# Curry



## Chausiubao (Jul 3, 2006)

Does anybody know anything about curry (general information), spices and seasonings, ratios of those seasonings for different types of curry...

Anything would be appreciated.


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## kfarrell (Jul 3, 2006)

Man you've come to the right place, My suggestion is to just buy curry pastes and powder. It's one of those things (like canned tomatoes) which just work ready made. Here are two simple curries I make with Curry Powder. I'm into Ayam powder atm, but Keens make a mean powder too.

Chicken Curry:
1 Red Onion
1 Clove crushed garlic
1 Cup Corn Kernels
500g Diced Chicken (Thighs are great for curry)
500gms small potatoes, cut in half. (About the same size as the chicken)
1 Cup chicken stock 
1/2 Cup cocunut milk (Optional)
2 Tbsp Curry Powder

Cook onions and garlic over a medium heat until soft. 
Add curry powder and cook until fragrant (This is a must for all currys)
In a seperate pan, brown chicken quickly
Add chicken to onion mix, and rest of the ingrediants.
Reduce the liquid until it's thick and potatoes are cooked. I boil the mixr reasonably hard for about 20 minutes.

Beef Curry:
As above but, swap chicken for beef, chicken stock for beef stock, replace cocunut milk with 1 Tbspn Tomato Paste. This adds a richness that compliments the darker meat. And add some green beans.

I've made curry paste from scratch, and I must say, the pre packaged stuff is honestly just as good. If using a paste in the above recipes, use a lot more of it, it's less potent than powder in most cases, but you must still toast it, untill fragrant. I can't stress enough how important it is, to release the aromatics in curry.

If your curry is too hot, add less next time, you wont notice less flavour. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry 

That's a great article about curry that might answer some of your questions.


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## Chausiubao (Jul 3, 2006)

huh cool. maybe you can look over a recipe i found? I had a bit of difficulty with it, but that may soon resolved once i try it again.

16 oz. Ground Beef
1 Onion Diced
5 Chili Peppers Diced
2 Bay Leaves Diced
2 Tbsp. Curry Powder
2 Slices Ginger Crushed
3 Cloves Garlic Crushed
1/2 C. Tomato Sauce

Oil a pot and fry diced bay leaves and chili peppers, then add onions and cook on low heat until caramelized. Add ground beef and cook until not visibly raw, add curry powder and tomato sauce, cook on medium low for 20 to 30 minutes. Add Garlic and Ginger and cook for several more minutes and salt as needed. 

I'm pretty sure that curry is a sauce based dish made from reducing down the liquid that is used to make the curry, but with this recipe, it seems like there wouldn't be all that much liquid to begin with, indeed when i tried the liquid that came out of the beef and the tomato sauce didn't amoun to much liquid, or am i missing something? I could always try a different recipe, i dunno if this recipes all that rustworthy.


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## Chausiubao (Jul 3, 2006)

ah. this is interesting, i don't htink its physically possible to look at every recipe here. But i guess thats a good thing. I'll be sure to peruse and try a few. O and can a mod or admin take care of my little double post up there =b.


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## BreezyCooking (Jul 3, 2006)

Keep in mind that there are literally hundreds (if not more) of different types of curries based in several different cuisines.  It would really be impossible to give you "general" information about them on an internet forum.

If I were you & were interested in curries, I'd not only search the web, but also perhaps pick up a few inexpensive Indian, Thai, Carribean, &/or Indonesian-style cookbooks.  Most have glossaries with in-depth explanations of ingredients & different curry spice mixes.

A little research will lead to some interesting cooking & eating.


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## Ishbel (Jul 4, 2006)

I have to say that in all my years of travelling and eating curries all round the world, I've never eaten a curry with minced beef in it!


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## Yakuta (Jul 10, 2006)

Hi Ishbel, actually Keema is very popular in Indian cuisine and our Keema (minced or ground beef) is made with curry spices. 

I love to cook that with some peas in it.  

The recipe that Chausibao posted is for Keema and it's definitely an Indo/Pak preparation.  I have never heard of Indonesian's or Thai or any others making a ground beef curry. 

