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Indian Bits and Pieces

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Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Sakkarin » Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:08 pm

I seem to be on a bit of an Indian/Pakistani bash at the moment, thought I'd make a thread covering it, if anyone else feels like chucking in their own Indainish/Palistaniish experiments in too.

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Chicken Vindaloo

Postby Sakkarin » Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:13 pm

On Tuesday, KK's talk of Vindaloo, and also memories of a couple of vinegary egg curry recipes prompted me to have a quick shufti at some online recipes, to see if there was anything there to use up half a chicken in the fridge. In the past I've made an authentic (as far as I know) Portuguese-style Goan Vindaloo, which was quite dark, dry and tarry, so I was looking for something a bit more "restaurantish". I settled on this recipe, and the first surprise was how much it smelt like one of those "Patak's Pastes", prior to cooking.

The end curry was very good. However the second surprise was how much better it tasted the day after - I know that some dishes get better overnight, but the flavours in this really came together magically. I think the big factor in how it ended up was that I really cooked the onions until they really were brown and crispy, more like a garnish onions than the usual caramelised but still soggy onions. I did however add more water than the recipe suggests, as it dried out a fair bit, my end dish had a fair amount of gravy - pretty much like the photo on that website.

I am going to have a bash at making a very "convenience" version of this, using the packet crispy fried onion (it's dead cheap, and doesn't stink the house out) and frozen ginger/garlic paste, and will be using it with boiled eggs in that eggy thread.

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Curry Leaf Chutney

Postby Sakkarin » Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:21 pm

I bought some particularly fragrant curry leaves the other day, and was reminded of a recipe I think Mamta passed on, for Curry Leaf Chutney. I had a look around online, and in the end made a "combination" version, using the following ingredients - it really is very good, although possibly a weeny bit too hot. Practically a full pack of curry leaves however yielded only 2 or 3 tablespoons of chutney :-(

1.5 cups curry leaves
1 dry red chilli
1.5 green chillies
1 tbs urad dal
1 tbs tamarind paste
1 tsp mustard seeds
0.25 tsp asafoetida powder
1.5 tbs toasted coconut
1 tbs palm sugar
3 tbs water
Salt



EDIT: Here's my chutney:

Image

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Biryani style veg curry?

Postby Sakkarin » Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:23 pm

Anyone got a recipe for a bog-standard restaurant style veg curry, the kind that comes with biryani dishes? I will probably mash something up, but if anyone already has a stock recipe it will save me a bit of effort!

Cauliflower, beans, carrot and potato and a tin of tomatoes at the ready...

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Methi Chicken

Postby Sakkarin » Thu Oct 18, 2012 8:54 pm

I know there is a perfect Methi Chicken recipe out there, but I've not yet found it. I've made this a couple of times before, and it hasn't quite hit the spot, although good. I've got a really fresh and fragrant bunch of Methi at the ready, anyone any offers/suggestions?

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby yariso » Thu Oct 18, 2012 9:19 pm

I always use this site for restaurant style curries - http://www.cr0.co.uk/

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby karadekoolaid » Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:58 am

Sakkarin; for really yummy, delicious recipes with curry leaves, you need to take a look at Ammini Ramachandran's book of authentic South Indian cooking: http://www.amazon.com/Grains-Greens-Grated-Coconuts-Remembrances/dp/0595409768
I picked the book up for about $2 on the internet after reading a fascinating discussion on an Indian Foodie Website called " Another Sub-continent" .
Try making an Aviyal and adding your curry leaves at the end.Extraordinary!

As for Methi Chicken, I've got a recipe somewhere but I can't find it right now, and anyway I'm going offline to watch the final of American Masterchef!!

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Methi Chicken continued

Postby Sakkarin » Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:59 pm

I ended up making a methi chicken last night which finally hit the spot, and is now on my list of favourite curries.

This is the recipe I used as the basis:
http://www.sailusfood.com/2009/12/16/me ... ek-leaves/

However as usual I made a few changes, as follows:
600g of boneless chicken instead of 1 kg of (?) bone in.
2 blocks of frozen garlic/ginger (about 2.5 tbs?) instead of a paltry 0.75 tbs
upped to 1.5 chopped tomatoes and 1 tbs of tomato puree
doubled to 0.5 cups yoghurt - note that the final dish is NOT yoghurty
150g of trimmed methi
250g of onion (and used much more oil to fry)
1 tbs of peanuts instead of cashews.

I also changed the cooking order - I added the onions separately before the yoghurt, and I did not fry the methi (all the other recipes I saw added it raw). I also added more water than the recipe suggested, and allowed it to cook down and thicken.

Image

Two previous Muthi Murgh recipes I tried:

Image

Image


Yariso: thanks for the link - but it didn't come up trumps. As a test, I tried searching for the recipes mentioned in this thread - a recipe for Methi Chicken only included 2 tbs of methi, and "Curry Leaf Chutney" threw up no responses.

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Sakkarin » Sat Oct 20, 2012 7:18 pm

Some great offers in Tesco today to help with my quest on the Biryani Veggie Curry (although I'm still finishing off the Methi Chicken, so it'll have to wait a couple of days).

Frozen garlic and frozen ginger both just 44p for a 400g bag. That's giving it away. And chopped tomatoes and chick peas, four tins for a quid. Sheesh.

