First topic message reminder :

Hiya Guy's and Gal's just thought I would post up a simple Indian Restaurant dish so you can see what is involved next time you go out for a curry, all these dishes I post you will find in most Indian restaurants with slight differences, all the dishes posted here are what we used in our own restaurant but others have also used the same recipe most of the dishes found in any Indian restaurant are all very common but no one ever tell how its done [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] have ago you will enjoy it

Chicken Bhuna

Medium spices cooked in a thick spicy sauce with finely chopped onions, tomatoes and fresh coriander

Infused Make Up Liquid
500ml of cold water
2 Asian bay leaves
3 green cardamoms
1 whole clove
1 full finger of star anise
1/2 inch piece of cassia bark (not cinnamon)

Pre-cooked chicken

2kg of chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
2 Spanish onions (or Tesco extra large onions)
1 tablespoon of blended garlic
1/2 tablespoon of blended ginger
75ml of vegetable oil
2 level teaspoons of table salt
25g of coconut cream
1 heaped tablespoon of mixed powder

Mixed powder

All measurements are level teaspoons  You will need to mix the following:
8 teaspoons of turmeric powder
6 teaspoons curry powder (must just say curry powder, not Madras powder of anything else).
5 teaspoons of coriander powder
4 teaspoons of cumin powder
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of Garam masala
1 teaspoon of ginger powder
1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste

Method:

1. Peel the onions and chop relatively finely
2. You will need 2 pans, one we will call pan A, capable of holding all the chopped onions and all of the water, and another pan we will call pan B, capable of holding 500ml of water, both with room to boil.
3. Place into pan B all of the ingredients for the infused make up liquid.
4. Place into pan A the vegetable oil and sprinkle in half the salt. Add the chopped onions, minced garlic and minced ginger and sprinkle over the remaining salt. Stir in well and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Note: The salt will react with the onions and start to extract juice.
5. Turn on the heat to pan B until boiling and then turn down to a simmer. Apply a medium heat to pan A. Keep stirring the contents and soon you will detect that the cooking process has begun from the sound produced. The chemical and heat reaction between the oil, salt and onions begins to melt the onions, neutralising all of the acids thus making the mixture sweeter, and you will see that juice is being produced at the bottom of the pan. You must keep stirring and turning the onions over. At no point must you let the onions burn or brown at the bottom of the pan, otherwise it is in the bin time.
6. What will happen of course is that you will start to evaporate all of the water off, so after about 10 minutes you need to add a small amount of cold water. To further assist in the melting down you can sprinkle a little more salt onto the top then stir in. BE CAREFUL. You should taste the juice for saltiness. You cannot reverse this, so do not overdo the adding of further salt.
7. Add the chicken, tomato paste, mix powder and the coconut to pan A.
8. Remember to keep stirring. After 5 minutes add the contents of pan B minus the twigs. Top up with water to cover all of the ingredients if necessary.
9. Leave to cook now until the chicken is cooked through. Do not overcook or the chicken will start to break up.
10. Once cooked, turn off the heat and allow to cool down naturally. Then remove the chicken from the base and store or freeze in 8 portion pieces.

Main

1/2 of a medium sized onion, sliced
1/4 of a capsicum, sliced
1 tablespoon of melted ghee
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon of tomato paste mix (Mix equal quantities of tinned tomato paste and water)
1/2 tablespoon of mix powder
Good pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon of fenugreek leaves
1 medium tomato, chopped coarsely
250ml of melting base gravy
2 tablespoons of fresh coriander, chopped

Base gravy

You will need the following:
Recipe makes approx 2 litres of gravy.

