Indian Curries

As this is a predominantly American forum I thought I'd ask if any of you do Indian food? I am a huge fan have discovered an E-book that gives the recipies you need to create curries in the same way as is done in British Indian Restaurants, or BIR as the cooking style is commonly known. I won't share it here, as the guy who wrote it is trying to learn a living from it, but if there is interest I'll share a base gravy recipe (the secret to Indian food) and a recipe for a dish or two.

I was in the USA in 1995 and travelled up from Boston to Canada and back but never saw an Indian Restaurant

reply to post by GeeBee


I honestly have never had real, authentic Indian food. We have a little place here called Curry in a Hurry, but I've never been in there. It's the only Indian food place I can think of.

My old roomate was a vegetarian and cooked a lot of American-Indian food, but still not the real deal. I'd love to check out the real thing one day. =]

Mmmm curry please share your base gravy recipe. Indian cuisine is probably the most varied and IMO the most delicious on the planet. I do cook my own but to me there is nothing better than an Indian Takeaway in my own chair with some Indian Beer or Indian wine which I believe is a very under appreciated Jenre.

I love curry and Indian food.

Where I live now there isn't any place to get either but where I am moving back to has one of my favorite little Indian places. It's a small little cafe type place that has Indian food and the other half is a market with Indian grocery products. I use to love going there for lunch and I can't wait to go back once I move back to the area.


I have never really made any true Indian food. It's hard to find ingredients where I am without a store to get it from.

What is the e book you found? Do you have a link? I"d like to check that book out.

reply to post by GeeBee


I cook Indian food all the time for over 15 years. Chicken currry, Saag Paneer (spiced creamed spinach with paneer cheese inside) , Naan bread, Puri Bread, roti.

Curry paste/gravy is really easier than you may think. Takes practice and tasting along the way to get it right but practice makes perfect. If anyone wants to know I will try to post the recipe for you.

I'm American btw.

reply to post by DaphneApollo


Post your recipes please!!

I'd love to try these!!

MMMMM I'm hungry now for some curry.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Let me write them down and I will post them.

If you have a food processor and the spices (which is what I need to write down) coffee/spice grinder or pestle/morter, you're good to go.

Basics: Onion, jalapeno, ginger, garlic, cilantro, unsweetened coconut toasted, sesame seeds toasted, both ground up,, coconut milk. I will write this up and find some pics for the spices I use. This is just chicken curry and is not the whole process. Takes two hours to pull together.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Chicken Curry recipe (mine) easiest way ( going into food processor )

1 whole onion (cut up roughly)
1 thumb of ginger small piece cut up roughly
1 jalapeno ( up to you if you like hot, leave seeds and membranes in if you like hot )
1 bunch cilantro ( save a little for the end to sprinkle in finished curry )
3-8 cloves of garlic ( leave whole)
toasted coconut and sesame seeds 1/4 cup each ( put in coffee grinder, grind to a paste)
or use tahini paste in place of sesame seeds or use peanut butter and toasted sesame oil
in place of sesame seeds ( if you can't find them, it works believe me)
I can coconut milk
chicken breats, chicken thighs or for vegetarian recipe soya wada (tvp in chunk form) rehydrate
cut up chicken in bite sized pieces.

Spices:
turmeric ( throw into food processor with ingredients up to sesame and coconut powder along with some salt, teaspoon to start)
Process until all smooth

In large pot heat some vegetable oil, throw some cumin seeds into the oil till they pop, don't let them burn, you can also throw some curry leaves into the oil if you can find them, now throw your curry paste into this oil. Cook until the oil separates from the paste ( it is still raw ) when that happens put cut up chicken into
this paste. Cook until chicken is well done. Now, add some coconut milk and either garam masala powder or chicken curry powder, cover, cook a little more until spices have cooked into the paste, taste for salt, heat and spice and adjust as you feel necessary. If the spice powder is added too soon it becomes far too hot, be mindful of this.

Naan Bread recipe:

Almost same as making a pizza dough except this recipe calls for yogurt and oil.

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup warm water ( mix let proof )

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt ( mix )

Proofed yeast mixture
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 table spoons olive oil
mix into flour and add more water to work dough, knead dough till
pulled together into a ball cover with oil and let proof/rise for 4 hours

Punch down, divide into 6 - 8 pieces roll with a rolling pin into rounds and bake 2-3
at a time in a 500 degree oven for 7-9 minutes ......YUMMMMMO!!!!!!!!!

My husband and I are crazy about Indian food. We have a neighborhood Indian restaurant/grocery store that we frequent. The food is fantastic. Our favorite dish is something called Chana Makni Masala (I don't know if I spelled that right). It's chickpeas with a buttery tomato sauce. We get that dish every single time we eat there. I'd love to figure out how to make it at home. I also love Bindi Masala (okra and tomatoes), and don't get me started on garlic naan.