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Mamta1 » Sun Oct 21, 2012 9:44 am

I cook my methi chicken like this; http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_dis ... p?id=10032
I have not made the curry leaves chutney for a while, thanks for reminding me . I must remember making some next time I buy fresh curry leaves. It is very nice :thumbsup

Just watched Madhur J on bbc iPlayer. She is so lovely :-). I make my spicy roast potatoes a bit differently from her though. I start the traditional way, put them in boiling water, then dunk them iced water and drain. Then I add all my spices, including cumin seeds, add some oil and cook the traditional way. They come out very crisp and delicious and go very well with Tandoori chicken or spicy roast leg of lamb or just on their own.

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Renée » Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:36 am

Do you leave the spices whole for the roast potatoes, Mamta? I look forward to making them, but will use a light spray of oil due to my low-fat way of eating these days. :cry:

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Mamta1 » Sun Oct 21, 2012 12:27 pm

No I don't Renee, except for cumin and I sometimes add a fresh sprig or two of the traditional Rosmary. If you don't want to faff around with different spices, a ready made, spicy curry powder also works well. I sometimes use the Jamaican curry powder mix.
Light spray is fine, I tend to add all spices and oil and just roll the potatoes around in it. They are crisper of course when cooked in more oil. What I sometimes do is that I lift them out of the oil, onto a wire rack, for the final browning/crisping. they are quite good as starters too.

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Joanbunting » Sun Oct 21, 2012 2:18 pm

Hi

Well that has answered one of my questions about curry leaves!

I still want to know if I can freeze them though. I won't get a chance to get any more for at least a year

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Mamta1 » Sun Oct 21, 2012 2:23 pm

I still want to know if I can freeze them though. I won't get a chance to get any more for at least a year

Yes you can. I do this all the time. Being a north Indian, I don't use them as much as a south Indian would, so a bunch is always too much for me, unless I am making a curry leaves chutney. So I wash and towel dry them, place them in a plastic bag and then just bung them in the freezer door shelf. They will last for good 2-4 months this way.

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Joanbunting » Sun Oct 21, 2012 4:54 pm

Thank you Mamta.

They are already frozen apart from a few that I intend to use this week.

Isn't it wonderful to be able to lay your hands on ingredients you have been missing for ages?

M is in for some culinary treats over the next days.

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Renée » Sun Oct 21, 2012 5:33 pm

Thank you Mamta. I was actually thinking more of cumin seeds, but I don't mind faffing a bit with other spices! I might just try using my halogen oven, because they can sit on the rack. I would use the one at the bottom, because the top rack is used for grilling.

I enjoy a visit to Chinatown in Manchester and always buy fresh lime leaves, which keep well in the freezer.

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Sakkarin » Mon Oct 22, 2012 1:20 pm

Thanks for the recipe Mamta, I always look at your site for inspiration when I'm planning an Indian dish, in this instance I was looking for a fresh methi recipe, where yours uses dried.

The main reason I'm looking is that I remember a review many years ago of the Brilliant Restaurant in Southall when it was voted best Indian Restaurant in London, where the reviewer was raving about the Methi Chicken being the best dish on the menu, and I've always wanted to recreate that dish. Somehow I always imagined it would have been a fresh methi dish, but looking at their current website, there is not much evidence of greenery in their Methi Chicken photo!

Just looking at your recipes using black salt (which I only tried for the first time a few days ago), this one looks like a particularly pungent mix, I'm tempted to make it just to see what it's like! Maybe that's an excuse to make some bhajis.
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_dis ... p?id=13373

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Oct 22, 2012 1:49 pm

I've been deeply unimpressed with the Brilliant - I've been I think 3 times over a period of years and never been amazed (or even very happy)

So i wouldn't be too concerned about reproducing the look of their dishes.

I think they are trading on their reputation

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Sakkarin » Mon Oct 22, 2012 2:08 pm

Coincidentally I read a bunch of reviews, some of which were dreadful.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant ... gland.html

But one of the new dishes I've most enjoyed this year I found on the Brilliant's owner's granddaughter's site (she actually runs the cookery courses you will find on the Brilliant website) - the Achari Chicken Tikka recipe in the RECIPES section...
http://dipna.com/

I did try to email her and ask for the Brilliant Methi Murgh recipe, and also tried her Chutney site, but both emails got returned undelivered :-(

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Re: Indian Bits and Pieces

Postby Sakkarin » Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:19 pm

Tried again, this time to the restaurant itself's email, and got this reply...

Dear Mick

Thank you for your email and kind comments. I am glad the achari tikka recipe is working for you and what a good idea using chicken wings, may try that myself

as for the methi chicken recipe, you will be glad to know that i am writing a cookbook which is to be released in about 9 months time so most of the Brilliant recipes shall be included

also, just to let you know of our new cookery courses we have started from the restaurant, which are doing really well

i have attached some information if you are interested, there are 3 cookery classes left until the new year (4th november is almost sold out, 2 places left), let me know if you wanted to book and could do a special deal for you

regards

dipna

Culinary Regards

Dipna Anand (MSc), Assistant Manager
Brilliant Restaurant, 72-76 Western Road, Southall UB2 5DZ

0208 574-1928
http://WWW.BRILLIANTRESTAURANT.COM

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