Takeaway Style Curry, Home Made
Discussion
Several years ago I decided to learn how to make takeaway/restaurant style curry at home. After having mixed success on my own, I eventually found the great resource that is curry-recipes.co.uk (cr0.co.uk at the time). I've posted about this place on a few threads about curry, but thought I would share my own recipe and method here for anyone interested. The below is the result of many years of trial and error, though my quantities and recipe will vary as I just make it up every time!
Hopefully the thread is useful to some, and may even prompt some discussion and idea sharing! On to the recipe;
Most of you probably know that restaurants/takeaway's have a 'base sauce' from which they will produce the majority of dishes. This is essentially boiled onions and spices, blended to a thin sauce which is then added in ladles when making the final dish. Recipe, method and pics below for my base, and for a final dish - in this case a Dupiaza style thing. Base should do 8-10 portions of takeaway style curry. It may seem a lot of oil, but it's impossible to get the takeaway flavour and texture with much less, end result will probably be ~2-3tbsp per finished (large) curry portion. Obviously it's your dinner, experiment with less if you wish (I've certainly done so). In my experience, this much is just right, gives the flavour and texture without the dish being oily.
Base Recipe
2kg onions
250ml veg oil
6 large cloves garlic
2 inch piece fresh ginger (I use 1 1/2 cubes frozen minced ginger, available at asian stores)
12 fresh curry leaves
1/2 bunch fresh coriander
1tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
1tbsp turmeric
1tbsp fenugreek powder
1tbsp curry powder (Rajah madras gold works well)
1tsp salt
1tsp chilli powder
Base Method
Essentially, it's as simple as chopping everything up, sticking it in a big pot, covering with water and leaving to simmer for 3 hours before blending
After a few hours you should end up with this
After blending, you're looking for a texture similar to that of a thin carrot and coriander soup
Curry Recipe
At this point, I would marinade some chicken in a mixture of Tikka Paste (Patak's) and veg oil, for at least an hour. Once marinaded, cook off the chicken either in the oven or a pan, and set aside. Recipe below is for a two portion curry, so lets call it two chicken breasts.
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped large
1 pepper, chopped large
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, crushed, minced or chopped
1-2tbsp passata
1tsp curry powder (again, Rajah Madras gold is a solid choice)
1tsp dried fenugreek leaves
1tsp fenugreek powder
1/2tsp chilli powder
handful fresh coriander, chopped
veg oil for frying onions, 2-3 tbsp
pinch garam massala
Method
The end result is all about the method/technique, throw these ingredients together in a different fashion and you won't get the same result. Heat and a good pan (I use a wok on a wok burner) are essential. Note pics below are from a 4 portion curry (though the method works better in smaller batches, since we don't have the same heat available from the burners at home). You can also mix up the spices to get the flavour you're looking for.
Start with getting your pan to a medium heat, add the oil and throw in the onions and peppers. You want to cook these fairly gently so as not to colour too much, but you want them soft and translucent.
Keep the heat down, and add in your spices (with the exception of Garam Massala which is added at the end). Stir around for about 60 seconds, then add in the garlic. Give this another 60 seconds, you should end up with something like the below
Now add in your passata, crank the heat right up and fry it off, reducing down to an oniony, tomatoey paste.
Keeping the heat up, add in your base a ladle at a time, you want it to fry rather than simmer, and reduce down before adding in the next ladle. Depending on your ladle, you'll probably want about three of them before you end up with the below. At this point I would taste and add as much of the salt as you wish. If you're into heat, a teaspoon of Mr Naga at this point is an excellent addition.
Now throw in your chicken (or whatever other pre cooked meat/veg/pulses you are using, it works great with chick peas) and reduce the heat to a simmer for maybe 5-10 mins. Add in a little more base if you think it's getting too thick/over-reduced.
Now you're almost there, turn off the heat and add a handful of fresh coriander and a pinch of garam massala, then give it a good stir. All being well you'll be left with something you would be happy to see come out of a takeaway tray!
Serve with rice/bread in the traditional fashion.
Hopefully the thread is useful to some, and may even prompt some discussion and idea sharing! On to the recipe;
Most of you probably know that restaurants/takeaway's have a 'base sauce' from which they will produce the majority of dishes. This is essentially boiled onions and spices, blended to a thin sauce which is then added in ladles when making the final dish. Recipe, method and pics below for my base, and for a final dish - in this case a Dupiaza style thing. Base should do 8-10 portions of takeaway style curry. It may seem a lot of oil, but it's impossible to get the takeaway flavour and texture with much less, end result will probably be ~2-3tbsp per finished (large) curry portion. Obviously it's your dinner, experiment with less if you wish (I've certainly done so). In my experience, this much is just right, gives the flavour and texture without the dish being oily.