The Body Base

600g of Spanish/Dutch Onions when peeled
80g of carrots
1/4 of a green bell pepper
1/4 of a red bell pepper
1 tablespoon of blended garlic
2 teaspoons of blended ginger
300ml of Rapeseed Oil
1 1/2 level teaspoons of table salt
1.5 litres of hot water
100g of tinned plum tomatoes
4 green cardamoms
1 1/2 tablespoons of mix powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons of onion powder
1 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste
50g of block coconut cream


Method

1. Peel the onions and chop relatively fine, approx 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces
2. Chop the 1/4 green and red pepper into 1/2 inch pieces.
3. Slice the carrots thinly
4. Add the oil to a pan on a low to medium heat, and allow the oil to start to warm up.
5. Add half of the chopped onions. Sprinkle half of the salt over the top of these.
6. Add the remaining onions, sprinkling the remaining salt over the top again. It is during this stage that the salt will begin to react with the onions.
7. Allow the oil to slowly gain temperature.
8. At the point when the oil is just starting to gently fry the onions, give the onions a stir.
9. Add the garlic, followed by the ginger, and stir in. At this point, approximately 4 minutes should have elapsed since adding the oil to the pan.
10. Add the chopped red and green pepper, green cardamoms and carrot. Stir in and allow to cook.
11. After 20 minutes from adding the oil to the pan, add the water.
12. Place the lid on the pan and turn up the heat to boil the contents. Once boiling, turn down to a simmer and add the plum tomato.
13. Stir in and replace the lid. Cook for 30 minutes.
14. Add the mix powder, onion powder and garam masala. Do not stir in.
15. Cook for 10 minutes.
16. Add the tomato paste and block coconut. Stir in and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
17. Turn off the heat and blend the gravy.
Note 1: the gravy should be the consistency of thin soup.

Method:

1. Preheat pan to medium heat.
2. Add ghee, followed by garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until garlic is just golden brown.
3. Add onion, capsicum and salt and cook for 30 to 40 seconds, stirring regularly.
4. Add mix powder, tomato paste mix and fenugreek. Stir constantly while adding the chicken.
5. Shake the contents of the pan in a backwards and forwards motion while fiercely stirring the contents for one minute to ensure the ingredients are well mixed.
6. Add 125ml of the gravy and stir for 2 minutes.
7. Add tomato and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Add the coriander, followed by the remainder of the gravy. Leave to cook and thicken for a further 2 minutes and serve.

DONE!!    

Meat Phall

Prepared with garlic and chillies and is fiery.

You will need:

60ml of Sunflower Oil
250ml heated base sauce (See my other recipes)
10 pieces of pre-cooked meat (lamb or mutton)
2 tablespoons of chopped coriander (cilantro)

Stage 1 Ingredients

¼ teaspoon of Aromatic salt
2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion (1mm pieces or less)
1 teaspoon of light brown sugar
1 teaspoon of finely chopped red and green peppers (1mm pieces or less)

Stage 2 Ingredients

2 teaspoons of garlic paste
1 teaspoon of ginger powder
2 teaspoons of tomato puree
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of ground black mustard
2 teaspoons of chopped green chilli
2 teaspoons of chopped red chilli
2 teaspoons of spice mix
½ teaspoon of chopped fresh methi leaves
5 teaspoons of chilli powder
¼ teaspoon of asafoetida
1 teaspoon of tandoori masala powder
¼ teaspoon of garam masala

Note: The recipe is based upon cooking on gas or electric halogen. For normal electric hob cooking it is suggested you have one ring turned full on and one ring on medium.

1. The gas on one ring turned full up.

2. Add the oil to the frying pan. Place the pan on the ring and heat until the oil is hot.

3. Quickly add in the order listed the stage 1 ingredients. Very quickly and in a circular motion press the back of the chef's spoon into the pan bottom, effectively squeezing the pan ingredients. As the oil is so hot this takes only about 10 seconds, as you will see the onions starting to change colour. Remove from heat.

4. Then quickly add the stage 2 ingredients. Place back on heat. The ingredients are again pressed into the pan as before and scraped across the pan with the edge of the spoon, which will stop them sticking. This is to fuse the ingredients. Do this for about 15 seconds. Be very careful not to burn.

5. Remove from heat and add 1 ladle (4fl oz or 125ml) of heated sauce/gravy and stir in. Return to heat and keep stirring until the sauce bubbles. At this point add a second ladle of base sauce/gravy and stir in. Reduce heat to medium.