Curry powder (Indian style) would be fine for this recipe.  I normally roast whole cumin seeds (1 tsp), corrainder seeds (1 tsp), black pepper (4 whole ones), cloves (2), 1 small stick of cinnamon and 2 cardamom pods to make my masala (or curry concoction).  It can get more involved but these spices are sufficient to get the flavors in a curry.  Add to that a little tumeric and some red chili powder and paprika and you made yourself a curry spice mix.  I know I make it sound easy but it is indeed easy if you have these spices in your pantry.  If not it's easier to buy curry powder especially if you only cook this type of food once in a while. 

Also some tips I can give you about making a really nice keema (ground beef) curry is to ensure that the onions are almost browned and then the spices and tomatoes are added and cooked until almost a paste.  Next add the keema and let it cook covered (break the lumps) for atleast 30 minutes.  Now using elbow grease saute the beef until it's nicely browned.  I don't like watery looking keema curry.  To get a nice taste you have to use elbow grease. 

All the best.


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## Ishbel (Jul 10, 2006)

Beef curries are almost unheard of in our 'Indian' restaurants - don't quite know why, as most of the Chefs are not Indian,  but Pakistani or Bangladeshi


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## urmaniac13 (Jul 10, 2006)

I hadn't been accustomed to anything Indian using beef either, however according to Yakuta, beef can be eaten regularly in some northern part of India, among the Muslims. It is the Hindi who do not eat beef and among the region with Muslims, pork is instead forbidden.

After she told me that I tried curried meatballs with minced beef, they were quite tasty


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## Yakuta (Jul 10, 2006)

Actually the keema curry you get in Indian restaurants (and you get them in India and also in US) are made with ground Lamb since the restaurants cater to both Hindus and Muslims and Hindus are a majority so they have to adjust since beef is strictly off limits for them.  

I make my curry with beef because I like the taste and I am not a huge lamb fan (especially here in the US) because it's rather gamey in taste.


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## Ishbel (Jul 10, 2006)

Yes, the few 'Indian' restaurants we had in the 60s were owned by Hindus who naturally shunned beef.  But, when the huge flowering of our 'Indian' restaurants happened, they were really Pakistani or Bangadeshi - who could served beef but obviously chose not to, in order to keep up the 'Indians don't cook beef curry' idea  

Yes, I love beef curries - I make my own out of stewing beef and love it.


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## kyles (Jul 11, 2006)

I struggle with Indian style curries as prepared in restaurants here (in the UK). I find they overcook the spices and are quite bitter.

When in Australia I ate quite a few curries, Thai and Nepalese, and I loved them, so I am vowing to make more curries at home.

I started last night with a Thai jungle curry using a Charmaine Solomon paste with diced lamb, pak choy and coconut milk. It was a resounding success!


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## Ishbel (Jul 11, 2006)

I think it's a matter of what we learned to eat as youngsters, Kyles. My sister swears she cannot get a 'real' Indian curry in Australia. And, having tried 3 curry houses in Sydney and 2 in Canberra with her, I'd have to agree. Don't think they were 'wrong', the dishes just didn't taste the same, but had the same name!

Now, Thai and Vietnamese food? I think that's better in Australia than in the UK by a mile  

Is that you back in darkest Lancs or are you still in the land of Neighbours?!


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## kyles (Jul 11, 2006)

I'm in darkest Lancs (well sunny Salford today) got back on Saturday. My brain is somewhere hovering over the middle east! Hope it comes back to me soon!


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## Ishbel (Jul 11, 2006)

I never find the jet lag so bad going TO Aus as when coming back    Somehow, I don't mind waking WIDE awake at 3.00 am in Sydney or wherever, probably because I'm on holiday!  But, coming back and then having to go to work only a couple of days later is a killer.


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## Claire (Jul 15, 2006)

I make curry at least a couple times a month, and simply go by taste.  My pantry has at least a couple of Indian-style curry blends picked up at my local Asian grocer, turmeric, dark mustard seed, coriander seed, hot pepper (right now an Indian product from the aforementioned grocer, but I'm not above adding mexican cayenne if I need the heat and that's what is there), garam masala, cumin, and coconut milk.  My favorite veggies for an Indian-style curry are potatoes, onions, carrots and cauliflower.  I do like to depend on jarred Thai curries for that cuisine, especially green.  And, especially with Thai curries, never forget that you want tons of fresh herbs.  If you're 'scared of your guests' reactions to, say, cilantro, then take a glass and put it on the table full of water and herbs, like a bouquet of flowers, and have everyone grab what they want.  Guests love interactive dinners like that; it gets the conversation flowing.  I also put out crushed peanuts.  Hawaiian-style curries will have bowls of peanuts, shredded coconut, chopped hard-boiled eggs and other condiments.  This strikes me as rather Indonesian in origin, but then Hawaii is the ultimate melting pot (how I miss the food!!!).  

