in the first place. I reheat stuff all the time, but am wary of the risks, had a really nasty episode with a works canteen veggie pizza, so been there and done it and had food from the worst fo the worst and never suffered, so christ knows what they had done with that.

[Mr Jib Fingers]

Think mustard oil would work much better with the flavours and possibly more beneficial.

There are apparently many benefits on the fat front to the spices used as well, so what may look like an unhealthy fatty meal may be far better on the fat front than it first appears.

12 Indian foods that cut fat

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/12-Indian-foods-that-cut-fat/articleshow/6559721.cms

One thing I want to do is start growing ginger, turmeric amongst others, apparently quite possible even in this climate under glass.

Thanks for the link.

I don't think we're able to get mustard or coconut oil over here unfortunately. It's either vegetable or olive oil. Olive oil is pretty cheap though, could it be used in a mix with vegetable?

[Bossybabe]

I cook an amazing beef rendang using a recipe from one of Rick Stein's Asian cook books, which I have found to be very authentic and easy to follow (based on one of his TV shows where he visited loads of amazing chefs in different Asian countries and then shamelessly jotted down their recipes on his little notebook so that he could go on to make loads of money selling 'his' cookbook!)

I have that very book! I bought on Amazon for £5 last year! I haven't made from scratch yet - time constraints - but soon I'll have the time. Meanwhile the paste is great - and quick.

[shindigger]

Lots of those Rajah powders.

Ginger, cumin, tandoori seasonings, chilli flakes.

Quite hard to find in mainstream shops outside of the metropolis. Can be bought on ebay. I never use "curry powder" per se.

Fresh toms, onions, garlic, coriander. Chicken or prawn.

Yoghurt.

Top with fresh coriander.

I always enjoy my homemade ones more than Supermarket jobs.

House stinks of it for 2 days though.

I got that little Curry handbook and that goes on about starting with an onion base and freeze it.

But i don't want the stink about for days frankly. Mainly because i only have to SMELL curry and i want one...

Cold for breakffast, yum yum...

[frozen_out]

Thanks for the link.

I don't think we're able to get mustard or coconut oil over here unfortunately. It's either vegetable or olive oil. Olive oil is pretty cheap though, could it be used in a mix with vegetable?

I've made a base using olive oil before, turned out OK. I was expecting olive undertones, but I didn't detect any.

I think part of the reason curry was invented was to disguise the taste of poor quality/past their best ingredients so I never worry too much about which oil I use.

My main concern is usually texture and the spice mix.

The korma I cooked on Sunday was absolutely spot on. Closest thing I've ever made to BIR in terms of look, texture and taste. I'll post a pic later.

[Turned Out Nice Again]

I've made a base using olive oil before, turned out OK. I was expecting olive undertones, but I didn't detect any.

I think part of the reason curry was invented was to disguise the taste of poor quality/past their best ingredients so I never worry too much about which oil I use.

My main concern is usually texture and the spice mix.

The korma I cooked on Sunday was absolutely spot on. Closest thing I've ever made to BIR in terms of look, texture and taste. I'll post a pic later.

i made a good Pat Chapman korma once and it was super simple; if i recall, just chicken, onions & cream + garam masala.

But anything with cream is going to taste good.

[frozen_out]

i made a good Pat Chapman korma once and it was super simple; if i recall, just chicken, onions & cream + garam masala.

But anything with cream is going to taste good.

No cream in mine, I used Carnation evaporated milk

Old Skool recipe apparently.

[snowflux]

Oh. For some reason I misread the title of this thread as "Curvy Lovers Thread" and was expecting at least a few pics of ccc's recent conquests. What a disappointment.

[The Knimbies who say No]

One of my current favourites, prawn dopiaza:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/prawndopiaza_90954

I've done this as per the recipe and also using by making the sauce and using a whole leg of lamb or salmon fillet instead, which is very nice indeed.

Cardamom rice is excellent, for a variation try hollowing out a butternut squash or globe courgette, chop up some of the removed flesh and fry it, adding the rice and cardamom(and/or clove, cinnamon) then some water for a few minutes (as if starting a risotto) before packing the squash/courgette with the mixture, wrapping it in tinfoil and oven cooking for 90 mins at 200 deg C or so. Should cook beautifully.

[bearwithasorehead]

Question about BIR having read the curry site linked to. thecurrysauce.com

Like one of the comments to the BIR reciple for sauce on that site I can't see how the final product comes in at 1.6 litres if the instructions say 'cover the onions with enough water to just cover'.