6. Depending on the smell at this point a chef's pinch of msg may or may not be added (experience of smell only tells. If unsure don’t this time, but next time do. It can make a big difference).

7. Now add the meat pieces, stirring continuously now to avoid sticking and to get the meat fully heated through. At approximately 5 minutes (cooker dependent) add a tablespoon of chopped coriander (cilantro) and stir again.

8. Remove the pan from the heat and rest for 30 seconds. Serve and garnish with another tablespoon of chopped coriander.

DONE!!

Shami Kebab

Recipe for Shami Kebabs. This recipe will make 8.

What you will need:

675g of finely minced lamb
4 finely chopped garlic cloves
2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon of spice mix (See my other recipes)
½ teaspoon of chilli powder
½ teaspoon of garam masala
½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
½ teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves
1 teaspoon of aromatic salt (See my other recipes)

2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves
2 chopped fresh green chillies
1 teaspoon of mint jelly
½ teaspoon of red food colouring

1. Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well.

2. Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and shape each into a ball. Using the palm of one hand flatten each one into a burger shape just under 10mm thick.

3. Pre-heat your oven to 190 Deg C and place the kebabs onto a rack and cook for approx 12 minutes.

4. Serve with salad and tandoori raita.

For those of you who want to make your own Naan.

generally you wont have a tandoor oven, here is the nearest cooking method.

1. Take one of the dough balls and place on a lightly floured surface. Press the dough out to about ½ inch in thickness and sprinkle a quarter of the garlic across the surface. Roll back up and form a ball again.

2. Start and squash and stretch the dough into a typical naan shape. (Do not use a rolling pin).

3. As you are stretching it, the outer edge of the naan needs to be about ½ inch thick for a margin of around 1 inch, with the inside of the naan thinner. (Imagine a yorkshire pudding)

4. Do the same for the other 3.

5. In a frying pan, pour in a little oil and wipe with absorbent paper to leave an oil film on the pan.

6. Heat the oil in the pan until it reaches smoking point, then put the first naan in.

7. After about a minute lift up one edge to see if it has brown spots. If so, transfer immediately to the grill furthest away from the elements or gas.

8. The naan needs to rise and cook all the way through before browning. (You will have to experiment with your heat settings to obtain this).

Thanks again nets I'm getting quite a collection of these recipes

Thank you from me too I've tried some of your recipes and they are pretty good so keep them coming

Onion Bhaji As requested by ChrisQBG


Ingredients

1kg of onions, chopped into slices
500g of Besan flour
2 teaspoons of finely chopped coriander
2 teaspoons of chilli powder
2 teaspoons of turmeric powder
3 teaspoons of coriander powder
1 teaspoon of methi leaves
2 tablespoons of coriander seeds
approx 300ml of water


Method

1. Heat a small pan and dry roast the coriander seeds.

2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except for Besan and water and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

3. Add the flour and start to add the water, mixing all the time. Continue to add the water until the mix is like a very stiff batter.

4. Heat a deep fat fryer up to 180 deg. C. Or you can Shallow fry turning regularly

5. Shape the mixture into either ball shapes or thick round patties, whichever you prefer. The mixture should not fall apart. If it does add a touch more Besan.

6. Lower the bhajis into the oil and cook for about 8 to 9 minutes or so. You can tell if they are cooked by placing a skewer into the middle. It should come out clean.

Done

Thanks Nets

Don't have a fryer ... can I make into 'burger' shapes instead and shallow fry in ghee?

ChrisQBG wrote:

Thanks Nets

Don't have a fryer ... can I make into 'burger' shapes instead and shallow fry in ghee?

Yes Chris as it says in number 5, but use oil not ghee you won't get it hot enough before it burns

Just to check ... the onions are not sautéed first? They go raw in the mix then fried out in the pan?

ChrisQBG wrote:

Just to check ... the onions are not sautéed first? They go raw in the mix then fried out in the pan?