Base Recipe
2kg onions
250ml veg oil
6 large cloves garlic
2 inch piece fresh ginger (I use 1 1/2 cubes frozen minced ginger, available at asian stores)
12 fresh curry leaves
1/2 bunch fresh coriander
1tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
1tbsp turmeric
1tbsp fenugreek powder
1tbsp curry powder (Rajah madras gold works well)
1tsp salt
1tsp chilli powder
Base Method
Essentially, it's as simple as chopping everything up, sticking it in a big pot, covering with water and leaving to simmer for 3 hours before blending
After a few hours you should end up with this
After blending, you're looking for a texture similar to that of a thin carrot and coriander soup
Curry Recipe
At this point, I would marinade some chicken in a mixture of Tikka Paste (Patak's) and veg oil, for at least an hour. Once marinaded, cook off the chicken either in the oven or a pan, and set aside. Recipe below is for a two portion curry, so lets call it two chicken breasts.
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped large
1 pepper, chopped large
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, crushed, minced or chopped
1-2tbsp passata
1tsp curry powder (again, Rajah Madras gold is a solid choice)
1tsp dried fenugreek leaves
1tsp fenugreek powder
1/2tsp chilli powder
handful fresh coriander, chopped
veg oil for frying onions, 2-3 tbsp
pinch garam massala
Method
The end result is all about the method/technique, throw these ingredients together in a different fashion and you won't get the same result. Heat and a good pan (I use a wok on a wok burner) are essential. Note pics below are from a 4 portion curry (though the method works better in smaller batches, since we don't have the same heat available from the burners at home). You can also mix up the spices to get the flavour you're looking for.
Start with getting your pan to a medium heat, add the oil and throw in the onions and peppers. You want to cook these fairly gently so as not to colour too much, but you want them soft and translucent.
Keep the heat down, and add in your spices (with the exception of Garam Massala which is added at the end). Stir around for about 60 seconds, then add in the garlic. Give this another 60 seconds, you should end up with something like the below
Now add in your passata, crank the heat right up and fry it off, reducing down to an oniony, tomatoey paste.
Keeping the heat up, add in your base a ladle at a time, you want it to fry rather than simmer, and reduce down before adding in the next ladle. Depending on your ladle, you'll probably want about three of them before you end up with the below. At this point I would taste and add as much of the salt as you wish. If you're into heat, a teaspoon of Mr Naga at this point is an excellent addition.
Now throw in your chicken (or whatever other pre cooked meat/veg/pulses you are using, it works great with chick peas) and reduce the heat to a simmer for maybe 5-10 mins. Add in a little more base if you think it's getting too thick/over-reduced.
Now you're almost there, turn off the heat and add a handful of fresh coriander and a pinch of garam massala, then give it a good stir. All being well you'll be left with something you would be happy to see come out of a takeaway tray!
Serve with rice/bread in the traditional fashion.
Absolutely the base freezes well and makes for a quick curry on demand. Recipe will scale up just fine if you have a massive pot.
Very interested to see people's results and opinions if they have a crack. Recipe is designed to be "fool proof", consistent and repeatable, many of the techniques you will see on curry-recipes.co.uk use high heat throughout which can lead to burning of spices/garlic very quickly in my experience and yield disappointing results if you take the spices even slightly too far (or not far enough!).
Very interested to see people's results and opinions if they have a crack. Recipe is designed to be "fool proof", consistent and repeatable, many of the techniques you will see on curry-recipes.co.uk use high heat throughout which can lead to burning of spices/garlic very quickly in my experience and yield disappointing results if you take the spices even slightly too far (or not far enough!).
Good post.
There is a bloke on Youtube called Al's Kitchen who is very good at all things curry.
http://www.alskitchen.co.uk/
There is a bloke on Youtube called Al's Kitchen who is very good at all things curry.
http://www.alskitchen.co.uk/
MonkeyBusiness said:
Good post.
There is a bloke on Youtube called Al's Kitchen who is very good at all things curry.
http://www.alskitchen.co.uk/
yes, I have been studying this guy's vids for a while. Have you made one?There is a bloke on Youtube called Al's Kitchen who is very good at all things curry.
http://www.alskitchen.co.uk/
From just watching a couple of the vids, what he's doing is spot on. His base wouldn't be to my taste, I've tried experimenting with tomatoes and adding potato, carrot etc and frankly I don't think it's required, plus I don't really like a "tomatoey" curry, I'm shooting more for the old school "brown" curry, but I would definitely recommend anyone interested tries both ways and makes their own mind up.
boobles said:
You just made me feel hungry!! We cook a lot of Indian dishes & they are so much better than takeaway. 
Agreed, more authentic stuff can be excellent. This is particularly trying to recreate good takeaway curry though, which when done well is the pinnacle of foodstuffs! Unfortunately, 95% of curry houses these days produce bland watery crap.I have 250ml pots of the basic curry sauce in the freezer. It's a great idea, OP
It all came from here:
http://www.thecurrysecret.co.uk/
It all came from here:
http://www.thecurrysecret.co.uk/
Curry Secret was my first venture into this style, and is a very good starting point. Would recommend you check out this recipe, or any of the popular bases from curry-recipes.co.uk, you should find you'll get closer to the grail. Of course, everyone's idea of a good takeaway is different and they're pursuing different flavours, so perhaps The Curry Secret is already perfect for you!
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