Reply to: Anyone cook their own curries?

[KackAttack]

The Curry Secret: How to Cook Real Indian Restaurant Meals at Home: Amazon.co.uk: Kris Dhillon: Books

[hyperD]

That looked amazing until I read your signature.

[d000hg]

OMG norrahe!

I was speaking to someone on the client site only last week that was talking about how she cooked rice as taught by her Indian grandmother and I thought I'd give it a go and looked up this recipe.

Despite taking quite a fair amount of time to prepare and cook, it's simply divine! The candied orange peel really adds to the Middle Eastern flavour.

A great dish.

Here's mine (with some home made Turkish Delight and some Char Siu pork)

That looked amazing until I read your signature.

[hyperD]

Maybe I have an unrefined palate, but I have never really liked having nuts or pieces of fruit in savoury dishes.

I don't think it's an unrefined palate at all, so don't worry! It's a fairly common combo (fruit 'n' nut chocolate for instance or tajine) but not everyone likes the sweet/savoury contrasting taste.

I don't like traditional Christmas pudding but I try every year to see if I do.

I like cheese and honey sandwiches though!

[hyperD]

Try this one persian jewelled rice

OMG norrahe!

I was speaking to someone on the client site only last week that was talking about how she cooked rice as taught by her Indian grandmother and I thought I'd give it a go and looked up this recipe.

Despite taking quite a fair amount of time to prepare and cook, it's simply divine! The candied orange peel really adds to the Middle Eastern flavour.

A great dish.

Here's mine (with some home made Turkish Delight and some Char Siu pork)

[EC4N]

Here's a simple Chicken Karahi recipe which I tried making and turned out utterly delicious! Forget the takeaways, home made is best when you use fresh ingredients.

[d000hg]

To be honest, I have occasionally had difficulty finding it myself!

Why are you trying to find my house?

[russell]

A typical takeaway is not going to have trained chefs, just big vats and cooking by numbers. If you find a good restaurant that does take-out, fair enough. But in the sticks, not so common. Plus Indian takeout can get expensive and you rely on them being able to find your house

Yeah, luckily I live in city so have a decent one within delivery distance. I suppose if you cook your own you have infinitely more options than the usually limited menu.

[Arturo Bassick]

you rely on them being able to find your house

To be honest, I have occasionally had difficulty finding it myself!

[d000hg]

Experience at what though? Flipping burgers barely qualifies as cooking. I will be trying a few of the curries recipes suggested though.

A typical takeaway is not going to have trained chefs, just big vats and cooking by numbers. If you find a good restaurant that does take-out, fair enough. But in the sticks, not so common. Plus Indian takeout can get expensive and you rely on them being able to find your house

[russell]

Those are the kind of thing I was after, cool.

School dinner ladies and McDonalds' workers often have years of experience too. Doesn't make their food taste nice.

Experience at what though? Flipping burgers barely qualifies as cooking. I will be trying a few of the curries recipes suggested though.

[norrahe]

Try this one persian jewelled rice

[d000hg]

Not sure what you mean by vegetable rice but here's a decent spicy rice recipe. You'll need a pan with a well-fitting lid.

- a bit of rice ( a cup, say)
- some water (2x rice by volume)

Fry rice gently (and briefly) in a touch of vegetable oil. Chuck in the water. Add a couple of cardamom pods, some cumin seeds and a bit of turmeric for colour. Chuck lid on pan and simmer for 10 mins. Turn heat off and leave for a further 10 mins. Rice should now have absorbed all water and be quite dry (if not, remove lid, place clean tea towel over the pan and leave for a bit)
If you want veg-focused rice, I guess you could fry the veg off for a couple of mins before you add the rice.

Or to flavour the rice for a different curry, throw a couple of cardamom pods and some cummin seeds into the boiling water while cooking the rice.

Those are the kind of thing I was after, cool.

I prefer to order from the local Indian restaurant, as they have years of experience and all the authentic ingredients to hand. Same reason I don't build my own vacuum cleaner or make my own olive oil.

School dinner ladies and McDonalds' workers often have years of experience too. Doesn't make their food taste nice.

[Fishface]

cook basmati rice in a pyrex dish with a lid in the oven - same quantities of rice, water and salt - 35-40 mins - a world of difference.

Bolst's curry powder is an excellent product.

[Arturo Bassick]

OK I will try, just busy with other "projects" in the evening. Thanks for the suggestion, I will look it up.

Just to help - Pat Chapman's Curry Club Sounds like the "Quick After Work Curries" book is for you then.

Some of it is a bit of a cheat because he does rely on you having some stuff prepared before hand, but he does tell you how to prepare the stuff before hand.