Correct

ahhh ... that's where I've messed up before then!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Thanks nets another one for my book, I'm secretly going to send them to Gordon :LMHO:but don't tell anyone

Hi nets just been reading about your culinary skills on another forum and this is what was written yesterday

A guy called Colin tried a Curry House a couple of years ago,in Yambol. I supplied him with Coriander. He closed down after a few months. He was telling me the documentation in order to prepare and sell food was horrendous, and took months of inspections etc.

And another

shame, coz Colin's food was great


I thought you were famous :Very funny 2:now I know looks like someone is trying to follow in your shoes in Yambol but I don't think they have a hope in hell the problem is once someone like you has set the standard its then very difficult to follow .

Well done nets you seem to have made the big-time :LMHO:I also seen this post it was on the forum better know to most as a bank, but there are some there who are singing your praises so well done and yes its always hard to follow something that I know was brilliant

Punjabi Chicken Madras

Cooked in a hot, spicy sauce

10 pieces of pre-cooked chicken See (1) below
350ml of pre-simmering Punjabi base gravy See (2) below
2 tablespoons of vegetable ghee
1 tablespoon of garlic paste
1 tablespoon of fried big onion paste See (3) below
1 tablespoon of onion/tomato and cumin paste See (4) below
1 tablespoon of tomato paste mix See (5) below
1 tablespoon of Punjabi mix powder See (6) below
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
3 tablespoons of chopped coriander
1 teaspoon of dried methi leaves

Method:

1. Add the ghee to your pan set between low and medium heat. Allow the ghee to melt.

2. Add the garlic paste, fried big onion paste, tomato paste and onion/tomato and cumin paste. Stir well and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

3. Add the chilli powder, mix powder and methi. Return to the heat and stir in well for 10 seconds.

4. Add half of the Punjabi base gravy and turn the heat up full. Keep stirring until boiling occurs.

5. Add the pre-cooked chicken and the half of the chopped coriander. After about 30 seconds add the remainder of the Punjabi base gravy. Stir occasionally.

6. After about 3 minutes add the rest of the chopped coriander.

Natural evaporation should thicken your curry, which should be ready in about 6 minutes. However if the curry is thickening too early add a touch more gravy or if the curry is not thickening leave to thicken.

Finally serve and garnish with a touch more coriander.

(1) Pre-cooked chicken.

Make Up Liquid

500ml of cold water
2 Asian bay leaves
3 green cardamoms
1 whole clove
1 full finger of star anise
1/2 inch piece of cassia bark (not cinnamon)

Main

2kg of chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
2 Spanish onions (or Tesco extra large onions)
1 tablespoon of blended garlic
1/2 tablespoon of blended ginger
75ml of vegetable oil
2 level teaspoons of table salt
25g of coconut cream
1 heaped tablespoon of Punjabi mix powder
1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste

Method:

1. Peel the onions and chop relatively finely.

2. You will need 2 pans, one we will call pan “A”, capable of holding all the chopped onions and all of the water, and another pan we will call pan “B”, capable of holding 500ml of water, both with room to boil.

3. Place into pan “B” all of the ingredients for the make up liquid.

4. Place into pan “A” the vegetable oil and sprinkle in half the salt. Add the chopped onions, minced garlic and minced ginger and sprinkle over the remaining salt. Stir in well and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Note: The salt will react with the onions and start to extract juice.

5. Turn on the heat to pan “B” until boiling and then turn down to a simmer. Apply a medium heat to pan “A”. Keep stirring the contents and soon you will detect that the cooking process has begun from the sound produced. The chemical and heat reaction between the oil, salt and onions begins to melt the onions, neutralising all of the acids thus making the mixture sweeter, and you will see that juice is being produced at the bottom of the pan. You must keep stirring and turning the onions over. At no point must you let the onions burn or brown at the bottom of the pan, otherwise it is in the bin time. The following picture shows how controlling the heat leaves the onions cooking, glossy and not burning.

6. What will happen of course is that you will start to evaporate all of the water off, so after about 10 minutes you need to add a small amount of cold water. To further assist in the melting down you can sprinkle a little more salt onto the top then stir in. BE CAREFUL. You should taste the juice for saltiness. You cannot reverse this, so do not overdo the adding of further salt.