For Indian curry, go the extra mile and make up some basmati rice.  For Thai, Jasmine rice.  It's a nice extra touch.

I make up a batch of what I call Indian-style curry and always have some in the freezer.  I make it meatless, then add meat -- often leftover meat from a cookout -- if we want it.  

I don't go by a recipe, just make it.  My Brit and Pakistani friends seem happy with it.  NEVER, and i do mean NEVER try to match someone else's experience.  You can never, ever make something that is just like they used to get in their salad days in another country, or what Mom made, or ....  Don't go there.  I plainly say, "this is my take on this particular dish, I'm not trying to create Bangkok, London, or New Dehli."  Don't invite people to compare your food to your mother-in-law's, or a certain restaurant if you love cooking.  Some people love to cook, others love to compete.  When you do the latter, you ruin the dinner party!


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## Claire (Jul 15, 2006)

Oh!  I forgot!  I often make Indian style curries using golden or red lentils to thicken the sauce (dal).


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## Michael in FtW (Jul 15, 2006)

"Curry" is like "spaghetti sauce" ... it's _regional_ and totally open to interpretation depending on who is making it. I know the curry my friend Usha (from India) makes is nothing like the curry Madon (from Nepal) makes - and nothing like that from my friend from Thailand. 

Here is a place to find more curry recipes than you can shake a stick at!

But, as someone alluded to earlier - do you mean curry as a spice or as a dish?


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## karadekoolaid (Jul 17, 2006)

Curry Powder was, most probably, prepared for an ex-patriot Brit by his Indian batman. If you look up authentic Indian food sites on the web, you'll see recipes using turmeric, or coriander seeds, or cumin seeds, or fenugreek, or cardamom - but very, very rarely, curry powder. I believe the word is probably a transliteration of the Tamil word _kari, _which means sauce. 

Authentic Indian food uses individual spices according to the main ingredients AND the region in India. The most common spice mixes I've come across in Indian food are Garam Masala ( which means _hot spices_, but doesn't include chili peppers!) Panch Puran ( Bengali 5-spice mixture, used whole, and includes cumin seed, fennel seed, kalonji seed, mustard seed and fenugreek seed) and a slightly lesser known mixture called _sambhar_, which is from South India and includes ground lentils. Each household has it's own Garam Masala,jealously guarded by the Chef!

Learning to use and combine the individual spices takes years. I've been cooking "authentic" ( well at least, I think so!) Indian food for 30 years and, like Socrates, the only thing I know is that I know nothing. 

A wonderful Punjabi lady in Deptford, South London, once told me that the best way to start learning about Indian food was to buy some coriander seeds, some cumin seeds, and some turmeric powder. Take 3 tsps of coriander, 2 tsps cumin and roast the seeds gently till you can smell the aroma. Grind these seeds and add 1 tsp turmeric. ( Easy - 3:2:1). 
Then chop up an onion, with a piece of ginger and two or three cloves of garlic. Fry these in ghee (Indian clarified butter) until just brown, then add the spices. Mix together quickly, then add meat, chicken, vegetables, etc. Add water and salt to taste. 
I went home and tried it out - and I've never looked back. That was in 1974.

I'm not knocking curry powder, though. It's a glorious standby. Once you 've made your own, though, you may never return to those stale shop-bought brands! You will be enchanted forever!!

Thai curries, Indonesian curries, Trinidadian curries and even Venezuelan curries are totally and absolutely different from the original Indian dish, incorporating local ingredients and tastes . 

I could talk about "curries" all day long!


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## karadekoolaid (Jul 17, 2006)

Chausiubao said:
			
		

> huh cool. maybe you can look over a recipe i found? I had a bit of difficulty with it, but that may soon resolved once i try it again.
> 
> 16 oz. Ground Beef
> 1 Onion Diced
> ...