[1929crash]

Oh. For some reason I misread the title of this thread as "Curvy Lovers Thread" and was expecting at least a few pics of ccc's recent conquests. What a disappointment.

And I thought it was about Indian wimmin!

[frozen_out]

Question about BIR having read the curry site linked to. thecurrysauce.com

Like one of the comments to the BIR reciple for sauce on that site I can't see how the final product comes in at 1.6 litres if the instructions say 'cover the onions with enough water to just cover'.

This confused me too the first time I cooked a base (mine is very similar to the currysauce website one).

I've come to the conclusion it's more about picking a consistency you like. The batch I made on Saturday was 1.1 litres but probably a slightly thicker consistency than people would reccomend the base sauce to be. I use equal volume of tinned tomato and water i.e. I empty the tinned tommie's into the pan then fill the tin with water and add that.

[monks]

^{Why has no-one produced a fresh onion sauce for the supermarket chiller cabinets?}

^{I tried to make it once and as well as taking up most of my friday night, the whole house stunk of garlic and boiled onions all weekend.}

[sPinwheel]

I misread the title as Curvy Lovers Thread. Was thinking just how many threads about women are there on this subforum!

[MrPin]

I misread the title as Curvy Lovers Thread. Was thinking just how many threads about women are there on this subforum!

It's a bit sad really, innit?

Let's have a thread about blurks!

[bendy]

fwiw reheatng rice isn't the potential problem, it's leaving it around at room temperature (wiki: Bacillus cereus)

whilst I'm fully on board with concerns about the pussification of the nation's immune systems there are still bugs I treat with respect and consider worthy and dangerous adversaries. Botulism, for example, is no fun and it really is advisable impo to do a thorough job when making your own preserves.

re. recycling of food, working as a lad in various hostelries and eating establishments, I saw all sorts of things get incorporated into cottage pies or tipped into barrels of mild.

I worked in theatre bars in the West End for years and it used to be the tradition that bar staff provided the lemon slices for drinks out of their own pocket. I saw lemons get rinsed, left in a saucer of water and reused for days, weeks...

Agree with both XYZ on points made and these points also.

The 'essentail' tools appear to be pressure cooker(s), pressure canner, big chest freezer. I've canned a fair amount of soups now with meat in them as well as a myraid of sauces in a canner (it's one MASSIVE unit, literally takes up 2/3 hobs).

Toying with the idea of getting a pressure sealer - I think I could in theory make my own 'packet' rice/pasta etc. with one of them but haven't looked into that in detail.

As for the curries, I have used the base in that Curry Secret book but only on a few occasions (korma and madras was okay, tikka masala not so good though I diverted from recipe) and a few websites but I tend to go for the authenic ones more (as has already been mentioned even though they have a load of beneficial health items all that oil is perhaps not so good, yet the authentic ones still have 'some' oil/ghee etc. AND a heap of herbs/spices etc.)

Rendang paste seems easy enough:

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/27172/rendang+curry+paste

recipe for the tamarind within that list (that I would use, maybe tone down the sweetness though!):

Curry on then chaps.

[bendy]

^{Why has no-one produced a fresh onion sauce for the supermarket chiller cabinets?}

^{I tried to make it once and as well as taking up most of my friday night, the whole house stunk of garlic and boiled onions all weekend.}

Would assume there would be very little market for it - pricewise you'd probably find it only a few pence dearer to buy the fully made sauce (with all the added preserve nasties). Short shelf life on chiller shelf too, why there's none in a small section of freezers though? :/

[The XYY Man]

Question about BIR having read the curry site linked to. thecurrysauce.com

Like one of the comments to the BIR reciple for sauce on that site I can't see how the final product comes in at 1.6 litres if the instructions say 'cover the onions with enough water to just cover'.

Puzzled me for a while, but then I checked the currysauce.com one against the base from 'The Curry Secret' and found most quantities were the same allowing for metric/imperial conversions.

For water, The Curry Secret states 2 and 3/4 pints which it equates to 1570ml - pretty close to 1600...! The Curry Sauce is also a bit vague on onion quantities, whereas the secret quotes 2lb.

That makes sense as onions contain a lot of water, and this varies depending on where you buy them and their origin. You'll end up with somewhere close to 1600ml after evaporation - and you are advised to reduce further, or top up to 1600 ml if below.

I use a large pan with a litre scale embossed on the inside, and usually have to top-up by no more than 50-100ml at the end if I use 2 and 3/4 pints of water and 2lb of onions.

Oh, and I tried a tip someone gave me recently of trying a 50/50 mix of white onions to red onions instead of just all white, and that produced excellent results.

XYY