Curry recipe for a beginner

[dave0010]

My cooking skills are very very limited. This is slowly changing after purchasing a slow cooker. The next thing I'd like to start to try will be curry's, mainly because I've been told there so simply to cook.

So guys any family recipes or ideas you'd like to share? I can cook rice which I'm sure is possible the biggest hurdle. I would just like some ideas as what to do next.

[scottri]

I like to cook beef rendang, it has a lot of ingredients but the actual cooking is dead easy - just takes while as its basically slow cooked (in fact my sister has cooked it in a slow cooker).

I do the Rick Stein version but this one is very similar http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/beefrendang_7876...

edit - I tend not to bother with rice, i just have naan bread and beer and maybe a cucumber salad which goes amazingly well - it cuts through the deep flavours and cools the chilli heat.

Edited by scottri on Saturday 27th December 14:42

[bridgdav]

Get a bag load of Onions, celery, carrot, and any other vegetables you have left over from Xmas.
Some generous helpings of Garam Masala, curry paste, cumin, curry spices etc,
A few tins of chopped tomatoes..

Put them all in the Slow cooker for several hours to stew down. Taste during the day to add extra spice, heat from Cayenne pepper/ chilli powder for instance.. To cool add more tomatoes, juice or yoghurt.

Remove from cooker and blitz in a food processor, liquidser until smooth.
That is the base Gravy for your curries. Can be frozen or used straight away.

Next thing is to marinade some Meat, chicken, beef, Lamb etc. gently fry or brown the meat. Spoon over the Gravy and simmer for half hour. Could be in the slow cooker.

Over time you can experiment with different spices and flavours in the gravy to achieve your favourite.

Enjoy.

[TSCfree]

Tried loads of curry recipes of the years and then found a website called Curry Recipes Online. As the poster above says cook a base gravy, store in tubs in the freezer. Then whenever you want a curry it's as simple as added the relevant spices to the wok, chucking in the meat and adding the gravy.

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?PHP...

Here's the base recipe I use for a BIR flavour
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/top...

Vid of the pressure cooker version above
http://vimeo.com/40144303

Edited by TSCfree on Saturday 27th December 19:54

[craig1912]

This book is a good start if you want to make similar curries to your typical restaurant.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Curry-Secret-Indian-Re...

Edited by craig1912 on Sunday 28th December 10:48

[STW2010]

craig1912 said:

This book is a good start if you want to make similar curries to you typical restaurant.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Curry-Secret-Indian-Re...

+1

I use this too. In addition to the curries there are recipies for onion bhajis and other side dishes.

[ambuletz]

if you like to use Youtube I suggest this woman.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TitliNihaan


Her videos are easy to understand and very straight forward. Lots of curry dishes among other things.

[PositronicRay]

Here's what I do for 2 people

Fry some onion and garlic in oil or butter for 10mins
Add 1 de-seeded chopped chili
5 cloves of garlic crushed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
2 teaspoons turmeric
Grate in fresh ginger (thumb size piece)
1/4 teaspoon on Cayenne
Carton of tomatoes
Chicken or vegetable stock pot (or cube)

This is a basic curry sauce that you can build upon and adjust to your own taste.

Add vegetables/meat and simmer till cooked. (I like chicken & potato with some green beans and fresh tomatoes added 10mins before serving)

Rice
fry up a small onion in some oil (non stick pan with decent lid)
add
3 cardamon pods
Teaspoon cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
salt
100g of basmati rice + twice the volume of water
Bring to boil for put lid on and simmer for exactly 10mins (do not lift lid trust me)
after 10 mins turn off heat and stir once, put lid back on and leave of 5-10mins, the rice will have absorbed any moisture and be perfect everytime.

[21TonyK]

Okay, heres a very simple but real recipe.

Grab a skinned chicken leg and put in in a frying pan. Put on a medium heat and add a splash of oil. Roll it a round until it turns white. Now add a handfull of chopped up onion and a few cloves of garlic sliced or chopped. Keep it all moving while the onion and the garlic start to cook and go translucent.

Now grind in as much black pepper as you dare. I mean lots.

Turn the heat up a little until everything starts to brown.

Add a tin on coconut milk and drop the heat down again.

Let it all bubble for a while and then serve.

If you have cardamom pods and bayleaves to hand chuck a few in with the ground pepper but TBH a pepper curry chicken is pretty good on its own with some plain boiled rice.

[AmitG]

21TonyK said:

Let it all bubble for a while and then serve.

In this recipe how long is "a while"?

I might try it, normally I do something more labour intensive but this sounds like a nice quick version.

[Hoover.]

I like the sounds of 21Tonyk pepper curry chicken, that's tonights tea sorted.... albeit with breast as that's whats in the fridge

[Mobile Chicane]

The Sainsbury book, 'Curry' is very easy to follow, and the recipes are quick to prepare. You can either use bought pastes or make your own from the instructions provided.