 
This recipe is for a "dry" curry, so you won't get much sauce. Not all "curry" dishes are floating in sauce!
If you can find some Curry Leaves at your local Indian grocery, try them instead of the bay leaves. I'd also try using a cup of fresh, diced tomatoes ( or even canned tomatoes, blitzed in a blender) instead of the "tomato sauce".I'd also add the garlic & ginger with the spices.


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## Chausiubao (Jul 19, 2006)

ah. curry leaves. I'll look into, tho i've never heard of that. Yea i did add the ginger adn garlic earlier then the recipe called for, and it wasn't too bad either. I'll give this another try.


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## karadekoolaid (Jul 19, 2006)

With this particular recipe, I'd make some Chenna Dal  - using whole garbanzo (chickpeas) instead of the Indian chenna. Soak your ( about 150 gms) dried chickpeas in water overnight then cook in plain water, no salt, with 2 bay leaves and a tsp of turmeric powder. Once cooked, drain and save a cup of the cooking liquid. 
Fry 2 medium onions, sliced into half-moons, in plenty of ghee (or butter mixed with cooking oil).When barely soft, add  6 cloves of garlic ( YES! this works with plenty of garlic) and 1" of minced ginger. Stir around once or twice, then add 3 minced fresh green chillies. LESS if you don't like it hot - but this dish works very well slightly hot. 
Now add 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder, 2 tsps cumin seeds, 6 green cardamom seeds and a tsp of fenugreek. Stir once or twice, then add the beans (again), the  and just enough water to cover. Add 1 tsp salt. 
Cook until the mixture boils then add 1/2 cup chopped tomato. 
Cook until you have a a thickish sauce - then add 1 tsp Garam Masala, 1 TBSP chopped coriander leaf and the juice of half a lemon. 
Mix together, check for salt, then eat!


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## BreezyCooking (Jul 20, 2006)

Cliveb - thanks for that recipe - it's right up my alley & except for the dry garbanzos, I (amazingly enough!!) have all the other ingredients in my pantry!

One question - since the green cardamom seeds are added to the dish whole, do you eat them, eat around them, or fish them out before serving?


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## karadekoolaid (Jul 20, 2006)

I usually fish them out, although you can eat them if you want. Skins are a bit chewy...!


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## Romany123 (Jul 21, 2006)

cliveb said:
			
		

> I usually fish them out, although you can eat them if you want. Skins are a bit chewy...!



I fish them out to, They are there mainly as a flavor agent.


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## NZDoug (Aug 18, 2006)

you crush the cardomon pods with the flat of a blade, put them in the simmering sauce for 40 minutes or so, then fish them out.
Then squeeze the little circular bally things back in.
I usually eat the pod bit while cooking because their good roughage and taste good and Im starving


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## Gretchen (Aug 18, 2006)

Ishbel said:
			
		

> I have to say that in all my years of travelling and eating curries all round the world, I've never eaten a curry with minced beef in it!


 
Larb is minced meats also.


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## Queequeg (Aug 19, 2006)

I only recently discovered the wonders of cardomon pods when steaming cod in a Thai curry sauce and was pleasently suprised. Nothing like I expected. 

I have had a decent bit of experince cooking Thai currys mostly and have my own TNT Thai prawn curry which I am very proud of. 

The only thing that bothers me with lot of curry recipes I see on TV and read in books in the excess of ingrediants. Quite often (especially in indian curries) I see 6 or so different spices and a spice mix which may contain at least two of the individual spices previously included. I don't understand this approach, surely just added more of the seperate spices and the extra ones seperate rather then adding a blend. This way you get a more precise control over what you want. Indicates to me when I see this that the author dosn't have a true understanding of perhapes what is even in the blend let alone the understanding of individual spices that takes years to master.

The rule I try and use when composing ingrediants for a curry is "why?" and not "Why not?". It is very tempting with curry to feel the need to add 30+ flavours which can just end up leading to a generic curry flavour which to me is half the fun of cooking curries out the window.


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## FryBoy (Aug 19, 2006)

I suggest that you look for one of Madhur Jaffrey's superb Indian cookbooks. Check Amazon.com or eBay for good deals.