7. Add the chicken, tomato paste, mix powder and the coconut to pan “A”.

8. Remember to keep stirring. After 5 minutes add the contents of pan “B” minus the twigs. Top up with water to cover all of the ingredients if necessary.

9. Leave to cook now until the chicken is cooked through. Do not overcook or the chicken will start to break up.

10. Once cooked, turn off the heat and allow to cool down naturally. Then remove the chicken from the base and store or freeze in 10 portion pieces.

(2) Punjabi Base Gravy

Ingredients:

3 kg of onions chopped in half
2 tablespoons of Cumin Powder
1 tablespoon of Punjabi Garam Masala
1 tablespoon of turmeric
1 tablespoon of Punjabi curry powder
2 tablespoons of methi leaves
2 tablespoons of Salt
2 teaspoons of chilli powder
150g of garlic/ginger paste
150g of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of honey
3 tablespoons of broken cashew nuts
6 tablespoons of vegetable ghee
1 litre of veg oil
250ml of milk
1/4 of a block of Coconut
Water

Method:

1. Add the onions and salt to a stock pan and cover with water.

2. Bring to the boil, cover and cook until the onions are soft. i.e you can push a skewer easily through them.

3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Top up with water so that the onions are still just covered. Simmer for 1 hour.

4. Then remove from heat and blend until smooth.

5. Cook again for 30 minutes adding any extra "
hot"
water to obtain a thin consistency.


(3) Part of the Punjabi cooking practice is the use of differing pastes. I will describe here the ingredients used in producing the first one which is "
Fried Big Onion Paste"
. I cannot give exact ingredients as this paste is always bought in, and the manufacturers will not provide the recipe to anyone. It is available from the spice shop in 100g sealed foil bags and this is the one that is used in restaurants and takeaways. You need to smell this paste to realise that this is a big part of what some of you will get when talking about the smell from your local. It is now being used in Bengali outlets as a flavouring ingredient and taste enhancer and therefore could be used in the melting base recipes.

We know that it is made from "
Indian Big Onions"
, Sunflower oil and salt. Nothing else is added at all. We have tried in the past to make it with other onions but to no avail. You cannot get even close to the taste but you can if you can get hold of "
Indian Big Onions"
.

Basically the onions are chopped really fine and fried in oil and salt. It ends up a very thick paste. Simple i know but not without the correct onions.

The recipes will include this, but you can of course miss it out however you will be missing some of the flavour in your cooked dishes.

(4) Here is the recipe for the next paste which is made in-house and often called Bunjerra.


Ingredients

500g of onions chopped finely in a food processor
1 teaspoon of garlic paste
1 teaspoon of ginger paste
2 tablespoons of canola or sunflower oil
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
6 tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoons of coriander powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of garam masala
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of salt


Method

This paste is produced in a microwave as there is less chance of burning the whole thing. The microwave used for the recipe was an 800 Watt, the ones used in the restaurant.

1. Into a bowl suitable for your microwave place the processed onions and cumin seed.
2. Microwave on full power for 3 minutes approx
3. Reduce the power to 75% and microwave for 10 minutes
4. Then you need to keep cooking, but stirring every 2 minutes and watch for the onions just to start turning golden in colour. Then stop microwaving. This may take up to 30 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and ginger paste and stir in. Microwave for 10 seconds.
6. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir in.
7. Microwave for 6 minutes, then stir and microwave for 3 minutes
8. Keep checking and stirring whilst continuing to microwave until you end up with a near dry paste.
9. Cover with oil and allow to cool.

The paste can be kept in the fridge for 7 days or frozen after.

(5) Mix equal quantities of tinned tomato paste and water.

(6) Recipe for Punjabi Mix Powder

Ingredients.

11 parts Turmeric Powder
11 parts Punjabi Curry Powder
11 parts Coriander Powder
7 parts Cumin Powder
3 parts Punjabi Garam Masala
3 parts Garlic Powder

Mix all together and store in a dark place