Here's the link to the E-book:

The Secret to That Takeaway Curry Taste

Trust me, it's worth every penny, and he will send you free updates as he does them.

This is the base gravy recipe and instructions. You will need a 7 litre or larger pressure cooker and a powerful hand blender. Mine is 600w and copes ok.

throw this lot into the pressure cooker:

1. Onions (Dutch or English) peeled and halved to almost fill a 7-Litre
pressure cooker.
2. Carrots ( 4 ) [Sliced]
3. Ginger Root ( 4 ~ 5 x 50mm chunks )
4. Garlic & Ginger Paste ( 2 TBSP )
5. Coriander ( 1 bunch ) [Fresh]
6. Water ( 1 Cup )
7. Oiill ( 500ml ) [Seasoned]
8. Pepper ( ½ ) [Green, roughly chopped]

Now carefully fit the sealed lid on the pressure cooker, making sure there are no
obstructions (particularly around the rubber seal). Place the pan on the stove on a
high heat and wait until it reaches pressure and the valve pops up.
Cook this on full pressure for about 25 minutes. This is where you need to wait for
that smell I described earlier [see Top Tip 9]. Once you smell that aroma, take it off
the stove and let it cool down. Once cooled, remove the lid and the onions inside
should be completely translucent and you should be able to poke a knife into one
with no resistance.

Now add the spices:

1. Paprika ( 1 TBSP )
2. Turmeric ( 1 TBSP )
3. Cumin ( 1 TBSP )
4. Coriander ( 1 TBSP )
5. Root Ginger ( 3~4, 50mm Pcs )
6. Curry Powder ( 2 TBSP ) [Rajah Mild Madras]
7. Jaggery ( 1 TBSP ) [or use Demerara or brown sugar]
8. Salt ( 2 TBSP )
9. Garlic & Ginger Paste ( 2 TBSP )
10. Tomatoes (Tin of Plum Tomatoes)
11. Chillies ( 2 ) [Green]

Now transfer the contents of your pressure cooker to a larger pot (15-litre), stir in
the spices, return to the stove and cook in the spices on a moderate heat (not too
high or they will burn!) for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 30 minutes add about another 7 litres of (preferably hot) water, and blend all
the ingredients together with a powerful hand blender. Once the mixture is
completely smooth (like tomato soup), return to the stove on a very very low heat
with the lid on and wait till the oil separates and forms a film on top. Again, don’t
bypass this stage. Then it’s done!
By now you might be thinking “Phew! What a lot of work!” But just consider this.
Once you’ve made your base gravy, all your favourite curries and more are now
minutes away! The great thing about the one pot system is its versatility in creating
a myriad of curries and dishes. Once your gravy is made and your key ingredients
are within your reach, you can have a delicious curry on the table in 8 minutes! If
you’re thinking, “I won’t ever need to cook that many curries”, well, freeze it! Base
gravy freezes well, and you can separate it into manageable quantities to use when
you wish.

reply to post by GeeBee


You'll need a pressure cooker you say? And yes, I'm another lover of Indian food. I go in for the mild, and can't really eat very much of what is called medium spicy. Hot spicy, no way. As a vegan, Indian food is, of course, the favorite of all. Not surprising, given that ideally the people of the upper-caste of India, the Brahmins, never touch "meat" (unclean! unclean!), and so have formulated some of the finest vege and vegan food and recipes on the planet.

You can cook the base gravy without a pressure cooker but it takes hours and hours- the pressure cooker just makes it easier and quicker. The secret is to get the onions to the point of disintigration, which is where the sweet taste comes from.
Bizarrely, I absolutely detest onions and a piece onion in my mouth causes a gag reflex, but I live for curry!

Nothing better than a Vindaloo after a few pints down the pub.

There are a few Indian restaurants here in Cali, but the ones I've been to don't seem to be as good as I remember in Britain. I think most of them are "fake" Americanized Indians/Pakistanis lol.

Went to one once, and the guy kept saying, "I was a good man. A very, very good man!". His name was Babu I think? I hear he got deported.

Trader Joes has frozen microwave curries that are actually not bad lol.

Vindaloo is my favourite dish and I make loads of it. It's also the passion of the guy who wrote the book.The recipe in this E-book will give you a Vindaloo as you would get from a top class restaurant. Here is his Youtbue tutorial on cooking it:

How to make Vindaloo

I'm very fussy about my curries and this is the best Vindaloo I've ever tasted!

reply to post by GeeBee


Thanks for the vid. There's a vid for the 'base gravy' also.

Going to have to give this a try sometime. Probably won't make it 'Vindaloo' though, I don't think my stomach could take it anymore hehe.

Yeah, he's done loads of vids and they're all very informative. If you decide to make the Madras instead, use 3/4tblsp and not a whole one. It allows the flavours to come out more.

hi, I have chefs at my cooking classes who make out of the world Indian Food.

reply to post by sachieauckland


So are we invited?