Homemade chicken currry- help appreciated

[KidKruger]

I use veg oil or sunflower oil, but I guess it's down to taste.

Prawns, being delicate, I expect need to be added at the end of cooking - but I never use them so perhaps someone else can confirm.

6x whole chillis is enough to make a curry for 4x people fairly hot.

If the curry was not hot then imo it's down to the chillis.

I just use regular green chillis from Rye Lane market / Khans and they're sufficiently hot that 3x chillis plus a 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder is plenty for a curry for 6 people.

This works for us and we like fairly spicy (without getting into Vindaloo territory).

The recipe I posted the YT link to, says 6x chillis (I used 3x) and two TABLESPOONS of chilli powder (I used 2/3 TEAspoon) and it was well hot, it also says 500g chicken but I used 1500g chicken and it was still hot. Just in case you try that recipe - which I recommend as it came out excellent.

[Loz]

Louisa Wrote:

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> I used two whole packs of vine tomatoes too.

I rarely cook with fresh tomatoes, as I've never found any good enough in the UK, even in markets. Even the plum tomatoes here are a bit rubbish. So, I usually use tinned.

[Sue]

Loz Wrote:

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> I rarely cook with fresh tomatoes, as I've never

> found any good enough in the UK, even in markets.

> Even the plum tomatoes here are a bit rubbish. So,

> I usually use tinned.

So do I, but the baby plum tomnatoes in M&S at the moment are the best I've ever tasted from a UK shop.

Don't know what they'd be like in a curry though.

[KidKruger]

I have use fresh toms, but not until they've ripened well, then I pur?e them and freeze until needed.

[Seabag]

You did stir anti-clockwise wise didn't you?

I have a spoon from Rajasthan specially for my cooking, it makes all the difference.

[Sue]

Seabag Wrote:

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> You did stir anti-clockwise wise didn't you?

>

> I have a spoon from Rajasthan specially for my

> cooking, it makes all the difference.

:))

[DulwichFox]

Tomatoes are not necessary is curries. They are used to add colour, flavour and sweeten some curries.

In some regions. IE Kashmir, many curries are made with NO Garlic and even No onions..

There are no hard and fast rules.

DulwichFox

[KidKruger]

There are 100s of recipes for curries and no one ingredient has to be in all of them (except possible some form of chilli ?). When I make paneer I use yoghurt, not tomato, for example.

Mrs Manjula uses no onions nor garlic in any of her disches (because they're both from same family of veg, not eaten by her branch of Hinduism).

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/

(all veg)

[Sue]

Just googled it and found this, which seems right (and I never knew that about freezing spices - I'm constantly throwing spices away because they go past their use by date and are stale):

Mamta?s principles of curry-making are:

Principle 1: Be generous with your spices. Spices not only bring flavour but texture to dishes. Most supermarkets sell spices in misleadingly small containers. You can buy bigger packets from Asian supermarkets, which will encourage you to spoon in the spices with a freer hand. (You can store them in the freezer to stop them going stale.)

Principle 2: Decide how you are going to cook your onion, ginger, and garlic. This triumvirate provides the deep base flavour of most curries, equivalent to onion, carrot and celery in the French tradition. (NB: garlic is not essential. Some Indians eschew it completely on account of its pungency and it is often left out of food served at weddings to avoid offending guests.) Soften them without colouring for a lighter curry (as in the first recipe) or cook them longer and caramelise (as in the second) for something richer and darker.

Principle 3: Decide what is going to give your curry sauce its body. This will normally be one, or a combination, of the following: tomatoes; pureed peppers or chillies; yoghurt or cream; coconut milk; spinach, or finely diced or pureed onion.

Bear these principles in mind, and curry-making will become simple and pleasurable. You will be free to improvise. You will become the master of your very own curry matrix.

So tomatoes are definitely not essential, but it depends on what kind of curry you are wanting to make.

ETA: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/31/how-to-make-curry-onion-ginger-garlic-mamta-gupta-back-to-basics-henry-dimbleby

[Loz]

Sue Wrote:

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> You can buy bigger packets from Asian supermarkets, which will encourage you to spoon in

> the spices with a freer hand.

You don't even have to find a different shop. Instead of going to the herbs and spices area of the supermarket, head to the "world foods" aisle and you'll usually find bugger packets for less cost.

[Sue]

Loz Wrote:

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head to the "world foods" aisle

> and you'll usually find bugger packets for less

> cost.

Crikey, that sounds a bit rude :))

[Loz]

Sorry, I went all Kiwi for a moment!

[Seabag]

Oh gawd

Curry bores unite

[shafiq]

Hope it all went well for you and your guests. Maybe in the future we could help. We are a local cookery school called Kitchen Skills - We do session where the guests come to us - everyone cooks and we supply special boxes so you can take the food home. We also have a nice littel garden where sometimes guests want to hang out and eat what they have cooked.

Just a different approach to entertaining. Can be a lot of fun as food brings people together and we try and make it all fun in a nice Grade II listed building.

if you have the time - pass by and check us out. Check our Facebook page kitchenskills.co.uk/