What is the secret to making a great curry?!
What is the secret to making a great curry?
Why do my Indian curries never taste as good as restaurant curries? My sauces just never seem as rich or as tasty as food you get from Indian takeaways, which I know is not necessarily what Indian people eat at home.
Is it to do with cooking time or only using fresh spices or using Ghee instead of oil or the amount of oil used or some other reason?
Answers:
Hiiii.. i've listed in detail the secret of a gud curry recipe.. I know all abt it being Indian:)
Spices
Spices are fundamental to all Curry Recipes and there is a huge range of spices which can be used but only a few of which form a basic curry powder. The most important spice for a curry is Cumin seeds, then Coriander seeds and these you will usually see as the most prominent two ingredients in nearly all shop bought Curry Powders. Additional spices in a Curry Powder usually will include Fenugreek, Ginger, Garlic, Turmeric, Cardamom and some others may be included for specific types of curry powder. Ground spices and Curry Powders must always be used fresh and kept in air tight containers. Older stale spices will add nothing but grit to your finished dish and leave you feeling dissapointed with the results. The very best reults will always come from grinding your own spices from whole seeds just before using them. This of course is not always practical which is one of the reasons we have launched our own range of curry powders and spices, these are all made fresh to order and shipped withing 7 days. We toast whole Cumin and Coriander seeds until they crackle then freshly grind and blend in other fresh spices as needed for the curry powder being made, in this way you can be sure of the very freshest most aromatic spices imagineable leading to great results. If however you have the time to make your own before a curry I would strongly urge you to give it a try.
Chilli
Chilli gives the curry it's heat and can be used in whole fresh form, chilli powder, whole or crushed dried chillies or as chilli sauce or paste. As well as heat, chillies can add some subtle dimensions of flavour which can be dramatically different from one chilli to the next. Habanero and Scotch bonnet chillies have a beautiful buttery, oaky and vanilla tones but are so hot that most people can't really take them. Most Indian Restaurants use predominantly Long thin green cayenne or finger chillies, they have a good taste and high heat level and can be added chopped, sliced or whole as required. The heat level of fresh chillies is reduced somewhat with the length of cooking so add them earlier if you like it milder and later if you prefer it hotter. Always add chilli in whatever form a little at a time, you can always add some more if needed but you can't take it out once you have overdone it. Chilli powder will permeate the rest of the sauce most readily. Finely chopped fresh chillies will need to cook for a while to add to the sauce in quite the same way. Whole and sliced chillies will add their heat mainly when eaten directly. Adding whole chillies to a mild curry can be one way to satisfy the demands of a group with different heat tolerances by serving the chillies to only those who like them, however there is a risk of one or more splitting and making the sauce hot so use thicker skinned chillies and add to the dish when most of the stirring and working has been done, alternatively add some fresh chillies, lightly toasted chillies, or chilli sauce as a table condiment. Adding chilli powder to a finished dish is not a good way to add heat as the spices need to be worked in to the dish which is difficult once served.
Herbs
Indian dishes typically make very little use of herbs. The most frequent is coriander leaf, this should always be fresh, never dried. Usually coriander leaves are added towards the end of cooking and most often as a garnish. Fresh Basil can sometimes be used though I have never seen it used in an Indian restaurant.
Seasoning
One of the biggest mistakes made when cooking Indian food is that no salt is added on the assumption that there is so much flavour from the spices that you don't need salt. This is wrong and you should always taste your dish and season towards the end if needed. Our mouths can only taste 5 different things, sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami (or savouriness). All other flavour (as distinct from the term taste) is detected by flavour molecules stimulating our olfactory gland in the nose. Try the following experiment to see this in action: Take a piece of any strong flavoured food (say cheese or garlic), hold your nose and put it on your tongue and rub it against the roof of your mouth. What can you detect? probably just salt or one of the other 4 taste sensations, now let your nose go and breath in as you taste the morcel of food, suddenly the flavours erupt in your mouth and nose. A well balanced dish needs basic taste stimulation of at least 2 areas of the five as well as flavour and aroma.
Onions, Ginger and Garlic
No curry is truly complete without these three ingredients which are always best used fresh. Onions are nearly always finely chopped and sauteed until translucent or brown as the first or second step in any curry. Ginger is usually grated and garlic can be sliced or crushed or both in the same dish.
Oil and Fat
Oil is essential in all curries as the medium which carries the spices. Without oil the spices are harsher and gritty with much less flavour and aroma. Indian restaurants tend to use Ghee which is a clarified butter, but Olive oil, Sunflower or Groundnut oil can be used instead. Add plenty of oil when starting the dish, it will separate and excess oil can be skimmed off at the end of cooking and kept covered in the fridge for use with your next curry.
The Main Ingredient
Your curry will of course have a main ingredient such as meat, chicken, fish, seafood, vegetables or cheese. Always use the best quality ingredients that you can afford and play to it's own strengths. For meat you should try and get free range meat which had come from animals which have led happier lives and fed on pastures rather than artificial feeds. It always pays dividends to find a specialist butcher, grocer, fishmonger whom you can trust to provide good quality foodstuffs which they know the origins of and about which they can talk knowledgably. Likewise local farm shops which sell their own produce can be invaluable sources of good main ingredients.
The Sauce Body
Most sauces outside of Indian cooking are thickened with flour either wheat or cornflour. Indian cooking usually requires pureed vegetables, yogurt, cream, coconut milk or similar in order to either thicken the sauce or create the final flourish to differentiate the dish. Some popular choices are:
Yogurt - Korma, Passanda, curry
Cream - Korma, Passanda
Pureed Onion - Curry
Pureed Tomato - Madras, Rogan, Jalfrazi
Coconut Milk - Ceylon, Korma
Pureed Chillies - Vindaloo, Phall
Spinach - Sag
Ground nuts such as almonds, pistachioes, peanuts
Combinations of the above
The Curry Method
Finally we get to pulling all of the above together to create a curry. Some of the following steps are optional and depend on the curry being made or your preference.
Step 1. Optional. Crackle some whole spice seeds in a hot pan for 1-2 minutes util they crackle.
Step 2. Put some oil (more is better) into a frying pan on a medium heat, add finely chopped onions and cook until translucent or slightly brown. Each gives a different flavour and texture which you can try to see which you prefer.
Step 3. Now add the main curry powder or paste and stir in. Then add grated ginger, crushed garlic and any fresh chopped chillies.
Step 4. Now add the main ingredient. If this is meat you should try and brown it well on all sides to add lovely caramelised browning flavours. Add some stock or water to prevent burning if needed.
Step 5. Add stock or water to cover the ingredients and simmer until main ingredient is cooked.
Step 6. Add the sauce body to thicken and/or flavour as required and bring back to a simmer.
Step 7. Stir in some garam massalla powder thoroughly. Optionally add 1 crushed clove garlic for extra strong garlic taste.
Step 8. Taste and season.
Step 9. Optional. Garnish the finished dish with coriander leaves or a dash of yogurt or twirl of cream or some ground or sliced nuts.
Depending on the main ingredient, most curries are quite tolerant of longer cooking and will keep on a low simmer while other cooking catches up. Alternatively remove from the heat then reheat through just before serving.
Hints and Tips
The folloiwng hints and tips may be useful.
Always use fresh spices - old stale spices will be horrible
Buy a good thermometer to check food is cooked to reduce overcooking which can dry some foods out.
Don't use whole spices unless you know that everybody likes them as they can be an acquired taste.
Try making a curry with leftover cooked meats which can add an extra dimension to the flavour.
Don't forget to season the curry!
Do temme if it helps..