[zygalski]

A basic chicken curry for 2 would be something like this:

Roughly chop an onion & fry in a dessert spoon of oil on a medium heat until lightly golden in a wok. Lower the heat & add 4 cloves of finely chopped garlic & a finely chopped 1 inch square piece of ginger.

Chop 4-6 skinless & boneless chicken thighs into roughly 2 inch chunks & add to the onion mix.
After a couple of minutes turning the chicken should be white all over. Add the spices.

A teaspoon of ground cumin, a teaspoon of ground coriander seeds, a teaspoon of turmeric & half a teaspoon of chilli powder or more if want it hot. Also add a few turns of freshly ground black pepper & 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt.
Fry this on low for just 30 seconds to release the aromas.
Add a tin of chopped tomatoes & mix well.
After a minute or so add a little hot water just so the mixture doesn't catch on the bottom of the wok or pan.
Lightly simmer on a medium/low heat until the chicken is cooked. This should take another 10 minutes or so.

When ready to serve, add a teaspoon of garam masala & mix well.
Finally, chop some fresh coriander leaves & serve with plain rice.

From start to finish this should take about 30 minutes max, and will have decent, authentic taste.

Edited by zygalski on Monday 29th December 08:39

[trashbat]

I really like this:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/3...

It's an interesting article about how curry fundamentals are essentially a matrix.

The chicken and red pepper curry is excellent, although once you're happy, you should then use the article to think about how to extend or modify it. You do need a blender.

There's never anything technical either - sometimes it's a bit messy or time consuming, but never difficult.

[spikeyhead]

Madhur Jaffery has a book called "curry easy" which is full of easy curries.

The hairy Bikers also have a curry book with easy to follow recipes.

[trashbat]

spikeyhead said:

Madhur Jaffery has a book called "curry easy" which is full of easy curries.

Seconded - I have this, and there's some great stuff in there.

[jmorgan]

Not forgetting Garam Masala is just a mix (separate items combined, masala is in on its own as a mix and garam is another meaning to the mix), no real defined ingredient so it will vary.

So, I have a large pot of the stuff pre made (dry) and it will vary each time I make a new batch and I use that as my base depending on what I am doing.

I make my own (more a masala) and it also comes in handy for spicy roast potatoes, just add a few dried crushed chilies before cooking if it ain't already spiced up.

[21TonyK]

AmitG said:

In this recipe how long is "a while"?

I might try it, normally I do something more labour intensive but this sounds like a nice quick version.

Just until the sauce reduces and the chicken is cooked through.

[speedysoprano]

I may get thrown out for suggesting this, and while I like to cook from scratch most of the time, a really easy way of cooking curry in the slow cooker is to start with a (decent - say Sharwoods, or even Waitrose own brand et al) store-bought curry paste. Brown the meat, chop a sh*tload of veg, heat the desired amount of curry paste through on the stove with a tin of tomatoes and however much liquid you need (remember in the slow cooker it won't reduce so don't add too much). Add extra garlic and chillies if you fancy it. Chuck the browned meat, the veg and the liquid in your slow cooker. Leave it for about 6 hours on low (4 or so on high), drive yourself mental with the smell, and tuck in.

The husband and I are very much into our cooking, and we love going out for a good curry, but this sort of thing has got us through some dark winter nights. Tasty and so easy.

[RizzoTheRat]

This is the basic one I got from a curry cooking course I did a few years back, really easy to do.

Basic curry sauce – serves 4
For use with meat, vegetables such as cauliflower, hard boiled eggs, etc
• 2 medium/large Onions
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• 1 inch piece of fresh Ginger
• 1 tsp of Cumin seeds
• 1 level tsp Garam Masala
• 1 level tsp Turmeric
• ¼ tsp Black Pepper
• ¼ tsp Ground Ginger
• ¼ tsp Ground Garlic
• 1 level tsp Ground Coriander
• 1 level tsp Salt
• Chilli powder to taste
• 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tin Tomatoes
• Oil, Ghee or Butter

1. Remove skin from Ginger and chop in to small pieces.
2. Skin and chop Onions finely.
3. Fry Onions, Ginger and Garlic in oil until dark brown – watch they don’t burn
4. Add Cumin seeds and fry for a few seconds until they pop.
5. Add Turmeric and fry for a few seconds until it gives off an aromatic odour, add a little water or juice from tomatoes if it gets too dry.
6. Add Garam Masala, Black Pepper, Ground Ginger, Ground Garlic, Coriander, Salt and Chilli powder to taste, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
7. Add Tomatoes, mix well.
8. Cook on a low heat for about 30 minutes until paste is dark brown in colour
9. Use as required. Paste can be frozen if required.

Reheat paste adding a little water if necessary.
Add raw meat, vegetables such as Cauliflower, hard boiled eggs, etc and cook in sauce.