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## karadekoolaid (Aug 20, 2006)

Queequeg said:
			
		

> ...The only thing that bothers me with lot of curry recipes I see on TV and read in books in the excess of ingrediants. Quite often (especially in indian curries) I see 6 or so different spices and a spice mix which may contain at least two of the individual spices previously included. I don't understand this approach, surely just added more of the seperate spices and the extra ones seperate rather then adding a blend...


 
Indian food is often delicious with one, or maybe just two spices. However, there are recipes with many spices, added at different stages of the cooking in order to provide specific taste experiences. Some dishes, for example, may have whole spices added at the beginning in order to flavour the oil. Others may have spices added at the end ( Garam Masala is a good example) to give an aromatic perfume to the final dish. Or you may find the use of a tarka or bhagar - whole spices sizzled in ghee and added to the dish at the last moment. Tossing in loads of spices just for the sake of it does nothing; adding them little by little or in large numbers is an art which takes many years to develop. 
Madhur Jaffrey wrote a splendid little book called " Madhur Jaffrey's Spice Kitchen" which has about 50 different recipes using spices.


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## FryBoy (Aug 20, 2006)

Queequeg said:
			
		

> The only thing that bothers me with lot of curry recipes I see on TV and read in books in the excess of ingrediants. Quite often (especially in indian curries) I see 6 or so different spices and a spice mix which may contain at least two of the individual spices previously included. I don't understand this approach.... It is very tempting with curry to feel the need to add 30+ flavours which can just end up leading to a generic curry flavour which to me is half the fun of cooking curries out the window.


 
Amen! I think your comments are applicable to many dishes, including things like chili and spaghetti sauces, especially when prepared by inexperienced cooks. It takes a while for many of us to come to the realization that simple is often better. 

When I was in college, my roommates and I ate a lot of spaghetti. At first we used those packaged spaghetti sauce mixes (bottled sauce wasn't commonly available, and it was expensive back in the day), but then we began adding stuff, and pretty soon discovered it was cheaper to buy our own ingredients. We started with onion, garlic powder, oregano, and basil, but kept adding more things each time we made it. I think we ended up with about 30 ingredients, including chili powder, Worcestershire, Tabasco, mustard, and 10 or 20 spices. Very Italian, no?


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## Queequeg (Aug 22, 2006)

cliveb said:
			
		

> However, there are recipes with many spices, added at different stages of the cooking in order to provide specific taste experiences. Some dishes, for example, may have whole spices added at the beginning in order to flavour the oil. Others may have spices added at the end ( Garam Masala is a good example) to give an aromatic perfume to the final dish.


 
This is so obvious now you have explained it, many thanks.  I shall have to go back and look at some of those recipes I previously dismissed 

I still think that many curry recipes are over complicated though and as FryBoy righty points out this does exist in many other forms of cooking to. I like to try and keep a recipe tight. An ingrediant has to justify it's self.

I have a friend who's cooking is a little suseptable to lenghy ingrediant lists. For example a month or so ago he cooked a Tangine and very nice to it was, only if a little confused IMO. The spice list included Paprika, corriander seed, cumin, cinnamon, Tumeric and fresh corriander. looking at it now the list dosn't seem that extensive but the dish also included some other strong flavours including honey, orange juice and stock. I dare say that dispite his over enthusiam to include many ingrediants he is more of a experimental cook than myself and so probably learns more in the process.


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## BreezyCooking (Aug 22, 2006)

Queequeg - just like many Indian dishes, African tagines also use a number of herbs & spices to develop their distinctive flavors.  While it might look like a lot, the resulting dish is definitely worth the effort.


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## karadekoolaid (Aug 23, 2006)

BreezyCooking said:
			
		

> Queequeg - just like many Indian dishes, African tagines also use a number of herbs & spices to develop their distinctive flavors. While it might look like a lot, the resulting dish is definitely worth the effort.


 
And you have to be careful of _over-condimenting, _i.e. using too much of each spice. Cinnamon, for example, is delicious in small quantities but overpowering if you use it in excess. Sometimes I wonder when I see a recipe that says "1/8th tsp ground cloves", but the idea is to use the spices t5o complement the main ingredients, not to mask them. 

That's where you're spot on, Queequeg - make every ingredient count in your recipe!


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